Hello!
I'm a long ago member who joined in my 30s and made several attempts to lose weight over the past few years. Life was kicking me in the butt and I kept weight loss and my health in general as pretty much a non-priority for the most part. Sad, i know. When you finally get back to taking the reigns, the first thing you do is kick yourself as to why you didn't get serious sooner.

Now I'm 20lbs above my "original" starting point, and over 40 to boot. Quitting for me is not an option this time with my health starting to show cracks in too many places to not take seriously. My dr has been extremely lax about it and never really given me any kind of stern warning to lose weight or else... so in turn, I've been lax too. But motivated by an expiring prescription to a weight loss drug I don't really want to take, I decided to change my lifestyle hoping that the pounds get the memo.

I've been reading all this discouraging stuff since of how losing weight after 40 is so dang hard, and about how you should have done it before the big 40. So wanted to ask the ladies on here about their experiences. Any insight? If you've been losing weight what is the rate of loss and how hard is it?

Don't be discouraged! I lost a lot of weight at 45 and gained it back. I'm now 47 and trying again. So far I don't see any difference in how easily the pounds come off. Of course I'm in the early stages and it may get harder as I get closer to my goal weight but so far it's fine.

I went through all of my 30's overweight, most of it significantly overweight. It wasn't until age 43 that a severe illness caused me to make some significant dietary changes (what I ate, not just how much) and I began losing as a result. Weight loss was a side-effect of a dietary change I did due to severe gastritis being caused by a gut dysbiosis, but I learned the lesson from it and began applying it deliberately for the purpose of weight loss. In 1 year, 4 months I've lost 65 lbs. Was it easier in my 20's? Yes. But it's still entirely possible to do now. You can do this! And I'll tell you what- I wish I'd learned what I know now in my 30's so I wouldn't have wasted them so fat and out of shape- but I know it now and I'm looking forward to making up for it in my 40's.

PS: I am in perimenopause and my hormones are whacked- weight loss is still possible.

thanks for that awesome encouragement!! I'm on day 10 and scale hasn't budged in a few days... but I'm not quitting and going to count every possible win I can. When i think about it as a journey to winning back my health, I see that there's no way i can quit on that.

thank you Desire2b, that was so inspiring and true - and congratulations on your awesome success! I am more determined than ever and I am blessed that this is something I CAN make a difference on, so then what's stopping me...

I have gone up and down the scale countless times, some of them some major weight shifts of 50-100 pounds. I weighed 263 in April 2016, and turned 44 that May. I lost the first 70 or 80 pounds fairly quickly, and have been just making decisions about maintaining since about January of this year. I weighed in this morning at 140.6, and I think my fat percentage is around 25%. I also bought my first-ever size 2 skirt last week, and most of my other clothes are sizes 4 or 6. Not gonna lie - I eat less than I ever have, and have to pay much closer attention to micronutrients than before. I also use supplements, like B6, calcium, and multivitamins. But I continue to be successful, and am fairly strong and fit. I run 4+ miles 3-4 times a week, and lift weights 2-3 times a week.

This is so doable! But hard. It was hard in my 20s too, though, and at least I know that pregnancy is in my past. =)

LaurieDawn, my hat off to you! You're an inspiration!!! Its hard to believe I can lose the weight, cause I've never really lost more than 20lbs EVER (other than right after a baby)... and have gradually gained rather, esp after kids... but this has got to be the time I make it happen!

Facing Facts,
different weight loss plans have done well for me during different seasons. In my early 30's Weight Watchers and CICO worked well. Later 30's and into my 40s nothing worked... i'd get discouraged so easily. Right now (41) I'm having good luck with a low carb plan after cycling through the others that worked before. So keep trying! You'll need something that 1) works for you (you lose) 2) you can stick to it and 3) there's guidance on how to eat during your "happily ever after" when you get there!

I'm 45 and had finally started to buy into the metabolism thoughts about your 40s until very recently. I have always been one to lose weight easily once I change my diet and exercise. I have been exercising consistently for 27 years, so there is a lot of muscle on my body. But my father died four years ago, and I have struggled since then to get back to the gym rat I once was. I still went every week, but I didn't push like I once did, my eating habits got rough, and I was discouraged to see my weight go way up and then not go down. I kept telling my husband I had finally hit that middle-age wall.

A few weeks ago, though, I said I had had it and I recommitted myself like gangbusters. I am running faster and lifting heavier than ever, and I lost 10 pounds in two weeks, which is hard to do when you started at 147. I'm also eating at least 1,500 calories a day and typically more, but I'm eating the right things. I'm making my food and finally getting a handle on the bad habits that developed as I coped with loss. I'm not eating any less than I did before when the scale wasn't moving, but I'm eating smarter.

All that is to say I know for sure now that the 40s' issue can be overcome. I'm a short, 45-year-old woman, but I can lose more weight each week than most women half my age. I finally believe I can get back to the 112 lbs. or so at which I was comfortable before.

For me, it was just the opposite. I wasn't diagnosed and treated for hypothyroid and PCOS until I was 39. So now, at 40, I'm actually able to lose the weight. When I've tried before, in my 20s and 30s, I lost SOOOOO SLOWLY, because I was working against my hormones. One time took me 10 months to lose 18 pounds. The other time, I was in my 20s and it took me about a year to lose 30 pounds. But now that I have the hormones in check, I've lost about 50 pounds in 7 months (with a lot more to go) and I'm not even "on a diet", just made some small changes to what and how much I eat. Fastest I've ever lost weight in my entire life, and the most I've ever managed to lose, and the best I've ever felt while doing it.

Everyone's journey is different.

As far as I can tell, the come off about the same as they did when I was younger.

currently almost 41 and not sure what/how to do! Weight has always been an issue and it's becoming more of an issue over 40. In my late 20s I lost about 40lbs by going to the gym 3-4 times a week and working with a trainer. I don't have the money for that at this point and at 40, I just don't have the desire to work out that much. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them!!

Eating 1200 calories and running a 5k 3 to 4 times a week will result in weight loss for pretty much anyone unless you’re teeny tiny. Something is going Tutuapp 9Apps Showbox askew.

In my experience, YES, it *is* waaaay harder to lose weight after 40.

I was overweight my whole life. At 25, I was 300 lbs and decided to get healthy. Over the course of 1.5 years, I lost 130 lbs. I kept it off until I got pregnant for the 1st time. I gained it ALL back during pregnancy and lost it all within 9 months of giving birth. Then immediately got pregnant again and gained 50 lbs, but lost it all again after giving birth. I went on to have 2 more kids (4 kids in 6 years) and gained and lost some, but in the end, never lost it after babies #3 & #4.

January 1st 2021, I was 300 lbs again and 41 years old and decided it was time. I started counting calories, tracking macros, exercising 5 days a week and lost 43 lbs over 6 months. I thought - "Wow, the people that say it's harder to lose weight after 40 are so wrong!". Then life happened and I gained 10 of those lbs back over the rest of 2021.

January 1st 2022, I was 267 and decided that I had to get back on track. Did the same things - Counting calories, macros, exercising....even running...all the things I did to lose 130 lbs when I was 25. Here I am almost 2 months later at 43 and barely have made any progress. It's frustrating. It's SOOOOOOOOO frustrating. But all I can do it keep pushing. What's the alternative?!

TLDR: Yes, it's harder the older we get. But there's not really much you can do but push through. And I'm sticking to that. (Says the girl that just cried to her husband because it's so hard! Haha!)