Just turned 50 what do you do to keep in shape? Diet?

StillwaterLady

What's the best diet you've tried?

lynn_glenmont

Calorie counting -- or more accurately, careful measurement of my food intake, as much as possible, and logging it. I'm in my early 50s, and I have lost more and maintained the loss longer using MFP than I have with any other approach I've tried (Atkins, low-fat, restricting "junk" food, eliminating snacking, mandatory snacks to reach six "meals" a day, grapefruit diets, cabbage soup diets, various food-elimination diets, various prescribed meal plans, diet shakes and bars -- none of these things worked as well for me as consistent tracking and logging).

Shalva

I agree with the above. I am 48 and I find that counting calories works best for me, it is how I have lost in the past and am losing now. I personally do not believe in "fad" diets, losing is all about basic math. I also don't feel at all deprived even on my 1200 cals a day. I also exercise 3-5 days a week for 90 minutes at a shot.

StillwaterLady

thanks for the advice - I have a hard time sticking with it but Monday will be one week.

Blacklance36

Diets are not the answer. When I turned 50 I decided to do a lifestyle change, I eat less, watch my macros, and exercise more. It keeps the weight off and allows me to do the things I enjoy, biking, golfing, etc.

dj1skywalker

The first few weeks to first month will be the hardest... You need to allow your body and brain to adjust to the new changes...

You can do it! xx

LoneWolfRunner

I just watch what I eat... don't ever "diet"...prefer to focus on quality and portion control. I always did weight training, but when I hit 53 I started running too.

DianeFrannie

If you read your food log, you sure can tell what your strengths and weaknesses are. I see right now that I need More protein and less coffee with C/S. wasted food calories there. Exercise will speed your weight lose and improve your over all health. If your are able, walking ,swimming and bicycling are the best. I can't do them but surprised at what I can do at home. Floor exercises including squats. (surprised myself). hope you can find a web page that shows you some of those for balance, and strength. If you are not working away from home, include your normal activities in your exercise count. Pushing a mower, pulling weeds, washing floors and walls. Chasing after grandkids.:) I am using MyFitness Pal everyday, but I also meet with a weight loss group once a week. great companionship as we talk about how each other is accomplishing their goal. We share low cal recipes too. Best wishes in achieving your goal. http://www.seniorexercisesonline.com/index.html :flowerforyou:

YvonneICox

I agree with "sticking to it". I seem to have more trouble with staying within my calorie allowancw aith the My Fitness Pal plan than I ever did with Weight Watchers. One one the biggest issues (for me)is the accountablity is not the same with the two plans.

PaytraB

What's the best diet you've tried?

No diets; just moderation.
Make sure you're calorie goal is in sync with your nutritional needs. With only 12 lbs to lose, your goal should be set to 1/2 lb of weight loss per week. This is important because if you restrict your calories too much, you'll likely fail. You want to lose the weight in a healthy and sustainable manner.
In general, for eating habits, eat more veggies at meals in order to fill up and keep your calories in a maintainable range. When looking at your plate, look for 1/2 veggies, 1/4 starches, 1/4 protein. It's a rough guide but it's in the ballpark.
Measure everything (with a scale) at first and study the portion size so that you can recognize a portion without a scale one day. This will help you from gaining the weight back once you're in maintenance and stop weighing everything. It's a good tool to have.

As for exercise, just start doing more than you currently do. It doesn't have to be a lot of strenuous things. If you add that right at the beginning, it may be too much and you may stop completely. You want something sustainable and if you want to increase it in the future, you will.
Start with walking for a half hour every second day. Increase the time per day or number of days as you see fit. This will help you build a core of stamina for the other activities you want to add later.

For myself, I weighed and measured everything while losing weight and learned to "eyeball" a portion. So far, now that I'm in maintenance, it seems to be working.
I currently run 3x a week and do some tai-chi exercises as well.

DonnaJones7

Sounds trite, but more protein and veggies, less bread and pasta. It really takes the weight off.

Shalva

In weight watchers (which their new plan did not work for me at all and that is why I joined here), you are accountable to other people. You go and weigh in etc. I find that when I do my best is when I have my head set that this is something I need to do for me. I am accountable to me and me alone.

I do think that the first couple of weeks is the hardest, you have to learn to shop differently, make sure you have things in the house, everything has to be looked up and you aren't at the point where you can eyeball things or just estimate. It is labor intensive, once you get into the swing of things it is not a big deal and takes just a few minutes. I find the phone app really helpful as I can add foods and exercise and such when I am waiting in line or driving somewhere (not me driving)

Firefly0606

It is basic math. Calories in, calories out.

Not necessarily eat less / move more.....it's eat better / move more.

Weight loss has grown into an industry, where people make money out of selling us weight loss stuff. the easiest way to get us to buy their weight loss stuff, is to convince us it is too hard to do it ourselves, and their product has the magic in it. I've tried them all, and the only thing that has gotten lighter is my wallet.

So weigh, measure, track your food. Then you know exactly what is going in. Track your movement. Then you know what exactly is going out. You will naturally start to make better food choices, and move more. Your 10 minute walk will become a 12 minute walk....so on and so forth.

The magic is in you.

Healthydiner65

No diet! Ever! Just logging everything that I eat and staying within my calorie allowance. Supporting my friends and they support me back. Walking and light hand weights, WII dancing, chair yoga and WW exercise DVD's.

CindyMarcuzAdams

Congrats on your first 5 days. It does get easier. You dont need to follow any new fangled plan, just count basic calories. Stay within your limit. Exercise a little and you will be successful. Once you log the first few pounds lost you will be hooked. The more you lose the more motivated you can become.
Make some friends, check out the forums to learn new things. Make it a good experience rather than a horrible diet.

I am Cindy, 52. Add me if you like.

melindareese

I have been using MFP for almost a year and it has taught me how to retrain myself in my eating habits. I do not feel deprived of anything. If you are really graving something add it to your food diary and see what it does to your calorie count. Then you can really see if it is worth it or not, or adjust for it through the rest of your day.I also exercise about 3 to 4 times a week. I stopped keeping track for a little while and felt myself slipping into old habits with my eating but did manage not to gain weight. MFP is the best thing I have ever used in help with weight loss. It gets easier the more you use it. Good luck to you.

lsgibbs83

I will be turning 50 in the spring so I am right there with you!

I am fortunate that the hospital where I work has an awesome Employee Health program that includes a Weight Loss support group lead by a CNP. She worked with each of us to set our goals and helped us find a nutrition and exercise plan that works for us. I too have tried multiple weight loss plans. Each worked for a while but I found myself slipping and gaining most of the weight back.

What has worked for me this time is balancing my meals and snacks. It is important to not let yourself get hungry or you will overeat. I try to include Carbs for energy, fiber to help fill me up, and lean protein to keep me full at every meal. My snacks include a little bit of healthy protein and either carbs or fiber like fresh fruit or veggies. This has been working well for me.

I track religiously on MFP. I am on day 113 (this time) and haven't missed a day. I log EVERYTHING! Good, bad, or ugly.

Exercise is also a big priority for me. I try to get 4-5 days of cardio (usually a combination of walking/running) and a couple of days of Pilates for toning and strengthening.

Believe me, if I can do it, you can.

p_emmel5

* 1 hour/ 4 days a week Elliptical
* 1 hour/ 5 days a week circuit training
* 1 excellent nutritionist
* 2800 balanced calories (40% carbs/ 30% protein/ 30% fat) a day to maintain my current weight.
* Remind myself every day that I may slip up or be discouraged, but it isn't the end of the world. It's just one slip and it can be dealt with.

Starting a solid exercise and healthy eating (notice I didn't use diet ) in my 50's was the best thing I ever did. It's nice to know that us 50 somethings (54 here) can be in the best shapes of our lives. Progress comes in time and you will have plenty of encouragement from us.

Calliope610

I don't diet; I adopted a healthy lifestyle.

I eat less, move more, lift heavier, walk/run further and just be all-around awesome.

Katiegirl1970

The ONLY thing that works for me is calorie counting. Adding in some exercise as i can.
I have done about every diet invented and even if i lost weight, once i stopped that fade i gained it all back.

My Dr. told me that at my age (44) i couldn't physically work-out enough to lose weight WITHOUT calorie counting. There would be no way for me to exercise enough to maintain a health weight, without staying in control of my calories..She was right. I walked 3 miles per day for about 5 months EVERY DAY and only lost 2 pounds...LOL..thats because I was eating so many calories that any i burned didnt count.
I strictly followed my calorie allotment and lost about 10 pounds per month.

I go to the gym 6 & 7 days per week. I walk for one hour and thats all.

FitOldMomma

No diet for me. It's a full on lifestyle change that I hope to continue until I die.

I exercise 4 days a week for 2 hour stretches.

I quit a 42 yr smoking habit. (3 packs a day for the last four)

I finally became mindful of every bite of food that goes in my mouth and log it here at MFP.

FatOldManMN

Exercise....no diet.

chanaoleary

I am 63 and weigh less than I did in high school.

I am a vegan - so no counting calories. Which is one of the things I love about being a vegan. I was a vegetarian for about 15 years before I made the full switch. (I use MFP to track vitamins to make sure I stay healthy there.I've just started - so it's fun to see where things fall.) I do yoga 4-5 times a week in class and then practice at home every day. Long walks with the doggies - which probably counts more for fun than exercise and I meditate for 20 minutes a day. I am on no prescription medications at all and my BP hovers at 110/70. My cholesterol is normal and my triglycerides are 85. (Normal range is 150 or below.)

I feel incredibly good, healthy and happy! :-D

ukaryote

the previous posters said:

No dieting, watching calorie intake, exercise - no dieting, watching calorie intake, exercise - no dieting, watching calorie intake, exercise -

I'm starting to see the outlines of a pattern here.

dedflwrs

Happy 50th.

I'm 52. I try not to eat everything in sight (I only eat half of everything in sight) and I walk A LOT. I should probably be doing resistance training but been lazy and have all kinds of excuses. I'm in pretty darned good shape, though.

dedflwrs

I am 63 and weigh less than I did in high school.

I am a vegan - so no counting calories. Which is one of the things I love about being a vegan. I was a vegetarian for about 15 years before I made the full switch. (I use MFP to track vitamins to make sure I stay healthy there.I've just started - so it's fun to see where things fall.) I do yoga 4-5 times a week in class and then practice at home every day. Long walks with the doggies - which probably counts more for fun than exercise and I meditate for 20 minutes a day. I am on no prescription medications at all and my BP hovers at 110/70. My cholesterol is normal and my triglycerides are 85. (Normal range is 150 or below.)

I feel incredibly good, healthy and happy! :-D

I own a vegetarian cafe and, no word of a lie, I have vegan costumers who are grossly overweight. You can be a vegan and still eat a lot of calories and junk food.

Fairytern

I will be turning 50 in February 2015. I was shopping at my local whole food/Health and Wellness grocery the other day and was told that I looked more like 30 when I set up my preferred customer account (including my birth date).

I agree with all those before me regarding no diet (in the vein of restriction and deprivation, fad diet) but a diet in the vein of eating healthy and using moderation as a lifestyle choice. Once you have established your calorific intake requirements using MFP the following should help:

Tip1: Clean Eating as much as possible. That is, fresh foods,especially vegetables, avoiding processed (in a can, pre-prepared food in a packet, ready-meals etc.) as much as possible;
Tip2: Exercise at least 30 mins per day, 6 days per week, to elevated heart rate within the recommended max for my age (85% of 220 minus my age);
Tip 3: Avoid high sugar, high fat, high salt foods;
Tip 4: Keep wheat products to a minimum to minimise gluten and reduce stress on my digestive system (the sticky protein, gluten, is hard for the gut to process and in the US extra is added to many processed breads, including pizza dough, with a TON of hidden sugars that are not necessary). There are plenty of other carbs out there with less or no gluten;
Tip 5: regularly eat high fibre foods to encourage digestive regularity (which tends to automatically occur when following Tip 1);
Tip 6: Watch your Macronutrients (i.e. Carbs vs. Protein, Vs. Fat ratios); and
Tip 7: hydrate.

MoochieRama

HMR that my doc put me on for 12 weeks. My chol went from over 300 down to 103 1st mo.

mike_ny

Stay active, exercise, eat healthy, and burn all of your calories. It's no different from the same advice everyone under 50 should also follow.

EvelynR1967

I agree! I'm close to 50 and this has been the best form of keeping my weight healthy! Logging!!!! You can stick with this forever rather than fad diets

StillwaterLady

Wow - I admire all the work you are doing. It's impressive and I appreciate the advice. I agree - seems like consensus is exercise, eat healthy and count calories - no diet. I that's the same advice I'd give my children - sometimes we don't take our own advice. Thanks - any other tips let me know or add me if you want. Thank you! Trish