All in... For life

doddsar127

Somewhere between marriage at 45 and now at age 60, I've physically changed so much its astonishing. In my youngest years, I was called stringbean, little big dog and leanah...very athletic and an extrovert. Post menopause I find myself overweight, sedentary, introspective and just plain tired... so I started tracking food and movement to become mindful of what I have been doing... How my behavior and perspective has changed since marriage and menopause. First off, I noticed I am ineffective at maintaining healthy boundaries... With food, and with sleep... And control of my own time. I am practicing... Having re-established a consistent bedtime despite exortations of my workplace and temptations of my homelife, interests, husband and family, I am tacling food and exercise time allocations around my work schedule. Next, I dont know how yet, I will negotiate time for attaining my other goals... God willing. This is such necessary discipline, It's hard to think it doesnt come naturally anymore... I am having to learn how and when to eat what... I am getting a little better after four weeks. Five pounds off my 5 foot frame is a lot. Cannot wait to run like the wind again... But for the time being, It's just walking, stretching and nonimpact movement.

b3achy

Congrats on your success already! Keep it up! Walking is such an amazing way to get fit! It is a shame that it isn't promoted more.

I totally know what you mean. I was always a skinny kid. I joined the Army in my early 20's and they had to lie on my form because I was only 98 lbs and you had to be 100 lbs minimum (thank goodness they didn't do like the movies and make me eat bananas to make weight!!). Now, it's 30 years later, and I'm considered 7 pounds overweight by BMI standards (which is about right since I feel fatigued, fat, and frustrated most days). 10 years ago I needed to lose weight and lost 20 pounds in 13 weeks to get back down to my mid-20's weight (117 lbs) ~ and most of my cardio was walking or videos. I kept it off for a few years but the program was too stringent to make it into a real lifestyle change. Now I'm 10 pounds heavier than when I started to lose weight 10 years ago (147 lbs). My eating will power is nil with hormone fluctuations (peri-menopausal, with fingers crossed that menopause kicks in any minute!!), which is super frustrating since I've always been able to accomplish what I set my mind to in the past. I was able to drop 13 lbs last year, but gained 9 of it back over the winter and a period of mild depression (probably due to those blasted hormones, argh). And I'm now on a mission to lose 30-40 pounds (and rebuild muscle mass) since I started paddleboard racing last year (and I'm pretty much the chunky chick in the crowd right now). Figured other things weren't working eating-wise to drop the pounds (and keep them off), so my last ditch effort is to count macros, and this app/site was one that was recommended. The community here seems so supportive, and frankly, just logging my food each day is helping me see some trends already after just a few days...and already feeling better too.

Feel free to friend me, and we can encourage each other in this process.