Anyone in late 50's or older on here?

Options
2

Replies

  • angelique_redhead
    angelique_redhead Posts: 782 Member
    Options
    I'm 54. I have diabetes and arthritis. I joined MFP in July weighing 220.4 and couldn't get it to work for me. Then I gained up to 228.8. MFP has my original weight plugged into it. Then September 20 my husband (who is also a type 2 diabetic) got read the riot act by his doctor. My blood sugars were regularly in the 200's because I was eating too much and weighed too much. He was also regularly sabotaging my diet by wanting to go to all you can stuff places all the time. His doctor gave him 3 choices. A. Diet B. Lap Band Surgery C. Insulin For obvious reasons he chose diet. Since September 20 I've lost from 228.8 to 214.2. He's lost a around 10-15 pounds too. My blood sugars are staying in the 100's instead of the 200's now. His are really close to normal. I'm also trying to do 30 minutes of walking every day. You can do it!
  • STrooper
    STrooper Posts: 659 Member
    Options
    I am 59 and have been at this weight loss effort since 2008. I reached my primary goal of 179 pounds (loss of 69 pounds) just a bit ago. I am 1 pound away from my secondary goal (175) when I will flip over into "maintenance" mode.

    I have only been recording my data in MFP since January of this year though I began to understand the value of logging and measuring food towards the end of last year. My exercise routine has largely consisted of walking several times per day to achieve a certain step count goal.

    You know, as i do, that there are two ways to lose the weight...eat less and/or exercise more. You can do both at once, but if you recognize that you are an emotional eater, then perhpas the best thing may be to set up and stick to a consistent exercise pattern and then gradually (and I do mean gradually) increase in exercise intensity before you get serious about your food/calorie intake. There were a few things I gave up just because I realized I didn't want them anymore (soft drinks, super-sweet tea) and others where I adjusted the serving size to better fit with my overall goal (e.g., rather than the full large bowl of ice cream every night, I might have the smaller dessert cup size that actually IS 1 serving).

    You need to know that it won't be a straight line drop to a target weight. It will be sawtooth in all likelihood with a downward trend. That trend will eventually flatten out. Most important: measure. I wish I had taken my body measurements throughout the process, because even when I wasn't showing a weight loss on the scale, my body was showing a different body shape. In 2011, when my weight was basically 190 for much of the year, I dropped 2 inches off my waist, chest, and hips. I call it "loosing the bubblewrap."

    Remember, you are ultimately doing this for yourself, though others may benefit or give your complimentary support.
  • jb_2011
    jb_2011 Posts: 1,029 Member
    Options
    58 here, I've been using MFP for close to 2 years. 69 pounds lost, a few to go! Great people here, and great tools for tracking your foods. Take it slow, make a plan each day and aim for losing a pound a week. You can do it!
  • niftyfifty47
    niftyfifty47 Posts: 87 Member
    Options
    I am 65 and I have lost 103 pounds since January. I still have 75 pounds to go to my goal. It's not easy, but it can be done. I started smoking at age 12 and smoked for 32 years. I have now been smoke free for 21 years. I thought that was a big achievement until I started on this journey and I now realise that achieving my goal weight wise will be topped only by the birth of my daughter. It will knock quitting the "evil Weed" off second billing!!
  • unhinge
    unhinge Posts: 318 Member
    Options
    lots of groups for those of us more mature.....
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/320-woman-of-a-certain-age

    It can be done, at any age :)
  • twilasue54
    twilasue54 Posts: 42 Member
    Options
    I am a success-in-the-making. LOL. I'm 62 and five years ago I weighed over 300 pounds. I lost 140 pounds and then gained 40 of them back. Now I've joined MFP and am determined to get to my ideal weight. And I will! :-P
  • twilasue54
    twilasue54 Posts: 42 Member
    Options
    i obviously don't know how to take the quote and reply, but for the lady who was 62 and lost 140 lbs. WOW!
  • denisemc1407
    denisemc1407 Posts: 50 Member
    Options
    WOW - that's awesome!! :flowerforyou:
  • twilasue54
    twilasue54 Posts: 42 Member
    Options
    this is amazing. yes i have been telling myself that if i eat because i am bored or anything other than hungry i will just be heavier and still be bored or whatever. thanks for the encouragement.



    51 year old grandma here so I don't quite fit your age group request but I thought I'd throw this in. After losing my 3 aunts, 1 sister in law, my grandmother, my father, having a mom with alzheimers, a son in the marines, a husband with a terminal illness... throw in hotflashes and night sweats and I was up to 179lbs last January at 5ft 3.
    I have found that I AM IN CHARGE of what goes in my mouth, what makes me healthy or not and that exercise de-stresses me big time. It may not change what is going on but it helps me cope. I have lost 40lbs and I feel soooo much better, my joints and knees hurt less and I have a lot more energy to play with my 3 grandkids.
    Yes, it's harder at this stage in our lives to get fit but it can happen if you work at it. You have to want it to get it. I started out walking at 2mph on my treadmill last Dec. and now I'm on week 5 day 3 of Couch to 5K! I'm proud of myself. Even though I was very thin when I was younger, I had never even attempted to jog. When I'm done with C25K, I'll be able to jog 3 miles. I never thought I'd be able to do it because of the joint pain with age and excessive weight etc. So far it's not bad as long as I don't do a bunch of other crazy exercise on the same day I run. (like loading and unloading my camper for 6 hours on Sunday, then doing 12 loads of laundry) I can't do floor exercises because of fibromyalgia so I use a pool for water aerobics. I have walked, jogged and biked nearly 1,000 miles this year to raise money for St. Jude's Children's research hospital! That goal really inspired me to get off my butt. :)
    Anyway, what I want to say is, we may have more challenges to face due to our age, but it's up to US to decide if we want to be healthier or not! YOU can do this!
    [/quote]
  • Dianne1
    Dianne1 Posts: 19 Member
    Options
    Hi I will be 60 next month and I know it is harder at our age but with patience and perseverance we can do it. I rejoined in May of this year and have lost 28 lbs. so far. I saw on one post that there was mention of wrinkles on our faces. I have had friends tell me not to lose anymore weight in my face...(I didn't know I could choose where the weight came off!!!) So anyway as a joke I set up a jar for donations for a face lift. LOL
  • twilasue54
    twilasue54 Posts: 42 Member
    Options
    Oh my goodness, I had no idea I would get so many wonderful words of encouragement and such great success stories. I am pumped to stay on track. i know it is only tuesday, but so far no eating out of boredom at work this week, which believe me, in my current position is a big problem. SO thanks everyone, I am so grateful you all are helping me.
  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 5,003 Member
    Options
    I dont quite fit your age category,,,,,I am 49 but have lost 106 lbs in the last 2 yrs. It is so encouraging to see all these success stories. It is a little bit harder to lose weight when you are older but it can be done and most of us didnt do it when we were younger and it was supposed to be easier LOL............Just make small goals at a time. I just concentrated on 10 lbs at a time because 100+ lbs seemed impossible
  • joymelanson
    joymelanson Posts: 37
    Options
    I'm 54 and I am trying to get to a healthy bmi so I have about 40 lbs to lose. 5 gone so far in two weeks, 35 to go.... it is very encouraging to see all the posts from the older crowd. I wonder if my skin will shrink to my new body when I hit my goal or if I will be a saggy wrinkly skinnier person?
  • AuntieMC
    AuntieMC Posts: 346 Member
    Options
    I am 56 years old. Last year (August 2011) I began a radical lifestyle change due to illness. Since then, I have lost 165 pounds. It is a myth that older people can't lose weight!
  • twilasue54
    twilasue54 Posts: 42 Member
    Options
    I am 56 years old. Last year (August 2011) I began a radical lifestyle change due to illness. Since then, I have lost 165 pounds. It is a myth that older people can't lose weight!


    wow! amaZing
  • RetiredAndLovingIt
    RetiredAndLovingIt Posts: 1,394 Member
    Options
    I am 62 and loving all the responses to this. I have lost 20# since March. Not a huge amount, but it is progress. I am trying to make this a lifestyle change I can continue with, rather than "quick weight loss", which I always seem to gain back.
    (I also hope I'm not a saggy, wrinkly, skinnier person! lol)
  • tmbf57
    tmbf57 Posts: 52 Member
    Options
    I'm 55 and initially lost 32 lbs after my first grandchild was born and slowly let 17 lbs creep back on. It's true that as we age it's a bit more difficult due to metabolism but it's definitely doable! I'm back on and tracking everything ! You can do it!
  • leska1216
    leska1216 Posts: 260
    Options
    - Log what you eat ...

    - Try to be active even if it's not a formal workout ...

    - And don't let age be the reason you give up.

    Someone in their 20's or 30's could be having a harder time with this than you are. Read some of the posts on this site.

    It's just a change in your lifestyle and an occasional change in your attitude. You have a bad day, toss it and get ready for the next one.

    The biggest enemy for most people is time because this is a long, slow process. Just keep moving forward .... because every inch of effort counts.

    I'm 60 and it works for me.

    Ditto.

    I'm soon to be 59, and in the past 3 months I have lost 13 pounds, just over a pound a week. If you want it, you can have it. But you have to work for it.
  • eljulia
    eljulia Posts: 40
    Options
    i recently turned 59 (how can that be? in my head i'm still a kid!) i've lost slowly over the past year and a half, but since that's the time i actually got serious about improving my health and my life, i'm proud of my 37 pounds!

    i have fibromyalgia, so i do have to be mindful of my activity level today as it will impact the pain and fatigue of tomorrow (and if done too strenuously, impact the next few weeks.) But keeping that in mind, i'm still at a weight i haven't been in years, wearing a size i haven't seen in forever! That's success to me.

    i've been on a plateau since my sister died in March, BUT--at least i haven't gained! Phew. So for me, i guess my words of encouragement would be that we each have to take into account our own limitations, but we don't need to let them keep us down!
  • quill16
    quill16 Posts: 373 Member
    Options
    I am 56 and lost my weight over the past 2 years and have maintained for the past 4 months. Diet, exercise, strength from God = success

Categories

Do you Love MyFitnessPal? Have you crushed a goal or improved your life through better nutrition using MyFitnessPal?
Share your success and inspire others. Leave us a review on Apple Or Google Play stores!