Trying to lose 40 at 40

kingjanee

The harder I try to eat better and stay active the more I gain. When I had my twins 18 years ago I was 199, yesterday I went to the doctors and the scale said 204! I've never been this weight I'm scared and sad!!!! My inconsistency got me here and doctor said I'm pre-menopausal help please this is so unhealthy for me! I eat healthy I gain, I eat bad I gain, I workout I gain, I dont workout I gain im literally so confused at what I should do! And because I see NO results not even in measurements I self sabotage and eat a full day of stuff I shouldn't. Dont know what to do! Help?

TavistockToad

start with just eating in a deficit... then work on improving your diet and eating 'better'

cathipa

Age is a number and shouldn't be a hindrance to your weight loss goals. Like @TavistockToad said - eat at a deficit. Weigh your food and log everything you consume. Have patience. If you are gaining its because you are consuming more than you are burning.

kingjanee

What do you mean in deficit? Eat less?

TavistockToad

kingjanee wrote: »

What do you mean in deficit? Eat less?

yep

Kathryn247

"In deficit" means eating fewer calories than you burn. When you put your stats into MFP it tells you how many calories you should eat in a day to have a deficit. Weigh and log all of your food to track how many calories you've eaten. Enter your workouts and you get extra calories for that (many people say to eat back half or your exercise calories because the calorie burn estimators are sometimes too generous). You can eat cookies or kale, just log it, stay in your deficit calorie range, and you'll lose weight.
I'm 45 and I've lost 39.2 pounds this year - it takes time and some work but it's totally doable!

JLively1020

kingjanee wrote: »

What do you mean in deficit? Eat less?

We tend to make things more complicated than they need to be, but the simple truth is, eat less! Consistency is key. You must be vigilant and record every little piece calorie you consume - Hell, if i so much as smell a chocolate cake i assume i just consumed 100 calories! Obviously that last sentence isnt true, but for me, i take it that serious.

Get yourself a kitchen scale!
Log in to MFP as many times as you can - be it to log or simply seek inspiration from others.
Go to your settings and update your diet/fitness profile. Follow the suggested daily calorie intake and be patient.

At the end of it all, there is no great secret other than one thing: Eat less!

sijomial

Don't confuse yourself with all the minutiae until you have fixed the one really big ticket item - you need to eat less food than the amount needed to maintain your current weight.
For some that's simply eating less of the food they currently eat, for some it's swapping out some of the higher calorie foods for lower calorie options.
If excluding things you like results in you falling off the wagon then don't do it. You have to know yourself and think what you can achieve and sustain long term - not one week at a time.

Start by accurately (or at least consistently) logging your food to see where you can cut back.

mlinci

I lost 45 at 40/41 by just eating a bit less. I continue to maintain at 42. Good luck!

maggibailey

It really is as simple as they are all saying. Log your food for the next week without changing anything if you want to. Be honest with yourself and pick the most accurate items in the database. It is usually pretty shocking to people how much they have been eating in comparison to what they need when they start logging. So just get yourself some numbers to start with.

brookekaczor

I'm 45 and have lost 56 lbs and have 14 more to lose. It's all about eating at a deficit. Log your food, use a scale and follow the advice here. Best wishes!

kristen8000

I'll be 39 in a couple months. Down 18lbs in 3 months. It can be done and it's really pretty simple.

Log what you eat (weigh it too!). Stay under the # MFP gives you to lose weight. More than likely the 1lb/week deficit is where you'll be the most successful. So 40lbs in 40 weeks. Slow and steady wins the race.

Consistancy is key. Don't do cheat days. If you have to eat at maintainance one day. Fit treats in to your daily calories so you don't feel deprived. There are no "bad" foods. You can eat anything in moderation.

Find ways to fit activity. Don't think of it as "dieting", think of it as a lifestyle change. It's just how you eat/live now...

Spliner1969

kingjanee wrote: »

I eat healthy I gain, I eat bad I gain, I workout I gain, I dont workout I gain im literally so confused at what I should do! And because I see NO results not even in measurements I self sabotage and eat a full day of stuff I shouldn't. Dont know what to do! Help?

The problem is not eating at a caloric deficit. Exercise is moot, eating 'healthy' is moot. Nothing matters but a caloric deficit for weight loss. You achieve that by logging accurately everything you eat and drink, and watching the amount of calories you eat daily. Use MFP's wizard, choose a goal that is attainable (don't just set yourself at the max weight loss of 2lb/wk, choose 1lb/wk to start) and stick to it consistently. Exercise should be something you do to stay in shape or become more fit, not to lose weight.

mreidkramer

kingjanee wrote: »

And because I see NO results not even in measurements I self sabotage and eat a full day of stuff I shouldn't.

"If it's important to you, you'll find a way... if it's not, you'll find an excuse." Don't allow yourself to "self-sabotage". Make a plan. Commit to it. And stick with it.

Also, everyone's advice above is great, but I have trouble sticking with it. I start out great, lose a little weight, and then slowly creep back up. It's too hard to maintain long-term. Low carb, high fat works better for me as far as being easy to lose weight, and easy to stick to. The high-fat content keeps you feeling full and satisfied. There are many more options of what you "can" have, and reducing the number of carbs helps to get rid of the sugar/carb cravings overall. Maybe it would work for you too?

Goal179

I'm 44 and lost 50 pounds in about three months. You can do it. Follow the advice above. If CICO fails then try Low carb. Keep trying different things until you find out what is right for you. You can do this. We are all here to help. There is so much good information on this site. Stay motivated

quiksylver296

Buy a food scale. Weigh and log everything that passes your lips. Do this faithfully for 6 weeks, no cheating, skipping or forgetting. Report back with your results.

KelGen02

At 47 I found myself 100lbs over weight and very inactive. High cholesterol, suffering from degenerative disc disease, herniated disc in both my back an neck that were getting worse from the weight... I decided that it was time for a change. knew it wasn't going to be easy, that I would probably fail a few times but it needed to be done. Since December 2016 I have lost 75lbs. I made small changes, first I got my mind right with portion control and portion sizes. Once I got a good handle on that I started to walk daily at lunch, once I got a handle on that I increased my speed and added a few more blocks. When that became easier I added a zumba class weekly, then a 2nd. For me, I couldn't look at it as a diet, I had been a life time dieter and failed at it each and every time. Lose it, gain it back... I looked at it a little differently this time around. If I was serious about losing the weight I was going to need to change my habits and our lifestyle. My husband and I completely changed our way of eating. I became one of those people that googled healthy recipes and tried new things to see what we liked what we didn't. We avoided processed foods, ate mostly whole foods. Fast food drive thru's became a thing of the past and something we rarely do now. Instead of white bread, we have multigrain bread. Instead of store bought pizza I make pizza with whole wheat dough and load it up with our favorite veggies and/or meats. We still have the so called "crap" every once in a while when we feel like it, we just don't do it often because now, we don't like the way it makes us feel after the fact. We were both beer drinkers, gave up beer and switched to vodka with seltzer and splash of cran... I had a beer a few months back and didn't even enjoy it. WHAT??? LOL its all about balance and portion control. Find what you like, don't eat things that you don't care for just for the sake of eating it because it's "good" for you. If you don't like celery don't eat it, it's not going to satisfy a craving for a bacon cheese burger from Wendy's Meal prep has been key for me, I cook on Sundays usually mix together a crock pot of soup for the week for lunches, I make protein balls and put single servings in snack baggies for a quick grab, make a tub of tuna fish with jalapenos to toss on some mixed greens. I also write down what I am making for dinners for the week. At first all this seems so time consuming, now its more of a routine and just something I do. Logging all my food, making sure I stayed within calories, again was a chore at first but again, now just something I do out of habit. YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE IN CONTROL OF YOU... when i first started I was over whelmed and had every excuse under the sun and one MFP poster said to me those exact words to me and said If I really wanted to make a change I would, if not I would just make excuses... It just stuck from there. Weight loss is not linear, what works for some doesn't always work for others. Find your nitch and run with it!!! Good luck, feel free to add me, I still have 25-30lbs to go and log daily...
Kelly

ISweat4This

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

gabriellejayde

I've lost 75 at age 50. In 6 months (which is super fast and not recommended). If you're not losing after a week or two, you're probably eating too much, but you also have to give it time... sometimes the scale won't move even though you've lost fat. If you just started working out, you may be retaining water.

Watch for calories in things like butter, oils, salad dressings, sauces, and creamer.

MelanieCN77

I just lost 40 the year of my 40th. It took me about 8 months, you can do it!

kingjanee

Thank you everyone! You have provided me with some great information, I took notes and I am going to get on the ball! I'll keep you updated! Life style change here I come!