Getting fit at 50 and beyond...200+ pound club

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Replies

  • jm216
    jm216 Posts: 3,721 Member
  • jm216
    jm216 Posts: 3,721 Member
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,041 Member
    81722298.png

    Onward and updownward :D
  • jm216
    jm216 Posts: 3,721 Member
    81722298.png

    Onward and updownward :D

    Nice job! Arent tickers fun?!
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,041 Member
    Yes. In weeks when you plateau or gain a pound, tickers are a nice reminder that you have made progress, and encourages you to keep going.
    What happened today, or this week, doesn't matter. What matters is that we don't give up, and we keep pursuing our goals. :smile:
  • jm216
    jm216 Posts: 3,721 Member
    Nicely said!
  • jm216
    jm216 Posts: 3,721 Member
    Starting weight: 214 pounds on 1/1/2021
    Age: 50
    Height: 5’8”
    Goal weight: 184

    Weekly Check-In:
    January 1: 214
    January 3: 211.6
    January 10: 209.7
    January 17: 207.6
    January 24: 208
    January 31: 208

    Maintained this week.

    This week’s successes:
    ✔️walked Roxie everyday

    ✔️Logging my food as I eat it... the good & the bad


    This week’s challenges:
    • ate over my calories 5 of 7 days
    Stress/ bored snacking
    Didn’t drink enough water
    • potato chips, pretzels, and salty snacks are my kryptonite.

    Goal this week. Incorporate more salads, fruit, and water.

    Gotta get back into my good food groove!

    Jill 🍊
  • jm216
    jm216 Posts: 3,721 Member
    Happy Groundhog Day! 🦫

    New month=new goals
    *eat less
    *move more
    *find the fun

    Jill❤️
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,041 Member
    There was a funny skit on MadTV years ago called "Eat Less, Move More!"
    Obesity--and the problems people can have in trying to losing weight--is not a laughing matter, but...
    There's no silver bullet, no easy, failproof diet or non-diet, no pill or superfood. For those who sometimes need a reminder of what it all boils down to (of which I am one), it can help to take a humorous look at the obvious.
    (don't watch if you are overly sensitive about your weight; do watch if you sometimes need a kick in the head)

    I feel like I'm doing everything right, and yet I'm 1.9 pounds heavier today than I was one week ago. :confounded:
    But it shall not deter me! I am more determined than ever! :triumph:

    Don't give up! :sweat_smile:
  • jm216
    jm216 Posts: 3,721 Member
    Very funny! And true.

    Sometime the scale is a fickle friend. Keep up the good work, and it will move down.
  • azalea4175
    azalea4175 Posts: 290 Member
    struggling to get enough protein in the day. What does anyone recommend for additional high protein snacks or foods? I typically eat chicken, eggs, tuna, lean pork, avocado, for protein sources. I do add a few nuts to a salad but not too many. I love nuts but could eat handfuls so I limit the amount. help!!
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,041 Member
    @azalea4175
    In addition to what you've mentioned, I also enjoy beef jerky and protein shakes/smoothies. There are also lots of vegetables like beans, lentils, green peas, chickpeas. Make a mixed bean soup with maybe some ham, or a chili with pork or chicken.
    49 vegetarian proteins that are as good as meat
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    azalea4175 wrote: »
    struggling to get enough protein in the day. What does anyone recommend for additional high protein snacks or foods? I typically eat chicken, eggs, tuna, lean pork, avocado, for protein sources. I do add a few nuts to a salad but not too many. I love nuts but could eat handfuls so I limit the amount. help!!

    There's a great thread here that's excellent for finding calorie-efficient sources of protein:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

    It links to a spreadsheet that lists many, many foods in order by protein efficiency, most protein for fewest calories. Find foods you like on that list, eat more of those, less of something else that is giving you relatively high calories, but is not as important to you for nutrition, satiation, tastiness or the like.

    For snacks, in addition to what you mention, I like dry-roasted soybeans (they come in flavors) or crispy chickpeas (homemade or commercial), lowfat string cheese, hard-boiled eggs.

    There are other kinds of reduced-fat cheeses, too, but some are better than others so it may be worth experimenting a little, if you like cheese. I like the reduced fat mini BabyBel cheese (little wax-wrapped Gouda-style cheese), some people like the Laughing Cow wedges (come in various flavors), etc. Cottage cheese, if you like it, is high in protein; so is good Greek yogurt, nordic style yogurt (Skyr). (There are a few brands that call themselves "Greek" but use a cheaper way to thicken, and don't have much more protein than normal.)

    Peanut butter powder or almond butter powder are widely available these days, and can be a nice addition to things like oatmeal, yogurt, etc., to add a little protein (it's basically the nuts with most of the fat removed; peanut butter powder comes in plain peanut and chocolate-peanut flavors). I like it (especially the chocolate one) mixed with nonfat plain Greek yogurt and frozen berries, as a sort of frozen dessert. I don't think it's good for mixing with water and using as a spread, but it's good for adding peanut flavor and a little protein.

    Another thing I've been enjoying is some of the higher-protein pastas that are available now. Some of the chickpea, lentil and pea pastas are very similar in taste/texture to wheat pasta, so may be worth trying. (They have 2-3 times as much protein as wheat pasta.) There's even chickpea "rice" now (really chickpea orzo) that I like. Edamame and black bean pastas have even more protein than those, but are a different texture, kind of chewier. I don't care for them in Italian-like preparations, but enjoy them in Asian-style dishes, like with stir-fried or steamed veggies and a light sauce (like soy sauce and rice vinegar with seasonings, chile sauce (if you like heat), and peanut sauces made with the peanut butter powder).

    If you like rice, you could consider subbing another grain-type foods that's a bit higher in protein, like quinoa, or others.

    As a vegetarian, I'd note that plant sources of protein often are not as high quality (in terms of having all the essential amino acids), but if those are a minority part of an omnivorous way of eating, that shouldn't be an issue. For vegetarians/vegans, we vary our sources over the day, inform ourselves about which are more complete, etc., so we compensate for that issue. As long as your big protein foods are still animal-sourced (meat, fish, dairy), and you're looking more for protein add-ons, that shouldn't be a big deal. At most, I'd suggest using different types of plant sources, rather than hitting a single one or single category all the time. (By category, I mean, say, nuts of different types, since they *tend* to be somewhat similar in amino acid profile. Instead, maybe have nuts sometimes, beans other times, broccoli sometimes, etc., to vary the categories from nuts to legumes to veggies).

    Hope you can find some eating choices you enjoy, that get you to the higher protein you're looking for!


  • azalea4175
    azalea4175 Posts: 290 Member
    edited February 2021
    @AnnPT77 thanks for the great suggestions! i'll def do some research and start trying some of the options. My food sensitivity testing shows peas are not a good fit for me, but i think the chickpeas may be ok, and could satisfy the "crunch" factor if crispy. Thanks!!

    @frankwbrown thanks for the suggestions I'll look into those! i do eat hard boiled eggs fairly often, and add a collagen supplement to my morning tea. the soup sounds lovely.
  • cpnknight
    cpnknight Posts: 200 Member
    Not had much time lately to get on here and acknowledge the efforts from my Bulge battling friends. My apologies to you all.

    However it is scales day...
    I have hit something of a plateau lately. Understandable, after a 50+ lbs loss.
    My weight has been yoyoing a bit.
    I am hoping that this week I have pushed through this spell though.
    After my appointment with the Scaly Beast, the verdict is in....
    Weight was 302.6 lbs...weight now 298.8 lbs.
    That blasted 300 lbs barrier is broken again!
    Now the job is to put some distance between my weight and that bloomin 300 red line!
  • jm216
    jm216 Posts: 3,721 Member
    cpnknight wrote: »
    Not had much time lately to get on here and acknowledge the efforts from my Bulge battling friends. My apologies to you all.

    However it is scales day...
    I have hit something of a plateau lately. Understandable, after a 50+ lbs loss.
    My weight has been yoyoing a bit.
    I am hoping that this week I have pushed through this spell though.
    After my appointment with the Scaly Beast, the verdict is in....
    Weight was 302.6 lbs...weight now 298.8 lbs.
    That blasted 300 lbs barrier is broken again!
    Now the job is to put some distance between my weight and that bloomin 300 red line!

    Fantastic!!! So proud of you!!
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,041 Member
    cpnknight wrote: »
    Not had much time lately to get on here and acknowledge the efforts from my Bulge battling friends. My apologies to you all.

    However it is scales day...
    I have hit something of a plateau lately. Understandable, after a 50+ lbs loss.
    My weight has been yoyoing a bit.
    I am hoping that this week I have pushed through this spell though.
    After my appointment with the Scaly Beast, the verdict is in....
    Weight was 302.6 lbs...weight now 298.8 lbs.
    That blasted 300 lbs barrier is broken again!
    Now the job is to put some distance between my weight and that bloomin 300 red line!

    I can relate to that plateau after 50+ pounds.
    I joined MFP six years ago, and starting at 320, I got down to 270, then regained from there. I started again at 330 last July 10th and was down to 272.8 on January 26th, but I've been at or above that ever since (I'm 273 today). My red line is 270; I'm anxious to get to a weight below that 270 from five and a half years ago. After that, I've got another 50 pounds to go, I think, to get to where I should be.

    Congratulations, and keep going!
  • azalea4175
    azalea4175 Posts: 290 Member
    @cpnknight congrats on breaking the barrier! i think our bodies sometimes have to "adjust" to a new normal, then start losing again. Plateaus are frustrating but your perseverance has paid off! great job! keep at it, you inspire me.
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,041 Member
    edited February 2021
    azalea4175 wrote: »
    @cpnknight congrats on breaking the barrier! i think our bodies sometimes have to "adjust" to a new normal, then start losing again. Plateaus are frustrating but your perseverance has paid off! great job! keep at it, you inspire me.

    There might be something to that. Back in the '80's, I followed the Set Point diet, and that book proposed the theory that our bodies have a "set point" at which it tries to maintain its weight. Over time, our bodies will periodically adjust that "set point" in response to our changing level of activity. (I have no idea if that theory gained support in the scientific community, but it does seem to explain certain real observations.)

    Excerpt from this article What You Need To Know About Set Point Theory:
    "In order to reset our set point to a lower level, set point theory proponents recommend going slowly with weight loss goals. A gradual 10 percent step-down weight loss approach with persistent maintenance at each stage can help prepare the body to accept the new lower set point."
  • daydrem_dw
    daydrem_dw Posts: 83 Member
    I’ve been feeling down about the plateau I’m at; this conversation was just what I needed to shake it off. Thank you!