Slow-down of metabolism as we age (1 Viewer)

[Fairytale]

I'm almost 22 and over the past couple of years, I've noticed my metabolism has gradually been slowing down. My weight was 48kgs in year 12 and nowadays, I fluctuate between 50-53kgs. Most of my high school friends have gained weight since graduating from high school, some have even gained as much as 15kgs. I know this weight gain is almost inevitable since it's natural for our metabolisms to slow down once we hit our early-mid twenties but damn I feel old lol. During my teens, I was able to eat 7 plates of food at all-you-can-eat restaurants and not gain a single gram, but these days it's a different story, I eat healthy and live healthy to maintain my figure.

So have any of you gained some weight since year 12 finished? How much have you gained? Do you spend more time exercising to compensate for the slow-down of your metabolism?

 

[boris]

*face palms*

Do more exercise. Metabolism only slows with age (and I think you're exaggerating at 22) because as we age, our lean body mass decreases and so does your metabolic need for oxygen and your caloric demand.

You are probably eating more than your bodies caloric needs, hence the drastic increase in weight. It happens to a lot of people because we tend to become more sedentary when we leave school.

Quite simply, exercise more and keep your lean muscle mass up.

 

[Fairytale]

*face palms*

Do more exercise. Metabolism only slows with age (and I think you're exaggerating at 22) because as we age, our lean body mass decreases and so does your metabolic need for oxygen and your caloric demand.

You are probably eating more than your bodies caloric needs, hence the drastic increase in weight. It happens to a lot of people because we tend to become more sedentary when we leave school.

Quite simply, exercise more and keep your lean muscle mass up.

Yeh, I probably should exercise much more since I hardly ever do. So what sort of exercises do you do? And have you gained any weight since leaving high school?

 

[boris]

Yeh, I probably should exercise much more since I hardly ever do. So what sort of exercises do you do? And have you gained any weight since leaving high school?

Yeah but I gained mine from pregnancy

If you're not a fitness freak, walking a few times a week is a great way to keep some lean muscle on (plus it's good cardio). A moderate walk for 20-30 minutes is better than going for a jog, as long as you maintain speed and challenge yourself (hills, inclines, etc)

 

[quik.]

I love how the first reaction to weight gain is 'my metabolism must have slowed down' and not 'maybe i've been lazy'. :]

Walking is good, but won't do much if anything for muscle gain. Some resistance training would be an awesome addition to your routine. Neither will help much if you don't have a fairly healthy diet in place. If you have more specific questions feel free to ask them.

 

[boris]

I love how the first reaction to weight gain is 'my metabolism must have slowed down' and not 'maybe i've been lazy'. :]

Walking is good, but won't do much if anything for muscle gain. Some resistance training would be an awesome addition to your routine. Neither will help much if you don't have a fairly healthy diet in place. If you have more specific questions feel free to ask them.

It wont gain much muscle, but it stops muscle deterioration which is a precursor to a slower metabolism. I am just not convinced it happens in 22 year olds.

 

[Fairytale]

I love how the first reaction to weight gain is 'my metabolism must have slowed down' and not 'maybe i've been lazy'. :]

Walking is good, but won't do much if anything for muscle gain. Some resistance training would be an awesome addition to your routine. Neither will help much if you don't have a fairly healthy diet in place. If you have more specific questions feel free to ask them.

I'm sorry if I sound stupid but what exactly is resistance training? .

 

[boris]

I'm sorry if I sound stupid but what exactly is resistance training? .

Weights, cycling...
Anything that creates a resistance against your body when you train. It builds muscle.

 

[Fairytale]

So do you know of any exercises that are good for toning up the legs? And also, does exercising your legs too much give you thicker thighs?

 

[boris]

So do you know of any exercises that are good for toning up the legs? And also, does exercising your legs too much give you thicker thighs?

Shouldn't make your thighs fat, no.

Squats and lunges are good for toning legs. Get one of those big exercise balls, they're like $12 from target or something. They come with a heap of exercises.

If you're just in it to get toned and aren't srs, then yeah get yourself some 2kg dumbells, an exercise ball and set aside 30 minutes!

 

[Fairytale]

Shouldn't make your thighs fat, no.

Squats and lunges are good for toning legs. Get one of those big exercise balls, they're like $12 from target or something. They come with a heap of exercises.

If you're just in it to get toned and aren't srs, then yeah get yourself some 2kg dumbells, an exercise ball and set aside 30 minutes!

I probably do not need to lose much weight since my BMI is 18, which is considered underweight. The thing is that I am what hollywood would call "skinny-fat" which is a term used to describe skinny celebrities that are very untoned. I really have to tone up!

 

[Nat3skiz]

I'm almost 22 and over the past couple of years, I've noticed my metabolism has gradually been slowing down. My weight was 48kgs in year 12 and nowadays, I fluctuate between 50-53kgs. Most of my high school friends have gained weight since graduating from high school, some have even gained as much as 15kgs. I know this weight gain is almost inevitable since it's natural for our metabolisms to slow down once we hit our early-mid twenties but damn I feel old lol. During my teens, I was able to eat 7 plates of food at all-you-can-eat restaurants and not gain a single gram, but these days it's a different story, I eat healthy and live healthy to maintain my figure.

So have any of you gained some weight since year 12 finished? How much have you gained? Do you spend more time exercising to compensate for the slow-down of your metabolism?

your friends eat too much kfc. Eat less, exercise more.

So do you know of any exercises that are good for toning up the legs? And also, does exercising your legs too much give you thicker thighs?

if you eat moderately, no.

 

[boris]

I probably do not need to lose much or any weight since my BMI is 18, which is considered underweight. The thing is that I am what hollywood would call "skinny-fat" which is a term used to describe skinny celebrities that are very untoned. I really gotta tone up!

Yeah, and this is why we often say that skinny isn't necessarily healthy. it's entirely possible to have a high body fat percentage and still be skinny.

Staying fit when you're young is a good way to keep your muscle mass up, and in turn you'll find as you get older you won't put as much weight on because your caloric requirements will still be high.

Just with everything, we have to watch what we eat.

 

[Fairytale]

I've heard that lifting weights makes your breasts shrink because as your body fat drops, the fatty tissue in your breasts drop too. That's one of the main reasons why I'm not too keen on lifting weights. So girls, have your breasts decreased in size since you started lifting weights?

 

[Marmalade.]

Metabolism slows about 1-2% with age (as in late forties and older), which is very little. And at 22, I think you need to shut up.

Why would you be eating 7 plates at once anyway? I think the problem is you, not your metabolism.

 

[Fairytale]

Metabolism slows about 1-2% with age (as in late forties and older), which is very little. And at 22, I think you need to shut up.

Why would you be eating 7 plates at once anyway? I think the problem is you, not your metabolism.

Yes, I know it was very stupid of me to eat 7 plates of food when I was a teenager but teenagers are generally immature and do foolish things. I don't do that anymore, nor do I want to.

Metabolism doesn't begin to slow down when people hit their late forties, it's much earlier than that. It starts to slow down at a rate of 2% every 10 years once a person hits age 20. Most people I know don't have the same bodies they had when they were in year 12.

 

[boris]

I would recheck anything I read that says a metabolism slows at 2% every 10 years after 20. It just doens't seem right to me, and I've pulled out all my text books and some old journal articles and none of them support this.

Infact the general consensus is that a drastic change is seen in the mid 30s.

Somebody as young as 22, in my personal opinion, can not attribute weight gain to an aging metabolism. It's more likely to be a sedentary lifestyle and eating above your bodies caloric requirements.

 

[Fairytale]

It was just some info I found on the internet. So Boris, what are you studying? Nutrition? Sport Science?

 

[boris]

Bachelor of Medical Science/Bachelor of Forensic Biotechnology

 

[GreenLeaf]

Hey Fairy, I'm in a very similar situation. Same BMI, have a great motabolism, and I was 48k in year 12, but during the 2nd christmas after yr 12, I somehow kept fluctuating between 51-54k and it stayed around 53 for quite some time.
But it was probably due to excessively eating cake, chocolate, etc etc... (i'm a chocolate addict)
I solved this weight gain, by giving up a few weeks, of just running. Running up a hill for 20 minutes every day, for 3 weeks or so. 20 minutes turned to 30 minutes, and 30 minutes turned to 40 minutes... Also did some tennis and swimming in between those weeks. I lost about 1 kilo a week, and now back to 49k. Now I'm eating less junk to maintain this weight. I think jogging really helped. Just don't starve yourself, because this may actually put on weight if your body gets hungry.