to think fat isnt inevitable as you get older

[wilsonq2]

I've always been a health freak. Constantly people say this will all change as you get older, as if it is part of live becoming overweight.

Even my DM say this, but she was never into exercise or eating natural.

Aibu to think this is just an excuse ?

Biscuits, I'd say 2 or 3 out of the people I work with are what you'd call almost obese. Others are from a bit overweight to very slim. I'm curious to know where OP lives now?

I've been to London recently for my cousin's wedding, most guests were from London and were all shapes and sizes. Living there will be different though and you'll see the real picture. Perhaps it's so expensive to live there they can't afford food?

I heard a medical expert on the menopause say that women need 200 fewer calories a day post menopause. I think this makes sense as it explains why so many women I have spoken to say they gained weight after menopause despite swearing they never changed their behaviour in any way.

So to answer your question then, yabu!

Couldn't I just eat 200 less calories or burn off an extra 200? That's like 15 mins of exercise

I have found that although my metabolism is slower than it used to be, my appetite has reduced in line with my metabolism.

I am experiencing a lot of stress right now and it has really affected my appetite, so I have lost a bit of weight due to eating less. I can't comprehend comfort eating at all. My appetite goes out of the window when I am unhappy.

Bunbaker - I think most larger people probably have the exact opposite response to unhappiness and stress than you. Eating acts as a buffer and kind of deadens emotions. Plus when you have little else to be happy about or look forward to a nice food treat can make you a bit happier for a while. I think people underestimate how addictive food is and how much they use it for comfort.

My life boils down to work, housework and childcare - there isn't much chance of other things, so food is much more important to me than it used to be when I was younger.

My dear old Nan is round in the tummy area. I wouldn't say she's fat but she's bigger than she used to be, not sure on her BMI but she's only 5 foot 3 and I know she wears a size 16 so probably overweight. It hit her when she went through menopause in her late fifties, she was always very svelte before that.

She's always been very health conscious- never drank a drop or smoked, pescetarian since her twenties, eats a lot of 'super foods' to keep her brain good etc and she's as active as ever too. Has no health problems, is fit and well so I guess she's ok with it. But yes, I believe menopause had a lot to do with it.

Having said that I do see a fair amount of slim older people come to think of it where I am in Yorkshire... I've never given it much thought really. I don't think it's inevitable but metabolism does naturally slow down, when you retire and are maybe more tired it's easier to sit around and enjoy cake than bother doing stuff .

YANBU

If anything, most of the very large people I see around are quite young.

A lot of old people are tiny.

Muscle burns more calories than fat.

As you get older you lose muscle, unless you do strength training to build it up.

You also become more sedentary through life choices, illness etc.

All this contributes to getting fatter.

So no, it;s not inevitable but it will feel harder to stay slim.

You sound a bit goady though OP.

Stay away from inferior chocolate tortes ... ( Runs )

Wilsonq you do sound pretty self satisfied. Yes you could work out more. But that also gets harder as you get older and injuries happen more easily and put you out of action.

The problem with the way you are talking is that implicit in your question is the assertion that anyone who is fat has themselves to blame. Yes diet and habits play a part but you might also be lucky to have good genes and you don't yet know how that might change as you get older.

I swim most days and some of the other regular swimmers are ladies post-menopausal age who have the most cracking figures with tiny nipped in waists and a decent rack. I'm so jealous as I an a size 14 with rounded edges. God knows how they do it but it certainly doesn't seem to be inevitable no.

She said you would stop being a health freak not that you would get fat. The 2 things aren't always the same

afaik as we get older our ability to safely store excess fat reduces, we have less subcutaneous capacity and fat is able to spill over into other area's (most often the intra abdominal area) where it can cause damage to tissues/organs and generally have a harmful effect on metabolic processes.

Obviously we don't inevitably get fat as we get older-it's not an immutable law of physics-but fat and the damage caused by it can accumulate over time.

well, i was a size 8 when i was younger and now I've been a 14 for years. i didn't get fat but I did get bigger.

You don't see many fat 80 year olds. I think the vast majority of fat people die out by this age.

Aren't you amazing op?

So much better than those fat yokels you live amongst.

The point is, that post menopause, you will have to do more to stay where you are. You and me.

I live in London. People are always fart arsing at the gym because they are so rich.

Well OP bully for you.
Maybe you could keep your self satisfaction to yourself until you have gone through the menopause and we'll have the opportunity to comment on your waistline then.

Menopause isn't just a state of mind you know, it's a condition where the hormones which have been conveniently distributing fat evenly about your body just disappear and the fat stays nearest to the place it entered your system, that is, on the waistline.

Add to this the increased chance of arthritis leading to less exercise options and the fat gets doubly hard to budge.

I'm 5' 6" and weigh 8st 12, the same as I have all my adult life.
Yet at 49 and past the menopause, with arthritis brought on due to injury during exercise, I now have rolls of fat around my stomach.

I find your post very patronising.

I weigh the same (if not sometimes less) than I did many years back - it just mostly seems to live in diferent places. I definitely don't look the same, especially when I'm stripped in front of a mirror.

I was an 8 at 20 and I'm 33 now and a 12 even though I eat less. I don't care that much though.

If you're a health freak and carry it on I'm sure you won't chub up. I'm lazy and have put on loads of weight but I don't blame middle age. It's all down to greed and lack of will power for me.

The tendency for many people as they get older is to slow down and do less. If you eat the same you will add weight - but often, because you are doing less you will eat even more from boredom?

I don't think anyone HAS to put weight on if they don't want to and they do something about it.
I had to have physio for a back and thigh problem - and my physio told me that flexibility problems are not inevitable in old age and that too many people just do not stay active enough or do enough stretching.

Since the menopause I do not have the same appetite I did previously so even though I am less active I have not gained any weight. In fact, I struggle to put any on.
All the older people I see walking regularly where I live are all slim. I guess the chubby ones are all at home.

I know we all like to think we're immune to peer pressure but the reality is if you're surrounded by overweight people, eating badly and not exercising, you're more likely to be overweight yourself. If you're surrounded by people doing the opposite, you're more likely to follow suit.
Family upbringing plays a huge part too.

The rate of heart disease and other illnesses linked to poor diet/lack of exercise are far higher in some parts of the country than others. Logically there are probably more overweight people in those parts of the country.

I find that eating only the very best chocolate keeps the weight off