Anyone old like me?

dawnshot

Hi .I'm 50, and up until a few months ago felt it. Diets 'work' but only if you stick to them, and I think as soon as you say you're on a diet you crave the things you shouldn't have. It has to be a lifestyle change
By far the best way to lose weight and be healthy is to eat 'clean', i.e cut out all the processed foods and make things from scratch. I eat loads more fresh fruit and veg now, I sometimes have fruit/veg juices and my juicer has been the best purchase I've made, I don't eat red meat, prefering chicken and seafood. I cut out white bread, now I only eat wholemeal pitta occassionally and rye bread (which takes some getting used to) if I make pasta I use spelt . There are lots of recipes for clean eating on the internet, and it really does make a difference. I wasn't too overweight I've lost about 18 lbs, and I'm a lot fitter.
Be determined to do it and you'll succeed
Use MFP to log your food and try to exercise, every little helps.
Good luck!

quiltlady77

Hi, Your post caught my eye when it said "anyone old like me". You're not old! Maybe you feel old because of the weight, making you not able to do what you want to do. I am 71 almost 72 and still need to lose another 10-15 lbs. I'm barely 5'1 and at the moment back up to 142. I first joined share care and followed that for several years and the support group there and the trainers were a big help to me, to keep me motivated. Their website has been down a lot so decided to try something new as one of the other members there also used this site to log their food and exercise. I started it yesterday and hope to be able to get those last pounds off and keep them off. I have found not eating anything after dinner helps me and making sure that I have a low calorie snack in the morning and afternoon keeps me satisfied till lunch or dinner time. I often eat almonds, as they are easy to carry around in my purse if I'm not at home. Since they do have a lot of fat (good fat) I only eat 10-12 at a time. I have a terrible sweet tooth so that is one my biggest problems. Also they recommend not depriving yourself of something you love, just monitor how much of it you eat and decide how often you should eat it. That way you have something to look forward to. One of my favorites is Dove chocolates so I have one of those after my workout at the gym which satisfies my sweet tooth (temporarily, though!) I see someone else mentioned steel cut oats and I do eat that at least several times a week. Also Kashi lean cereal has lots of protein in it which helps keep you satisfied. My husband calls it "rabbit food" and it isn't very sweet but I add frozen blueberries and some cinnamon to it. As far as exercise goes, I also have a treadmill and it does get boring but I can't walk outside because of our busy road in front of our place so I listen to music, keeps me moving! I used to also listen to books on tape which I enjoyed. Walking is a good way to start exercising though. Best of luck to you and keep positive!

imyusee

I've done it -- you can, too! If you can find the initial motivation, the weight loss gets easier as you go.

I'm 57 years old. I was thin until I got married, 31 years ago. At my heaviest, one year ago, I was 262 pounds. I got short of breath putting my socks on in the morning. This year, I found the motivation and got started with a new diet of my own design, and lots of exercise. In 8 months, I lost 80 pounds. I've been at my target weight of 182 (80 pound loss) for two months. I'm running 5K (3.1 mile) runs now. I feel great. I have tons more energy.

Here were my secrets of success (not so secret). . .

1. I logged every calorie that I ate each day on myfitnesspal.com. ( I swore to be honest, even when I broke down and overate.) Since I knew that I was a carbohydrate addict, I swore off almost all carbs at first. I really missed them for a few weeks. After a while, the cravings were gone. Now, I can take them or leave them. Their appeal has vanished. So my diet for the last 10 months has been high protein, low carb.

2. I wore a FitBit (www.fitbit.com) every day to track my calorie burn each day.

3. I decided that I wanted to lose 2 pounds per week, so I just made certain that I ate 1000 calories less than I burned every day. If I ate too much one day, I was on the treadmill, even at 11PM burning off the extra calories.

4. I exercise a lot. That was the key. I couldn't cut calories enough without exercise to maintain that 1000 calorie deficit. I hired a personal trainer to show me how to exercise safely without injuring myself -- it was well worth the expense. The exercise was painful at first. I felt physically ill after my first workouts. Now, I find the workouts refreshing and enjoyable. I exercise in one way or another, every day.

5. Find something you enjoy to get your mind occupied while exercising. At first, I recorded my favorite TV shows to watch while I was on the treadmill. Now, since I love music, I set up lists of songs with rapid tempos and I walk/run to the beat of the music. The time flies by.

thethingirlinside

Add me if you like others have pretty much covered it

MissJanet55

Hi, and welcome. I'm 55 and have found some excellent groups for people over 50 here. Also, feel free to add me as a friend.

I hate walking on a treadmill as well but an ipod revolutionized my cardio experience - make sure you load it up with music you love.

Regarding your struggle to lose weight, I sure sympathize. Sometimes it becomes more about being healthy at the weight you are than being thin. Good luck,