any women 50+ w/small amount to lose & finding it's hard?

lllewellen

I am 58 years old. My body frame is petite. When I turned 50 I went through menopause, quit smoking after 32 years and lost my youngest daughter. I think all 3 of these life changing events helped add 25 pounds on me! I have never had to watch what I eat, much less even think about it. So this is a whole new ballgame for me. Last Jan 1, I decided to get it off. I thought it would only take about 4-5 months to lose the 25 pounds and get back to my size 6. Ha ha! I began eating healthy...protein, veggies, fruit, lots and lots of salad. Then I got a personal trainer and worked with weights and did cardio twice a week, joined a zumba dance, twice a week and only lost 6 pounds. Talk about discouraged! Then I went on a cruise and being away from my normal routine and diet, when I got back a week later, I just couldn't make myself get back on track. Within 2 months, I gained all six pounds back, plus an additional 2 pounds!! I have floundered until last Tuesday. My husband and I are both eating so healthy. He found out he is borderline diabetic so this was our call to attention. We have been eating 45-50 carbs per meal, no sugar but well balanced meals. We are not eating potatoes or pasta. We have 1 slice of a whole grained bread daily...which helps with keeping us "regular." (sorry, but its true!) We are drinking water most of the day and we are both exercising in some form, daily. We walk 30 min. on the treadmill and longer when we can get outside. The hubs plays golf when the weather permits. After 6 days of this, my husband has lost 5 pounds and I haven't even lost a half of a pound! However...I was thrilled to see I have already lost 2 inches off my tummy. That's a win for me!! Tell me...is there anyone else out here in this wonderful myfitnesspal world that has about 20 pounds to lose and is finding it difficult to reach that goal? One thing I forgot to say...for those who are saying to themselves, gee...I wish I only had 20 lbs to lose...let me say this. It really doesn't matter ones size, because overweight is overweight. 20 lbs to lose for someone who has never had to worry about their weight all of their life and suddenly has to, might as well be 120 pounds to lose! I've been told its much harder to lose weight at my age, and when you don't have a lot to lose. Amen to that! Thanks for listening. Hope there is someone out there who can relate!

dmdegrassi

I am 55 years old and am also petite. I also never had to watch what I ate when I was younger and put on 30 pounds in the last 5 years or so. I lost the first 10 pounds before joining my fitness pal; I didn't change what I ate so much as how much I ate. Then I plateaued. I have lost another 12 pounds since joining mfp in January. I also joined a gym at that time. My weight loss has been about one pound per week, but it has been steady.

Some things to remember:

- you need both diet and exercise, so keep them both up.
- you need a balance of foods, so you still do need some sugar in your diet.
- one pound per week is said to be the healthiest way to lose and maintain.
- always weight yourself at the same time every day and in similar weight clothing.
- alternate calorie intake or zigzagging may help you past a plateau.

Good luck!