Life might just begin at 40!

CorrinaG74 · May 2014

Hi all, I've recently turned 40 and even though I've been wanting to lose weight for a looooong time, I've never really done anything serious about it. All my past attempts have been half-hearted and I've given up after 3 weeks or so... In March of this year, I went to New York on holiday with my girlfriends, and even though it was the holiday of a lifetime deep down I was so disappointed that I was not able to run around the city and enjoy it as much as my girlfriends did, and I also know that I kept them back a bit from doing even more. This has spurred me on to doing something about my weight, and for the first time ever, I am determined and feel like I'm on the right track. For the past month I've cut out all fizzy drinks (I used to drink about a litre of Coca Cola a day) and I've started training with a personal trainer, as well as eating a lot healthier than I used to. I've lost 7 kilos (approx 15lbs) in three weeks, but I feel as if it should be more considering the extreme change I've made. I'm not going to give up, but I just want to kickstart this thing so that I get better results. I've gone from a completely sedentary lifestyle, to training with a personal trainer twice a week, eating healthy and drinking 2 litres of water a day so I was expecting a bit more of a result to be honest. Anyone have any advice?

mymodernbabylon · May 2014

15 lbs in three weeks is a HUGE amount of weight loss (though most of it will be water weight to begin with). The majority of people on here are trying to lose between 1/2 to 2 lb a week. If you have a lot of weight to lose, 3 lb a week might end up working for you.

If you read posts by the people who have been on here for ages, you'll see that what they do are eating a bit less of the foods they love. Cutting out stuff entirely doesn't normally work for most people...and then they gain it back. I don't drink soda any longer, but I still enjoy beer and pizza (etc) as I know I want to eat them for the rest of my life - I just try to eat more veg and fruit and the like than I did.

Best of luck to you in your journey. The best online post I read on here is the sexypants link...definitely check it out!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

wannakimmy · May 2014

Cutting out the soda will help for sure.

Drinking more water is great as well.

Working out is good for the mind and body too.

Eating at a deficit is the only thing that is going to make you lose weight. You have to consume less calories than you are using.

Congrats on losing 15 lbs in 3 weeks. Because you have a larger amount to lose, that 5 lbs a week isn't bad. Keep in mind that the closer you get to your goal the less you will likely lose at once. You didn't get to be unhealthy over night, and you won't lose it all over night. Slow and steady wins the race.

Fill out the information for MFP, and enter in 2 lbs for weight loss (the most it will allow) and eat according to what it tells you. You do not have to drop to the "assumed" 1200 calories diet.

If you do not have a food scale, invest in one. Weigh and log accurately EVERYTHING that you consume. Be honest with yourself, if you are not, it will only hurt you.

When you exercise, enter that into MFP as well. Eat back 1/2 to 3/4 of your exercise calories. Your body needs fuel.

Good luck on your journey, keep up the great work!

glenmchale · May 2014

good luck and i agree with both the above posts:

1 - don't cut things out you enjoy but be sensible
2 - measure and record everything and be honest
3 - look to eat less than you use for a while
4 - measure body fat and take measurements more than rely on just weight loss on the scales as you will see differences in your body sometimes when there is no weight loss
5 - its a marathon not a sprint, be excited about the short term losses you have made and use it to help spur you on, but don't get disheartened if (and it will happen periodically) the losses arent as big in the future

all in all eat a balanced diet, take fruits and veggies as well as meats (chicken is low in calories but high in protein compared to red meats but don't discount red meats just be careful) and be honest about what you are taking in and also set realistic goals you are more likely to meet them

good work so far though and carry on

chani8 · May 2014

Really, you're disappointed? You're doing amazing.

Being disappointed is one way to discount your accomplishments. That's sad.

This is a forever change. So settle in for the ride. Find the fun and enjoy the challenge.

And rejoice in every.tiny.bit.of.accomplishment.

kinmoratree · May 2014

This is a marathon. It might even be an ultra-marathon. It's definitely not a sprint.

15 pounds in three weeks is great, but don't get attached to that. You'll go weeks where it will seem like nothing is changing and the numbers on the scale may actually go up instead of down. This has more to do with hormones and other things that I don't completely understand, than what you're eating.

You'll be on this path the rest of your life. You don't get to lose weight and then go back to your old ways. If you like the way you feel, you need to keep after it. It will be worth it. Your next trip (and the one after that and the one after that) will be even more awesome because you won't feel like you're dragging yourself around and you won't feel like you're slowing anyone else down.

Keep doing what you're doing. A year from now you'll be amazed at how far you've come.

Weighinginwithmy02 · May 2014

7 kilos in 3 weeks is a huge loss and you should be more than pleased, you should be overjoyed! I can't imagine what more of a "kickstart" you could possibly want? What were you envisioning happening? What amount of loss did you expect from yourself? (not asking in an attacking way, meaning it sincerely)

Is it usual that you don't allow yourself to celebrate your victories? Are you super hard on yourself when you "fail" in your own mind? (thinking of the mental aspect of weight loss here). Could that be why you haven't had success in the past?

You made huge, significant changes to improve your overall health and life. That should make you thrilled beyond measure. Look at all of the awesome things you are doing! Does that make you happy? Excited? Nervous? Anxious?

I think a problem some people have, maybe you too, maybe not, is you see shows like Biggest Loser and Extreme Make-Over Weight Loss etc and then think those results are normal and set the bar way too high for yourself. You will not get those results without those types of crazy efforts and those people work out 3-5 hours per day, 6 days a week and have a whole team of people working with them. Don't do that to yourself. You're not on those shows. You're in your every day life, with every day challenges and you don't have a team of professionals coaching you through every step.

Be sure you're not being your own worst enemy and make yourself your biggest cheerleader instead. You will make mistakes. You will try things you think 'oh this worked for so and so, so it'll be great for me" and then find those things don't work for you. That's okay. you didn't fail, it just isn't something that works for YOU. This is all just one great big experiment for you to find what it takes for you to lose weight an be successful.

best wishes with it all!

SezxyStef · May 2014

good luck and i agree with both the above posts:

1 - don't cut things out you enjoy but be sensible
2 - measure and record everything and be honest
3 - look to eat less than you use for a while
4 - measure body fat and take measurements more than rely on just weight loss on the scales as you will see differences in your body sometimes when there is no weight loss
5 - its a marathon not a sprint, be excited about the short term losses you have made and use it to help spur you on, but don't get disheartened if (and it will happen periodically) the losses arent as big in the future

all in all eat a balanced diet, take fruits and veggies as well as meats (chicken is low in calories but high in protein compared to red meats but don't discount red meats just be careful) and be honest about what you are taking in and also set realistic goals you are more likely to meet them

good work so far though and carry on

Totally agree with this...

Only thing I will add is get a food scale so you can be accurate with your intake and consider taking up some form of resistence training.

I lifted weights in my early 20's and again in my early 30's and totally forgot about how good it feels until I started here...I started again at 40 and I love love love what it does for my body.

As well take pics to track progress that can be hard to see in the mirror...

Topsking2010 · May 2014

Keep working and move forward!!!!

lemurcat12 · May 2014

Sounds like you are off to a great start. The changes you've made are good, and 15 lb in 3 weeks is amazing. You usually lose more at the beginning, but on the whole a more typical weight loss even when you have a good bit to lose is 1-2 lbs per week. At your desired loss aiming for 2 is fine if you want--that's what I've done.

Have you filled out your information for MFP and gotten a calorie goal? One thing is just to learn how it works. To lose one lb (other than right at the beginning when there's water weight and such), you generally need a deficit of 3500 calories, and for 2 you need a deficit of 7000. So in a week 2 lbs requires a deficit of 1000 per day on average. That means you either cut that much out of your diet (by reducing what you've been eating) or add exercise or best a combination. It sounds like that's what you've done, and what MFP does is let you see the specifics and just how many calories you are eating and what differences changes make. It also lets you see that you can do this while continuing to eat smaller portions of foods you love--you don't have to live on diet food, like some think. (Great to cut those soda calories, however.)

Exercise is fabulous for your health and important, but may not burn that many calories compared to what you were expecting.

Anyway good luck! If 2/week feels slow, think about what it would mean in 3 months--that's one thing that motivated me, just comparing where I would be if I started losing vs nothing or even continuing to gain.

CorrinaG74 · May 2014

Thank you guys so much for the advice and encouragement. I know that this is going to take a long while, and I am pleased with what I've done so far - I guess I'm just really looking forward to the moment when I begin to feel better physically. At the moment I'm still feeling achy all over all the time, which is basically what was a constant in my life before I began and what made me start this journey. I can't wait to be able to see the difference in my clothes and also just generally feel better bodily, if that makes sense. Unfortunately I have a problem with one foot, which gives me a lot of pain - due to a combination of it being weak and also a suspected hairline fracture which is being treated - so I can't train as much as I really want to, even though my trainer is so good, and takes into consideration all my factors but still manages to get my heart racing for an hour twice a week, and the day after I really do feel like I've been active, which is a good feeling.

Anyway, I'm not going to beat myself up. I didn't get to this state in a day, and it's therefore not going to be 'fixed' in a day either! Good luck to all of you, hope you all find the motivation to carry on with your journey too!

Springfield1970 · May 2014

Well done! Keep at it!

For perspective, I am happy if I lose 1 pound A MONTH!

I'm in this for life, and maintenance is every bit as challenging as losing, but you're enjoying your body so much more.

Ps there's no 'might' about it! Life definitely started at 42 for me when I beat my food demons on MFP and learned about fitness and strength training.

Here's to your journey:drinker:

Timshel_ · May 2014

I've lost 7 kilos (approx 15lbs) in three weeks, but I feel as if it should be more considering the extreme change I've made. I'm not going to give up, but I just want to kickstart this thing so that I get better results.

Too many people start out gunho like that, have some good initial success, but then when things start becoming routine (like they should be) they get frustrated. Kinda like marriage! lol.

Don't get caught up in fast results, though they may come. The majority of people neglected themselves for years or decades to get out of shape, it isn't something that is corrected in months. Especially on the mental part of changing your lifestyle and choices. It's as simple as healthy choices for eating and exercise, made each day, for the rest of your life.

Moderate your eating always. Find exercise you enjoy and will do and keep doing them every week.

My .02

sodakat · May 2014

... - I guess I'm just really looking forward to the moment when I begin to feel better physically. At the moment I'm still feeling achy all over all the time, which is basically what was a constant in my life before I began and what made me start this journey. I can't wait to be able to see the difference in my clothes and also just generally feel better bodily, if that makes sense. Unfortunately I have a problem with one foot, which gives me a lot of pain - due to a combination of it being weak and also a suspected hairline fracture which is being treated - so I can't train as much as I really want to, even though my trainer is so good, and takes into consideration all my factors but still manages to get my heart racing for an hour twice a week, and the day after I really do feel like I've been active, which is a good feeling.

Did you spend any time at all just working on eating at a deficit before you began with the personal trainer? You know you can lose weight without exercising, right? If you are in pain and if your body needs to heal, why are you pushing so hard? You have the rest of your life to use a personal trainer.

How are you bought a food scale yet? Are you weighing everything you eat and measuring liquids. IMO, this is where you should concentrate for a few months while you let your body heal. Have you let MFP set a calorie goal for you?

Life might just begin at 40!

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