Older women success stories please!

eats1

Well, for goodness sake I am 66 and doing great! This is my 1st diet EVER. I am on the 5:2 Dr Mosley Fast Diet since March. I have lost 1st 3lbs. I am now 9st 2 lbs and I feel fantastic. So, all you older women .... please stop worrying and get on with it. Why does being older make any difference?? I feel as good as I did at 20. All the best to everyone from London UK.: happy: :happy: :happy: .

lpina2mi

Last Spring an I ran into an old colleague, it had been ~10yr since we had collaborated. I was in my mid-forties then. She seemed shocked at the sight of me. After we had been chatting doing the usual catch-up she asked "What I had done, because I looked so much younger." "Sleep" was my first answer. She was disbelieving, and even though getting better consistent sleep was my first step I did not stop there.

After this former colleague was confident that I did not have a facelift or hair transplant (I was loosing it in 3 spots) or go off to some restorative $pa, I went a little further into filtered water, leafy greens, omega fats. I also admitted that for several years I was trying supplements, which seemed to work for a short time, then my dysfuntional body systems took over and compensated down.

I am supplementing heavily, as of 3 months ago, but it was after years of using Sleep + Hydration + upping my Real Food diet (albeit different macros %) + low-stress exercise routine put me on a sustainable path towards improved health.

I am in my mid-50s and I am almost 1/3 towards my ultimate goal weight. But goal weight is not my only measure of success. I want a better blood profile. I want to able to move my strength goal from doing push-ups to pull-ups.

phyllisgehrke

I am 66 years old.
I have lost 20 pounds and I met my goal weight. I am losing 2 more pounds just to be safe when I go on Maintenance.

I have lost 4 inches off my waist and all of my clothes that was too small for me, now fit.
I have given away all of my fat clothes to Charity.
My Success Story is now my husband says HI Skinny!!!!! What a good feeling.

I have to go shopping tomorrow for new slacks as my slacks now fall off my hips.
I went from size 14-size 10. Went from extra large blouse and loose to a medium blouse.
What a difference and I feel so much better.

I log every day every morsel of food I put in my mouth.
I stay within my calorie goal, but still have my Vanilla Frozen Yogurt 1/2 cup which is 100 calories.
I drink 8-9 glasses of water a day.

I have arthritis of my back and hips so exercising is minimal
But I do a brisk walk every morning at 7 for 3o mins.

Then I take my overweight dog for a walk every evening 10-15 mins each day as he gets winded walking.

I have been carrying these 20 pounds for over 15 years and I am so glad to be rid of it.
Even when I go on maintenance, I will continue to log in my diary, I will never get to my fat weight again, I promise mysef

Luckee_me

Hi,
I was 48 when I started. Not to jinx myself, but I have lost at a stedy pace so far. I just get up everyday and do the best that I can. Somedays I'm awesome and somedays not.

watercolormama

DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED by younger women and what they have accomplished. This is your journey and if you are making healthy changes and feeling better, then you are a success. I am 62 and compare myself to myself. I eat healthier more consistently, exercise regularly, drink the water, and generally work hard to stay on track. The culture tells us we have to be sexy, young, thin, etc. They don't say much about character. I'll bet you are one nice lady and I salute you for being here and doing the hard work to become and stay healthy. Cheers to you!

rosielko

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gbrundagebrunker

I am 55. Here's the thing I discovered: dumpy older women are invisible. The hard reality is that if you want to get what you need to navigate life comfortably - at work, in the financial world, in the health care world, in the retail world, everywhere - you have to make it clear that you matter. The first step in that is mattering to yourself and, whether we like it or not, our bodies send that message loudly and clearly. I have found that after I lost a bit of weight and started dressing a bit better, the invisibilty cloak started to drop away.

lady_tracy

NONSENSE!!! I'm 44 years old - I've lost 97 lbs. YOU GOT THIS!!! YOU DESERVE TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF! GO GIRL!

FattieBabs

I so agree with that last comment! I had started to become "invisible". It isn't just about losing the weight, it is regaining confidence. I was on holiday recently and, wow, what a difference! I felt so much fitter and had a lot of fun.. I still have a long way to go but feel so much better about myself.... My daytime work is better too.

lady_tracy

Didn't think these pics would come out so big - lol, but what the heck...if you wanna make an impression, go for the gusto, right? My point is this. You're only 45 years YOUNG! And you're a beautiful person now. You will be just as beautiful when you lose the weight. You only get one chance at life - grasp it, run like the wind, and NEVER look back! I couldn't begin to tell you how much younger I FEEL, and how much more time I have been able to spend with my family because I FEEL BETTER. THAT'S the real blessing...looking better is just a fringe benefit. Good luck to you!

JanaCanada

Age 53. Menopausal. Bad knees. See my ticker? It CAN be done. :laugh: :glasses: :flowerforyou:

Buddhasmiracle

I'm 54. I've maintained a decent weight for a most of my adult life. But the last decade even though my weight stayed the same my body looked different...soft, squishy, thick in the middle ewwww. I was losing lean muscle mass due to hormones and aging. I thought I was too old to make any significant changes. Wrong!! Strength training, weight lifting and body weight exercises has helped reshape my body. So the best advice I can give an 'older' woman is lift weights, heavy weights that challenge you. If you read the 'New rules of lifting for women' it has a lot of great information in there. It's never to late to look great ladies! Keep giving it your all!

This!
I'm 60, 4'11" and I consume between 1600-1800 cals daily to fuel 20-30 mile bike rides.
You age but you don't have to rot!!

ckone4me

Hi, I am 52 and I feel that I have been successful in a few areas. I have lost almost 35lbs, yet I still have 20 to go. I can say you can do it! This is my first time to lose weight and I just take it one day at a time, one lb at a time and one pants size at a time. Us older ladies can look slim and beautiful! Patience, willpower and determination sure gets results! I have cut my blood pressure meds in half and my goal is to get off of them completely! I also have fibromyalgia and losing through diet, calorie counting and exercise has helped me tremendously! We are so worth it!

ckone4me

DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED by younger women and what they have accomplished. This is your journey and if you are making healthy changes and feeling better, then you are a success. I am 62 and compare myself to myself. I eat healthier more consistently, exercise regularly, drink the water, and generally work hard to stay on track. The culture tells us we have to be sexy, young, thin, etc. They don't say much about character. I'll bet you are one nice lady and I salute you for being here and doing the hard work to become and stay healthy. Cheers to you!

LOVE THIS, your spot on!

ksuetorres

I see a bunch of young girls (40s - 50s) on here worrying about being too old to lose weight. Well, I'm soon to be 63, and I've lost 60 pounds. I'm so proud of myself, and I look and feel great! The one problem I do have, though, is that my skin is not as elastic as a younger woman's, so I have saggy baggy skin on my arms, thighs and tummy. The arms are the worst, because of the batwings too, and at my age they probably will never go away completely. I'm lifting weights for whatever good that may do. BUT, having said that, it's still better to be thin! My husband thinks I'm sexy and calls me his "Trophy Wife." So no throwing in of towels! Get fit while your skin is still elastic enough to shrink as the fat evaporates, but even if it doesn't, IT'S BETTER TO BE THIN! Just do it!

quicklabs

Almost 56 years old and I feel better than I have in years! Started at 230 lbs and now sitting at 153. I've lost 10 inches from my waist, 7 from my bust and 9.5 from my hips. Log everything, exercise a bit every day and mix up the exercises. I am facing two knee replacements next year. I have arthritis in almost every joint in my body: neck, low back, shoulders, fingers and worst of all, my lousy knees. But I find that low impact exercises and seated chair exercises when necessary, along with "old lady modified" Zumba works for me. never compare yourself to a 20 year old. We've earned every wrinkle and gray hair and I'd never want to be 20 again! Best part about all this is now that I'm shaping up, my husband is inspired to do the same. He will retire next year and I look forward to a lot of healthy, happy years together to add to the 33 we already have had. Never throw in the towel.

whitebalance

Losing the extra weight made me look younger, not older, including in the face. Now, in my mid-40s, I think I look better than I did in my 20s and 30s, and certainly I feel much better. This morning I grabbed my "goal pants" to put them on for a presentation. They were too big. I had to go into the box for the next size down. Those pants were loose, and they were as low as they go (size 8 -- I've been 2/4/6, but it wasn't healthy for me and I gave away those clothes years ago). I used to wear those pants 10-12 years ago with control-top nylons, and now they're loose without. The difference is, I'm not just "small" now. I'm tighter, stronger, healthier.

I settled on a skirt and jacket from the bottom of the box, with one of my exercise shirts underneath for later. In a flash of vanity, I made myself late to work posing and preening in front of the mirror in my room. I was a little bummed about all those nice clothes that sat in the box while I unwittingly blew right by them, but hey, #firstworldproblems and I'll see about getting some of them taken in. I'll take that! :bigsmile:

For lunch today, I ate a huge, satisfying, fantastic chicken/avocado/bacon club sandwich, and I have plenty of calories left over for dinner even if I don't work out tonight after work, which I most definitely will anyway because working out feels good now. Unlike the diets of my younger days, this is a lifestyle I can keep up. I'm eating better than ever before. I have more energy. My knees don't hurt anymore, my backpack feels light, I don't get winded when I climb the stairs (unless I sprint, which I like to do!), and I can walk comfortably in the pumps I'd written off. And I see myself again when I look in the mirror.

I am loving this. OP, if you're still out there and still wondering -- don't let your age, or the age of most MFPers who post, stop you from doing it. Just go for it. You will reap the benefits.

swissbrit

I am 48 and after 7 months I have my bikini body back but still have 5kg's to lose to be where I want. My arms are really going to take some work though ;-(

murrylaughs

No, don't throw in the towel! I'm 47 and feel just like you do! , I've lost 30 lbs. I still have 50 lbs to go. I was getting discouraged when I would see younger people dropping pounds quickly. I knew I had to find a way to stay positive.
I started weight lifting in April with a friend. (I did it initially to help her out since she didn't have anyone to workout with, and now I'm totally hooked!), and I love all the NSV. I'm getting stronger every day, and my body is changing in great ways - losing inches, defined muscles I didn't even know I had!, and a sense of power. I lose weight very, very, very slowly, so I need all positive reinforcements I get in other ways to help me along the way.

citydwellers72

HELL NO!!! DO NOT THROW IN THAT TOWEL!, YOU CAN DO THIS!! BUCKLE DOWN AND CONQUER!

Thanks I needed that kick in the pants!!

Bonnie

Birder150

What a great thread! Very inspiring to read.

tmbf57

This thread is very inspiring! I had thrown in the towel up until 2 weeks ago. I was discouraged because, after losing 25 lbs about 3 years ago , I slowly let mysel regain all but 10 lbs I am 56 years old and convinced myself that I was just going to gracefully age and that weight gain was part of it. Two weeks ago, I was back at 200 lbs and I decided oh heck no! I got back on MFP and have lost 2 lbs a week for a total of 4 lbs in 2 weeks. I'm in it for the long haul. My goal is to reach 150 lbs so I have almost 47 lbs to go. I am very inspired by these stories of middle aged to older women losing weight and keeping it off. Thanks for the support.

Pamela_June

I am 67 and have been on the program for a couple of years - have not lost much, but it was because the plan doesn't work, it was me- I felt like being 'older' I had no one to talk with or whine to... it's nice to see there are many of us more 'mature' folks trying to become healither...

Pamela June

Healthy67Chick

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toolgirl626

I lost all my weight AFTER I turned 60. I will be 67 in a few days, and I've never felt or looked better. I've maintained my weight loss for 5 years, and even if I looked like a crone, I would not care. I am no longer on any medication, except for a blood thinner due to an irregular heartbeat that has been repaired. I lost more weight than what I weigh. I lost my weight by eating a sensible diet and exercise. I lost over 100 lbs. within 3 years. No matter how anybody does it, any weight loss program is the same, restriction of calories and movement. I might also mention, I've survived breast cancer and a stroke while in my 50's. I feel very blessed.

susieque25

I'm 57, and it is harder. I do exercise 5-6 days a week for an hour. But lately I've had trouble making healthy choices in meals. I've indulged in many sweets, my weakness. And today I couldn't exercise because of pain. I usually can offer more encouragement;, but today I'm looking for support!

bwcetc

What an inspiration all of you ladies are! Thank you from someone new to MFP.

2manyhats

If your goal is to look like a 20 yo at 45, then yes, throw in the towel. But if your goal is to be fit and healthy, and look as good as you can, then hang on to the towel and use it to mop the sweat off your face as you workout.

I am 51. Last year I lost 27 lbs. I've been maintaining it since. It is harder now, but not impossible. I don't look like I did when I was 20, 30 or even 40. But I look d**** good for a 51 yo grandma!!!

LOVE it!

2manyhats

Sneaking up on the big 50 and you ladies rock! And give me hope! Thank you!

laserturkey

I'm 49 and haven't really had any trouble. I have my goal set for a teeny deficit so I can lose weight as slowly as possible. I am in this for the long haul.