36 year old brah here

I've noticed over the past few years that it seems to take way more effort to cut 20-30 lbs in the spring & summer than in my 20s

Didn't want to accept the myth that your metabolism slows down as you get older, but I feel like I used to be able to just intensify my workouts and eat clean and I would lean down fast, in my 20s

Now, I have to get hardcore with counting my calories and do intense cardio 5-6 days/week to start noticing any change on the scale at all

Just staying under 2000 calories I'm lucky to lose 1 lb a week

Can't tell if I just was underestimating how many calories I've been eating or I just am not as physically active as I was in my 20s, I mean I still lift hard 3-4 days a week with good volume and mix in HIIT cardio 2-3 days a week but only lost 3 lbs in the last 2 months

Is my tour over?

Maybe....

I dunno...Things have been the same for me.

Yeah only because I can't stop drinking for more than a day.

I think you get fatter without realizing it as you get older, since it's easy to swap out a pound or two of muscle for a pound or two of fat while maintaining the same waist size, etc.

I went on a cut a few months back thinking I'd get it done in a month, but it took 4 because I had more fat than I thought and now I look like a hairless cat.

Same chit here bro

I've always had visible abs and if they start to fade all I had to do was more gym time/cardio and portion control (very easy to shred)

Now its similar to what you described and its actually a decent amount of discipline / work

Well I never had a succesfull cut so at least it wont get worse.

Dumb question, of course it's harder the older you get.

I have noticed it. My body seems to want to keep some extra fat. I will add some cardio.