40 year old women and older who has lost 40 or more lbs - HOW THE HECK DID YOU DO IT???

STLBADGIRL

AnnPT77 wrote: »

STLBADGIRL wrote: »

lyhyl wrote: »

STLBADGIRL wrote: »

Been falling short of my 8 glasses of water each day. I've been only hitting 6 glasses. Yesterday I had to used the bathroom 4 times while I worked out. Soooooooooooo irritating!

It IS irritating in the beginning, but stick with it. Your body will eventually acclimate and thank you for it!

Well this is good to hear/read! I have to stop early enough in the day just so I won't go through the night and can get some sleep.

One glass down. 7 more to go!

FWIW, and I leave it to each reader to decide whether to act on this or not:

I went to a lecture given to my breast cancer support group on the subject of treating urinary incontinence or urgency in women, by a medical professional with specialized knowledge in this area. Among other things, she suggested that as long as one was near a bathroom in case of emergency, it was better to wait as long as tolerable, rather than using the bathroom at the first twinge or inclination. Training, I guess.

Wow, I've always was told that it was harmful to wait. This is interesting to know though.

SnazzIT

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FWIW, and I leave it to each reader to decide whether to act on this or not:

I went to a lecture given to my breast cancer support group on the subject of treating urinary incontinence or urgency in women, by a medical professional with specialized knowledge in this area. Among other things, she suggested that as long as one was near a bathroom in case of emergency, it was better to wait as long as tolerable, rather than using the bathroom at the first twinge or inclination. Training, I guess.

I totally agree, because I have experienced it myself and found that holding it after drinking helped me to heal faster.

AnnPT77

Let me reinforce: Try to wait before urination (was what I was told). If constipated, do not delay/wait defecation - or so I was told. Different situations, different guidance from the medical folks.

STLBADGIRL

Bump -

I'm learning that veggies are my friend. I actually love them and wish I would have grasped this lonnnnnnnnnng time ago.

b1stmrs12

Id love for some of my peers to add me as a friend! Your stories are amazing and I am in the beginning of my journey. I am 45, diabetic and my first goal weight is 150. I started at 209 and am currently hovering up and down at 191-193lbs.

mk2fit

@STLBADGIRL I guess I am a little late to this party. I am 59 yrs. old and lost 70ish pounds and have kept them off for pushing three years. Yes, veggies are your friends, lol. So are eggs and blueberries and lots of other foods. Find an exercise that you love (or at least like) and do that as often as you can. MFP's blog has lots of recipes that will help on your journey. Skinnytaste.com also has good ideas. If you are a good cook, you can make almost any recipe "skinny". Losing is the easy part...you got this!!

STLBADGIRL

mk2fit wrote: »

@STLBADGIRL I guess I am a little late to this party. I am 59 yrs. old and lost 70ish pounds and have kept them off for pushing three years. Yes, veggies are your friends, lol. So are eggs and blueberries and lots of other foods. Find an exercise that you love (or at least like) and do that as often as you can. MFP's blog has lots of recipes that will help on your journey. Skinnytaste.com also has good ideas. If you are a good cook, you can make almost any recipe "skinny". Losing is the easy part...you got this!!

@mk2fit - you have an amazing story. Losing 70 lbs at 59 is awesome!!!!

shnell25

I’m 43 and have about 40 more pounds to lose. Do you have any suggestions for me. I walk and jog during the spring and summer months. I do yoga and Zumba during the cooler months. My problem is staying motivated when the scales don’t seem to move and I hit those dreaded plateaus.

cowleyl

I'm 65. I lost 36.5 kg (around 80 lb) commencing close to my 60th. I've put back about 13 kg recently, and need to lose about 25 kg, so I'm back into it. I think the reason for the weight gain has a lot to do with lack of movement - I've had both hips replaced and will be getting a double knee replacement in the next month or so, all because of arthritis and obesity. The weight came off slowly and I had to learn to divorce myself from the scale. Can't wait to be moving again and finishing the job.

NanP135

shnell25 wrote: »

I’m 43 and have about 40 more pounds to lose. Do you have any suggestions for me. I walk and jog during the spring and summer months. I do yoga and Zumba during the cooler months. My problem is staying motivated when the scales don’t seem to move and I hit those dreaded plateaus.

Don't rely on scale only, best thing I did was have monthly measurements so even when scale not moving I do notice a difference in measurements.

STLBADGIRL

NanP135 wrote: »

shnell25 wrote: »

I’m 43 and have about 40 more pounds to lose. Do you have any suggestions for me. I walk and jog during the spring and summer months. I do yoga and Zumba during the cooler months. My problem is staying motivated when the scales don’t seem to move and I hit those dreaded plateaus.

Don't rely on scale only, best thing I did was have monthly measurements so even when scale not moving I do notice a difference in measurements.

@shnell25 This is an important thing to note. I got caught in the scale obsession and it just depressed the hell out of me. Now I have a healthy relationship with the scale. I use it as a guide, not a mood changer and the "God" of weight loss. I'm learning to build and maintain healthy habits and trust the process verses obsessing over losing weight and what the scales says. I know if I eat at a deficit, make healthy choices, stay active and lift and get my water in some things are going to HAVE to change.

dbhDeb

leecha2014 wrote: »

Hi there. I'm 43 and have lost 68 lbs and still going. First, I never focus or think about my age. Don't let that be a barrier. Track your food accurately, find a form of exercise that you like. I tend to repeat meals often to keep it simple. I still treat myself weekly to something like thai food. I read a lot of success posts here but that is it. Calories in vs calories out. 40, 30 or 20 ? Who cares what your age is, it may take a little longer over 40 though -

way to go and I LOVE your haircut

Lesley2603

Turned 60 last week. Have lost 70 lbs is about two years, have maintained for six months. More importantly am so much stronger and no pain now in my hips and knees.

mk2fit

Ah, the scale. Before I started my journey, I had no scale - just weighed in at the doctor. I bought a scale and stashed it in an unused room because I can get a tad obsessive. (Seems to happen a lot around here) I weighed in once/week while losing. For some reason, I started weighing in daily once I got to maintenance. Bad idea! Weight fluctuates like crazy which made me crazy as well. I have finally reached a balance in my life with this journey. I weigh in every couple of weeks. My clothes still fit and my weight has stayed more or less the same for over a year. I have learned to trust my intuition, eating and exercise.

lois1231

I am 55 and have lost over 40 pounds since the second week in January. Mostly I lost it by walking over 10,000 steps or more almost every day, lifting weights 3 times a week and by staying with my calories. I try to eat back no more than 200 or 250 calories of exercise calories.

RunsWithBees

Hello everyone! I’ll be 44 in four months time. In case anyone is interested I have posted my story in the “success stories” forum, it’s titled “I lost 20% of my body weight in 300 days”. Short story: I was obese and my health was declining so I got down to a healthy weight and got my life back, been in maintenance for about 4 years now. Everyone keep working hard and you can achieve your goals!

motivatedmartha

Shurmenator wrote: »

You all have been so successful and I too believe calories in/calories out is the key along with moving more.

I'm just curious how many of you determined your daily calorie budget? There seems to be so many formulas. I once had a doctor tell me that the best formula is to multiple you goal weight by 10 and that should be your daily budget, MFP gives me 400-cals less, another 200-less. I know I can play around to see what works but was curious how others have determined their budget.

Told mfp my stats and it said 1200 - retired (62 yrs old) and unless motivated I am very sedentary (had lots of hip and leg pain so exercise was difficult when I started) Thanks to resultant weight loss and physio I am now much more active. I do lots of walking, lots of quite heavy gardening, some swimming and use video aerobics and stretching and strengthening exercises.I use mfp exercise database and aim for around 50% eating back. I keep it simple. Since joining mfp I have lost 40 lbs, regained weight slowly over the years, mostly because of pain limiting exercise. I have now lost it again and have a better understanding of how my body works. My aim is to lose another 10 - 14 lbs and then move to maintenance.

Pastaprincess1978

One of my contacts on here is in her 50s and has a disabling condition that means she suffers pain and can't exercise. She has lost a lot of weight through diet alone and doesn't deprive herself of anything - eats well and enough - it can be done Good luck!

STLBADGIRL

monkeefan1974 wrote: »

Hello everyone! I’ll be 44 in four months time. In case anyone is interested I have posted my story in the “success stories” forum, it’s titled “I lost 20% of my body weight in 300 days”. Short story: I was obese and my health was declining so I got down to a healthy weight and got my life back, been in maintenance for about 4 years now. Everyone keep working hard and you can achieve your goals!

@monkeefan1974 You look awesome! And I've heard some reports that maintenance is even harder than losing - so kudos to you for keeping it off!!!!

onthefitdisc

I'll be 42 in July and I just crossed over the 50lb mark, it has taken 10 months and I'm looking to lose 10-20 more. My experience so far is that it's mostly about food. I do exercise several times a week, but if my food is not in check exercise will not do that much for me. Because I know it's about calories in, calories out, I don't beat myself up if I have a scheduled gym day and don't want to or can't do it (I've had some minor injuries along the way).

Along with that, consistency really is key. Logging is a habit, many of my daily or weekly menus stay the same (I count myself lucky that I'm a person who doesn't need tons of variety). And if you're consistent, you learn that have a splurge day is not going to ruin you. Building that trust in myself to know that I will get back on the horse has been huge.

I'm at the 1lb/week rate and things have definitely slowed down for me toward the tail end here, but I'm in it til I finish. Slower loss is more sustainable, and you're less likely to see as much sagging skin. This is a lifestyle change. I read tons of Success Stories, and I also pop in on the Maintainers board to understand that people continue to log and weigh themselves and change goals long after they've hit their magic number. Weight loss definitely felt quicker and easier when I was in my 20s. But I'm not 20 anymore and frankly in my 20s I was doing some extreme stuff. That said, the lie I told myself for a decade that I just couldn't lose weight because of my age was just that - a big lie. This is a commitment. To myself and my future. We can all do this!

STLBADGIRL

[quote="onthefitdisc;c-42157209" That said, the lie I told myself for a decade that I just couldn't lose weight because of my age was just that - a big lie. This is a commitment. To myself and my future. We can all do this![/quote]

@onthefitdisc I went to the doctor a year ago to have my blood work tested. I told myself "surely, I have a hormone issue, thyroid issue, or slow metabolism issue" When my "good" results came back, my doctor looked at me and said, "You're fine, YOU are eating too much!" That was eye opening to me, because I blamed no losing weight on everything else, except me. I was half azz doing this life style and blamed it on old age, my body is stubborn, what works for others didn't work for me, and the list goes on! So yes, commitment is key and I'm/we are worth it! Furthermore, excuses kills so many dreams!

envscuba

I just posted my story in success stories, see it there. I am 41 years old.

suncluster

I am 44 and restarting my weight loss journey. At 39, I lost 65 pounds by eating every meal, staying below my calories and starting a running program. Unfortunately, with my divorce I gained a bunch of it back. I am taking a slower approach this time just by walking more (rather than running) and eating only when I am hungry. I have found that my body naturally follows an intermittent fasting program where I only eat between 4 - 8pm.

brneydgrlie

I will be 47 next month. And, while I have not lost 40 lbs *yet* I am 5 lbs away. Should be there in another week or two, actually. :-) Started doing keto in March, and that is what's gotten me this far.

Previously, losing weight was a completely frustrating uphill battle. In my case, I knew it was to my benefit to do the low-carb thing because I have PCOS. So that's what I did, with calorie counting and exercise. Gave up many times, and thought maybe I was just destined to be fat, because I had to be really super restrictive with my carbs, calories, AND work out a minimum of 2 hours a day 6 days a week for the scale to even move down a little bit. For me, that was not sustainable. The results were not fantastic, given the amount of effort I was putting in, and I was still hungry ALL. THE. TIME. And because it wasn't sustainable, when I'd fall off the wagon I'd fall HARD - gaining back most of the weight I'd worked so arduously to lose in what felt like the blink of an eye.

But keto works for me, and I am actually enjoying the process for once! Adding in the fat that is the keto way of eating has made a tremendous difference! I'm not hungry all the time, so it's easier to keep my calories under control, and not be constantly thinking about food. And although I do exercise, I don't need to spend as much time on it, and it's easier to fit into my schedule. Now, 3+ months in, it seems my hormones have started to balance out, and my body is functioning more like it's supposed to. I've lost the amount of weight in less than 4 months that would previously have taken me a year - without the tears, aggravation, or self-loathing. And THIS time, even though I am only a third of the way to my goal, I can see myself making it there easily, and being able to maintain.

happyhiggins

I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2015 & I began taking metformin to help with my symptoms & insulin resistance. I lost 48lbs over a year. I stopped taking the meds last year & unfortunately put all that weight back on. I just started taking the meds again & now I'm back to square one. I feel really crappy about. My weight is a struggle for me & I am hoping that maybe I can find some support from other women who also have PCOS.

STLBADGIRL

@suncluster @brneydgrlie @happyhiggins @envscuba - Thanks all for sharing your stories. We are all at different levels in our journey, but it's good to hear others stories and what works for them!

HDBKLM

bump

STLBADGIRL

I am considering my first 3D body scan. I want another way to compare weight loss, etc and gain a little bit more insight.

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msmith404040

I'm 55, had a hysterectomy 2 years ago, have two jobs where I sit at a desk, I'm super sedentary, and don't exercise. I started out at 207 pounds and lost 48 pounds in six months counting my calories. I was so happy. I was very dedicated to sticking with it and had a goal of my nephews wedding to go to and didn't want to feel terrible in a dress. I'm certainly not at a goal weight and have about 40 more pounds to go.

It can be done! You can do it!! You have to really count your calories and be strong!