Do you have to use different weight loss methods in your 40s?

[Walnutblossom]

Has anyone else found that once you reach your 40s, your usual weight loss procedure didn't work any more and you had to try something different? As in, when you were I your 20s and 30s you always lost weight by doing x, but now that you're in your 40s you've found that x doesn't work any more so you have to do y instead?

Since the beginning of January I've done the usual which basically involves stopping eating crap ahs unnecessary snacks, making healthier meals, keeping a note of everything etc. Usually I would've lost 4-5 pounds by now, but this time I've lost absolutely nothing, not even a quarter of a pound (digital scales with that level of precision). And no, my clothes aren't feeling any different either.

Is this something to do with getting older?

I'm not sure, but I'm experiencing the same, so watching with interest....

I’m 45 and normally around 9 stone, I gained a stone during the lockdowns and have been terrified that I wouldn’t be able to lose it due to being peri. In 2 weeks I’ve lost 5 pounds by rigidly sticking to 1,200 calories a day, no extra exercise.

I tried WW last year to try and shift the (first) lockdown weight gain and struggled to loose anything. when I did it in my early 30's the weight fell off me. I fairly certain I'm perimenopausal and have had had gynae issues the past couple of years and tried a mirena and the pill which I'm sure were partly to blame as my hormones seem to have been all over the place. I really struggle to balance dieting with the amount of exercise I do but the exercise alone isn't going to make me loose weight and it makes me hungry!

Yes it is usually much harder to lose weight or maintain as you get older. A work colleague of mine who was always trim and about 58 said she ate about 30% less than when she was younger. I was coming up to 40 at this time. I thought she was exaggerating but she wasn’t. I’m 55 now and weigh probably half a stone more than I used to and I eat less. If I really wanted to weigh what I did when I was much younger I would be eating 30% less. As a teenager I was 8.5 stone but most of my adult life I have been 9 stone after having two children. I assume I’m around 9.5 stone now.

Pretty sure studies have proven that not being able to eat as much when you get older due to a slower metabolise is a myth as such and the reason is that we move around less as we get older. Peri- menopause also doesn’t affect weight loss- it is always about lack of movement/activity

I have certainly found I need to eat fewer calories as I get older. Depressingly.

So yeah, cutting out snacks and junk might have worked in my 30s, now I need to cut down snacks and junk AND reduce carbs in my main meals. Basically reduce calories even more.

I find it's all about diet. In first lockdown I lost almost 2 stones by having late lunch but only a small meal about 6. I wasn't even exercising as was too scared to go out.

I now maintain a similar diet and reducing carbs means I don't feel hungry much but when I do, I have a cup of black or herbal tea. I also like to go to bed a bit hungry.