Over 50 and losing weight isn't as easy as it used to be

Hi, count me in. At 55 I find it difficult to loose the weight the older I get. I loose it and then put it back on and work twice as hard to loose it again. I lost 4lb, put on 3lb over two weeks of Christmas but I have managed to loose it again. Lost 5lb in total. You can do it, are you tracking what you eat every day? I find that helped me . I also track my the chocolate days, these seem to be too often just lately. I want to loose 14lbs in total. Diane

dmoseley389 wrote: »

Hi, count me in. At 55 I find it difficult to loose the weight the older I get. I loose it and then put it back on and work twice as hard to loose it again. I lost 4lb, put on 3lb over two weeks of Christmas but I have managed to loose it again. Lost 5lb in total. You can do it, are you tracking what you eat every day? I find that helped me . I also track my the chocolate days, these seem to be too often just lately. I want to loose 14lbs in total. Diane

lam76051 wrote: »

Especially when my hubby lost it in no time flat. I know, I know - men are from Mars and women are from Venus so I should not even try to compare, but it is frustrating. So I've tried eating healthier and have started incorporating exercise, but when it comes to food I really have no willpower. I would like to drop 20lbs but need to just get past the first 5lbs of water weight and stay motivated. Anyone on board?

linferg wrote: »

Hi . It's hard over 50 . I've got a stone left to shift and it's really hard x

Hi Linferg totally agree with you.

sijomial wrote: »

What does age have to do with willpower?
I found it far easier, foods are labelled, you can track calories easily, got more time now the children are self-sufficient....[/quote.
Well I am not as fit as I used to be. It seems to just take longer than when I was younger and in winter motivation is harder.

I've spent my life yo-yo-ing, gaining and losing about the same 30 pounds more times than I can count. It IS harder after you reach 50 even if you have more time and the kids are gone. Women's metabolisms slow to a snail's pace and it takes more time and effort to get (and keep) the pounds off. I have a skinny hubby with a fast metabolism and he just doesn't understand why people are overweight (while he consumes a bag of kettle chips and 2 haggen-daas ice cream bars for a bedtime snack). Grrrrr!

Add to the mix that insomnia creeps in at this age and it's hard to get enough sleep. Even if you want it badly and know it will help, you just can't force it. I don't want to take sleep meds so I end up awake for sometimes 2-3 hours in the middle of the night. Hopefully additional exercise will help with the sleep as well as boost the old metabolism.

Anyone on this post, feel free to send me a friend request if you want support in this adventure!

Totally agree with you RaeBeeBaby.

I'm in for this. My doctor just told me I need to lose 50 lbs and then proceeded to tell me how difficult its going to be (yay menopause).

I think it is harder, but the better shape you are in the easier it gets, and the less things can hurt you. I am 53 and got a left-sided whiplash in a car accident on 12/5, was down for a week. Before the accident, I was squatting 210 and deadlifting 190, but today I squatted 135 (and 145 but it wasn't quite low enough) and deadlifted 145, so I am making my way back. I was hit by a very big box truck, and the insurance person told me they thought I didn't get hurt worse because I lift weights (I had some diagnostics done to make sure I was not too hurt to go back to lifting when I could). So, I think you can either make excuses or keep at it. I am taking my sweet time losing the rest of my weight, I care more about keeping the muscle, I want to lose the rest of the fat but not at the cost of losing muscle if I can help it. I think when you are over 50 it is more important to be healthy and fit than what the scale says. Bad things can happen in life, and the better the shape you are in, the better it is to handle the stress and whatever physical things you may have to deal with, I also think lifting helps hormones, it helps me stay balanced and strong. I also walk/treadmill on non-lifting days and sometimes also on lifting days, but I don't do a lot of cardio other than that anymore, I have found lifting strengthens me while too much cardio wears me out. So, just my .02 but as you age, fitness overall is important, keeping things like blood sugar and cholesterol in check, etc...if you don't have your health what the scale says is not going to matter much.

AmigaMaria001 wrote: »

I lost 60lbs in 2014 and I'm 61years old. I was always told it's harder as you get older but the truth is... it's NOT! It's a matter of math - eat at a deficit and move more. You will lose weight! you've heard this a millions times I'm sure but, "If I can do it, anyone can do it!"
I've been fat all my life - never believed I could reach a perfect BMI and weight - but by counting calories, logging every single day and being patient... I did it and you can too! Give yourself plenty of time with reasonable goals and you will be amazed. MFP is just awesome for helping you keep track and for support.
Best of luck

You're right. You're wrong, too.

Your metabolism slows as you age, and you lose muscle mass. I'm not sure how much the latter accounts for the former, but both are well documented.

I just turned 61 last Friday. I'm 5'9" and 147 lbs at about 13% bodyfat. I lost over 20% of my total weight over the last 18 or so months. While it's possible to lose weight as you get older, I wouldn't say that it's the same as when you're younger. When I was in my 30s and 40s and needed to lose a few pounds, I just made sure I was working out on a regular basis but made no real change in the way I was eating. By the time I turned 50 that approach didn't seem to work so well. And by the time I was approaching 60, I was officially overweight for the first time in my life.

Older people shouldn't get discouraged and shouldn't use age as an excuse. You can still lose weight and you can still put on muscle. But older people are going to have to work at it a little harder and probably will not see the same results as someone 20 or 30 years younger.

I don't think anyone is using age as an excuse or even trying to find excuses. Some member's opinions are that it just gets harder for whatever reason to them. We all want and will loose weight no matter how long it takes otherwise why would we be using this site? I personally find it harder to loose weight than when I was in my 30s and 40s but I know I can do it and will. The idea of posting on this group is to offer support to those that want it.

I think I have had great success too, I have lost fat and gained muscle, I don't look exactly like I want in a bikini yet, but I am getting there (my profile pic is a couple of months old so I have lost more fat since then, but my scale weight has not changed that much). I guess I think focusing only on scale weight is not looking at the whole picture.

54, working on this journey. Friend me if you want someone who will make comments about your diet and exercise, or offer advice if you want -- I don't push the like button for every little thing, but I try to think through what I say.

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lam76051 wrote: »

dmoseley389 wrote: »

Hi, count me in. At 55 I find it difficult to loose the weight the older I get. I loose it and then put it back on and work twice as hard to loose it again. I lost 4lb, put on 3lb over two weeks of Christmas but I have managed to loose it again. Lost 5lb in total. You can do it, are you tracking what you eat every day? I find that helped me . I also track my the chocolate days, these seem to be too often just lately. I want to loose 14lbs in total. Diane

I try to track my meals but need to get more disciplined about it.

I track my lunch at the same time as I track my breakfast. I plan my packed lunch the night before so there's more time in the morning to track it otherwise I forget. I find this much easier to do. My husband cooks dinner so I track that when I get home.