Difficulties we face to lose weight in 30s & 40s
Replies
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DrSelfish1131 wrote: »Thank you very much for your response. I am really feeling hopeful now. And congratulation for reducing 15 kg in 15 week effortlessly.
I had to laugh at the "effortlessly" part of your answer. The poster did mention reducing calories to 1500 and exercising (albeit gently) up to 2hrs a day.
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springlering62 wrote: »I
You indicate you only started two weeks ago. That’s not enough time at all to analyze if what you are doing is effective. You need at least 4-6 weeks to get past “beginner” water and weight fluctuations, learning how to log, etc. These forums will be your best friend to further your “self” education. And I do mean SELF education.
I wish you both success, but you also need to discuss ahead of time what happens if one gives up, and r one is super successful. Are you going to continue to support one another? Or will you give up as a couple! Hopefully, you’ll be successful together and we will get one hell of a “Success Story” over on the other board in a few months.
Many thanks for your response☺️. Me and my wife have started to lose weight steadily💪.
I am losing weight a bit faster than her though😏 (don't know why as she is working harder and eating lesser than me 🤔).
I am encouraging her not to lose focus. I know, if we give up as a couple, there will be no "success story"👫. How can I alone be successful without her?👩❤️👨3 -
Lol, I wish I was in my 30's and 40's. Late 50's and have to work much much harder than I did at those ages. And I'm in pretty good shape.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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DrSelfish1131 wrote: »springlering62 wrote: »I
You indicate you only started two weeks ago. That’s not enough time at all to analyze if what you are doing is effective. You need at least 4-6 weeks to get past “beginner” water and weight fluctuations, learning how to log, etc. These forums will be your best friend to further your “self” education. And I do mean SELF education.
I wish you both success, but you also need to discuss ahead of time what happens if one gives up, and r one is super successful. Are you going to continue to support one another? Or will you give up as a couple! Hopefully, you’ll be successful together and we will get one hell of a “Success Story” over on the other board in a few months.
Many thanks for your response☺️. Me and my wife have started to lose weight steadily💪.
I am losing weight a bit faster than her though😏 (don't know why as she is working harder and eating lesser than me 🤔).
I am encouraging her not to lose focus. I know, if we give up as a couple, there will be no "success story"👫. How can I alone be successful without her?👩❤️👨
When my husband discovered he was diabetic twenty years ago, he changed his way of eating and lost a lot of weight. With, I’m ashamed to say now, very little support from me, other than I did go to the diabetic “training” class, and try to learn. But I ate candy, cookies, everything he wanted in front of him. I realize now how selfish it was.
But now it’s the exact opposite. He’s put on weight, on several prescriptions, etc. although he does have the grace to hide his treats and snacks.
So we’ve both been able to do it individually.
I wish we’d coordinated at some time, However, he does exercise regularly, and puts up with the minutiae of my weighing and logging. I don’t stay on him about losing weight because frankly, I don’t feel like I have the right to, and he’s several years older than me and it doesn’t seem fair to try to change him at this stage.
I guess it comes down to how bad you want to do it. And your level of comfort with your spouse, too I suppose. I don’t think either of us ever thought the other was “shoppin’ round”.
Maybe explain to her how much you love her, and want to share those golden years healthier and for a longer time with her.2 -
DrSelfish1131 wrote: »springlering62 wrote: »I
You indicate you only started two weeks ago. That’s not enough time at all to analyze if what you are doing is effective. You need at least 4-6 weeks to get past “beginner” water and weight fluctuations, learning how to log, etc. These forums will be your best friend to further your “self” education. And I do mean SELF education.
I wish you both success, but you also need to discuss ahead of time what happens if one gives up, and r one is super successful. Are you going to continue to support one another? Or will you give up as a couple! Hopefully, you’ll be successful together and we will get one hell of a “Success Story” over on the other board in a few months.
Many thanks for your response☺️. Me and my wife have started to lose weight steadily💪.
I am losing weight a bit faster than her though😏 (don't know why as she is working harder and eating lesser than me 🤔).
I am encouraging her not to lose focus. I know, if we give up as a couple, there will be no "success story"👫. How can I alone be successful without her?👩❤️👨
The basic equation of calories in < calories out for weight loss applies to women as well as men, but the calories out portion can be a little trickier for women especially at childbearing age (30s being a prime time for that.) For my weight loss, I have had to contend with: postpartum recovery, breastfeeding, and return of cycles, all within the past year. I am adamant about not hating the body I've been given, but the reality is that while our bodies, both male and female, are always cycling in some fashion (cells growing and dying, digestive system functioning, and so on and so forth), female bodies are less static on the calories out portion and it can require some extra tinkering to figure out a good formula. We also (generally speaking) have lower calorie needs than men of a similar size, have more body fat than men of a similar size, and don't build muscle as rapidly.
It's not better or worse, but it is different.4 -
"Difficulties we face to lose weight in 30s & 40s"
Oh, please, please, people. Please. Enough with the excuses. You can lose weight at age 10, age 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, whatever.
Be honest about logging. A scale helps many people. Eat less and move more. Weight loss is about calories. If you think you have a medical problem that affects your weight, see a doctor. Otherwise, eat less, move more, and be honest about what you put in your mouth. And stop griping about your age.
If it matters, I am age 67. I lost almost 40 pounds 2 years ago in about six months and have successfully maintained since then. My age has nothing to do with anything.
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springlering62 wrote: »DrSelfish1131 wrote: »springlering62 wrote: »I
You indicate you only started two weeks ago. That’s not enough time at all to analyze if what you are doing is effective. You need at least 4-6 weeks to get past “beginner” water and weight fluctuations, learning how to log, etc. These forums will be your best friend to further your “self” education. And I do mean SELF education.
I wish you both success, but you also need to discuss ahead of time what happens if one gives up, and r one is super successful. Are you going to continue to support one another? Or will you give up as a couple! Hopefully, you’ll be successful together and we will get one hell of a “Success Story” over on the other board in a few months.
Many thanks for your response☺️. Me and my wife have started to lose weight steadily💪.
I am losing weight a bit faster than her though😏 (don't know why as she is working harder and eating lesser than me 🤔).
I am encouraging her not to lose focus. I know, if we give up as a couple, there will be no "success story"👫. How can I alone be successful without her?👩❤️👨
When my husband discovered he was diabetic twenty years ago, he changed his way of eating and lost a lot of weight. With, I’m ashamed to say now, very little support from me, other than I did go to the diabetic “training” class, and try to learn. But I ate candy, cookies, everything he wanted in front of him. I realize now how selfish it was.
But now it’s the exact opposite. He’s put on weight, on several prescriptions, etc. although he does have the grace to hide his treats and snacks.
So we’ve both been able to do it individually.
I wish we’d coordinated at some time, However, he does exercise regularly, and puts up with the minutiae of my weighing and logging. I don’t stay on him about losing weight because frankly, I don’t feel like I have the right to, and he’s several years older than me and it doesn’t seem fair to try to change him at this stage.
I guess it comes down to how bad you want to do it. And your level of comfort with your spouse, too I suppose. I don’t think either of us ever thought the other was “shoppin’ round”.
Maybe explain to her how much you love her, and want to share those golden years healthier and for a longer time with her.
It's very nice of you to be self-critical as it's a rare trait at present.
To be honest, sometime if either of us does some extra cardio exercise, the other becomes upset unintentionally. 😅maybe it is in our genes to be competitive🏆 (in a healthy way😌 I guess in this case)0 -
penguinmama87 wrote: »DrSelfish1131 wrote: »springlering62 wrote: »I
You indicate you only started two weeks ago. That’s not enough time at all to analyze if what you are doing is effective. You need at least 4-6 weeks to get past “beginner” water and weight fluctuations, learning how to log, etc. These forums will be your best friend to further your “self” education. And I do mean SELF education.
I wish you both success, but you also need to discuss ahead of time what happens if one gives up, and r one is super successful. Are you going to continue to support one another? Or will you give up as a couple! Hopefully, you’ll be successful together and we will get one hell of a “Success Story” over on the other board in a few months.
Many thanks for your response☺️. Me and my wife have started to lose weight steadily💪.
I am losing weight a bit faster than her though😏 (don't know why as she is working harder and eating lesser than me 🤔).
I am encouraging her not to lose focus. I know, if we give up as a couple, there will be no "success story"👫. How can I alone be successful without her?👩❤️👨
The basic equation of calories in < calories out for weight loss applies to women as well as men, but the calories out portion can be a little trickier for women especially at childbearing age (30s being a prime time for that.) For my weight loss, I have had to contend with: postpartum recovery, breastfeeding, and return of cycles, all within the past year. I am adamant about not hating the body I've been given, but the reality is that while our bodies, both male and female, are always cycling in some fashion (cells growing and dying, digestive system functioning, and so on and so forth), female bodies are less static on the calories out portion and it can require some extra tinkering to figure out a good formula. We also (generally speaking) have lower calorie needs than men of a similar size, have more body fat than men of a similar size, and don't build muscle as rapidly.
It's not better or worse, but it is different.
I do agree.
Women burn less calories and also require less calories than men.
But some studies show -
"women burn fat more preferentially during exercise compared with men".
(Wu, Betty N, and Anthony J O'Sullivan. “Sex differences in energy metabolism need to be considered with lifestyle modifications in humans.” Journal of nutrition and metabolism vol. 2011 (2011): 391809. doi:10.1155/2011/391809)
So should they get in shape quicker than men?0 -
DrSelfish1131 wrote: »penguinmama87 wrote: »DrSelfish1131 wrote: »springlering62 wrote: »I
You indicate you only started two weeks ago. That’s not enough time at all to analyze if what you are doing is effective. You need at least 4-6 weeks to get past “beginner” water and weight fluctuations, learning how to log, etc. These forums will be your best friend to further your “self” education. And I do mean SELF education.
I wish you both success, but you also need to discuss ahead of time what happens if one gives up, and r one is super successful. Are you going to continue to support one another? Or will you give up as a couple! Hopefully, you’ll be successful together and we will get one hell of a “Success Story” over on the other board in a few months.
Many thanks for your response☺️. Me and my wife have started to lose weight steadily💪.
I am losing weight a bit faster than her though😏 (don't know why as she is working harder and eating lesser than me 🤔).
I am encouraging her not to lose focus. I know, if we give up as a couple, there will be no "success story"👫. How can I alone be successful without her?👩❤️👨
The basic equation of calories in < calories out for weight loss applies to women as well as men, but the calories out portion can be a little trickier for women especially at childbearing age (30s being a prime time for that.) For my weight loss, I have had to contend with: postpartum recovery, breastfeeding, and return of cycles, all within the past year. I am adamant about not hating the body I've been given, but the reality is that while our bodies, both male and female, are always cycling in some fashion (cells growing and dying, digestive system functioning, and so on and so forth), female bodies are less static on the calories out portion and it can require some extra tinkering to figure out a good formula. We also (generally speaking) have lower calorie needs than men of a similar size, have more body fat than men of a similar size, and don't build muscle as rapidly.
It's not better or worse, but it is different.
I do agree.
Women burn less calories and also require less calories than men.
But some studies show -
"women burn fat more preferentially during exercise compared with men".
(Wu, Betty N, and Anthony J O'Sullivan. “Sex differences in energy metabolism need to be considered with lifestyle modifications in humans.” Journal of nutrition and metabolism vol. 2011 (2011): 391809. doi:10.1155/2011/391809)
So should they get in shape quicker than men?
Weight loss doesn't happen in a vacuum, and for many of us it can be a very emotionally intense thing. My guess is that the difference observed in the study between men and women burning fat in exercise is not going to advantage women so intensely for calorie burning that you can expect a faster rate of weight loss. And again, there's the situational factors at play for many women that make fast weight loss especially not ideal.
The point isn't who can do it the fastest, but each person figuring out what works for them and doing what will *last.* I hope you haven't set this up as a competition with your wife, unless she's a really, really, really good sport, and even then I think it would put unnecessary pressure and stress on her that could spectacularly backfire. My husband has been very supportive of me, but if he were to suggest I were going too slow "for what the studies say" I'd probably be sorely tempted to kick him in the teeth.
If you're trending the right direction, then that's enough.
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Honestly, I’ve been more fit in late 30s/40 then I was in late 20s. The only thing that changed was my discipline to stick with it and my daily choices. That’s just my experience.
I think it’s a stereotype the “we” face uphill difficulties at 30. In fact, the majority of my friends in 40s, 50s and beyond are fit and energetic.
Perhaps you just have to be consistent to see more change and stick with it?
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I'm encroaching on my mid-40's, and can confidently say that my age has very little to do with my weight issues.
What does contribute, but tends to come with age is:- Professional job that has me sitting on my butt all day (despite being a "fidgeter" it does not compensate vs a very physical job)
- Mentally draining "life crap" so when I have down time, I'm literally down - like on the couch, watching TV
- Driving to work (longer commute to professional job, needing to wear business clothing, etc) vs bicycle/walking/etc
- Packed schedule (for example, at the moment, on weekdays, I literally have 30-45 min of "extra" time that could be put to either relaxing, running an errand, grabbing groceries, etc) which means less time for random exercise
- Due to ^^^ weekends are spent playing catch up - rather than more intense activity, it is spent cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, seeing friends, etc - rather than long hikes that take hours, or all day motorcycle rides out in the twisties.
- Lower activity levels = less muscle = lower metabolic rate (I personally enjoy weight lifting, which makes a noticeable difference when I am doing it regularly)
- "Activities" with friends frequently start centering around food, dining out, drinking, watching a sport rather than PLAYING said sport, active hobbies, etc
Honestly the desk job was the real killer for me - my appetite has never fully adjusted to the lowered activity levels (I had pretty active jobs into my early 30's), and it's difficult to stay in a calorie range that allows me to lose weight. No excuses, but that's just the simple reality - if I'm going to lose weight, I'm going to be hungry much of the day, and I'll be honest, that gets pretty miserable. Hence why I have NOT successfully kept that extra 20 pounds off. I've tried super slow loss, faster loss, in between - as soon as I let up on my rigorous control over my intake, it creeps back on, and doesn't even take that long * cry *5 -
40s here (and closer to 50 than 40
). I've dropped over 10 BMI points (and counting). Down to 164 lbs and still losing a lb or more a week while averaging 2,300 calories a day. Age is not a hindrance. I also keep reading that height is supposedly a hindrance too, but I'm 5'2" and being a shortie hasn't hurt my progress or forced me to do a low calorie diet. Best advice I have is to lift weights and build up that muscle mass. It's been a total game changer for me. 2 -
Does it make sense that as we age, our bodies become more efficient at moving the same mass around causing us to need less fuel for the same activities? I don't think so. If anything we would need more energy to do the same activities since they are harder over time. Is it the muscle loss(sarcopenia) and moving less because we have more aches/pains, and less energy? That seems much more likely to me. I think age is an excuse. I'll be 40 soon and my avatar is a recent pic. Seems to be just as easy to be in shape as ever and I've been bodybuilding for 20 years.3
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