Does age effect ability to lose weight?

Disregard exercise right now it has nothing to do with weight loss. Let me break this down even more for all of you fitness guru's. There's 3500 calories in a pound of body weight. If in one week I stay in a 500 calorie deficit meaning after 7 days I've burned 3500 calories, what it in the world makes you think I being 22 will lose 1 lb of body weight however this person at 60 will not? Are you all being serious right now, and I'm not trying to be a smart *kitten* but my goodness this is so simple. She can live a completely sedentary life for all I care if she's eating at a deficit weight will be lost. Plain and simple.

Stop being obtuse.

What you're failing to understand is that as you age it becomes more difficult to create that deficit.

Age 67; run twice during week for 30 minutes and long run on weeknds 6 to 13 miles; cross train twice a week. no problem losing wieght if I stay under 1700 net calories a day. I haven't noticed any age-related changes.

And a person half your age would be able to lose weight while eating more and exercising less.

Right, so you're telling me that with age it becomes harder to stop putting food into your mouth? You can't gain weight without eating nor can you lose weight without being in a caloric deficit. Stop trying to overcomplicate such a basic idea.

Disregard exercise right now it has nothing to do with weight loss. Let me break this down even more for all of you fitness guru's. There's 3500 calories in a pound of body weight. If in one week I stay in a 500 calorie deficit meaning after 7 days I've burned 3500 calories, what it in the world makes you think I being 22 will lose 1 lb of body weight however this person at 60 will not? Are you all being serious right now, and I'm not trying to be a smart *kitten* but my goodness this is so simple. She can live a completely sedentary life for all I care if she's eating at a deficit weight will be lost. Plain and simple.

Stop being obtuse.

What you're failing to understand is that as you age it becomes more difficult to create that deficit.

Age 67; run twice during week for 30 minutes and long run on weeknds 6 to 13 miles; cross train twice a week. no problem losing wieght if I stay under 1700 net calories a day. I haven't noticed any age-related changes.

And a person half your age would be able to lose weight while eating more and exercising less.

Right, so you're telling me that with age it becomes harder to stop putting food into your mouth? You can't gain weight without eating nor can you lose weight without being in a caloric deficit. Stop trying to overcomplicate such a basic idea.

Disregard exercise right now it has nothing to do with weight loss. Let me break this down even more for all of you fitness guru's. There's 3500 calories in a pound of body weight. If in one week I stay in a 500 calorie deficit meaning after 7 days I've burned 3500 calories, what it in the world makes you think I being 22 will lose 1 lb of body weight however this person at 60 will not? Are you all being serious right now, and I'm not trying to be a smart *kitten* but my goodness this is so simple. She can live a completely sedentary life for all I care if she's eating at a deficit weight will be lost. Plain and simple.

Stop being obtuse.

What you're failing to understand is that as you age it becomes more difficult to create that deficit.

Age 67; run twice during week for 30 minutes and long run on weeknds 6 to 13 miles; cross train twice a week. no problem losing wieght if I stay under 1700 net calories a day. I haven't noticed any age-related changes.

And a person half your age would be able to lose weight while eating more and exercising less.

What the hell are you talking about?

Get your head out of your *kitten*.

An older person will have to eat less and exercise more to have the same results as a younger person.

What part of that are you failing to understand???

Right, so you're telling me that with age it becomes harder to stop putting food into your mouth? You can't gain weight without eating nor can you lose weight without being in a caloric deficit. Stop trying to overcomplicate such a basic idea.

Did you read anything that I posted? Any of those studies?

There are literally hundreds of articles on Pubmed that talk about aging and all the changes that take place. And you're claiming that doctors don't know what they are talking about and that people are spreading mis-information?

It's really very very simple. No advanced degree require to understand: Your body changes as you age. And this makes weight management more difficult. Is it still calories in vs. calories out? Yes. Absolutely. But it's still more difficult.

There's a whole science of aging. It's called Gerontology. I promise you, the body of a 65 year old, even a super healthy 65 year old, is much less efficient at just about everything when compared to a 20 something of the same sex and build. The biggest advantage of age? Wisdom. Oh... and sexy silver hair.

Cirellim,
First, "3500 calories in a pound of body weight"? Really? Where did you hear that from? Want to clarify what exactly it is with 3500 calories, or do you not really know?

You requested studies, they were given.

You got some supporting your point of view?

And remember, the question is NOT can you lose weight when you are older. That is what you have turned it into.

The question is - does age effect your ability to lose weight?

Read that correctly. Can you be as effective losing weight when older as you were younger?

Perhaps you read that wrong looking for something to jump on after reading some of the responses.

Really not as simple as you think. Hormones major factor already mentioned, especially for men. And slower metabolism.

Since you like the simple things as you keep saying, here is a simple explanation.

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/menopause/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100119089

Does metabolism slow or do we?
Both. But the slowing of metabolism is a real thing. “The primary thing that seems to occur is that mitochondria in the cells slow down with age,” says Newgard. (Think of mitochondria as little energy factories in cells that convert nutrients to power.)

And that’s not all. Barry Stein of Wake Forest University School of Medicine is writing a book about staying fit after 50. As he explains, “As we age, we are subject to sarcopenia—muscle wasting. Since muscle burns more energy than fat, this means the metabolic load goes down and metabolism reflects that.” That is, if you do nothing about your loss of muscle with age, it will take you longer to burn off a candy bar at age 60 than at 20.

I couldn't agree with you more:flowerforyou:
I'm 52, already beyond menopause and trying to lose weight. Yes, it works and I am happy with the result.
BUT: I have problems with the joints and even if I hadn't , exercising is a lot harder for me today than it was 20 years ago. Maintaining my weight is so much harder because for maintenance my deficit has to be bigger than 10 years ago. Yes, I can lose weight but it is freakin' difficult. To those 22 year olds: be a woman over 50 or 60 with joint problems and try the 30 Day Shred :noway:
Another point I want to make here: my calorie deficit has to be bigger than years ago, as I said before. Can you imagine how difficult it is to make sure you have all vitamins and minerals, enough carbs and protein but hardly any cholesterol?

I will be 66 in a couple of weeks. I once weighed 280 pounds and lost 125 lbs. . I had to gain some with cancer treatments 5 years ago and afterward lost the weight I had gained back. This past year I begin to gain again. What I discovered was not that I was now older but I was slower. Now that I am trying to be active and exercise at least 5 times a week I am losing the weight again at a nice pace. I am inbetween on the age thing.

Right, so you're telling me that with age it becomes harder to stop putting food into your mouth? You can't gain weight without eating nor can you lose weight without being in a caloric deficit. Stop trying to overcomplicate such a basic idea.

Disregard exercise right now it has nothing to do with weight loss. Let me break this down even more for all of you fitness guru's. There's 3500 calories in a pound of body weight. If in one week I stay in a 500 calorie deficit meaning after 7 days I've burned 3500 calories, what it in the world makes you think I being 22 will lose 1 lb of body weight however this person at 60 will not? Are you all being serious right now, and I'm not trying to be a smart *kitten* but my goodness this is so simple. She can live a completely sedentary life for all I care if she's eating at a deficit weight will be lost. Plain and simple.

Stop being obtuse.

What you're failing to understand is that as you age it becomes more difficult to create that deficit.

Age 67; run twice during week for 30 minutes and long run on weeknds 6 to 13 miles; cross train twice a week. no problem losing wieght if I stay under 1700 net calories a day. I haven't noticed any age-related changes.

And a person half your age would be able to lose weight while eating more and exercising less.

What the hell are you talking about?

Get your head out of your *kitten*.

An older person will have to eat less and exercise more to have the same results as a younger person.

What part of that are you failing to understand???

Thank you:flowerforyou: I am 50 will be 51 in a few months...most definately in menopause. I have been religous about tracking my food and most everyday under cals. I have been working out 5 to 6 days a week and the last 4 weeks weight training/lifting 45 to 50 mins with 30 to 45 mins of cardio. I will eat at least half of my exercise calories back and I have only lost 8 lbs so far since the middle of Sept. Before I turned 40 I weighed an average of between 120 and 125...ate whatever I wanted and was not as active as I am now. Age for women does indeed make a difference, we have to be very concious of our calorie intake and we have to work our a$$es off to boot!

I believe our society = The Standard American Diet (SAD) is the reason for obesity and likewise the reason we all struggle with losing weight. I am 45, and yes my weight is distributed differently than it was when I was 20 but I am in better shape and have had an easier time losing weight now, than ever in my life!

I don't necessarily agree with calories in-calories out...shocking, I know right?? I also think that the food pyramid, BMI and weight/height charts are incorrect.

After trying every "diet" over the last 25 years I have realized that it's about the quality of what you feed your body and that 3 square meals or 6 mini meals is not the answer. We are so programmed to eat. Eating revolves around everything in our society. It's why we are an obese nation. Our bodies are an incredible tool. I keep pushing mine every week and I am amazed at the results I am getting at my age. Incorporating increasingly higher weights, cardio and keeping my body "guessing" have made a huge difference in my weightloss over the last several years.

What I'm trying to say is that I will NOT let my age or government charts/studies decide what I should eat or how I should exercise....when everything I have been doing has been the total opposite.....and I have never felt better physically in my 45 years of life.

Only a male in his 20s would think he is an expert on estrogen and aging. Hee! Hee!

ESTROGEN MAKES TISSUES SENSITIVE TO INSULIN. Insulin is a hormone that is secreted in response to increased levels of blood sugar. While insulin is needed for sugar to enter the body’s cells where it is used for energy, insulin also stimulates the production of fat and inhibits the breakdown of fat.

When tissues lose their sensitivity to insulin, which is what occurs when estrogen levels drop, the pancreas has to secrete increasing amounts of this hormone to get sugar from the bloodstream into the body’s cells. Not surprisingly, this increased amount of insulin also causes weight gain – and makes it very difficult to lose weight.

ESTROGEN DECREASES FAT SYNTHESIS. At normal levels, estrogen decreases the activity of lipoprotein lipase,an enzyme involved in fat synthesis. When estrogen levels fall you lose this beneficial effect and fat synthesis increases.

ESTROGEN MAINTAINS MUSCLE MASS. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue, so the loss of muscle mass that occurs when estrogen levels drop slows metabolism. This means you burn fewer calories at rest.

ESTROGEN BOOSTS ENERGY. Because estrogen is an energy booster, the estrogen deficiency that occurs during menopause causes fatigue. When you are fatigued you tend to exercise less.

Once again, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that a loss of energy can result in weight gain.

I am 61-years-old and I have lost 106 pounds. It IS doable, but it is definitely more difficult to lose weight as you age. For the above reasons (ESTROGEN) or lack thereof at my age, my metabolism is much slower than yours naturally for my age, I have lost up to 20% of my bone mass after menopause, where I gain weight is affected by menopause and aging, and the changes in hormone levels increase my appetite and make me feel not as full after eating.

How do I know all of this? Because I have LIVED IT.

Never claimed to be an expert here in fact there's been multiple times on here I've stated that I am not in fact a nutritional expert, and all of you say I'm turning a blind eye to your "facts" when in reality all of you turn back to one thing, exercise. My argument has absolutely nothing, nothing, one more time NOTHING to do with exercise. I'm simply stating that if I restricting calories creates weight loss regardless of age. Not to mention the studies are great and all but anyone can manipulate a research study to make the end results what they want them to be. Have you ever considered some of these MD's are in the business of making money and creating "weight loss" products/solutions for the elderly therefore they conduct such studies that shockingly prove to people why their product would be oh so very effective for them to use because their "metabolic rate has slowed" or they're "losing muscle mass so quickly their bodies will not be able to keep up." Sorry I don't believe everything I read, but you can all continue to do so this will be my last post because clearly this is going no where just a bunch of older people trying to attack me because they can't accept that things change. Go back to your atkins/south beach and whatever other garbage diets you use and then come back to me in 3 months when the results vanish along with your motivation. Why? Because none of those diets look at the most basic idea of calories in vs out.