Really slim when younger hit 40 now gaining weight

[unicornsrule]

I have always been petite 5ft and skinny especially in my 20s turned 40 a couple of years now realising that my thighs and bum are getting big.

I do sit a-lot in the week watching tv i work in retail fri nights all sat and sun mostly on my feet serving customer

I have started 30 day shred every day in week, trying not to sit as much
Have cut out some foods

I am 5ft 1 weigh 9st 3

Yup.
Weight loves to stay with you as you age.
I remember decades ago my Mum telling me she gained rounghly half a stone a decade, and I've followed the same pattern.
Added to that, your life tends to get more sedentary once you add a few years on.

You need to eat less as you get older.

It happens to us all.

@Singlenotsingle I’ve made sure that it hasn’t happened to me by making sure I don’t gain any weight.

I don’t eat half the amount I used to. I try to avoid eating late at night and if I eat more on one day I readdress the balance by eating less the next.

I don’t like to feel hungry, I feel faint if I’m hungry so I don’t deny myself anything but I have much smaller portion sizes than I did 20 years ago.

It’s 80% diet and 20% exercise. So less calories and a healthy diet. But yes happens to us all when we hit 40!

Shred is good. You lose muscle mass as you get older so you need to incorporate weight training.

Some of it must be genetics, though. A friend of mine (no kids) has put on weight in the last couple of years (she's now 42). She is a county level tennis player and plays a very high active level of tennis every single Saturday or Sunday and usually midweek too, plus some tournaments around the country throughout the year. She's fit as hell. Since she started to put on weight she took up running as well and runs 5k every Saturday or Sunday morning depending on her tennis schedule and every Wednesday as well. She's also done a 10k run somewhere or other every other month.

Yet she's not losing any of it. She eats healthily too.

Yes, it creeps on over the years (but not for everyone, I know). I was 8 and a half stone until I was 24. Even if you only gain 3 or 4 pounds a year, suddenly, at the end of a decade you think, argh, what happened? And you don't have to over eat dramatically for that to happen - just a few hundred extra calories here and there. I wish I had nipped it in the bud sooner, as it becomes more difficult to lose weight as you get older; well, it does for me. I will never be that weight again, but I would quite happily weigh 11 stone. The good news is I have lost a stone since new year - just one more to go. It's hard work, especially when arthritis limits the amount of activity you can do.

You have to proactively manage calories and consider against exercise routine. I’m maintaining a low weight at almost 40 by consistently exercising, little and often. There’s no magic solution.

I don’t think running is the best exercise for losing weigh. It tends to make you hungry and then people overeat to compensate.

It is mainly diet unfortunately. I exercise lots, run loads but if I don’t be carful about what I eat then I would gain weight.

I don’t think running is the best exercise for losing weigh. It tends to make you hungry and then people overeat to compensate.

Well, that's silly. If you exercise wisely and eat wisely then there is no need to overeat.

Brisk waking and hiking works for me. I’d never take up running I’ve seen too many women my age that have run for years and their faces look like bags of spanner’s.

Toning up is very important as is stretching to remain flexible.

I agree about running - have put on weight since I started 6 months ago but choosing to believe it's muscle mass rather than fat!!

I don't eat anything at all after 6pm which helps and mostly low carb. It is a battle to keep weight off though - I'm 44 and am usually under 9 stone.

I am the exact same height and weight as you. I am 44 and the past 2/3 years have been a struggle weight wise. I am doing the 5:2 diet and it's great for reminding me how much I am supposed to be eating (not a lot 🙄). The fast days prove to me that I eat a lot out of boredom/procrastination too as I am fine not eating till dinnertime. I also run on my fast days and do better than on regular days.

How old are you Soola. I am runner. I won't put a pic of my face online but am fairly sure I don't have one like a bag of spanners.

I am 48 and have some lines for sure, but less than many of my peers.

It's true you def put on weight more easily once you hit 40 but at the same time I noticed my appetite naturally reduced. It was like my body was telling me it didn't need so many calories now. I started doing 16/8 (eating for 8 hours and fasting for 16 each day) a I'm now much slimmer than I was in my 20s. I don't call it a diet, just a way of eating. I feel like I eat plenty, don't count calories or fat (you wouldn't believe how much butter and cheese I eat and I do have low cholesterol) but I keep the weight off effortlessly.

I'm 40s and altho still slimming have put on 3 or 4lbs in the last year or two that I can't shift. Got down to 8 stone a few years ago on slimming world but it just doesn't work for me now.
Have joined a gym and eating less junk but I do love food and eat out a fair bit.
When I've been really skinny I've either been ill/Not eating/travelling - so walked or cycled everywhere.

It’s calories in - calories out.

It may be a bit harder to lose weight in your 40’s but not impossible otherwise older people in famines wouldn’t starve.

Try to incorporate some weight lifting into your exercise regime because although muscles equal weight on the scales they improve your metabolism.

Also check your TDEE using my fitness pal app because the amount of calories you need per day reduces slightly with age.

Sorry OP, this is just your life now. Your calorie requirements reduce drastically in your 40s and beyond.

I am like you .. short and naturally very skinny until I turned 40. I have a huge appetite and could always eat exactly what I wanted without gaining weight. And if I did gain weight I used to be able to get it back under control in a week or two. That unfortunately has caught up with me and I now seem to gain weight really easily.

My biggest challenge now is reducing my calories. I eat very healthily and exercise but I need to half my portion sizes. Unlike a PP my appetite unfortunately hasn’t reduced! I also find that if I indulge at all - like over Christmas or on holidays...... and I’m not talking about major binges, I simply mean relaxing, have a few glasses of wine each evening , a dessert now and then etc - I can easily gain about half a stone. And it takes months to lose. It’s depressing.... but it’s the new normal for me.

Sorry I don’t have better news for you!!!

@ZillaPilla it’s not silly. Steady state, low intensity cardio (like running) is just not the best exercise for weight loss. I run for fitness and mental health reasons but I don’t expect to shed loads of weight from it.

Best thing is weights and HIIT training, you carry on burning calories for the rest of the day.

But unfortunate it’s mainly diet. And genetics....

@Delatron - sorry, what I meant was silly was the overeating to compensate. Any exercise will make you lose weight if you are burning calories.

I know many runners who have lost lots of weight this way. They have to change diet as well of course.

Also, running isn't always low intensity. I am racing a 5K this evening. Nothing low intensity or steady about it it will just hurt!

I do think metabolism slows as you get older but I also think a lot of older women are walking around with autoimmune conditions like borderline diabetes and hypothyroidism (which often isn’t picked up on if it’s borderline), both of which can really hinder weight loss and general weight management. When my hypothyroidism isn’t under control I jus have to look at a cake and put on a stone. Well worth getting some blood tests done and an overall health check for anyone who is really struggling with weight.

From nhs, "Research actually shows that overweight people have faster metabolisms than thinner people. Larger bodies require more energy to carry out basic bodily functions."

I'm 46 and weigh the same as I did 10 years ago but it seems to be distributed differently! I think I had more muscle tone and now I am basically fatter.

@Soola does it affect their faces as lose too much or from being outside a lot?