55-65 year old women's success?

What trina says! I looked at my goal weight and thought "that's impossible" so I broke it down into smaller more possible goals that were meaningful to me. It felt so good to tick those off one by one. All of a sudden 72 lbs gone.... although it took 20 months.

I am going to have to sit down and read this again, so many have commented since I was last here. looking forward to reading about others journeys!

I'm VERY surprised your doctor suggested the HCG diet! Good grief. I'm sure you'd lose weight since it suggests eating super low (500 - 800 calories a day!). HCG is a hormone that is produced by the human placenta during pregnancy.

HCG diet products are illegal here -- U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm281333.htm

Quote from FDA: "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising consumers to steer clear of these "homeopathic" human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) weight-loss products. They are sold in the form of oral drops, pellets and sprays and can be found online and in some retail stores.

FDA and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have issued seven letters to companies warning them that they are selling illegal homeopathic HCG weight-loss drugs that have not been approved by FDA, and that make unsupported claims. "

lovesretirement wrote: »

candicer wrote: »

I have not had time to check out postings for a few days. Since I started logging my food and excercise on MFP, I've noticed that on days when I am very busy, my best laid plans for meals are sabotaged very easily. Yesterday, for instance, I was too busy too stop and eat and only got 670 calories on. But I felt fine - even managed to get a really good workout in with out feeling bad. Today was just as busy, but being away from home all day had the opposite caloric intake effect! Today I logged in just over 1500 calories! And no excercise today.
- On another note : I had my annual check up today. I mentioned to the doctor about my efforts to lose weight. She was very encouraging, and suggested I check out the HCG diet. She even suggested not eating breakfast! I had a friend who did that diet and lost a lot of weight quickly, but I can't afford the $300 to do it.
- Has anyone else ever done it? Results? Thoughts?

My former doctor promoted that in her office. It was expensive and you had to get the shots. I did it for a few days until I had a scary reaction from eating the required grapefruit. Cannot do grapefruit with my BP med. Plus, I have a history of a fib which obviously she knew about and having so few calories was not the way to go for me. It may be different now, but then it was well below 1000 calories a day. It's a money maker for them.

Bottom line..beware of the promise of a quick fix. We need to eat food at a deficit and move our bodies. Safe, simple, and cheap.

Connie

And free! You don't have to join a gym or buy expensive weight loss gimmicks. There are no magic pills or starvation calorie diets that will keep you healthy. You may lose water weight at first but you'll put it right back on because you're not learning how eat for a sustainable, healthy lifestyle. It takes time to lose the pounds that you've added over the years. Get up, move, and eat in a deficit. Track everything to make it happen. So simple yet so difficult for all of us. Sigh.

trina1049 wrote: »

lovesretirement wrote: »

candicer wrote: »

I have not had time to check out postings for a few days. Since I started logging my food and excercise on MFP, I've noticed that on days when I am very busy, my best laid plans for meals are sabotaged very easily. Yesterday, for instance, I was too busy too stop and eat and only got 670 calories on. But I felt fine - even managed to get a really good workout in with out feeling bad. Today was just as busy, but being away from home all day had the opposite caloric intake effect! Today I logged in just over 1500 calories! And no excercise today.
- On another note : I had my annual check up today. I mentioned to the doctor about my efforts to lose weight. She was very encouraging, and suggested I check out the HCG diet. She even suggested not eating breakfast! I had a friend who did that diet and lost a lot of weight quickly, but I can't afford the $300 to do it.
- Has anyone else ever done it? Results? Thoughts?

My former doctor promoted that in her office. It was expensive and you had to get the shots. I did it for a few days until I had a scary reaction from eating the required grapefruit. Cannot do grapefruit with my BP med. Plus, I have a history of a fib which obviously she knew about and having so few calories was not the way to go for me. It may be different now, but then it was well below 1000 calories a day. It's a money maker for them.

Bottom line..beware of the promise of a quick fix. We need to eat food at a deficit and move our bodies. Safe, simple, and cheap.

Connie

And free! You don't have to join a gym or buy expensive weight loss gimmicks. There are no magic pills or starvation calorie diets that will keep you healthy. You may lose water weight at first but you'll put it right back on because you're not learning how eat for a sustainable, healthy lifestyle. It takes time to lose the pounds that you've added over the years. Get up, move, and eat in a deficit. Track everything to make it happen. So simple yet so difficult for all of us. Sigh.

Well said, completely agree.

agree with you totally Trina.. when I hit maintenance (having never been there before!) I got complacent - and loads of "little" add ons here and there became 15 lbs regained back.. now I use talking to myself to help... asking what do I want MORE.. THIS right now, or to GET to my goal...

sadly I tend to have some of these conversations with myself out loud, so I'm relatively sure my co workers are questioning my sanity right about now.. but most times these convos remind me I want to get to my goal more than I want whatever it is I think i'm craving.. (although there are still moments where I choose the I want it NOW option.. they are fewer and farther between!)

And when i'm having one of those moments, where a hot flash ALSO occurs at the same time and I just happen to find myself annoyed or irritated with someone - (which is when I used to turn to junk for comfort) I also find it helps to remind myself outloud that I just wouldn't look good in prison stripes either, and walk away .. just sayin....

Snooozie wrote: »

<snip>...although there are still moments where I choose the I want it NOW option.. they are fewer and farther between....

Love this, Snoozie. Having those moments get fewer and farther between is my goal too. I sometimes say, "right now I just don't care", but I don't do it as often as I did, plus I'm happy I'm at least considering the option to NOT eat something.

perhaps i was a dog in a previous life; i am a big believer in rewarding myself for as many little milestones as possible. and sometimes i do use food, especially fancy seafood that is low cal and low carb, but too expensive to be part of my every day diet.

I am also a big believer in rewarding myself with one or two really great pieces of clothing every time i go down 5 pounds. Of course, i dont want to spend a whole bunch of money on clothing in a dress size i will only wear for a few months, but i do think it is important to have at least one outfit that fits great right now. Feeling sharp and well put together really inspires me to keep moving forward with my fitness goals.

Snooozie wrote: »

agree with you totally Trina.. when I hit maintenance (having never been there before!) I got complacent - and loads of "little" add ons here and there became 15 lbs regained back.. now I use talking to myself to help... asking what do I want MORE.. THIS right now, or to GET to my goal...

sadly I tend to have some of these conversations with myself out loud, so I'm relatively sure my co workers are questioning my sanity right about now.. but most times these convos remind me I want to get to my goal more than I want whatever it is I think i'm craving.. (although there are still moments where I choose the I want it NOW option.. they are fewer and farther between!)

And when i'm having one of those moments, where a hot flash ALSO occurs at the same time and I just happen to find myself annoyed or irritated with someone - (which is when I used to turn to junk for comfort) I also find it helps to remind myself outloud that I just wouldn't look good in prison stripes either, and walk away .. just sayin....

I hear you, Snoozie. I'm really uptight about hitting maintenance and so happy with myself that I suffer from calorie creep. Have to deal with that when I get there. I've have also done it before, and before, and before. This time I've promised myself it's for good. Can't we just hit the "Easy" button and be done with this crap? Lord almighty!

True that there is no perfection, we just have to adjust every day and make the best food choices that we can. This time, with MFP, it feels like everything has fallen into place for me. I make sure that I'm not depriving myself; I eat chocolate everyday; and make room for other treats as I go along through the days, weeks, months. So far so good. I even occasionally take a break from exercising every couple of months (for a few days).

Jewels211 wrote: »

I have a couple of questions for you all. #1, is anyone else dealing with at least intermittent hyper smelling ability which I think may be partially what's responsible for suddenly not being able to stomach certain foods? There are times when I can smell the garbage truck when it's 6 blocks away, I mean to the point that I think our whole neighborhood is engulfed in the smell of rotten garbage. Some days when someone has mowed their lawn, I feel like I'm driving through a whole town of fresh-mown grass. And most of the time now, I can't handle broccoli and cauliflower, 2 of my main go-to veggies. Can't even take the feel of them in my mouth, but especially cooked. Right now, that's getting a bit easier, and I can handle cauliflower, and broccoli in small bits on a good day.

Jewels, I haven't had anything like that happen. It sounds like what happens in pregnancy--I can remember that far back! I swore off tuna for years after my kids were born! Wonder if it could be hormone-related?