Anyone else find it much harder to stay slim past their 20s?

[Thechainsmokers12]

I control the amount of calories I eat every day but I’ve gained over a stone since I was in my mid 20s, I’m wobbly, flabby and just look bigger all over even though I do plenty of exercise and haven’t changed my diet, I don’t drink either.
My diet is too high in sugar, but I don’t eat whatever I want, I calorie count yet still feel gross. I rarely have cheat days either. Heat makes me bloat too which doesn’t help. Anyone else feel their metabolism has slowed and have any tips?

Surely most people change shape as they age, especially after childbirth.
I weigh the same as I did at 20 but I measure bigger and I'm less toned.
In hot weather drink water and eat less.
Sugar is dreadful for your body as it affects the collagen.

I haven’t had any children, I do really need to cut out sugar though, it’s so addictive and it’s in many foods even ones you wouldn’t think.

The sugar is the culprit. A high protein low carb (carb includes sugar) diet will make you less bloated.

I was always slim but it has got progressively harder to maintain my weight over the years. The 2 factors which accelerated weight gain are having babies, hitting 40, then menopause.

The jump from 20s - 30s was not significant in itself.

Yes, it's much harder in your 30s. I still remember putting on almost 30lbs in my first year at uni (lots of drinking and pizzas) and then dropping it all in 3 months with some exercise and healthy eating and the occasional treat. I then kept it off until now, I've put on 10lbs in the last 2 years and trying to lose them is SO SO HARD and slow.

I ate a lot of sugar too in my 20s but didn’t gain weight.
I just need to try harder I suppose and accept it will be a bit harder. Feel gross atm, seeing younger girls in short skirts and dresses and remembering when I used to be able to wear them lol

No. My appetite was voracious until i was about 30. I remember i couldnt diet because i was hungry an hour after i ate. Then in my 30s my appetite became a bit more normal. Am 51 now and have put weight back on again mow. Upper end of size 12 now which i havent been since my 20s.

It was late 30’s/40 for me. Like a switch had been flipped and 2 very stubborn stone gained within about 6 months. I’m still within normal BMI but no longer ‘slim’.

Yep and I hate to say - it gets worse as you get older. I went from an 8 in my twenties to a twelve in early thirties. Now almost 49 and am currently an 18 (though have had a terrible diet for the last year)

Sugar is your enemy. And it's slowly becoming clear that so are carbs

It certainly is. In 20s you might have been more active, skipping more meals from time to time, and eating less overall as party of your lifestyle.

It does takes effort to maintain a reasonable weight in uk these days. Look around and there are so so many fat people compared to pictures you’d see of decades ago. It’s very much the norm here.

Reasonable eating, reasonable exercise.

The book: Why We Eat (Too Much): The New Science of Appetite is well worth a read. It also deals with ageing aspects.

Carbs are not evil. Processed carbs are. Look up a whole foods plant based diet and caloric density. Starch Solution, Forks Over Knives and How Not to Diet. I did low carb and Joe Wicks for years but couldn't slim down that last bit because I was constantly hungry and wanted to binge on forbidden carbs. Now I eat oats, pasta and potatoes daily (just with no oil), and I don't restrict at all. Lost a kg per week consistently and still kepy my muscle tone up without ever feeling hungry.

18-25 I lived on chip butties, pot noodles and pints of whatever lager was on at happy hour in the uni bar, and weighed 8st 4.

Now I'm 37, stay under 1400 calories a day, do 10k steps a day and go to the gym and weigh 10st 8.

Not fair.

I’m weird in that I’m my slimmest ever at 40! But I’m a full-time working mum now with not a lot of time to eat which helps! I count calories and I have to eat a lot less than I could in my 20s.

I had my kids in my early 20s and easily stayed slim in my 20s so don't think pregnancy can be blamed for me. 30s onwards I'm struggling a bit more but on reflection I think I have a very different lifestyle, as I've progressed in my career I've become more desk based, I've more money which I enjoy spending on eating out and alcohol, I was actually quite an anxious 20 something year old which impacted my appetite. I don't think age in itself has impacted my weight (yet at least!)

Yup, the oly way I seem to be able to lose weight ( slowly) is eating very little, cutting cards and sugar and basically going hungry, but then when I was younger I hardly ate.

Ha ha! Wait until you hit 40.

I'm 40 and weigh and look the same as I did at 20 (well not in my face but that's a different story..). I haven't had kids though.

Also I was quite fussy eater in my 20s, I didn't like cheese...I like all the cheese now...

I’m 36 always been slim, had dd 4 years ago and was back to pre pregnancy weight in 4 months but my god this past year my body has completely changed and I honestly don’t know what to do about it. I calorie count using mfp, feel like I’m starving tbh and I don’t stick to it. Still wouldn’t say I eat like a compete pig. I start again every Monday! I’m trying to keep to a fitness plan but I’m struggling to fit it in with a full time job and little girl I need to prioritise after work and at wkends.
My middle is my problem, fat wobbly mess, arms and legs I can deal with. I don’t know where to start.

I turned 30 last year and poor mental health and covid diet meant I put on a couple of stone in that year .

In my 20's I had 2 kids. I put on weight but was able to slim right back down after them.

Now its just so hard to even lose a pound. I started a diet/exercise with a PT last Saturday. It seems to be a high protein diet. But im not optimistic and predict I will lose a tiny pound a week or something like that which will really un motivate me

Some really good posts here. A huge plus for you is that you are aware of a problem, and trying to do something about it. Don’t be disappointed if you don’t lose a lot of weight. Stay healthy and avoid putting on any more.

Given sedentary life styles, and the poor eating habits, the results are obvious. It takes awareness, some effort and discipline too. There is no short cut.

Omg, OP as PP have said it's sooo much worse as you get older.
I have always been fit, slim, with a healthy appetite but this past year , I feel like this is not my body anymore 😕. I'm 49.
Act now, don't delay as it will only get worse.

For me it was much later than post 20s. I'm 47 and only just finding that weight is harder to shift. 2 years ago however I was pretty much the lightest I'd been, after 3 kids, and couldn't put weight on if I tried. I suppose my point is there's something inexorable that kicks in at some point which makes it harder to shift weight, even though that happens at different times for different people.

Smoking kept me slim as I never felt hungry. Not so easy since I stopped but I don’t like anything sweet so it doesn’t pile on. I basically eat 3 times a day and that’s it. Never snack.