Is it harder to lose weight when you're older?

ReaGaladriel
ReaGaladriel Posts: 84 Member
edited December 19 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello!

I started with mfp in 2013. I lost the weight I wanted to lose and since then I yo-yo a but (I call it my winter - summer weight ;)) .

I usually gain after summer around 3-5 kilos (approximately 11 ponuds) and after the new year I loose it. I know it is not very healthy but it worked ok...so far

Last year it was very hard to get back to my "summer weight". This year it is even harder.

I do the same thing I did all previous years - eat healthier and work out more.

I am 31 now, when I started with mfp I was 26. Is it possible that it is harder to lose now because my metabolism is slower?

What do you think?
Tnx :)

Replies

  • Phirrgus
    Phirrgus Posts: 1,894 Member
    59 here and I lose easily when I stick to the program. You said you're working out more, but not what the workout is. Water retention from lifting (muscle repair) could account for it.
  • neugebauer52
    neugebauer52 Posts: 1,120 Member
    I can do something about my weight but I can't do anything about my age. So I am concentrating on my weight loss but don't worry about my age. It's about how you feel, they say...
  • ReaGaladriel
    ReaGaladriel Posts: 84 Member
    I work our and eat the same as I did all the previous years I was losing the weight. But if it is not the metabolism why is it not working now? Any ideas?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    ReaGaladriel wrote: »
    I work our and eat the same as I did all the previous years I was losing the weight. But if it is not the metabolism why is it not working now? Any ideas?

    Eating more than you think or moving less than you think would be my guess.
    Opening your diary might help.

    You have the cart before the horse to a degree, it's not your metabolism that drives you - it's you that drives your metabolism by what you do.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,600 Member
    ReaGaladriel wrote: »
    I work our and eat the same as I did all the previous years I was losing the weight. But if it is not the metabolism why is it not working now? Any ideas?

    Some candidates: Daily life activity (NEAT) differences, logging accuracy (or subjective equivalent if you don't log), or - lower probability because the effect is so tiny year over year - body composition. Medical issue as a still more distant possibility.

    I'll add to the chorus of those saying "at 31, not age", since I lost weight fine at 59-60, and am still maintaining a healthy weight at 63.
  • ReaGaladriel
    ReaGaladriel Posts: 84 Member
    ok maybe I log differently . I will try to be more accurate. Tnx
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,687 Member
    ReaGaladriel wrote: »
    I am 31 now, when I started with mfp I was 26. Is it possible that it is harder to lose now because my metabolism is slower?

    Nope, not at all. You are still very young.

    I was in the best shape of my life in my 30s ... gained a bit of weight in my 40s ... and then lost it again at the end of my 40s.

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,687 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    ReaGaladriel wrote: »
    I work our and eat the same as I did all the previous years I was losing the weight. But if it is not the metabolism why is it not working now? Any ideas?

    Eating more than you think or moving less than you think would be my guess.
    Opening your diary might help.

    You have the cart before the horse to a degree, it's not your metabolism that drives you - it's you that drives your metabolism by what you do.

    Yep ... for me, it was my weekends.

    I ate well during the week, lost a bit of weight, then gained a bit on the weekend because I kinda let things go a bit too much.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    2013-2016 (age 35-38) i lost 120 pounds. i found it pretty easy. 3 years later (i maintained for the past 3 years). it does seem harder, but its also im not working out as much as i used to and not logging as well. so .... it seems harder but the fact is im just not as disciplined. im losing, just at a slower rate. could lose at the same if i was stricter with myself.

    so, i think .... its all mental and what you are doing to lose it.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    I've lost all my weight in my 50's. As far as I'm concerned age isn't a factor.

    I agree with Ann that it's likely that something like your NEAT has decreased or your method of accounting for food intake isn't serving you as well as it used to.
  • zeejane03
    zeejane03 Posts: 993 Member
    My active weight loss phase was in my 30s and I lost as expected, with no issues (50lbs). I'm now 40 and several years into maintenance but am currently in a short weight loss phase to get rid of some vanity pounds. I've had no problems losing so far, my weight loss has matched my deficit pretty much spot on :)
  • Mslmesq
    Mslmesq Posts: 1,000 Member
    edited February 2019
    31?! Lol. Save this post so you can laugh at yourself 20 years from now.

    No. Your metabolism has not slowed at 31. I’m 49 ans still doing ok. And I have a 4 year old. Haha.

    You could always have a child. Breastfeeding will rev up your metabolism like you cannot even fathom. Not to even mention the exercise from chasing the child around. 😂
  • Adinahill70
    Adinahill70 Posts: 1 Member
    I'm going through menopause right now and I cannot lose weight to save my life. I am stuck around the same weight and can't seem to get any lower. I believe it is due to an imbalance in my hormones. It is extremely frustrating. I seem to have the metabolism of a turtle. With that said, I do not work out as much or as intensely as I used to due to a knee injury and subsequent surgery so I do think that has a lot to do with it as well.
  • jan110144
    jan110144 Posts: 1,281 Member
    74 here. Reached maintenance last week (SW:183 , CW: 135) in 6 months. So, no, I don't think it is harder.

    I think it is hard whenever you make the effort, as it requires discipline and consistency (neither of which have been my strengths in the past)
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