55-65 year old women's success?

I am 60, and have had a few changes in my life recently (job change, income change, etc.) I have lost 61 pounds (17 before joining MFP). I'm a hearty eater with a fairly active lifestyle, and have successfully lost weight before but never kept it off. I have to realize that this an entire lifestyle change, not something with an end goal that I can reach, relax, and then revert to old habits. Diabetes runs in my family and I want to keep it at bay. I am losing VERY slowly, but surely! I am now in Onderland for the first time in over 22 years, and over the holidays I was able to buy clothes in a normal women's section. Overwhelming! I slip here and there, but it is not devastating as I just get back on track the next day. I feel wonderful, energetic, and better than I have in years. I vigorously exercise at least 5 times a week, and have embraced the over-used phrase of "use it or lose it". Only slacker part of my day is sitting in front of this computer reading the forums!

I'm not sure what you do want to hear about. I'm 67 and lost 30lb. It took me a year, eating 1450kcal/day and quote out at a vigorous level 5-6 days a week (1-2 classes of Zumba/cardiokickboxing/BodyPump, etc). I've maintained for 2 years except for breaking a leg in October and gaining 4lb, which I am halfway through losing.

I have a lot of energy and if my metabolism has slowed down, it has been intimidated by my drive. lol In my journey, I've searched out others who are also active and found quite a few women who are continuing to live an active lifestyle as they age. I've made wonderful friendships on MFP.

I sympathize with people my age who are less active and hope that those who start this process will do well. I know that a lot of people struggle with taking the first step and also with staying with developing a new way of life - which is what is necessary for success.

During my maintenance journey, I became a personal trainer, working with a senior population, obese women and people with arthritis. It's most inspiring when someone is already motivated to do something for themselves, but it's also great to watch someone go from precontemplation of doing something to actually taking a first step. A current client is morbidly obese at 250lb and when I see her experiencing success at something as simple as a wall push up, it's really gratifying.

There is a crisis of overweight in this country that is not getting better. People are more sedentary than ever. The key to living a longer life has been shown to be being physically active. maintaining a healthy weight and continuing to be social. Everytime I hear about someone who has died in their 60s or at 72, it reminds me how fortunate I am and what I have to offer people. Not sugar-coating the effort needed, it's very important to keep going.

teeseeytopcat wrote: »

Hello PianoRun! I'll be turning 60 in a few months & have lost 30 pounds since joining MFP in April. Slow but steady & even though I see lots of folks reporting incredible amounts of weight loss in short periods of time, I believe us more mature gals experience weight loss at a slower rate & that's perfectly fine with me.

Add me as a friend if you'd like!

All the best.

I definitely agree with you im new at this need to. It waa so much easier to lose weight when I was younger. But I am bound and determined to finally lose this 45 #s. So yes let's please be friends and totally support each other. Luci

Hi, I'm 65 years old, 5'2.5" and I've been on MFP for almost a year and have lost 40lbs. so far. I lost a few pounds before I found MFP but this site has helped me the most. It's taken me over a year to do so, but its been a steady loss of about 2lbs per month. My starting weight was 179 and I'm now at 139 pounds.

As for exercising, when I started losing, before MFP, I only walked and rode my bike (slowly). After a couple of months I wanted to exercise more so joined a nearby gym and began a heavy cardio routine of two cardio classes five times a week. I kept to this routine for quite a while then went to the Body Pump classes (weight lifting) and really loved lifting weights. I'm not lifting very heavy yet, 15lb squats; 12lb clean and press, etc., but I intend to lift heavier when go on to maintenance after another 10lb. loss. Trying for a goal weight of 129 - 130 pounds.

So my new exercise schedule is weight lifting four times per week for one hour and I include 30 minutes of cardio after weight class three times per week. My body composition has really improved with this schedule even though I'm putting in less time at the gym. I actually have muscles now! Who would have thought!

When I first joined MFP I read all the stickies and began my own research about nutrition -- that's been my single most motivating factor because I don't really interact in the forum much though I read everything.

What's worked for me is a 35% protein, 35% fat, 30% carb micro split. I love carbs but found that my blood sugar kept going up and now that's not happening with watching my carb intake. I weigh and log everything and will probably have to do so forever if I want to keep the weight off. It could be worse. . . I could be fat again in no time if I stop weighing my food and counting calories.

It's been a slow journey but really rewarding. I went from a US size 14/16 to a US size 6/8; I'm actually wearing petite mediums now. Wow.

Best of luck to everyone - stick with it!

Hi, I'm 51 and post-menopausal and I can't say that losing weight is harder now since I always found it challenging. I think the biggest adjustment for me was the "shape shift" and lose of muscle tone issues that go with aging. It was odd to look at myself and see that my waist was disappearing. I also decided "batwings" were something I could not live with and I have shifted my focus to lifting while still doing a fair bit of cardio (mainly spinning). On the less vain side I looked around and saw that some of my only slightly older friends were starting to complain about bad knees, poor flexibility etc. and I didn't want to follow in their foot steps. At the end of day the tools for losing weight don't change much as we age but the need for exercise to keep our metabolism fired up and our muscle tone and flexibility maintained/increased becomes paramount. Our quality of life is dependent on fitness as much (perhaps more) than maintaining a healthy weight. Few of us aspire to be thin and frail - we want to be strong and powerful. Personally I want to spend the next ten years working toward looking as hot and sexy as middlehaitch does in her photo standing next to the Christmas tree - in my mind I already have my own little black dress picked out for the occasion!

I'll be 62 next month. I've been overweight most of my life. I thought I would never be able to lose all the weight at this age because everyone says it gets harder as you get older... That is just an excuse! Truth is... it's just math. calorie deficit at any age means weight loss.

I am 51 years old. I would like to lose 50 lbs my goal right now is to do healthy. So that is why I am here. Need help on where to start. I am active but eating and happy hour habits sabotage what I have done. So need that moral support. Can I join the group.

Hi, I am 56 years old. I have been very active most of my life and I also struggled greatly with depression. I was doing well for quite a long time, I hiked 3 days a week, was working on my 2nd degree black belt, waterskied, scuba and just loved life. Then I hurt my back (sparring) and when I could no longer walk, I had surgery. Recovery was doing well but I couldn't do anything without severe pain. After 2 years the depression started to set back in and I didn't care anymore. My eating went on a downward spiral and I started to gain weight slowly but steady. Two more years past and I thought enough was enough. I went to a Dr for a new MRI and was told exercise would be painful but wouldn't injure me. I had babied my back for so long the muscles were atripheed (well I guess I don't know how to spell that) and I needed to get up and just suck it up. I started with walking. When my walking partner didn't want to up the distance I got a second partner. One hour with the first friend and then 2 more with the second. When I was up to 15 miles a day I started adding stairs, and then the elliptical, my bike and step machine. A couple of times a month I have a little set back with pain but it never lasts long. I started walking the end of Aug of 2014 and started MFP about 2 months later. I have lost 24 lbs (no gain through the holidays) and have about that much more to go. Thanks for all the great stories. They help me stay motivated.

So great to read posts from DETERMINED women instead of women with excuses. Thanks so much for detailing what keeps you going everyone! I'm excited to see what I can accomplish in 2015.

PianoRun wrote: »

First thing this morning, i logged on to read these posts, and it sets a good tone for the day. Yesterday, I even managed to avoid an unnecessary snack because I thought of you.

Asking for success stories in this age group because we have challenges in common is only one aspect to consider. Observing "gee, it's so hard at this age" (although I hear ya!) --- so many of you are overcoming these obstacles and light the way in sharing your experiences. Usually, I can see lots of before/after pics and success stories of younger women or men, but I need to feel "yeah, that could be me" ! Same as some people request posts on those of the same height. Thanks, again, middlehaitch, for posting your pics -- you look really good and happy, too!

As for me, I've noticed a definite shift in my motivation. Although it is important to look my best, no amount of diet and exercise (or surgery) is going to make me appear younger -- and I don't want to. Now, maintaining health and vitality has moved to the forefront. The type of desperation that can drive younger people to bulimia, anorexia, or removing ribs is not present here. Preserving and building energy is more important. In spirit, I feel free as a girl to do anything I want, no longer hampered by crazy PMS or peri-menopause symptoms. I was even ready to accept myself at a heavier weight, and "enjoy" eating whatever I felt like -- but --- surprise! --- the extra weight gets in the way, and I can't digest that crap the way I used to, so I'm beginning to think eating better definitely has to be a way of life (duh!)

Piano run..I was ready to accept myself, too, and eat whatever I wanted. In fact, I did that for 6 months. I kept exercising, but still picked up 8 pounds. At my 6 month check up, my doc was not happy and wanted to increase my blood pressure meds! Even my perfect cholesterol numbers had risen slightly.

So I get it: if I don't want a bunch of health issues in the next couple of years, I will Never be able to eat whatever I want. I will Always have to log/track my food. I will Always need to exercise, which I love to do anyway. And that's okay with me; it's a small price to pay for good health and mobility in the years to come.