Age 40's, 50's 60's weight loss stories PLEASE

This is my 10th day of working out and keeping records on my fitness pal. I am 56, 5'4" and currently 135 lbs. My goal is anything under 120 (where I was before menopause). I settled into an unhealthy 142 lbs in my early 40's, lost 25 over a four month period at age 48 with a program similar to this and kept the majority of it off until age 53. Menopause came and three years later I have the "menopot" and "Mom arms". The weight gain came back mainly due to lack of exercise and eating anything I felt like along with the sluggish metabolism that comes with menopause.

Exercising 6X a week, strength training 2-4X a week and monitoring food intake for at least a year worked before. Now that my kids are either in college or beyond, I really do have the time after and before work to do this.

Things that worked for me:
1. Limit eating out-I can pack on 1200+ calories in a meal at an Italian, Chinese or Mexican restaurant.
2. Record everything eaten-it is easy to "forget"
3. Stay away from diet drinks and artificial sweeteners-they make me hungry
4. Try to do some exercise everyday-even a walk around the block is good.
5. Use the tape measure-much more rewarding than the scales
6. Get rid of big clothes as you loose (keep one piece for comparison)

Good luck to everyone and hang in there!

bump

I'm 42 and have lost 22lbs since December. Still a work in progress. I'm taking the slow and steady approach, lifting weights and eating at a modest calorie deficit. I've revamped my diet considerably, paying a lot more attention to macros and cooking more.

bump

Bumpt

I just turned 55. I have lost 30 lbs in 5 months. I accomplished this primarily thru using MFP to achieve the required daily calorie intake. I am amazed how uninformed or unaware of how many calories a day I was consuming. In addition to this I have increased my workout regime in both frequency (now 5-6 times a week) and amount. My plan was to lose 1 lb a week for 1 year. So far I am ahead of this plan, however, it is getting progressively more difficult.

This is my Moms weight loss story she turns 50 this year and has lost almost 70 lbs

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/748384-my-motivation-mom-s-success-story-pics

Why is everyone saying bump?

When I was 48, I quit smoking and put on a ton of weight. I made the decision to go on Nutrisystem and lost 50 pounds and managed to keep it off without much difficulty for 4 years.

Then I hit menopause and put 30 pounds back on over a two year period.

I'm 56 now and trying to lose 20 pounds to get back to a healthy BMI on the advice of my doctor.

I just found My Fitness Pal yesterday and downloaded the app to my phone and also logged in to the website.

I'm hoping that keeping myself organized and keeping track of what I eat will help me lose weight again.

I did it once, I hope I can do it again!

How old are you? 45

How much have you lost? 40-50 lb (before joining MFP)

How long did it take you to lose the weight (and/or issues/attitudes that kept you overweight/obese)? About 6 months

How long have you kept it off? A few months so far!

What did you do/are doing to STAY slim and healthy? Exercising and eating healthily.

I went through a divorce last year (it became final in Jan of this year), and added a lot to my already expanding beer belly. I was drinking too much beer (being a homebrewer didn't help!), not exercising, and eating anything I wanted. Around the end of 2011, I was probably over 210 lb (I'm 5'11).

Then, I decided I needed to change. I had been through a lot in the previous few years - trying to patch things up with the wife, going to counselling, then being separated for a year and working on the divorce papers... I was doing a lot to try and make HER happy (though she is the one who had the affair, I thought if I changed, I could stop her from leaving). Finally I realized that this wasn't about me. She had found someone new, and was moving on, so I had to as well. Instead of letting her dictate my life, I was going to take charge of my own life again. *I* want to be the author of the next chapter of mi life's story. And if I wanted to date again (which I did!) that meant losing the belly.

So I started with the drinking (drinking less, not quitting altogether!), and then working on my diet slowly. About the same time, my work opened a gym on campus, so I started using it regularly. I dropped down to about 170 fairly quickly from elliptical training and weight machines.

Then, in June, I was diagnosed with prediabetes following a routine physical. The best thing to prevent full blown diabetes is exercise, and being at a healthy weight. So now I HAVE to keep on going! My nutritionist suggest getting an app to monitor my food and exercise, which is what brought me to this site. Currently, I'm at 166 lb, which is about where I need to be. My next goal is to bulk up my muscles a bit (muscles have lots of insulin receptors ;-) ) so I'm starting to lift heavy. And I have switched out the elliptical for running on my non-gym days now that it has gotten a bit cooler here in Memphis.

That went on longer than I intended, but there you have it!

Just looking to see and hear any success stories from those of us who are in their 40's, 50's and 60's....

How old are you? (you don't have to be specific if you don't want to...you can just say 50's, 60's 40's--whatever, okay)

How much have you lost?

How long did it take you to lose the weight (and/or issues/attitudes that kept you overweight/obese)?

How long have you kept it off?

What did you do/are doing to STAY slim and healthy?

I turn 50 Saturday.

I've lost 20 pounds, 7 over the last 2-3 years, an additional 13 since getting serious about it in April (and joining MFP). I am at goal weight, so I didn't have a whole lot to lose.

I've been in maintenance for 2-3 months. Only twice have I gone above maintenance (including this past week with lots of birthday celebrating). The last time I went off maintenance, it took only a week to get back.

I've not altered my exercise schedule at all -- working out as hard or ever or even harder as I get more conditioned. I watch what I eat but also enjoy what I eat. I've given myself a three-pound range for maintenance (since scales can be so goofy), but the nanosecond I go over the maintenance range, even by an ounce, I go back to deficit netting 1200-1400 a day. I think I will do this the rest of my life -- it works.

How old are you?
46

How much have you lost?
53 lbs.

How long did it take you to lose the weight (and/or issues/attitudes that kept you overweight/obese)?
Started July 2010 and hit goal January 2011.
I like food, happy, sad, mad, or glad, I eat.
I didn't understand as much as a thought about how many calories I was consuming and the need for exercise.

How long have you kept it off?
More than 2 years.

What did you do/are doing to STAY slim and healthy?
I joined Weight Watchers for 2 years.
I now use My Fitness Pal to track my food and exercise.
I work out at least 5 times per week; boot camp (Monday and Thursday) and running 3-6 miles a day.

I am 47 years old. I have had trouble in the last 10-15 years controlling my weight due to lack of time to exercise and age; diet alone doesn't work after 40, exercise is a must. I commute 120 miles one way to work every day and usually work more than 40 hours a week so personal time is very limited.

Some of my coworkers started a biggest loser competition that started in mid-January and ended the Friday before Easter. The competition and accountability forced me to research ways to burn fat since exercise time would be minimal. I remembered a "reverse calorie" diet I tried years ago and tried to find it. I didn't find the diet but, in my research learned so much about metabolism and how to increase it to make your body burn fat. It is amazing what your body will do for you if you follow a few simple rules.

At the beginning of the competition I counted calories and studied everything I could find on the internet in terms of using metabolism to burn fat. During the competition I heard about Fat Loss for Food Lovers and decided to order it. It is not a diet plan but an eating plan which focuses on increasing your metabolism and making your body burn the fat instead of storing it. So for the last 4 weeks of the competition I quit counting calories and followed the plan as closely as I could, given my time constraints. I had given up on getting fit until retirement because I didn't think I could. As my weight started dropping I was amazed that it was happening as quickly and as easily as it was. I didn't have a lot of weight to lose but I needed to lose fat to be healthier. I lost 23.6 pounds in the 12-week competition and dropped from size 8 to size 2, and I won the competition. There was a second round competition and the girl who won it ordered the same plan and she won the competition.

I focused mostly on burning fat for the competition and not so much on building muscle since muscle weighs more and the competition was based on percentage of weight lost. I knew when the competition was over I would change my exercises to build muscle and my weight would come up. I am now within five pounds of my weight when the competition started but have only gone up 1/2 size in my clothes. The clothes I was wearing at the end of the competition are too tight but the next size up is big. So, although my weight has increased, my size has changed very little. I have to admit that I have slacked off on the exercise so the size change is mostly due to fat and not muscle. I am currently working with some of the same coworkers in an accountability group with a goal of losing 5 pounds by November 20. We had our second weigh-in today and I have lost 2.6 pounds. And the only thing I've done is increase my exercise.

You don't have to count calories or starve yourself. The key to keeping your metabolism up is to eat every 2-3 hours. If you don't your body will store the fat because it doesn't know when you might feed it again. Study your foods (carbs and proteins) and learn how to combine them to make your body burn fat. You do have to be mindful of portions, more food means more calories, but certain foods make you feel full and you will eat less. There is a book "Foods That Make You Lose Weight" which will tell you what different foods will do for you.

I hope I answered all of your questions.

You have already done a great job. You will reach your goal.

Good Luck!

I'm 44. I've lost 26lbs (and dropped from a size 12 to a size 4/6), and that's been over about 2 and half years. Not all that impressive, but I didn't have as much to lose, and I got off track a few times, gained a little back, and finally have been on track - 395 days straight on MFP today! :bigsmile:

I started with just walking, but wasn't happy with results. So I added some strength stuff with Jillian MIchaels 30 Day Shred - my first dip into using weights of any size in over 20 years. (OUCH!! LOL) Loved the feeling of accomplishment and realizing how much I was capable of, and how much stronger and more flexible I was becoming. Added more DVDs for variety as I progressed, and bought heavier dumbbells.

I began to love challenging myself, so in January of this year, I got it into my head that I wanted to try running, which my hubby found hilarious since I've always hated running. Hated. Loathed. Despised. You can't make me. Challenge accepted! Added c25k on January 31st and followed the program, and I'm still running. Love it. Racing is a blast. Love that running is something I can do almost anywhere.

To stay slim and healthy, and to continue losing the fat and building in lean muscle, I'm still logging all my foods, currently using Nike Training Club app for weight/strength training (would love to lift heavier, but no gym membership and no room for bench & big weights at home, so doing the best I can with what I've got) three days a week, and running three days a week - lately two quick miles in the early morning, and a longer run on weekends, around 5k, but hope to increase a little when the weather cools. Also do Kickbox Fast Fix for a good 20 minute cardio blast on non-run days, or go for a brisk walk.

And I eat well! I have learned that eating too little does not lead to fat loss! Weight loss stalls, as does energy and my desire to move, and not enough fuel gives the body a reason to store fat rather than burn it. Finding this topic helped me tremendously: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Other than that, I plan to stay this way and to continue to work on fitness and healthy habits - this is no diet or temporary thing that I will be finished with some day - it's a way of life!