Trying to loose weight and get fit at 61

jlobs210

Good evening everyone! Pray and hope you’re all doing well ! So I’m trying to shed some weight ( roughly 25 pounds ) at my age . Coming off Keto dieting which was getting exhausting. Anything would kick you out if Ketosis then trying to get back in takes 4-6 days . Trying to accomplish my goals by a balance approach. Low carbs ( brown rice whole wheat bread quinoa ) lean proteins lots of eggs and egg whites , and some fruits . Not a big vegetable guy . Sorry they just don’t work for me . Work out 3 times a week at the gym and the other 3 days I jog for two and a half miles ( slow pace I can’t jog like I used to in my 40’s and early fifties ) . Need to stay off the later evening munches ( my biggest challenge)
Do daily intermittent fasts of 16/8 . What you all think ??? Thoughts suggestions and criticisms invited . Thank you

tomcustombuilder

You dont need intermittent fasting unless it causes you to take in fewer overall calories. All you need is a consistent weekly calorie deficit. Eat in a way that will be sustainable and KETO may not fit that category as you are finding. There is no magic to any of this. Get in your protein, some good fats and fill in the rest of the calories with whatever you want.

To be successful the majority of your diet should consist of non ultra processed foods, those should be consumed as little as possible and try not to drink calories.

AnnPT77

jlobs210 wrote: »

Good evening everyone! Pray and hope you’re all doing well ! So I’m trying to shed some weight (25 pounds ) at my age . Coming off Keto dieting which was getting exhausting. Anything o\would kick you out if Ketosis then trying to get back in takes 4-6 days . Trying to accomplish my goals by a balance approach. Low carbs ( brown rice whole wheat bread quinoa ) lean proteins lots of eggs and egg whites , and some fruits . Not a big vegetable guy . Sorry they just don’t work for me . Work out 3 times a week at the gym and the other 3 days I jog for two and a half miles ( slow pace I can’t jog like I used to in my 40’s and early fifties ) . Need to stay off the later evening munches ( my biggest challenge)
Do daily intermittent fasts of 16/8 . What you all think ??? Thoughts suggestions and criticisms invited . Thank you

I lost around 50 pounds at age 59-60, so my n=1 suggests weight loss at 61 is achievable. (I'm in year 8 of maintaining a healthy weight since.)

I'm a big fan of "sustainable new routine habits" rather than "diets". IMO, real weight loss - weight management - isn't a project with an end date, after which things go back to normal. That's how yo-yo regain happens. Same general concept applies on the exercise/fitness side: It's about finding (ideally) some fun ways of integrating more movement into our lives, or at least tolerable and practical ways.

It's a different mindset, thinking in terms of permanent habits, I think.

If low carb and IF make the process easier for you, those are good tactics for you. If they make it harder, and you don't have reasons other than weight loss to pursue those, then they'd be an unnecessary complication.

For myself, I decided not to do anything to lose weight that I wasn't willing to do long term, ideally forever, to stay at a healthy weight, except for a sensibly moderate calorie deficit until I reached a healthy goal weight. Personally, I ate the same range of foods I always had, and still do - just in different portion sized and frequencies to keep calories reasonable and hit my personal nutrition goals. Already active, I didn't materially increase exercise to lose weight, just kept up my enjoyable existing routine. Still doing those things. So far, so good.

Personally, I stay full better on my calorie budget when I eat mostly whole foods (as do many people, though not all). Honestly that's been my eating preference even when getting/staying fat. But I do eat some treats, even drink alcohol in moderation, as long as I can keep up really good overall nutrition within calories alongside those small indulgences. That isn't the best route for everyone - no one approach is - but it has worked well for me.

Myself, I think it's important to get a well-rounded range of micronutrients (plus fiber types) from food rather than supplements, and eating veggies can help with that. Fruits are good, but variety is better. That said, I also think life is too short to eat yucky stuff, as long as good nutrition can be achieved some other way (and IME it usually can, but I like lots of foods, which may bias me). If there are any veggies you do like, eat those? Maybe even try some new ones, or new ways of fixing some, with an open mind?

I have to admit, when people say they "don't like veggies", I'm confused (for reasons similar to confusion when people say they "don't like exercise"). In either case, there are so, so many different types, and so many different experiences with different ones. In the case of veggies, there is a massive range of flavors and textures. It's hard for me to understand disliking allllll of them. But again, I like them, so the problem may be limits on my imagination.

But I'm rambling!

Evening munchies: A few things might help.

First, is this hunger or habit (or something else) triggering the evening munchies?

If it's habit, then its usually easiest to drop an undesired habit by taking up a new and better habit in its place, vs. quitting cold turkey. Having some tasty and nutritious snacks readily at hand would be a moderate way to go. Some people like hot herb tea, too. Mild exercise like yoga or a walk around the block helps some people. Other options would be distracting/absorbing hobbies, bonus points if they require clean hands (sketching, needlework, playing a musical instrument, etc.) or create dirty ones (painting, carpentry, gardening, etc.).

If it feels like hunger, maybe experiment with timing of food/nutrients to see if you can get a better result. Just a personal example (you may differ), but I found that if I ate a solid breakfast with ample protein, then protein through the day, my evening cravings were reduced. I also found that if I made it a point to eat 3 servings of fruit daily for a while, my cravings for calorie-dense treats (like candy and baked goods) were reduced on an all-day basis.

If you have days with stronger or weaker munchies cravings, take a look at your food/exercise diary to see if there's a pattern. Sometimes food timing or types makes a difference, sometimes certain exercise spikes appetite (especially too-intense exercise for current fitness level).

With evening cravings specifically, it may be worth considering your sleep quality/quantity. If that can be improved, doing so might help with cravings. As the day goes on, we're more distant from the last sleep, and more fatigue accumulates. When fatigued, the body seeks energy. Food is energy. Voilà, evening cravings!

Stress can increase fatigue. If that's part of the picture, classic stress management techniques are a more direct strategy. (Examples: Journaling, mild exercise, meditation/prayer, calming music, bubblebath or warm shower, yoga, adult coloring books, etc.).

Someone here once described setting up new habits as like training a puppy: The more we give in, the longer re-training will take. I'm not a fan of "be disciplined" as advice, so I think picking the right new habits (personally suitable ones) is a big part of making this work. Change is inherently hard, so it might take a short period of discipline, though. If a new routine is still feeling like it's not working after a couple of weeks to a month of practice, I'd try something different.

As long as we keep chipping away at the "find new habits" approach, success will happen, I think. Tactics that don't work aren't personal failures, they're useful learning about what doesn't work. Only giving up the process altogether will result in actual failure. Might take patience, though.

I'm cheering for you to succeed: The results are worth the effort, IME.