55-65 year old women's success?

@Skyweigh We had a controversial saying back in the day ... No Pain No Gain. Though unpopular it really is true. In my life I have found that since it "hurts" when you do and has way more negative consequences when you don't, I just keep going. I have learned you can be chronically ill and in pain and still exercise within your range and it doesn't kill you.

Best tip of the day is to learn core engagement and use it all day long to strengthen back and abdominal girdle, assist when standing from a sitting position, relieve the strain of lifting improperly and allow you to convert bending from waist into squat and safe lift. Plus nice figure without situps.

A series of Pilates classes which focus on engagement for most moves will give you a safe environment with professional feedback while you master this skill.

Bonnie -- my sister took me on a spa weekend last year and they had them there. It was a 40 minute class and i only made it for about half an hour -- it got my heart rate way up in no time. She is taking me away to the same place again over Easter weekend and i cant wait to try them now that i am in much better shape.

cathy120861 wrote: »

Anybody interested in joining a biggest loser challenge? they have a new one starting up this coming monday and i would love to see some familiar faces.

I'd love to. What do I have to do?

Notreadytoquit wrote: »

Best tip of the day is to learn core engagement and use it all day long to strengthen back and abdominal girdle, assist when standing from a sitting position, relieve the strain of lifting improperly and allow you to convert bending from waist into squat and safe lift. Plus nice figure without situps.

A series of Pilates classes which focus on engagement for most moves will give you a safe environment with professional feedback while you master this skill.

^^^^
| | | | Echo this. A few years ago (when I was going through menopause actually) I was on an everyday Pilates challenge, and did a bit of mat Pilates every day without fail for a month and a half. It was really transformative to feel that girdle. Since then, I've fallen away, but still do some of those exercises with my yoga -- just not nearly as much!

Now, I am trying to learn all over again to do classic squats, lunges, pushups. I did these exercises (or reasonable attempts!) for years as part of aerobics classes (with free weights). Now I am revisiting these (more carefully, and with a heavier body) with a view toward muscle-building (more weights).

For me, over the years, I've had a chance to work with many approaches to exercise/fitness -- all valuable in themselves. Each type requires rethinking and often a fresh "start" although this is an ongoing process, and an educational one, as with learning to eat more healthily.

cowleyl wrote: »

I'd love to. What do I have to do?

I will give your name to one of the folks in charge and he will send you an invitation.
Anybody else?

I'm going to pass on this one. I'm not very competitive (except with myself!) Keep us posted, though.

Odirish -- let me know if you dont get an invitation by teh end of the day.
Cowleyl -- did you get an invitation?

did Will tell you it was too late to start? cause i know plenty of people are still joining. i will check with him.

odirish wrote: »

I wasn't concerned so much about the challenge, I just wanted to join the thread haha..

Glad to have you here! Sure sounds like you have the exercise part down! How far over your daily calories are you? Because maybe you are still at a deficit. I mean if you set your loss for 2 pounds a week, lower it to just 1 pound so you get to eat more.

Also, if you do go over, just carry on. It will get easier I'll bet. Don't quit just because you ate more than you planned.

odirish wrote: »

...I am wondering though if 1200 calories is enough. I thought I'd track this week and if my weight stays the same all week, I'll bump it up by maybe 100 or 200 calories. I'm not really sure about that. It could be the reason I am not losing also.

I don't think I understand what you are getting at here. Are you saying that you think if you are not losing it means you are not eating ENOUGH? How would that work? I'd be more concerned that you may not be logging accurately and are actually eating more than you think.

But if not, and if you are truly eating just 1200 calories and you know your body burns more than that, then you should indeed be losing.

Odirsih -- i dont know if this is true for other people, but for me, i find that i can eat more calories if fewer of them come from carbs. i eat a lot of lean protein and healthy fats, like from avocado, oil oil and nuts. and, while i dont lose as quickly if i go over calories, i have continued to keep losing.

odirish wrote: »

But if I'm not eating enough calories due to strength training and cardio, my weight would stall because my body needs more fuel and I'm not giving it. Does that make sense? I know girls who lift weights and eat around 2000 calories. I'm gonna track this week and see if I have any loss at all. If not I'll bump the calories up and try that for a week and see if that helps.

You are eating the 1200 minimum for a sedentary woman and doing all that extra stuff?

Yes - your body has found a way to adapt and slow you down.

Start eating a tad more and stop stressing the body out so badly, it'll work with you and speed back up.

Just remember as you increase calories say 100 extra a day.

Even if your body did NOT speed up in that time, and that truly was 100 in surplus above maintenance level - it would take 35 days to slowly gain 1 whole pound.
Reread that.

So if you gain several pounds and fast - you gained water weight. Probably carbs topping off in muscles with attached water. And that is LBM, and increases metabolism dealing with stored water.
But keep at it - that just proves prior level was NOT maintenance, or those carb stores would have already been topped off.

There are many that discover that merely eating 150-300 extra daily causes their body to unstress and start burning 500-700 more daily, as indicated by their weight loss that results.

Good direction. Track food eaten accurately too. And log strength training with actual time done.
That entry in database is for 5-15 reps with sets and rests of 2-4 min, almost to failure. If that's not your workout, don't use it, perhaps you are circuit training 15 + reps and rest of less than 1 min, or calisthenics with bodyweight and reps around 20 or high and short rests.

So many inspiring stories,thank you! I really needed the boost.

Hello everyone,
I am 63 years old and I need to get serious. I have been on MFP since July 2012 but I was only serious about it for the first six months. I lost 20 lbs. but when my weight loss stalled I became frustrated and didn't stick with it. I keep playing at it but every few days I seem to give up and eat what I want. Of course I put the 20 lbs. back on.

Today I had a scare while at Zumba with feeling like I was going to faint and I had rapid heart rate. That gave me a scare and reminded me that I need to get healthy. While looking for inspiration I found this thread.

It's good to hear of others having success. I have done it before so I know I can do it again! I hope to keep checking here to give and receive encouragement.

Welcome Renee I'm 63 also. I started tracking the other day. Like you, I was not serious about weightloss. I'm still undecided if I should lower my carbs or not, but I guess it can't hurt.