Any women out there over 40 with the metabolism of a speeding sloth?

Wendyanneroberts wrote: »

No idea about "slow metabolism", never had it measured. But I do know that it is possible to lose weight, if in a calorie deficit.
Age, in itself does not affect weight loss.

Using mfp as a tool it was designed for, I have successfully lost 52lb. Now entering maintenance, for life. So, well worth taking time to adjust my diet in a way that I can live with for ever. Eating fewer calories than your body burns will result in weight loss. Mfp helped me find that correct balance.

It's simple,although not always easy, but it works.

I am female, 50 years old, with a couple of health conditions. Plus I am physically disabled, unable to "exercise" and still lost weight through diet alone. It has taken hard work at times, consistency and patience, but it was definitely worth it!

Good for you but myself, I'm on a 1100 calorie diet and still struggle. I must fit in nutrition and energy so aside from starvation, I can't lose weight so maybe you could be a bit more open to the fact that not everyone is as awesome as you

Bachataera wrote: »

...maybe you could be a bit more open to the fact that not everyone is as awesome as you

Thank you for this. Not to pick on the individual poster you responded to, but I am surprised that most questions here about slow weight loss or low metabolism get so many responses that seem to amount to "You're dumb, you're lazy, and if you're not losing weight as fast as I am, you're doing it wrong."

Sheesh, don't we have the whole rest of the internet for that? I would have thought that MFP would be a supportive environment for people struggling with their fitness issues, not for telling people that they only have themselves to blame.

[What follows is a rant. It may or may not deserve to be in this thread, but here it is.]

Have these people ever had trouble getting their shoes to fit properly? Then they should all wear Women's Size 11 Narrow, because that's what fits me. Do they need glasses? They should get a 20/40 lenses with a correction for astigmatism in the right eye, because that's my prescription. And they all should delete their tip calculator apps, because I can do simple percentages in my head. And they should all turn off their spellcheckers, because it's just a nuisance whenever I want to use a word like "arithmetical" or "catabolism" and the stupid spellchecker doesn't recognize it.

...What, people have feet in sizes other than mine? And some are far-sighted, or have perfect refraction? And I shouldn't boast about my arithmetical abilities, or the grossly corpulent excesses of my vocabulary? Well, then, maybe they shouldn't boast about how easy is for them to lose weight, and how I could lose weight just as easily if I would only modify myself to become exactly like them.

[End of full-on rant. Semi-rant-ish stuff follows.]

And I don't think that very many of these people actually understand the metabolic chemistry of fatty acid catabolism in humans. That's because I don't think very many people in the world understand the chemistry of fatty acid catabolism at all. I'm not especially dumb, but I think I'd need at least a few college-level courses in biochemistry before I could even begin to grasp it.

And seriously, folks, if anyone out there understood how most chronically overweight people could successfully achieve and maintain a healthy weight, the 40% of Americans who are obese, and the $70 billion dollars that Americans spent (mostly unsuccessfully) on weight loss in 2017, would long since have beaten a path to their door.

So, here's an idea: what if we tried to say something supportive, or maybe even constructive, to the OP and posters like her?

I'm 42, a mom, and so far I'm down 185lbs. (Took me 3 years). I used to think I had a slow metabolism, turns out I was eating more that I should have been, and moving less. Now that I'm moving more and eating less, the weight is coming right off. Using a food scale religiously taught me how much I was actually eating and helps me understand how much I should eat.

And I think it's very supportive to tell OP that she has it within her own power to lose the weight and get healthy, rather than pat her on the head and confirm that her age means she is destined to struggle and fail. But maybe that's just me.

I do not wish to derail this thread but would like to leave a response in reply to those who feel like I was attacking OP. When nothing could be further from the truth. I am responding to the direct posts. Just wish to leave an explanation to those who are following this thread.

Before finding mfp I had been obese, bordering severely obese for years. I had managed to lose a few pounds here and there, but always "stopped dieting" and rapidly gained weight & more. I have been physically disabled for 20 years, spending most of my time in a wheelchair. Extremely limited movement, on 2 crutches. In severe pain, most of the time. Without adding further details on an open forum, I went from fit and active to wheelchair bound overnight. For several months/year in the early stages I was bed bound.

Fast forward 20 years (spent continuously dieting/regaining), by this time I have also been diagnosed with a heart condition and in more recent years an autoimmune disease. Believe me I understand how difficult life can be. Now I needed to track certain nutrition as well as "try to lose weight" yet again. Believe me I had tried and failed many times and didn't believe this time would be any different. Even though know it could be the difference between life and death.

I used to feel weight loss was impossible, after all every where I turned; I was told

"Your in your late 40's now and post menopausal"
"Disabled, and can't go to a gym"
"Couch to 5k" would work but "you can't walk"
"You must have a slow metabolism, otherwise you would have lost weight by now"
"You eat to late in the evening to lose weight"
"If only you could follow the keto diet, that would guarantee weight loss. But cardiologist wants you on a low fat diet"

Plus many others, every time I followed a diet or attended weight loss classes for a few weeks. But then a flare up with my health, or time spent back in hospital. Then I was straight back to square 1.

But finding mfp and reaching out to the forums, reading hours of posts, acting on help from veterans I have finally changed my health and weight for the better. So I reached out in a brief post saying "weight loss was possible" as I hoped to show that if I had managed to take control of my health, then it was possible for others. Meant as a beacon of hope, not bragging. I apologise if it came across that way. Believe me I've spent enough money in the past "trying to diet".

I only mentioned that I had
"No idea about "slow metabolism", never had it measured." Because of the times that had been said to me over the past, when it did not affect it at all.

The rest to show it was possible, despite age/metabolism

"Using mfp as a tool it was designed for, I have successfully lost 52lb. Now entering maintenance, for life. So, well worth taking time to adjust my diet in a way that I can live with for ever. Eating fewer calories than your body burns will result in weight loss. Mfp helped me find that correct balance.

It's simple,although not always easy, but it works."

Time & Patience, Persistentance. It has been about 4 years since I first found mfp and I currently have a streak of 870 days of accurate logs. Not to show off or because I think I'm awesome, but it is the continued daily logging, no matter what, that has made all the difference to a continued success.

Sorry for the length of my post and just wanted to explain where I was coming from, when trying to help.

Gosh @wendyanneroberts, I'm so sorry that you felt you had to defend your initial post.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with it.

There was no bragging read by me, just a person saying how they succeeded despite obstacles.

You received no 'woo's' and 9 positive reactions- that should tell you something.

I hope this doesn't stop you from sharing your experiences and methods (CICO) that led to your success in the future.

(((( ))))

Cheers, h.