Females - Mid-Fifties 20 lb. Weight Loss Seems Impossible

lesliebridgesdm

Can anyone shed light on attempting weight loss (20 pounds) post menopause.

I stopped running a couple of years ago and thought I could hike instead but put on weight. I have now spent the last two weeks eating 1400 cal a day, 100 net carbs and no carbs (mostly) after 5pm. I have added much more movement to my day as I have a desk job. I am getting back to the gym for vigorous intervals in addition to walking 10K steps daily. I am drinking 8-12 glasses of water per day. Mostly cut out sugar. BMR is 1372 so I need to burn at least 500 extra calories in Exercise to lose a pound a week but I'd rather lose two pounds a week - any ideas?

I am limited and cannot row or do heavy arm weight stuff or a plank.

5'6" 156 - weight is not moving.

CMNVA

I was where you are last year. In fact, I have fallen off the wagon and have gotten back on.

I was 5'7" and 156 lbs, also post menopausal. The difference is that I have never been active consistently and wasn't up for starting massive exercise and dieting at the same time. My BMR was about the same as yours. I *did* do MFP for 3 weeks, no exercise, at 1200 calories. Rarely did I accomplish that but often hit 1240-1300. It took about 3 week weeks, and then WOOOSH (as they say here), I dropped a few pounds seemingly overnight. After a few weeks, I increased my calories to 1400-1500 and started Couch to 5K. The weight really started rolling off me at that point and I went further than I wanted to. I lost 16 lbs in about 3 months but most of it was NOT in the beginning.

Give yourself some time and make absolutely SURE that you are logging accurately. It was important for me to get a digital scale. It's a big mistake people make (not measuring properly).

kshama2001

Plenty of successful post-menopausal women here. You may be retaining water due to the new exercise regimen.

With only 20 pounds to lose, a more realistic weight loss goal is a half pound per week. Likely you won't see this every week, but in whooshes.

There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

DebLaBounty

I'd give it more time and aim for a one pound loss per week. I'm 5'6" and in the last two weeks have resulted in a loss of 2 pounds. So, I've gone from 173 to 171. I'd keep hiking. I'm 57 and post-menopausal, too.

lesliebridgesdm

Thank you all. I am very grateful for the stories. I have been a runner all my life an this has normally not been an issue.
I have a digital scale and am drinking WAY more water than usual so I figured my body might be retaining. I have cut WAY back on salt intake and watching salty foods and committed to vigorous exercise working up to an hour per day 6 days a week. Any other tips are helpful. Last time I did this was 6 years ago and 13 pounds came off easily in 2 months - not so now!

Clownfish423

I have lost 20 pounds since August and am 57, postmenopausal. At your height and weight, I wouldn't expect to see major fast movement! Actually, your current weight is my goal (I'm 5' 8")! My weight loss definitely comes in "whooshes" now. I've been at a plateau for about 2 months, but I'm okay with that since I'm at my lowest weight in years. I'm trying to take it slow. That way, I'm hoping I don't have to deal with "skin" issues down the road! I recently recommitted to logging on MFP to see if I was eating more calories than I thought - I was....

sijomial

100 net carbs and no carbs (mostly) after 5pm. - Irrelevant unless that helps your adherence to a calorie goal.

I have added much more movement to my day as I have a desk job. I am getting back to the gym for vigorous intervals in addition to walking 10K steps daily. - Good, well done.

I am drinking 8-12 glasses of water per day. - Irrelevant.

Mostly cut out sugar. - Irrelevant unless that helps your adherence.

BMR is 1372 so I need to burn at least 500 extra calories in Exercise to lose a pound a week but I'd rather lose two pounds a week. - Your deficit is calculated from your TDEE not your BMR. 2lbs a week is too aggressive with little to lose. 1000 calorie deficit a day makes it far harder than it needs to be.

5'6" 156 - weight is not moving. It's been just 2 weeks!

StaciMarie1974

YOu can lose weight, but your expectation of 2 pounds per week is simply not realistic. Which is better: do nothing and stay where you are or even gain weight, or eat at a reasonable deficit and lose 2-4 pounds per month?

candylilacs

Your move to hiking could prove it's muscle mass. At 1400 calories, you're a little low. I would eat 1500-1600 calories.

FattieBabs

Agree with the last poster - look at 1500-1600 cals and see how much weight you lost with that and settle for 1 lb a week weight loss rather than 2. It does take a great deal of patience. I have lost 22 lbs slowly over just over 4 months. MFP sets me at 1200 if I want to lose 2 lb a week but I can't sustain that so eat higher and lose the weight slower... It teaches me patience if nothing else!!

dragon_girl26

Agree with above...at being 5'6" (same height as me) and 156, which is right outside of the healthy BMI range, 2 lbs a week is not realistic. I'd first suggest adjusting your expectations and aiming for .5 to 1 lb instead. Carb intake and timing of carbs are pretty much irrelevant for weight loss. I'd give it a little more time, though...when I was losing, the closer I got to healthy BMI, the less often the scale would drop. It started happening in monthly 'whooshes' instead. Those days were nice, but it made the rest of the month a little frustrating! Hang in there, OP.

KWlosingit

I am over 50 and so far have lost almost 60 lbs with 40ish more to go. I am set at 1 lb a week now as I don't want to cut my calories down any lower. I figure it took me 50 years to get this fat so why am I trying to lose it in a short time. I go on vacation, eat out and love life, more so as it gets easier to move and do things as I lose the weight.

christinecameron901

I am 49 and post menopausal, due to radiation for cervical cancer.I am Cancer free now.I find tracking my calories and trying to do something physical eachday,works for me.

sootie66

Hi, just wanted to say well done on beating cancer

fitmom4lifemfp

I am 61. I also have always been a runner until I had a new hip in 2014, and a meniscus tear repaired last summer. I still run, but only a couple days a week and even then it's short and slow. I want to lose 11 more pounds (I gained a few over the last couple of years) and it is really hard without my nightly runs. I have had to really increase my other activity to make up for that as I have a desk job and that makes it so much harder. I am losing, but slowly - about .25 pound a week in the last month. I am averaging around 1100 calories a week.

CMNVA

fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »

I am 61. I also have always been a runner until I had a new hip in 2014, and a meniscus tear repaired last summer. I still run, but only a couple days a week and even then it's short and slow. I want to lose 11 more pounds (I gained a few over the last couple of years) and it is really hard without my nightly runs. I have had to really increase my other activity to make up for that as I have a desk job and that makes it so much harder. I am losing, but slowly - about .25 pound a week in the last month. I am averaging around 1100 calories a week.

Yeah, those desk jobs make it tough. It's embarrassing how little steps I can get in. I don't exercise all that much due to time contraints. At 61, are you doing strength/resistance training? I'm not. Last fall I did Couch to 5K but I think I'm going to concentrate more on building muscle mass to help with the burning calories.

Locolady98

I'm loving this discussion! I'm in perimenopause right now, and am definitely thinking a lot about the future, and wondering how hard it will be to maintain a healthy weight. Sounds like with good habits it's very doable. Thanks for sharing!

cqbkaju

Stop being in a hurry with your weight loss. Just be consistent with your diet instead.
Track your food intake more carefully. Use a scale more often if necessary.
Stop over-estimating the amount of calories you burn with exercise; you may be eating too many back.

Obligatory:

nifty50fitandlean

I'm 50, post menopausal, hypothyroid and I've lost 46 lbs since December with about 30 left to go. I started Dec & January working on the food. Towards the end of January I started walking. Over time I added time, added hills, started doing hikes outside. I also started golfing again, started wearing a fitbit and just keep learning and learning. I slowly increased everything. As of yesterday I'm doing a 4 week training of 3 days of hiit on my spin bike and 2 days at about 45 minutes of weights. I just started this. I'm actually getting in decent cardiovascular shape, but I still have fat to lose.

If I eat much below 1500 cal/day I feel like I'm starving and I know it's not going to work long term like that. It took about 4 weeks to really start losing weight, then it was just falling off. Last month I lost 5 lbs. I'm going for 10 these 4 weeks, but I really can't drop much under 1400.

The key for me - 300/400/500 for b/l/d - 100 for each snack. It's not quite that I fudge it around a little. I pretty much eat the same thing with just some variation for breakfast and lunch. I literally pick 7 dinners, buy all the ingredients and the whole family eats what I eat for dinner. They can eat whatever they want the rest of the day, but everyone seems pretty happy with lean meats, lots of veggies and salads and whole grains. I'm doing my best to not eat out these 4 weeks because that is my downfall, particularly the salt restaurants put in their food.

I gave myself the excuse that I couldn't do it because of my thyroid. I proved myself wrong.

lesliebridgesdm

Thanks to all. I just had one of those "whoosh" days and down 3 pounds. I am religiously logging food and if anything over log calories. Water retention is up n' down but watching sodium and carbs/sugar seems to help that. The biggest change for me is less caloric intake and back to one hour of exercise a day with at least 30-45 minutes of vigorous cardio. Walking after dinner for 30 minutes has been useful in meeting my 10K steps per day and better than sitting some more after sitting all day. Patience is not one of my best qualities. Thank you all for being so open about your process of dealing with mid-life weight. I know from talking to all my friends that this is a trend due to body changes for females. I own a company and sit many hours. My fitbit now reminds me hourly to get up and do 30 squats or walk around the block. I think that when I reflect on my recent two years, I have begun to work longer hours, sit more and by the evening too tired to workout. Just reprioritizing all that is helping and almost 3 weeks in - I'm less hungry and able to be pretty happy with 1400/cal per day. It's hard to be a foodie and entertain alot, but rethinking how I think about that. If you look at consistently thin people, no matter the situation, they just eat less (smile). Happy day to all.

beaglady

It's difficult, but not impossible. I'm 58, and have lost around 40 pounds since July 2016. I have a 50 minute commute, and have to stay sitting at my computer during the workday. I have only 865 steps so far today and will have to walk on the treadmill at lunch time just to erase my negative fitbit calories.

It seems like I've been hovering around 195-196 for at least a month, and I have a hard time finding more time to exercise more. I take a Zumba class once a week, exercise in the pool at the Y for an hour or 2 a week, garden and walk when I have time. Lack of time is the issue. In addition to working and commuting, I help take care of my elderly dad once or twice a week after work, and am really unmotivated do exercise on days I don't get home til 8 or 9 pm.

I keep at it, but I do find that my reduced calorie allowance since I'm now smaller, combined with lack of time for more exercise, means that I might only have a deficit of 250 per day. I keep plugging away. Being patient with a slow rate of loss is the hard part.

fitmom4lifemfp

CMNVA wrote: »

fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »

I am 61. I also have always been a runner until I had a new hip in 2014, and a meniscus tear repaired last summer. I still run, but only a couple days a week and even then it's short and slow. I want to lose 11 more pounds (I gained a few over the last couple of years) and it is really hard without my nightly runs. I have had to really increase my other activity to make up for that as I have a desk job and that makes it so much harder. I am losing, but slowly - about .25 pound a week in the last month. I am averaging around 1100 calories a week.

Yeah, those desk jobs make it tough. It's embarrassing how little steps I can get in. I don't exercise all that much due to time contraints. At 61, are you doing strength/resistance training? I'm not. Last fall I did Couch to 5K but I think I'm going to concentrate more on building muscle mass to help with the burning calories.

My "normal" has been to do a full-body workout at least twice a week. That means about 20-22 different free weight/machine sessions. Generally takes me about 2.5 hours to do everything I want to do. My ideal is to do that 3 times a week, and that HAS been my normal, for damn near 35 years - the gym feels like home to me. Unfortunately the last 2 years that has been more difficult - elderly parent issues have put a serious crimp in what little free time I have. And in April I started renovating my kitchen...and THAT has been a massive timesucker. The other issue is I used to have a gym across the street from work (a fireman/police gym) and that is where I went every day at lunch. They moved us to a new location (it SUCKS) last fall so that has made a major change in daily fitness. Very pissed about that...and counting down to retirement even harder because of it.

So yeah...for people that have a lot of crap going on, it's damn hard to get in the exercise. I did run last night, well I ran about 1.75 miles and walked 2. That felt good. But I did that at the expense of going to the gym as I needed to work on my kitchen.

fitmom4lifemfp

fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »

I am 61. I also have always been a runner until I had a new hip in 2014, and a meniscus tear repaired last summer. I still run, but only a couple days a week and even then it's short and slow. I want to lose 11 more pounds (I gained a few over the last couple of years) and it is really hard without my nightly runs. I have had to really increase my other activity to make up for that as I have a desk job and that makes it so much harder. I am losing, but slowly - about .25 pound a week in the last month. I am averaging around 1100 calories a week.

Yikes I meant a DAY! Sheesh.

AnnPT77

candylilacs wrote: »

Your move to hiking could prove it's muscle mass. At 1400 calories, you're a little low. I would eat 1500-1600 calories.

Sadly, it can't be muscle mass.

Under ideal conditions - which include a calorie surplus and a solid progressive weight lifting program - gaining a quarter pound of muscle per week would be an excellent result for a young woman.

For those of us 50+, in a calorie deficit, doing mostly cardio with limited lifting, substantial or speedy muscle mass gain isn't gonna happen. We can preserve muscle, we can even gain strength . . . but we're not remotely likely to add any muscle mass while losing weight.

dotwilldoit

I agree with so many here.. give it time. And yes you can do this. I am almost 59 post menopausal and lost 37 pounds. I run about 20 miles a week..and at a quicker pace with my lower weight!

Unlike previous poster, I did gain muscle mass. That is just the way I am.. I get muscles. I lost inches more than pounds at first actually. I noticed hysteresis where good decisions took time to accumulate

So stick with it.. make sure you measure correctly, log everything and it does sounds like you are doing what I did wrt sugar carbs and exercise.

Congrats to Christine for beating cancer.
One thing I love about mfp is how supportive everyone is. You got this!

AnnPT77

dotwilldoit wrote: »

I agree with so many here.. give it time. And yes you can do this. I am almost 59 post menopausal and lost 37 pounds. I run about 20 miles a week..and at a quicker pace with my lower weight!

Unlike previous poster, I did gain muscle mass. That is just the way I am.. I get muscles. I lost inches more than pounds at first actually. I noticed hysteresis where good decisions took time to accumulate

So stick with it.. make sure you measure correctly, log everything and it does sounds like you are doing what I did wrt sugar carbs and exercise.

Congrats to Christine for beating cancer.
One thing I love about mfp is how supportive everyone is. You got this!

OK, I'll back off a little: Some previously inactive, but obese, women who start a strength-building activity can add some muscle as novice exercisers. It's going to be much slower than any observable reasonable fat loss rate, though: We don't gain so much muscle mass in as few weeks that it equals the fat lost via a significant weight loss deficit over that same time period.

Water weight gain (related to muscle repair) can mask fat loss for a few pounds' time, and that's pretty common among women who start a substantial exercise program at the same time they cut calories sharply . . . but muscle gain is slow.

I'm not saying older women can't gain muscle. We can, and I have. But we don't do it speedily, and it's less likely when we're in a substantial calorie deficit.

I'm just trying to counter the idea that the reason someone in a substantial calorie deficit isn't losing weight because she's gaining equal muscle mass in a few short weeks. I wish!

fitmom4lifemfp

dotwilldoit wrote: »

I agree with so many here.. give it time. And yes you can do this. I am almost 59 post menopausal and lost 37 pounds. I run about 20 miles a week..and at a quicker pace with my lower weight!

Unlike previous poster, I did gain muscle mass. That is just the way I am.. I get muscles. I lost inches more than pounds at first actually. I noticed hysteresis where good decisions took time to accumulate

Same here. When I lost 60 pounds, back 13+ years ago, I hit the gym hard (had really slacked off the 5 years before). I absolutely gained muscle. Completely redefined my body.

nicolewc

Good evening Ladies. So many helpful comments here, and such wonderful support. That flow chart is inspiring. Thanks to all of you.