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?

[shipo]

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@JLC614 wrote:

I would like to work up to jogging maybe. I have never really been a runner at anytime in my life to be honest but it might be nice to get there. I have a habit of pushing myself to hard and getting injured or overwhelmed so I am trying to build myself with walking now and increasing my speed and endurance and will slow try to increase while still pushing myself to challenging paces

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As lots of folks here in New England have a habit of saying, taking it slow is "Wicked Smaaat".

I coach a lot of folks who are beginners of all ages and sizes; my first piece of advice is to review the various C25K (Couch to 5K) programs out there and find one which meets your needs.  Once you find one ping me back, I have a standard mantra of advice for beginners trying the C25K program for the first time which I can share with you.

[shipo]

I should also add, the C25K program is a great program even if you never intend to run a 5K event.

[Corney]

This is somewhat true because as we age we tend to lose muscle mass. As an
exercise consultant for a surgical bariatric program, I will tell you what
I told all my clients. You do not want to lose weight, you want to lose
FAT. In order to lose fat you should do 30 minutes of aerobic exercise in
your training zone( 220 minus your age x 75%) this pertains to your heart
rate, at least 4 times per week. Added to this do some weight lifting at
least 3 times per week to increase your muscle mass, which burns calories
24 hours per day. Then eat healthy, diets do not work, neither does
fasting. Stay away from empty calories like sodas, snack foods ect. On
the average, a person will gain 10 pounds per decade after they turn 30 due
to the lose of muscle mass, so combine aerobic exercise with weight lifting
and you should be able to lose between 2-3 pounds of fat per week Don't
listen to any advertisement about some miracle drug that burns belly fat,
or that offers you some quick and easy weight lose. They all LIE!

Good luck and have a good day!

[shipo]

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@Corney wrote:
In order to lose fat you should do 30 minutes of aerobic exercise in
your training zone( 220 minus your age x 75%) this pertains to your heart
rate, at least 4 times per week.

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What do you recommend for folks where the 220-Age formula is completely and utterly worthless?  I fall into that category and so too do many of the runners I coach; in my case, my Max heart rate is somewhere between 180 and 185 and yet my calculated Max is 160.

[WavyDavey]

[Reply to wrong post, disregard]

[Mukluk4]

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@JLC614 wrote:

I would like to work up to jogging maybe. I have never really been a runner at anytime in my life to be honest but it might be nice to get there. I have a habit of pushing myself to hard and getting injured or overwhelmed so I am trying to build myself with walking now and increasing my speed and endurance and will slow try to increase while still pushing myself to challenging paces

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Did you ever play a sport in school(volleyball, soccer, basketball, etc.)?  I HATE running and my dog has gotten to a point where her hips don't like it much either (rescue that was malnourished as a puppy) so its more of a fast paced walk.  I do love to play basketball and don't mind the running involved with that.  Which also led me into strength training to get faster/more agile to play better.

Even in my small town, we have multiple leagues for softball, basketball, volleyball (with both indoors and sand) and even a pick up touch football game on Sundays.  If your town doesn't start one.  You'll make new friends and create your own little community within the community.

[Mukluk4]

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@JLC614 wrote:

Well I am 41 and I currently plan on losing 50lbs. 

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To me, that's not a great goal. (1) it takes too long to do it right and (2) You have no idea what 50 lbs less looks like, (3) dropping 50 lbs on cardio alone will leave you with all kinds of flab, so you end up doing all that work, still not happy, give up and eat a giant bag of donuts in your closet.

Using 10 lbs is a good goal (keep repeating), inches/dress size is an even better goal.  And if you are single or your S/O is understanding, the Tindr test is even better to determine where you are in your current progress.

[Mukluk4]

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@Dominique wrote:

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@shipo wrote:

I can easily double my daily caloric burn from exercise.

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@shipo: The key here is that YOU can easily do it, but you shouldn’t assume it would be easy (or even possible at all) for everyone else. I seem to remember you have a physical job that gets you a lot of exercise during your workdays. Many people out there have desk jobs with limited opportunities to lift their a*s off their chair during the day. You are into running and are fit enough to run one hour or longer straight, which burns a lot of calories. Not every one can do this, especially if they are overweight and out of shape, which is often the case for people looking to lose weight. You’re probably old enough to no longer have kids to take care of. Younger people may have to juggle between a demanding (but non physical) job and their family obligations. Bottomline: what applies to you doesn’t necessarily apply to all people. For most people, it is very hard indeed to out-exercise a poor diet, which is why focusing on what and how much you’re eating is often a more efficient way to reach your weight loss goal.

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Shrug, I'm 40 w/ 3 kids (8, 2, and 8 mos), an office job with a 2 hour daily commute, a weekend overnight job, and when I started I was over 340 lbs.  All of those things are excuses.  

I'm at the gym at 5 a.m. lifting 3 times a week, volunteer coaching my kids activities, and hit the playground/basketball court when I can after the kids go to bed (mostly when my wife isn't at Jazzercise or whatever workout she likes to do), during my hour lunch it's 15 minutes to eat, 25-30 minute walk outside (or at the local Target if it's cold or raining).  There are roughly 3 shows that I watch on TV and play video games when it's too crappy to do anything else.  

Have I been injured a few times because of my weight, and lack of fitness?  Hell yes.  But I'm stronger for it.

I burn anywhere from 4-6K calories a day. Which means that I can have a cheeseburger, pop-tart, twinkie whenever I feel like it and can maintain my current weight.  

[shipo]

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@Mukluk4 wrote:

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I burn anywhere from 4-6K calories a day. Which means that I can have a cheeseburger, pop-tart, twinkie whenever I feel like it and can maintain my current weight.  

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Now that's what I'm talking about.  🙂

[WavyDavey]

Being able to burn 6000 calories a day makes you an outlier, and maybe not a good example. And as a strategy to increase Pop Tart consumption, well it does excel at that!

Not trying to take anything away from you @shipo & @Mukluk4, but even though your story serves as inspiration, "results are not typical"... 🙂

[shipo]

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@WavyDavey wrote:

Being able to burn 6000 calories a day makes you an outlier, and maybe not a good example. And as a strategy to increase Pop Tart consumption, well it does excel at that!

Not trying to take anything away from you @shipo & @Mukluk4, but even though your story serves as inspiration, "results are not typical"... 🙂

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Agreed, "results are not typical", it takes a lot of work to build one's abilities up to the point where they can burn so many calories in a day.  Among the runners I coach I would say only one in twenty stick to it to the point where they can almost literally eat whatever they darn well please.  It is all in one's priorities, some folks, myself included, find it easier to exercise my way up the calorie ladder, others find it easier to cut food intake to bring their way down the calorie ladder.

Different stokes for different folks.

[Dominique]

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@WavyDavey wrote:

Being able to burn 6000 calories a day makes you an outlier

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As it happens, I read an article about Ryan Crouser in the local newspaper today. The guy is huge (203cm / 141kg = 6’8 / 310lbs), and he’s young (24). He must also be strong as hell as he was the olympic winner at shot put last year. The article mentioned he’s eating 5000 calories at maintenance and 6000 when bulking. The same numbers appear here. 

So regular dudes who are 20-40 years older than him, likely a bit smaller and boast they eat a similar amount of calories definitely aren’t representative of the general population. Granted, Ryan probably doesn’t get crazy step counts, because it’s not the sport he competes in and 310 lbs is a lot of weight to move around. However, he must spend a decent amount of time in the weight room (thus expending energy through activity), because it takes quite some muscle and strength to throw 7.3 kg of cast iron some 23 meters away.

[USAF-Larry]

This has been an interesting thread to follow, since I am well, well past 40 (Original subject: How difficult it is to lose weight at 40 and older?).  I guess I have been lucky in this respect because I have never had problem losing weight, and I have never worried about counting calories, etc.   If my wife mentions going on a diet, I lose weight. It has worked that way for well over 40 years of marriage...

[cindynelson]

Hi Larry - I agree this has been an interesting thread to follow. I also am well past 40.  I have been running about 10 miles a day ever since I started on the track and field team in high school as well as weight training. I have never had a weight problem. My friends my age who to have a weight problem have a really hard time losing weight it seems. I know a few people who have managed to lose a significant amount of weight. It seems like most of them find an exercise routine that works for them and they stay with it. They tell me they also modified their diet. I would not know for sure what they eat since I don't follow them home 🙂 I more concerned about muscle mass as I get older rather than my weight.

[Corney]

But once again I must stress people don't want to lose weight, they want to
lose FAT. If they are really motivated they can find 30 minutes in their
day for some type of aerobic exercise. Some research has found during the
first 20 minutes of aerobic exercise the body burns carbohydrates after the
20 minutes the body switches to burning fat to conserve carbohydrates for
the fight or flight response. When I was younger and still a runner, I got
up 1 hour early and ran before work which also did not take away time from
my family. Working as a hospital physical therapist did not necessarily
allow me to burn a lot of calories, we sat on a stool and worked with
clients on a mat or plinth for 30 minutes, occasionally we would walk a
client,but since they were somewhat disabled the pace was slow at best. In
my 38 years as a P.T. I've worked with many overweight P.T.'s. Along with
the 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 15-20 minutes of weight lifting 2-3
times per day is not unreasonable. Get up a little earlier when the kids
are asleep, or ask your spouse for some help. I didn't say weight lose is
easy, but if a person is motivated they should be able to work it into
their schedule. Park farther away from their job, take the stairs rather
than an elevator or escalator. Do some walking during their lunch hour.
Now I have all my exercise equipment in my basement so I don't have to
waste time going to the gym. Real weight lose takes motivation and a
change in behaviors.

[Wawie]

Oh its not easy to melt those excess pounds. Since February of this year till now I have lost about 31 pounds bloody hard. I did so much exercise 2 to 3 hours walking in the morning and also 3 hours fitness classes at the gym but still I am happy its better than nothing lol and I will stop exercising because i felt so good now and i do not get sick easily. Being a fitness fanatic heal my sickness lolz

[Corney]

You are so right. It takes 14 days to establish a habit and only 3 days to
loose it. I have often stated I exercised today because it felt good
yesterday and I will exercise tomorrow because it felt good today. Keep up
the good work, you are not only losing weight but you are improving your
physical and mental health!

[JLC614]

Ok folks here is the update after my first weigh in update but let me give you a quick summary first:

on 8/16 was at Dr's for check up and weighed 189.2

Started Intermittent fasting with 24 hours fasting 3 times a week on 8/21

Started actively walking - meaning for me walking a minimum of 5 miles a day 9/11

Decided I am only weighing in once a month because I don't think the scale is most important measure.

ok...drum roll please...as of 9/16 weigh in the scale says I am 176.2  jeans are loser, energy level is great, mind is sharper as well and mood is great

[Corney]

Does your Dr. agree with your 24 hour fast 3 times per week? Was the
weight you lost lean body mass or was it fat? I like the fact that you are
walking 5 miles a day, but do not, never have agreed with the idea of
fasting. Have your discussed with your DR. how your body reacts to the 24
hour fast?

[JLC614]

My Dr is aware of my fasting and is fine with it because with the 24 hour fast you do actually still eat dinner..it is basically a dinner to dinner fast and I consume my recommended calories in a healthy meal with my family in the evening. I have actually averaged more than 5 miles a day...I think the lowest was 8 but set a minimum of 5 for myself. Some of the weight was water weight as typical in the beginning of weight lose but then fat..I have also gained some muscle as well. The fast has made my mind feel clearer, I have not had any issues with hunger or headaches at all. The fasting has also helped me to get passed the cravings for unhealthy foods easier.