50 year old lady needs to lose 50lbs!!

kickbox3

I’ve tried on my own. I just can’t find the motivation or discipline. I’m not willing to do anything crazy for a diet, like keto, but I’m in search of a community of women that have found it harder to lose weight as the age.
Ugh!! Frustrating!!!

yirara

I'm not sure anyone can give you motivation. That's something that needs to come from inside you. Reading these forums for years I realize that wanting to be lighter never is a strong motivator because it's somewhere in the future, and then you're at goal weight and then what? What will have changed for you other than your weight? Will you keep it off or regain because you never had a reason to be lighter other than being lighter. I think you need to find an actual motivator to do this.

Some ideas, that might not work for everyone:
* Do you need motivation to brush your teeth every morning or do you just do it because it's part of a normal, healthy life? Not overeating (too often), logging food, trying new things and wanting to be healthy can become part of a normal daily routine.
* Do you want to be more mobile as you age, fight ostheoporosis, play with your grandchildren or great grandchildren when you're at that age? that can be a motivator.
* Run a few marathons or do all long distance hikes in the US. You need to be fit for that and being a bit lighter certainly helps. (ok, maybe a bit extreme, but who knows)
* or a bit simpler: have a garden plot and grow your own fruit and vegetables into old age, for which you also need to be at least mobile enough.

Basically, think of things that don't necessarily have an end date but that keep you going. On that note, 50lbs is not that much. You can do it!

NC_Gardener

It's definitely harder! That hit me like a ton of bricks when 30lbs flew on and wouldn't budge off. It's crazy.

I finally figured out the combo of things that works for me. It's not really that much different, but man do I have to do it!

Sometimes you just have to do it. If you're like me, you've noticed getting out of shape, etc, too. Middle Age can be rough, no doubt. But I know from my yoga teachers and such that it just takes consistency to get over the new obstacles. Good luck!!

cmriverside

There are a lot of women here over 50 who have lost and kept off 50 plus pounds.

So, if we can do it, you can do it.

My suggestions are:

1. Log your food. Most important thing I did was create and stick to that habit.
2. Step on the body weight scale and record it somewhere.
3. Take a 30 minute walk five days a week. (Minimum exercise)

Then I'd say join in some of the Challenges threads here on this site and check in every day.

I agree that motivation has to come from within. If you don't really want to be smaller and healthier and happier, I'm not sure we can give that to you.

Plug in here. Connect with others. Read the threads, post, log food. The rest of it (and there's a lot of changes coming if you stick to it) will happen a little at a time.

bjdrewdrew

I'm 47. I quit smoking and gained over 70 pounds. I am now 231.8 ( this mornings scale ) I think depression plays a part in not being motivated. I am tired hungry grumpy in pain and usually overwhelmed. The best advice I can give is to force 20 minutes of walking even if it's just pacing back and forth in your house. Then once you have done that for a week go to Wal-Mart or some place and get a pedometer. wear it for your walk and see how many steps you have. build on that. That has helped me get moving. now I need to work on my food. leaning towards the volumetrics to start because I eat all the time. Good luck to you!!!

hoodlisa1979

kickbox3 wrote: »

I’ve tried on my own. I just can’t find the motivation or discipline. I’m not willing to do anything crazy for a diet, like keto, but I’m in search of a community of women that have found it harder to lose weight as the age.
Ugh!! Frustrating!!!

Its got to come from you, no one here can give you the motivation if you don't have it no matter how many you find in a similar situation, I'm sure they can certainly empathise but that won't help you shift the weight, I don't say that to be mean because I've been in your shoes, this time something has clicked in me, I'm 43 but in my 30s I could drop weight easily, now it just sticks to me like a limpet, health reasons such as high blood pressure and cholesterol haven't massively inspired me to do much previously but when my dose of bp meds needed to be increased I realised if I want to make it to retirement I have to work at it, i recommend walking, do 20 minute increments, take a look at what your eating and calorie intake, weigh food as a portion is usually half what you eyeball is correct, a diet doesn't have to be miserable you can eat what you like by reducing portion sizes to maintain a deficit, pinterest has 1000s of recipes that can inspire you, Instagram has supportive groups of menopausal women who are in the same boat & give help and advice, they share their successes and failures(I don't have fb but they probably do too) ultimately you may have just wanted to have a rant as its pants I know but I do hope you can find a happy medium that helps you to lose what you need to, don't think 50lb think 2lb its a much easier target, good luck

carrieneary71

I am with you! I am 51 and have noticed how hard it is to lose weight. I was underweight until I had my kids so unfortunately I got used to eating what I wanted without it impacting my weight too much. Not anymore! I am going to make an effort to do better with my eating.

There is so much information out there and it's hard to know what to believe - if you exercise too much you won't lose weight, if you do the wrong type of exercise you won't lose weight, if you don't eat enough you won't lose weight. If your hormones are out of whack, you won't lose weight. It boggles my mind and I tend to get caught up in all the misinformation and then do nothing.

I am going to try to be accountable by checking in everyday and prepping some of my foods. I already go to the gym 3-4 days a week so will continue that.

I am open to any advice and look forward to making some improvements!

springlering62

I’m going out on a llimb here and saying, starting at 56, it wasn’t hard. In fact, it was waaay easier than I expected.

However, it did take dedication and determination, and a willingness to log daily, and be mindful of what I was eating.

What’s been “difficult” is maintenance because it’s so tempting to fall back into bad habits. Losing slowly and focusing on those habits has been key.

claireychn074

carrieneary71 wrote: »

I am with you! I am 51 and have noticed how hard it is to lose weight. I was underweight until I had my kids so unfortunately I got used to eating what I wanted without it impacting my weight too much. Not anymore! I am going to make an effort to do better with my eating.

There is so much information out there and it's hard to know what to believe - if you exercise too much you won't lose weight, if you do the wrong type of exercise you won't lose weight, if you don't eat enough you won't lose weight. If your hormones are out of whack, you won't lose weight. It boggles my mind and I tend to get caught up in all the misinformation and then do nothing.

I am going to try to be accountable by checking in everyday and prepping some of my foods. I already go to the gym 3-4 days a week so will continue that.

I am open to any advice and look forward to making some improvements!

So let’s break this down a bit: exercise is awesome for your health (especially as we get older), and we should all be doing it. But losing weight comes from eating fewer calories than you expend. Now, you can create a calorie deficit by exercising but -personally speaking - exercise makes me blooming hungry. So it’s easy to eat more which then cancels out the calorie deficit. Different types of exercise will NOT stop you losing weight as long as you are still in a calorie deficit - that’s *kitten* from influencers with bubble butts trying to sell you their programme.

Find some activity or exercise that you enjoy (I love lifting, but others like hiking, rowing, cycling or dancing). Do that activity and have fun.

Put your stats into MFP and choose a slowish rate of loss. Eat what you enjoy within your calorie limit and you WILL lose weight. It genuinely is that simple but that doesn’t sell books, weight loss programmes or bubble butts.

Just to clarify - I’m not saying sticking to a calorie deficit is easy or simple for everyone - but the concept is. For reference, I’m 48 and defo in perimenopause.

BZAH10

Great comments from our experienced posters. Remember, the mind is a powerful thing. Losing weight at age 50 is no different than losing weight at 45. Get rid of that "age 50" mental roadblock first and foremost.

AnnPT77

Guess what? Recent research suggests that our metabolism doesn't change much from 20s until 60s.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Westerterp+KR&cauthor_id=34385400

The good news is that that means the "hard" is more about habits, behavior, and the cumulative consequences of those (such as loss of muscle mass through inactivity and sub-ideal nutrition). In other words, the things that lead to success are almost entirely under our personal control.

Like @springlering62, I found it surprisingly easy to lose weight - class 1 obese to a healthy weight - at age 59-60, compared to what I expected . . . once I set my mind to do it, and really, truly meant it.

To me, that's the hard part: Flipping that switch in my brain to "I am doing this" - commitment. Everything after that was just willingness to experiment, analyze honestly, adjust tactics, stick with it patiently and persistently until I found the right personalized route.

Obviously, it wasn't psychologically easy every single second, but it didn't need to be. I could slip up, and as long as I figured out why, and adjusted my tactics, the long run worked out OK. The basic process was surprisingly simple. I could kick myself for not doing it decades ago, TBH.

It hasn't been demonically hard to stay at a healthy weight for 7 years since, either. If you find the right tactics, it isn't a matter of some kind of white-knuckled constant "motivation" requiring extreme food restrictions or punitively intense exercise. It's more a matter of finding a filling, nutritious, tasty way to eat at reasonable calories, and some ways to add movement to life that are reasonably fun (or at least tolerable enough to become regular habits).

I did this "diet":

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

I found ways to incorporate move movement in my daily life, without spending noticeably more time. Various MFP-ers share their ideas about that here:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

I experimented with various things (fun in itself, with the right mindset) until I found forms of intentional movement (some people call it "exercise") that were so fun I'd do them even if they weren't good for me (but they are).

What worked for me (specific tactics like the above) may not be what works for you, because we're all unique individuals. But you can figure it out, and make progress.

The important thing is that you really, truly gotta wanna, and mean it.

If strong motivation, discipline, consistency, will power or the like were essential, I'd still be fat. But I've been at a healthy weight for going on 7 years now, at age 67. Finding not-too-hard but more productive habits was key - habits that could run almost on autopilot when other parts of life gets complicated, because they will.

A bit of harsher advice: Don't let "it's so hard" become a way of bonding with other women who are using that as a reason to stay where they are. That's a thing that can happen. I probably lived in that space myself for a while. Now, my overall quality of life is much better in many ways. I don't want to go back to that.

springlering62

AnnPT77 wrote: »

.

A bit of harsher advice: Don't let "it's so hard" become a way of bonding with other women who are using that as a reason to stay where they are. That's a thing that can happen. I probably lived in that space myself for a while.

Ann, that is insightful genius right there.

LiveOnceBeHappy

cmriverside wrote: »

There are a lot of women here over 50 who have lost and kept off 50 plus pounds.

So, if we can do it, you can do it.

My suggestions are:

1. Log your food. Most important thing I did was create and stick to that habit.
2. Step on the body weight scale and record it somewhere.
3. Take a 30 minute walk five days a week. (Minimum exercise)

Then I'd say join in some of the Challenges threads here on this site and check in every day.

I agree that motivation has to come from within. If you don't really want to be smaller and healthier and happier, I'm not sure we can give that to you.

Plug in here. Connect with others. Read the threads, post, log food. The rest of it (and there's a lot of changes coming if you stick to it) will happen a little at a time.

This is exactly how this 52, now 53 year old, female did it. Tracked my calories religiously, weighed daily, had few splurges, and walked a little very day. Biggest thing was to find my "why" and then just do it.

musicfan68

It isn't harder at 50, you just haven't developed habits that will help you. Losing weight comes down to eating slightly below what your maintenance calories are. If you set up MFP correctly, and put a reasonable weight loss like 1 lb per week, then MFP gives you the calories you need to eat up to to lose weight. Track your calories by using a food scale so you know exactly how much you are eating, and put it in MFP so you can see where you are each day. It is just learning a new habit or two.

nsk1951

Good luck .. and get 'crack a lackin' .. Cause you don't want it to turn into a 60 year old needing to lose 60 pounds, or worse! a 70 year old needing to lose any weight at all! .. Hope that's some motivation building thought for you!

vivmom2014

I know you've got guru status around here @AnnPT77 and it is well deserved. Your comment about women bonding over the "it's so hard as we age" mantra is spot on, and it IS a thing. It's a weird "misery loves company" kind of thing, in my small realm of experience, to reinforce inertia and ease the difficulty of changing or replacing comfortable habits.

Keep preachin!

sbelletti

About to turn 47 in a few weeks and I'm 45lbs lighter than I was and am at my goal weight now.

It wasn't really that difficult once I made the decision to do it. But I did have to make that decision and COMMIT to it. Only you can decide how important is it to you and what you're willing to do to achieve your goal. You can read through thousands of MFP success stories for inspo, but the decision to do the work has to come from you.

Once you're ready, just know you've got a great support network here to help you. Good luck!

Strudders67

Like others, I didn't find it hard but then I'd just been told I was diabetic and the shock of that diagnosis was sufficient to jolt me into reality. My weight (overweight, per BMI) was clearly a factor and I HAD to do something.

Instead of thinking you need to lose 50lbs, how about trying to lose 5lbs, to start with? If it takes three months, who cares? You'd still have lost 5lbs from where you're at now. Then you can try to lose another 5lbs. Set your goal to lose a small amount a week (1/2 lb?) and you'll potentially find that it isn't going to be that drastic a change. By the end of the year you could be half way to your longer term target.

My weight loss was very slow, but that was fine as I could see that the trend was 'down'. I didn't want a drastic change to my diet as I knew I wouldn't stick to it, so I followed advice that I found on here and just ate smaller portions. Same foods, so things that I liked, but less of it. I've always cooked in bulk but instead of bagging or boxing a curry or bolognese or whatever into 4 portions, I'd divide it into 6 meals. Gradually I made substitutions too, such that I now pile my plate with veg as a base to my curry, bolognese etc and rarely cook rice, pasta or potatoes at home - but I'm still eating foods that I like. It took me about a year to lose the 35 lbs that got me to my goal weight.

One thing to note is that your weight will fluctuate, daily, so even if you weigh yourself regularly, compare where you are in a month's time to where you are today to see if you are actually losing anything.

Rockymountainflyer

I'm 55 and have lost 30 pounds over the last 14 months now. Track EVERYTHING -oil, spices, every bite. I also walk 2-4 miles a day. I walk around the house, do laps at Walmart and put on a backpack and walk to the supermarket. Find things that make you feel full. It is a marathon and lifestyle change. Focus on living life, not eating. Eat to live, don't live to eat. Don't drink your calories, they are precious! If you get a craving, have it, but log it. Sometimes I have ice cream or chips, but keep the calories the same for the day at 1200-1300. I am hungry when I do that, but it is sometimes worth it. Buy clothes when you lose 10 pounds, not celebratory dinner. Do NOT keep things you can't resist in the house. For me, even Jiff peanut butter is irresistible. I buy Skippy for my husband because I don't like it.

spiriteagle99

I lost 55 lbs. in my mid-50s. After a lifetime of yoyo dieting, I have been able to keep the weight off for the past 10 years. Losing the weight wasn't that hard, because I was willing to commit to it. One thing that made a difference was my mindset. In a world where there is so much I have no control over, (family, my husband, political situation, etc.) one thing I do have control over is what I put in my mouth and whether or not I exercise. No one else decides that, but me. So I made the decision to eat less and move more. It also helps that exercise helps me mentally and emotionally. Plus I have a dog who loves walking. I found a balance between eating food I enjoy and movement that burns it off. I started running at 54, which was a surprise because I was sure I couldn't do that due to bad knees and the fact that I was not at all athletic growing up.

NC_Gardener

I really do have zero shame about saying menopause is harder. Because it's harder for me, lol! I have to be more on top of things than I used to. And it's slower. And I'm actually pretty hungry a lot of the time, for real (I know that goes away).

But the only thing I can't deal with is "impossible". "Harder" happens all the time in life. Running into impossible things is the only thing that gets me down 🙂