50+ New to Dieting

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langsyne
langsyne Posts: 106 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I have recently joined and am amazed at the amount of weight members have lost. I commend you for your dedication. Last year when my husband left, I fell into a junk funk, filling up on cheesies, pastries and all kinds of crap food. When I grew out of my clothes I bought bigger sizes (there's also satisfaction in buying something new). A few weeks ago I woke up and looked at myself - I figured I have gained about 25lbs. I don't know I don't own scales, but went up 4 sizes. Also I can feel my health going downhill. Back problems, aches and pains which I attribute it to my unhealthy eating habits.
I am now on a road to recovery. I have researched all kinds of diets. The Zone seems to make the most sense and is very close to how I used to eat naturally. I have gone back to that for a few weeks but am not seeing results yet, with the exception of not craving sugar and starch all the time. Beyond Diet (although I didn't subscribe) appears to be very much the same concept as the zone.
I have started reading about the Paleo Diet, and am intrigued. I never did have a huge tolerance for wheat, but I do like my porridge and yogurt and the occasional beer or two, so I don't know if I could stick to that. In addition they limit the amount of fruit you should eat. I always assumed fruit was healthy and we should eat lots of it.

If I just go back to eating sensibly it might take a long long time to lose the weight. Any ideas on what works best to jump start this metabolism again? I am also in my 50's so don't have the metabolic rate I used to have, and currently dealing with a back injury that limits the amount I can work out.

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  • cara523
    cara523 Posts: 116
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    hello! I am mid 40s and I have been here two weeks! I have tried every diet imaginable and I own every diet book out there! I have lost weight on many but once you stop, it comes back. I spend soo much time on the boards on here looking at everyones success stories and it hit me. Diets really do not work! Unless you plan to eat that way the rest of your life, you may lose weight but chances are it will come back. This site is so easy to follow. Its a way of life, not a diet so nothing is off limits,. As long as you stay within your goal, you will succeed. The biggest thing I keep telling myself is the weight did not come on over night, it wont come off over night, It will take time and will be so worth it. Feel free to add me if you would like to and I wish you all the best!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,114 Member
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    So, instead of reading and believing the latest "diet" fad, try to go with the foods you like, that don't increase cravings.

    If you don't know what's best for nutrition, then start studying your Food Diary here at the end of the day. That's what I had to do. I used to eat either bread, rice, pasta, or cereal for every meal. Like you, I realized that was a bad plan, and that they were empty calories I didn't really need - and they made me crave more of the same. But when I came here I didn't know that much about nutrition, and had to teach myself by reading medical literature or actual nutrition guides.....not diet books.

    I still have an ocassional piece of bread, or oat bran for breakfast, or pasta or rice; or even some sugary treat. I don't do it every day, and I don't forbid it in my life. I just watch my macros. I read about some of the popular "diet" plans, but none of them really made sense to me. I'm not going to give up beans, dairy, or completely give up grains - I love a good corn tortilla with refried beans and cheese, chicken and lettuce. I'd like to have a margarita with that sometimes, too.

    So I set my macros to 40C/30F/30P for a while and started cutiing back on sugars and grains. Then eventually reset my macros to 45F/25P/30C ...that seems to be where I'm most comfortable, and fits my eating style. If I stay within my calories, life is good.

    This is your ship to steer. Do it the way it works for you.

  • jimian60
    jimian60 Posts: 21
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    welcome aboard! I'm 52 and never had a weight problem until a few years ago. It took me 3 mos before i caught on to the key for me... wearing a calorie-tracking watch. Like night and day. i tried all the diets, counting calories IN, but it's really about BURNING the extra fat and calories you picked up.

    Now i concentrate on BURNING calories and keep my watch on 24/7. It doubles as a regular watch.
  • Rachelmilloy
    Rachelmilloy Posts: 158 Member
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    Hi Langsyne, good for you getting a grip with just a 25 pound weight gain. I couldn't agree more that a prolonged junk funk leads to all kinds of aches and pains. I started with MFP on June 21, 2012, and have had no junk food since then (other than the occasional burger), and generally kept within my MFP calorie limits, Note that I'm not following a specifi diet, just eating with an eye to good nutrition, including plenty of fruitand veg, and avoiding sugar and desserts other than fresh fruit. And generally I have walked at least half an hour every day... The only days I excused myself were days I was getting a few hours exercise with housework. I'm definitely seeing results, I've lost just over 60 pounds. As you can imagine, I think the MFP site is terrific... Finally my weight loss efforts are getting some traction. Add me as a friend if you like :smile:
  • kat5556
    kat5556 Posts: 164 Member
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    If I just go back to eating sensibly it might take a long long time to lose the weight. Any ideas on what works best to jump start this metabolism again? I am also in my 50's so don't have the metabolic rate I used to have, and currently dealing with a back injury that limits the amount I can work out.

    There's no magic diet but eating sensibly will take the weight off. It won't take as long as you think but any "diet" will not work for most people in the long run. I'm in my 50's too and use the "I'm older now so my metabolism is slower" line for many years. I'm living proof that eating the correct amount of calories - not too many and certainly not too few - and getting some exercise will take the weight off. Plan your meals before you shop and use the calculators to help you plan.

    :smile: You can do this!!! :smile:

    If you're looking for friends for support you're free to add me.
  • langsyne
    langsyne Posts: 106 Member
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    Thank you for all the great advice re dieting. This all makes total sense, since so many of the diets I have been reading about are contradictory and some seem downright unhealthy. I am amazed at how fast calories add up and have been finding this site very useful in controlling my intake so hopefully soon I'll start to notice some progress.
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,215 Member
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    There's no magic diet but eating sensibly will take the weight off. It won't take as long as you think but any "diet" will not work for most people in the long run. I'm in my 50's too and use the "I'm older now so my metabolism is slower" line for many years. I'm living proof that eating the correct amount of calories - not too many and certainly not too few - and getting some exercise will take the weight off. Plan your meals before you shop and use the calculators to help you plan.

    This! There is no substitute for a healthy eating and exercise plan and no way to jumpstart your metabolism (though you my lose more weight at the beginning (mostly water)). I'm also in my 50's and now at my goal size and weight thanks to the MFP community. You can do this as well!
  • FancyFree62
    FancyFree62 Posts: 10
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    Congrats on your weight loss! I hope I can follow in your shoes.
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
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    Welcome! I'm new here, too, and I turn 60 in a couple of weeks. I gained about 15 lbs. after I married my dear husband 10 years ago; I went to work, he did the cooking, and he was very good at down-home stuff like meat loaf, corn bread, bean soup..suddenly I was enjoying good home cooking and my skirts didn't fit. Besides, I was post-menopausal; didn't that happen to all women?

    Two things were game-changers. One was that I got involved in a corporate athletic competition and found that points were there for the taking if you could just finish some of the longer events like the mile run and a 200-meter swim, where there was almost no competition in this age group. When I got roped into sprint triathlons, I was paranoid that they'd kill me and kicked my workouts up a notch. Then I started eating only fruits and vegetables 2 days a week, with Greek yogurt and honey at night. I estimate that I take in about 1,000 calories on those days. The results were very slow in coming, but I stuck with it because it was easy and it didn't affect my energy levels. Two years later, I'm 15+ lbs. thinner- down to the weight I was when I got out of HS. Just today I told DH that we may as well give away a pair of jeans I have that don't fit- if I pull real hard they slide down off my hips!

    Which is my long way of saying: be patient. The jump-start stuff isn't what lasts. It's long-term life changes that work for you and it certainly can happen over 50.

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