Women who gain weight later in life have advantages and disadvantages

While talking to friends that have been thin all their lives and gained weight only after the age of 40 about weight management, I have noticed that they have both advantages and disadvantages over people who have struggled with their weight most of their lives. Awareness of both aspects can help these women build on the advantages and address the disadvantages.

Advantages

* Women who gain weight later in life don't have the food addiction history that people who have struggled most of their lives have.

* They don't have the fat genes that are perhaps the strongest factor contributing to weight gain.

* They usually don't have emotional eating. They usually don't use food as a soother or pain reliever.

* They usually don't have a big self-esteem issue related to their weight because they are more mature. Low self-esteem is worse when it develops early in life. Low self-esteem often drags women into a downward spiral of weight-gain and depression. It drains the energy they need to remain positive and strong to stick to their diets and avoid binging.

Disadvantages

* They don't have as much information and experience with weight management. Women who have struggled with their weight for long periods tend to read, contemplate and experiment with weight-loss. They usually know what to do, but lack the will-power or time. On the other hand, women who gain weight later in life need to start learning how to count calories, how many calories each type of food has, how many calories each type of exercise burns. They also need to experiment to explore what type of diet is best suitable for them.

* In terms of exercise, they often don't have the muscle memory that people who have exercised in the past have. They might not know how to pace themselves to avoid burnout or injury. They might be prone to injury because of weak or untrained muscles.