LF women over 40 who have lost 50+ pounds

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Hi Debbie, I am 45 and over the past 10 months have lost about 26kg (58lb).

I have logged my calories here every day this year, mostly between 1300-1800, averaging 1500 a day.

I do weight training 3 x per week. Walk 5 x per week for about an hour. Yes I eat back my exercise calories.

My diet is about 40% protein, 30% carbs 30% fat. I can't imagine eating any other way.

I don't regard myself as being on a diet, it's the way I live now. I've had social engagements and have gone over my calories for a few days but when the party is over, I get straight back on to my plan.

You can do it, but it does take longer than it would have in our 20's or 30's, that's for sure

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I'm 59 and have lost 75 pounds since October 2012 - strictly counting calories. Not much exercise but very loyal to logging all food.

I am 59 and have lost 75 pounds over about 18 months, and have maintained my weight loss for about 4 months now. I eat between 1600 and 1800 calories a day depending on how much I exercise. I have to follow a pretty specific food plan to keep my food cravings at bay so I don't overeat or feel too sluggish to exercise vigorously.

Here is a summary of how/why I eat and exercise the way I do. First it is great to wear size 8/10, and enjoy exercise the way I do. There is a great article in well.blogs.nytimes.com today titled "How Carbs Can Trigger Food Cravings by Anahad O'Connor. it summarizes new resarch published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and research published in 2010 in the New England Journal of Medicine that shows that sugary foods and other processed carbs that are known to cause abrupt spikes and falls in blood sugar appear to stimulate parts of the brain involved in hunger, craving and reward. In other words if you eat these foods you want more. It isn't so much that in terms of actual energy/ calories there is a difference, but that these foods affect the neurotransmitters int he brain in a way that sets off craving and leads to overeating. That is why those who say it doesn't matter what you eat do a disservice to those of us who are sensitive to higher carb foods and the resulting cravings. In other words we need to stick to a lower carb/higher protein food plan to sustain a healthy way of eating that allows us to lose weight.

This research supports what I have learned by trial and error. I have lost 75 pounds (took about 18 months) by eating a low carb/high protein (all relatively speaking) diet; and avoiding foods that cause me to crave overeating (sugary and high carb foods). I also ate moderate calories and exercised most days.

What I experienced is that high carb foods set off cravings in me (not immediately but as I begin to metabolize them). I believe I am genetically sensitive to these foods, based on what I have read about the science, and that some people probably share that sensitivity and others don't (like alcohol and alcoholics). What was interesting to me, is that it took about 30 days for the craving to go away, and during that time I experienced symptoms that have been described by other types of addicts who have experienced withdrawal (tired, ache, feeling like the flu, etc.) What is also interesting to me is that it doesn't really depend on what kind of carbs -- I find that very high carb fruits like watermelon, pineapple, etc. set off the cravings as I begin to metabolize them while less ripe apples, pears, and berries generally do not. Brown rice, whole grain breads, etc. also don't work for me. I get plenty of carbs from vegetables, e.g. broccoli, eggplant, cauliflower, carrots, etc , less ripe apples, pears, etc. I also seem to need a lot more protein that what a lot of people talk about, and I eat that spread out four times a day.

At 60, I feel better than I have ever felt before, and don't crave the sweet/white flour stuff. I lift heavy weights, do kettle bells, a lot of aerobic exercise, and my arthritis is so much better I can even jog a moderate amount with the approval of my arthritis doctor. Amazing what weight loss, and increased muscle strength can do for arthritis!

I am so glad that this science and epidemiology is available to help others, and that I do not need to feel that I am a sample of one.

I will only be 40 in April but I have lost 60 since being on here and 12 before that.

Hi! I am 51 years old. My name is Kathi and I have lost 78 pounds since the beginning of January. ( yes it was a New Years resolution lol). I really did not feel I had a different mind set this time as opposed to the other bazillion times I have tried to lose weight over the last twenty years. I did however really try and think about what would work for me and why I had never made it more than a few days with a diet before. I decided that anything that was too difficult to do would cause me to quit. So.....no low carbs, as I love them, no points figuring, no elaborate meals( hate to cook) no worrying about fat or sugar grams. I decided to use this app, count calories and eat less. I kind of picked 1200 at random. Many say this is too low, but it has been doable for me and I feel great. As I lost weight, I started exercising more, only doing ones that I like. Again, because if I tried to do those I consider torture, I would quit. That word "quit" has also been a key for me so far. As long as I never ever quit, I can't fail. Like so many of us, in the past, I would fall off the wagon, hate myself, and quit. I realized I have to stop that cycle. Falling off the wagon was not the failure, it was the giving up.
Lastly, I realize my addiction in life is not drugs or alcohol or cigarettes, it's food. I look at it like a disease that I will have to monitor the rest of my life. If this means always counting calories to maintain at some point, than I am ok with that. Oh, and I also have a cheat day once a month to get over any cravings I have been having.
Sorry this was so long, and maybe no one will ever read it, but it felt good writing it lol.

I'm 42, and I've lost 75lbs. I started losing with Slimming World 2 months before my 40th birthday. I lost over 4 stone in 9 months in 2010/11. I started exercising at the beginning using EA Active on the wii. In Aug 2011 we got a 4 week gym membership (largely so my son could use the pool). I was happily surprised to find I could do more than expected, and started jogging, which I then kept up outside. Rejoined a gym in Feb 2012 when it was just too darn cold to run outside! Never gained more than 2 lbs of weight back, continued going regularly to SW, went to the gym (treadmill, elliptical and bike only) felt pretty good. Oct 2012 was my next turning point. I sprained my shoulder (fell over, not pissed, on flat floor!). Couple of weeks out of the gym, went back but struggled, was really nervous about damaging it again or making it worse (I'm a total hypochondriac!) so broke my usual habit and spoke to gym staff to ask for advice. Started working with a PT, who after a couple of sessions asked about goals and I admitted I really wanted to get down to a 'normal BMI' (13lbs from where I was then) and he challenged me to do it. I started working with him regularly - and soon realised that I had thought I was working hard, and really wasn't! That's when I joined MFP and started logging. Reached my 5stone loss (and 'normal' target)8 weeks later (just after Christmas).
Reset target slightly so loss now 5 stone 4.5, have never gone more than 1lb above. Love gym, cycle 3 miles to work and never feel I have to miss out on food I want! Definitely feel better than I did at 30 (and probably 20 - at uni then so lived on toast!)

I'm 55 (how did that happen?) and I've lost 129 pounds so far, last week was my 1 year mark on MFP. I am 5'1" and have lost steadily, slightly slower now than in the beginning, but still moving along. Here's my story:

<a href="http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1075986-55-years-old-1-year-126-pounds-lost"&gt;

I have approached this as a lifestyle change, something that I can sustain for the rest of my life, as opposed to another diet. I feel better than I have in years! :drinker:

My apologies.... deleting my post because I haven't lost 50+ pounds (sorry, didn't see all the title).

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I am 45 years young and I have lost 69 lbs since Jan 2013. I try to eat healthy most days, I use the 80/20 rule...eat healthy at least 80% of the time and I log everything that goes into my mouth. I run and I do Jillian Michaels video's.

I joined MFP in Sept. 2012 at age 53, and by May 2013, I had lost 50 lbs. However, since then, I have only lost 7. They say that the closer you get to your goal weight, the harder it is to take pounds off.......I believe it!

Thanks to DebbieLyn for starting this topic and also thanks to everyone who has replied! I will be turning 46 next month and have 75 to 85 lbs. to lose so this thread is very inspiring to me.