I lost 65lbs (and gained 30 back) in NO time 2.5 years ago...now I feel like I am fighting tooth n nail to lose every ounce. I know I'm older ....but....SERIOUSLY?!? Two years made this big of a difference .....that it totally unacceptable. AAHHH.

I have heard for various reasons that not only does age affect how difficult it can be to shed pounds, but also how many previous attempts one has made.

I am NOT saying that to discourage anyone. Rather, maybe it's partially perceived. I can look back and say "Oh it was so easy the first time around." When it fact, it wasn't easy. It was hard work. It's the thought of needing to go through it, again, that makes it seem a little worse.

I think a lot of things play into it - age, genetics, previous atteempts, lifestyle (maybe the first time you were a college student but now you're working 2 jobs for example), etc, as well as just perceiving it was easier.

I'm a firm believer in a good mindset.. i'm also 28 .. after several failed attempts working out and a pound up and 2 down etc before christmas..

Something clicked in January and i started "seriously" watching what i ate and working out.. so commit 100% for one week and you'll see the difference..it'll give you the momentum to slog on ... good luck

I'm also 28. I don't think its any harder to lose weight now than a few years ago... It's always been hard.

The only different from me is motivation/commitment level and life style. A few years ago I lost 40 lbs when I was living alone. I could buy groceries that I wanted, cook what I wanted, eat popcorn or cereal for dinner, go to bed at 9pm if I was feeling hungry instead of eating. I was hardcore. Now, that just not possible. I live with my fiance, work longer hours, and I just don't have the urgency to lose weight as much.

But on the other hand losing it slow isn't a bad thing. If I lose it slow I will learn how to maintain it forever... and not gain it back like i did last time.

I can't confirm it is age. I lost 44lbs in May - Nov 2002. This time it is way faster and I am quite a bit older than in 2002 ;-)
I think it is more about the food, working out and determination!

Agreed I had many unsuccessful attempts to slim down in high school. We all know that weight loss isnt a walk in the park but now armed with the right knowledge and determination Im more successful than ever. Ive been able to knock off 20+ lbs in about 3 months. Its all about putting your mind to it and telling yourself you will not stop until your goal is met.

I agree with it being easier this time around. I lost 40 pounds a couple of years ago and I worked my butt off to get it. This time I have found a plan that works well for my body and that can be enjoyable for a lifetime. Add to that the knowledge I have gained about diet and my body and it's good to go. Plus I am finally to a point of no looking back determination.

Thanks. Y'all really gave me things to evaluate. I guess I am just confused because my "miracle diet" that was allowing me to lose 7lbs a week then is only allowing me to lose 2 a week now. I'm trying to be patient.

I'm in my 40's, and I've been dieting since kindergarten. I first started noticing the "slowing down" effect in college in my early twenties.

Even in the 70's, I had read about this in my mother's women's magazines and diet books (from the ages of 8 to 13, 1972-1979). The theory was that aside from the effects of aging, you lose muscle along with fat (and you lose even more muscle if you're not eating enough protein and/or not exercising). So when you gain the weight back, even if you only return to your previous size (and worse if you gain more) you've got a higher fat to muscle ratio than when you started, and muscle burns more than fat. And then there're the effects of aging on metabolism (not entirely inevitable, but it is a tendency).

I can't say I went into this blind. Even in my teens I knew that the more failed attempts I had, the lower my metabolism would end up being. EVERY older dieter told me "lose it while you're young, it gets so much harder the more times you try it, and as you get older," but it never sunk in deep enough.

It isn't that I didn't believe it, it was that I didn't know how to get off the yoyo diet rollercoaster. I always was focused on losing as fast as possible (which turned out for me, to make successful dieting harder. I worked harder and harder to try to duplicate "old" results, and I'd eventually let frustration derail me).

Now my maintenance calories, are the calorie level that I used to lose 5-8 lbs on, during my twenties. Of course, I'm not nearly as active because of health problems, but it's still weird to know metabolism can change that much in 20 years.

I have found that the more active I can be, the more I can boost my metabolism, but I don't know how much I can "get back."

For me, I had to decide what I was willing to do forever (whether or not it resulted in weight loss) and then accept whatever weight loss resulted. If I wanted to lose more, I could try to do more, but I don't work harder than I can see myself working forever, because I know that anything that I do temporarily will have temporary benefits.

The hardest part is banishing the thought "I should be doing better," because the "I should" thoughts inevitably fuel frustration, and I strongly believe prolonged frustration is the key to failure. Eventually you start thinking "this sucks," and if you think that long enough you start thinking "why am I even doing this if it isn't working (the way I want it to)."

Because most people (I firmly believe) don't give up because they're failing, but because they aren't feeling good about the success they are seeing. When even success FEELS like failure, giving up starts to make more sense than plugging along.

I think stress really inhibits weight loss, I have had situations in the past where I was trying to meet a deadline or something. I would do everything right (determined to not eat my way through stress and gain 10 pounds) but would loose little if anything until the deadline passed and I could exhale.

Don't give up. I am 63 and have lost 26 lb in 4.5 months, just by eating less and moving more. If I can do it ,you can too.

I eat everything I want but in smaller quantities (1300 calories /day) and jump on my trampoline for maybe 10 minutes a day. I feel stronger and fitter and look years younger.

Being only 28, you have youth and hormones on your side plus a faster metabolism than those of us in later life.

Hang in there!

i understand what you're going through when i was 20 i lost 30 pounds by just walking a mile down the road everyday with practicly no effort now at just 23 i have to kill myself in the gym to lose 3 pounds a week!!! but as long as it keeps comeing off ill keep killing myself with the archtrainer lol

I am 29 and have noticed this happening to me. I have been yo yo dieting for 10 years (eeek!!) and thought it was easier to lose until the past 2-3 years. It was always hard work but it just seemed to come off faster. I am not sure if I just was more motivated and was more consistent. Maybe now I get frustrated if I don't see instant results which I obviously know is not the way to go. I need to be consistent but my patience is wearing thin, esp because I have been doing this for so long.
Hang in there! we will do this!