For me it’s not portion size but calories…the plate is the same amount full but if there are any white carbs or cheese on it, I am gaining weight.

Similar - 41. I also lost a decent amount of weight after realizing I was less hungry and eating smaller portions/more nutritious food.

Anonymous wrote:50. Perimenopause. Lifelong skinny person who could eat whatever I wanted. Trying to accept and comes to terms with it. Sucks to watch what you eat and leave the table hungry.

Ugh... this makes me nervous. I'm also 50, but haven't yet noticed weight creeping on. I have started working out more regularly in the past 6 months and am hoping that lifting will help keep the menopot away. My goal right now is to keep my bones strong.

I’m laughing at all the PPs saying 14, etc. because that is exactly how I feel.

I wonder whether weight maintenance in middle age is easier for those of us who have always had to severely restrict. I was always the chubbier one as a teen, but now I feel comparatively thin as I approach my 40s because skipping meals and eating 1200/day is nothing to me. It’s sad but true.

Anonymous wrote:Never?

51 and haven’t changed a thing diet wise.

+ me, 52; although I changed my fitness routine to include heavier weights, more stretching and posture work and I added a daily walk. It's an investment in my metobolism, because I love to eat.

50. Perimenopause. Lifelong skinny person who could eat whatever I wanted. Trying to accept and comes to terms with it. Sucks to watch what you eat and leave the table hungry.

Anonymous wrote:50. Perimenopause. I’m beginning to eat like my grandmother did.

Also, alcohol feels like it’s poisoning my body. I can feel it the next day even after one glass. Another grandmother characteristic. 🙄

+1 on the alcohol. It's crazy.

For me, early 40’s. I’d been trying to lose weight unsuccessfully for so long. Just a few pounds (5-10). It took giving up white flour, most gluten, and all added sugar and desserts for the scale to finally start moving (I already eat only vegetarian and don’t drink). Even then I only lost 5 pounds over 3 months despite exercising (moderately 4x/week)!! That was a big wake up call for me and I realized why my previous attempts were unsuccessful.

Mid 50s. Still getting used to it.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know about intentionally eating smaller portions, but I naturally started eating way smaller portions in my 20s (probably in part because I was paying for my own food and was motivated to be frugal lol), then huge portions when pregnant/breastfeeding, and now scaling back again as my kids get older/my hormones return to normal. I’m still bigger than I was pre-pregnancy but that’s at least partly because I don’t exercise as much any more. Trying to get that back…

This is what I was going to say. I've just generally noticed a decline in my appetite over the last 4-5 years (I'm 44, youngest child is 6). At this point I only eat one large meal a day (either lunch or dinner) and the rest of the time I'm eating what I would previously have considered a "robust snack." So I don't find I have to deny myself larger portions -- a restaurant-sized portion now just looks like two meals to me.

The flip side of this is that it's not like I always crave healthy foods -- I've always loved carbs, fats, and sweets. So when I'm eating smaller meals, I have to pay attention because my tendency will be to just eat the protein (and fat) heavy part of the meal and skip the veggies and fiber. Last year I started meal prepping on the weekend so that I could prepare easy small salads for weekday lunches, which helps me do a better job of eating something balanced in one smallish dish, instead of just eating a bagel with cream cheese and feeling too full for anything with actual nutrients in it.

50. Perimenopause. I’m beginning to eat like my grandmother did.

Also, alcohol feels like it’s poisoning my body. I can feel it the next day even after one glass. Another grandmother characteristic. 🙄

Around 14-15

I don’t know about intentionally eating smaller portions, but I naturally started eating way smaller portions in my 20s (probably in part because I was paying for my own food and was motivated to be frugal lol), then huge portions when pregnant/breastfeeding, and now scaling back again as my kids get older/my hormones return to normal. I’m still bigger than I was pre-pregnancy but that’s at least partly because I don’t exercise as much any more. Trying to get that back…

38. I gained a pants size since last summer without changing my habits. I'm trying to really reduce now but it's not easy.

14. I’ve been on a diet almost my whole life.