I'M NEW!! I KEEP LOSING WEIGHT BUT IT KEEPS FINDING ME!

1) Metabolism does slow down with age, can be countered to a point by increasing your lean muscle mass.

2) You can eat what you want, just plan for it, measure it truthfully, and LOG it. Stay within your calorie goals.

3) Every journey starts with the first step.....just have to be consistent, realize that when you do screw up it's not reason to say WTH and stop....it just means you need to assess, take a deep breath and continue to make good choices, and get into good habits

4) Process meals are high sodium, which isn't good for you. If you hate cooking, try doing a cooking day, where you make batches of stuff, portion it out, freeze it. It's grab and go food. (I do this alot, mini meatloafs, soups, casserols, meatballs and sauce, burritos)

5) Walking. Costs nothing, can be done around the neighborhood, is low impact. Also stairs at your house, good starting points.

6) have to start countering that voice with "Oh well, I messed up. No big deal. I'll do better at my next meal." (and mean it). If you go over by a couple hundred calories one day.....just try to go under a couple of calories each day for rest of the week. when it comes to weight.....it's a long term averages over time proposition.....

the cooking day is a savior for me....often it's like. "ah! I don't have time to cook....I'll stop by wendy's>" then a little voice in my head says....'Um, you have stuff at home, don't waste money'

I've also done chili, cooked rice, twice baked potatoes, potato puffs, quiches, baked french toasts .... so I try to plan for some sides too.

pre-made Meatloaf, a microwaved baked potato, and some steamed/sauteed fresh veg only take a few mins to make (especially if you've preplanned and have your veg already sliced at the start of the week.

Chili is really good served over a baked potato, or cooked rice with a little cheese. (I had never thought of freezing left over rice until i rad it somewhere....)

the recipe boards here are a good source of recipies too, especially some of the crock pot meals. (yum)

Try cooking with a slow cooker. A little planning ahead but there are some very tasty dishes out there to find online. when you get home from a tiring day and you walk in to the smell of dinner cooking and all you have to do is dish it up! Yummy! Then any extra portions can be saved for later in the week or frozen for another time.
I love my slow cooker!

For dinner sunday I'll be tossing in some pork chops, some 'kraut, a sliced onion, a couple of chopped green apples, with some homemade apple butter (I did it wrong....added vinegar instead of apple cider...TART!), dijjon mustard, and fennel seeds.

Will serve with mock mashed potatoes. (cauliflower)

As has been stated before - start small with small changes. A lot of people who have a long way to go try to make too many changes at once, and then find that some of those changes don't work really well for long term sustainable living.

Try to adjust the mind from "diet" (ie - eat this way to loose weight, then what ever after) to "life style" (ie - this is something you can do from now on.) When you make a change - keep this foundation in mind.

Make no food taboo unless you are going to forever avoid it. (I don't think ANYONE can manage that one.) Tough restrictions are fine - short term. (like cutting out all sugary treats if necessary to break a sweet tooth.) The only exception to this is if you have a medical reason to cut out certain foods/food groups. Then MAKE SURE YOU ARE REPLACING THOSE CALORIES. I speak from experience - medical reason to cut out breads/most grain products, and I had a horrible time adjusting, because I wasn't replacing the missing calories/nutrients.

With a large amount to lose and feeling discouraged at the outset, this can make things even worse. Set mini-goals, such as 5 pounds, 10 pounds, walk 3 blocks, walk the entire neighborhood, etc. Don't FOCUS on the finish wire. Know it's out there, and you WILL reach it. But, focus on smaller things you can manage right now.

Walking is your friend, but try not to rush out and over do it. If you can only walk around the block this week, GOOD FOR YOU! You are already ahead of those people who aren't getting up off the couch! You can only walk to the stop sign three doors down? GREAT! You are up and moving! The big thing is: Take it slow. Let each change you make settle some and become comfortable enough you know you can live with it before changing too much else.

I have that saying on a little plaque over my kitchen sink. I find it amusing but so true.

Let's address each one. Imma give some straight talk cause you came here for results not pats on the back.

(1) I'm old (well, in my 50's)

-Doesn't matter. Although metabolism slows down it's so insignificant it only serves as an excuse. Find your calorie target, whatever formula you use will take into account your age, and the difference it makes will be very small whether you're 18 or 50.

(2) I find every social gathering involves food - so when dieting I sort of cut myself off of "social" events - this isn't a great idea as I can do it for so long and then "jump off the train" - most of my friends are larger as well so they tend to "enable" straying from diets

-OK for one, you need to DECIDE and COMMIT to getting results. If you are serious about burning 150lbs you need to make a statement about it to your friends and family so they understand when you reject the food they have to offer, period. If you go to social gatherings remember your commitment is more important than a temporary satisfaction.

Whenever I'm doing my cuts I'll still go to social gatherings, but politely refuse any alcohol or food, and simply announce I'm on a cut, but thanks for offering.

ALSO. I'm not sure if you've heard of the law (not a theory) of averages, but it states you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with, regardless of how much will power you think you have. This includes your annual income, your health, and many other factors in your life. If you want results, you need to change how much time you spend with certain people.

(3) I have over 150 lbs to lose....so I often feel defeated before I start

-You didn't gain 150lbs overnight, and you can't lose em' overnight. Understand it's small consistent daily action that will get you to where you want to be. Stop looking at the top of the mountain, or the finish line, and look down at the starting line, and take that first step, and the next step, every single day. A great book on this is "The Compound Effect" by Darren Hardy. Highly recommend.

(4) I don't really enjoy cooking, especially after getting home from a long day at work - so I have fallen in the bad habit of quick processed food...

-Then change your thinking to ENJOY cooking. You control how you feel. Your state is created internally, not externally. Your job doesn't make you tired, it's your boredom of your job that does. We're resilient creatures. We have limitless energy when we're fascinated with something, but throw a little monotony or boredom our way and it sucks the life out of us. Spice up your daily routine at work. Read books in your downtime at work that focus on helping you get results. Create a blog about your journey or a journal.

Excite yourself to create more energy. Crack down and do the work in the kitchen. Start out with some simple meals that don't take long to cook, perhaps a shake in the middle to knock out another chunk of calories. Developing new habits isn't easy, but it's worth it.

If you want different results, you have to do something different.

(5) Exercise **sigh** - see # 3 above....very difficult indeed... As well, I have arthritis/sore joints. The doctor says it's OK to do exercise (but no direction of what to do) but I am nervous to try, so suggestions of "easy" to get started ideas are most certainly welcome (I don't have $$ for gym membership or personal trainers...)

-A gym is your best option. Everyone has money for a gym. The money that's coming into your life needs to be allocated differently, what can you cut to allow the financial ability to spend $30-40 a month on your gym? Or a one time investment on a home workout like Power 90 / P90X etc?

For optimal results, you'll want to do resistance training. Body weight exercises will be a good start like pushups on knees, dips, etc. Gyms have a good set of dumbbells and on site personal trainers to get you started. Cardio will be a dead end for you, but it can be helpful in addition to your resistance training.

Craigslist has some steal deals on dumbbells as well.

(6) and...probably like so many others - if I mess up or stray from a weight loss plan I let the guilt get to me and the little voices in my head say "Ahhh, you already messed up, so you might as well eat this too...." and it all falls apart in a downward spiral.

-Then don't mess up! If you do, remind yourself that it's not the end of the world. It's what you do consistently. You can't gain weight overnight, or lose it overnight. It's all over an extended period of time.

I'm hoping this time may be the charm - I'm just sick and tired of feeling sick and tired :-)

- Are you really? I hear a lot of people say they're uncomfortable but actions speak louder.

You have to compare the pain of not eating junk food, and not being sedentary, against the pain of not being in shape or living a healthy lifestyle.

One of them will win. When your pain of where you are physically and mentally is greater than the pain of not eating garbage or starting a new exercise routine, THEN you will start moving towards your results.

Don't say you want to be healthy though and justify why you aren't, be proud of where you are! It's too stressful otherwise! You can be fat and happy, or fat and unhappy and eventually healthy and fit. But don't live in perpetual fat / unhappy mode. That's just stress you don't deserve.

Pick one, and be proud of your choice, and shout it from the rooftops.

It's just like my mom, she's 56 and smokes a pack a day. Always tells me she wants to quit. "Haven't touched one in 2 days!" on millions of occasions right? I tell her "Mom, stop stressing about quitting! Enjoy your cigarettes! Smoke 2 at a time and tell everyone how much you LOVE smoking! Don't pretend you want to quit, you don't! You know the consequences of your actions and you're fine with it. So live it up!"

Hope this helps. We don't know each other, but I know you have the ability to achieve your true desires and goals. You're so powerful, and I hope you realize that. Wish you all the best!

PS: Surround yourself with fitness freaks, and spend little or no time with obese people, and I'll give you a $3 bill if you're not 150lbs lighter in 2014. My buddy Kevin Do started spending more time with me 11 months ago, and he lost 105lbs to date working out from his living room. You can do this!

Aqua Aerobics. low impact on the joints and is good for circulation. Swimming in general is equivalent to walking at a decent pace with some light weights on.

My dad had to lose around 10Kg's after having quadruple stints put in. Swimming was an intrincal part of his recovery process as suggested by his doctors and heart trainers (forgot what they were called). He lost 8Kg's and did the Kakoda trail less then 1 year later and that was at the age of 64 he's now 67 and is at his plateau again, medication can have a huge impact to gaining and lowing weight too, heart/diabeties/arthritis medications can all have detrimental effects on being able to lose weight consult your doctor about alternatives or suggestions if you are on any of those..

Personally i take 4mg hypertension tablets and some days i have more trouble working up a sweat and getting my heart rate into the zone when i started taking them my Heart Rate dropped about 10% from what it averaging b4 hand. Now i'm much lower again with almost 19Kilo's lighter/stamina and considerably better eating habits

Another thing you could try is resistance Yoga, basically it's very low impact stretching and exercise that instead of going flat out you use your own resistance to act as weights against the moves you are doing.

As for the weight, well it's like the Terminator, doesn't matter what you do it will keep coming to kill Sarah Connor (oops i mean find you), all you can do is hold it off or when it does find you, find ways to lessen it's impact

Hi, invest in a Leslie Sansone (walk at home) dvd. She has the 1 mile- 5 mile, it will be a good start for you, I'm currently doing her 1 mile walk....( walk away the pounds), it's achieveable & she motivates you & you don't need any equipment or alot of room. You can also borrow it from your local public library for free. Try it you will like it.

You don't have to go far. Just start by walking around your house. Anyone can do that!

Hi, invest in a Leslie Sansone (walk at home) dvd. She has the 1 mile- 5 mile, it will be a good start for you, I'm currently doing her 1 mile walk....( walk away the pounds), it's achieveable & she motivates you & you don't need any equipment or alot of room. You can also borrow it from your local public library for free. Try it you will like it.

I'm a Leslie Sansone fan also. I've got a few of her DVDs, but had heard.a few people mention on here that you can find some of her routines on YouTube. I live out in the country, my Internet reception isn't that great, so haven't had a chance took stream any yet.

Also, it sounds like there are a great variety of different workouts on there (YouTube) also.

Hang in there! You'll do great!

I sympathize with you completely
I am 66 years old and just watch whatever I put in my mouth.

I do not go over my 1200 calories and I do not eat back my exercise calories
I used to do smart ones frozen dinners and have found lots of sodium.

I do have a recipe for Southwest Vegetarian chili from Special K. I am going to make double batch and freeze in the freezer.

I also have medical problems. I have degenerative arthritis in my neck and back and hips.
I have bad knees, I have torn meniscus in both knees.
I also have bursa in my heel on my left foot.
I take Medication for Tachycardia and now I am photosensitive to the sun.

I walk 30 mins a day, 20 mins in the am when sun is not so hot and 10 mins after the sun has gone down.
I also do chair exercises for my abs.

I have lost 14 pounds in 2 months.

Good Luck in your Journey and you can always add me as a friend.