55-65 year old women's success?

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  • brig220
    brig220 Posts: 52 Member
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    Thanks @sweetlypie1, congratulations to you!
    That Sounds like a good average to start. I also need to get a couple of weeks of a routine to better understand where I should be. I’ve done this in the past and lost weight around 1600-1800. Now I’m older so things are probably different.
  • jspecies19
    jspecies19 Posts: 21 Member
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    hi brig220
    Increasing your water may help - increasing my intake helped me a lot! I found that sometimes I at at work I was looking for something to eat because I was anxious or unsure about something and not really hungry. Reaching for the water bottle instead works. Go at your own pace -it will improve when you grt some momentum.
  • griffinca2
    griffinca2 Posts: 672 Member
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    brig220, to add to what jspecies said; don't forget to have some of your favorite foods (in moderation) along the way. And if you really mess up and fall off the wagon, get back on; this is not a "diet" w/an end date--it's a journey for the rest of your life. B)
  • bethany1954
    bethany1954 Posts: 15 Member
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    Hi all, I am very new to this, but reading some of the posts here i feel i may benefit from your optimism if that would be ok. I am 63, and overweight. There, I said it, but i am determined to change my life by losing it. I started on the LCHF diet in August and so far I have 24lbs. Although I am thrilled with this, i am not kidding myself that I can now take it easy, as I have another 40lbs to lose before I am done. I am trying to see this as a new way of eating for the rest of my life as opposed to a diet, however I am very confused about exercise. I am doing 60 mins on exercise bike at least 3-4 times a week, and an hours walk at least 3-4 times a week and have recently added an hour on the Wii fit plus about 3-4 times per week. So, I am really working quite hard but when i put the exercise into my planner it allows me more carbs and cals, which is fair enough, but am i supposed to eat what I have gained? My planner tells me that I am not eating enough so am doing it all wrong or should I carry on as I am?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,178 Member
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    bethany1954 wrote: »
    Hi all, I am very new to this, but reading some of the posts here i feel i may benefit from your optimism if that would be ok. I am 63, and overweight. There, I said it, but i am determined to change my life by losing it. I started on the LCHF diet in August and so far I have 24lbs. Although I am thrilled with this, i am not kidding myself that I can now take it easy, as I have another 40lbs to lose before I am done. I am trying to see this as a new way of eating for the rest of my life as opposed to a diet, however I am very confused about exercise. I am doing 60 mins on exercise bike at least 3-4 times a week, and an hours walk at least 3-4 times a week and have recently added an hour on the Wii fit plus about 3-4 times per week. So, I am really working quite hard but when i put the exercise into my planner it allows me more carbs and cals, which is fair enough, but am i supposed to eat what I have gained? My planner tells me that I am not eating enough so am doing it all wrong or should I carry on as I am?

    IMO, the really crucial question, since you've been doing this for a while, is this one: How fast have you been losing weight?

    It's nearly always least risky/most healthy to lose no more than about 1% of your body weight weekly, less as you approach goal. With 40 pounds to go, you're probably soon at the point where a pound a week is good, then moving to around half a pound weekly on average at maybe 10-15 pounds or so from goal. (Always ignore the first couple of weeks of weight loss when calculating average losses, because the water weight can be whacky at first. ;) )

    That said, it's always OK to lose slower if it's more achievable for you, and one should lose slower if there are negative symptoms (fatigue, weakness, hair loss, etc.) when nutrition is already solid.

    If you're losing too fast, eat more.

    MFP does intend that you eat back exercise calories. The idea is that you set your "activity level" (sedentary, active, etc.) based on your everyday life without exercise, i.e., your job and chores and the like. MFP gives you a calorie estimate that it thinks will give you your target weight loss (X pounds per week) without any exercise.

    If you exercise, you estimate & log those calories, and eat those back. If all the estimates are close enough, that should still have you losing at your target rate.

    Many people worry about overestimating exercise calories, so they eat back only a percentage of the exercise at first, pickung a percentage based on how confident they are that the exercise calories are right. 50% is a common recommendation, to start.

    Thing is, every sensible person will say that you should use these estimated numbers for 4-6 weeks (6 for premenopausal women, IMO), monitor your average weight loss over that time (ignoring the first couple of weeks), then adjust based on your actual weight loss rate.

    Since you already have that experiential data, you can just use your data to decide what to do. If you're losing faster than ideal, calculate ((average excess pounds lost weekly x 3500 calories in a pound approximately) ÷ 7 days) , and eat about that much more daily. If you're losing more slowly than you want, do the same kind of calculation and eat that much less.

    I hope that makes sense! :)
  • bethany1954
    bethany1954 Posts: 15 Member
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    Thank you, So if i read it right I should eat maybe 50% of the cals earned through exercise? I do sometimes find it hard to eat enough but I am eating lots of healthy food. I can maybe introduce fruit back in to my diet as a way of eating extra.
  • walktalkdog
    walktalkdog Posts: 102 Member
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    What do you do when you feel absolutely starved?!
  • luluinca
    luluinca Posts: 2,899 Member
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    walktalkdog wrote: »
    What do you do when you feel absolutely starved?!

    Hmmmmmm, that happens to me in the morning quite often and so I go ahead and eat, even if it means I eat less dinner or snacks. I need to eat sometimes and since I work out in the mornings that's normally when I'm really hungry...........pre and post workout! Make sure you're eating enough calories and that your macros are set to what satisfies you, we're all different. Some people recommend drinking a large glass of water or tea but that just makes me want to pee and eat more.....LOL

    One other suggestion is to find something to distract you, an activity you enjoy. I like to go in my sewing room and look at a new project, take the dog for a nice slow walk around the neighborhood, work in the yard a little or plan the week's meals and exercise.

    If it's late at night I might have a few sips of milk and just go to bed and read for awhile until I fall asleep.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,178 Member
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    bethany1954 wrote: »
    Thank you, So if i read it right I should eat maybe 50% of the cals earned through exercise? I do sometimes find it hard to eat enough but I am eating lots of healthy food. I can maybe introduce fruit back in to my diet as a way of eating extra.

    If you're losing at a higher rate than you want/need to, eating back some exercise would be fine.

    If you like doing arithmetic, use the formula I suggested to estimate the percentage - calculate the additional calories needed, then compare that to your average daily exercise calories to figure out what percent to eat back.

    If you don't like arithmetic, try eating back 50% for a few weeks, and adjust the percent up or down based on results, as needed.

    One note: When you start eating more calories, you could see a small scale jump temporarily from water weight plus slightly larger average amounts of food in transit in your digestive system. If you see such a jump, don't panic. Give it a week or two to even out rather than reacting frantically. ;)

    Best wishes! :)

  • walktalkdog
    walktalkdog Posts: 102 Member
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    luluinca wrote: »
    walktalkdog wrote: »
    What do you do when you feel absolutely starved?!

    Hmmmmmm, that happens to me in the morning quite often and so I go ahead and eat, even if it means I eat less dinner or snacks. I need to eat sometimes and since I work out in the mornings that's normally when I'm really hungry...........pre and post workout! Make sure you're eating enough calories and that your macros are set to what satisfies you, we're all different. Some people recommend drinking a large glass of water or tea but that just makes me want to pee and eat more.....LOL

    One other suggestion is to find something to distract you, an activity you enjoy. I like to go in my sewing room and look at a new project, take the dog for a nice slow walk around the neighborhood, work in the yard a little or plan the week's meals and exercise.

    If it's late at night I might have a few sips of milk and just go to bed and read for awhile until I fall asleep.

    Thank you! My snack attack urge hits me in the afternoon at work. There are vending machines right outside my office that I mostly avoid but sometimes the lure is too strong. But then if I get home from work hungry I then overeat. Ugh. Got to pack some healthy snacks for my desk for the afternoons.

    Sometimes I go to bed early if I'm still hungry just so I don't have to wait so long to wake up and eat again - LOL!
  • llbrixon
    llbrixon Posts: 964 Member
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    If I am starving and feel like I am going to lose it...I will go for a fresh apple to eat. If I am still hungry after that, I will have some almonds to eat.
  • bonsmom
    bonsmom Posts: 17 Member
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    krenwren wrote: »
    just checking in with everyone! no progress but feeling OK. exercising a lot so even without weight loss, I feel good!

  • debtay123
    debtay123 Posts: 1,327 Member
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    I am checking in as well- did not lose anything for last couple of weeks- (sigh) but I am maintaining- there is a LOT going on now with family and I am trying to get back to my exercise routine- for stress release and because the movement is fun to me- have been ultra busy- but now I know i have to make time for "me" not being selfish- but realizing that I need to see about myself as well as be a caregiver- does anyone know where I am coming from?
  • griffinca2
    griffinca2 Posts: 672 Member
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    deb, Yep; need to take of yourself so you are better able to take care of others. Bible says to love others as you love yourself; that means you need to take care of yourself as well. Understand the stress; as long as you're maintaining and exercising when you can, I wouldn't worry about it right now. Just do the best you can.
  • walktalkdog
    walktalkdog Posts: 102 Member
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    debtay123 wrote: »
    I am checking in as well- did not lose anything for last couple of weeks- (sigh) but I am maintaining- there is a LOT going on now with family and I am trying to get back to my exercise routine- for stress release and because the movement is fun to me- have been ultra busy- but now I know i have to make time for "me" not being selfish- but realizing that I need to see about myself as well as be a caregiver- does anyone know where I am coming from?

    You are not being selfish! What the other poster says is right, you need to take care of you first, before others, as you will do a better job all the way around if you take care of yourself first. Just like on airplanes, if you don't get oxygen, you can't help others get oxygen.
  • walktalkdog
    walktalkdog Posts: 102 Member
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    llbrixon wrote: »
    If I am starving and feel like I am going to lose it...I will go for a fresh apple to eat. If I am still hungry after that, I will have some almonds to eat.

    Excellent plan! I have to really convince myself sometimes, however, that an apple will do just fine, not the cookies!
  • debtay123
    debtay123 Posts: 1,327 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the feed back- finally things have begun to slow down a little around here. You guys are so right- I always "run" to see what I need to do for others- but I am NOW learning to take some time for "me" as well- thanks for all your inspiration. PS I have fit my exercise in 3 days this week- I am going to set it up like I would an appointment or something(that is what another friend suggested that I do). thanks a lot

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