1600 calories per day and ZERO weightloss?! Any over 40's out there?

Hello out there!  I am 42 years old and just recently I've noticed that loosing weight is harder than ever.  I've been really attentive to keeping a log and counting calories for 3 weeks and I've lost zero pounds.  I work out regularly - have for almost 20 years.  I am a very experienced calorie counter and I've never experienced anything like this.  Just looking for a little commiseration.  Thanks.

I feel for ya...it is horrible....I am 49 and have been dieting like mad just to maintain my weight for 9 years now.  I quit smoking last year and put on 12 pounds - in what seemed like - overnight.    Hang in there - it just takes a great deal of playing with different food combinations to find out what will work for you now.  I do well on the South Beach Diet and started Phase 1 today to try to drop the no smoking weight. My fingers are crossed :)

I'm not in my 40's, but am 26 and having the same experience you are. My calculater is at 1300 daily intake with daily burn rate around 2300 and I have lost nothing in over 1 month I have been counting calories. I exercise regularly too. I think there is something "off" with the calorie counter. I haven't figured out what it is yet. Let me know if you figure it out.

Sorry to say, I don't think the calculator is off.  I have been doing this thing - exercise, diet, calorie counting - so long that I can do it in my head.  I am never surprised by the numbers they put up for food or calories burned.  I know they talk about reaching plateaus - maybe that's where we are!  I'm not overweight, btw, (5' 8", 142lbs.) so no one really cares when I complain. Sob - lol.

Quick question for you--are you still measuring and weighing your food? I know you posted that you've counted calories for years but something I've noticed is if I estimate the portion size, it's usually wrong. And that's especially true for the calorie dense foods I include in my diet.

For the record, I'm almost 48, and female also. I eat 1700 calories a day and work out six days a week and maintain without issue. Granted everyone is different and perhaps you are approaching menopause or have something like that affecting you?

Just some stuff to think about.

That's the problem - I'm maintaining on a regimen that used to result in weight loss.  Must be the dreaded menopause - or more like what they cal peri-menopause.  Things just sloooowww down.

This is one of the reasons why weight training is so important as we age.  Every year after 30 we start losing muscle mass and this makes the metabolism go down.  This can be counteracted by building/maintaining muscle mass through weight training.  Cardio exercise only just does not accomplish this.

I hear you vanilla! I'm 46 and it seems harder to me too. I had to increase the intensity of my workout and the time in order to lose and pound and a half. It's frustrating! I have to stop myself from thinking, "a few years ago, this would have been so easy." I'm not the same person as I was a few years ago so I can't expect the same things to work. Patches is so right about the weight training. That helps alot. I found getting more sleep made a difference too. Good luck! 

Hi my name is dave and have recently joined this site ,you say you are having trouble loosing weight have you ever considered joining a slimming club.I did and have gone from 17.5 stone down to 14 stone it took me less than a year to accomplish my loss i now yous the gym on a regular basis and i am thinking of changing my diet again for muscle groth.

But there is no need to go hungry and still loose weight best of luck

Oh and by the way i am now approaching 59 years of age 

I'm 42, and I've lost 56 lbs over the last year.  Age hasn't seemed to make much difference.  But Vanilla, you said it yourself, you are already at a healthy weight for your height.  It's quite possible that your body simply doesn't want to lose further.

Original Post by vanilla212:

Sorry to say, I don't think the calculator is off. I have been doing this thing - exercise, diet, calorie counting - so long that I can do it in my head. I am never surprised by the numbers they put up for food or calories burned. I know they talk about reaching plateaus - maybe that's where we are! I'm not overweight, btw, (5' 8", 142lbs.) so no one really cares when I complain. Sob - lol.

  I can't really complain either (5'10" and 150 lbs). I just wanted to go down to 140 for the sake of fitting into my older clothes.

Check out this link, it's a thread from earlier today...It may help shed some light on things.

BTW, I'm 56..

I am down to a thousand calories a day more or less.  I am glucose resistant so that makes it harder to lose weight.  Have you been checked for that?  I am trying to balance my carbs and proteins.  It may not help you but I am finally losing weight.  My Dr really wanted me to have my stomach stapled thinking I couldn't do it but I have lost about 6 lbs.  Michelle

I am not 42 years old, but my mom is 51 and she's going through menopause---A time that is not so easy on your body.  I can tell you that cutting calories by eating foods to nourish your body is a great idea, which I'm sure you are doing, but at the same time eating too little is also not a good thing. It can have an effect on your metabolism, therefore halting your weightloss efforts.  With your exercise routine, I suggest adding more weights.  Some gyms offer free sessions for first time people.  Discussing this with a trained professional might help.  The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn while at rest.  I know when my mom did weights and cardio, she saw more results than just dieting alone.  I hope that somewhat helped.

I'm not in my 40s, I'm 35 (140lbs). I just overhauled my diet in an effort to lose about 10 or so lbs and get healthier. I was 125 lbs about 4 mths ago and I would like to at least get back to 130. I have always hovered between 115 and 125 lbs. 

I cut out all of my favorite bad things (Dr. Pepper, sweet tea, chocolate, etc). I was a sugar-holic and I ate alot of Mcdonalds.

I have done nothing but eat VERY healthy foods and I count every calorie. I measure all of my food and I exercise at least 1 hour everyday, alternating between cardio and weight lifting. Somedays I do 30 minutes of both, somedays I do an hour of one or the other. I am drinking at least 8 8oz bottles of water a day as well.

I have been doing this for two weeks now and have not lost a single lb. My clothes don't fit any different either. I'm averaging about 1500 calories a day now. I was eating less but was told by some that it was too little so I went from 1250 to 1500.

A little discouraging that I haven't lost anything BUT I know that I'm getting healthier as my body seems to be operating better. I just the weight loss will come eventually as I'll continue to "fine-tune".

Good luck!

 

 

Hi everyone. I'm a 41 mom with 4 kids (13 down to 9).  I feel that my body no matter how much I work out stays the same.  I do 30 minutes of cardio five days a week, weight lift 3 days and I take pole dancing classes 2 times a week.  They gave me 1700 calories a day to get to my goal weight which is 16 pounds lighter than I am now.  I have just finished my first week of writing everything down and maybe this will work because I really thought about what I put in my mouth this week.... I didn't realize how much food I was finishing off my kids plates after they were done eating until this week and I have 4!  Would love to hear from anyone that can relate.