Any women who lost their weight after age 50?

bump:flowerforyou:

I will be 50 soon and have dropped 25 lbs just by logging food and moving 6 out 7 days. I walk every workday and bike almost every evening. I still eat every type of food, just in moderation now.

I am 53 and have lost 17 lbs. since mid-Sept. after a lifetime of yo-yo diets, fad diets, and food addiction.

I have been on every diet known to mankind, from Atkin's to Fat Kin's (<-- the one your formerly pudgy sister-in-law lost weight on, damn her! LOL). :laugh:

What I have learned here at MFP has been invaluable. These are the Top Ten:

1.) I had to change my prior thought patterns and habits regarding what dieting was all about.
I used to think if I ate like a rabbit, kept my daily allowance under 1000 cals. per day, and exercised my brains out, then I would lose. I was right...I did lose...not just weight, but my mind!! I'd gain it all back and then some because starving yourself is NOT healthy and I was hungry ALLLLL the time. Now, thanks to MFP, I have learned to eat back my exercise calories lost (or at least half of them). This former food addict is happy to say that now I am never hungry and, in fact, I find it difficult sometimes to eat an entire day's allowance of calories!

2.) I had to embrace my inner diva and accept that, at my age, I was not going to lose weight as fast as a teenager, and I had to stop comparing my journey to theirs (or anyone else's for that matter). I was going to have to embrace my age-related slower (but not dead!) metabolism and arthritic knees, and decide to do what worked for ME and no one else. That meant being happy with a slow but steady .01-2 lb./week loss, plateaus, and even sporadic gains, as my body adjusted to the healthier and more active me. Embracing my inner diva also meant accepting that loose skin is NOT going to magically disappear. Exercise WILL make my muscles toner and make it appear like I have less turkey skin, but you can't tone skin. Period. And stretch marks? Please. I earned those with three live births and 3 miscarriages. Those marks are my badges of honor. :blushing:

3.) I cannot do this alone. I've tried, but I am my own worst diet enemy. My hubby is my greatest fan, and is doing this along with me. My pals here on MFP are supportive and encouraging yet honest, and will contructively critique my diet. I don't mind...I am here to learn! :flowerforyou:

4.) Denial is not just a river in Africa. I don't go "whole hog" anymore, but neither do I deny myself any of the "goodie friends" I loved before...I just have a new relationship with them. I don't deny them a visit, but I limit their stay. If I want chocolate, I have it. Not an entire box, bag, or carton, mind you, but whatever I choose to eat, I make it "fit" within my daily allowances. It's about control, from willpower to portions.

5.) That being said, neither do I make my entire day about forbidden food. I am learning how to eat healthier, and that means adding more fruits and veggies, leaner meats, and less fat. This is not just a diet but a complete lifestyle change, and for me, it has to be sustainable for the rest of my life. :glasses:

6.) I had to discipline myself to log everything I ate in my food diary. This makes me accountable, not only for myself, but to my friends who are "in the trenches" with me. By doing this, I have also gotten a feel for calories, and becuase of that, I am better able to make wiser choices, both at home and when we go out. Sometimes I even pre-log my daily food so I know what I'm getting into!

7.) I stopped weighing myself daily and now I only weigh in once a week....same day/time, same Bat Channel, sans clothing. I had to learn to forgive myself if I expereinced a plateau or a minor gain. Water weight fluctuates, and menopause is a b***h that causes all kinds of havoc on the scale. Sure, I get disappointed when I hit a plateau or have a minor gain, but tomorrow is another day to try again. This isn't a race or sprint but a lifetime journey.

8.) I use the K.I.S.S. Method of dieting. I don't complicate this life with obsessing over macros, BMIs, TDEEs, and the plethora of other annoying abbreviations. I eat, I log, I exercise...therefore, I am. :happy:

9.) I have learned to love myself. I am not a loser, but a proud and hard-working BIGGEST LOSER! So what if I didn't turn men's heads when I was fatter? My hubby has always been attracted to me - now he thinks I'm getting hotter, and his male opinion is the only one that counts. In my late teens, I held a beauty pageant title and weighed 108 lbs. when I married my first husband, who only wanted me for my looks. My present (and last!) husband is my best friend and soulmate who not only loves the inner me, but thinks I am one sexy mama even when I weighed the most I ever did. He's a real man, not some shallow, egomaniacal guy who cares only about himself and his washboard abs. :noway:

10.) Finally, I had to stop the excuses. My weight is not my parent's fault. I may have grown up on mashed potatoes as a meal and Hershey bars every Saturday, but I'm a grown-up now and in charge of my own life. My weight is not due to pregnancies. I had a choice to lose weight after each birth, but I didn't choose to. My mistake. My arthritic knees cause me daily and excruciating pain. For decades I, let this be my excuse for not exercising. No more. I have found low-impact ways to be aerobic and I use weights for my pain-free upper body. I am midlife woman, hear me roar!!! :laugh:

inb4 an extremely long post from californiagirl2012

Buggar off, mate. First off all, OP asked for opinions and stories from WOMEN, and unless your picture is a hoax, you don't qualify. Secondly, Californiagirl2012 has an amazing story to tell, and although her posts tend to be long, she is inspiring and informative.

I agree, she is inspirational and her transformation is amazing.

inb4 an extremely long post from californiagirl2012

Californiangirl2012 is my SHERO! Can't wait for her post here

If she does post here, I hope she'll post some of her pics too--so encouraging and inspirational her posts are to me. I LOVE her long posts.

OP, girl....time flies FAST doesn't it? Thank you for posting this question too! We can do this--it's just going to take time and hard work...just like it does for the younger folks. I'm pulling for ya!!!!

I will be 50 in January and the weight I have taken off so far has been with-in a 1 year journey. So worth every pound lost!

57 and this is the first time my weightloss has been truly successful because this time it is the result of a lifestyle change instead of a "quick fix." :happy: I wrote about it on my blog --

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/77tes

Don't listen to the folks WHO say you can't lose weight over the age of 50. IT JUST AIN'T SO!! :noway:

Good luck! :flowerforyou:

In all my long-windedness above, I forgot to say...ADD ME, ADD ME, ADD ME! I can use all the 50+ lady friends I can get! :flowerforyou:

I'm 54 years young and I've battled my weight for most of my life which leads to being hard on myself with my body image.
I guess you could call me a yo-yo dieter; I'd try different diets, lose, gain, etc. About 22 years ago I joined a gym worked out with weights, did aerobics and got into pretty good shape. At the health club I met the man of my dreams and as the story goes I fell madly in love, had babies and got fat! I'm a tennis nut and play 3 to 4 times a week but still wasn't losing weight. In 2009 I saw a picture of myself (I'll post it) I couldn't believe how big I had gotten, I'm 5' 4" and my largest weight was over 187lbs. I found and joined WW and lost about 50 lbs and felt pretty good but still not happy with my body image.

My hubby has been tall and slender all of his life but as with age your metabolism slows and he put on a little weight so he put his game face on, got disciplined and lost it. He had told me about P90X and said he wanted to do it so he could get that "6 pack" while he was still young. I'm not sure if he asked me or I said I wanted to try it but, I am so happy I did! When I met Jeff and later got big, I used to joke that I was lucky because I met Jeff when I was in the best shape of my life but I could never get below 130 and now with P90X I'm at 127! It's funny I'm still adjusting to the body image thing but I'm very happy with my results "The program works!"

For more B&A pics go to "Success Stories" - P90X Successful at 54 yrs (women).


New Year's Eve 2010




Before Twist



After Twist

Wow, what inspiring stories and thanks to the OP for starting this thread.

I am 52, 5' 8" and have lost 14 lbs since mid September. I have a long way to go and it will probably take me two years. Slowly but surely. I changed my gym routine to use more weights and a bit less cardio. This seems to be working well as I knocked off 4 inches of my waist to date. It is a slow process and I too get a bit depressed when I see all the 20-30 year olds with relatively quick results but I am convinced it can be done.

Good luck and keep posting!

Hi Fairplay*

I'm 50 and will 51 in March*

I have been on MFP for almost 100 days and thus far. And it has been great 15lbs!!! YES!!!! 33 more to go.

Hi ther!congrats on the great achievement. Any tips? Did u lose it using this site?

Wow !!! great job.. you look great.

I am 58 (59 in Jan) and I have lost 32 lbs. since 10/11. I am 5'6" and have weighed about 141 since last March. I lost the weight slowly, so I do not have any lose skin. I feel much younger than my actual age. Exercise is the key. I would love to lose a few more pounds, but I am pretty happy being a size 8.

Best of luck and feel free to add me as a friend if you would like support. Please add a brief note that you saw my post on this thread.

Coming late to the party here... Everybody has given great advise... the only thing I can think to add is to encourage you to drink lots of water (we often eat because we are thirsty, not hungry) and be patient; if you follow your program (eat less and exercise more) you will lose weight. At our ages it tends to come off slowly and, as I am discovering, as you get closer to your goal it will get even slower, but it does come off. And everything I've read about weight loss says slower is better.

Best wishes,