Losing weight after 50, HELP!

Proudblacksister3181
Proudblacksister3181 Posts: 1 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
If you are 50 and up and you have been able to lose at least 8 pounds in one month, please share what you are and how much exercise you did. I have been staying below 1900 calories as fitness pal has suggested, I workout out 5 times a week, 30 to 40 minutes each time. I’m getting about 6 to 7 hours or rest but I do tend to wake up around 4 am and then go back to sleep around 440am. I’m drinking between 60 to 80 ounces of water each day… and it’s been two weeks, no weight loss at all. Please advise??? Inquiry wants to know

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,392 Member
    I lost most of my weight after age 55, eating about 1900 total calories per day AND exercising for an hour at a moderate pace 4-6 days per week.

    You really don't give us much context in your post...your current weight? What you do for activity on a daily basis? Are you working? What kind of exercise? How are you logging your food? For how long? Male or female? You mentioned sleep and water. Sleep is pretty important, but you should be okay with anything from 7-9 hours. Water sounds good.


    My guess is that #1. Two weeks isn't long enough to gauge. #2. You are probably eating more than you think. Logging food is an art. Takes time to dial it in.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
  • Drivergran4
    Drivergran4 Posts: 7 Member
    I’m 74 and lost 1 stone since 1st Feb…. 7lb to get to my goal. I do on average of 10.000 steps a day. If weather amiable then try walk outside if not I have started the indoor walking . I do it in 15 min bursts . I’m also on 1200 calls a day eating protein a try stick to less carbs . I’m in average eating 1000-1100 cals a day , drinking 50 oz water and feeling very full. It’s tricky keeping to the protein/carb/fibre ‘allowance’ and go over most days by a few grams but it’s going and I’m pleased with it. Maybe fat is turning to muscle ? Depending on what exercise ? This happened to me when I joined a gym few years back so left that behind.Best of luck , it will happen 😀
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,205 Member
    edited March 31
    My two cents: two weeks isn’t long enough; you are expecting to lose too quickly which will make you more likely to quit; cardio doesn’t burn many calories so maybe you could later shave down to 1700 or 1800 calories. OR maybe 1900 is perfect but you aren’t using a food scale quite enough to get the best estimate of what you are eating.

    BUT this is all dependent on your starting weight and what things look like a few more weeks from now.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,090 Member
    csadams6aolcom2016 wrote: »
    I’m 74 and lost 1 stone since 1st Feb…. 7lb to get to my goal. I do on average of 10.000 steps a day. If weather amiable then try walk outside if not I have started the indoor walking . I do it in 15 min bursts . I’m also on 1200 calls a day eating protein a try stick to less carbs . I’m in average eating 1000-1100 cals a day , drinking 50 oz water and feeling very full. It’s tricky keeping to the protein/carb/fibre ‘allowance’ and go over most days by a few grams but it’s going and I’m pleased with it. Maybe fat is turning to muscle ? Depending on what exercise ? This happened to me when I joined a gym few years back so left that behind.Best of luck , it will happen 😀

    Muscle mass is slow to add. Under the best of circumstances, a pound of muscle mass gain per month would be a very good result for a woman, maybe 2 pounds for a man. "Best circumstances" include relative youth, a good progressive strength program faithfully performed, good nutrition (especially protein), favorable genetics, and a calorie surplus (i.e., weight gain).

    It's not necessarily that no one can gain muscle mass in a calorie deficit (or without those other helpful aspects), but it would certainly be slower.

    So, sadly, the OP hasn't gained enough muscle mass in two weeks to mask any reasonable rate of fat loss on the scale. I wish it were faster! (Strength gain can be very fast at first, from better recruiting and using existing muscle fibers: That's very worthwhile. There can even be a bit more muscle definition from the water retained in muscles for repair.)

    BTW, the protein, fiber and carbs don't need to be exactly exact every day. Pretty close, on average over a few days, is just fine. Health, fitness, and weight management aren't magic spells in which every syllable needs to be accurate in order to reach our goals. Close on average is enough, and over on protein or fiber can even be beneficial for health/fitness. (Calories are the direct determinant of fat gain/loss.)

    Best wishes!

  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,316 Member
    57 and lost 89 pounds over the past year and now at a "normal" weight based on BMI. Things that could be issues are not logging calories accurately enough due to not measuring well, using inaccurate database entries, or not logging everything you eat and drink. If your logging is accurate, you may have your weight loss masked by something like water retention which can happen when one starts working out.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,191 Member
    2 weeks isn’t enough time to review how x amount of calories is affecting your weight so give it a few more and adjust weekly calorie amount as needed.
  • GettingCut70
    GettingCut70 Posts: 35 Member
    I am 53, 6'5 261 and started at 333. I basically made my daily caloric goal at 1400 and I burned at 1100-1300 every single day.

    45 mins hard cardio (treadmill 15 incline 4.7 speed) + strength 3 days a week.

    I lost almost all of my weight in the first 4 months.
  • tdc2012
    tdc2012 Posts: 1 Member
    I am 55 and lost 23lbs in 40 days doing Dr Joe's turnup
  • Lclawson2015
    Lclawson2015 Posts: 1 Member
    I am 52 and started off at about 224. Within 3 weeks of starting with tracking and exercising, I gained a sudden and weird 12 pounds. It has been 5 months of tracking, working with a trainer once per week, and getting whatever other exercise I can 2-4 other times per week. We eat out most nights, but I meal prep breakfast and lunch. I am down 20lbs now, but it took a good 2 months before my body decided to start releasing some weight. This much focus 5 years ago and I would have been down twice that much. I know it is frustrating, but at older ages and certain hormonal changes that happen can make weight loss harder. Just don’t give up. Maybe see a dietitian/nutrionist for advice. That was helpful for me to know I am doing the right things, I just need to be patient.

    Just for reference, I aim for between 1500-1800 cal per day with 130 gram of protein and 30 fiber, although I don’t always hit this numbers. When I started focusing on protein, the weight started to slowly come off. 1 lb per week or less.
  • CrazyMermaid1
    CrazyMermaid1 Posts: 356 Member
    Lclawson2015 wrote: »
    I am 52 and started off at about 224. Within 3 weeks of starting with tracking and exercising, I gained a sudden and weird 12 pounds. It has been 5 months of tracking, working with a trainer once per week, and getting whatever other exercise I can 2-4 other times per week. We eat out most nights, but I meal prep breakfast and lunch. I am down 20lbs now, but it took a good 2 months before my body decided to start releasing some weight. This much focus 5 years ago and I would have been down twice that much. I know it is frustrating, but at older ages and certain hormonal changes that happen can make weight loss harder. Just don’t give up. Maybe see a dietitian/nutrionist for advice. That was helpful for me to know I am doing the right things, I just need to be patient.

    Just for reference, I aim for between 1500-1800 cal per day with 130 gram of protein and 30 fiber, although I don’t always hit this numbers. When I started focusing on protein, the weight started to slowly come off. 1 lb per week or less.

  • CrazyMermaid1
    CrazyMermaid1 Posts: 356 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/profile/Lclawson2015 I’m also on the high protein plan- also around 130 g. Seems to work for me.
  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 1,202 Member
    55Yo here. Height 5'7' slim build.
    Starting weight 181lbs. July 31 2023.
    Went from a 36" inch pant size to a 31" pant size.
    Current weight 145lbs and maintaining.
    To lose the weight I didn't exercise much due to arthritis issues. I do go for walks with the dog 3x per week and that's all I do for exercise now.

    Feeling great and energy level is excellent!




  • LiveOnceBeHappy
    LiveOnceBeHappy Posts: 448 Member
    I think we get caught up with the age as the reason. For me, I think the reason I've gained weight is because my lifestyle changed. When I was younger, I was more active daily without thinking about it. Now when I hang out with friends, it's over lunch or dinner maybe with some drinks. When I was 30 or 40, I would have been more likely to go for a walk with friends with the stroller or to a park or walk around a mall. Now I have to be more intentional about walking. No way I'm as naturally active as I was. Back then I was just active and then I might also intentionally exercise.
  • scavonedan
    scavonedan Posts: 15 Member
    63 years old here and my weight loss was from cutting out all alcohol (no beer, wine, bourbon), went vegetarian for about a year, walk at least 3 miles a day at one walk, run for 30 minutes each morning 6 days then take a day off (that is about 3.2 miles for me). went from 185 to 165 in about 6-8 months and maintained that for over a year now.

    I don't weigh myself every day. I do one weigh in a week at about the same time on the same day of the week.
  • derekmiz
    derekmiz Posts: 1 Member
    I ma 52 y.o. an I have lost 15.7kg over last 3 months - almost twice that much in the last 11 months. The calories deficit is one thing but it is important what are you getting those calories from - what your macro composition is. There are verious calculations depending on your activity level - some base ratio would be 0.8g of protein per pound of lean body mass, not more than 40% of calories from fat and rest from complex carbs. Additionally, no buzz, sugar and eliminate processed food. If you maintain about 700-800 calories deficit per day there is no possible way that your weight wouldn't drop. How can you create calories deficit? You can cut what you eat but there is another way - steady state low intensity cardio exercise - zone two of the heart rate. You need this in the morning - preferable before your breakfast - an hour of that 5 times per week would do a magic. Don't go any higher than zone two.
  • ovenpaa
    ovenpaa Posts: 1 Member
    Male, 66. I am 1.90m, so around 6'3" and was on about 92kgs, just over 200 lbs. I lost weight very quickly by calorie counting and being very careful about food, no red meat, chocolate or alcohol, plus at least 5kms most days. July to September 23 I lost 10kgs, 22lbs. These days I walk or run 5km every day, plus normal walking. I also do resistance training 1 to 3 times a week. Current weight is 79kgs. Still no red meat, but I do have an occasional glass of red. I track everything with a Garmin Fenix 6 XPro and MFP. At my level of exercise I can hold 78 to 79kgs, 175lbs with ease.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,090 Member
    derekmiz wrote: »
    I ma 52 y.o. an I have lost 15.7kg over last 3 months - almost twice that much in the last 11 months. The calories deficit is one thing but it is important what are you getting those calories from - what your macro composition is. There are verious calculations depending on your activity level - some base ratio would be 0.8g of protein per pound of lean body mass, not more than 40% of calories from fat and rest from complex carbs. Additionally, no buzz, sugar and eliminate processed food. If you maintain about 700-800 calories deficit per day there is no possible way that your weight wouldn't drop. How can you create calories deficit? You can cut what you eat but there is another way - steady state low intensity cardio exercise - zone two of the heart rate. You need this in the morning - preferable before your breakfast - an hour of that 5 times per week would do a magic. Don't go any higher than zone two.

    Overall this is good advice IMO, but I disagree about the exercise. Zone 2 and below is good for beginners, absolutely, and has less fatigue penalty than more intense exercise for pretty much everyone (but not zero fatigue penalty, especially for beginners). Fatigue can bleed calorie burn out of the non-exercise side of life, and most people can only do a limited amount of higher-zone work without over-fatiguing.

    Timing of the exercise isn't going to make a material difference, though. Making the exercise convenient and practical (so a person does it rather than skipping it often) is much more important than the timing.

    There's no documented significant benefit from exercising fasted (i.e., before breakfast). Fasted exercise makes me miserable, and I underperform, so I never do it. I lost weight fine anyway.

    An hour a day of zone 2 is probably too much (too fatiguing) for beginners, but it's a good thing to work up to. (However, it is more than the mainstream minimum recommended for basic good health - twice as much.) People who are more conditioned/experienced can mix in some higher zone work in reasonable doses, of course keeping an eye on recovery and fatigue management.

    Anyone relying on exercise to lose weight still needs to control calorie intake somehow. I was training hard 6 days most weeks for a dozen years, even competing as an athlete (not always unsuccessfully), and stayed overweight/obese. We see people here thinking just adding exercise to their routine (not controlling eating) should result in weight loss. It ain't necessarily so.

    An hour of zone 2 might be worth 300 calories or so (depending on the person's size). That's about the equivalent of 2 tablespoons (32g-ish) of peanut butter on one slice of hearty bread. It's easy to eat that much extra without noticing, when not calorie counting or otherwise controlling the eating side. (That's especially true if the calories come from things less filling and more calorie dense than PB and bread.)

    Exercise is good for a person, and potentially useful in a weight management situation, but I wouldn't call it "magic", personally.

    I'm skeptical of "no more than 40% of calories from fat", too. I eat less than that, but some of the low carb/keto folks probably eat more than that, and do fine.
  • Quatchkopf
    Quatchkopf Posts: 3 Member
    I am 53 and weighed 400lbs. The first 2 years I lost about 90lbs with no exercise (about 45lbs a year.). Nutrition only, but I still ate candy, drank tons of soda, just switched to fresh foods for my regular meals and started watching my calories. This year starting Feb 5th I have lost about 24lbs using a low carb diet, about 30 grams or less (Keto) and still no exercise. I am averaging about 2lbs a week and have cut out candy and soda except I allow myself soda when I go to the movies every 2 weeks. I plan on starting exercising when the weather gets warmer, just can't get myself motivated to exercise especially when it's cold. When I hit my target weight, somewhere around 199, 200lbs I plan on upping my carbs.
  • henrystock01
    henrystock01 Posts: 12 Member
    1900 calories seems a bit high to me. I am 72 years old and a man. I think they recommended 1500 calories for men and 1200 calories per day for women.
    I've been trying to do this now for a month and a half and I have lost about 12 lbs.
    I find that if I actually use all 1500 calories it goes even slower for me. I am more successful if I can keep it down to about 1300 calories.
    I work out by doing water jogging for about an hour three to four times a week
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,090 Member
    henrystock01 wrote: »
    1900 calories seems a bit high to me. I am 72 years old and a man. I think they recommended 1500 calories for men and 1200 calories per day for women.
    I've been trying to do this now for a month and a half and I have lost about 12 lbs.
    I find that if I actually use all 1500 calories it goes even slower for me. I am more successful if I can keep it down to about 1300 calories.
    I work out by doing water jogging for about an hour three to four times a week

    1200 is the minimum goal MFP will give a woman; 1500 is the minimum goal MFP will give a man.

    It's not that MFP recommends 1200 to women: Quite the contrary. It will never give women fewer goal calories than that. It wants people to get a certain number of calories in order to get minimally adequate nutrition.

    I'm female, not much younger than you are (68), 5'5", and weighed 131 pounds (59 kg) this morning. I'd lose around 2 pounds a week if I ate as little as 1200 calories (not that I'm trying to lose any material amount of weight anymore!). If you read other replies above, you'll find that multiple 50+ y/o women report losing well on calories quite a bit above 1200. I did, too, when overweight/obese (at age 59-60).

    Personally, I wouldn't want to lose 2 pounds a week (let alone more!) unless I weighed well over 200 pounds. Others may choose to accept higher health risks from fast loss, however, especially if substantially obese and under close medical supervision for deficiencies or complications.

    At our age, sarcopenia (muscle loss) is a health risk in general, and the risk is increased if fast weight loss is in the picture.

    Fast loss increases other health risks, too, not to mention makes sticking with loss harder than necessary for many, risking failure and weight yo-yos.

  • doodleb1954
    doodleb1954 Posts: 6 Member
    If you have just started, one thing I do have to say is it takes time. You may be building muscle, which is heavier that fat. I am 69 and have lost 30 pounds over the last year. It has been slow and I have, at times, lost hope. And in those times, I find that I eat out of control. You will have ups and downs and times of plateauing. Which I do frequently. I will lose about 5 pounds, plateau going up and down a few pounds, and then I will re-evaluate what I am doing and make some adjustments. I do mostly strength training, which burns more fat than aerobic exercise. I just increased my weight on my exercises and am at a plateau for now because I am building more muscle. I can tell by the soreness. LOL! I know that given a few more days, I will begin to lose weight again. I try to stay under my calorie limit. It does not always work, but usually I am only a few calories over. I also try to watch my carbs and get healthy fats (avocadoes, avocado oil, etc) into my diet. Which does help. I do know that it takes constant review and changes over time to lose it. Changes not only in your physical fitness routine, but also you diet. I hope this helps.

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