Women over 50 (menopausal) success stories?

I found an old thread from about 2014, but I'm wondering if some women who are over 50, have lost over 20 pounds, could share how they did it? I'm looking for specifics, like how many calories did you eat to lose weight, and how many minutes of exercise a day did you need to do? I started the beginning of January, and have lost only 3 pounds. MFP set my calories to 1340, and I exercise at least 30 minutes a day, and get 10,000 steps in a day (using my new cool Apple Watch). Any tips for a 55 year old, who needs to lose at least 40 pounds?
«1

Replies

  • ITUSGirl51
    ITUSGirl51 Posts: 191 Member
    tlsb2016 wrote: »
    Hi Karlabright455, I fit your over 50/menopause profile. I lost 50 pounds last year and probably should lose another 2017. MFP started me at 1460 calories per day for a 1 pound/week loss rate. I’m guessing I started at a higher weight than you are, given the amount you want to lose. I focused on calories and walking for the first several months (and drinking a LOT of water - found I craved about 80-100 oz/day). At first, walking 10k steps would “earn” me about 200 exercise calories and that decreased as I lost weight. After about 6 months, I started craving more intense workouts so went back to the gym (July). I concentrated on cardio (elliptical, treadmill, bike). Just a few weeks ago, I started working with a trainer to learn the right way to do strength training. Over the year-end holidays (essentially December), I just focused on not gaining weight and that worked.

    If you started at the beginning of January and have lost 3 pounds, that’s about 1 lb/week. That’s great! At that rate, you’ll be half-way to goal by the end of May. Slow but steady will get you there.

    Just keep going and listen to your body. I’m still learning what works for me and what doesn’t.
    @tlsb2016 has a good point about exercise. I didn’t start with all that exercise in the beginning. Even at 225+ lbs I was actually already going to the gym 4-5 days a week and doing the elliptical for 30 minutes, but I was over eating 1000s of calories at night, so it didn’t help that much. So when I decided to make a change, I added the three 10 min walks a day and started walking 45 min on the weekends. The more I lost, the better I felt and then added more walking and activities on the weekend. After losing 25 lbs I started the Koko weight training and more weekend activities.
  • saraw6
    saraw6 Posts: 7 Member
    DebLaBounty, does one lose as much weight as the system says when we first set it up? As for your arms, can you regain the muscle and improve their appearance? Unfortunately, my own arms have this problem when I lose weight as well. I don't really get loose skin, but there is flab.
  • The_Ta
    The_Ta Posts: 59 Member
    I am pretty certain that most of the good points were made already. Your weight went on slow, so you want it to come off slow. Water weight causes big fluctuations, and knowing what causes water gain (too much sodium, heavy exercise, drinking too little water) should be considered. Probably the biggest cause of people not losing weight is the dreaded inaccurate logging/thinking you burned more calories. There’s a great pin and flowchart that discusses it.

    I’m only 43, but the removal of my ovaries puts me squarely in the menopause category. I am down 30 lbs since mid September. I scheduled MFP to take me down 1.5lbs/week. I generally will eat back no more than 50% of my exercise calories generated by FitBit because they always seem to disappear during the day. I make sure to hit over 10k steps 6 Days/week and I strength train 3 Days/week. I left my macro goals alone, and I only make sure that I hit my daily fiber and protein goals. I weigh myself weekly.

    I am currently on a 2 week diet break because I was getting fairly weak. I didn’t want to run myself down and catch the flu, so I quit the gym and ate maintenance calories. I’m still on full calories, but I added the gym back this week.

    I hope this helps. Feel free to add me if you want to peak at my food journal. All in all, I think you are probably doing all the right things and just need to give yourself time.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    @SueSueDio Congrats on officially making menopause! :wink:
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
    pinuplove wrote: »
    @SueSueDio Congrats on officially making menopause! :wink:

    Heh, thanks! One year is the landmark, right? I just hope it stays official now that I'm here... I am so done with that *kitten*. ;)
  • before58
    before58 Posts: 10 Member
    Love this thread......I am 57 and just struggle .....but I have always set for a loss of 2 pounds as of course want it quick I think I will also set for 1 pound and live life as well.....I personally just want to eat healthy and try not to get wrapped up I what the latest diet is .....portion control, water and exercise ....time to just do it
  • vanmep
    vanmep Posts: 410 Member
    I’m 52. I’ve lost 35 pounds since January 2016. My initial goal was to lose 1/2 pound a week but that seemed too hard and it ended up being an average of about 1/3 pound per week - more than that at the beginning, less near the end of last year. I’m hoping to lose about 10 more this year. I did it by entering my info into MFP and letting it calculate my numbers. I committed to logging every morsel that went in my mouth even (especially) if it was over my calorie goal. I found activities I enjoy doing - walking my dog, riding my bike to work, yoga and did at least one of them every day. That’s it! Good luck to you!
  • prgirl39mfp
    prgirl39mfp Posts: 3,154 Member
    I am not 50 yet ( 46) and going through menopause and all these tips are wonderful. I have lost 30 lbs and gained all back because of my bad eating habits. Thanks for sharing and congratulations on all your accomplishments.
  • fionawilliamson
    fionawilliamson Posts: 110 Member
    Just turned 52 and I can't believe how hard it is to lose weight. I am obsessive about tracking and truly feel I am honest about my tracking of what I eat. I exercise every day and never eat back all of my exercise calories. I have MFP set to lose 2 pounds per week but have not come close to that in the last 3 months. I understand that progress is progress even if it's slow. I am determine to not give up.
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
    Just turned 52 and I can't believe how hard it is to lose weight. I am obsessive about tracking and truly feel I am honest about my tracking of what I eat. I exercise every day and never eat back all of my exercise calories. I have MFP set to lose 2 pounds per week but have not come close to that in the last 3 months. I understand that progress is progress even if it's slow. I am determine to not give up.

    Are you actually weighing everything you eat? (Your avocado, for instance - those are high in calories.) A lot of your diary entries seem to be in cups, spoonfuls, etc.

    Check out this thread for some reasons why it's important to actually WEIGH rather than measure. :)

    Also, how consistent is your logging? Do you really have days when you don't eat very much, or are you forgetting to log everything on those days? Do you have any "cheat" days or meals that you don't log? It's absolutely fine to have treats, meals out etc., but logging it all as closely as you can is important.

    Double-check the entries you're using and make sure they're as accurate as possible. There are a lot of incorrect entries in the database, even some of the ones that have the green "verified" checkmark.

    But at the end of the day, yes, slow progress is still progress! Even if it's only a few pounds by the end of the year, it's still a few pounds more than you'd have lost if you didn't even try. :)
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    I have lost 100+ pounds (18 pounds pre MFP). I started MFP at 59 and was in menopause. I set MFP to lose 2 lbs per week (who doesn't at first) and the first year averaged 1.4 pounds/week. I have never done alot of exercise but do walk daily. As I got nearer to my goal weight I definately saw a big slow down. The first year I lost about 65 - 70 pounds. The second year I lost about 20. I am also hypothyroid so that could have a small impact. It can be done and the most important thing is logging and making sure you weigh things as @SueSueDio says. I'm 61 now and am maintaining although like others I would like to lose another 10 pounds eventually. I'm going to start weight lifting as soon as I can to build some muscle which I should have done long ago.
  • jodi201022
    jodi201022 Posts: 10 Member
    Best of luck, Karla! I'm at 1,200 calories a week. I'm short at 5'1/2" and sedentary. I'm 54 and started at 207 pounds and down to 166 pounds so far with MFP. I strive for 1,200 calories a day and usually go over with a few Wheat Thins that tide me over :) I don't exercise, which would help, but I'm losing nicely and am pleased with my progress. I had a hysterectomy last year that hasn't seemed to effect me at all and have lost all my weight after that, actually! Best of luck!!

    How long has it taken you to lose that much weight - well done tho , I’m only 33 but had my ovaries removed due to cancer so essentially I’m in menopause
Do you Love MyFitnessPal? Have you crushed a goal or improved your life through better nutrition using MyFitnessPal?
Share your success and inspire others. Leave us a review on Apple Or Google Play stores!