Frustrated

slynn5724

I have been on this fitness journey for the last 2 years. I'm 60 years old and I can't seem to stay focus and lose much weight. I have tried several things and for the life of me I continue to go up and down. I lose a couple of pounds: only to gain them right back again. I am so frustrated 😠 but I refuse to stop until I reach my goal.

yirara

What have you been doing so far? What is your current weight and your weightloss goal? Have you ever considered why you give up and what your ulterior motive is for weightloss?

spiriteagle99

When you are actively trying to lose weight, are you restricting yourself too much? A diet that has too few calories or that doesn't allow you to eat foods you really enjoy isn't sustainable for long. It is easy to get into the starvation then binge cycle where weight goes up and down and up and down. Also, how long are you trying to lose weight before you give up? Weight can go up and down due to water retention, hormones, etc. It is easy to think that your diet isn't working when it is actually just a matter of water causing temporary weight gain.

MoabFit2024

It is easier then you think. First, never focus on weight. Focus on Metabolic Health. Weight is a poor measure of that. This is not advice, but what worked for me was, consulting with a Functional Medical Doctor. For many, Intermittent Fasting, like 18:6 works wonders. Eat at NOON and stop by 6pm. Water is fine anytime. Working out- even jogging, hiking, lifting weights. I do all the above. Learning to associate what you are doing to feeling good- the progress- not the end goal. I have the opposite problem- I have gotten arguably too lean. I eat very healthy FATS- which also makes me thin...since the body no longer sees a need to store fats. I think that is a key- eating enough healthy fats- and very little carbs. I am not strict Carnivore or strick Keto but I agree, more fat, less carbs, less sugar- all natural foods is key.

If you want to share what foods you eat, I can let you know my thoughts. Yes DIET is more important then exercise- both together is a powerful combination. Getting good rest is also important. Be happy- and social too. If none of that works (it should), get testing done for thyroid and other things. Also, I check my own blood sugar at home on occasion. I find it to be a great tool to watch my eating. I am not diabetic. BMI is 21. It works.

AnnPT77

I lost weight when I was about your age. (Lost 50-some pounds at age 59-60, will turn 68 later this week.) Your profile says female; so am I. I'm also severely hypothyroid, but properly medicated.

I agree with some of those above: Why you're not sticking with it is really important.

Me, I stayed fat for literal decades, because I just didn't sincerely commit to making a change in my life. Wanting to be at a lighter weight wasn't enough, some switch in my head needed to flip to "committed". For many years, my behavior clearly said that I wanted the short-term pleasure of eating more tasty food, than I wanted to long-term benefit of being at a healthy weight. I feel like my behavior is the expression of what I truly mean and what I truly want: Voting with my feet, essentially.

I don't know how to flip that switch to "committed", even in myself. But it needed to happen.

Beyond that, I do wonder how severely you're trying to restrict yourself. I'm a big believer in trying to make weight management easy (relatively, at least) rather than trying to make it fast.

Most of the things "they say" about weight loss are nonsense, or at least not Universal Truths. We don't all need to give up treat foods forever, never eat fast food again, eat only low-calorie superfoods, drink buckets of water, do punitively intense and miserable exercises, cut carbohydrate intake to small double-digit grams daily, etc.

Do some people need to do particular things? Sure. If someone's insulin resistant or diabetic, they're going to need to manage carbs carefully. Would many people feel full on fewer calories if a larger fraction of their eating was nutrient-dense so-called whole foods, if they've previously been eating lots of high-calorie, nutrient sparse, highly processed foods? Mostly likely. But those aren't universal, nor absolute.

For many of us, all those ideas do is make losing weight harder, so we're more likely to give up. Even if we can stick it out through losing a meaningful total amount of weight - weeks to months or even years - we're likely to reach "the end" and "go back to normal". That's the recipe for weight yo-yo-ing, possibly the least healthful scenario.

Better: Set up a manageable plan for losing weight gradually. Reduce frequency or portion sizes of high-calorie foods, especially if they're not very nutritious. Eat foods we like eating, just portion sizes and choices that add up to a reasonably nutritious, reasonably filling amount of food. Figure out how to eat in a way that will balance calories, nutrition, affordability, practicality and enjoyment. Figure out how we can eat long term, relatively happily, to reach and stay at a healthy weight.

I found that when I logged my food, the first calorie cuts were both obvious and pretty easy: When I saw the calorie cost of certain foods, they weren't worth it to me, at least not in then-current portions/frequency. What those foods might be would differ for other people, but I'd bet most people would find some if they start logging.

Alongside that, if inclined, add manageable increases in activity, either in daily life or intentional exercise, or both. Keep that moderate and enjoyable too, and gradually increase as we get fitter. A daily walk in the park might be pleasant, and will burn some extra calories, so we can eat a bit more while losing weight at that same sensibly moderate rate.

TL;DR: Don't think you need to do extreme things. Find relatively manageable, tolerable changes you can make in your routine habits, both eating and activity. Just stick with that. If there's a momentary lapse, learn from it, let it go, get back on track. It's what we do on the majority of our days, on average, that determines the majority of our progress. Habits are powerful: Harness them. You can make progress.

Best wishes!

AnnPT77

MoabFit2024 wrote: »

It is easier then you think. First, never focus on weight. Focus on Metabolic Health. Weight is a poor measure of that. This is not advice, but what worked for me was, consulting with a Functional Medical Doctor. For many, Intermittent Fasting, like 18:6 works wonders. Eat at NOON and stop by 6pm. Water is fine anytime. Working out- even jogging, hiking, lifting weights. I do all the above. Learning to associate what you are doing to feeling good- the progress- not the end goal. I have the opposite problem- I have gotten arguably too lean. I eat very healthy FATS- which also makes me thin...since the body no longer sees a need to store fats. I think that is a key- eating enough healthy fats- and very little carbs. I am not strict Carnivore or strick Keto but I agree, more fat, less carbs, less sugar- all natural foods is key.

If you want to share what foods you eat, I can let you know my thoughts. Yes DIET is more important then exercise- both together is a powerful combination. Getting good rest is also important. Be happy- and social too. If none of that works (it should), get testing done for thyroid and other things. Also, I check my own blood sugar at home on occasion. I find it to be a great tool to watch my eating. I am not diabetic. BMI is 21. It works.

I think it's great when people say what works best for them: Food for thought for the person who posted, ideas to try. I think it's more tenuous to assume that the same things will surely work for others.

Funnily enough, I didn't do any of those bolded things, and I lost weight fine, have maintained a healthy weight for 7+ years since. My metabolic health is fine, according to any medical test or subjective experience I've had since weight loss, and I've had lots of tests. I, too, am not diabetic, blood pressure and blood lipids great, BMI is 22, solid blood tests in other respects including some of the micronutrients.

I eat from shortly after I get up, until near bed time.
I'm active, even athletic, but don't jog or hike. I don't even walk all that much. I do lift some in Winter, but not much.
If I don't pay attention, I under-eat fats: I often have to work to get in my 50g daily personal minimum.
I eat plenty of delicious carbs, mostly from veggies, fruit and no-sugar-added dairy: 150g+ while losing, 225g+ in maintenance.

It's almost if what works may differ from one person to the next.

I think most people can figure out what works for them, by logging, paying attention, and using common sense.