Is It Actually Harder To Lose Weight As You Age?

“What used to work for me 10 years ago doesn’t work now. It’s my age!”

 

“Enjoy that food now because in ten years the weight is going to pour on!”

 

“My metabolism has slowed down so much as I’ve aged”

Said or heard any of these?

I definitely had the fear instilled in me young that I should enjoy eating lots of food now because once I hit 25 or 30 suddenly everything gets worse.

So let’s bust this myth today to help you unleash a potential fat loss blocker (even if just a mindset one).

Contrary to popular belief, our metabolism doesn’t begin to slow down at 30 or even 40. Research shows that it stays pretty stable all throughout adulthood until 60, then it slowly slows down. 

So while you might not have that excuse anymore - “Oh it’s my age!” - The good news is weight loss is possible and it doesn’t have to get harder at least until 60.

Fun fact: this study actually showed that when controlling for body size, weight - there were no metabolism differences in gender. They even found that menopause didn’t slow metabolism. 

Why do many of us continue to gain weight as we age then? Why do women find it harder to lose weight as they get older?

It can be due to:

▶︎ Less physical activity - less travel, extracurricular activities, sports; having a desk job, etc.

▶︎ Less muscle mass - we slowly lose muscle mass as we age unless we put in the effort to maintain it. Since muscle burns more energy per unit mass than fat, it's advantageous to have more muscle mass.

▶︎ More stress - generally life can get more stressful as we age, stressors like raising children and building a career can affect your weight loss attempts. 

The good news? All of these are controllable factors for most of us!

One more reason why it can feel harder to lose weight as we age: A lot of us have been dieting for decades - i.e. a prolonged calorie deficit without proper diet breaks to rebalance hormones and metabolism.

A lot of us have been pushing our bodies too hard for too long which makes fat loss attempts much more difficult and oftentimes fruitless. Diet breaks are a must! 

More good news?

You can absolutely start seeing results again - your metabolism isn’t messed up because of your age. You may just need a proper diet break, focus more on muscle mass, better stress management, getting more movement in, creating a gentle deficit and going slow. 

If you need help with any of the above suggestions, check out my Sustainable Fat Loss course where I'll help you lose weight in a gentle, sustainable way that lasts.

With Love,

Bríd