55-65 year old women's success?

sun_fish

grandmothercharlie wrote: »

I am 5'1" and was always fit and within a healthy weight range. My weight gain started in 2001 at age 50 (5 years after menopause) due to heart problems and RA. I hurt and felt like my heart would explode at very little exertion. I gained 100 pounds in 8 months and it became even harder to move. My RA was usually controlled, but my heart continued to get worse and by 2007, I was pretty much told I shouldn't do stairs, exercise, etc. as it was feared I would suffer sudden death. Medications helped, but would not get my heart functioning well enough. I continued to gain. In 2010, I was given a pacemaker/CRT/defibrillator implant and I could tell a difference almost immediately. The CRT (cardiac resychronization therapy) portion has that effect on some people. My RA was flaring up again though, so I was still pretty limited in what I could do.

But by January 2014, my heart function was near normal and my RA was in remission. I could finally move without problems. I was looking into bariatric surgery as I had reached 238 (BMI 45). I started doing all the things I needed to do to prepare for surgery like seeing that I could stick to a 1200-calorie a day diet and walk every day. I was determined that if I went through the surgery, I would do what it took to be successful. Instead, I started to lose weight! I joined MFP a couple weeks later. By the time I would have jumped through all the hoops to have the surgery, I no longer qualified for surgery!

I am now at 148.5. (I've dropped 89.5 pounds total, 81.5 since joining MFP). I have gone from a size 22 WP pants to a 10P (just this week). I have gone from XXL tops to MP. I am walking everyday. Doing a cardio workout usually at least 60 minutes and 6 days a week (mostly 7 because I love it). I try to do strength training twice a week (but I must admit I hate it). I have started Tai Chi this year and go twice a week to that!

I'm still not sure where to stop. My ticker goal says 115 as that is where I was most of my life. The science says after 60 we should weigh a little into the "overweight BMI range" and my doctor agrees with that thinking and says 135-140. I would like to get at least to 130 (which would get me into the high end of "healthy" BMI, but lower than my dr. advises) I'll be 64 in April. My question is: How did you decide where to maintain? Science or vanity? I seem to be aiming at vanity.

The progress photo below was taken last month about 6 pounds more than now and one size larger.

Wow! So much greatness in this post! Congratulations, and you look so, so happy in your after picture!

sun_fish

cathy120861 wrote: »

Just checking in to be honest about how badly i fell off the wagon while i was in Texas. I know that having a grandson in intensive care is the world's best excuse for emotional eating, but he is doing great now and i am still binging in the middle of the night. Seeing his heartbeat was my inspiration for starting to get healthy and it would be just too pitifully ironic to mess up now that he is born and hte fun really starts. (I am unable to resist attaching a picture of baby jonah in an elephant hat.)

Beautiful picture of you and your grandson. Don't beat yourself up over a temporary setback. Just get back on it!

cathy120861

Thanks for the encouragement, friends. I am down half a pound today which makes 35 pounds exactly since last May.

GrandmotherCharlie -- wonderful weight loss, wonderful story, wonderful pictures. I am also 5'1" and my nutritionist suggested 135. however, i weighed about 145 8 or 9 years ago and i certainly felt healthy, so i am going to be flexible.

Sharonneaton

jdmart7 wrote: »

I will be 60 in a few short months. I too am looking for motivation and support from this age group. I would like to lose between 50 and 60 lbs. by mid May. Yikes! I know it's a lofty goal but really want to do this! Please help!!! My plan is through diet and exercise. (AGAIN)

Sharonneaton

Grandmother Charlie, what a great accomplishment! Congrats!

Healthydiner65

Awesome accomplishment Grandmother Charlie!

cathy120861

I was thinking of starting a group for women our age, where we would choose a fitness challenge every week and offer each other support and encouragement. some of the challenges that occur to me would be adding an hour more exercise than you usually do, or cutting down on carbs, or cutting out night time eating; the people in the group would take turns choosing the challenges. we could define "fitness" very broadly and include any health related challenges that interest us.

anybody else interested?

sodakat

@grandmothercharlie, thanks for the great post and congratulations on your loss so far!! I'm 5'2" and am aiming for 125 as 138 is the theoretical line between overweight and normal for me, according to what I've read. I guess I didn't realize that the current thinking is older women should weigh a bit into the overweight area. I'm unsure on that and also unsure on protein needs at our age. How do we know for sure?

It's a bit moot for me right now since I still have a long way to go and am really just trying to get comfortable and accustomed to eating less and moving more. I figure the longer it takes me to lose to the level I decide is good enough, the more habitual it will become.

@cathy20861 congratulations on the arrival of your grandson and pulling yourself back from the dark side! You too @bonniepwest!

--Kathy

grandmothercharlie

Not only is it recommended that people (not just women) over 60 weigh in the "overweight" BMI range, studies have shown that you will live longer than people who weigh in the normal range. The reverse is not the same. 60 seems to be the magic number.

There are several thoughts on this. 1. A little fat seems to help protect bones from breaking as they weaken with age. 2. As we get older, we don't eat as well, so those who are smaller may become malnurished. 3. The older we get, the odds of a catastophic disease increases, so the added weight protects us from weight loss from extended illness or chemo therapy.

Here is an excerpt from an article on Livestrong (http://www.livestrong.com/article/305703-the-ideal-weight-for-older-people/):

"The overweight designation -- a BMI between 25 and 29.9 -- is an indicator of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk in younger adults, but in seniors, that trend appears to reverse. A Yale study conducted in 2001 using the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's U.S. Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults found no correlation between seniors who were mildly overweight and increased mortality rates. In fact, study participants labeled overweight had lower mortality rates than those in the acceptable range, suggesting that the ideal weight for seniors, as measured by BMI, is perhaps too restrictive."

As for the protein issue, I do think we need to have an adequate amount. I recently saw something on this. Try googling "Mayo Clinic weight women over 60. I think they have a pyramid calculator that comes up with good proportions, calories, etc. based on your weight for both losing and maintaining.

@cathy120861: This is a good idea. I'm already in two similar groups for those over 60 so I'm am going to opt out, but...I hope you can gather a similar group as it is really helpful to have people "in the same boat!"

trina1049

grandmothercharlie wrote: »

Not only is it recommended that people (not just women) over 60 weigh in the "overweight" BMI range, studies have shown that you will live longer than people who weigh in the normal range. The reverse is not the same. 60 seems to be the magic number.

There are several thoughts on this. 1. A little fat seems to help protect bones from breaking as they weaken with age. 2. As we get older, we don't eat as well, so those who are smaller may become malnurished. 3. The older we get, the odds of a catastophic disease increases, so the added weight protects us from weight loss from extended illness or chemo therapy.

Here is an excerpt from an article on Livestrong (http://www.livestrong.com/article/305703-the-ideal-weight-for-older-people/):

"The overweight designation -- a BMI between 25 and 29.9 -- is an indicator of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk in younger adults, but in seniors, that trend appears to reverse. A Yale study conducted in 2001 using the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's U.S. Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults found no correlation between seniors who were mildly overweight and increased mortality rates. In fact, study participants labeled overweight had lower mortality rates than those in the acceptable range, suggesting that the ideal weight for seniors, as measured by BMI, is perhaps too restrictive."

@cathy120861: This is a good idea. I'm already in two similar groups for those over 60 so I'm am going to opt out, but...I hope you can gather a similar group as it is really helpful to have people "in the same boat!"

Thanks but no thanks; I think I'll stick with a normal BMI. In spite of what these studies say, too many other problems crop up with being overweight even a little bit. I'm finally just inside a normal BMI and intend to stay there or to drop just a bit more. Because I'm older I'll never be my high school weight again nor would I want to (well, maybe a little), and that's OK. Middle to upper end BMI is more realistic for someone my age. The trick is to stay/maintain at a healthy weight for health reasons.

sodakat

I'm going to pass on joining a group also. I do like groups for weight-loss challenges, as long as they are tied to a spreadsheet, but I don't get excited about other peoples' challenges and have found that I rarely participate. There is a link in earlier pages in this thread to a group btw.

grandmothercharlie

@trina1049 I don't disagree with you. I want to get in the normal range, too, but both my family doctor and my cardiologist (the two were advocating weight loss for me) feel that a little extra weight is beneficial even with my heart issues.

115 will be middle "healthy" for me. 130 will be "upper" healthy for me. (My boundary is 132.8 between healthy and overweight). As I said, my drs. recommended 135-140 not too far into overweight.

But, like you, I've worked so hard, I think I would like to at least see a size 6. But I do see their point as they aren't talking obesity, just a few pounds above healthy limit. I think it needs to be decided by each person. They also kept asking "how do you feel?" I think if you can be a healthy BMI (and I'm not there yet) and feel strong and healthy then it doesn't matter so much.

In my case, as I have lost weight there are two medications I have had to cut because they have made me too tired. If I would get to a point though where the effectiveness of the meds were impaired because my weight couldn't tolerate the dosage needed, I might reconsider going to 115. Only time will tell as let's face it, those last 30 pounds will be gradual and take a while.

trina1049

grandmothercharlie wrote: »

@trina1049 I don't disagree with you. I want to get in the normal range, too, but both my family doctor and my cardiologist (the two were advocating weight loss for me) feel that a little extra weight is beneficial even with my heart issues.

115 will be middle "healthy" for me. 130 will be "upper" healthy for me. (My boundary is 132.8 between healthy and overweight). As I said, my drs. recommended 135-140 not too far into overweight.

But, like you, I've worked so hard, I think I would like to at least see a size 6. But I do see their point as they aren't talking obesity, just a few pounds above healthy limit. I think it needs to be decided by each person. They also kept asking "how do you feel?" I think if you can be a healthy BMI (and I'm not there yet) and feel strong and healthy then it doesn't matter so much.

In my case, as I have lost weight there are two medications I have had to cut because they have made me too tired. If I would get to a point though where the effectiveness of the meds were impaired because my weight couldn't tolerate the dosage needed, I might reconsider going to 115. Only time will tell as let's face it, those last 30 pounds will be gradual and take a while.

Of course you should follow your doctors' recommendations, they know you and your health issues. And you're right about each person deciding for themselves what is right for them. You have to be careful with meds, I know. Thank goodness as I've lost weight I've been able to decrease dosages of my meds and hope to eliminate some or all, if I'm lucky.

All those indicators, BMI, TDEE, etc. are ranges for a reason. What's right for one person isn't right for another. I'm hoping to be able to maintain in the middle range of my BMI to keep healthy -- we all have to decide what's right and good for each one of us.

Keep us posted on how you're doing and what weight is working for you; I'm trying for around 128ish - 130ish for maintenance. I'm at 136 right now so just a few more pounds to go! Woo-hoo!

Edited to add: You've done a super spectacular job to get where you are today -- it's awesome! I really admire what you've done.

Best regards,

Trina

candicer

Is anybody else having a hard time staying away from "comfort foods" with the cold weather we all seem to be having? Somehow salads and fresh fruits and veggies just aren't doing it lately. I find myself craving grilled cheese sandwiches and thick rich soups. I am wondering if anyone has any good 'light' comfort food recipes?

trina1049

candicer wrote: »

Is anybody else having a hard time staying away from "comfort foods" with the cold weather we all seem to be having? Somehow salads and fresh fruits and veggies just aren't doing it lately. I find myself craving grilled cheese sandwiches and thick rich soups. I am wondering if anyone has any good 'light' comfort food recipes?

How about a nice thick, rich chilli; use low fat ground turkey or beef; lots of veggies and pinto beans, low fat and lots of fiber? Mushroom barley soup, light but comforting?

Snooozie

I can totally relate; record breaking freezing temps here yesterday; ended up roasting a bunch of veggies for dinner last night because as you said Candice, salads and fruit just don't cut it! As Trina said too, using lots of soups and stews chock full of veg to warm me up as well; Skinnytaste has an excellent low cal, high fiber broccoli cheese soup that also freezes well.

I'm also experimenting with making my favourite "comfort food" recipes healthier; I love shepherds pie and made a few changes to my mom's version: now i top it with mashed sweet potato instead and add extra veggies in

Haven't figured out a way to make mac n cheese any healthier yet tho

cathy120861

Have to confess that i am not much of a cook. these guys make a very good chicken chili that has 230 calories and 7 net carbs. very hearty and tasty.
http://homestylesimple.com/

Notreadytoquit

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!



My real life exercise ... snowshoeing. Mega burns for trailblazing dog / chickens paths. My butt really hurts today but very fun, versatile sport. It's hard to fall down and you sweat like crazy after 15 minutes.

bonniepwest

Not only are fresh veggies not making it as comfort food, they're hard to keep stocked if you can't get to the grocery store. Wonder how fresh groundhog would taste? I'm ready to go hunt me some. I've kept it down to a dull roar, but I keep prowling through the kitchen trying to find something that's OK to eat. Need to find something to do, and I don't have snowshoes!

sodakat

I made home made hummus for the first time today. Friday when I was in Fargo I finally remembered to buy Tahini and last night I put the dried chickpeas in water to soak overnight. I cooked them for almost 2 hours to make sure they were really tender.

Boy did it turn out great! I used Alton's recipe from Food Network, except used just 1/4 cup tahini and only 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus way more water to get it to the smooth texture I wanted -- and it is just right! 200+ calories for 1/4 cup but I don't need that much when I just want to dip carrots.

@candicer I had crab bisque on Friday which was really comforting! I think it could be made fairly low cal and its super filling.

Another thing I do that is easy and comforting that you may already do also, is crumble some aluminum foil into balls and place them in the bottom of an empty crock pot. Then set an entire raw chicken on top, season (or dry rub first) and cook on high for about 5 hours. It turns out just like the rotisserie chickens in the store. You may have to adjust the time, depending your crockpot.

I also have a really easy and wonderful Hot 'n Sour soup recipe if you want it.

--Kathy