New today but dubious

bebbingtoncatherine
bebbingtoncatherine Posts: 10 Member
in Getting Started
Hi everyone. Joined mfp today I really need to sort out my weight and health. Need to lose 5st at least, but I need honest opinions folks
I turned 61 a couple of days ago and I'm frightened that I have left it too late. Is there anyone else on here of a similar age group that is losing weight?
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Replies

  • RainaProske
    RainaProske Posts: 636 Member
    Oh, thank you, bebbingtoncatherine!
    By the way, I love the food diary here -- the best I've ever seen, and it is so "personalizeable'!
    (Does anyone know how to make the photos smaller????
  • bebbingtoncatherine
    bebbingtoncatherine Posts: 10 Member
    That's good to hear snickers Charlie thanks for the encouragement and well done, that's a brilliant result. :)
  • bebbingtoncatherine
    bebbingtoncatherine Posts: 10 Member
    Thank you so much for all the advice, it really is appreciated, you'll probably never know how much. I have taken every thing on board and will certainly follow your suggestions. So far so good today logged everything that has passed my lips.
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  • campbell3913
    campbell3913 Posts: 64 Member
    I'll be 60 in August. I didn't have a lot to loose, just 25 lbs., but I also was so out of shape. Started walking. Walked on breaks at work, on lunch and after work. Sometimes not all that far, but have just kept pushing a little bit farther, a little bit harder. YouTube has some great "free" fitness videos. I like the walking ones, just do what you can and walk in place when it's to much. Some light weights and good old fashioned calisthenics. You know, push ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks. I still can only do a couple of pushups, but planks work to.

    I read most of the blogs on the feed about food, nutrition and exercise. And I log my food. No one has to see it but you. Be honest, you might want to log everything for a week or so, just to see where you're going wrong. Cutting calories wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Once I started eating healthier, I don't crave the sweet as much.

    Planning is a huge key for me. Thinking ahead, planning some meals and shopping for healthy snacks. Taking my lunch and snacks to work. And allow for some of what you love, like chocolate.

    Be leery of the weight loss plans. I've tried the Atkins and Nutrisystems. Didn't find them sustainable.

    Good luck! It's a journey and can be life changing.
  • bebbingtoncatherine
    bebbingtoncatherine Posts: 10 Member
    Hi, yes , I'm going to get used to logging my food and drink on here and then going to start with walking. To be honest I'm so unfit will probably be just a very short walk at first because my hip causes me some pain, probably weigh related, doesn't help the arthritis does it? Oh if anyone is starting a 60's group let me know and definitely count me in. Must say though I would be delighted to get to know all age groups and help and encourage where I can. :)
  • FabianMommy
    FabianMommy Posts: 78 Member
    edited June 2016
    Hi Catherine and good luck on your journey! I'm early fifties and recently lost 12 pounds in a couple of months so you can do this. I would really recommend buying a Fitbit if your finances can run to one. I recently bought the Fitbit Charge HR and it's fantastic. It syncs with MFP and monitors your calories burned and your steps so you can really get a good idea of calories in and calories out, which is what it comes down to and your activity levels. It's not 100% accurate but I find it close enough. Best advice, weigh everything on digital food scales and don't estimate, that way you know what's going in.

    You will be giving your health and wellness such an incredible boost by losing your 5 stone, it's going to be so worth it!
  • bebbingtoncatherine
    bebbingtoncatherine Posts: 10 Member
    Thanks fabianmommy I will definitely look into it, I get paid next week so will have a look around
  • MikilouB
    MikilouB Posts: 56 Member
    I am 60 as well. I started here at the end of March and have lost 28 lbs so far. Currently my only exercise is walking, my treat for losing 50 lbs will be a gym membership! My piece of advice to you is to be honest in your logging...sometimes it is a bit of a shock but it helps keep you on track. Also, don't complex cut anything out of what you eat...if you view this as a lifetime, lifestyle change it will just become second nature (still working on that myself!). Good luck!
  • bebbingtoncatherine
    bebbingtoncatherine Posts: 10 Member
    Thanks mikiloub, well done on your weight loss your doing exceptionally well. Yes every single ounce I lose is gone for good, this is for the rest of my life, which I'm more than happy with. Good luck on the rest of your journey. Hope to speak to you again :)
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    edited June 2016
    bebbingtoncatherine wrote: »
    Hi, yes , I'm going to get used to logging my food and drink on here and then going to start with walking. To be honest I'm so unfit will probably be just a very short walk at first because my hip causes me some pain, probably weigh related, doesn't help the arthritis does it?

    I could barely walk around the couch when I started. ;)

    I was having issues with my knees and my hip. Happy to tell you that - arthritis issues aside - dropping the weight has been amazing as to the reduction in my level of pain. Which was, of course, part of what put me on the couch in the first place. :(

    I second getting a fitbit. I just have the cheapie model - the Zip - but it does exactly what I need it to do. It logs my steps taken in a day and then automatically synchs up with MFP to add extra calories to my food page here that I can eat for my effort.

    If you have access to a swimming pool, I highly recommend looking in water jogging. All of the benefits of jogging, without any of the stress on our dodgy old joints. :)

  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    It's never too late, as long as you decide to make small, sustainable changes and commit to consistency.

    It's better to be working on improving your health (including getting to a healthy weight) at any age than just ignoring it. You can do this!
    bebbingtoncatherine wrote: »
    Hi, yes , I'm going to get used to logging my food and drink on here and then going to start with walking. To be honest I'm so unfit will probably be just a very short walk at first because my hip causes me some pain, probably weigh related, doesn't help the arthritis does it? Oh if anyone is starting a 60's group let me know and definitely count me in. Must say though I would be delighted to get to know all age groups and help and encourage where I can. :)

    Walking is a fabulous exercise! My grandma walked every morning for years, well into her 70s. If she went a winter without walking (it's cold and snowy and sometimes hard to find a good indoor place) she would feel more stiffness and soreness when she started up in the spring, but as she continued walking, she would always build up speed and endurance and feel less discomfort. Staying active is very good for arthritis!

    I also agree with the poster who mentioned water walking. Just make sure to stay hydrated, being in the water can deceive us about how much we need to be drinking.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,269 Member
    Noel_57 wrote: »
    What a great bunch of people here! I love the comments on this thread. Wish there was a 60's MFP group.

    @Noel_57 - there's an over-50 one with over-60 people in it. Not a super active group, but nice folks.

    OVER 50 GROUP
  • bebbingtoncatherine
    bebbingtoncatherine Posts: 10 Member
    Thanks everyone for your replies. Lots of good advice :)<3
  • RainaProske
    RainaProske Posts: 636 Member
    snickerscharlie wrote: »
    I could barely walk around the couch when I started. ;)

    . . . . I second getting a fitbit. I just have the cheapie model - the Zip - but it does exactly what I need it to do. It logs my steps taken in a day and then automatically synchs up with MFP to add extra calories to my food page here that I can eat for my effort. . . .

    snickerscharlie, if you don't mind my questions, I am extremely technology-challenged. I think I understand that a Fitbit is worn like a watch -- ?
    Does it require a Smart Phone? (I only have a stupid cell phone.)
    Where are Fitbits available for sale?

    Thank you!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,269 Member
    I'm late to reply, but I'm another: Down 63 pounds (more or less, depending on the day) since April 2015 (though I was "only" 59 when I started ;) ). That's over 1/3 of my original bodyweight. I'm hypothyroid as well, but it's effectively controlled with meds. I'm at a weight I haven't seen since college. If you'd told me in early 2015 that I'd weigh this by mid-2016, without catastrophic illness in the picture (!), I would never have believed it.

    So much healthier: Less (almost no) knee pain (torn meniscus, long-term thing), cholesterol/triglycerides solidly in the center of the normal range (formerly high, doc threatening statins), blood pressure normal (formerly prehypertensive), and just generally feeling great. For the last 3 months or so, I'm working on maintaining my new weight, and that's going well so far, too.

    One of the great things about using MFP, eating the foods you enjoy (just less of them), is that you learn how to eat in a healthy way, which makes keeping the weight off much easier than when the loss comes from a way of eating you wouldn't want to continue for the rest of your life.

    You can do this! (If you get discouraged at any point, go read posts in the "Success Stories" forum. It'll get you back in the groove again!
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    RainaProske wrote: »
    snickerscharlie wrote: »
    I could barely walk around the couch when I started. ;)

    . . . . I second getting a fitbit. I just have the cheapie model - the Zip - but it does exactly what I need it to do. It logs my steps taken in a day and then automatically synchs up with MFP to add extra calories to my food page here that I can eat for my effort. . . .

    snickerscharlie, if you don't mind my questions, I am extremely technology-challenged. I think I understand that a Fitbit is worn like a watch -- ?
    Does it require a Smart Phone? (I only have a stupid cell phone.)
    Where are Fitbits available for sale?

    Thank you!

    The one I have clips onto my pocket or my bra. You don't need a cellphone to use one. My fitbit synchs up with MFP through my PC.

    Amazon sells them online, as do most sporting good and computer stores. I ordered my fitbit and my digital food scale from Amazon at the same time. :)
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    RainaProske wrote: »
    snickerscharlie wrote: »
    I could barely walk around the couch when I started. ;)

    . . . . I second getting a fitbit. I just have the cheapie model - the Zip - but it does exactly what I need it to do. It logs my steps taken in a day and then automatically synchs up with MFP to add extra calories to my food page here that I can eat for my effort. . . .

    snickerscharlie, if you don't mind my questions, I am extremely technology-challenged. I think I understand that a Fitbit is worn like a watch -- ?
    Does it require a Smart Phone? (I only have a stupid cell phone.)
    Where are Fitbits available for sale?

    Thank you!

    I'm not in my 60s but I often lurk in these threads because this is what I aspire to doing and continue to be doing as long as possible: taking care of my health, so reading these threads inspires me. I usually don't hijack but I thought I could be helpful in this case.

    I would highly suggest the cheapest model. It's more accurate because it's not affected by hand movements. It's a clip-on which you clip wherever you want (I had it on my bra back when I used it and often forgot it was even there).

    You don't need a smartphone for it to work. It comes with a tiny thumb drive which you stick in your computer and forget about. You install a program on your computer for it, and when the computer is turned on it syncs your tracker periodically without you having to do anything. The package comes with instructions and a website address that will help you install the program.
  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
    My mother is 72 and though not on MFP she has started her journey with the help of a medical dietist. She's lost 10-15kg already and so much the happier for it
  • RainaProske
    RainaProske Posts: 636 Member
    Thank you so much, snickerscharlie and amusedmonk! These posts are very helpful!!
  • grannychew
    grannychew Posts: 1 Member
    Newbie to Forums. I just began my journey a week ago. I can lose it, but I always find it again. Big kudos to you all who have made the journey a lifetime and lifestyle change rather than a mere jaunt. I plan to learn to join you all this time!

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