I'm not quite 40 yet, but after reading through some of the 30 and 40-something threads, I think I'd be more at home here, if you guys will have me!
I just joined 3FC today and started my first ever diet this week. I've always been an 'effortlessly' thin person. Until my mid-30's my weight never rose above 125lbs, usually staying at 115lbs. Somehow in the last few years, the pounds have appeared gradually, almost stealthily, until I looked in the mirror one day and saw a body I just couldn't feel good about.
So I'm now approaching the end of my first week of dieting and I feel good about the changes I've been making. I've lost 3-4lbs so far by watching my calories and carb intake, eating more protein and starting an exercise plan. I feel great both physically and mentally, and I'm praying it stays that way! I can keep this up indefinitely if it does.
I wonder though, and maybe some of you can give me your experienced point of view... I've always heard that due to hormonal changes, women in their 40's start gaining weight. Is this true? Does this make it harder for our age group to lose weight?
meetzer,
I'll join you! I was on another thread but it was pretty crowded over there and hard to keep up reading all the posts. The weight really crept on for me in my late 30s too. (I'm 40 now.) I would really like to start losing a pound a week, that would be a great goal, I'm heading to Arches National Park in Southern Utah over spring break in April with my family so I could be down ten by then on my way to thirty. That would be a great start for me!
As far as hormones in your forties, there may be something to that. Not certain though. What I DO know is in your thirties you start losing muscle mass which slows down your metabolism and this continues as you get older. You CAN make great efforts to stop this with some sort of weight training or resistance training. Just remember, little pink 3-5 lb weights are great to start with if you are new to weights (or injury prone, like me) but you really need to try to build up to heavier weights if you want to see good results and start sculpting nice arms and such. (And boost that metabolism.) That doesn't really answer your question but I hope it's a little helpful!
I'm not sure if it's physically harder to lose weight in your 40s or not, but psychologically it's easier for me. I just keep thinking, OMG I'm 42 and STILL this big. I better do something NOW.
Meetzer, I've always been overweight, and only really started doing something about it in the past few years. I can't say there's anything specific about trying to lose in my 40's {i'm 42} than just a few years ago. For me, overeating/emotional eating was my problem so I've been up and down for the past few years. I finally decided to put a stop to the yoyo by working on my relationship with food first, then trying to lose again, for good this time.
Last edited by patchworkpenguin; 01-16-2012 at 12:11 PM.
Meetzer, I'm with you on this one. I'll be 40 this year. A few more months of my 30s left. It's an interest time because in some ways I'm panicked that my youth is behind me but there is a new self confidence emerging that I never really had before. I simply know myself better than I did in years past. It's a reassuring feeling that my path ahead of me is a good one.
I'm not in my 40s yet but I can say that in my 30s I noticed my body just doesn't shed the weight like it did in my 20s. I have noticed that my muscle mass and strength isn't as easy to come by. Strength training is a great idea!
Patchworkpenguin, I've had the same struggles with overeating/emotional eating. Now, I'm doing the same; working on my relationship with food first. The cognitive perspective of getting healthier is making a big difference for me. I haven't been able to lose the weight but I'm starting to see a more solid foundation being built and with time and continued effort I believe I will be "gaining health".
I have found that it's definitely harder for me to lose weight in my 40's. I only went on 2 big 'diets' in my life, once in my twenties, and again in my early thirties. Both times (once ww, once atkins) I had pretty fast and impressive results. This time around (calorie counting), has been much slower. There is an added variable this time though - I'm nursing my 2 1/2 year old toddler still - that wasn't there with the other times, so I'm really not sure what, if any, effect that has on things. I suspect that is a part of the problem though. At the same time though, this go-around I weighed 20 pounds more than I did at either of my other 2 attempts to lose weight, so technically it should have been a little easier to lose.
I started in september and have yet to lose 20 pounds. I lost 12 right out of the gate (in the first 3 weeks) and have limped along since then. That still sounds pretty good (20 pounds in 5 months...) but given my height and weight and calorie intake... it's pretty poor compared to my other attempts at weight loss. I have definitely found it a bit frustrating.
I really hope you don't find the same phenomenon.. I know that many others on here have found no difference in their weight loss in their 40's. GL and looking forward to getting to know you!
I also find it more difficult to lose weight now that I am in my 40s.
Several years ago I had my stomach stapled, and lost 100 lbs, which was nice, but I managed to gain it all back.
So, now I am on optifast, for the past 6 weeks and have lost 35 lbs. It seems like a drop in the bucket compared to how much I have to lose. The year long program that I am on offers supports and education during the transition back to food and afterwards. I suspect I will still have almost 100 lbs to lose after the year long program, and that's the part that frightens me.
Take good care all, and may we all find success at a healthier weight.
Hi everybody! I think it's a special challenge for those who had been thin all their lives then bam, 35 hits, and everything changes. For me, I wasn't really paying attention and kept going as usual. The funny thing, it creeps up on you - the weight. I didn't notice it (or was in denial) until it was way out of hand. The mirror lies but photos are brutal! I can't quite figure that one out. -Cindy
I don't think it's physically more difficult to lose weight in your 40s, I think it's more difficult to break the bad eating habits that contributed to the weight gain. And the self-confidence we have isn't (as) tied into how we look like it was when we were younger, so that motivation is gone as well.
You all have written my story. I was effortlessly thin until my 30s...and it slowly went downhill from there. Being pregnant in my 30s really packed on the pounds. I had 3 babies in my 20s, and the weight just fell off within a month of giving birth. I had 2 babies in my 30s and packed on about a total of 80lbs between the two that didn't come off (I probably packed on 60lbs alone with my last baby at age 35). Since the age of 35 I have been obese. I am 42 now.
I have tried to lose weight once before. I had a baby at 32 and still had 20-25lbs of extra weight. When he was 6 months old and the weight didn't "magically" fall off as it had with my others, I joined WW. I probably lost about 20lbs when I wanted to lose 30lbs. The cost was prohibitive - about $15 per week. Also, I was relying heavily on their packaged foods - their bars were a big part of my diet - and when I stopped going to the meetings and buying their foods, the weight loss stopped. I pretty much kept off what I did lose, though. After my huge weight gain with my last baby at age 35 (bed rest for about 5 months and preeclampsia/hypertension), I couldn't drop anything. I had developed horrible eating habits and was used to lying in bed all day. I didn't know where to begin. I tried exercise alone, and didn't lose a thing. I tried raw whole foods and lost 10-15lbs, but couldn't keep it up - too restrictive. I would starve myself for a few days and then end up binging. I was a mess.
I don't know if being in my 40s was the problem...I think it was my emotional eating and food addictions/dependencies that I had developed over my 30s and 40s. Being pregnant was bad for my eating habits - hormones and a sense of entitlement/free-for-all. I was not a pregnant chick who exercised and ate healthy. Pregnancy was a license to eat! I would say my metabolism changed the most in my 30s - I don't feel like I am any worse off now in my 40s. My 30s was when everything went downhill and now I am trying to fix it. I feel like I can succeed now that I am not planning on getting pregnant ever again - now I have stability.
I was effortlessly thin until I turned 28. I started putting on about 10 lbs a year, and could not figure out why because I was eating and exercising the same. For me, it turned out to be thyroid disease, which is fortunately now being treated. I turn 39 next month and I really would like to get down to a healthy weight before I turn 40. I know it's just another birthday, but it just feels like something I should do.
Nearly 40!
-- 44 here and I had no weight issues until I hit late 30's...I was 117 pounds when is was 35/36/37.... 
