Over 65 need to lose 65 plus

md6325

I’m looking for over 65 pals that needs to lose 65 plus. I’ve not been on MFP for a long while. I need motivation to get moving. What about weight training? I’m so weak.

AnnPT77

Welcome! I'm over 65 (68) but maybe not a great pal candidate, since I'm in long term maintenance now after losing around 50 pounds in 2015-16.

I'm a big believer in figuring out a plan that requires the absolute minimum of motivation (or willpower, discipline, etc.), because that's not my strong suit.

For myself, I decided I wasn't going to do anything to lose weight that I wasn't willing to continue long term to stay at a healthy weight, except for a sensibly moderate calorie deficit until I got to goal weight. That meant I needed to figure out how to handle social events, dinners out, etc. in addition to the daily routine.

My main focus was finding new routine habits that I could keep up almost on autopilot. That very rare one day I eat too much cake or work out for 5 hours is a drop in the ocean. The things I do on repeat, day in and day out, those are the ocean. They have the majority of the effect on my body weight. That meant finding fun ways to be more active (or at least tolerable and practical ways!). It also meant finding new eating habits that kept me reasonably full, happy and adequately nourished on average for the majority of the time.

In that kind of context, having an off-plan day isn't a personal failure, it's learning something that doesn't work for me. I need to cross that tactic off and revise my plan going forward. Just don't stop adjusting the plan and seeking sustainable habits, results will come. Only giving up the effort is a failure, IMO.

This is a different mindset, I think than the very common "drop pounds fast, then go back to normal" in which people adopt extreme eating restrictions, maybe pre-defined eating plans, and then sometimes stack punitively intense daily exercise on top of all that. In my world, that's not going to last long enough to lose a meaningful total amount of weight, let alone teach me anything practical about how to keep that weight off.

As far as strength training, yes: Both cardiovascular exercise and strength exercise is good for a person. Strength exercise also makes us stronger (useful in daily life), helps bones stay strong (especially important for women in our age group), makes other kinds of activity easier and more fun to do, and helps minimize the amount of existing muscle we might lose while working on losing fat. (Since it takes effort and patience to gain muscle, not losing what we have is a big win.)

Strength training needs us to be getting adequate protein alongside for best benefits, and getting adequate protein is very important in our age group for other reasons. It's also more important for us (compared to the young'uns ) to spread the protein through the day.

There's a thread here where lots of MFP people discuss strength training programs they like:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

Despite the title, it does include some bodyweight strength programs that can be done at home with minimal/no equipment.

This is also a very good thread about how to think about strength training as a beginner:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10920257/how-to-set-up-a-weightlifting-routine#latest

It was written by a guy who's only a bit younger than you and I are, but who's been strength training for a very long time.

For moving more in the sense of cardiovascular exercise, think broadly: Lots of things get heart rate up a bit. Pick one(s) that sound to you. Yes, there are gym machine, but just regular walking in pretty places is a plus. There's also swimming, bicycling, rowing/kayaking/canoeing, playing with children, games like pickleball, group classes of all kinds, martial arts, dozens of different kinds of dancing, . . . I could go on an on.

If you try I new thing, I encourage you to stick with it for at least several sessions (as long as it's not actually injuring you, of course!). Most things feel very awkward and uncomfortable the first few time, and it's normal to feel like we'll never get it. Those "newbie blues" tend to pass in a fairly short time, even if we're not perfect at the thing. At first, we may worry that other people are so much better than us, but it's important to recall that they were new once, too. (The nice ones remember that, and will support/encourage you. Most people are nice.)

You can do this. Keep working at it, and you'll succeed. In my experience, the quality of life improvements are huge, very much worth the effort.

Best wishes!