It really helps to be honest with ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you are really trying to problem solve, you will be open to discussing the variables that will influence the answer for you. And, yes, I mean, for you<\/em>, personally. There are many factors that might make trying to obtain a certain weight harder or easier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You are probably aware that on average, men tend to have a higher percentage of muscle in their bodies. The hormones in mens’ bodies are designed to facilitate this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having those muscles makes men burn more calories for general maintenance and makes it easier for them to burn more calories as they use those muscles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is true that some women can work their way to a higher percentage of muscle in their bodies than some men have. However, women simply don’t bulk up the way men do unless hormones are messed with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aging is correlated with lose of muscle mass, but we must ask a very important question: How much of this is due to the aging process and how much is due to lifestyle?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lifestyle may be legitimately affected by things like responsibilities, injuries, or climate. It is easier to find time to go out and play if you don’t have a 9-5 desk job or if it is a safe temperature outside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mental stress can also result in a feeling of physical inertia sometimes. Sickness or injuries necessitate more rest to heal, while chronic physical issues require special adaptations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, it is true that changes in hormones due to aging can make our bodies less inclined to nurture muscle development. But what does this mean in our present reality? All it really means is that we probably don’t have the same peak potential that we did when we were younger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Considering most people don’t even reach their peak muscle potential when they are young, this should not be a major issue. It is quite possible that you could reach a peak at an older age that you never did at a younger age, if even it is not “the best” you could have been at a younger age. Besides that, no one stays at peaks all the time anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you can pin point the particular things that are impacting how much you move, you will be better prepared to figure out how to adjust what you can. Some of those factors, such as rest and diet, will be part of the rest of the discussion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Always keep in mind that extra weight (this idea will be refined later)<\/em> can also make it feel harder to move, both in terms of effort and grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You have probably gathered by now that I am convinced that regular activity is very helpful for weight management. There are a few reasons for this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n So the next question is 2 part: how much and how should you be active? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n First and foremost, do not sabotage your efforts by injuring yourself! Even if you are regularly active, increasing your efforts by a lot or getting heavily involved in new activities puts stress on your body that is likely to be counterproductive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You may just exhaust yourself so much that you don’t follow through with your plans. Or you may hurt something that will mean you have to decrease activity for a prolonged time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is reason to believe that the older a body is, the longer it takes to heal and the less perfectly it heals. In this way, an injury can<\/em> make losing weight harder as we age. With every injury we are at risk for being less mobile and maybe even more prone to the same injury again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That doesn’t mean I go around always afraid I’m going to hurt myself. You should have seen me flying down the hills while running out in the high desert of Idaho today! But I had gradually worked up to feeling I was ready for it and I was still keeping an eye on how my legs and balance were responding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have recuperated from an odd assortment of surgeries and 7 pregnancies, as well as the normal illnesses that tend to go around. I know the benefits of regaining my strength after set-backs. I know it is partly in how I frame the goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You need to frame the goal in positive terms. It should not be about depriving yourself or how fat you are or how hard it is going to be. These things may be somewhat true in the process, but they don’t need to dominate your thinking or choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Along those lines, if you spend a lot of time telling yourself that this will be harder because you are older, then it probably will be harder. Try to think instead of the advantages you have. Do you have<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to thinking about losing weight, think of things like<\/p>\n\n\n\n Much of losing and maintaining a weight you are happy with is about developing habits in a positive way. To review simple strategies for positive habit building, check out my post Habit Makers and Breakers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are very few people who care how much you weigh. You care, probably because of how it makes you feel and\/or how you think it makes you look. Significant people in your life probably mostly care because they care about you. Other onlookers rarely care at all or pretend to care so they can gossip about things. Such people should be disregarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, how much weight do you think you should lose? Really? Do you base this on <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/funfitnessafter50.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Is-it-Harder-to-Lose-Weight-When-You-Are-Older-title-photo.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIt starts with basic biology<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Asking the right questions<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
How much should you move<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The magic of framing the goal<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Deciding how much weight should you lose<\/h4>\n\n\n\n