I am a 46 year old woman. I never had trouble losing weight with diet and exercise until I hit my 40s. Nothing that worked before worked anymore. I was constantly hungry and frustrated. Not only was I gaining weight but it was all in my middle. I lost my hourglass shape :-(.
If you look at my profile here, it shows that I lost weight last year and put it back on around the holidays. Then I had to start all over again this year. Weight gain is dangerous for me because my whole family has diabetes. I am on the border only because I don't eat carbs and I exercise regularly, whether I am heavy or not. Recently, I went to my doctor because low carb and exercise were not working. He ran some blood tests and we discovered that I have high C-reactive protein. 8.37 which is what cancer patients have! (I highly recommend this test if you have trouble losing weight). Along with high blood pressure, high triglycerides and cholesterol, this means that I have a Metabolic Syndrome. Most doctors don't test for this and don't take it seriously and continue recommending the low fat/calorie restrictive diet, which does not work for this disease. Fortunately, my doctor got me on fish oil and other supplements and explained insulin resistance to me. I am not obese or sedentary, which is what people who have this disease are, but I have bad genetics. I cannot fight genetics; I just have to adapt a different lifestyle to combat them. I cannot eat like other people and I cannot have a lifestyle like normal people. I have to be extra diligent and cautious if I want to avoid heart disease and diabetes.