55-65 year old women's success?

cathy120861 · April 2015

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 · April 2015

How many carbs do you do a day? I'm not losing anything!!! I am so lost on what I shoulddo. I was eating single ingredient foods like chicken , fish vegetables eat but I'd lose a pound and then gain a pound and a half. I'm ready to quit and just get old and fat

heybales · April 2015

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.

cathy120861 · April 2015

I actually do best when i stay below 20 net carbs.
Net carbs is the number of carbs an item has, minus the amount of fiber.
Net carbs works better for me because that way you can still eat veggies, since they are high fiber.
If i do that, and exercise 5 or 6 days a week, i can eat 1400 (or even 1500) calories a day and still lose weight.

Mckel64 · April 2015

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

odirish · April 2015

heybales I sent you a PM. with more questions.

ReneeJM · April 2015

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.

odirish · April 2015

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.

odirish · April 2015

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.

odirish · April 2015

cathy120861 wrote: »

I actually do best when i stay below 20 net carbs.
Net carbs is the number of carbs an item has, minus the amount of fiber.
Net carbs works better for me because that way you can still eat veggies, since they are high fiber.
If i do that, and exercise 5 or 6 days a week, i can eat 1400 (or even 1500) calories a day and still lose weight.

That's sounds good to me

bonniepwest · April 2015

Need some encouragement...I fell off the wagon so bad at the end of last week and into the weekend. I'm up almost 5 pounds from my last weigh-in. I know that some of that is temporary weight gain, but I've really felt out of control. And I go to the doctor today to get my updated lab results from last week (thank goodness before the binge!) Hoping for good news on the A1C...but I have to get back in control NOW!

cathy120861 · April 2015

Hey Bonnie -- oh my goodness, i have been there. actually, i am willing to bet that we all have. sometimes when i am having trouble with my eating, i try to increase my activity. it makes me feel good about myself, which is half of the battle.

another thing i do is give myself permission to up my calories to a maintenance level. that way, i can be a little more relaxed, but not feel out of control. after all, weight loss is not a sprint -- its a life style. so if i maintain for a little while, its not such a big deal.

I had a bad time in the middle of March and gained a few pounds. only just got them off this past week. something that has helped me has been being part of Biggest Loser team here on MFP, although i know that is not everyone's style.

Travelfixer · April 2015

Hi Everyone, I joined MFP Jan 2013, I will be 56 in May and still going through menopause, I lost 20 lbs by August, it was slow but I felt so much better and was half way to my goal weight, then like so many posts, got lazy about not posting my food and gradually gained it back and a little more, so now the heaviest I've ever been at 194. I joined a Planet Fitness a few weeks ago and am going 3 times a week doing treadmill then circuit training and treadmill to finish, and the past couple of days I have cut back drastically on carbs as they are my downfall (rice, bread etc). Lost 3 lbs, and I know its going to be slow going but reading your comments really makes me feel determined, I'm giving myself till next year when I will be 57 (May 2016) to get to 145lbs. I'm glad to have found this thread, with people of a similar age. :-)

Travelfixer · April 2015

trina1049 wrote: »

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!

Thanks for posting that, Its exactly what I needed to hear, especially the percentages for carbs, protein and fat. for some reason MFP changed my carbs to 50%, and I had to change them but wasnt sure what the % should be. I eat too many carbs and I think that lowering my carb intake which I started a couple of days ago should really help so reading your post validates that decision. I was in a size 12 but just had to buy a new suit and its a size 16 so your post is very encouraging!! I am 5ft 7 so not a petite but was always skinny until my early 40's when I started gaining weight. I love seeing people going down in size it makes me feel like I can do it, so please everyone keep posting your success stories, its the BEST motivation of all!

sodakat · April 2015

Bonnie, I agree with Cathy -- eating at maintenance when I just need to eat a bit more, for whatever reason, is what I do too.

Don't beat yourself up. You have done so great. You'll continue to lose, as long as you don't quit! We have plenty of time to do this!

--Kathy

trina1049 · April 2015

Travelfixer wrote: »

trina1049 wrote: »

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!

Thanks for posting that, Its exactly what I needed to hear, especially the percentages for carbs, protein and fat. for some reason MFP changed my carbs to 50%, and I had to change them but wasnt sure what the % should be. I eat too many carbs and I think that lowering my carb intake which I started a couple of days ago should really help so reading your post validates that decision. I was in a size 12 but just had to buy a new suit and its a size 16 so your post is very encouraging!! I am 5ft 7 so not a petite but was always skinny until my early 40's when I started gaining weight. I love seeing people going down in size it makes me feel like I can do it, so please everyone keep posting your success stories, its the BEST motivation of all!

Thanks for your post!

Update: I'm down 45lbs. I went shopping with my sister today and actually fit comfortably into a size 4 US. I can't believe it. So now with about 7 - 9lbs left to lose before I hit maintenance (new goal is now around 124-128lbs) I've dropped from a size 14/16 US to a size 4/6 US.

I've kept up with the weight resistance classes and have almost doubled my weights. I think that controlling the carbs by limiting them to 30% of my calorie intake and continuing the weight resistance has really reshaped my body. While I'll never have the body of a 20-30, or even 40 year old again at least I'm much healthier at 65 than I was 10 or 15 years ago.

I see my doctor at the end of this month and I'm hoping to reduce my meds again and for me that's a great victory.

cathy120861 · April 2015

Trina - you are awesome! Thank you so much for posting your very inspiring story. It really started my day off right. I have also found that limiting carbs has been essential to my weight loss. I do a lot of weight bearing exercise (boxing, pilates, barre, belly dancing), and lately i have also tried to increase my cardio, which has made a big difference.

mo2go · April 2015

Whaw, this thread is amazing. I am not alone with the struggle of this baggage I am carrying around. Please, please can we have a group with us all in it so we can help and remind each other how really hard it is. I have now dropped my calorie intake to 1500 which seems to be a 1lb a week but I would rather have a fabulous week with loads off to just get that boost of confidence. I started going to the gym but that just fried my mind as I started putting weight on. Oh yes everyone they did say it was muscle but when your trousers and skirts dont meet it is very frustrating and I have an inability to balance the idea I am trying to lose weight with the idea that it has to get worse before it gets better.

trina1049 · April 2015

mo2go wrote: »

Whaw, this thread is amazing. I am not alone with the struggle of this baggage I am carrying around. Please, please can we have a group with us all in it so we can help and remind each other how really hard it is. I have now dropped my calorie intake to 1500 which seems to be a 1lb a week but I would rather have a fabulous week with loads off to just get that boost of confidence. I started going to the gym but that just fried my mind as I started putting weight on. Oh yes everyone they did say it was muscle but when your trousers and skirts dont meet it is very frustrating and I have an inability to balance the idea I am trying to lose weight with the idea that it has to get worse before it gets better.

Hi, mo2go! We're all here checking in so click on the star at the top right side of this thread to stay in touch; there's actually no formal "group." You can friend me if you like.

Don't panic about the initial weight gain; if you've just started at the gym your muscles are retaining water weight to help repair them after working out. You are going to see your weight fluctuate constantly because that's what it does.

Please don't restrict your calories too much as this is not healthy. This process takes a long time; you can rush by losing weight too quickly but that isn't sustainable over the long haul.

Eat a proper number of calories to nourish your body while exercising and the weight will fall off over time. Look for a downward trend in your weight not a specific number on the scale because, you know, fluctuations.

bonniepwest · April 2015

Thanks, Cathy! That's a good idea about increasing exercise time to make you feel better. I'm glad you've been able to get past your "challenge" and get back to where you were. How's the grandbaby?

I do have good news--went to the doctor yesterday for my lab results. A1C is down from 5.8 to 5.6; the top end of the normal range, but NORMAL! And my vitamin D is finally back at the low end of the normal range, but it's been way below normal, so that's good. BP was up more than is normal for me, but I find that every tech takes it a different way; and I MIGHT have been a little anxious about the lab results, too.

Not too worried about it.

Really good to see some quantitative results from what I've been doing. I feel much better and think I will be OK for now--till the next time! But I know I'll have ups and downs and just have to push through. Thanks for the encouragement. This is a "safe" place.

55-65 year old women's success?

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