Can someone please tell me if age affects rate of weight loss? I'm 22 in December, and my bestfriend is 28. She says that I'll lose weight easier because I'm younger. Any truth to that?

I lost a lot easier and a lot faster the younger I was. I am not sure how much of a difference there will be between 22 and 28 but between 22 and 48 is a big difference.

Thanks Nessa

I agree with Nessa. I really don't think a few years isn't going to make a difference - for 20 and maybe even 30 somethings, the biggest factor is probably going to be nutrition and activity levels.

I think age has quite a bit to do with it. I think that at 22 most people are still working on a "nearly teen" type of metabolism. As you start creeping closer to your 30s (and then on too your 40s), it does get harder and harder.

Of course there are always the exceptions to the rules and the people who have a hard time at any age - or who find it easy at any age.

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Hahaha. I just started thinking that creeping into you thirties doesn't feel like creeping, it's more like trying sneak across a hardwood floor in heels.

lol

It can be done if you stay on your toes

I think there are several factors that go into a declining metabolism. Aging is one, as I lose much more slowly in my 40's than in my 20's, but all my life I've noticed that each diet attempt results in slower weight loss than the attempt before. So, I think dieting as well as aging lower metabolism. Excercise and activity level are part of that two.

But while you can compare yourself now to yourself years from now, I don't think you can compare yourself to a friend of a different age.

Funny enough, I have dropped about 60 lbs at your friends age, then again at about 27 years old, and I'm doing it again in my mid-thirties. (Sigh. This will so be the last time I do this!)

The weight came off pretty quickly in my twenties. This time it's still coming off at a good rate (2 lbs per week), but in the beginning it was kind of erratic. But that had more to do with my diet than my age, since my diet was erratic too.

In comparing my experiences, I would say that I'm losing at about the same rate as I did the first two times. I credit my weight loss, and the rate of loss, to diet and exercise. Age hasn't affected it one bit, although I had feared it would.

But, maybe I'm just one of the lucky ones who can lose weight "easily."

(Although I would argue there is really nothing easy about it at all -- I'm just working my butt off to achieve it and my body is cooperating with my efforts! )

I have heard a lot about metabolism declining with age. I think it also has to do with muscle loss as people age (which makes sense). I'm not so sure there would be a big difference between 22 and 28, but I guess it's possible. It probably depends most on the individual when they began to have trouble with it. & metabolism seems like a very individual factor anyway, considering how many things affect it aside from age.

I also wonder how much of it has to do with the fact that as we age, we seem to live more sedentary lifestyles... ? desk jobs, less free time to be active, etc. That may play a big factor in it. I know being busier as I get older makes it more difficult for me to put as much effort into losing weight (although this is me comparing my 16 yo self to my 21 yo self ).