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

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  • cjdalla
    cjdalla Posts: 19 Member
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    Thankyou so much for the advice and real life success stories. I am a sugar fiend as well. I notice on MFP I am regulalry over my sugar level early in the day so that's one to look at.
  • allie644
    allie644 Posts: 164 Member
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    Hi there, 45 here, and lost 80 lbs. Feel free to add! :)
  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
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    allie644 wrote: »
    Hi there, 45 here, and lost 80 lbs. Feel free to add! :)

    I'm adding...and great job to you @allie644 How did you do it????
  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    cjdalla wrote: »
    Thankyou so much for the advice and real life success stories. I am a sugar fiend as well. I notice on MFP I am regulalry over my sugar level early in the day so that's one to look at.

    The MFP default sugar goal can be silly, unless you have a medical reason to control sugar. It measures sugar from all sources, not just added sugar.

    While I was losing weight, I went over my MFP default sugar goal every day, when the only added sugar I ate all day was some concentrated fruit juice (not even the top item on the ingredients list) in a 30-calorie single tablespoon of all-fruit spread.

    Then where was all that "evil" sugar coming from? It came from 2-3 daily servings of whole fruit, and sugar that's inherent in no-sugar-added dairy products. My solution was to drop the sugar column from my MFP diary, replacing it with fiber, something more important for me to track.

    I can see the point of the sugar column if you have a medical reason to control total sugar, or are using it thoughtfully as a tool to reduce added sugar, or find a low-carb diet easier to stick with, or some such thing . . . but absent those kinds of reasons, it's not particularly useful, IMO. Eating "all that sugar" didn't prevent my losing 60+ pounds and reaching a weight I hadn't see since 30+ years ago.

    Very insightful...thanks for your response.
  • trudiebamford
    trudiebamford Posts: 88 Member
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    I'm nearly 41, and I've lost 60lb. I cleaned up my diet (no sugar, no wheat, nothing processed), worked on portion size, managed to overcome a binge eating disorder, but the last 2/3 of that weight loss came from daily exercise, 45 minutes, cardio & strength training.

    For context, I also have chronic health problems, PCOS (which makes weight loss harder) & fibromyalgia (which makes exercise harder). So if I can do it, I think anyone can!

    I'm not quite at GW, but I think I'm fighting vanity pounds at this point. I'm 5'10" and weigh 150lb.
  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
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    trudiebamford wrote: »
    I'm nearly 41, and I've lost 60lb. I cleaned up my diet (no sugar, no wheat, nothing processed), worked on portion size, managed to overcome a binge eating disorder, but the last 2/3 of that weight loss came from daily exercise, 45 minutes, cardio & strength training.

    For context, I also have chronic health problems, PCOS (which makes weight loss harder) & fibromyalgia (which makes exercise harder). So if I can do it, I think anyone can!

    I'm not quite at GW, but I think I'm fighting vanity pounds at this point. I'm 5'10" and weigh 150lb.

    Wow, good for you. You aren't letting any ailments stand in the way of your goal.... Kudos for you. I really have no excuse now.
  • trudiebamford
    trudiebamford Posts: 88 Member
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    Thank you!! I think it really helped that my motivation was to FEEL better. Looking better was just a byproduct. That meant that I got positive reinforcement all along the journey, as I gradually recovered my health.
  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
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    Trixiegirl66 wrote: »
    I started to get serious about losing the 40 pounds that refused to budge after my fourth child was born in 2006. I for one do not abide by the CICO myth - I spent the greater part of the past decade buying into this mindset, and all that I lost (and repeatedly gained right back) was five pounds.

    After reading a great deal, I decided to eat instinctively, walk five times a week and lift very heavy weights - since my 50th birthday on the 14th of June, I have dropped from 168 to 139 and have lost over 12 inches. More importantly, I feel as great as I did in my 30s, and have gained significant muscle mass.

    So while I know it is an unpopular viewpoint, please reconsider the whole CICO mindset - for one can eat a highly processed and sodium/sugar/transfat nightmare of a diet and still meet the guidelines of CICO - I see food diaries that break my heart, and yet these naive dieters are being commended because hours of cardio allowed a deficit.

    As a fifty year old woman with many friends in the same age bracket, I assure you that while CICO may work in the short term, the health of your organs, elasticity of your skin, brightness of your eyes and so many of the other signs of optimal health can only be gained by the quality of the food you ingest. I do log what I eat, but this is simply to keep myself accountable, as I do not like to go overboard with sweets. If I am honest, I only started to see real fat loss when I ignored the suggested 1200 caloric intake suggestion, and ate more on a daily basis.

    I hope this helps - my diary is open and extremely honest if anyone wishes to see just how much I manage to eat. And think of this - American doctors all back the CICO theory, and we are one of the fattest nations on the planet.

    @Trixiegirl66 Thanks for posting your story...and round of applause losing and keeping the weight off at 50!!!! I am one that hardheartedly believes that the quality of food matters. I just don't believe that you have to give up everything you love, just to be fit. However, I seek pleasure in finding healthier alternatives or enjoying some of the foods that I love on occasion. I used to do 1200 calories and I ate back exercise calories...and I gained most of the weight back b/c I went to my old eating habits. I'm learning that I can't focus so much on the results....that I need to focus more on making better choices - like building my strength in the gym and going up on weights. Eating to fuel my body and treating it right by choosing food that shows my body that I love and care for it and not eat for pure enjoyment all the time. I try to keep my goal conscious and before I eat something, I ask myself, "is this going to get you closer to your goal?"

    Lastly, I think I understand you about CICO, however I believe you still lost the weight because you burned more than you took in. But I think your focus was more on feeling better and you made good healthy food choices, and you became more active and YOU LIFT!!! WOOT WOOT FOR THE FEMALE LIFTERS.... I LIFT HEAVY TOO...I just got to clean my diet up....
  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
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    Trixiegirl66 wrote: »
    Thanks for posting your story...and round of applause losing and keeping the weight off at 50!!!! I am one that hardheartedly believes that the quality of food matters. I just don't believe that you have to give up everything you love, just to be fit. However, I seek pleasure in finding healthier alternatives or enjoying some of the foods that I love on occasion. I used to do 1200 calories and I ate back exercise calories...and I gained most of the weight back b/c I went to my old eating habits. I'm learning that I can't focus so much on the results....that I need to focus more on making better choices - like building my strength in the gym and going up on weights. Eating to fuel my body and treating it right by choosing food that shows my body that I love and care for it and not eat for pure enjoyment all the time. I try to keep my goal conscious and before I eat something, I ask myself, "is this going to get you closer to your goal?"

    STLBADGIRL, I think it is great that you have made the connection with making better choices, and putting most of your attention on fitness and weights. After all, if you follow the "is this going to get you closer to your goal" logic atleast 80% of the time, the diet can almost go into autopilot.

    I also agree that giving up everything you love is pointless, but my Dad was sick for decades before finally testing positive for Celiac in his 80s - so when I feel sick after a bowl of healthy whole wheat pasta, it is a no -rainer to nix that from the diet. So while I still eat the occasional muffin or bagel, I am working to clean those from my diet as well - but at fifty I understand that getting neurotic and obsessive does me no good!

    Oh, I totally agree with that. It's not worth it feeling sick afterwards. But I have learned how to make oven friend chicken. I love the 'crunch' and texture of friend chicken and fish and didn't want to give that up!

    I've also found out that I don't necessary HAVE to HAVE meat like I thought I did (except fried chicken...lol)...but I've learned that I love the texture of meat. I went meatless for 30 days and had to get creative....and find other foods that provide me with texture. I'm learning and discovering so much more.
  • IremiaRe
    IremiaRe Posts: 801 Member
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    STLBADGIRL wrote: »

    Here is my vision board....I think the shape of the fitness tracker picture may help me reach the top *wink wink*

    ROFL
  • Morglem
    Morglem Posts: 377 Member
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    I just turned 43 yesterday and I'm starting this again, hopefully for the last time. I'm about 40 lbs overweight. Fell free to add me. I would love to have some support on this jorney. :)
  • Eleted
    Eleted Posts: 121 Member
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    STLBADGIRL: Did I miss your vision board? Great Idea, btw. I have been wanting to do that for some time I will get on that today! There is great power in keeping your goals/ dreams constantly in your sight!
  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
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    Val8less wrote: »
    Batlady49 wrote: »
    I am 66. I weight 278 in Jan 2012. I lost 60 pounds in the summer of 2012 getting prepared for a sprint triathlon. nd going to WW. After the triathlon, I went back to the standard american diet (SAD). I slowly started putting it back on. By April 2015, I had gained 35 pounds back and my doc said enough is enough! She needs to treat me for metabolic syndrome. She put me on a macro diet of 60 grams of carbs or less, 60 grams or more of fat and 140 g of protein. to help keep my lean muscle mass. I currently weigh 197 pounds which is 81 lbs weight loss in total. I still have 50 pounds to go.
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    That's amazing..way to go....#GoHawks!

    Speaking of Seahawks.....what was that on Sunday night? I'm going to need them to beef it up....they almost lost that tie game... At least I got credit for them in my football pool.....Again, congrats on the weight loss though :smiley:

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