21/04/2026
This is a conversation I’ve had probably hundreds of times. Across a consulting table, in a gym, over the phone. And it almost always starts the same way.
“I don’t know what’s happened to me. I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted. it must be my age”
Sound familiar?
Here’s the thing. You’re not imagining it. Losing weight in your 40s, 50s, and 60s does feel harder than it did when you were 25!
But what most people think is to blame — that your metabolism has fallen off a cliff — is mostly wrong.
Research actually shows that, after accounting for body size, energy expenditure (metabolism) stays pretty stable from your 20s through to your 60s. The meaningful metabolic slowdown happens much later.
So if it’s not your age or your metabolism, what is it?
"I don't know what's happened to me. I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted. it must be my age"