40 yrs of age. Don't give up.

willlafriu

40 yr old we not 20s anymore. We struggling with stress, that caused stressful eating. Cost of living with inflation. Husband or wife cheating on you. Children addiction to sugar. Caused weight gain. An over snacking. Trying to loose that 50 pounds. To be that sexy person you once was in your 30s 20s. For that marriage to work. Goals of weight loss. Less sugar, healthiest eating possibilities of burning fat. squats and cardio weight lifting and situps. Don't forget the most important part. STRETCHING.

AnnPT77

Well, in my case, 60s, almost 70s, so not even 40s anymore.

Late 40s, as it turned out, was when I started being routinely active exercise-wise, after decades as a mostly-sedentary lump, decades that were followed by an annoying bout of cancer, surgery, chemo, radiation, and yeah, all of that alongside a high stress job. Husband wasn't cheating on me, but he died (at 45), which is a whole other kind of stressor, eh? I stayed overweight to obese for another dozen years while being active pretty intensely 6 days most weeks, even competing athletically.

Getting pretty fit, even while remaining obese, was a big quality of life improvement.

At 59-60, I finally committed to losing weight. Lost that 50 pounds by calorie counting with MFP. Didn't really obsess much about sugar, just managed portion sizes and frequencies of calorie-dense things to generate some fat loss. Kept up pretty much the same workout schedule, because doing that made me happy.

Whammo, reaching a healthy weight was another big quality of life improvement.

Now 69, still at a healthy weight, retired from the high stress job, still routinely active at the sport I love (and some other fun active stuff on the side). There are physical things that are easy and fun for me now that would've been difficult or impossible when I was mid-40s. If you'd told 45 y/o me what my 69 y/o lifestyle, health, bodyweight and fitness would be like, she wouldn't have believed you for one stinkin' minute. But here I am. Go figure.

Am I bragging? No, that's not the point.

So what's the point? It's that 40s is in no way too late, not even remotely. Major changes - improvements - are possible. It doesn't even have to be some big radical thing, it can be a gradual series of manageable steps in a positive direction. It adds up. The benefits are huge, long term. It's worth the effort. (And the effort was less than out-of-shape lumpy 40s me would've imagined, besides.)

Advice? Don't tell yourself stories about how hard the road is going to be. Just think of the first manageable steps you can take to amble down that road. You can surprise yourself with where you get to over a period of time, and how manageable it is to get there. Easy every single second? Nah, of course not. What worthwhile thing is? But very doable.

If a hedonistic aging-hippie flake like me - someone with a minimal budget of willpower/motivation/discipline - can do this, I think pretty much any actual reasonable mature adult can.

If your experience is anything like mine, the rewards - the quality of life improvement - will be more than worth the effort. Start, then stick with it. That'll work.

Best wishes!

willlafriu

Thanks for the reply. And sharing your stressful struggles story. And how you improved your health. And succeeding with you weight loss. sorry for your loss of your husband.

My story: I also struggled with a medical situation. However being in the hospital caused me to put on weight. Alot of weight. I became disabled at a young age. From tumor in my neck/spine. That was triggered from lifting a 200 pound door at my construction job, at the time. @ the age 20 / 21 yrs of age. Came out of the hospital with spinal cord surgery and weight was 235. Went back to work in construction. After the surgery. Two years later went back to hospital. To remove rest of tumor, from my neck. So had neck and back surgery In my 20s/ 24 . Wearing a full length leg brace. Than brought down to a calf leg brace. Well doctor said I was over weight at 235. And to go on a diet. Goal was not to be in wheel chair and to walk. What little money I have saved. I bought myself the Chuck Norris approved Total gym. I was on muscle relaxers. At this time. Every time I took those relaxers. I used for lifting weights. I walked day and night. Around my parents 2 mile block .Counting calories to help with my weight dropped from 235. To 145. At that time. Weight went up with age 160 to 170 in my 30s. I met a woman in a bar. We started dating going out and drinking. She was a heavy set women. That liked bigger guys. Leading us to eating out alot and putting on weight. We drank alot and eating unhealthy. A time came. I am falling in love with this woman and asked for her hand in marriage. She accepted my proposal. Well to some this story up. She was cheating on me, and got pregnant. With another man's child. I broke it off. Now 41 went in to the doctors for check up my weight was 227. My eating habits have been a roller coaster. started using MFP again. To motivate myself. To start counting calories and workout . My 71 yr old mother invited me to start going to the gym with her. At the gym im pushing myself hard. Oliptical machine. I don't wear my brace. To get the full motion of hip and foot. Burning 100 to 300 calories. The machine that makes me feel like I can run. I use the weights. Working out my biceps triceps and chest, along with back and abs machine. Mother an I been going 3 to 4 days a week. I also have a gym in my house that I invested in. I bought the bowflex max5. To help with the cardio. Along with that total gym. So when I'm not at the gym I'm working out at home. Crazy life we have lived and got through the hardships. Of the struggle. The most difficult thing is for me. to talk about myself. And what I been through. Thanks again for replying to my post.

AnnPT77

It sounds like you're on a good path now, one that will lead to health improvement and quality of life improvement. As long as you stick with finding good overall life balance with positive new habits in the picture, avoiding pitfalls from possible overdoing/injury along the way, you will succeed.

Good show - keep up the good work!