Metabolism is not the culprit when it comes to weight loss

I mostly agree with the article, from the perspective of age 62. Another factor - perhaps especially so for women - is the maintenance of muscle mass and other lean tissue as we age . . . and that's also related to how much activity we sustain, but for most modern lives perhaps more related to intentional exercise activity than daily life activity. (The average person's job and chores are more sedentary than was the case a generation or two ago, so muscle mass and bone mass in particular are perhaps more linked to levels of intentional exercise, on average).

There's also the potential to get into a vicious cycle: Be inactive, lose physical strength/capability, become more inactive because of the difficulty of doing active things, lose more capability . . . . Sadly, a lot of people my age I know are doing just exactly that.

But there's potential for a virtuous cycle, too: Be more active, get stronger/fitter, become more capable/energetic, do more things, . . . .

I think, though, that your statement "Your total movement, with or without gym, accounts for more weight loss/maintenance than your metabolic activity" is a little misleading, i.e., could be misinterpreted. For most of us (who don't have super active jobs or extensive active hobbies), BMR (basal metabolic rate) is the numerically biggest component of our daily calorie burn; non-exercise activity is second biggest; and intentional exercise is third.

Because BMR is moderately invariant over time and between people, movement - non-exercise activity plus exercise - accounts for more of the difference in our calorie burn at different times, or between different people. In that sense, activity is more meaningful to total daily calorie burn thus weight management, because we have more control/influence over it. BMR still accounts for the numerically largest single chunk of calorie burn for most people, though, compared to the two other big categories. In fact, for a good many, those who are sedentary and generally inactive or even just moderately active, BMR is higher than the sum of the other two.

chetanmpatel wrote: »

I came across this article and thought it is worth sharing and discussing here. It debunks the myth that slow metabolism causes weight gains.

Some key take away:
- It is very hard to change metabolic rate and that it stays steady after certain age.
- Your total movement, with or without gym, accounts for more weight loss/maintenance than your metabolic activity.

https://sciencealert.com/best-way-avoid-gaining-weight-age-metabolism-2018

What are your thoughts?

Yes...there is very little change in metabolism as we age. I gained all of my weight after 30. I graduated university when I was 30 and went from not owning a vehicle and walking or cycling almost everywhere and working retail, waiting tables, and landscape construction to owning a vehicle to commute and working 10-12 hour days sitting behind a desk for the most part.

It was easy enough at the time to blame my age and getting older and the middle age spread...but it was really going from being very, very active to being more or less sedentary.

This video will never get old. Sure there are a lot of reasons that you *might* be one of the few who for various reasons have a more difficult time with fat loss, however, people tend to jump to that assumption vs ruling out the most obvious one. Under Reporting, overestimating calories burned during exercise; or a combination of both.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA9AdlhB18o

joannwhatley wrote: »

Yeah, but hormones also play a part in weight gain. This article explains the part hormones play in weight issues and it supports the sciencealert article by stating that movement, along with a healthy diet, is essential to weight loss. http://www.diabeticlivingonline.com/diet/tips/are-your-hormones-making-you-gain-weight

I would argue that most of these aren't the cause of weight gain but that these hormonal issues are a consequence of weight gain that can make weight loss more difficult until they are better regulated.

joannwhatley wrote: »

Yeah, but hormones also play a part in weight gain. This article explains the part hormones play in weight issues and it supports the sciencealert article by stating that movement, along with a healthy diet, is essential to weight loss. http://www.diabeticlivingonline.com/diet/tips/are-your-hormones-making-you-gain-weight

Hormones may impact appetite. They have severely limited influence over hunger.

@cwolfman13 is correct on this - it is impossible to maintain hormonal balance and be overweight. So it ends up as a viscous cycle.

This is also why any weight loss program incorporates some element of understanding the differences between hunger and appetite and how to manage this effectively.

candicew70 wrote: »

Sure, but here's the thing: I'm not as fast as I was when I was younger. So even if my metabolism is the same and I do the exact same workout, appearing to exert the same level of activity, I'm slower and I'm less efficient because I'm almost 50. Lung capacity, joints, strength--all of that--it's just not what it was. That 10min mile is waaaay harder now, and I'm in pretty good shape.

It makes sense that age-related weight gain is related to being less active, but they need to define "active" and address the other factors that affect weight gain--less growth hormone, hormonal changes as you age, loss of muscle mass. This seems to oversimplify the issue by implying that staying active alone is the answer. Metabolism can remain unchanged, but other things are clearly going on because I can't drink wine and eat pizza every night anymore!

"Active" doesn't just mean exercise. When I was in my 20s I rarely did deliberate exercise except for stints here and there in the weight room...but I was active overall. My jobs were active, I was walking around a college campus a lot, I didn't own a car so I walked or biked most places, my buddies and I liked playing frisbee golf and ultimate frisbee, etc. I was active to the point of not having to worry about food or calories or anything and I could drink beer and eat pizza every night.

I'm as active as I can be now, but even with regular, deliberate exercise, it's nowhere close to being as active as I used to be overall because much of my day consists of sitting behind a desk. I can't drink beer and eat pizza every night anymore because even with deliberate exercise, my overall activity pales in comparison to what it used to be.

Unless you have a medical issue which makes losing weight difficult , people who use the metabolism as as an excuse are usually those who don't understand the concept of being in a caloric deficit .