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?

Yes I have been size 14 for nearly 30 years. After 27 it got harder slowly!

I know in my twenties I could eat like a horse and still be skinny. Those days are long gone. 12 12 diet helps plus NO junk food.

BTW, I’ve never been naturally slim, always had to watch my weight, even as a teen, but that was prob because I was quite inactive. I suppose it made me more disciplined though. I’ve seen some people who appeared naturally slim and athletic in school and uni who are much bigger now, so for most people, yes, it must be more work to stay slim.

For me it was always hard to be slim. I was low sized and a 'broad build' as a teenager and never looked really slim, despite exercising and eating healthily. I stayed at about 9 stone until I was late 20s. Then I went up to 10.5 stone in my early 30s. A relationship break up meant that I didn't stay as strict about eating as I normally had been. I always took 12 to 14 in clothes.

As anorher poster said, those who were really slim in their teens and 20s put on a lot of weight as they got older. I think it is because they didn't know how to 'watch their weight' and kept eating what they wanted without thinking. Those of us who were always a little bit large have for the most part, maintained a reasonable size, as we were always mindful of weight and making the right choices.

I am 48 now, went gradually up to nearly 11 stone. I can slim to 10.5 if I eat 2 meals a day. I kept up the exercise throughout. I eat healthily most of the time. I find diets hard because I am hungry for all meals. I only eat out a few times a year. I have 1.5 bottles of wine a week, trying to cut back. I don't eat milk chocolate except Christmas and Easter. If I want cake, I make it myself instead of buying cake. I have cappucino as treat twice a week. I now take 14 in trousers and 16 in tops on account of breast with g cup. I walk for an hour most days. I run 3 times a week for 9 months a year.

The point is that I also ate the same diet in my 20s and didn’t put the weight on then, my diet hasn’t changed now yet I have put it on. Metabolic rate isn’t ‘excuses’. We’re all different.

If you increase your activity levels, build muscle and eat a healthy diet (lots of wholefoods and veg, with very limited sugar, processed food and alcohol) then you'll not have a problem.

Saying 'but it's my metabolism', as if there's nothing you can do about it, is self-sabotage.

I think the OP is trying to say that she has to work harder now she isn’t in her 20s. So it is metabolism, if she isn’t eating more and being less active than before.

But we're not the same people we were in our 20s and we have to adapt our diet and exercise. It's just life.

I'm 41 and still the the same weight and size as I was in my 20s, fingers crossed I can keep it like this!

@OneHundredTrees

If you increase your activity levels, build muscle and eat a healthy diet (lots of wholefoods and veg, with very limited sugar, processed food and alcohol) then you'll not have a problem.

Saying 'but it's my metabolism', as if there's nothing you can do about it, is self-sabotage.

I agree with this. However, if you haven’t had to think about diet and exercise before, it must come as a shock! Easier for those of us who have always consciously chosen to be slim and made the required effort.

I don’t think there’s any difference from 20s to 30s ...l unless you have had babies..,,it’s menopause that is more likely to make you less slim... that said I weight the same at 55 as I did at 20 ......but eat far less

As mentioned in earlier posts, I would very much signpost anyone struggling with their weight (or even just needing an explanation for why it seems to creep up gradually year on year) to read the book by Dr Andrew Jenkinson ‘Why We Eat (Too Much)’ published by Penguin Life (2020).

It discusses the concept of a weight set-point, metabolic adaptation, why some of us seem predisposed to become obese and why others seem to coast through life maintaining a certain weight easily.

It pinpoints processed foods, some oils and especially sugar as the main culprits of weight gain - basically the staples of the western (fake food) diet.

Importantly it explains how to overcome metabolic issues you’ve caused by previous diets and poor eating habits and gradually and sustainably lower your weight set-point.

Come to think of it, I think it's also lower activity levels. When I was a student, I wasn't chained to my desk for 9 hours a day every single day. Yes, I studied loads and did my fair share of cramming where I'd sit and read for hours, but overall my activity levels were naturally much much higher. So I think it's not just metabolism to blame, it's that your activity levels drop in your late 20s if, like most people, you have an office based job. So you need to be conscious of life changes.

That's it, being aware and making changes as needed is the key. Not just letting weight go up and up.

The difference between my BMR (amount of calories needed at rest, just to function) between age 20 and age 35 is 40kcal (if calculated at the same weight).

But as you put weight on, your BMR increases - so of you've gained, for example, 2 stone between age 20 and 35 you'll actually have a higher BMR now - your metabolism will be burning more kcals than when you were 20.

Does metabolism slow with age? Yes, slightly, due to lower activity levels and loss of muscle mass, at the same weight you will burn fractionally less calories.

But the truth is it's not hundreds of calories, and by being active, building muscle and eating a healthy diet this is entirely in your control.

The menopause I think is another thing altogether!