60 yrs and up
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@joelhuebner, welcome!
Yes, please dive in and participate here. Most any topics are welcome to chat about, as are questions about weight loss/fitness, venting or advice-seeking about speed bumps or roadblocks (you might get advice, though 😉), pretty much anything. If you read the last couple/three pages, you'll see the discussion is quite wide ranging.
Wishing you success!
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welcome @joelhuebner ! It’s a good bunch of folks.
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When you go through airport security, thinking you’re all that in your favorite tight jeggings, and a Lycra spaghetti strap camisole, and the the TSA lady looks at your belly, and says, “what’s that you’ve got in there?”
Huh?
😭
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I recently saw a "belly (fanny) pack" that pretended to be a "beer belly"; it was a hoot. Even different skin tones…
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Welcome @joelhuebner ! No judgment here, got a topic you want to get others' opinions/experiences on? Ask away, share what you've learned and maybe find other things to try yourself. I've found that health books and diet books don't work entirely for me, but if I can walk away with 1 idea to try to fit into my life to make it better than it was a success. I learn a lot from my MFP peeps!
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"Raw guts."
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@joelhuebner : My brother has already shared the "beer belly fanny pack" ad to me, knowing I'd like it. He's not wrong!
But, taking @BigDfromNJ 's cue, I do actually have a similar story to @springlering62 story:
I have been pretty chunky at times, and one day I was wearing a T shirt all morning sitting at my desk. I stood up, and it retained its shape (eh, perhaps it wasn't that clean, I was a punk back then). It looked like my ample midsection was still protruding while standing as it certainly was while sitting. My friend walked by at that moment, and said "dude, you've put on weight," intending to poke my paunch. But, as it happened, all he poked was air! He stopped in his tracks and said "where'd it go?"
(He was entirely correct at the time that I had put on weight. No reason to deny it.)
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Mini case study, FWIW. Skip it if not interested. I'd put it in a spoiler, but I think we can't put photos in spoilers anymore.
I think I mentioned that I was taking a break from logging for a while. I logged like it was religion during weight loss and the early stages of maintenance. I like it, not just from a weight management standpoint, but also because I think nutrition is important and logging makes that easier. On top of that, I'm a data geek so it fits my nature. I've been more casual about logging in recent years (in year 9+ of maintenance). I log most of the time, skip days when I'm busy or eat in such an unusual way that it would be hard to log even semi-accurately. In the big picture, it's my routine daily habits on repeat that matter, not those rare weird days. Still, I've long thought of myself as a logger for life, going forward.
I've logged only rarely since mid-July, so a couple of months break. For clarity, I did write down on paper what I ate, I just didn't log online. Awareness of what I eat still mattered to me, and I'm forgetful.
I started out up a few pounds from ideal, on July 15 132.1 pounds when I'd prefer around 125, but not a weight level that concerns me. My short-term goal was staying close to that weight, because of some healing going on from having a small chunk of my scalp removed, needing stitches. I've had the usual fluctuations, though mine may be wider than average because I build in some calorie allowance for higher-calorie days occasionally, so there's more water retention weirdness. (I don't care.) Today, I weighed 131.2 pounds.
Below is Libra's graph for roughly that time period since mid-July. The solid line is the statistical weight trend. The dots connected by vertical lines are the individual daily weigh-ins.
Here are Libra's point in time weight comparisons:
(Yes, I overshot goal weight in 2016, when my goal was 120 rather than 125. It happens.)
How did the logging break go?
Weight-wise, I didn't feel any particular anxiety. My intuition suggested I was eating a tiny bit over maintenance calories most of the time. The point in time comparisons don't support that feeling, but I feel like the trend line does. Not a big deal. From a calorie standpoint, I could keep going, watch the scale, and do OK, I think.
Nutrition-wise, it eventually got a little annoying. I trust my routine eating patterns fairly well, but - especially as a vegetarian - I'm concerned about protein and some other things. I found myself eating "just in case" protein sources. Is that bad? No. But it maybe short-changed my chocolate intake sometimes. 😉😆
I'm not anxious about food, eating, or body weight - pretty much never have been - in a capital-A Anxiety sense. But I found myself thinking more about food recently, in ways that I find annoying or boring, like wondering if I should eat more protein, or had I had enough veggies/fruits.
I think I'm going back to logging most of the time. For me, it's easier and pleasanter overall.
I'm not saying everyone needs to log forever. People vary, and personalization of tactics is a huge success factor IMO. I'm not even saying I need to keep logging forever. But I'm going back to it, because it doesn't take much time, and my overall quality of life is better when I do it.
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I feel for me, it’s just easier to log. When I do a “quick add”, I tend to stew over it and try to “build” the calories in my head, worrying if I went over or under. Some of us are just built like that.
Last night we had the Tasting Menu at a restaurant that was new to us, so I slipped it in as 1500 calories, and that gnaws at me.We got six or seven appetizers, but only a couple bites each, along with a plate of the most ah-mazing pomegranate chicken on cracked wheat and greens, and we opted for the dessert version for a treat. I chose the honey/feta cheesecake on a bed of shredded pastry. Simply a stunning meal. One of my Top Ten, ever.
1500 was surely inadequate.
I have to step back and remind myself. Doesn’t matter in the great scheme of things. .
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@AnnPT77 Inspiring comments about statistics! I feel the same way. I log breakfast and lunch and snacks because they're pretty consistent so it's easy, but dinner gets difficult to break out the ingredients, so I just 'look at it' and ask myself "is there Protein and veggies? Is it low in potatoes and starches?" Then if I'm OK with it, I eat and don't worry about logging. However, I too hover in the same weight range, and even though folks say 'Oh the last 8-10 lbs. are vanity' I know I'm healthier and feel better in the bottom range. Being over 60 means fat has moved to my belly and waist, and I don't like the way my clothes fit. I'm really glad I joined this discussion group! Even when I don't feel like logging my food, I get on, read, and leave a comment here. It keeps me motivated to have like-minded folks like me!
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@AnnPT77 : I haven't been logging either since the end of my cut in June. It's been going fine, but the my summer has included LOTS of exercise (swim, ride, run). As I transition into fall, I'm going to need to log or I WILL gain weight (as every other fall).
My goal is to end the calendar year still below 175 (on average), despite the upcoming "season of overeating." It must be innate to want to pack on some weight in the fall in preparation for winter!
Personal note: I did a huge hike with a contemporary friend on Sunday. 3000ft vertical, 10 miles. We did it quite fast so we could get home before too late. I feel pretty good today. Wow, we still got it, who know for how long!
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@springlering62 : You have my strategy. If I go out for a big restaurant meal and I couldn't possibly log it, I just do a "quick add" of a pile of calories. Whether you put 1000 or even 2000 calories, it doesn't matter that much. You just watch your weight for the next few days, and cut back during the week, if necessary. It's amazing how a small daily deficit can add up.
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We are temporarily staying next to a reknowned bakery. And last night we saw a show about how Hotel Chocolat operates and sought one out to try it and sample a chocolate. I am barking sick of pastries as it is, and then Hotel C, too. Their “milkshake” is about four ounces of cold chocolate milk with a mountain of thick chocolate cream on top.
Never again.
I can’t believe how I went from ultimate sugar pig to flat out can’t handle it any more, and don’t want to.I will be so happy to get to anything non-pastry and greens I think I’ll do the Happy Dance.
As opposed to the current Stomach Dance. Ugh.
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I can relate to the migration of fat and how it affects clothes. Are mid-rise or high-rise jeans better at this age with this redistribution? I switched to high-rise and feel old-lady, like my paunch is accentuated. I feel the same at being at the lower, safer end of the weight range. Getting there and staying there is a daily adventure.😋
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def high rise. I have lots of loose skin left over after loss, and high rise holds it in.
Mid rise is a cascading fountain. Not a “muffin top”, but a free for all of every gram of excess anything that moved from my extremities into my waist.
Low rise…..shudder…….we won’t even go there.
Ditto for leggings and workout gear. High rise holds it in, longer tanks give smoother lines on the downside.
I can easily fit smaller pants and skirts but have to go up to contain the extra goodness. Picture the Michelin Man in tight gear.
Its a frustration, however, it’s a damn sight better than it was before. 👍🏻
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I love my low rise.. LOL. But again I did not lose as much as some others. My waist and midsection have definitely thickened over time even in maintenance and part of it I think it due to my height shrinkage also. Gotta work on posture!
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I know men aren't supposed to be body-conscious, and I can go long periods without thinking about it, but every so often I catch myself in the mirror and long for those days when my skin was supple. Our creator may be loving, but they are also mean: we must all age and eventually relinquish our superficial beauty. So sad!
Well, anyway, if I wear pants that actually fit in the hips, I definitely get a nice extra ring of flab above the belt. It hides well under men's clothing. There's a reason that men in the public eye wear suits!
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I don't really care a lot how I look in pants. I almost always wear long pants, not shorts. I don't think about the waist much. I like lightweight loose linen pants (drawstring waist), jeans (mine mostly fall around the top of my hip bones - is that mid-rise?), and (especially for workouts) leggings. (The workout leggings I wear aren't very compressive - mostly cotton, like ultra-light sweatpant material.)
Yes, to the extent I still have some fat, it tends to hang out somewhere between my ribs and mid-thigh, not as much on hips/booty as on thighs and abdomen. I don't know whether I have a paunch or prominent belly or whatever you call it. I tried to find a photo so you could decide, but I can't find a side angle one where I'm just standing, not contorting some way. (My loose skin thread only has close-up front view, not flattering, but that was the point. I only lost 50-ish pounds.)
I prefer to be at the mid-lighter end of my healthy weight range, not for appearance, but because of impact on my knees (osteoarthritis, torn meniscus, osteoporosis) and statistics about metastatic recurrence for the type of pretty advanced breast cancer I had). I've been criticized here for being bony-looking in my upper chest (on a thread where I said I was at a healthy weight), and my face would definitely look "younger" (heh) if I were at a heavier weight. This morning, I was at BMI 21.5, 129.2 pounds (58.7 kg) at 5'5" (165 cm).
I wear what feels good to me. (I did that when I was obese, too.) If other people react negatively to my appearance, I'd bet other things are a bigger factor: No breasts at all (post mastectomies, no reconstruction, don't usually wear protheses in retirement); don't wear makeup; hair currently is a mess (haven't resumed haircuts post-Covid so it's long, gray, flyaway). If this sounds like I hate how I look, you're misreading me. I'm fine with it. I try to look decent in public, maybe respectable is the word? But beyond that, I don't care how I look.
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boy I’d like to smack anyone who criticized you about being “bony”, @AnnPT77
first of all, it’s none of their business, second of all, it’s none of their business, and third of all….well, haters.
I haven’t worn makeup in years. Hair is short-short because I hated time wasted drying, curling, arranging it I’m a much happier camper just running my fingers through it and being done. I am torn between compassion for/irritation at the ladies who come to yoga/pool/gym with full makeup and perfect coiffs, and then have to go home (or in the gym dressing room…..eck!) and do it all over again .
That’s my idea of hellAnyway I came to share a fascinating article IF you have Apple News this is nuts:
We’ve spent time here discussing the romance scammers that populate MFP, but this is next next level.
I’m happy to see the Chinese doing something about it, even if it’s for their own ends, and TBH, making a billion dollars off other people’s miseries (both tech slaves and their victims), I don’t feel any sympathy. Lowest form of life.
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@springlering62 : It horrible when people take advantage of others like that. In the US, certain employers have taken advantage of poor laborers hired using temporary work visas. Not everyone, of course, and there are programs designed to combat the practice. And, it sounds like the program is needed to staff farms. Everyone's gotta eat!
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Just got back from a short 4-day vacation with my hubby. Was quality time which I don't regret, but it's back on the meal tracking wagon! I won't weigh myself until next week (because I know it won't be good). Decided it's a nice day for a jog/walk/skip in the sunshine. Stay strong everyone and have a Great day!
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@springlering62, it's kind of you to defend me . . . but I think I actually do have a bony upper chest. (Keep in mind that I do a bunch of upper body pull activity, very little upper body push. I have some back and shoulder muscles, but sad pecs. It's a fact. I should do some push exercise . . . for reasons that have zero to do with appearance.)
What I disagreed with on that other thread is the implication that a bony upper chest means I'm at an unhealthy weight, when my doctor tells me otherwise, and my blood tests and such confirm her opinion. I have body fat, probably around 27% right now, but not much of it on my chest/shoulders.
As in so many cases where other parties are judgey about someone else's body configuration, that person's body not being attractive to the judgey person gives no insight into the judged person's health.
I have no argument with women who are at a healthy weight but prefer to have somewhat more body fat than I prefer for myself. (I'd smack myself if I referred to them as "too fat". That's ridiculous.)
I've seen posts here from women saying they didn't want to reach a lower BMI because their face would droop or look older. It's their face, their choice. 😉 Some jowl droop is common among my parents/grandparents as they aged (genetics), but even I'd say my face and neck looked "better" (younger 😆) when I was fatter. So did my upper chest, probably.
We all have preferences and priorities. Being the size I want to be means having all those appearance characteristics I mentioned, and that's OK with me. I'm as misguided as the next person in many ways, if not moreso . . . but lack of body confidence isn't one of my problems, wasn't much so even when I was obese.
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@BigDfromNJ : I've heard that a lot of people don't weigh themselves regularly. I don't like to miss weighing myself daily because there's so much variation that I feel I need to average several days to know anything (you can see that in my weight curve above). If I picked a random day in that range it could either show quite high or quite low, either extreme being not very helpful.
One idea I've had for my wife (who loathes weighing herself) is to cover over the display on the Garmin scale. Then you can weigh yourself daily without looking at the numbers (unless you wanted to).
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I feel nearly the same way (weigh? 😉). The difference is that I don't average. I just watch.
Because I'm a data geek, I'd been weighing myself daily for quite a long time, even while obese - not stressing over it, just recording the data. I used to put it on graph paper, dates on the X axis, weight on the Y axis. Now I record in a weight trending app, Libra in my case.
By the time I actually committed to losing weight, I was very familar with what kinds of triggers made my weight fluctuate temporarily, how big the fluctuations were likely to be, how long I'd probably stay up a bit or down a bit in one of those temporary swings.
Two good things: I was already adjusted to recording my weight without obsessing about it; and I felt so, so much less stress about fluctuations than do so many new people we see starting out here and panicking when their weight doesn't drop for even a tiny number of days, let alone a week or more.
I know daily weighing/recording isn't right for everyone, because it's too stressful for some. But for others - like me - who don't feel emotions about one weird day, a lot can be learned from just watching how the momentary weights and the weight trends related to each other.
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