55-65 year old women's success?

Snooozie

Sodakat.. couldn't agree more with your thoughs, well said!

Nanderm - welcome! I'm 53, post menopausal and Type 2 diabetes for a few years (the diagnosis of which brought me here initially). I hit my goal weight last year, but regained 18lbs when i hit maintenance; so i personally have no experience with going down to where i'll be at maintenance and staying at the cal level there now. sowwy!

I know NOW however, that I will always have to continue being consistent with my calorie intake and "moving my parts" once I get back to my goal weight, to STAY healthy for the rest of my life.

And yup... at this stage of our lives, there are a couple of more challenges that we all have in our lives; but everyone's got something; and you're absolutely right, we absolutely can accomplish whatever we want for ourselves! and sometimes just having somebody else who's been there, done that and got the t shirt to commiserate with, encourage or share a laugh along the way can help a lot.. and while I totally support an admire the young uns here in their goals, i don't have much in common with a 19 yr old trying to lose 10 lbs lol.. so finding others who are at a similar life stage really helped me along the way. You've already taken the hardest step - making the decision to get what you want for yourself, so well done you (and every one else who's done the same!)

Notreadytoquit

Hope to launch my blog ... An Accidental Chicken Farmer or Real Life Fitness for those Dealing With Chronic Illness. Something like that. Have to master inserting photos first.



Some of our winter babies. Winter bounty of eggs ... free range & quail.



Thanks for letting me practice.

cathy120861

NotReady -- please practice on us as much as you would like to -- your pictures are spectacular.

I spent the last four days with my children and new grandson. Now i am visiting my parents, who have not seen me since the beginning of January. They notice a real change in my appearance, which makes me feel terrific. I dont think i had realized how much my family worried about my health during the years when my weight was going up and up and up. I am still 25 pounds from my goal weight, but everyone sees that i am determined to take good care of myself and i feel like that is a burden lifted for my parents, my kids and my husband.

I am so grateful that we are keeping up this discussion. It is a major support for me.

Skyweigh

I'm the OP, and I had deleted my original account for several reasons, one being that I am not able to keep up with the social networking aspects of MFP. This thread -- the way it has developed -- belongs more on the Motivation and Support page, IMO. I was specifically looking for women post-menopausal and in my age bracket (I am 60) who had successfully lost the weight they wished. That is why I had posted in Success Stories. I do love before and after pics and the stories that go with them. However, there did not seem to be any threads on the Success Stories page that I could aspire to identify with. Most are about younger women, or men -- and they're great to read about, too. Of course, there is overlap, but some of the challenges and the reasons for wanting to lose the excess weight are quite different for women like me. Anyway, you wonderful women have provided a wealth of material, much more all-encompassing that I would have thought. Kudos to you all for your continued efforts, and sharing your journeys here.

sodakat

@Skyweigh I think as the OP you can ask the Mods to move this to a different sub-forum if you wish. Our bookmarks won't get mucked up if you do this, btw, from what I recall when another thread was moved (I was still able to link to it using the bookmark).

Also, so glad you are still here!!!

anniebelle26

Hi..My name is Annie and Im 56. Ive lost 50 lbs so far and am attempting to lose another 50 to get to my goal weight. Can I join this group!? Everyone sounds soo nice on here.

snowflake930

@Skyweigh I had to delete my original account in June 2014 for several reasons also. Yesterday (3/12/15) was my 3 year anniversary on MFP. I have lost over half of my bodyweight (160+ pounds), and have been on maintenance for a little over 16 months. I am 63 and am in better shape than I have been since I was in my 20's. The success stories here are what kept me going. For me, it is sometimes hard to relate to the younger people here, but I always read the success story topics, they are so inspirational and motivate me to keep focused.

I am not a big contributor to this topic, but I do have it bookmarked and read all of the comments. It is important to me to be able to relate to my peers. Sometimes, there is more understanding from someone who has been there.

Continued success to everyone.

Skyweigh

@sodakat ---Thanks for pointing that out, but I don't wish to move it --- who am I to interfere with success? Glad to be back, too, thank you.


Snowflake: Now, that's what I'm talkin' bout! Thank you so much for this post.

snowflake930 wrote: »

@Skyweigh I had to delete my original account in June 2014 for several reasons also. Yesterday (3/12/15) was my 3 year anniversary on MFP. I have lost over half of my bodyweight (160+ pounds), and have been on maintenance for a little over 16 months. I am 63 and am in better shape than I have been since I was in my 20's. The success stories here are what kept me going. For me, it is sometimes hard to relate to the younger people here, but I always read the success story topics, they are so inspirational and motivate me to keep focused.

I am not a big contributor to this topic, but I do have it bookmarked and read all of the comments. It is important to me to be able to relate to my peers. Sometimes, there is more understanding from someone who has been there.

Continued success to everyone.

Annie -- So glad to hear about the 50 lbs, and this is not a group where you need any kind of permission at all. Glad to "meet" you.

Notreadytoquit

@‌ Skyweigh

You have facilitated several fulfilling friendships for me with this thread ... so thanks.

cathy120861

I have been peeking at this discussion for the last few days, unsure of whether to post or not. i believe that i am one of hte people who inadvertently moved this discussion from its intended purpose. I am "only" 53, am peri (not post) and am in the process of losing weight, so i guess not a success story in that way that phrase was originally intended.

selfishly, though, this forum has been a huge support and inspiration to me. this past friday i did official measurements for the first time since Jan 5, and the results were thrilling. I have lost 5.5 inches from my waist, 4.7 from my hips and proportionate amounts from every place else. Since i first started focusing on my health, back at the end of last may, i have lost 39.5 pounds. This despite my COPD and messed up right calf.

I really wanted to tell you guys how well things are going -- there are not many places that i can go to brag, and this was one of them. I am so grateful, Skyweigh, that you started this forum. But i am also very sad that it has not turned out to be the sort of support group for which you were looking.

bonniepwest

In my first post on this thread I said that you never know when something you say might help someone else. I think this thread is testament to that. Although it didn't bring the OP what she was looking for, it has helped others of us immensely.

@cathy120861‌, that is awesome news! Thanks for sharing. I didn't take my measurements before I started here in November. My last measurements were taken at the gym when I began working with a personal trainer two years ago, before both knees were replaced. In another few pounds, I'm going to ask my trainer to measure me again. I gained weight after that, so am down only about 15 pounds net from that point. However, I'm able to train much harder now than I was then so I think the results will be good. I'm hoping!

Skyweigh

Hi, Cathy - Please don't be sad! It's fine! I wasn't looking for support is all. Just inspirational stories, as I said, and there are plenty here of those -- yours included. Very pleased to hear of your success.

Bonnie --- it's all good, as stated. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered to return to the thread. Good work on getting back to training after surgery. That is a major success in itself.

2youngatheart

This is an excellent thread...looking forward to having time to read through it

trina1049

Hi, everyone! Does it really matter what this thread was intended to be or has morphed into? It is one of the most positive and inspiring of the many threads I've read over the last year and a half. Some of us are new and some have been around for awhile, and we've all shared our successes, struggles, and sometimes our slip-ups. The important point to remember is that we're all here to become healthier, each in our own way, in our own time. It's gratifying to know that people our age can improve our health over time. Let's keep the thread thriving with our unique stores whatever it becomes! Cheers to you all. . .

sodakat

I attend a small local weight loss group on Wednesday evenings. This is the 6th week and I've lost maybe 2 1/2 pounds. It's picking up again finally I think, but it was slow going for me really since around the first of the year. Most of the women started "dieting" when the group was formed, so there were some big losses in the first few weeks. Well, weighing near the end of the day is always a crap shoot for me. Even if I lose a half pound or more the amount of water weight and food eating throughout the day, etc. can override that loss. It can even override a couple weeks' loss when its not real big. But I do weigh less on that scale at the meeting than I did when we started this group, so that's a good thing.

I've been working on weight loss for more than a year and I am using this little group just as some more incentive, plus its nice to have someplace to chat IRL about weight loss and fitness goals.

What I really hope is that those women who see me losing small amounts or not showing any loss some weeks, can see that weight loss is a process that takes a while and a loss cannot be guaranteed every week.

A couple of the women have lost successfully in the past but gained most, all or more back. They mostly use the Weight Watchers plan. The "downside" to that is that there is lot of talk about "free" foods. Also, the mindset seems to focus on "while dieting" compared to long term changes. In some ways I feel like I've read the book while most of them are still looking at the index or in the first chapter. Does that make sense?

So, just some rambling from me today. Its wonderful to have the mindset that weight loss is now something I can achieve, rather than just a dream!

-Kathy

trina1049

Hi, Sodakat (Kathy):
I, too, used Weight Watchers to lose weight, but had the same problem you mentioned regarding the women in your group. I've been much more successful with MFP than Weight Watchers. I was eating too much fruit and didn't really understand about finding the right macros (protein/fat/carb) split that worked for me.

Reading the stickies for new people on MFP really clicked with me. I figured out, through trial and error, how many calories worked for me to lose weight consistently over time even with fluctuations.

I don't freak out every time I weigh myself because I understand, now that I've educated myself about weight loss, that our bodies don't care about losing weight on a time line that we've set our minds upon. It happens in its own good time, sometimes only 1 ounce at a time and sometimes with a WOOSH of 1 or 2 pounds. You can't rush it by cutting too many calories either.

I've also learned that we actually need to eat to lose. We have to nourish our bodies to support our calorie burns when we exercise. I didn't really understand that with Weight Watcher's 49 extra points and free foods.

MFP and counting calories is so much easier to maintain over the long term than any other "diet" I've been on. I've lost weight very slowly, over a period of a year and a half so far. I only have a few pounds more to lose to hit maintenance and it doesn't matter how long it takes because I'll be working MFP forever, haha.

Rambling back at you!

Jewels211

Celebrating here! I mentioned was diagnosed as type 2 diabetic a little over 3 months ago. Had my 1st follow up dr apt yesterday. In those 3 months by carefully tracking my food here on MFP, eating lean meats, whole grains, lots of veggies & keeping my carbs in very close control (not too little, not too much) & doing 20-30 min a day at least 5 days a wk on the treadmill, I've lost 26 lbs, A1C went from 6.6 to 5.5 & my b/p was almost too low, so dr cut one med dose in half & I may get to come off of it if my body cooperates! Liver enzymes, triglycerides, & cholesterol are all good now, too! Woohoo! I'm in the midst of menopause, so I didn't think this would be possible, but so far, so good! I've still got around 50 lbs to go, but I'm heading in the right direction!

trina1049

Jewels211 wrote: »

Celebrating here! I mentioned was diagnosed as type 2 diabetic a little over 3 months ago. Had my 1st follow up dr apt yesterday. In those 3 months by carefully tracking my food here on MFP, eating lean meats, whole grains, lots of veggies & keeping my carbs in very close control (not too little, not too much) & doing 20-30 min a day at least 5 days a wk on the treadmill, I've lost 26 lbs, A1C went from 6.6 to 5.5 & my b/p was almost too low, so dr cut one med dose in half & I may get to come off of it if my body cooperates! Liver enzymes, triglycerides, & cholesterol are all good now, too! Woohoo! I'm in the midst of menopause, so I didn't think this would be possible, but so far, so good! I've still got around 50 lbs to go, but I'm heading in the right direction!

That's fabulous! You can do this! Congrats.

lucky192

Oh how wonderful! Good job!

altogirl2

trina1049 wrote: »

Jewels211 wrote: »

Celebrating here! I mentioned was diagnosed as type 2 diabetic a little over 3 months ago. Had my 1st follow up dr apt yesterday. In those 3 months by carefully tracking my food here on MFP, eating lean meats, whole grains, lots of veggies & keeping my carbs in very close control (not too little, not too much) & doing 20-30 min a day at least 5 days a wk on the treadmill, I've lost 26 lbs, A1C went from 6.6 to 5.5 & my b/p was almost too low, so dr cut one med dose in half & I may get to come off of it if my body cooperates! Liver enzymes, triglycerides, & cholesterol are all good now, too! Woohoo! I'm in the midst of menopause, so I didn't think this would be possible, but so far, so good! I've still got around 50 lbs to go, but I'm heading in the right direction!

Wow, great job!