Is 40 too late to make a significant change to weight/shape?

[Fistycuffs]

I’ve always been totally on/off with commitment to fitness and health and am now 40, more uncomfortable with myself than ever but feel increasingly like I’ve left it too late.
I’m disappointed with myself as I’ve never let myself be properly happy in my own skin and while I’m totally preoccupied with it i just don’t make the changes needed.
Would love to hear from anyone else who has actually made a significant life style change post 40 😃

I'm in the same boat at the same age and would love to hear some positive stories!

It's absolutely not too late!

My mother was fat all her life from being a teenager. Not as fat as she thought she was, but fat (size 20). All my life she'd lose half a stone and put it back on again. Two years ago she decided to give it a last go (she was 60) and now she's a size 14 and has kept it off.

One of the women in my running group went from being on the cusp of obese took up Couch25k at 47, became vegetarian and then vegan, and now runs ultramarathons at least once a month. So no - definitely not too late to make changes, even if you don’t want to make such drastic ones. She says that the turning point for her was reaching the point where she was determined that she wanted to be healthy and look nice more than she wanted to sit on the sofa and eat rubbish, and then sticking with that thought.

Keto and running. It works!

No. My mum was slim but put on a fair bit of weight over a longer period of time. She lost over 4 stone when she was 46-48 and kept it all off, in fact she lost even more now. She's size 8 at nearly 62. All through walking and eating healthier, smaller portions and no snacks. She's never been to the gym in her life, just doesn't like it.

Definitely not, despite my username I am into my 40s now and have lost around 8 stone in the past 18 months. It can be done, it's not easy but it's definitely possible.

Gave up binge drinking and took up weight lifting at 50. Completely changed my body shape, energy levels and confidence.

Unfortunately, at 52 lock down 2 and 3 have changed it right back! 😭

Not at all but dont do any crappy short term fixes/diets/intermittent fasting. Reduce intake of junk/processed foods and eat mainly lean meats/fish/veg/fruit/nuts/seeds and limited rice/potatoes. Learning sustainable healthy eating should be your #1 priority. A bit of HIIT exercise would not be a bad thing either but the main thing is good nutrition.

Definitely not! I started exercising 3 years ago (in my 40s), and cut out sugar, bread, potatoes and pasta. I went down 2 dress sizes and feel a lot better, and have kept it off (although I haven't gone back to eating how I did before).

No it is never too late! Ever, 40 is not the end of your life. You have many more decades to live a more healthy lifestyle! Goodluck

Definitely not too late! I follow a couple of Instagrammers in that age range. This lady lost 5 stone in her early forties: www.instagram.com/p/CJTGcITB0Oj/

Definitely not too late!

In mid 50s I went from having always been slim to putting on weight, and I think I seem to have gained a stone or more. Will have to get out and take more exercise, but lockdown hasn't helped.

So, it's never too late to change your shape...

I’m 45 and lost 2.5 stone over the last 18 months. Upped the exercise and counted calories, strict with using my FitBit to monitor calories in are less than calories out. I’ve basically used what was my commute time, to exercise. I feel so much better.

Not too late at all
I lost 6 stone and totally changed my body and fitness levels at 50+
It is just harder the older you are

I'm 55 and am slimmer now than ever before in my life. Took up running and intermittent fasting aged 48 and never looked back, first of several marathons and ultra trails aged 49, it's never too late and 40 is young!

I hope it's possible because I'm about to embark on sorting my shit out after gaining over two stone in two years

Rigged us up with a Nintendo wii fit board and excercise games and due to being on furlough I'm dog walking a lot more and am upping my steps by a few more each day.

I'm lowering my portion sizes gradually and gradually cutting out the shit.

Fingers crossed it works

I took up running c25k at 40 and I am still running 4 years later. It helped me loose about 30 pounds.

Definitely not. I'm 45 and have lost 6kg this year in lockdown. So happy with my weight now, I was unhappy with it from 33-45. Bizarrely, I've swapped my normal sport (competitive swimming, I train hard, but eat to match) with walking but also stopped eating by latest 6pm every night. It's easy for me, and the only 'diet' that allows me to eat what I want.

Absolutely not! I am north of 40 and just got in my best shape ever during lockdown!

My mum had never done any exercise all her adult life. She wasn't massively overweight but not thin either. At 55 she saw a program about a lady who took up marathon running in her 60's and was more in her 80's and still going. This inspired her as she, like you, thought it was all too late... She started running, at first she couldn't run twenty years without stopping, she plugged on and ended up in a running club, ending events, and did a half marathon in Amsterdam. Which from zero at 55 isn't bad. It was a huge change, her improved fitness meant that her recent hip replacement went better than it would, and her experiences showed her that you do the work you get results so she threw herself into her post op physio... She doesn't run now but she does Zumba and aqua fit and she is late 70's now. So her late start had real and lasting benefits for her while life, health and outlook.

Not too late.
I got to 45 and started logging everything I consumed on My Fitness Pal (after working out my TDEE and reducing the calories by 20% to find my target to aim for)

I lost 3 stone and have been size 10 for the last 3+ years. I can’t exercise due to crippling arthritis, so it’s true what they say, diet is the most important part of weight loss.

tdeecalculator.net/

Yards not years 😆😆

God no! Since turning forty I've lost three stone, gone from a size 14 to a size 8, dealt with separated stomach muscles giving me a massive mum tum, and generally toned everything up.

I started eating low-carb, saw a physio (for the mum tum, which turned out to be diastasis recti) and took up swimming and Pilates (swimming tonight to keep up right now, admittedly).

This is me now:

not too late at all. I'm 43 and have gone from a size 14 to a size 10 over the last year.

The things that did it were

1. weighing myself daily
2. only drinking when socialising, never at home (so I've basically been teetotal)
3. Limiting portions. Have what I want, but no second helpings and don't heap my plate. I absolutely hate that 'over full' feeling now. Wait 5 minutes after you've cleared your plate before deciding if you need more - you need a little bit of time before you feel full.
4. exercise every day. This has ramped up from 20-30 minutes of gentle yoga to some fairly full on yoga and lots of time upside down - I never thought I'd learnt to do headstands and handstands in my 40s!

you've got a lot of your life ahead of you OP, if you want to make changes, it's ALWAYS the time to make them

Not too late! I had an NHS health check just after my 40th birthday - I was almost 15stone and smoked 30 a day.

I am 44 this year now 11st and haven't smoked for 3 years.

Low carb dieting helped me and the one good thing about lockdown is that I've been able to do more exercise classes (via zoom)