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

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Replies

  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
    You all rock! Your stories are so inspiring!
  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
    Hi, i just love this thread! I am 50, and have lost 82 pounds over the last year. I still have another 18 pounds to go. Log your food, exercise or at least stay active, Try to stay within your calorie allotment for the day. Just remember one thing, whatever changes you make now have to be sustainable in the long term, otherwise you are setting yourself up for failure. You are human and will stumble and fall, just get back up, dust yourself off , and continue. Good luck on your journey!
    Thanks for the encouraging words and sharing your story!!!!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    edited November 2015
    I'm 59 (60 next week, yay!), and have posted on this thread before. But today, in the hope it'll be encouraging, I want to share verbatim what I already posted on my MFP status:
    Today, I achieved my original goal weight of 130 pounds. I've more recently adjusted my ultimate goal downward a just a few pounds, based on how I feel/look now, but this still seems like a major milestone, because I was aiming at 130 for so long.

    If you'd asked me a year ago whether I would ever weigh that, and how long it would take me, I probably would've just laughed. But, since 4/17/2015, when I committed to a achieving a healthier weight, I've lost 53 pounds. In some ways, I still can't believe it.

    Besides being over 40 (by a couple decades), I'm also hypothyroid, and (unsurprisingly) menopausal, and, in case anyone wonders, I'm 5'5".

    Some things may complicate achieving your weight-loss goals, but they needn't stop you. Follow the process MFP advocates, log consistently, adjust your calorie goals (as your results guide you) to achieve a steady & healthy weight loss rate, take advantage of sensible advice in the forum (ignore the non-sensible!), be consistent - it works.
  • Val8less
    Val8less Posts: 107 Member
    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!
  • efrensgirl2015
    efrensgirl2015 Posts: 480 Member
    bump
  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
    You all really rock! Keep the success stories coming!!!!!
  • DebBahr
    DebBahr Posts: 110 Member
    I just turned 50 and have been overweight since I had kids. My youngest is 17. My weight kept creeping up. I tried MFP and a few other methods a few times but never stuck with it. From my highest weight I am now down 39 lbs with another 21 lbs to go. There are a few things I've done differently this time.
    • I joined the YMCA and have have going 5x a week for more than four months. I love the atmosphere and thankful that I'm able to go.
    • I log everything I eat on MFP. I've always resisted doing that consistently. But it has been a key to helping me lose weight.
    • I usually eat back about half of my exercise calories.
    • I really try to limit carbs and added sugar.
    • I joined a challenge with some friends and some people I don't personally know. It's a healthy living challenge and it's about healthy habits and losing weight. Having that community is very helpful.

    This is not an easy journey but I finally decided that I wanted to be healthier and feel better about myself.
  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
    Anymore new stories out here? I still get motivated reading how age did not defeat you or your weight loss journey!
  • agbmom556
    agbmom556 Posts: 694 Member
    Bump :)
  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
    LaceyBirds wrote: »
    LaceyBirds wrote: »
    I'm a month away from turning 60. I'm 5'6.5" and started trying to lose weight somewhere around late spring of 2014 when I weighed an all-time high of 230 pounds. I ate less calories than I had been eating, but was still eating in an unhealthy way, consuming very little protein, lots of pasta, just unhealthy. I spent a great deal of time being in a state of gnawing hunger that would cause me to not be able to go to or stay asleep - hunger would wake me up, then I would get up at 3 in the morning and eat. I "dieted" some days, not others, so my weight loss was slow, and I felt bad physically, but I managed to lose 21 pounds.

    I found MFP in mid-April and everything changed. I have logged in every day and logged everything I have consumed since then. I started reading the Success Stories thread every single morning, and now have several other threads that I find motivational bookmarked and read those too. I bought a food scale a couple of weeks after starting here, and started using it religiously about a month later - took me a while to get into that habit, but now I weigh almost everything - no more measuring spoons and cups. I found that I am rubbish at estimating portion sizes, although I am getting better.

    I started walking in the pool in July, but had to curtail that after a couple of weeks due to hurting my knees. I then started walking around my neighborhood at the beginning of August for 30 or so minutes a day, and was doing that faithfully, except for a few days with hurt knees and my other chronic health issues, until a week ago when I was semi-attacked by a big dog in the neighborhood. The dog didn't bite me, but charged me and head-butted me - no injuries, but it has really freaked me out so I'm taking a short break. Other than that, I have done no exercise of any kind, so my weight loss is basically by lowering my calories alone.

    As of Thursday, I'm down a total of 51 pounds, 30 of those since starting MFP. I have 44 pounds left to my goal, but I'll decide if I want to go that low when I get closer. I am rarely hungry - I get hungry around meal times, which is what it should be - no more ravenous hunger. As I've progressed in this, I find that it is just as important to me to meet my nutritional requirements as it is to lose weight, so I structure my menu around that fact. I have IBS and can't eat many vegetables (no salads), so I eat a lot of baked chicken, sandwiches, greek yogurt, avocados and make sure I get my fiber and calcium in, and I take a multi-vitamin every day. I count EVERYTHING, even one Altoid, Tums and my multi-vitamin. I drink a minimum of 64 ounces of water a day, and, when I want a treat, such as fast food or sweets, I either plan or adjust my daily menu around them so they fit into my calories and macros/micros. I still eat fast food, but I don't get sides or soft drinks anymore - I get unsweetened iced tea and just a sandwich. I get a donut about once a week, and eat ice cream about once a week too.

    As so many people here say, if I can do it, anybody can do it. I had given up completely, so this is actually still kind of a surprise to me that I have lost this much weight. But, at this point, I have no doubts I will succeed in reaching my final goal. And then the hard part begins - maintaining. :)

    Good luck to all! You can do it!!!

    I posted this in this thread on September 26, 2015. Since then, I have lost another 34 pounds, and am at what I am calling my "possibly revised upper goal weight." I started out setting a goal of 135 pounds, but am still not sure I want to go that low, so I'm thinking of hanging out at this weight (145 or so) for a while and see if I want to go lower.

    I was on two blood pressure drugs, a statin for high cholesterol and triglycerides, and I was pre-diabetic when I wrote that last post. I am now off of all those medications, I test my blood pressure every day and it is normal to low-normal, my cholesterol and triglycerides are great and I am no longer pre-diabetic. I am still weighing my food and logging everything I eat and drink, and will continue to do so. My knees really don't hurt anymore, and I find myself running up my stairs instead of lugging myself up like I used to to do. I feel light and normal and healthy. :)

    Thank you MFP. :smiley:

    Wow, this is wonderful and I am so happy that you came in here with an update! I can not wrap my head around this wonderful progress.... I'm in awe of your story!!!!
  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    I'm 59, and have lost 44 pounds since mid-April 2015. (I'll add that I'm hypothyroid, and of course menopausal, since people seem to think those are deal-breakers as well.) I've been overweight to obese nearly all of my adult life, except a few years during/after college.

    I'm 5'5", SW 183, CW 139, GW 125-130 (genetically, I have no hips; surgically (the breast cancer), I have no breasts - in case you're thinking that's a little light).

    (Rest of my ridiculously long post on this thread, back on 9/28/15 (including photos) snipped)

    OK, maybe an update: I'm now 60. I kept losing weight - intentionally slowing my loss rate as I got thinner - until I woke up one day in January/February 2016 and decided it was time to stabilize at maintenance weight: I just felt right. It took a while to find the right calorie level, but I've been maintaining now for around 6 months at 120 pounds (plus or minus 3). That's 60+ pounds lighter than I started.

    My cholesterol/triglycerides are solidly normal (down from high), my blood pressure is low-normal (down from pre-hypertensive), my bad knees (torn meniscus/arthritis) went from frequently quite painful to occasionally slightly painful, and I just generally feel so much better. (Details & before/after photos available in my MFP profile, if you care.)

    I wish I had done this decades ago. If I can do it, so can you. I promise it will be worthwhile.

    Another update. You guys rock! To hear of all the rewards and benefits to being healthy gives this journey depth. Yes we want it for the vanity of it all, but look at the added benefits. I feel like I can actually hear the joy of you taking control of your weight loss journey! Kudos to you. Thanks for the progress report!!!
  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
    DebBahr wrote: »
    DebBahr wrote: »
    I just turned 50 and have been overweight since I had kids. My youngest is 17. My weight kept creeping up. I tried MFP and a few other methods a few times but never stuck with it. From my highest weight I am now down 39 lbs with another 21 lbs to go. There are a few things I've done differently this time.
    • I joined the YMCA and have have going 5x a week for more than four months. I love the atmosphere and thankful that I'm able to go.
    • I log everything I eat on MFP. I've always resisted doing that consistently. But it has been a key to helping me lose weight.
    • I usually eat back about half of my exercise calories.
    • I really try to limit carbs and added sugar.
    • I joined a challenge with some friends and some people I don't personally know. It's a healthy living challenge and it's about healthy habits and losing weight. Having that community is very helpful.

    This is not an easy journey but I finally decided that I wanted to be healthier and feel better about myself.

    Update: I have now lost 60 lbs and met my original goal. Still going to the gym 5 days a week. I now go in the morning before work. I get up at 5:15 am. I eat healthy most of the time. I still limit carbs and added sugar but if I want ice cream then I have ice cream. I could lose a few more pounds but I am very happy where I am now. I feel great and I have bought so many cute new clothes

    I'm happy to see that everything is moving in the right direction for you! More importantly I am seeing that if you keep at good eating and exercise habits tht you will hit your goals. I'm still not moving in the right direction and I see now, its because a serious lack of discipline and commitment. Everyone else has come on here with an update on how they are STILL losing and coming closer to their goal, while I'm still being a bystander :/
  • NancyYale
    NancyYale Posts: 171 Member
    I started with WW at 51. For the 4th time. Something just clicked this time, and I promised myself that THIS time I would not quit. And I didn't. If I can drop 108 pounds in a year with very little extra exercise, anyone can. All it takes is sticking with it, pushing through the tough spots, and figuring out how to make your eating plan work for YOU!
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