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  #1   ^
Old Wed, Aug-24-11, 01:47
Demi's Avatar
Demi Demi is offline
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Plan: Muscle Centric
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Default Why It's Easier To Maintain Weight Loss When You're Over 40

Quote:
From The Huffington Post UK
August 24, 2011

Why It's Easier To Maintain Weight Loss When You're Over 40

Dr Khandee Ahnaimugan


Could it possibly be easier for a woman to lose weight and keep it off after 40?

On the face of it, that sounds ridiculous. Even some of my most successful clients talk about how much easier it was to lose weight in their 20s.

"When I was 25, I could go on any diet and lose a stone (14 pounds) in a week or two"

So how can it be easier to lose weight and keep it off after 40?

In my experience, when it comes to their weight, women in their 20s are usually more preoccupied with quick results. Often this may be related to a particular event (like a holiday or a wedding). They are willing to go to extreme lengths as long as they get the results quickly.

And in your 20s, it is possible "starve" yourself down to a lower weight (if you can tolerate the deprivation) very quickly. Last week, a woman in her late 20s told me how she was trying a "slower" approach to weight loss. Despite apparently taking it slow, she had still managed to lose 4 pounds in the last week. This is the kind of weight loss a woman in her 50s can only dream about.

But the problem with this quick approach is that it is a recipe for yoyo dieting. You can do what it takes to get down to a lower weight, but as soon as you stop the diet, then what?

The best example of this is the young woman in her 20s or 30s trying to lose weight for her wedding day. She stops eating all the foods she loves, starves herself and goes through hell for the sake of looking good in a wedding dress. Of course, this approach to losing weight is guaranteed to be short term only, because once the wedding is over, she no longer has the strong motivation to tolerate such deprivation so she stops dieting and the weight comes back on.

In contrast, women over 40 have a much better approach to weight loss. In my experience:

1. They are more concerned with lasting results than the speed of their weight loss

2. They are willing to embrace the idea that you don't need to starve yourself to lose weight.

3. They understand that small, gradual changes are more effective than "showy" drastic ones

This makes them the ideal clients, because they have the most important prerequisite to losing weight and keeping it off: they have the right attitude.

You might think that attitude is a minor factor in weight loss. But in my experience, a woman who wants quick results no matter what will generally make the wrong decisions when losing weight. They will go for short term strategies that may get them fast results, but that are so unpleasant that no one in their right mind would ever be able to live that way.

Contrast this, with someone who makes small changes every week that they know they can live with for the rest of their life. Over several weeks, they add more small changes. The beauty of this gradual approach is that it is gentler and much easier. There is no deprivation or suffering. And the easier it is, the more likely you will stick with it for the long term.

The ironic result is that while women in their 20s might be able to lose weight easier, it is women in their 40s who are best equipped to lose weight and keep it off.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-...0_b_933781.html
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  #2   ^
Old Wed, Aug-24-11, 02:27
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freckles freckles is offline
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Plan: Atkins Maintenance
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Default

Quote:
it is women in their 40s who are best equipped to lose weight and keep it off.


This is a good article and I <hope and pray> it is correct. It seems to me I had a MUCH easier time losing the weight at 34 and 38 than now at 42....

But maybe it is a matter of the older you get the more realistic you are about weight loss and keeping it off and your over-all health in general.....and maybe you learn a bit more each time around?

I don't know. I thought at 34 and 38 that I was serious and would stick with it for life. What makes this time different????? That's a scary thought to me. Is this time really different? It seems so, but only time will tell.

I def feel I have a whole different attitude and am better equipped this time.....
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  #3   ^
Old Wed, Aug-24-11, 06:39
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NixCarbos NixCarbos is offline
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Plan: Primal Blueprint
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Default

I disagree.

Experience doesn't come with age. Experience comes with having experiences.
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  #4   ^
Old Wed, Aug-24-11, 09:21
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FowlFiend FowlFiend is offline
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Plan: General LC (was Atkins)
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Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by NixCarbos
I disagree.

Experience doesn't come with age. Experience comes with having experiences.


Great quote, NC!

I do think experience for me relates to losing the extra weight the first time (8 years ago or so), then finding out how easy it was to slip into bad habits and excuse them, and then experiencing how hard it was to lose the weight the 2nd time.

I hope I have the experience now to not repeat the cycle!
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  #5   ^
Old Wed, Aug-24-11, 09:37
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MiniMim MiniMim is offline
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Plan: Modified Atkins
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I can see that that may be true for people who don't have long-term emotional eating issues. People, say, who've gained weight in adulthood through carelessness, or whatever. Personally, I do agree that being over 40 has made me less frantic about losing weight quickly. But, inspite of having a more rational outlook consciously, its the underlying irrational, and oftentimes subconscious, emotional issues that still bite me in the butt.
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  #6   ^
Old Thu, Aug-25-11, 06:54
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WereBear WereBear is online now
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Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
Stats: 220/130/150 Female 67
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Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by NixCarbos
I disagree.

Experience doesn't come with age. Experience comes with having experiences.


Heck yeah.

I've had one backslide; that lasted a whole winter. However, I took the lessons and ran with them:
  • Cooking skills, gadgets, double the recipe and freeze portions; basically create my own "convenience" foods and treats.
  • Go Primal! Eliminated grains entirely, then seed oils, keeping my dairy mostly fermented and moving my coffee and wine to organic sources when possible.
  • Skipping breakfast and NO SNACKING has seemed to work wonders by controlling my insulin release and the resulting blood sugar levels.

I got so jazzed about exploring these new options I've revised my goal to fifteen pounds lower than I've ever gotten; and I lost five pounds of that this summer.

I think some people, of any age, keep thinking they can have both. They keep attempting different ways of having their Carb Rush AND still get the desired health and weightloss benefits.

My experiences with Primal have convinced me that such half-measures have hidden pitfalls to them. I'm eating more carbs and calories than I did in the spring, and lost more weight.

It's the composition that is so different; and it has made a big difference.
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  #7   ^
Old Thu, Aug-25-11, 07:54
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Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by NixCarbos
I disagree.

Experience doesn't come with age. Experience comes with having experiences.

This is true to a degree.
What about all the people( of varying ages) who have had tons of experiences and yet keep doing the same things over and over and over again......expecting a different result?
When do they get it? IMO, they'll get it when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of change.
I think that in general, the older we get, the more experiences we have to draw and learn from. There are some younger people who will get it but not the majority.

I know that for me, I didn't really get it about changing myself until I started out this time when I was 54 yrs old. IMO, thats old!
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  #8   ^
Old Thu, Aug-25-11, 14:13
NixCarbos's Avatar
NixCarbos NixCarbos is offline
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Plan: Primal Blueprint
Stats: 293/234.4/175 Female 5' 5 3/4"
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Progress: 50%
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Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Judynyc
This is true to a degree.
What about all the people( of varying ages) who have had tons of experiences and yet keep doing the same things over and over and over again......expecting a different result?
When do they get it? IMO, they'll get it when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of change.
I think that in general, the older we get, the more experiences we have to draw and learn from. There are some younger people who will get it but not the majority.

I know that for me, I didn't really get it about changing myself until I started out this time when I was 54 yrs old. IMO, thats old!


It depends where ones experiences come from

Quote:
they'll get it when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of change.


This I agree with whole heartedly.
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  #9   ^
Old Thu, Aug-25-11, 15:10
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NixCarbos
It depends where ones experiences come from

Oh?
Being that we're talking about weight loss maintenance here, please do share!!
Lets stay on topic!!
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  #10   ^
Old Thu, Aug-25-11, 16:07
NixCarbos's Avatar
NixCarbos NixCarbos is offline
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Plan: Primal Blueprint
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Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Judynyc
Oh?
Being that we're talking about weight loss maintenance here, please do share!!
Lets stay on topic!!


No need to get snarky

People tend to think because they've been here a long time (+40 yrs of age) that they have all kinds of experience and that people should listen because "they know better".

There is no doubt you have a lot of good advice Judy, nobody is taking that away from you. You have done a great job and a superb asset to this website and in real life too, I'm sure. However, there are many +40 yrs old people here who cannot maintain their weight loss either. Flip that around, there are many young ones <40 yrs of age who maintain very well. Age has nothing to do with it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by previous poster
long-term emotional eating issues


A lot of different aspects go into losing and maintaining weight loss.

Age is not a factor into success. Not even a little bit.
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  #11   ^
Old Thu, Aug-25-11, 17:17
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

I see where you're coming from now.

As one who does have big emotional eating issues, I can tell you that the older I get, my perspective shifts (as in seeing the big picture)and I seem to be able to get a better handle on my emotional eating. I do think that age has a lot to do with it...that and hormones!

Just look at the ages of those in the maintenance wegihin. One person is under 30 yrs old. The rest of us are older...that I know of!
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  #12   ^
Old Thu, Aug-25-11, 19:13
NixCarbos's Avatar
NixCarbos NixCarbos is offline
Give A Damn
Posts: 4,016
 
Plan: Primal Blueprint
Stats: 293/234.4/175 Female 5' 5 3/4"
BF:
Progress: 50%
Location: Canada
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Judynyc
I see where you're coming from now.

As one who does have big emotional eating issues, I can tell you that the older I get, my perspective shifts (as in seeing the big picture)and I seem to be able to get a better handle on my emotional eating. I do think that age has a lot to do with it...that and hormones!

Just look at the ages of those in the maintenance wegihin. One person is under 30 yrs old. The rest of us are older...that I know of!


I look forward to (and even still do) pouring over maintenance posts from you and cnmLisa when I get there.

Hormones Oy! Sometimes I hate being a woman. Other days, I hate being a woman...

Oh, wait...
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  #13   ^
Old Thu, Aug-25-11, 21:34
cnmLisa's Avatar
cnmLisa cnmLisa is offline
Every day is day one
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Plan: AtkinsMaintenance/IF
Stats: 185/145/155 Female 5'5
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Location: Oregon Coast
Default

Hopefully as we get older our perspectives really do shift. For others, they keep doing the same thing, getting the same results and wondering why....hmmmmm.....maybe because you keep doing the same thing thinking you'll get a different result


Quote:

People tend to think because they've been here a long time (+40 yrs of age) that they have all kinds of experience and that people should listen because "they know better".

Maybe they should know better, but everybody thinks they're the special little snowflake and they're soooo different, blah, blah, blah...

Quote:

Experience doesn't come with age. Experience comes with having experiences.

Yeah but if you put my experiences as a 51 year old woman, up against the average 25 year old...no offense, but I'd probably win hands down in terms of experiences. I'm just sayn'.


Quote:

But maybe it is a matter of the older you get the more realistic you are about weight loss and keeping it off and your over-all health in general.....and maybe you learn a bit more each time around?


When you move into your 40s and 50s you realize you are coming closer to your own mortality, particularly if you have aging parents. Hopefully, also, you have achieved a level of maturity where instead of spending all your energy on hating our bodies, we come to accept how our bodies look. At least for me, in my 30s I wanted the "body"--now, at 51, I look at myself and say, "pretty damn good for 51". It's a matter of self acceptance and a strong self esteem.
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  #14   ^
Old Thu, Aug-25-11, 22:33
freckles's Avatar
freckles freckles is offline
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Posts: 8,730
 
Plan: Atkins Maintenance
Stats: 213/141/150 Female 5'4 1/2"
BF:
Progress: 114%
Location: Dallas, TX
Default

I agree that experience comes with having experiences IF you are learning from those experiences. I think the older one gets the more apt one is to actually <learn>. And I think it happens in stages. The longer you do something, the more times you read the book (and I'm talking literature in general, not just lc), etc. if you are open to learning you will learn something new continually.

The other thing to consider.....even when you are younger you can have <many> great experiences....the question is do you <learn> anything from them or are you just living in the moment and having a good time?

It is true that there are many older (and younger!) people here that think they should be listened to simply because they have been here so long. When looking for advice I don't just look to how many posts the advice giver has given, or how long they have been a member. I look at stats and background - and age is <never> a consideration. It continually amazes me how people consider the advice from a new member who has lost 5 lbs. as gold. I just don't understand that.

All I know is that I have lost to goal three times and each time I have learned something that has helped me do a better job the next. I believe that part of the reason why I learned something each time is because I never viewed it as a quick weight loss scheme. I always <intended> for it to be truly a way of eating. And I have gotten older with each successive round.

That said....I think this might be a which came first, the chicken or the egg conversation.

I agree with Judy, though...all the maintainers I'm aware of are 40+ as far as I know. And the posted article was about having an easier time maintaining over 40 - not just about weight loss. Most people can lose weight.....I'm interested in maintaining.
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  #15   ^
Old Fri, Aug-26-11, 11:01
Demi's Avatar
Demi Demi is offline
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Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"
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Progress: 109%
Location: UK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NixCarbos
A lot of different aspects go into losing and maintaining weight loss.

Age is not a factor into success. Not even a little bit.
I agree that a lot of different aspects go into losing and maintaining weight loss. However, the whole point of the orignal article was the doctor saying that, in his opinion and experience, age IS indeed a factor when it comes to successfully maintaining weight loss. He said he felt that the older woman's attitude was, in this regard, far better than that of the younger women he encountered.
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