New intro:

us3simpson

Just found this group. Love the JFT. I'm 58 years old and never really had to worry too much about my weight when I was younger but my metabolism has slowed down and I have a low thyroid now. I'm 5'5" and was 176 but recently was able to get to 170. I am struggling because it seems like every time I get on the scale I've gained weight. I am working on not eating past dinner and making healthy food choices. I like the Mediterranean diet i.e. if it had a mother or grew in the ground. No processed food. I have given up soda though I will have a diet soda once every 6 months or so. I have set a goal of running 3 days a week, 2 miles each time. I'm getting faster which feels great. I'm hoping to start riding my bike more this summer. I would love to weigh around 145 lb as this is where I feel my healthiest.

AnnPT77

Hello, and welcome!

Good news or bad news, our metabolism doesn't slow down much until our 60s, and the decline is slow after that, according to some recent research:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8370708/

I hope your thyroid condition is properly medicated, or on route to be so. When properly medicated, weight management should be about the same as for someone without a thyroid condition. There's a good thread here about weight and thyroid, written by a former MFP-er who's a scientist in the field, himself hypothyroid, who lost weight by calorie counting.

I'm not a 20-something keyboard warrior saying this. I'm 68, joined MFP at age 59. I'm severely hypothyroid (properly medicated). I'm also 5'5", and started weight loss at 183 pounds. Unlike you, I was overweight to obese for most of my adult life, until 59. For the last dozen years of that, I was athletically quite active, training pretty hard 6 days most weeks, but stayed overweight/obese. I'm living evidence that a good exercise routine won't guarantee weight loss.

You mention not eating past dinner, making healthy food choices, the Mediterranean diet, eliminating processed food, giving up soda, starting a good exercise routine. All of that is excellent for health.

If any or all of it helps you eat the right number of calories, and feel mostly happy and full doing so, weight loss will happen. You didn't mention calorie goals. But calorie balance is the direct influence on body weight. Other things only contribute to fat loss if they make it easier to get that right calorie level. They can have an indirect effect, such as by helping avoid fatigue (which would limit calorie expenditure) or appetite/cravings (which make it hard to stick with appropriate calories).

One thing that contributes to lowered calorie needs as we age is that we lose muscle mass, unless we've worked to maintain and increase it. Muscle burns a tiny number of calories more daily at rest than fat mass. But perhaps more importantly, the oh-so-gradual strength reduction makes it less easy and less fun to move (exercise or daily life), so we tend to do less.

That interacts with a tendency in our culture for typical lives to become less active as we age: Less physical job when compared to our young selves, possibly a social life with less dancing and frisbee (or whatever) and more theaters and dinner parties, no longer chasing toddlers all day, now hiring out things we used to DYI when young and less financially mature. The changes tend to be gradual, so insidious.

So, less muscle, less fitness, less movement: We need fewer calories.

The good news is that that can be reversed: Strength-challenging exercise (and other fitness activities) help us regain strength, muscle mass and mobility. Besides intentional exercise, we can make intentional changes to add movement to our daily lives, without necessarily taking a lot of extra time. Many MFP-ers share their ideas about that here:

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

Not all the ideas in there will suit everyone, but I'd bet that something is actionable.

As context: I lost 50-some pounds at age 59-60, and have been at a healthy weight since, now age 68. (I was at 133-point-something pounds this morning.) I'm still quite active, still doing the things I did when I was obese.

To lose weight, I didn't change the range of foods I ate, just portion sizes, proportions on the plate, and frequencies of some calorie-dense foods. (I already had a reasonably healthy nutritional profile, just was eating too many calories.) I didn't materially increase exercise to lose weight. (I was already quite active and kind of the semi-mythical pretty-fit obese person.) I just got my calorie intake in line with my calorie needs.

It was surprisingly simple, much more so than I'd expected, honestly. Finding and grooving in the right new habits isn't psychologically easy every second, but the actual "how to" mechanics were very straightforward.

Apologies for the essay. I'm like that.

TL;DR Eat the right number of calories, get some good exercise (strength/cardio), get good nutrition as a plus for health, think about ways to increase daily life movement. Weight loss and fitness improvement will happen . . . at any age.

Best wishes: The improved quality of life is worth the effort!