[neurodoc]

I'm 44 and have always been a little overweight (like, since I hit puberty). I managed to lose weight in my early 30s and kept it off until after my second pregnancy (at age 36). This is my first serious attempt at getting back to my pre-pregnancy body since then, and my youngest (3rd son) is now turning 5.

So, I'm dedicated, motivated, rarely cheat (and then, only by a couple hundred calories), stick to approximately 1200 cal a day and exercise religiously 3-4 days per week. I've been doing this since mid February, and have loss a whopping 20 pounds. Weeks go by where I lose nothing at all, or maybe 1/2 pound.

So, I have a couple of questions. First, does everyone's metabolism slow down at this age, or am I just unlucky? Have any of you figured out ways to improve your rate of weight loss, besides starvation or ridiculous amounts of exercise (I work 50 hours/week and have 3 kids at home)? How long does it take you to lose, say, 5 pounds? Is it the same amount of time that it took when you dieted in your 20s or 30s? And is it actually possible to get down to the same weight you could achieve when you were that age?

I'm 5'2", started at 161 pounds, am currently hovering around 141, and would like to get to ~120. At the rate I'm going, that might not be for another 7-8 months, if I can get there at all.

[caryesings]

I'm 50, lose at rate of @6 lbs/month. Can't really compare to loss rates in my 20's as I don't remember the specifics that far back!

[Cglasscock1]

I would say you are probably doing well to lose 20 pounds in about 4 months.
I am a young 60 and last year I lost 20 pounds in about same length of time (with two foot surgeries in between). I have maintained for a year and trying to lose at least another 10 pounds to a goal of about 140 (maybe 135). It has been extremely slow going, with me fluctuating up and down from 150-153 for the last few months.
I have realized that these last 10-15 pounds are going to require me to really dig in and try harder. My body has come to like its plateau!
So I think you have done really well. You will probably get some excellent ideas from others on this site regarding tweaking your eating and exercise routines. Other than that, I would just encourage you to continue and not get too frustrated. Think of right now as practicing maintenance which is just as important as losing. You will get there if you don't give up!

[bronzeager]

I'm glad to hear it might be age. I'm 43; losing the first 30lb at 1500 calories a day I lost about one pound a week. After a couple of months at maintenance I've just this week reset my goal about 8lbs lower to try to get rid of my remaining belly. I don't subtract the exercise I do from the calorie total, about 30-40 minutes of cardio 5-6 times a week, because I did that already before I started losing. I read about people losing 2-3 lbs a week and wonder why I can't do that.

I work in an area of the world where there aren't any specially made "diet" or low-fat foode aside from dairy so it's mostly vegetables, vegetables, vegetables. If I had to go much below 1500 a day I think I might strangle someone. (To get back to 1500 this week I reset my *&%! morning almond ration from 15 to 7!) The only way to go is to up the exercise -- I've started weights and a cardio/small weights exercise video -- which means I'm perpetually sore. The weights did make a difference during the month I was on maintenance calories, I continued to lose about 1-2 pounds over the month.

I never dieted before, but I did do weight lifting in college (as part of a bone density study -- I was never any sort of athlete) and the progress takes a lot longer, and you lose it faster. I have to keep rotating every day because if I don't do the video for a week, or triceps for a week, it's almost like starting from scratch again. I make sure to get a minimum of 50-70g protein a day, because from my mother and grandmother I saw as they aged they tended to move to a lot of carbs and I don't want to do that unconsciously.

Sorry that doesn't sound that helpful does it? I'm a little depressed this week because I've been trying to increase my pushups count for a month and I'm not making any progress... at least when you're older you're clever enough to use your precious hoarded calories on a nice cocktail or glass of wine instead of blowing it all on a case of cheap beer!

ETA: for your other question, despite all the grousing I am at a lower weight right now, and better shape, than I probably have been in 15-20 years. So you can potentially get back to an original low weight, although your body may be a different shape.

[neurodoc]

Thanks ladies. Just seeing your S/C/G numbers gives me hope that what I want is possible. I suppose that if I average my 20 pound weight loss over the 4 1/2 months of dieting, I average 4-5 pounds/month. I just remember being able to lose more like 6-7/month in my early 30s, with less restricting.

Cglasscock1: Yes, I agree that it shouldn't matter how long it takes to lose the weight since I'm dedicated to eating in "maintenance" mode for the rest of my life anyway, yet somehow it does. Plateaus suck; I just hate "bouncing" between 2 numbers on the scale back and forth every day for a week or two.

Bronzeager: good on you for doing weight training. I do it too, believing that increased muscle mass should help my basal metabolic rate to improve, not to mention make me feel stronger and more capable in my day-to-day life. I kind of like it, though it does make me sore a lot.