How difficult is it to lose weight at 40 and older?

[jhwhite]

Back in 2011 I lost 60lbs and was in great shape. 2012 was a hell of a year and I couldn't even maintain. Since then I've gained 30lbs and I want to lose it by the end of this year. But I turn 40 in June and EVERYONE keeps telling me it's impossible to lose weight at 40 and older.

So should I just be in maintanence mode and strive not to gain? Or can I get back into shape?

[ROSIE1971]

Does anyone here know if FitBit or MyFitnessPal take into account base metabolic rate based on age when determining our baseline recommeneded calorie consumption per day.  If it is true that post-40s people  have lower metabolisms, then shoulden't our recommended base calorie consumption be a little less as well?

[MRHunt]

I believe they do. When you set up your account you were asked your age, gender and height I believe.

[mr_lab_rat]

Not really. I lost 15lbs with just changes to my eating habits and very little increase in excercise (165 to 150 at 6'0")

[Raviv]

I think it's going to be a little different for women than for women - first, because we are going through some pretty serious hormonal changes when we hit around 40-50 or more, including a drastic drop in the hormones that making losing weight easier.  Second, because we work better with a higher percentage of body fat than men anyway, and our bodies fight pretty hard to keep that.

[loveabull]

In terms of distribution of body fat...50 for a woman can be very unkind. I weigh 130. Fifty pounds of that is in my chest and belly, even with daily exercise it isn't going anywhere.

[SunsetRunner]

At the age of 49 I lost 70 pounds over a period of 9 months. I did this almost exclusively by strength training in a gym combined with a "clean eating" diet, and the very occasional cardio interval training.

As I understand recent research, to stay healthy, weight training becomes increasingly important as you age, starting at about 35, much more so than cardio. But also that no matter which kind of training you do, intensity and consistency is key.

For me, it's far more important to be consistent than to reach a goal at a specific date. I found it more useful for my goal to be the kind of person who works out three times a week, every week, than for my goal to be to reach a certain weight at a specific date. 

[AlbertEllenich]

I've seen some amazing before/after shots of people over 40, so I have to assume you can lose weight at any age provided you burn more calories than you consume. I think striving to first maintain and then decrease sounds smart. Good luck!

Moderator Edit: self promotion.

[KAKehres]

I'm 62. I have lost 35 pounds since May with a combination of logging every morsel of food I eat, weighing myself regularly, and being more active...adding exercise in addition to the 10k step goal.
So, it can be done. Is it easy? About as easy as any weight loss program. There are days and there are days; and it's easy to get frustrated if you go through a stall period or just have a couple of bad days when you just HAVE to have that extra cheese pizza.
My number one piece of advice: Don't drink your calories. Cream in the coffee, orange juice, non-diet soda...you don't even need to have an alcoholic beverage to have that add up to hundreds of calories a day. And that's the difference between weight loss and stagnation -- or weight gain!!
Number two: Be honest about logging your food. Cheating on data input doesn't help you.
Number three: Set reasonable goals. I'm doing the "moderately hard" program though Fitbit, aiming for 750 cal a day deficit.
Number four: Fall in love with something that makes you sweat. I love to hike in my mountains. That makes me sweat. I also have a rowing machine at home and love using it.

[MRHunt]

All really good practical and actionable advice!

[HAIRGROVE57]

Age is just a number. Exercise and watch your food groups. Build a strong foundation to stick to working out daily. 

Moderator Edit: all-caps.

[Frank_fit]

I'm 49 and have gone from 18.5 stone to 16.5 stone in 10 weeks after an initial 8 ib weight loss I've lost about 2lb  a week. I'm not looking at this as a diet as they don't work. I'm looking at it as a lifestyle change. I'm currently averaging about 110k steps a week and have changed my diet from fatty red meat orintated to fish and lean poultry orintated. 

The results have been drastic I already look  a lot better and feel better in myself, 

40 isn't a step too far you just have to be willing to make the commitment. If I can keep it going I have another 3.5 stone to go before I'll look at levelling out. 

Good luck with your weight loss and don't let anybody deter you. 

[HAIRGROVE57]

Your are right.  A change in your lifestlye is the best way to lose weight. Watching those foods that are full of fat. Unhealthy foods you may say. Again age is a only a #.

[Tee679]

@monkeypull  Good to know about myFitnesspal for logging food. How do you sync it with Fitbit Charge HR?

Thanks

[MRHunt]

You link them in the Fitbit app or in the MFP app. I think you can also do it on the websites of each. In the Fitbit app on your phone, go to "Account," then scroll down until you see "Compatible Apps." There you can choose MFP. At least that's how to do it on iOS. Don't know about Android. Michelle michelleh045@gmail.com "Happiness is nothing more than good health and bad memory." -- Albert Schweitzer

[Tee679]

Thanks @MRHunt I'll probably try the website options to link them, as I dont have the Fitbit app on my iphone yet. Can't seem to download it on my iphone 4s as it doesn't have ios 8 which I understand is what it runs on.  Tee679 🙂

[uberwench]

of course it isn't impossible.  is it more difficult?  YES.  the most noticeable for me was menopause @ 52.  i ate exactly the same thing and put on 8 lbs. unless you increase exercise.  it's just compensation.  the one thing that makes the biggest difference (for me) is not eating sugar.  if you stop eating sugar and don't use artificial sweetener, you won't believe how quickly you won't crave it anymore.  it's also important to eat at regular times.  i have to eat over 100 grams of protein for a medical reason AND i'm a vegan, so you can accomplish a lot more than you think you can.  you just have to make a plan, stick to it, and don't believe the silly excuses like, "oh it's impossible to lose weight after 40."

i weigh myself maybe every three to six months.  i go by how my clothes fit, and trust me, you can notice half an inch gain.  it's also useful to go around your house naked in front of the mirror.  (i know that sounds crazy, but the mirror doesn't lie.  just don't kid yourself.)  i also drink about a gallon of water a day.

a good free site for some reasonable guidelines is [url]http://www.dietitian.com/calcbody.php#.VmyCcbgrLIU[/url]

tracking every single thing you eat and planning meals is important.  impulse eating is similar to impulse shopping: you end up with a lot of things you don't need and don't want.

[MRHunt]

Can the iPhone 4S not upgrade to iOS 8 or later? Don't know.

[Xyrus]

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@HAIRGROVE57 wrote:

Your are right.  A change in your lifestlye is the best way to lose weight. Watching those foods that are full of fat. Unhealthy foods you may say. Again age is a only a #.

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Fat has nothing to do with it (though high fat diets can cause other health related issues). It's calories in vs. calories out. It doesn't matter if the calories come from a bucket of chicken or a bowl of salad. A calorie (or kilocalorie, technically speaking) is a measure of energy. If you don't burn it, you earn it.

With that in mind, there is nothing about age in particular that will make you gain weight. Walking from point A to point B still takes exactly the same amount of energy. Lifting 100 lbs from the floor to your waist still takes exactly the same amount of energy. If you maintain the same level of activity and the same diet, then you will maintain the same weight.

The biggest issue with aging and putting on the pounds has nothing to do with the body, but the mind. People are generally terrible when it comes to things like judging how much activity they really do and how much they really eat. "I haven't changed anything, but I put on 10 lbs??? WTH?" is a common refrain, and people quickly pin it on a "slowling metabolism" which doesn't make any real sense. You're body doesn't run on magic, it runs on physics. A slowing metabolism, by definition, would mean you couldn't perform the same activities, hence you're not burning the same calories and you put on weight.

That's where something like a fitbit and the logging helps A LOT. For a while I was exactly the same way. It seemed like I was exercising about the same and I was eating about the same, but I wasn't losing weight. In fact, I started gaining some weight. That didn't make any sense from a physics perspective, so I went looking for what I was missing. That's when I decided to pick up a fitbit.

The fitbit showed me exactly how far off my "I haven't changed anything!" preception was. On average, I was eating more and I was exercising less. But it was subtle, just a little less activity here and a little more munching there. Over time those little things pile up into pounds. Then a few months down the road you find your 10 lbs heavier and you find yourself thinking "Oh I hit 40, guess my metabolism slowed down".

But that is a lie.

Armed with the fitbit and the tracker, I rebalanced and adjusted my caloric intake and activity level to be more consistent with what I "thought", and have maintained it. I've dropped 50 lbs since April and am down 75 lbs since I started in earnest last year to get into better shape. I'm in the better shape now than when I was playing football in high school.

There's nothing magic about losing weight, and there is nothing magical that will make you lose weight. Burn more calories than you take in, and the pounds will come of regardless of age.

[Raviv]

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@Xyrus wrote:

With that in mind, there is nothing about age in particular that will make you gain weight. Walking from point A to point B still takes exactly the same amount of energy. Lifting 100 lbs from the floor to your waist still takes exactly the same amount of energy. If you maintain the same level of activity and the same diet, then you will maintain the same weight.

The biggest issue with aging and putting on the pounds has nothing to do with the body, but the mind. People are generally terrible when it comes to things like judging how much activity they really do and how much they really eat. "I haven't changed anything, but I put on 10 lbs??? WTH?" is a common refrain, and people quickly pin it on a "slowling metabolism" which doesn't make any real sense. You're body doesn't run on magic, it runs on physics. A slowing metabolism, by definition, would mean you couldn't perform the same activities, hence you're not burning the same calories and you put on weight.

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I have to disagree.  Aging does change things. whether you can attribute your gains to lifestyle changes or not.  I ate enormous amounts of really awful food when I was in my 20s, never exercised in any way at all, and I was so thin I looked like I had medical issues.  Eating reasonably has me overweight at the age of 50.

About eight years ago, I had a job where I walked 10-15 miles each and every day - more if we had overtime - and it was at a fast pace.  The times we weren't walking around outside were spent throwing ourselves over block walls and doing pullups to look over them or unlatch the gate.  It was incredibly physical.  In the first three months I lost 30 pounds and was down to a good weight.

But two things happened - I got older (hormones changed) and my body learned to economize.  Whatever you do for any period of time, your body will learn to do better and better until it takes nowhere near the effort (calories) that it did when you started out.  It's how our bodies work and how they stay alive, and they're really good at it.  I regained those 30 pounds and another 20 on top of that.  And I was still walking 15-20 miles a day and still throwing myself over block walls.  How is that possible?  I was eating the same as I was when I started the job.  Seriously, it wasn't just a tracking error.  It was science.

This is one reason why running may be enjoyable and healthy, but it's not a great way to lose weight over the long haul.  Your body gets better and better at it, more and more economical as far as work goes, and you have to keep running farther and faster to maintain the same calorie burn.

[nkotblove]

So true I believe that. Yes I am the youngest on here I am 33 years old man... It's hard to lose weight help me out
what I love to eat is Mexican foods the 'Mexican food is once a week or maybe 2 times.'
I enjoy eating grilled chicken salad with the vegetables no cheese... I have food allergies with milk
and I always go to subway sandwich.... I get turkey sandwich or sometimes I get chicken and bacon sandwich and a chicken salad at subway....


AND I been walking walking on the theadmill more..... like 3 times every day