55-65 year old women's success?

snowflake930

Sodium is a hard one for me too Sodakat. Maintenance is really hard for me, harder than the losing was. I have to watch it closely. It is so easy to let the weight creep up. I weigh myself daily and if the weight starts creeping up, I cut calories and/or move more. I have been on MFP for 3 years, lost 160 pounds, plus the same few pounds I keep gaining and losing on maintenance these past 15 months. I must be doing something wrong. Others seem to find maintenance a fairly easy adjustment, but not me, it is hard!

sun_fish

snowflake930 wrote: »

Sodium is a hard one for me too Sodakat. Maintenance is really hard for me, harder than the losing was. I have to watch it closely. It is so easy to let the weight creep up. I weigh myself daily and if the weight starts creeping up, I cut calories and/or move more. I have been on MFP for 3 years, lost 160 pounds, plus the same few pounds I keep gaining and losing on maintenance these past 15 months. I must be doing something wrong. Others seem to find maintenance a fairly easy adjustment, but not me, it is hard!

Congrats on your loss! Very impressive

I find maintenance hard, in many ways harder than losing. I've been maintaining for 5 months now. I think for me, the reason it is hard is that during losing mode I had a mission, a goal, a prize to achieve and work for. I had to stay on track no matter what (not that I didn't have my times of going off track...). Now with maintenance, I find myself slipping back into old habits. It's a constant struggle to keep myself from doing that and not go back to eating the way I did that caused the weight gain. My goal is to stay within a 5 pound range, but I really like it when I'm on the low end of that range, it just feels safer.

From what I've read on the forums and heard from my FL, this experience of maintenance being harder is common, so you're not alone!

sodakat

My mom was diagnosed with a prolapsed heart valve in her 60s. The doctor described it as similar to a hernia and said it likely happened during the time she was a mail handler at the post office, before they had weight limits on parcels. He told her that she could repair it through exercise, in particular walking. So she began to walk daily.

Now, my mom had always watched her weight and done exercises at home, plus did walk to work when she was able, during the times she worked at a post office close to our house, but when she began walking daily, she REALLY walked. At one point she was up to 10 miles a day. She did heal the prolapse, btw.

Once when we were talking about the walking she told me that she could pretty much eat anything she wanted when she walked 10 miles a day. In her words, she said, "I can eat carte blanche when I walk that far every day". LOL. I suppose she could! She did get quite thin when she was walking so much because she didn't have the habit to overeat. She walked every day for decades, but eventually was averaging about 2 or 3 miles, not 10. When she was in her early 80s, living in Portland, OR, she started walking indoors because it became harder to walk in the rain outside. The condo complex she lived in then was 2 story and very large, so she still managed to get her miles in!

FabulousFifty

Want to join this group please - So many familiar stories! Hopefully 4 more months and I will be post-menopausal. (1 full year with no cycle) I have been working on my weight for a while, and am on the last leg of this journey. Hope to meet goal this spring and enter my golden years happy and healthy! Much love and good luck to all!

trina1049

I also have to keep my sodium at 1500mg or under and worry about "calorie creep" when I hit maintenance in about 10 more pounds. I think that I'm just going to have to always log (and, of course, exercise) to stay within a maintenance range. I really suck at eyeballing portions and was astounded at how much I was really eating when I first began to log. Geez, it's hard but worth it for the improved health.

snowflake930

Sun_fish, I am glad to hear that I am not alone in this. My goal is a 5# range also, but I start to panic @ 3, which can (and has happened) with mindless eating for 1 day. Like you, I want to stay in the low range, and so far, so good on this. I am 63, and still working full time (well, actually well over 40 hours per week, but we are salaried so not many weeks come in @ less than 50 hours), but looking forward to retirement. Losing, there was always an incentive to keep going. Going down a size, buying new clothes, compliments from people for losing the weight. I have not bought any new clothes in over a year though, and not many new NSV's in maintenance either. Still, I am happy and healthier than I have been in decades.

Sodakat, I walk a lot, like your mother. I got a fit bit in Feb 2013 (2 year anniversary with it coming up 2/8) I get between 8-10 miles everyday. I love my fit bit. It is the single best motivator I have to move more.

Trina1049, true words, it is so worth it! I am pretty sure that I will be logging for as long as I am able. I just can not trust myself to do this on my own. I need the discipline and structure I get from logging. It makes me accountable.

sun_fish

I think when in maintenance, it is a good idea to still have goals. When losing, that is the goal, so easier to stay focused. I found after I hit my goal weight, I became a little complacent. I also saw myself as the person who had lost 68 pounds, and at some point realized I was more than that. So, I reset my ticker to show "0" pounds, and created goals to keep me focused on something other than losing.

bonniepwest

Geez, the only time I've EVER been in maintenance was when I hit lifetime on WW many years ago. I've never stayed the same weight for more a month or two in my life, so I keep clothes in 5 or 6 different sizes. I know you're supposed to get rid of your "fat" clothes when you lose, but I found that having to buy bigger clothes when I gained wasn't a motivation to lose the weight again. I would just wear the same size until I couldn't fasten them or I split the seams, I'd get p***ed off and then I'd go out and buy bigger ones. So now I just think of it as insurance to have the bigger sizes in my closet. My motivation comes from a different place anyway, not having anything to do with clothes (although I do love clothes).

snowflake930

Bonniepwest, to be honest, I just brought 10 big boxes of my "big clothes" to Goodwill 2 weeks ago. That was a huge step for me. My DH said, "You have to get rid of these. You are not planning on wearing them again, are you?" I kept putting it off because I know that deep down, I think that I will need them again. Clothes certainly were not my incentive. I am, and always have been, a jeans and t-shirt kind of person, but it is nice (ok FANTASTIC) to shop for "normal" sized clothes instead of the plus sizes I wore for decades. My mind still has not really caught up to that aspect of weight loss.

Sun_Fish, what kinds of goals are you setting for yourself now? It seems like this would be something that I could do to give me new incentives for staying healthy.

sun_fish

snowflake930 wrote: »

Sun_Fish, what kinds of goals are you setting for yourself now? It seems like this would be something that I could do to give me new incentives for staying healthy.

I would be happy to share! It took me awhile to create this list, and had some input from others when I came up blank. It is basically my goal list for 2015, and may be revised as I go along. Here it is:

1. Get better sleep ~ my sleep is not horrible, but it’s not that great either. I’d like to create more consistency with better sleep.
2. Bodyweight chin ups ~ I’ve been doing eccentric chins for a while now, and am excited to progress to regular ones.
3. Squat my bodyweight ~ this was something I wanted to do by my 53rd birthday, but it didn’t happen. But that’s ok, I know it WILL happen before my 54th!
4. Try something new ~ I already achieved this goal - I signed up for a belly dancing class!
5. Eat more vegetables ~ my vegetable consumption is better than it used to be, but could stand some improvement.
6. Learn and perfect a new yoga pose ~ I’ll start with Extended Hand-To-Big-Toe Pose.
7. Unplug one day a week ~ I find I am glued to my computer and smart phone way too much. I have other things that I want to accomplish, yet the screen beckons and I end up feeling like I get nothing done.
8. Refashion one clothing item a month ~ I have a lot of clothes that are too big, and I’d like to alter them so they fit.

trina1049

I like the idea of continuing to have goals after we hit maintenance. I also have a small list to keep me going like trying new exercises (heavy lifting, working with a personal trainer for a short time, boxing, working on flexibility by adding more yoga and palates to my current workouts. Then there's the more non-tangible stuff, the mind, body, spirit balance -- meditation, etc. I'm looking forward to exploring all of it while keeping a close watch on the maintenance portion. I guess it adds up to a new lifestyle and not the constant weight gain/loss.

SbetaK

Enjoy reading these posts. I originally joined MFP to start tracking my sodium, hoping to get off BP meds. I feel really lucky if I make it under 1500mg, the recommended limit for older people. There's salt in EVERYTHING it seems. And it enhances flavor so well! Snowflake930, I have been like you, truly difficult to part with some of those larger clothes. Somewhere deep in our psyche we think we may sadly need them again, that our success is only temporary. I am having a hard time with the favorite clothes that looked decent, were not easy to find, or expensive. And in my small town the thrift stores get overwhelmed and start throwing good stuff in the dumpsters! I am almost "afraid" of maintenance, as I have never stayed where I want to be. Old habits come back when I have relaxed and let my guard down. But I am at the lowest weight I have been in over 22 years, and feel wonderful. So-gotta toss the clothes, keep up the logging, and make my new eating style my new "habits". As I've seen elsewhere, this IS the rest of my life, need to live it right, as in healthy!

luluinca

sun_fish wrote: »

snowflake930 wrote: »

Sun_Fish, what kinds of goals are you setting for yourself now? It seems like this would be something that I could do to give me new incentives for staying healthy.

I would be happy to share! It took me awhile to create this list, and had some input from others when I came up blank. It is basically my goal list for 2015, and may be revised as I go along. Here it is:

1. Get better sleep ~ my sleep is not horrible, but it’s not that great either. I’d like to create more consistency with better sleep.
2. Bodyweight chin ups ~ I’ve been doing eccentric chins for a while now, and am excited to progress to regular ones.
3. Squat my bodyweight ~ this was something I wanted to do by my 53rd birthday, but it didn’t happen. But that’s ok, I know it WILL happen before my 54th!
4. Try something new ~ I already achieved this goal - I signed up for a belly dancing class!
5. Eat more vegetables ~ my vegetable consumption is better than it used to be, but could stand some improvement.
6. Learn and perfect a new yoga pose ~ I’ll start with Extended Hand-To-Big-Toe Pose.
7. Unplug one day a week ~ I find I am glued to my computer and smart phone way too much. I have other things that I want to accomplish, yet the screen beckons and I end up feeling like I get nothing done.
8. Refashion one clothing item a month ~ I have a lot of clothes that are too big, and I’d like to alter them so they fit.

That is a really fantastic list. I set goals every month but right now they're primarily focused on fitness and nutrition, ie weight loss. I'm about 12 or 13 lbs from my goal weight after losing almost 60 lbs. I think it's time I begin thinking about what comes next. I may not be there until sometime this summer as it's going very slow right now but I do have lots of ideas along this line.

I think it's probably a good idea to be ready with some new goals. I imagine I'll be logging and weighing everyday but that won't bring much satisfaction anymore. Something to think about and plan for will be just what I need.

Jewels211

I have a couple of questions for you all. #1, is anyone else dealing with at least intermittent hyper smelling ability which I think may be partially what's responsible for suddenly not being able to stomach certain foods? There are times when I can smell the garbage truck when it's 6 blocks away, I mean to the point that I think our whole neighborhood is engulfed in the smell of rotten garbage. Some days when someone has mowed their lawn, I feel like I'm driving through a whole town of fresh-mown grass. And most of the time now, I can't handle broccoli and cauliflower, 2 of my main go-to veggies. Can't even take the feel of them in my mouth, but especially cooked. Right now, that's getting a bit easier, and I can handle cauliflower, and broccoli in small bits on a good day.
#2, does anyone know if you can get a butt that tends to be flat when it's not well-padded with fat to round up at least some if you do something like Buns of Steel or whatever? I know this is a hereditary thing--Mom's tush was pretty flat, too, but I've never tried to change mine up to this point, because it's almost always been well padded. I'm hoping to change that soon, and I'd like to know there's hope for some nice shape there!

0505jen

I am 55 years old and joined MFP after Easter last year. I lost 40 lbs. up until Christmas Day. I did put on 2 lbs over Christmas and my goal is to lose another 10 - 15lbs. by Easter of this year. I would like to get to a healthy waist to height ratio about 1 1/2" inches to go.
I have lost approx. 18" from my bust/waist and hips. I am not into menopause yet although it has been about 6 months. I have done this from counting calories and I do exercise every day by either walking, stationary bike and free weights. I too have a flat
rear but I do think the weights and walking uphill have made it appear fuller. This has been a real life change for me and I couldn't be happier with the results so far!

cathy120861

Anybody else snowed in today? Even my husband's NYC law firm closed down. As long as we don't lose power, it is actually pretty cozy. My exercise class was cancelled but i did about an hour of cardio and core exercises here at home, so am feeling virtuous. Now i am pretending to do work, but actually watching the Australian Open Tennis Tournament. Surely i must burn some calories by watching other people exercise?

trina1049

No snow in South Florida! Stay safe and warm.

cathy120861

My daughter is due today. and, i weight 32 pounds less than i did the day i first saw the babies heart beat. If i can keep on at this pace, i will be at my goal weight by babies first birthday.

both my daughter and the fetus seem to be doing great. I have two other children, both healthy and strong, a husband whose love and compliments encourage me every day, and a dog who is always happy to take me out for walks.

I feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

sodakat

@cathy120861‌ -- 32 pounds gone is fantastic! I read something on a blog yesterday that said instead of worrying about the "starting weight / goal weight" equation, it might be good to think "starting weight / weight a year later". Anything less than starting weight is success!

fatcitizen

I love reading these comments....