35 and trying to lose weight

mjwilson0246 wrote: »

Hey MFP members, I’m just over 1 week of counting calories and working out. Hoping to lose 30 pounds in the next 6 months. I just turned 35 and it is definitely not as easy to lose weight as it used to be years ago. I’m looking for friends to help me along this journey.

You're pursuing aggressively fast loss. I believe it's possible to train our bodies to limp along on fewer calories . . . but that's not the path of lifetime thriving, if you ask me. I've seen too many of my age mates - I'm 65 - who've done crazy extreme diets many times over the years.

First, they cut extremely for fast loss, and learn nothing from that process that will help them maintain a healthy weight permanently. It's just a project with an end date, after which they return to "normal". Result: Regain the pounds, with friends. Having lost unnecessarily large amounts of muscle mass during the fast loss period, their basal metabolic rate is just that little bit slower. That's not the only cause of slowdown; there are others that tend to kick in during the "extreme yo-yo" lifestyle. Rinse and repeat. That's not a path of thriving. It's a path to lowered basal metabolic rate, lowered habits of activity, obesity, and illness. In my age group, the proof is all around me.

Don't want a slow metabolism as you age? Don't get on that merry-go-round now. Find a healthy way of eating that you can sustain permanently to stay at a healthy weight, happily, while getting well-rounded nutrition. Find activities that are fun, that challenge your strength to increase, and that improve your heart health.

*That's* a path of lifetime thriving.

I was fat for a long time (decades). I was mostly inactive for decades, too. That started changing in my mid-40s, after cancer treatment (a cancer I might never have developed if I'd been smarter, earlier, BTW). Now, I'm 65, at a healthy weight, with a "metabolism" that lets me eat hundreds of calories more than MFP estimates for my characteristics. My Garmin says my fitness age is 39. Is this is a brag? Yeah, maybe. But it's also credentials. Maybe I have some idea what I'm talking about, y'know?

Maybe this seems mean or harsh. Really, I don't mean to be deprecating your goals. It's good to strive toward goals. Try to think of my as your outspoken, frank, concerned internet auntie (I'm old enough), who really wants you to succeed, to be happy and healthy.

Best wishes for success, short and long term, no matter what path you choose, sincerely!