Women over 55...pushing 60 years-old

I'm 64. I keep an open diary, log everything, do both cardio ( elliptical machine and stall cleaning/farm work) and a weight program with 5-lb. weights. I'm taking it slow because if I don't my skin will wrinkle too much. It is possible to do, I've been down at every weigh in and generally under my calorie goal.

What's working for me is that I have totally changed my lifestyle. I avoid processed food and pay attention to getting enough (higher than MFP default) protein, fiber, water and keeping my salt down. I walk at least 1/2 hour per day and try to do some elliptical, ARC trainer and just started some resistance machines at the gym as my (osteoarthritis) knee allows. I feel better than I have in years and I've been steadily losing weight. I'm looking to make holistic, sustainable and permanent changes to how I live; not a quick blitz to drop pounds. I imagine in our age group we may have a bit more patience. :flowerforyou: Continued success to us!

Holli, I can appreciate your determination. Yours sounds like a success story to me! My 84-year-old mom has dropped 22 pounds and I can't loose 10! I am so proud of her! I am being patient, and, too, have quit eating the junk and am praying for the will power to get up and exercise no matter how tired I am. Healthy I am......schedules are pretty much for the birds. I hope you continue to drop the weight.....oh, and I love dogs!

Hi Sophie. In the past I seemed to be exhausted all the time, but since I stopped eating junk food and started trying to walk everywhere, my energy has tripled. It's wonderful that you exercise with your mother. Can you exercise for yourself several times a week?

It's definitely possible! I'm 5'7 and 60; I started 2 years ago at 147 and now weigh 129. What worked for me was also eliminating junk (except carefully-chosen junk in small quantities on rare occasions) as well as 5:2 fasting (there are other discussions on that) ad kicking up my exercise a notch. I now work out about an hour a day and I use a FitBit as well as a Polar FT7 heart rate monitor. My employer wellness program rewards fitness activities but only if they're logged electronically and I like to have both devices in case one stops working. (The FT7 is the only one I can use while swimming.) Having electronic toys monitoring my workout really helps me see how hard I'm working.

I am 58, 5'6" and currently weight 160. Most of my exercise consists of power walking, street bicycling and stationary biking. In the summertime, I do water jogging in the pool. I do belong to a gym but am not much of a gym goer. I have type 2 diabetes and have to limit my carbs and sugar. That has really helped to lose the 50 pounds I have so far. Continued success to you!

I'm 55-years old and 5'5". I currently weigh 153 pounds and my starting weight was 185 pounds on Jan. 4 of this year.
Mostly I've been working out, plenty of cardio exercise (I try for at least 5 to 6 days per week.) and I try to lift heavy weight and other resistance training at least 3 to 4 days per week.

I tend to eat clean anyway, but I had slipped into eating more breads than I should over the last few years. Artisan breads are my weakness.
I was losing great, until late Feb. to late March, when I hit a plateau for a month.

I'm avoiding grains now, but I'm not necessarily doing the low-carb thing...just getting my carbs from lots of veggies and a fair bit of fruit each day.

I adjusted my net calorie goal for each day from 1,200 to 1,390, and I bumped up my protein intake, especially on lift days. I have also bumped up my fat intake...healthy fats, such as avocados, coconut oil, nuts, seeds, olive oil and the like.
Now I'm losing weight pretty steadily again.

I'm very pleased with how energetic, strong, and healthy I feel and for the results I'm seeing with my body...getting much firmer and getting back into my smaller clothing. I should add that I never feel that I have to go hungry. I eat a lot, as you can see if you look at my food diary here.

My diary is wide open, if you are interested. Good luck with your endeavors toward health and fitness.

Hi! I'm 5'5, 60 years old, and started out weighing 189 on 6/18/14....after joing MFP and reducing carbs and sugars, I have lost 16 lbs as of today, 7/14/14!! I feel better than I have in years...I walk at least an hour each day, which really has helped me feel more energetic. And, I drink lots of water....I'm loving watching the scale go down, instead of up!!!

I swim and I just started the 30 day shred. Yes it's harder now but not impossible. I am 5 feet and weight 153. My goal is 120.
Have you read in getting started, the guide to sexy pants ? That helped me. I will send you a friend request. Feel free to look at my diary. Good luck to you! :flowerforyou:

there is a great group of 50+ year olds in Motivation & Support. Check them out. Really friendly and smart group of ladies.

Can you do crunches or ride a bike? those are good for belly fat. Also adding calcium, an extra glass of milk, a serving of yogurt can help to burn belly fat. These have worked for me.

Hi Sophie,

I'm 55, 5'1.5" and 120 lbs., down from 126 starting MFP in January. I'm stalled at 120 and this might be where I end up staying, but my goal is to have a healthier and more fit body. I agree with everyone who says it is much harder to lose when you're over 50, or even to maintain a reasonable weight without a lot of tracking what you eat and exercise. I do two "heavy" cardio workouts a week, usually an hour of zumba on a Monday and an hour of kickboxing on Friday, 1 hour each of a strength training class Tuesday and Thursday, and I walk at least 30 minutes a day. I also try to do yoga once a week, or some form of core work. If I don't have time for a class, I walk or do a free weight routine on my own. My own routines are under 30 minutes and I have free weights at home that I use in the winter when I get snowed in, which is often. There are lots of good videos on Demand cable, and on the web that you can use. For a while, I was using the Fit for Life book just to have a routine. My advice -- do something for 30 minutes every day, even if it's just walking.

My diary is open if you want to look at it. I eat "normal" foods and for the most part, avoid over processed food, and try to net under 1200. I eat back exercise calories; if I don't, I feel awful.

I am 57 and weigh 187! That is the most I have ever weighed. I feel huge. You post is inspiring. You mentioned that your diary is open to look at. Where do I go to look and how do I enable the bar that indicates weight loss on my posts.