55-65 year old women's success?

Triplestep

Ladies, please tell me there is help for turkey wattle . I've lost 22lbs and have about 65 lbs to go. I have noticed loose skin on my neck/under my chin that has become very pronounced. I actually have one of those neck/chin exercisers I bought years ago on a whim, and now wish I'd been using it. (Don't laugh! I know an actor with very good facial skin tone, and he exercises his facial muscles religiously.) I guess it couldn't hurt.

Yes, yes - I know I should just accept it; embrace it even. It's just that I am 52 and have at least 15 more years in the workplace. Being seen as "ready to put out to pasture" is hard to get over in an office environment.

griffinca2

Also, if you're trying to go to a heavier weight but still have trouble with it; try to a couple of reps w/the heavier weight and the finish the set with the lower weight. Keep this up and you will eventually be able to do the whole set w/the heavier weight.

1Nana2many

Triplestep wrote: »

Ladies, please tell me there is help for turkey wattle

This one made me smile. I have no idea if it works, but I remember many years ago watching the Richard Simmons exercise show and one of the exercises he always included was a face exercise that was simply repeating the vowels "A...E...I...O...U..." in a very exaggerated way, the U being pronounced more like ooh [glue - gl]. I did a google search about facial exercises and found this article: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/fitness/2011/01/cheeks_of_steel.html
Form your own opinion. Good luck. I figure they're muscles, couldn't hurt. ;-)

griffinca2

T, the neck/chin exerciser does work (although not as quickly as before). I had one and it disappeared so I bought a new one. I had just started to see some (small) results and had take the rubber band off it when I fell & broke my wrist. I finally got the band back on it and have just started using it again. It takes longer to see results as you age, but you will see them--it just takes longer. Good luck!

AnnPT77

Triplestep wrote: »

Ladies, please tell me there is help for turkey wattle . I've lost 22lbs and have about 65 lbs to go. I have noticed loose skin on my neck/under my chin that has become very pronounced. I actually have one of those neck/chin exercisers I bought years ago on a whim, and now wish I'd been using it. (Don't laugh! I know an actor with very good facial skin tone, and he exercises his facial muscles religiously.) I guess it couldn't hurt.

Yes, yes - I know I should just accept it; embrace it even. It's just that I am 52 and have at least 15 more years in the workplace. Being seen as "ready to put out to pasture" is hard to get over in an office environment.

I believe one could think of this as one of the loose skin effects. The end result varies by person, but loose skin does shrink, it just does so rather slowly, and the results may differ based on one's genetics, age, general health, etc. So don't give up hope!

lyssa1210

Hi ladies. I turned 54 in Dec. would love to get some support and help my motivation level. I feel tired a lot and need more energy. I just started working out again with light weights inside since I was on a break when I hurt my back twice in two months. So now want to lose 20 lbs would love to lose 30 but im trying to be realistic. I am 5' 4" 1/2 and weigh around 163.

AnnPT77

lyssa1210 wrote: »

Hi ladies. I turned 54 in Dec. would love to get some support and help my motivation level. I feel tired a lot and need more energy. I just started working out again with light weights inside since I was on a break when I hurt my back twice in two months. So now want to lose 20 lbs would love to lose 30 but im trying to be realistic. I am 5' 4" 1/2 and weigh around 163.

You can do this!

It may require a bit of an energy investment up front (I know that's hard!), but your workouts should help with your energy level and tiredness after a while. Given those, I'd suggest a less aggressive (more patient) calorie deficit at least initially, so you're fueling your energy level adequately.

If your energy doesn't pick up, and you haven't already done so, it might be worth a trip to the doc for basic blood work-up.

I'm older than you (60), 5'5", and down from 183 to around 121 since April 2015, so it can be done. One plus we usually have compared with younger women in the weight-loss process is that we know ourselves better, and have experience getting hard things done!

calmandpeaceful

Being seen as "ready to put out to pasture" is hard to get over in an office environment.

....I am living this right now. How can I be considered "old" at 55?? Is it all about my neck?

Do3w7

has anyone tried the every other day diet.

Triplestep

I didn't mean to imply it was all about our necks! But I think it's part of the whole picture, don't you? We can't just be competent, agile, good at our jobs. The assumptions about older people not adapting to new technologies and new ways of doing things can easily be attirbuted to us - deserved or not.

Part of the reason I'm working hard to lose weight is because I want to wear more stylish clothes at work. (Yeah, I said it!) I decided to stop coloring my hair because it was getting too dark for my complexion; Now I'm committed to keeping up the style and cut every four weeks in an attempt to look "together" rather than like I just gave up. I can't throw a rock in my office without hitting a slender 40something in a pencil skirt with long blonde hair .

For the record, my boss is a woman, and my three teammates are women. My team just merged with another, so my bosses new boss is a woman, and her team of three has two women. I kind of feel sorry for that one dude!

1Nana2many

Do3w7 wrote: »

has anyone tried the every other day diet.

From reading this thread for the last month, including most of the older posts, I doubt you will find many or any people in this age group who are still looking for the quick fix diet. [All right, we might secretly wish, but are old enough to know better.] I believe that most of us are here to get healthier for the rest of our lives and that includes learning to control our serving sizes and stay within a daily calorie range that makes losing and maintaining a healthy weight a daily habit. Some of us have health issues that would make having only 500 calories every other day a disaster. I personally think that if I tried to eat 500 calories every other day, I would chuck the whole plan on day three and embrace my fat rather then starve every other day. Just saying, after 59 years I know myself pretty well! I did a search on the every other day diet on Google and here's an article I found from a dietitian: [I personally agree with her theory.] Hope this helps.
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/patients-families/health-matters/july-2014/the-every-other-day-diet-tough-to-stomach.aspx

I am personally have pretty good results just sticking to the calories MFP suggests for me and I'm not going hungry to do it.

Cheryl7777

Yep I agree with Nana2many. I'm over the magic diets and the quick fixes. I have dieted myself all the way up to the point I was within kissing distance of 400 pounds on the scale. Following what MFP has said I should have in calories and trying to move some every day, I have lost 83 pounds in about a years time. I'm sticking with this plan. I'm not starving and eventually I will reach my goal weight and then I'll stick with the plan to maintain it.

calmandpeaceful

Triplestep wrote: »

I didn't mean to imply it was all about our necks! But I think it's part of the whole picture, don't you? We can't just be competent, agile, good at our jobs. The assumptions about older people not adapting to new technologies and new ways of doing things can easily be attirbuted to us - deserved or not.

I get it! I've been in my job at a financial firm for 6 mos now - underemployed but grateful for the healthcare for my family (4 kids - husband out of work for a long time - finally back at work as of this week). I came home on Friday with the realization that I am considered "old" at my job - no one admitted it - but they have all the women my age work the receptionist desk when the receptionist is out. She had surgery and will be out - so the "older" women were expected to answer the phones. Most of us are in admin roles - I am a hybrid of admin and financial assistant - so I am a gray area but was still put in to the mix. I was so angry. I pulled my (male) boss aside to talk about this - and he said it was because I was "junior" which I am - BUT - my 23 year old male colleague is almost as junior as me (although has a slightly bigger title) and does not have to do receptionist duty. My boss will look into it, he said.

I worked in finance in the 1980s in a sexist environment (I have an MBA from the mid-80s).

I agree that if we want to be in the workforce, we must look our best. I don't want to look 20 - but I don't want to look 70 either.

So I'm off to the gym to lift heavy. I will accept that I no longer look 40 - but I will also accept that I have to work harder to keep the weight off - and really hard to lose it.

Happy Valentine's gals!

griffinca2

Calm, Sometimes we have to"eat it & do things we don't like (been there). Do your best, don't complain too much and don't wear anything form Bon Worth (old lady clothes). Try to find three or four "stylish" item you can mix & match ans work on losing the weight (it will come off). Just if you mess up, don't give up; start over.

Lesley2603

Hi ladies. My first post here. I am 57, 5' 4" and very new to this, when I was young I hated any form of exercise, I was the girl no one wanted on their team! I have four children and have been blaming my weight on them but when your baby is 26 that sounds a bit lame! I finally joined a gym October 2015 and have been seeing a trainer twice a week. I am 24 pounds down, have dropped three dress sizes and so excited about the future now

AnnPT77

Lesely2603 wrote: »

Hi ladies. My first post here. I am 57, 5' 4" and very new to this, when I was young I hated any form of exercise, I was the girl no one wanted on their team! I have four children and have been blaming my weight on them but when your baby is 26 that sounds a bit lame! I finally joined a gym October 2015 and have been seeing a trainer twice a week. I am 24 pounds down, have dropped three dress sizes and so excited about the future now

@Lesely2603, in school, I was that girl, too. Now I'm an athlete. You totally can do this - obviously, you already are.

(Long story, but in brief: A dozen years back, when I first started rowing, my coach routinely called us "athletes." When we quibbled and demurred, she had us each write down 3-4 things that would have to happen in order for us to feel that we were athletes, and just put that paper away. A couple of years later, I ran across the paper. The things had happened. The conclusion was inescapable. I recommend trying this yourself - so powerful! ).

griffinca2

With you on the non-athlete! I hated PE in school! Now I'm working on getting my wrist (I broke it in Dec) healed so I can get back to the gym (go figure); and I'm 65! It can be done; consistency & perseverance are the key--i.e. don't give up if you mess up.

tottie_07

middlehaitch wrote: »

Ooh, aren't we all doing well!
I would love to join the over 60 group mentioned above. Could you post a link please?

My Story.
I haven't had a lot to lose, but I have maintained my loss, 30lb for 6 years ( I never realised it was that long until I found the original of my wake-up call pic)
I was 130 Christmas 2008 and 105 by Christmas 2009.

I am 5'1, 61yo, small boned, apple shaped, and try to maintain between 102-105. I say try because I dipped down to 100 at the end of the year when I changed my exercise routine. That is why I am tracking right now.
My BF is about 20,5% according to my measurements and the USMC calculations on the web.

I was eating at MFP low activity maintenance 1200 and eating back half by calories, but because I started losing on that I have changed to TDEE and upped that from maintenance x5 to maintenance x5 intense = 1480 cal.

I do aqua fit x3 and, at the moment Zumba x2, with swimming, x1, rowing machine intermittently, and the Nerd Fitness body weight programme x2.
I do change my routine every 4 months or so to keep me interested- I loath exercise.

Here I am Christmas 2008, 5'1, 55yo and a menopausal 130lb



And this is me this Christmas 5'1, 61yo, and a post menopausal 100lb.



Sorry if it is sideways, click and it will open correctly, something to do with uploading from iPhone.

I am 105lb in my avitar. That is my lilac haired 60th birthday pic.
We can lose it, it just takes commitment.

Cheers, h.

Good heavens ...If I may say, you are gorgeous!!!! Great work!!

Triplestep

calmandpeaceful wrote: »

... they have all the women my age work the receptionist desk when the receptionist is out. She had surgery and will be out - so the "older" women were expected to answer the phones.

This would aggravate me no end! Especially the message it sends to "Junior" (That's what I'm calling your 23 year old colleague who doesn't have to take a turn.)

sderika

Hi all, this is my first post on MFP. I am 52, in the middle of the menopause process and finding it much harder to lose than in the past. It seems like I am hungry all the time. For instance, last week I was extremely good about tracking, and exercised like crazy, at least 10k steps per day plus spin or other classes nearly every day. But yet I gained weight!! Are you all able to eat your exercise calories? Or do I just have to stay under 1200 and be hungry all the time??

Triplestep

Here's what's worked for me:

• Weigh and measure all food in grams or ounces. Do not use cup measures or eyeball, except for low calorie, non-starchy veggies.
• Use a heart rate monitor at the gym to determine calories burned; eat some or all of them back, depending on how hungry I am. I have my calories set to 1440.

I've lost 22lbs this way, and have about 65 more to go. I do resistance training 3x a week, and cardio 5 or 6 times a week.

I note that I seem to log many fewer exercise calories than a lot of other people here, but I'm trying not to compare. I just made a decision to trust my heart rate monitor, not get a fitness tracker (I'm too distracted by gadgets already!) and not go by MFP's excercise calories; they are too high. So far, I'm happy with the results. I haven't lost anything in the past 10 days, but I can look at my eating and exercise during that period (had to travel for work) and see I haven't been putting my all in.

Good luck!

plauzon

I would love to join your group. I will be 61 in a few months and need to lose 50 pounds just to feel healthy and get myself fit. I am out of shape and not feeling good. I am excited about your posts and will keep up with them to motivate myself. I definitely see it coming off slower now than when I was younger. Goal to get it off and keep it off.

AnnPT77

sderika wrote: »

Hi all, this is my first post on MFP. I am 52, in the middle of the menopause process and finding it much harder to lose than in the past. It seems like I am hungry all the time. For instance, last week I was extremely good about tracking, and exercised like crazy, at least 10k steps per day plus spin or other classes nearly every day. But yet I gained weight!! Are you all able to eat your exercise calories? Or do I just have to stay under 1200 and be hungry all the time??

I typically ate all my (conservatively estimated) exercise calories throughout the weight loss process, and lost weight. I was only at 1200 for a short time; for me, it proved unnecessary. I've been menopausal since chemotherapy at age 44 (16 years ago), and am hypothyroid (though that's well-controlled with meds).

Are you very petite? (I'm 5'5".) When you say that you're tracking well, are you using a digital scale whenever possible? (If not, I'll point out that it's quicker than measuring cups, once you learn the tricks. Estimating is notoriously inaccurate.)

If you're hungry (which I was for a short time at first), I recommend experimenting with the timing of what you eat and the composition of your eating.

By timing, I mean whether you eat 3 equal meals, or 3 plus snacks, skip breakfast or don't, eat 5 small meals, have a big breakfast & smaller meals later, or eat lightly early & have a big dinner or night-time snacks.

By composition, I mean varying your macros & fiber within a healthy range. Do you feel more satisfied if you spend a few more calories on healthy fats? Extra protein? Whole-grain carbs? High-volume but low calorie foods (like a lot of low-carb veggies)? Etc.

Most people are able to lose weight if they stick to Calories In < Calories Out. But there seems to be huge variation in what people find satiating. I tried different variations for a few days at a time, and found I did much better with a good-sized breakfast that included solid protein (that reduced my night-time snack cravings, oddly); plenty of protein (tougher because I'm vegetarian, but do-able); protein-y snacks on hugrier days, and hearty portions of whole veggies & fruits. After sorting this stuff out, I was pretty much only hungry when it was getting to be time to eat.

Your specifics may vary, but I recommend experimenting. Good luck - you can do this! The early days are the toughest, until you find a good track that works for you. If you're persistent, patient & consistent, it gets easier to stay that way and succeed.

Hizzard7

rosebette wrote: »

I'm 56 and lost 6-7 lbs. on MFP since last year, then gained it back over the holidays. Shorter smaller women really need to be religious about tracking. Age is not just a number -- our metabolisms are lower than younger folks', and many of us can't workout at the same intensity as we could when we were younger. Also, being careless with form or overdoing it results in injury more easily. All it takes is a few weeks of lapses with eating and tracking, and the pounds pile on. I also have had some issues with working out due to a shoulder injury. The combination of lower intensity strength workouts plus eating a few hundred calories more basically resulted in undoing all my progress. Now I'm back on track and looking to give and get support!.

I'm 57 and been using MFP 5weeks tomorrow. I was 11st 12and 5'7" .
I'm partially disabled so walking is my biggest exercise.
I'm set to lose 2lbs per week but only 1lb per week coming off.
As you say, our bodies work slower and it's difficult to exercise, I'm recovering from an ankle injury. . I'm walking 3-4miles pr day now and having 1100 to 1250 cals pr day. Eating every colour food under the sun +learning more each day of veggie+vegan eating.
I'm 11st now but still want to lose 9lbs more..
We can do it!

alizesmom

kacmac1992 wrote: »

Hi, all. I've been reading these posts and they are so motivating. I am 44 years young and have just started MPF (well, for the 2nd time). My goal is to lose 30 pounds this year (or however long it may take). I refuse to "diet" - I want to eat real food in moderation while trying to make healthier choices. I just need to know that I'm on the right path with that thinking! Is it as easy as calories in/calories out - and can you still or do you still eat the things you love within moderation?? Love hearing whats working for others! Again, thanks for the encouraging posts.

I'm another one who will swear it really is CICO. I started Christmas 2014 at 202#. Today, at 62 years, I weighed in at 126.6#. Some exercising but I tend to cop out in the winter. I have eaten anything I want and wherever I want since I love eating out including fast food. What I have done is control my portions and make smarter choices. I don't say healthier choices but I have learned that I can be content with a hamburger and small fries instead of the quarter pounder with cheese extra value meal. I do choose salad more often but that's so I can budget in my chocolate and ice cream.

mk2fit

I am probably the one that everyone said would not make this happen. I am a big believer in CICO as well. I do not, and never did, weigh my food. Yep, I am the evil eye-baller. Same with exercise - I went with whatever MFP said. It managed to work itself out. I started 10/14 @187# and am now at 114#. (Shh, still stink at maintenance). I believe that you take from this site what you give, whether in grams and ounces or generalities. Am 57 yrs. old and love pizza, veggies and exercise!

sderika

@AnnPT77 and others, thanks so much for the great comments! I am short (5'3"), that's probably making it more difficult. I do have a Fitbit Surge (includes HR monitor) and that is what is estimating my exercise calories. But it is probably still over-estimating. I am going to stick with it and keep trying.

heybales

sderika wrote: »

@AnnPT77 and others, thanks so much for the great comments! I am short (5'3"), that's probably making it more difficult. I do have a Fitbit Surge (includes HR monitor) and that is what is estimating my exercise calories. But it is probably still over-estimating. I am going to stick with it and keep trying.

Give it 2 weeks to estimate exercise calories better, based on having better idea of your resting HR, and amount of exercise done.
Daily life though is done per steps and estimated distance - so if you have chance to confirm an outside walk at normal daily pace is really correct distance, or treadmill if you trust it being calibrated right.
May have to adjust stride length which is default set to calculated on height and gender. Yours could be very different.

And yes, short you have smaller margin for error on food logging, as you just won't burn as much.
Deficit as a % of what you burn in total, also means the block deficits (250, 500, 750, 1000), could be set too high to be reasonable, causing unneeded stress on already stressed out body.

sderika

heybales wrote: »

May have to adjust stride length which is default set to calculated on height and gender. Yours could be very different.

@heybales Thanks for the great info! I will measure my stride length and adjust. I have really short legs, even for my short body, and so my stride could definitely be shorter than they estimate.

@AnnPT77 I ordered a digital kitchen scale and plan to get really serious on weighing/measuring absolutely everything.

Good luck everyone!

JanetMMcC

calmandpeaceful wrote: »

Janet - that is a real visual - walking in the shower! Great! I just put in a standing desk at work yesterday, and will try walking a little as I work. My colleagues already think I am wacky with the standing desk...so why not!

I did not log Wednesday nor Thursday - but will log today and all weekend. Just sayin' - to keep myself accountable.

You women seriously motivate me!! Thanks!

In addition to the visual, there's audio - fsssssh of water on the shower cap, sqsh sqsh sqsh sqsh of feet on shower mat http://www.maxiaids.com/non-slip-hydro-rug-shower-stall-bath-mat?gclid=Cj0KEQiAl5u2BRC6yszC1_75v5wBEiQAD-hdz2joTN9N4CUbCJR44rtxUeZEa2CCAbALqpHJ6o-035kaAu8g8P8HAQ (same basic design but bathtub version) and sometimes me singing that morning's earworm.