55-65 year old women's success?

cathy120861

oh dear. i love reading this thread, with its emphasis on success, and taking action. i am rereading some of the posts now, because i am in a whiny self-pitying mood. i am sniveling to myself because i am having one of my not-so-great lung days, when it feels like i am breathing salt water rather than air. and so, i have skipped my pilates class and eaten more than i should have -- exactly the opposite of the things that i know would be helpful. i wish one of you guys was here to shake me or something.

sodakat

cathy120861 wrote: »

oh dear. i love reading this thread, with its emphasis on success, and taking action. i am rereading some of the posts now, because i am in a whiny self-pitying mood. i am sniveling to myself because i am having one of my not-so-great lung days, when it feels like i am breathing salt water rather than air. and so, i have skipped my pilates class and eaten more than i should have -- exactly the opposite of the things that i know would be helpful. i wish one of you guys was here to shake me or something.

Shake, shake!

Some days we just eat more, for various reasons. Now that its over with, just carry on. You get to start over you know. Right now! No need to get stressed.

middlehaitch

Cathy120561, I hear you.
I had dental surgery on Thursday and my jaw is killing me. I am sat still trying to decide whether or not to go to my Zumba which starts in an hour. Or, just cozy up with a big milk shake.

I think you have just talked me into going to the class. Thanks.
Cheers, h.

04hoopsgal73

I'm dealing with 2 injuries and limited exposure to exercise...expenditures of calories is not here...so guarding my macros like a Queen. Stay strong ladies!!!

SbetaK

I notice 3 out of the four celebrity women in the photo post are wearing red dresses. What happened to being able to wear "purple" when you're old? haha They look smashing, I'll try and forget they probably have personal chefs and trainers. We can all do this without the extra luxuries, just need personal resolve!

dmdougan

Hey all, I'm 51 almost 52 but am post menopausal- can I stalk you guys cuz reading your stories has been greatly inspirational. I do want to loose 75 pounds and am hoping to keep my focus for more than a month.

middlehaitch

Hey Cathy120056, I went to Zumba, probably wouldn't have without your post. Came back feeling great.

dmdouan, don't stalk; join in, we don't bite.

Yes, SbetaK, we can do it; well almost.
I want a red dress, wa wa wa . Oh yeah the chef, housekeeper, and something to get rid of my wrinkley neck too

cathy120861

Middlehatch -- so glad you went to Zumba. I went to my 5:30 belly dancing and felt much better for it.

WOW!! That picture. I would love to see the next one when you get a very well deserved red dress!

middlehaitch

Oh Cathy120861, I love belly dancing, so glaad you went too.
I only started zumba because they had stopped offering belly dancing at my rec centre. We do have a couple of belly dance music/move type sections in the Zumba so I am happy.
I shop for my posh frocks at 2nd hand stores, never wear them enough to pay a small fortune for them. I am going on holiday in March so it is time to shop the post New Year cast offs. If I find a red one I will post it.
SbetaK, I have just realised I AM a celebrity woman! I am on the Celebrity Equinox in that pic. hahaha
Cheers, h.

dianeEESI

So nice to see so many like minded, and trying to get their *#@* together! I read a lot of the threads and keep going back to the flat belly one, does anyone here understand and want to explain to me the whole "lean mass" and "fat mass" or whatever the heck it is, and lifting weights how much and how long. I just want to lose weight, get healthy, and feel good, but somehow when I read the posts there they are all talking way over my head, and feel like I'm missing the boat! (and they kinda get grumpy so I didn't want to ask there:) Thanks in advance, have a great day!

trina1049

Hi, dianeEES; When I started my weight loss I did a lot of cardio and lost a lot of weight over time, but I was putting in two hours at the gym five days a week. After a few months I knew I wanted to cut back on the gym stuff because I hate exercising, but I know it's necessary to maintain my health.

I kept reading all the threads on MFP about weight lifting so I started weight lifting instead and cut back on the cardio and the number of days at the gym. It's worked great for me so I'm spending less time in the gym but still getting the benefits of losing weight. I now lift weights three to four times a week for 1 hour, and after lifting I do low impact cardio for 30 minutes two or three times. All those high impact cardio classes were giving me too many injuries (pulled, sore muscles, etc)

I'm not an expert by any means, but I think you're referring to lean mass VS body fat %. I've read here on the forums and on the internet that as you lose weight you are actually losing fat and lean body mass (muscle). The ideal is to lose body fat while maintaining as much muscle as you can. So you need to do resistance training (lifting weights) to keep as much as your muscle as possible. You don't have to lift heavy weights to do this but without resistance training you run the risk of stuff like osteoporosis, which us old ladies do not want.

After I read all that stuff and tried the Body Pump (weight lifting) classes at my gym I realized that I actually liked lifting weights and thus hated exercising less than before. It's a miracle. I started with just the weight bar at first and have progressively increased the weights from zero up to 15/20lbs. so far.

A bone density test revealed that I had osteopenia and that I needed to do resistance training. So there you go. My bones are fine now and I even have muscles showing in my arms now that most of the fat is gone. Go figure.

Sorry for the long post.

dianeEESI

Wow ! Thank you so much for that Trina and congratulations!... I don't belong to a gym but have a treadmill and dumb bells and I know I won't "go" to a gym but I go to my basement every morning at 5:30, is it possible to do the weight lifting at home or should I suck it up and join a gym? Thanks again for the awesome answer!

griz164tp

Good morning. New to fitnesspal. I'm 62 years old and retired. I do a little direct selling and work in my local church in two critical positions. It keeps me busy. Over the holidays, I have put on some extra pounds by mindless eating. Trying to get back on track. I think I can get some results with this program/site.

trina1049

Hi, dianeESSI -- you can use your dumb bells - I go to the gym because I'm on Silver Sneakers and have a free membership (Medicare). Gotta love Medicare for that alone.

trina1049

Hi, griz164tp -- you can use MFP for your weight loss, no need for anything else. It's great.

sun_fish

dianeEESI wrote: »

Wow ! Thank you so much for that Trina and congratulations!... I don't belong to a gym but have a treadmill and dumb bells and I know I won't "go" to a gym but I go to my basement every morning at 5:30, is it possible to do the weight lifting at home or should I suck it up and join a gym? Thanks again for the awesome answer!

You can absolutely resistance train at home! I started out with bodyweight stuff and dumb bells, and progressed to using a barbell and plates. Depending on your goals and preferences, you can use a bodyweight program like You Are Your Own Gym or Convict Conditioning, or use dumbbells without ever needing a barbell.

sun_fish

trina1049 wrote: »

A bone density test revealed that I had osteopenia and that I needed to do resistance training. So there you go. My bones are fine now and I even have muscles showing in my arms now that most of the fat is gone. Go figure.

This gives me hope - I also have osteopenia and am counting on resistance training to prevent it from progressing to osteoporosis.

bestfriendroo

Just found this thread. Thank you for sharing your experiences. I was feeling alone. I joined a gym, but most people there are young and in shape, or relatively in shape.
Thank you for the community

trina1049

sun_fish wrote: »

trina1049 wrote: »

A bone density test revealed that I had osteopenia and that I needed to do resistance training. So there you go. My bones are fine now and I even have muscles showing in my arms now that most of the fat is gone. Go figure.

This gives me hope - I also have osteopenia and am counting on resistance training to prevent it from progressing to osteoporosis.

Resistance training is a heck of a lot better than taking the meds they give you for it. It's worth it to do the work outs. The osteopenia took a while to recede so you may have to take the meds until that happens and it may not work for everyone, but I've had two good bone density tests over the last couple of years. I guess that means I'm stuck exercising forevery, ugh.

lovesretirement

dianeEESI wrote: »

Wow ! Thank you so much for that Trina and congratulations!... I don't belong to a gym but have a treadmill and dumb bells and I know I won't "go" to a gym but I go to my basement every morning at 5:30, is it possible to do the weight lifting at home or should I suck it up and join a gym? Thanks again for the awesome answer!

I did it at home for years when I was working and got up at 4:30 to do it. I was so motivated. Then I just got tired of getting up and life just got in the way or I let it get in the way. My daughter took me to a Zumba class at the gum several years ago and I was hooked. When my knees started to bother me from all the twisting, I switched to aquazumba. Since I retired in 2013, I have been in the gym for pool classes. I just started with a personal trainer for strength training. I love it! There are more Baby Boomers than we think at the gym! I train for 30 minutes before I do the 60 minute pool class. With the trainer, I am pushed to do my personal best! It is well worth the money to me, and I am glad to give that gift to myself. I have my eating under control now, and I just feel this will be the year I get rid of this weight for good.

Connie