60 yrs and up
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@BlessedGmaof4 The "magic formula" is to eat less than you burn, or as they say on here, CICO (calories in calories out). It can take trial and error to figure out your own "sweet spot" but I believe the best starting point is to input your stats into MFP, losing .5 or 1 pound per week. Measure, weigh, and log your food faithfully, and wonderful things will happen.
I think it helps if you find a tangible reason for losing weight, and not something vague like "I want to look good". Perhaps reasons like "because my health is important" or "I want to take a walking holiday" or "I want to have more energy to play with the grandkids". I had a couple of reasons: one was to stay healthy and not end up on meds for "lifestyle" diseases. The other was to paddle at the front of the canoe. When we go canoeing with our friends the husbands usually sit in the stern of their canoes and the women sit in the bow, because having more weight at the back seems to make a canoe handle better. And usually the men weigh more than the women. But I weighed more than my husband so I always sat in the stern. My goal was to weigh less than my husband so I could sit in the front! LOL
As for high carb, low carb, intermittent fasting, etc etc, they are just different methods of reaching the same conclusion (CICO). Try some on for size and see how they fit. But don't feel that you have to. Just plain old counting calories will get you where you want to go too. For me, I find that the more carbs I eat, the more carbs I crave. And for that reason I try to keep mine below 100. That's just something that I've figured out over the past 9 years. Other people do fine eating many more carbs than that.
I think that once you've found your reason, (whatever YOUR reason is) the other things will just naturally fall into place.4 -
Hi everyone .. it's been ages since I clicked into this thread and am glad I did so today.
All those discussions about the how of weight loss are all good; and show that no one method is the best one. It is so true we all need to do the work to find the way that works best for us.
What hit me this morning was the one that reminded me about the WHY! Thanks to @ridiculous59 for that! ... I had forgotten that the reason I started to work on my own obesity was watching my much younger brothers health decline as he got bigger and bigger. Then became bed-bound. Then died one sunny autumnal morning while still in his 50's, with three young children and a wife who was a 'home-maker', and not the 'bread-winner". It made me realize that if I didn't do something about my own health that I would follow him to being bed-bound ... and I had no one who would be able to help me continue living if it turned out that I too had to spend the rest of my life laying in a bed.
Since I am an 'old lady' and was already a 'senior citizen' with chronic health conditions when that awful day cleared the fog in my head and set my path towards better wellness; my weight comes off very slowly and there have been many setbacks. I am 50 pounds lighter than I was back then. I am still mobile (albeit with the assistance of a rolator walker), and still able to do my own home-keeping. Thank you brother, I don't think I would still be here today had I not lost you a decade ago.
Still ... that 50 pound loss is just half-way to what I really need to lose and today's reading of this thread has inspired me to get off my butt and firm up my habits.
Thanks everyone.
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This is me too but I only wish I could do a bit higher carbs like you. On a non exercise day, if I do 30 carbs I gain. It seems to be mainly water weight as it will slowly come back off but can be up to a week or more for it to be gone. Our bodies are all different and react differently. I do eat higher carb on my exercise days as a planned day that I can get away with it but still below 100 carbs easily. For some reason my body tends to store carbs instead of burning them efficiently.ridiculous59 wrote: »For me, I find that the more carbs I eat, the more carbs I crave. And for that reason I try to keep mine below 100.
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@nsk1951 I tell people when it's appropriate and not intrusive, "Dont be like me and wait till your older to do something about it." First 132 lb weight loss was because of a cheating spouse leading to a divorce. Kept it off for 5 years then got lazy and put it all back in. Back to same exact weight! 255 lbs. This time started a new job and lost 15 lbs with minimal effort. Then while recuperating from emergency gallbladder surgery, being careful as to not regain the 15 lbs lost earlier, since I was sitting around I lost a few lbs so then started really trying a low carb and it was the right diet for me. I lost a total of 107 lbs ( gained a few back eating some extra carbs) and now getting those back off. My goal is about 132 lbs to get back where I was the first time and back into all my previous clothes hanging in the closet. Find what works for you is what I tell people and don't wait till your my age! 654
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@alteredsteve175 It's been nice to hear from you.
Thanks for your kind words. I need to check in here often for the support and camaraderie. It does help improve my outlook.6 -
👋 @swimmom_1 🙂0
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Thank you all for your input. Thursday’s are my weigh-in days, I haven’t lost or gained anything this month just staying the same which I guess can be good since there’s no gain. I know what I need to do, it’s just the getting started that’s tough. With all the heat going on here I try not to turn on the stove as much as possible so been having a lot of sandwiches and salads. The sandwiches I could do without because of the bread and such. I used to buy the Sara Lee Delightful bread at 45 calories per serving but I haven’t been able to find any down here in a while. I love salads but kind of burned out on them at the moment. I just need to come up with some new meal ideas that I can afford. Our 15 y/o Grandaughter lives with us so I have to fix meals for her and she won’t eat salads or sandwiches so that’s a little bit of a struggle. I usually keep microwave meals for her on days I’m fixing salads for hubby and myself. I know what I need to do it’s just the getting started that’s tough. I need to give myself a quick kick in the backside and just do it!! I really like the CICO idea and am leaning that direction. I’ve tried the keto and most others out there but have learned if I restrict myself from eating certain foods that’s the foods I start craving then end up over eating the foods I’m allowed to have. Such a vicious cycle! I’ve been around long enough to know what’s healthy
and what’s not, why is it such a struggle to do what’s right and just eat healthy!?!4 -
Hi all,
Steve, I’m also looking forward to cooler, fall weather. Costco had snowsuits for sale last week!
Ladybug,
Congratulations on your weight loss for this last year. I think my body or my behaviour must be similar to yours. I’m slow at weight loss, but won’t give up. It’s now or never. I’m proud of myself as I went away for a couple of days, saw a musical, out for meals, and came home without gaining weight.
I’m not counting every calorie or weighing food. At this point, considering all the diets I’ve been on, and all the weight I’ve successfully lost in the past, I know what I’m eating as far as nutrition goes.
Ann, I wish I had the energy, and discipline you have. Still working on getting off some drugs which I think will help. I’ve definitely managed to increase my activity, even just walking.
Welcome to the new people on here.3 -
Melwillbehealthy wrote: »Hi all,
Steve, I’m also looking forward to cooler, fall weather. Costco had snowsuits for sale last week!
Ladybug,
Congratulations on your weight loss for this last year. I think my body or my behaviour must be similar to yours. I’m slow at weight loss, but won’t give up. It’s now or never. I’m proud of myself as I went away for a couple of days, saw a musical, out for meals, and came home without gaining weight.
I’m not counting every calorie or weighing food. At this point, considering all the diets I’ve been on, and all the weight I’ve successfully lost in the past, I know what I’m eating as far as nutrition goes.
Ann, I wish I had the energy, and discipline you have. Still working on getting off some drugs which I think will help. I’ve definitely managed to increase my activity, even just walking.
Welcome to the new people on here.
Thank you, @Melwillbehealthy, but I have to say: I think I have less than average discipline . . . I'm quite sure of it, in fact. But by this age, I have some shrewdness about how to game my baser hedonistic inclinations and impulses to accomplish certain things, which is not the same thing at all.
In terms of staying active, for me it's mostly a matter of finding ways to be active that are inherently fun to me. In terms of eating, it's mostly about harnessing the idea that I need to eat in an overall sensible way - not ideally every single minute - in order to stay as healthy as possible if I want to continue to feel good and be happy, into the longer term future.
For me, a light bulb switched on when I figured out how to enjoy eating, while also eating pretty healthfully overall, often enough to stay in a healthy weight range. I wish I'd been smarter when younger.3 -
Hi, @alteredsteve175 - always good to hear from you. Hang in there, you've proven yourself strong, kind, and capable, but I understand (somewhat) how difficult such a lifestyle-marathon effort can be, as time rolls on. Sending strength!BlessedGmaof4 wrote: »(snip for length)
With all the heat going on here I try not to turn on the stove as much as possible so been having a lot of sandwiches and salads. The sandwiches I could do without because of the bread and such. I used to buy the Sara Lee Delightful bread at 45 calories per serving but I haven’t been able to find any down here in a while. I love salads but kind of burned out on them at the moment. I just need to come up with some new meal ideas that I can afford.
Hi, @BlessedGmaof4 -
Have you considered "lettuce wraps" as a sandwich alternative? Basically, you just roll up your sandwich fillings in a lettuce leaf.
Something that's veggie centric, but maybe a little easier than salads, is to have some cut-up raw veggies. They can be cut up (prepped) a couple or so days in advance in bigger batches, ready to eat. Some things keep better in water in the fridge than just in a container. I don't know where you are, but here this is a great time of year for that sort of thing here: Prime garden/farmers market/farmstand season. There are even some, like cherry tomatoes or edible-pod peas, that take nearly zero prep work - just a quick wash.
There are also veggies that can be lightly steamed (like green beans) or roasted (like sweet potatoes, baby eggplant, beets etc.) in bigger batches and eaten cold as an alternative (or addition) to leafy salads. (I will often do the roasting in the later evening or earlier morning here in summer, when it's usually cooler.) I assume you're already including slaws and non-leafy salads (like cucumber in yogurt with herbs, beets with a little feta cheese, watermelon or other fruit salads, bean salads using canned beans) in the mix for variety. So tasty!
Cold soups are also good, and so easy: Just throw some good stuff in a blender, chill and eat. Cucumber or zucchini with yogurt and herbs, gazpacho, etc.
This may not work for you, but something that works well for me is a small portion of the higher-protein pastas (like red lentil or chickpea) with a quick sauce (marinara from a jar, even), and a big portion of veggies. Frozen veggies, microwaved, are great. Here, it's zucchini season, so a good lot of some grated fresh zukes, some seasonings, finely chopped onion or garlic, stir-heated quickly in a stovetop pan (or briefly in the microwave) is a nice thing to mix with spaghetti or other pasta.
(The high-protein pastas are admittedly a little more expensive than regular white pasta, but also have more nutrition - a tradeoff that might or might not work for you. I also like soy pasta but those tend to be a more chewy texture, so I prefer them in a pseudo-Asian format, i.e., cooked then mixed into a veggie-heavy stir fry with Asian seasonings.)
Another option I like is soft tacos or tostadas on the small corn tortillas. They're easy to eat, usually only about 60 calories each (for the tortilla) with some decent nutrients, and don't need to be fried in oil. I just make sure they're not too dry (quick run under the faucet (!) if they're frozen or dry), then heat gently in a cast-iron pan until soft (stove's not on long), then fill (for tacos) or top/bake (for tostadas) if the weather is cooler.(more snip for length)
I really like the CICO idea and am leaning that direction. I’ve tried the keto and most others out there but have learned if I restrict myself from eating certain foods that’s the foods I start craving then end up over eating the foods I’m allowed to have. Such a vicious cycle! I’ve been around long enough to know what’s healthy
and what’s not, why is it such a struggle to do what’s right and just eat healthy!?!
For most of us, if we have a material amount of weight to lose, just getting to a healthier weight is a health improvement in itself. In that light, it makes sense to me to keep things simple, and try to come up with practical but lower-calorie ways of eating what we like and enjoy eating, to lose weight - sure, with a little good attention to nutrition, but no need to obsess. Along the way, there'll be plenty of chances to experiment with new foods or ways of prepping them, gradually, to find more things we enjoy eating, that gradually improve nutrition over time.
The less the struggle, by definition the easier the results. I'm lazy, I like "easy"!
Just my wordy opinions, as always! 😉
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@AnnPT77 thank you for the ideas on the different foods. I had never thought about having veggies sliced up and ready to grab and eat. I usually just keep salad fixings but may start keeping other veggies also. I was thinking a good hummus would be good to use as a dip. Thank you for the idea.
You’re right about keeping things easy, when I start feeling overwhelmed that’s when I tend to over eat.2 -
Today, August 1st, is exactly one year since I started my weight loss journey. To date I have lost 79.2 lbs and have logged for 365 straight days. I feel so much better than I did one year ago. I move better, easier. My back no longer hurts. I have way more energy. Consistency has been so important for me.14
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Today, August 1st, is exactly one year since I started my weight loss journey. To date I have lost 79.2 lbs and have logged for 365 straight days. I feel so much better than I did one year ago. I move better, easier. My back no longer hurts. I have way more energy. Consistency has been so important for me.
Happy first MFP-iversary, and congratulations on your persistent work that's led to such wonderful success!1 -
Today, August 1st, is exactly one year since I started my weight loss journey. To date I have lost 79.2 lbs and have logged for 365 straight days. I feel so much better than I did one year ago. I move better, easier. My back no longer hurts. I have way more energy. Consistency has been so important for me.
I agree with @AnnPT77 Congrats! I'm day 446. I agree. MFP, and everyone here on the threads, have been a big help to me also!3 -
Hi everyone! I have been on MFP before. I fell off the wagon so to say! But I’m back! I’m 66 and retired. Had some medical issues (gaining weight from my Meds). Thought tracking my food and getting active couldn’t hurt! Reading about other successes help so much! Hope everyone has a great week!5
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Thanks @swimmom_1 and @BCLadybug888. I appreciate your comments. It means a lot to me.1
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