Infinitely harder to lose weight

[Pandora]

It is so frustrating. I could lose weight so easily in my 20's and early 30's. Now that I am 40 it is so difficult to even lose 5 lbs. No matter how much I exercise I can not do it. I have to eat perfectly now and do high intensity cardio to even lose 5lbs. I hate it.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

It's harder but not impossible. I lost 80 lbs in my mid 40s over 14 months.

You don't need to eat perfect, you don't need to exercise crazy. Try adding in walking for an hour a day even if it's split up into 4 15 minutes segments. And make sure those segments are after eating.

Walking is the most underrated fat burner there is. Also, sleeping 7-8 hours at night is crucial or else you are simply trying to climb Mount Everest due to putting your hormones in a fat storing state instead of a fat burning state.

 

[RickTheToad]

Eat mostly protein and drink a lot of water. Cut out alcohol.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Eat mostly protein and drink a lot of water. Cut out alcohol.

And lots of veggies and berries.

I typically eat between 1-1.2 g of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Helps maintain muscle mass while losing weight so the majority of the weight comes from fat. Otherwise it's going to be closer to 50/50 muscle/fat being lost which is not ideal.

 

[pipeman84]

I lost 85 lbs in my mid 40s last year.

How did you put 85 pounds of fat?
I was of the impression that you're a regular gym goer who's also on TRT.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

How did you put 85 pounds of fat?
I was of the impression that you're a regular gym goer who's also on TRT.

I went from 245 to 165...sorry, 80 lbs. Miscalculation when I went back and looked.

Technically it started over 2 years ago since I started in late Feb of 2023 and hit that weight around March or April last year I think. So like 14 months.

I had stopped going to the gym and working out post surgery for a while and stopped watching what I was eating. The weight piles back on pretty quickly.

TRT doesn't do sh!t when you are eating well over your daily calories expended and not working out or even walking much. Not even steroids would help with that.

 

[JacquesMemoirs]

It is so frustrating. I could lose weight so easily in my 20's and early 30's. Now that I am 40 it is so difficult to even lose 5 lbs. No matter how much I exercise I can

I’m no expert but you just can’t give up. You need to really want it. Make it a bigger homework project. If you’re not slimming down enough you need to do more research and you need to add more tips and tricks into your routine. Eventually the scale will tip in your favor.

Personally my weakness is the booze and the women.

 

[JacquesMemoirs]

I’m not entirely convinced about the theory that abs are made in the kitchen not the gym.

Certainly a measured diet will be a big help but I think it seriously helps to exercise the core region in order to burn the accumulated abdominal and waist fat away.

No proof of this theory yet but I am okay going against what the experts all say

 

[BackInTheGame78]

I’m not entirely convinced about the theory that abs are made in the kitchen not the gym.

Certainly a measured diet will be a big help but I think it seriously helps to exercise the core region in order to burn the accumulated abdominal and waist fat away.

No proof of this theory yet but I am okay going against what the experts all say

Not the way it works.

 

[JacquesMemoirs]

Not the way it works.

As an example, if you work out your biceps hard every day don’t your biceps get bigger? There would be less fat on the biceps and more muscle.

The core is the same deal. Just a more complex arrangement of overlapping muscles.

 

[Oatmeal31]

It is so frustrating. I could lose weight so easily in my 20's and early 30's. Now that I am 40 it is so difficult to even lose 5 lbs. No matter how much I exercise I can not do it. I have to eat perfectly now and do high intensity cardio to even lose 5lbs. I hate it.

You cannot outrun your diet. Doesn't matter how much you exercise if you aren't in a caloric deficit. Use a calorie calculator, find out how many calories you need for a deficit, maintenance, surplus..go with a deficit. A 500 caloric deficit per day, which is typical in bodybuilding, means you'll lose 1lb of body fat a week since 1lb of fat is 3500 calories. Add exercise into the equation and you'll lose even more. Work up a sweat every workout to lose water weight in addition, which will help you rapidly lose pounds.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

As an example, if you work out your biceps hard every day don’t your biceps get bigger? There would be less fat on the biceps and more muscle.

The core is the same deal. Just a more complex arrangement of overlapping muscles.

Getting bigger and removing the layer of fat so they can be seen are two totally different things.

 

[Free_Agent]

Not sure how accurate but there’s quite a bit of scientific based research that regarding men the abdominal and love handle area are always the last to burn fat as the fat density and receptors they operate differently from what I recall.

 

[BeExcellent]

Hormones also are enormous contributors. Cortisol is the stress hormone. Elevated cortisol levels and over time your body will stubbornly hang onto fat stores.

Thyroid hormones/metabolic rate is also important. As we age we lose testosterone and estrogen production. Metabolic rate slows gradually. So diet must modify as far as caloric intake alongside these changes. People who do not modify amount of caloric intake while metabolic rate declines are the ones who gradually gain weight with age. It literally sneaks up on you because metabolic rate declines with all other things being equal.

I'm female of course and in my 50s. So menopause is another issue for me. I still weigh as of this morning, what I weighed in high school, and wear a size 4. But I get on the scale every morning, walk every day, eat sparingly (protien/veggies/berries), avoid carbs and sugar, and drink alcohol in moderation.

I feel my very best 15-20 lbs lighter than where I am now, in a size 0. My current BMI is 21 right now, but I feel best at BMI 19, so I have lost some ground over the past 2 years. As others have said, one must be quite mindful about diet. My husband gained 20 lbs after we married (so did I), but he is now back to his weight when we met (6'3" and 175). I am coming back down too but the hormonal/metabolic riddle has been more for me to solve.

His BMR (basal metabolic rate) is also higher, becsuse he is younger (48) and male. He thinks I should eat the same as he does, and its taken a bit for him to grasp that my body does not operate the same as his. I CANNOT eat as frequently or the same volume as him, nor can I consume the same amount of alcohol.

Everything is discipline. Predominantly around diet but exercise and alcohol moderation in also very important. I have fortunate genetics, and so does my husband, but as we age that only gets us so far. Discipline is what makes the difference.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Not sure how accurate but there’s quite a bit of scientific based research that regarding men the abdominal and love handle area are always the last to burn fat as the fat density and receptors they operate differently from what I recall.

That's a sign of insulin Resistance and low T levels

 

[Gamisch]

It is so frustrating. I could lose weight so easily in my 20's and early 30's. Now that I am 40 it is so difficult to even lose 5 lbs. No matter how much I exercise I can not do it. I have to eat perfectly now and do high intensity cardio to even lose 5lbs. I hate it.

Not gonna lie: I can tell you exactly how to lose weight. I've went down between 8 to max 20 kilo "whenever I felt like ". Qoute on qoute, because it's HARD work and apparently not everyone is built for that.

But it's definitely possible to lose weight and look ripped , factors that by default make life easier...

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Not gonna lie: I can tell you exactly how to lose weight. I've went down between 8 to max 20 kilo "whenever I felt like ". Qoute on qoute, because it's HARD work and apparently not everyone is built for that.

But it's definitely possible to lose weight and look ripped , factors that by default make life easier...

Drink water
Sleep 7-8 hours a night
Walk 10K steps a day
Resistance train 3-4x a week
Eat 1-1.2g protein per lb of bodyweight
Maintain a roughly 500 calorie per day deficit
Eat one ingredient non-processed foods
Skip the alcohol

It's simple, just not easy.

 

[plumber]

few things.

-fasted way to a calorie deficit is sprinting.. if your serious go do it. or another way to think about that is are you choosing and accepting your current situation. if you do nothing then your choosing.
-hormones, get a full panel and take a look at it. for example T and even free T can be fine but e2 is up or just SHGB is up. maybe T3 is down or RT3 up. bottom line is metabolism. you can not solve this without the data.
-eliminate diabetic as a possibility if you can.

SKIP the alcohol, all of it for awhile.

almost every guy goes through this at some time. what they do about it or SAY about it can be very different.

 

[JacquesMemoirs]

Hormones also are enormous contributors. Cortisol is the stress hormone. Elevated cortisol levels and over time your body will stubbornly hang onto fat stores.

Thyroid hormones/metabolic rate is also important. As we age we lose testosterone and estrogen production. Metabolic rate slows gradually. So diet must modify as far as caloric intake alongside these changes. People who do not modify amount of caloric intake while metabolic rate declines are the ones who gradually gain weight with age. It literally sneaks up on you because metabolic rate declines with all other things being equal.

I'm female of course and in my 50s. So menopause is another issue for me. I still weigh as of this morning, what I weighed in high school, and wear a size 4. But I get on the scale every morning, walk every day, eat sparingly (protien/veggies/berries), avoid carbs and sugar, and drink alcohol in moderation.

I feel my very best 15-20 lbs lighter than where I am now, in a size 0. My current BMI is 21 right now, but I feel best at BMI 19, so I have lost some ground over the past 2 years. As others have said, one must be quite mindful about diet. My husband gained 20 lbs after we married (so did I), but he is now back to his weight when we met (6'3" and 175). I am coming back down too but the hormonal/metabolic riddle has been more for me to solve.

His BMR (basal metabolic rate) is also higher, becsuse he is younger (48) and male. He thinks I should eat the same as he does, and its taken a bit for him to grasp that my body does not operate the same as his. I CANNOT eat as frequently or the same volume as him, nor can I consume the same amount of alcohol.

Everything is discipline. Predominantly around diet but exercise and alcohol moderation in also very important. I have fortunate genetics, and so does my husband, but as we age that only gets us so far. Discipline is what makes the difference.

Consider going against the grain of bro science:
Focus on core muscles
Don’t take protein powders
Don’t take whey powders
Don’t take Covid injections
Don’t take testosterone injections
Don’t take steroids
Don’t take any bro science chemicals
Quit all caffeine
Detox away from smartphone
Read books

 

[Oatmeal31]

As an example, if you work out your biceps hard every day don’t your biceps get bigger? There would be less fat on the biceps and more muscle.

The core is the same deal. Just a more complex arrangement of overlapping muscles.

Heavily working out your abs will absolutely bring them out more and make them more defined. Yes, I believe that's the only way you can truly get them to pop at a lower body fat percentage. But, you cannot specifically target fat in that region