Are you over 50, with barriers to exercising and losing weight?

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fitnoverfifty59
fitnoverfifty59 Posts: 7 Member
in Motivation and Support
I started this to help others like me...hopefully get encouragement too, of course... <3

Hi! My name is Wendi and I'm 57 and 5'8" tall and I weigh over 200 lbs. :#
I know may people mean well with advice to motivate us, but if they have never been injured, and/or overweight, and/or over 50, etc. it is hard to relate. Being over 50 is enough to want to quit sometimes because my body has a mind of its own, lol!

Feel free to share your excuses; I know I will! :D
But hey let's give encouraging support, and tips for success. o:)
What's your story? What are your challenges?

My challenges are dealing with physical pain regularly from past injuries and fibromyalgia and just trying to lose weight at my age. But I try to plan my schedule around working out. Most of the time I do weight training at the gym 3x a week and some type of cardio at least 3 times a week. My goal is to lose 50 pounds; I know sticking to using the tools here will help a lot.

I'm here to listen and not judge but to give constructive tips and encouragement as I am open to your comments for me too. I am a Christian and, if you want, we can pray for one another. Thanks for stopping by!

Replies

  • keithdimarco
    keithdimarco Posts: 4 Member
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    fattothinmum wrote: »
    50. T2 diabetic, hypothyroid and fibro. I have never been healthier and fitter than I am in my fiftieth year.

    We might be over 50, but we deserve to feel as good as we can.

  • keithdimarco
    keithdimarco Posts: 4 Member
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    While our metabolism does slow down as we age, weight loss can always be achieved. I have been on every fad diet and have always lost the weight (as much as 65 lbs) but always put it back on with interest! After seeing my son's wedding pictures I decided to lose the weight and keep it off for good. I started two months ago and am down about 40 pounds. My goal is to lose another 50 pounds by June 1,2017. My first month I started with one of the nationally know diet centers and strictly followed their plan. I am slowly weaning my way off of their food and continue to lose about two pounds per week. The key is to monitor your intake and stick to your caloric goal for the day. I find that by eating a salad and vegetables every day, along with three small meals, a fruit and a snack keeps me satisfied and on target. I am almost halfway to my goal of losing 90 pounds and am extremely confident that I will get there and keep the weight off.
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,432 Member
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    I'm 62, I felt great when I was 50, worked full time at a busy job, went to the gym, played raquetball. I have an injury from the 90's when I got hit by a car, riding my bike to work, really acts up sometime.Also have shoulder pain & just don't have as much energy but I've lost 25lbs in last 5 months & have 25 more to go. I have 5 dogs so I take them out for 1-2 hours to dog park M-F & walks on weekends. I also re joined the gym. I go on treadmill 20 min, or practice raquetball then do some of the machines & always go swimming when I'm done.I don't do nearly as much there as I used to but I'm working on increasing
  • fitnoverfifty59
    fitnoverfifty59 Posts: 7 Member
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    Well I am happy for all of you;I definitely feel inspired! :)
    I don't try to make excuses as I felt like maybe this was perceived. I'm determined to lose this weight and I know I will by the grace of God.
    Just a word to those of you who have lost a lot, remember where you came from and be real; share the times you wanted to quit. What kept you going? Share the failures; how did you overcome? We can make our goals and it's fine to be proud of ourselves. But think of the impact you can make when you give compassionate encouragement too. o:)
    Thanks for your comments. <3
  • fitnoverfifty59
    fitnoverfifty59 Posts: 7 Member
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    sgt I don't understand your numbers, can you share them with us 'lay people'?
    I love my weight training and being strong.
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,432 Member
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    Last night i decided to go to the gym every morning because of work out discussion I read, it inspired me. So today I woke up later than usual but went to gym. I went on treadmill & noticed a zumba class was going to start in 15min, so....I went! I stayed for 15min but I felt so good that i can still keep moving at a fast pace. Then I went to the aqua class for 20 min. I usually do the whole hour of aqua, but I'm committed to take my 5 dogs to dog park durning the week & all the regulars leave around 11:30 so I like to be there when they are since i know all the ppl & dogs that go at that time & don't want to take a chance of any aggressive dogs i don't know come in after. Today there were 2 rather aggressive dogs there, never seen them before but fortunatly, my dogs aren't reactive & they listen so we just stayed away from them, but there's still safety in numbers. Anyway, i was so excited to be in that class. Thursday they have a slower pace zumba i want to try
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,432 Member
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    Yesterday I also volunteered at my animal rescue. I spent time with & carried around "Princess" a very sweet fluffy dog so by the late afternoon my right wrist (I have tendonitis that acts up)& my whole right are were aching so bad & this morning I'm really wiped out. This always happens to me, if I have an "up" more energy type day, the next day i have to recover from it
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,990 Member
    edited December 2016
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    fitnoverfifty59 wrote: »
    sgt I don't understand your numbers, can you share them with us 'lay people'?
    I love my weight training and being strong.

    Which numbers?

    #= pounds

    %BF= % body fat

    1RM = 1 Repetition Max; the max weight that you can lift in one repetition.

    310 DL = my 1RM at 310# for the deadlift.
    240 SQT = my 1RM at 240# for the back squat.
    200 BP = my 1RM at 200# for the bench press.
    125 OHP = my 1RM at 125# for the overhead press.

    This should explain the numbers. If you're not familiar with the lifts, you can simply Google them for a description.
  • wefts
    wefts Posts: 183 Member
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    over 55 and over 200 lb started at 226 lbs. 99 days ago 202 now . 2 back operations and wrist and foot injuries added to the weight gain . but thanks to charting my foods , I am finally stopping the weight gain
  • tmbg1
    tmbg1 Posts: 1,338 Member
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    I'm 51 and going through pre menopause... My appetite is huge and my metabolism is slow and I have really bad anxiety, insomnia and night sweats... In fact it is 3:00 am as I respond to this thread and I am wide awake and fretting. My efforts to lose weight during this time have been a complete failure. I don't blame menopause I blame myself entirely.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,192 Member
    edited August 2017
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    fitnoverfifty59 wrote: »
    Well I am happy for all of you;I definitely feel inspired! :)
    I don't try to make excuses as I felt like maybe this was perceived. I'm determined to lose this weight and I know I will by the grace of God.
    Just a word to those of you who have lost a lot, remember where you came from and be real; share the times you wanted to quit. What kept you going? Share the failures; how did you overcome? We can make our goals and it's fine to be proud of ourselves. But think of the impact you can make when you give compassionate encouragement too. o:)
    Thanks for your comments. <3

    I gained my weight in my 40s, during perimenopause, and then, in 2015 at the age of 48, I lost the weight. I'm 50 now, getting ever-closer to full menopause, and maintaining ... although I'm thinking about dropping a bit more.

    During my weight loss, I never quit and I never failed.

    Why?

    Because I kept the whole thing realistic.

    I entered my information into MFP, chose sedentary as my activity level, and MFP gave me 1250 calories.
    I exercise, but when I was actively losing weight, I only ate 50-75% my exercise calories back (50% if I hardly did anything, like maybe just an hour's walk, 75% if I cycled 100 km or hiked for several hours or similar).
    I also entered my exercise on the 'light/low/slow' options so I didn't over-inflate my numbers.
    And I gave myself a time limit. I decided to stick with it for 16 weeks and see what would happen.

    I stuck to my calorie limit like glue, absolutely, every single day without fail. Occasional days took more determination than others, but fortunately there weren't too many days like that.
    I used a scale to weigh my food.
    I also visited several grocery stores and markets in the area to see what they had available that would fit within my calorie limit. What ended up happening was that my dinners, in particular, became more varied and delicious than they had been before.

    Because I am a cyclist, and my goal was to lose the weight so I could cycle up hills faster and get back into the long distance cycling I love, as I lost the weight, I increased my cycling. This meant I was not only getting lighter and fitter, but I also had a lot of calories to work with on weekends. So about once a month, my husband and I would cycle a 100 km ride or longer, then we'd have pizza or fish and chips or something. Being able to do that now and then meant that I rarely felt deprived of society's "good things".

    At the end of 16 weeks, I had dropped 15 kg and was comfortably within my normal BMI range. I took a 1-month diet break while travelling, then did it again for 16 weeks, only at net 1350 calories.

    At the end of those 16 weeks, I had dropped another 10 kg and was a weight I hadn't seen since my early 30s.

    Since then, I have put on a little bit, but still well within my normal BMI range. It's tricky getting the balance right between needing fuel for long distance cycling events and all the training, and also keeping the weight down. My last long distance event for a while will be next weekend, so I plan to return to a net 1350 again for 6 weeks to start and then reassess. :)

    A challenge, but also something the ended up helping, is the fact that I work full time and go to university, working on a Master's Degree part time. It is a challenge because it eats into my exercise time and I seem to pick up all the colds and flus going around ... but it ended up helping because it distracts me. I find I can get into an eating pattern, which makes eating become a background thing like getting dressed in the morning or showering, I don't think about while I focus on my studies.

    Another challenge was being diagnosed with precancer twice, going through several biopsies, and having two surgeries (most recent one was this past May). That also puts a bit of a dent in the exercise plans. Fortunately, I've been declared all clear ... for now. What I thought was just a really long and rough perimenopause was in fact, perimenopause and precancer. I probably should have done to the Dr sooner.
  • gcibsthom
    gcibsthom Posts: 30,145 Member
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    66...High BP...torn up right lung, have more bullets, shrapnel and other metals in my body than original parts (it seems that way anyway..,), and was really overweight....So all sorts of barriers. Couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without stopping halfway to rest and breathe. Anyway, I saw a pic of myself and wondered who the whale was....when I saw it was me I knew I had two choices...lose the weight or die earlier than I wanted to. A great motivator, death. So here I am, 20 months later and 105 lbs lighter...I ride a bike, go to the gym daily, I take in about 1300 - 1500 calories a day and burn the same amount. When I was younger I played tennis and jogged. Tennis might not be coming back since my right shoulder is permanently messed up, but jogging is the next obstacle to conquer, particularly the breathing part.
    You are right, for a lot of people here on mfp, and mainly younger ones with no barriers, it is much easier to keep fit. More power to them and I hope they continue. But as we get older and more things happen, it does get more difficult....they don't realize that yet.
    But it is possible. If you had asked me 2 years ago if I could walk down the street I would say you were crazy. Now I am speed walking it...But there has to be some real motivation...it has to become an obsession to change your lifestyle.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    tmbg1 wrote: »
    I'm 51 and going through pre menopause... My appetite is huge and my metabolism is slow and I have really bad anxiety, insomnia and night sweats... In fact it is 3:00 am as I respond to this thread and I am wide awake and fretting. My efforts to lose weight during this time have been a complete failure. I don't blame menopause I blame myself entirely.

    I went through something similar during peri menopause. I'm 56 now and have lost the weight I gained during that time. I "failed" at losing weight often during the process, but ultimately succeeded. Don't give up.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    To address the OP, I seem to sprain or strain easily and heal slowly. It's annoying. I try to minimize it by not putting all my emphasis on one activity, and by having a bank of activities available to me. Sure there are days when I can't do any form of exercise at all, but there are many more days when I can find one or two doable activities.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,192 Member
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    You might be interested in joining the existing "over 50" group here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10583593/women-ages-50-for-august-2017#latest
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    I lost my weight and got very fit in my early 50's.
    Yes I've got an extensive list of old and not so old injuries but personally I found losing weight far easier than in my 30's or 40's. Much of the fitness improvement was down to having more "me time" for exercise when my children became more self-sufficient.
    Those injuries are a barrier to being as fit or strong as I would like but a virtual irrelevance to losing weight which really is down to the self-discipline of eating the amount of food you actually need rather than the amount of food you would like. I really, really like good food - but I also love living in a fit and healthy body.

    My biggest barrier was holding on to a dumb excuse that kept me fat for 20 years - it wasn't my fault I got fat, it was the guy that wrecked my knee. Simply ditching that excuse and taking responsibility for myself was the catalyst to getting started.
    Understanding that success doesn't really come down to fleeting motivation but long term commitment is the key. I can't rely on motivation to get me to the gym at the end of a long day but if you are committed to a goal you get your bum off the sofa and get it done. Same with food. Also being realistic about your own strengths and weaknesses helps, I know I'm ridiculously determined short term but also know routine bores and frustrates me. Finding a way of eating (5:2) that suited my strengths certainly helped make the process of weight loss easier for me.

    Of course there's been setbacks beyond my control (my back is a bit of a disaster zone right now...) and times I've slipped through my own fault but I just needed to learn from it, realise it's now in the past, reset and move forwards.



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