Older women success stories please!

I was a very bad girl tonight. I have been seeing the add for the red white and blue breakfast slam at Dennys.
they looked so so good. I love pancakes anyway, especially if they are special ones, not just plain pancakes. These are blueberry pancakes, topped with strawberries and then cream cheese drizzled on top with dollops of whipped cream on them. You need no syrup. Nut the breakfast comes with bacon, 2 eggs and hashbrowns. Now I know there are many substitions I can do for that breakfast to make it helthier. I'm not saying healthy. You can have whole grain pancakes, no whipped cream or cream cheese, substitute a fruit plate for the hasbrowns and and egg whites. But I wanted the whole shebang tonight. It was good. The waitress came back several times asking if I wanted a carry out box and I assured I could finish the whole thing, and I did. We usually get the senior grilled chicken breast but I have a sneaking suspicion that the chicken is a flaked and formed processed breast. I am going ot have to seriously relook at the menu items to find me something else.

Did I mention that it was scrumtiousdilyumptious!!!

Joyce, Indiana

I like this thread! I'd love to see more pics of progress too, for inspiration. Can anyone oblige?

I love the success stories of everyone here! I kept looking for girls my age (50's) on MFP. I have one question that doesn't get answered. How do you determine what you should weigh. This is a mystery to me. I've researched it on the internet and can't find anything that helps determine. Do we just loose weight until we feel we are at the correct weight???????

Do we just loose weight until we feel we are at the correct weight???????

huh; never thought about that. i weighed somewhere between 120 and 125 in my 20's and i just assumed there wasn't any logical reason i knew of why i shouldn't weigh somewhere between 120 and 125 in my late 40's, if i felt like it. i'm within 10 pounds of 120 atm and i'm still thinking the same thing - like what's left to lose looks like around that much to me. just like it did when i was back in college.

except now you got me thinking about it

the only change i can think of is that i may be a little shorter now than i was, so that's a few pounds lighter. in the other direction, i'm doing stronglifts, which i sure wasn't doing when i was 23. so that's a few pounds heavier in the form of muscle (eventually). i figure they'll probably balance each other out by the time they meet in the middle . . . so that still sets the 'middle' at somewhere between 120 and 125, to me.

@etremoi53: so much yes. i'm sayin' do it! do the weights! aside from the fact that it did seem to kick my metabolism in the butt and get it moving again . . . do you have any idea how awesome it would be to be able to benchpress your own grandkids if you ever have any?

This is a really good thread; feel free to add me. 51, maintaining a 37 lb. loss. Want to lose about app. 15lb. more but not in a rush. Have added weight to my regime and must say that is the way to go girl friends. Muscle eats calories and we lose muscle as we age...so build more muscle right? makes sense to me and to top it off it feels great to be stronger and my balance and stamina is really good now.

I've just turned 63, retired on June 1 from a job where I sat all day long. Needless to say, it wore me out and I did not exercise when I got home from work..too pooped! I've never been much of an exerciser, so that helped contribute to the obesity.
I was determined to get this weight off once I retired and with the encouragement of my son who lost 85 pounds last year being on MFP, I signed up with MFP and have had a really great result. I do have to say that I strayed from the program for about a month during the move-we moved to a new state the end of June-but I went right back on this past week and as of today I've lost a total of 18 lbs! I haven't lost that much in over 8 years. I exercise 6 days a week-my day of rest is Sunday-and I am feeling great!
I'm not interested in looking like I did or weighing what I did when I was 20, that's just not realistic. I've been over 200 lbs-highest 275-for so many years that I know I have to be reasonable with my goal weight. I set it at 175 and hope to maintain that weight for at least one year. If, after that time, my Dr. and I decide I need to lose more, I'll be back on MFP program. I'll also use it for maintenance.
I've also found that having a positive attitude about myself and what I am trying to do is helpful. There are those who are going to rain on your parade. They will discourage you and try to enable you to stay obese…you're not doing this for them-it's for you! Sure, I want some pretty clothes that don't have a 2 at the beginning of the size on the label, and yes, I want to buy a bathing suit and go to the beach once again, but most of all, I want to be healthy, live well and enjoy my family. I will do it…and so can all of us! Do it for you!

I am 56 years old and have lost 35 pounds since January. I only recently found MFP and am thrilled to use the tools! A very good freind of mine was diagnosed with diabetes last year....a great wake-up call. I decided that I did NOT want to age one more day without doing something good for myself, so I went on a quest to count calories, change my habits, and stick with it. It's been hard but OH, so worth it! My "empty nest challenge" has grown in to an "empty nest lifestyle." Now my kids call wondering where I am and what I'm doing, and they usually find that I am out riding my bike or gardening....or anything else that keeps me active.
I will never look like a 20-something again, but I feel great and don't worry about being the best 60-something I can be! In fact, I'm rather looking forward to it!

I'm here. I am 67 and have been a couch potato for 24 yrs. I have wasted all my muscle and couldn't sit in a Jacuzzi because I float to the top...can't even sit..*sigh.

So, I was 233 lbs. 6 months ago. Right now, I am 171. I didn't think it was possible. I got inspired and decided to get my brain out of the nonsense of only younger people can do it. I had to convince myself that it was possible. I didn't exercise for 4 months because I couldn't. I could only do x5 min on a treadmill. So I decided to wait it out...till I got to about 180 to start. I still don't do that much but I can over an hr on the treadmill now...walking.

I drastically had to cut my calories to get where I am. Nothing else will work for me. Not ready for strength yet due to I want to lose fat first. I mess around with some equip. but have no idea what I am doing. I sorta play at it. I can't afford a trainer.

Don't be fooled or mislead by the myths of "can't be done after menopause"...tell them to "Stick it". Sure my loss would have been quicker if I were younger but I am a perfect example of weight loss in seniors. I was using a scooter and then a cane till 6 months ago. If I did it, anyone can. People said it was unrealistic. My doctor said "No" also. Well, I'm glad I'm doing this and I am shocked at the results.

Haha! Love that about the floating in the Spa. I thought I was the only one. I can float in the pool for hours LOL! Who needs a raft!
Keep up the good work!

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Its never too late, ill be 54 in oct and my goal is to do one unassisted pull up by then. I am finally comfortable in my body for the first time ever in my life.

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Over 45. Fitbit user. Dropped about 40 pounds before having a hysterectomy, mostly from walking and reducing calories. Have kept it off for over a year. Now into barbell strength training, Krav Maga, and occasionally something off the wall like hula hoop dancing. I eat all the foods, including ice cream and gelato pretty often. Lots of restaurant foods in the mix, because I'm busy. So far, so good... Mostly I really, really love being able to be more active than I've been in 25 years or so.

Oh, as to the original question about looking older... I look younger now than I did when I was overweight a decade or so ago. A couple of friends have told me I look like a high school or college kid, which is pushing it, but I do enjoy dressing a bit like one sometimes. :bigsmile:

If you can keep up with those 20 somethings in class, they should be impressed with you. One thing to keep in mind, if you're using the preset goals, you might have to change them. I went by that for 6 weeks & got nowhere. Then a personal trainer increased calories, decreased carbs & fat & increased protein. I lost 6 lbs in the next 6 weeks.

I'm 54. I've maintained a decent weight for a most of my adult life. But the last decade even though my weight stayed the same my body looked different...soft, squishy, thick in the middle ewwww. I was losing lean muscle mass due to hormones and aging. I thought I was too old to make any significant changes. Wrong!! Strength training, weight lifting and body weight exercises has helped reshape my body. So the best advice I can give an 'older' woman is lift weights, heavy weights that challenge you. If you read the 'New rules of lifting for women' it has a lot of great information in there. It's never to late to look great ladies! Keep giving it your all!

" But the last decade even though my weight stayed the same my body looked different...soft, squishy, thick in the middle ewwww. I was losing lean muscle mass due to hormones and aging."

Totally agree with this. My weight has been within 10 pounds for the last 20 years but I look a lot heavier.