Turning 50 and feeling miserable....

Aww! I can sympathize, turning 50 next year and now weigh almost as much as I did with my pregnancys. I just got started and would love to add you and any other friends for support. I have been shocked at how hard it is to loose weight after turning 40, even more so after a hysterectomy in 2006. I know it's hard for you because of battling depression too but remember you are not alone as we all have our battles. I am not giving up and neither should you, we can do this!

sunday monday tuesday wednesday.

so you are working out 4 days a week, and if you restrict your cals enough on those days they can average out with your quit days to be the amount you want..

I think you just invented the "Quit Diet".

You can make this work, I beleive in you!:flowerforyou:

I am also turning 50 this year and have also let myself go and am looking to change my eating habits. I hope you stick with it and continue to lead and live a healthy life.

I'm in the same boat you are. I have taken small steps like little changes to meals. Then I started making a few better choices when eating out. The hardest thing I've done so far is to drop the soft drinks though I have one from time to time. The next thing I knew, (Like it was over night) I dropped 2 pants sizes. It's the little things that do mean a lot. Don't try to change all at once and if you have a set back, see it for what it is and move forward again. Don't stop. I wish you the best of luck.:happy:

I agree with others who say, make sure you're OK medically. I.e. you're on the right meds etc...

For me, I found focusing on action more beneficial than the results.

Meaning, I have a calendar on my wall. And for every day I exercise, eat well and don't smoke I get a sticker (one for each of those goals). My end goal is to have an entire month filled with stickers! Even if I fall down a few times, I still have a visual reminder of just exactly how many times I did work out a month.

And, start small. Getting back into exercise (after a good 6 month flop) I just focus on actually doing exercise. So, if I can only do 5 minutes, it still counts. Again, it's the doing that's important, especially when trying to change habits. With my 'eating well' sticker - I get a sticker if I either hit my calorie goal OR I eat a good range of mostly non-processed foods. Most days I try to do both.

It's the teeny-tiny changes, done on a regular basis, that add up. Even if diet-wise all you do for this week is say, switch from soda to water. Get a sticker for every day you didn't drink soda. Or whatever. Have your exercise goal this week as doing 5 jumping jacks a day - no excuses, try to schedule your 5 jumping jacks. Wake up - breakfast - 5 jumping jacks. Sticker. Job done for the day. After a while of this, the consistent habit of just turning up with start to grow.

Also, you can start any day of the week, you can start right now!

Also, remove your attachment to time. Yes, it's good to have a time-based goal, but stressing because you have x amount of months before you turn 50 and you want to turn 50 looking like [insert your ideal celeb here] isn't going to help. Just focus on daily actions, no matter how small.

Lots of great advice here; your big key seems to be to deal with any medical depression, and then fight on from there.

I was not thrilled at reaching 50 either - but one of my ever blunt friends told me the only actual alternative I had to turning 50 was being dead, that made me feel a bit less bad.

Start simple and small to get some momentum and think long term. Also, ask yourself - in what state do you want to be at 55? And what do you need to do to get there.

I've been through similar myself (except the actual depression) so happy to chat :-)

I will be turning 50 in six months. I had a dream of going on a diet, and losing weight, it was a fantasy, that I kept thinking, but no really doing, because I was exhausted, depressed, and just overwhelmed. Well, I half heartedly attempted a diet in February, lost nothing in a month. That made me really confront myself, and my habits.

I am a food addict. I love food. I hate exercise. That is me. Always has been.

But, now, at my age, I am taking a critical look at my health, this is serious. People my age get diabetes, other health problems, that can for the most part, be avoided by diet and exercise. I have knee problems, and additional weight does not help.

So, you and I have a few months to make some changes, for our health. I have made three changes.

1. Take a walk at lunch
2. No more bread, pasta, or pizza.
3. Meat, once a week.

I have also increased vegetables and fruit. In addition, to exercising.

I have purchased plane tickets, for my dream vacation, in six months, now, it is real...and every day, I just want to be down 25 pounds for that vacation. I think sometimes, we set ourselves up for failure, by expecting to lose a lot of weight, in a short time. 25 pounds, six months. I think that is something I can do, with just a few conscious choices.

You are not alone...

I know what it is like to be 50. I wish I was 50 again. I wish I had done then what I'm doing now. Make the change. Make the biggest, most bold, drastic change in your life and do it now. Make a commitment. Make it publicly.

1. Set a realistic goal. Calculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and subtract 20%. Don't aim for a ridiculously low number or you will fail.

2. Weigh, measure everything. If you don't have one, get a food scale immediately and use it for EVERYTHING!

3. Log your food religiously. All of it. Good, Bad or Ugly.

4. Get off your couch. Even if it means just putting on your shoes. I know what you are going through. I was on medication for years. I didn't just sit on the couch, I laid on the couch for two years. Start moving. You won't want to but think of it as medication for depression (which it is). Just do it.

5. Repeat

Before you know it, this will be the best year of your life. Good luck. Get going. Start right now!