Ruby, I'm sure you can get the muscle back. There have been studies on nursing home patients. People in their 60s, 70s and, I believe, even 80s gain muscle after exercising.
I've wondered a lot about metabolism too. "I have a slow metabolism" -- heredity? a medical condition? Or because I don't exercise and have a high percentage of body fat? I'm beginning to think it's the latter.
I'm not really a yo yo dieter, although I'm a constant dieter. (To me, yo-yos are those who have lost 50 pounds and gained 60 on successive occasions.)
I thought your dieting history was interesting. I've never written mine down in chart form. Here goes. I'm 5'8 and 53 years old.
Age 14, 146 -- pronounced fat by family.
High school -- probably 160
College -- between 155 and 170
Summer after college -- right up to 190; ate 2 doughnuts a day (but I also walked three miles a day, to and from work)
Age 23 -- Stillman, one week. Lost to 175. Gained it back immediately.
Age 26 -- 210. Lost 25 pounds in one month on a low carb, low fat diet. Painless. Down to 185. I maintained 185-190 for five years with no effort. Ate anything I wanted.
Age 32 -- changed jobs. Went right back to 210 (more cokes, less exercise)
Age 35 -- Weight Watchers, joined at 216. Lost very steadily, down to 188. Maintained for five years.
Age 40. Became vegetarian and quit full-time job. Gained 40 pounds in two years.
Age 42, 230. Went on doctor supervised not-quite-fast program. Down to 215, exhausted, stopped the program.
I stayed at 230 for four years when various stresses in my life, including financial, changed my lifestyle. I lived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hotdogs, bisquick with butter and jelly, and coke.
1995 -- 240
1996 -- 250
1997 -- 270
1998 -- 280
I've bounced between 270 and 280 for the past few years, off and on low carb, WW, but never on anything longer than a month, and never lost more than 10 pounds. I have done very little exercise of any kind in the past five years.
2001 -- 293!!!! ($~%^%#~)
I don't think I'd like to see this on a graph
