50 year old femaie - need help losing weight!

would you be willing to give your basic stats?

Age, Height and weight?

It would also help if you opened up your diary.

I am in my 50's also and am just as frustrated at you. My weight does not budge. I stay within the same amount of calories and do about 30 minutes / day cardio. Don't know what else to do but keep at it!!
I'd be happy to be your friend if you would like!

How long do you walk? your calories may be putting you into a hibernation mode as your body may think it's being starved. Even low carb won't help that. You have to be very honest with what you are eating and log it in; as hard as that may be. An ounce of almonds twice a day adds up quickly. I found that by logging in the diary religiously made me realize how little protein I was eating, how much salt is out there in processed foods (and some not processed) resulting in totally changing how and what I eat. I also joined a gym and worked out with a personal trainer two times per week. Pricey, but worth the 16 lbs I've lost over 8 months. I agree with one of the other posts that you could also be adding muscle, which does weight more than fat; however--you will note that your clothes fit better with you are more toned with more muscle. Keep it up, it's a journey, but well worth it.

I am 46, female and yes, since I started exercising it has been sloooow. First, how long have you been walking 4 miles an hour? And are you eating the calories back?

So here is my story, started Primal last year - without much exercise. Went down, went up. I was walking, thinking I was doing good and nothing happened except gaining weight.

So I started running some. Only I couldn't really tell how far, and my car's odometer is off. Someone recommend the app MapMyRun. Which, because you put in your weight, and it tracks you on your smart phone (or tablet in my case, in my backpack) you get a better idea of both distance and calories. I plug in the calories to MFP. A good brisk, 4 mph walk at my weight equals about 400 calories. If I run for parts so that I am doing 13 minute miles, then it is about 457 calories. I think I am MUCH more accurate with my distance and time now.

I also have gotten more accurate with my portions - I try to measure to be sure I am correct, and to overestimate. I try not to eat back all of my calories, but do try for about 1200. I usually am full with that.

And I did all of this for about 3 weeks....and nothing happened. I gained some. Then the last two weeks, it has started coming off - slowly. About a pound or two a week. I was thinking I wouldn't reach those 5 week goals, but it does look like maybe I will.

So, long story short, you may need to be more accurate with your calories and your exercise. If you can do the app, try it out and see if you are doing what you think you are doing. I know that the first few weeks I was gaining a lot of muscle that weighs more than fat.

And yes, it can't hurt to get your thyroid checked. But while you are waiting for that appointment, keep on doing what you are doing! Benefits I found: less likely to get hurt when playing with the kids, planter facitice is healing. When the other 4 members of the family got the coughing crud - I didn't get sick when usually I am the first one ill (despite me taking swigs from their cups by mistake!)

To the girls here who are 50 and over there is an absolutely terrific group here call women 50+ . I think we are more than just a support group. We are a family who help each other not only with our nutritional stays but by giving each other friendship. The over 50 women do have different issues they are dealing with. I think some times the more at ease we become talking about ourselves an individuals it helps us understand more what is keeping these pounds stuck on our body. You don't have to do anything to join, just post and you will find a big family of supportive women there to help you.

This is about the Olivia Method. It is what I do. I'll just post how I do it so it will be easier to explain. I have set my goals to not lose any weight and that I'm not going to be doing any exercise. This is how many calories I can eat to maintain the exact weight I am now. Next, I go under "Apps" and figure out my BMR. I want to make sure I at least eat that many calories daily since that is how much my body needs for it to do basic functions. Right now, to maintain my weight, I can eat 1540 calories (doing no exercise to pad that number). But I still want to lose weight and I still need to at least eat what my BMR number is. Are you following, so far? My BMR number is 1231 calories. So if I do nothing else but not go above my BMR calories, I am at a calorie deficit of 309.

1540 maintenance calories -
1231 BMR calories

---

309 calorie deficit

If I do that every day, I would lose almost a pound a week. But what if I want to lose more? Exercise is the key! Let's take yesterday...

1540 where I have MFP set -
1374 I ate a little extra

---

166 calorie deficit +
512 calorie deficit that I burned from exercise

---

678 calorie deficit

I hope this is making sense. If you just set MFP for maintenance (before exercise), and figure out your BMR calories each time you lose weight, as you log your food and exercise, MFP will figure out your deficits for you! :-) The big things to remember are:

NEVER eat less than your BMR calories.

NEVER create a deficit larger than 1000 calories.

Both of those things will hamper your weight loss!

If your deficit is showing larger than 1000 calories, only those exercise calories (the ones to bring your number back to 1000) are the ones that you would eat back. If I don't have a very large deficit the day before, and I'm just a little over the 1000, I don't eat them back. I also really recommend the Polar FT7 HRM, to track your exercise calories, so you're not just guessing since MFP can be a little off and so can the gym exercise machines.

This method has made a lot of sense to me and has helped me. I really like knowing and being in control of my deficit. It isn't an exact science. In other words, if you figure your deficits, and know that you should lose 2.4 lbs this week, but you've only lost 1.8, the other extra might be coming off next week with that loss.

One more thing... Olivia is the woman who posted about this. That's why it's called the Olivia method. She didn't make it up. She got it from a nutritionist that is specialized for runners. I figured that, even though I don't run, I do other exercise that burns calories.

P.S. As you lose weight, you will need to change your maintenance numbers also.

Hello
I just joined and am looking for some encouragement. I am 59 and weight 168. High every thing and need to get off my but and start exercising. How are you doing?

Read your message. This is my third time using myfitnesspal. It works, but as soon as I go off of it, back comes the weight. This time around I am going to try and hold myself accountable. It would help to have others help hold me accountable too! (Of course, celibrate the little victories along the way). Add me if you want to share some accountability.

sounds like your body is storing fat. Happen to me before. So i changed my workout to interval training 20 minutes a day. you can google it for differant ways to workout. I use the Elliptical and do 20-30 min of interval training. 5 times a week.. good luck