Struggling 44 year old woman

Welcome! Congrats on the new job and we are all here to help!!

Awesome Jennifer! You've already inspired me! I'm at my highest weight right now...a whopping 190 pounds...yuck! I'm only 5/5 tall so this is way too much for me! I'm not looking to be a skinnie-minnie..just want to get down around 140-ish. If I were toned and in cardio shape, I think that would be ideal.

Let me know what you did on those "hard" days...hours...minutes...to get you through!! Way to go on your loss...this is what I need to hear!

Thanks!
Mary

Hi Mary, I'm 45. I'm currently at 184, I started at 198.4. I'm also 5'5. My goal is to get to 139. I've been at this a month. I also love wine, and guacamole . Better than losing weight is the getting healthy; it's odd, but I get more satisfaction from meeting my exercise goals for the week or my calorie goal for the day than the weight on the scale. I think the reason for this is because I've always obsessed about the numbers on the scale and actually making myself accountable and seeing the results is new to me. I'll send you a friend request.

You have started a journey that isn't easy, but is definately worth it. HW 250, CW 177.4, Turning 40 this year and I am in better shape than when I was a teenager. Your age is just a number as your weight is. To eat less..... drink a bottle of water 10 mins before EVERY meal, eat slowly, and cut out the carbs. This is the best quickest way to jump start your new lifestyle. Focus on eating as little processed food as possible. Fresh fruits and veges are your friends. With time, you will start to see a difference. My biggest struggle was cooking for my family and knowing I couldn't eat what they wanted (red meat and potatoes), so I would cook me a chicken breast and a vegetable. I now have to force myself to eat at night. I'm not hungry but I know that not eating will shut down my metabolism (did that a couple weeks ago and realized I was consuming only 500 calories a day, but I wasn't hungry). With time, you can succeed. Just remember we all have off days (I still have that occasional time where pizza calls my name and I can't resist). Don't forget that you have a MFP family that has been exactly where you are now. Lean on them and they will never fail to encourage you when you thought it wasn't possible.

When I was teaching, I would eat great all day, then come home and pig out. It was so hard to stop because I was tired and stressed. I've also ready articles that link will-power to glucose levels in the brain, so when you are exhausted, you are more likely to make bad food choices. Try taking a nap when you get home from work before you start snacking. That always helped me!

Good luck with your weight loss, maybe your closet of smaller and cuter clothes can be your motivation!

With a few exceptions I could have written this post! I am in EXACTLY the same situation. I have been on MFP for quite a while and I have still gotten no where. It is my fault completely and I know that but I just can't seem to stay on track. Evenings and weekends are the worst for me. I am the same age as you and I have the same slow metabolism. Please feel free to friend me and perhaps we can keep each other motivated and figure it out together.

hi i know the feeling. same here, same age and little progress
perhaps we can support each other

if you like you can add me..

good luck!!!

You sound so much like me!

I am 40 and at my highest weight ever which is really only 10lbs from what I consider "acceptable" but weekends are so hard, I negate everything I did right during the week. I have been on MFP for a long time and have only managed to lose and gain the same 3-5lbs.

I also love wine, guac, sweets and salt (mood driven). I should probably stick to 1200 calories to actually lose weight, but I can only do it for a few days and then I over compensate.... I have trouble controlling portions. I know what a portion size is, but I don't stop at that. I set my MFP calories to my BMR 1450. I can stick to this ok during the week - most of the time, but the weekends kill me. Another thing that I notice REALLY helps is drinking 10-12 cups of water/day. This also suffers on weekends for me.....

I have a desk job and travel 2-3 times a month (which adds to the calorie mess).

I am working out 4-5 days a week. Mixture of boot camp classes and running days. Only 30 minutes a day. I have noticed better toning in my upper body almost immediately, but the scale hasn't moved (which is ok if other things are happening) and my clothes don't fit any better.

People are so amazing on here - losing 30, 60, 100+lbs and I suck - can't even lose 10, let alone my "goal" of 15.

Feel free to add me as a friend and we can encourage each other. I know I need it.

Also forty ish here.
Feel free to add me for motivation and support.

Hi Mary. My advice, if evenings are tough, is to *not* have a light supper. Try saving the majority of your calories for supper and a satisfying evening snack.

Hi Mary~ losing weight and sticking to it is tough! I am 46 and have lost 50lbs over the last nine months. My highest weight was 270 and I am now down to 218. I still have a considerable way to go, but this site has been very helpful. My biggest issue has been portion control. I have started to eat six smaller meals spread throughout my day as opposed to eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. This has helped me enormously! I have sent an invite, so please feel free to contact me any time. :flowerforyou:

Dear Mary,
I cannot say that I am in the exact situation as you are, but I definitely can empathize with the discouragement and frustrations that come along with starting a weight loss program.

I am approaching 30 this year. I am five feet one inches tall and I have a "small" weight loss goal of 15 pounds. I also have exercise goals (i.e. be able to run a mile in under 10 mins and gain a little muscle tone). I figured with calorie restriction and exercise, I would be able to hit my weight loss goal in 1-2 months.

It's been 36 days on my diet and I have lost only 3 pounds. Which means I am averaging .5 pounds loss a week. For me, this is overly frustrating!!!!!! As I have dieted in the past and could lose 3 pounds in just a week... not in 5 weeks! HOWEVER, whenever I would do such diets, I would quickly gain the weight back.

As other posters have pointed out: slow and steady really is the way to go. It is harder to gain weight back if it was lost slowly. I am finding that if I have a cheat day (e.g. my recent anniversary dinner splurge), my weight doesn't horribly spike up the next morning. I like that. I am also finding that my body is slowly adjusting to the lower calorie intake and I am no longer "constantly thinking about food." Like I would when I would go on my other crazy diets.

I feel much happier and healthier on this "new lifestyle change" I am on. (I hate saying "diet" because I really do feel that I really am making a permanent lifestyle change this time around). So, I am slowly teaching myself to not be too concerned with the number on the scale, and focus more on how I feel.

Plus, I like to think that if this pace keeps up... I would reach my weight goal by the end of this year... and really, that isn't too far out! Thinking that way (i.e. thinking about the end goal) helps me deal with the slow pace. AND, if I don't reach my weight goal... at least I made a lifestyle change for the better and my body will thank me for it in my later years.

Anyway, here are things that have helped me a lot:
1. I keep close to the paleo diet:

http://paleomg.com/
http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/


2. I LOVE the exercise videos from The Firm and do them about 2-3 times a week... I have off and on been using them since high school... my ol' high school boyfriend's mother introduced me to these videos... she has been using them since the 70s... and at 50 years old, she had a better body than I did when I was a 17 year old... here is their website: http://www.firmdirect.com/firm/ecs/main/index.html

3. I run 1.5 miles 3 times a week. That's it. I don't do more. I started out with a slow jog (seriously averaging between a 11 min to 12 min mile... practically almost walking speed). I kept with that pace for a good solid 3 weeks... One day, I was running a 10 min mile! I think easy does it is the way to go. The running isn't meant to give back a lot of calories because it doesn't... it's just to keep my heart and lungs healthy ... A weight + aerobics exercise like The Firm videos is much better when it comes to calorie loss.

P.S. I don't get a runner's high that all those runner freaks claim you get.

4. I measure my waist every two weeks. I have lost about an inch. So, I am finding that to be more motivating than my scale.

Hope this helps!

don't beat yourself up. this is hard work.

i've found that what works for me is to pre-log all of my meals. if i plan ahead, i've found that i can make much more deliberate choices for dinner and snacks at home and very rarely go over my daily cals. i also think of my daily cals as money in the bank. i buy my food with my cals. so it really comes down to 'can i afford to eat that today?' if i can afford it, i eat it...even if it's pizza.

i see from you profile pic that you have kids, which can make eating and shopping a challenge. my son has zero weight problems, so i don't restrict his eating/snacking habits. he's also a teenager, which means i doubt i could even if i wanted to. ha. so if he buys junk that i think might be tempting to me, i make sure he keeps it out of my sight. that did mean buying a mini-fridge for his room and some of those plastic storage drawers, but it's effective. might seem extreme, but if it works for me i'll do it.

I'm 44 and struggling as well. Been doing MFP for two months and found this has been the most successful attempt yet. I have lost 22 pounds in 65 days. (Mind you, I have a ton more weight to lose than you, but it's finally coming off!) I have found eating cleaner and having to honestly write everything down has made a huge difference. Since my diary is public - I don't want people to see me eating junk so I have made better choices! I sent you a friend request - let's do this together!

Hey Mary!
I am 39 and weight loss doesn't come easily for me either...we weren't blessed with that apparently. But what does come to you, and should, is the recognition that you want to make changes in your life and your health - and be very happy that you know that and want to do something about it because most people dont. So congratulations on taking positive steps toward making your life healthier!
Rule #1 - don't beat yourself up over it - set backs, cupcakes, didn't choose to work out days, second helpings...blah blah blah...the list goes on. Stay positive and be upbeat to yourself, especially when you are talking to yourself in your head. It's easier to be nice to someone and stay positive when they are kind, the same goes to when you are nice to yourself.
Rule #2 - get consistent. I have a schedule, everyday, and I work at a desk job too. I make time for breaks and snacks. All day long. My snacks are healthy - I dont' even go near the vending machines. I get up and walk around every hour - even just to go to the bathroom. Keep moving.
Rule #3 - drink water (thus the bathroom trips) like a gallon a day. seriously. I have a water jug that is full in the morning and it better be empty at night. half the time, I'm just drinking out of it to make it lighter to carry!
Rule #4 - find FUN workouts, things you enjoy. Not everyone's cup of tea is running on a treadmill, some love it, some don't. Same with basketball, soccer, water polo and basket weaving. Whatever. Find something fun and do it - and keep doing it until it isn't fun anymore, then find something else. Bottom line keep moving.
Rule #5 - log your food. i mean consistently. it helps.
As for the eating at night part, I eat a banana and some popcorn on the way home from work and that helps me to make it through dinner preparation. After dinner, I may have a little snack and some milk, but that's it. If you eat 5 meals a day, you don't end up so ravenous at the end of the day.

We all struggle, and we are here to help - friend me if you would like, I have an open diary to my friends.


This is stuff that works for me, not necessarily you, but it works for me.