struggle to lose at age 52

Hi mary. Im new to this app. What's motivating you to decide to lose weight ? I try to visualize how much better I'll feel 4 days from now if i stay on track with meals and exercise. (4 days because a week is too long and seems overwhelming ). If i continue to crave pizza, ill have it but try not to glorify it; that's what leads me to eating the whole pizza myself and unraveling all the hard work we did. Eat it sloooooowly ! And fill up with a salad and water beforehand. Losing weight is hard and takes mental energy... theres no easy way around it. But have faith in yourself. You're stronger than you think. Good luck !

Hello Mary and welcome to MFP. Counting calories with MFP was a real eye opener for me, I knew I was over weight, but didn't think I was consuming that many calories.

Joining a good MFP support group, with like minded people, helped me as well. If you are interested here is a link to an active group:
MFP - Fifty plus (or so) Support Group

Hi Mary, I'm with you on trying to find ways... While there are many (for me), the most immediately felt motivation is how good I feel just because I am finally doing something about being overweight. Yes, I want to be there for my grandchildren; yes, I don't want to have a heart attack; yes, I want to take my shirt off when I go boating; BUT with as little as 3 days of consistent tracking (and staying more or less on track), and logging exercise, you will be amazed how good you feel and how much you want to continue. Each day you stay on track is one more reason to do it again tomorrow. Stick with it Mary!!!

hi mary, im 54 and thought ibwas making healthy choices. the weight kept going up. i decided to stop tne fad diets and get back to basic calorie counting. wish me luck.

Hi Mary, I am 52 too. I began MFP to support my 22 year old son who wants to lose a few pounds. He seemed really eager to give it a shot, so when he asked me to join, I agreed right away but had doubts about whether I'd stick with it. I have never dieted in my life but have been exercising for about 20 years without much decrease in weight. Now I realize it was because I didn't bother with calories. When I started to learn about the number of calories in various foods it was a huge shock. What was I doing to myself and my family?.. being ignorant about calories is no excuse. I am very pleased with myself. With not much effort, I went down 4.8 lbs in just 21 days! My pants feel looser and the family is seeing the difference already. TIP I find brown rice (Great value brand) quite filling and tasty especially how Dani Spies on Youtube flavors it. I use a pressure cooker - perfect every time! Good luck .. you'll love how disciplined you'll be.

I always try to save some calories for an end of the day reward. Usually, it is something sweet but sometimes something salty/crunchy. Just knowing that if I make good choices throughout the day I have something special waiting for me at the end keeps me motivated and on track.

Mary... what diet methods you have tried for losing weight?

Hi Mary! I'm 53 and only got my first smart phone recently. A friend posted on Facebook about losing weight, and when I asked him what he did he mentioned MFP. So I found the app and joined (though I mostly use a desktop computer, not my phone since I do not have a data plan). My motivation was that my weight was getting into the upper range of what my clothes would allow me to fit. It's been a bit of a struggle getting my family to be supportive, but some of this has to be my own willpower. Anyway, welcome to the group!

You have lots of great advice already. I just wanted to add that I lost 85 pounds by the time I was 50, and MFP has helped me maintain that for going on 5 years now. Anyone can do it. It's simple, but not easy. Like one other said here, believe in yourself and never give up. All of us are human, we fall down, we get back up, and we keep going. The only difference between the successful and those who have not yet succeded with their goal are those who gave up. Then when you reach your goal realize that you use the same tools and strategies to maintain. It's not like we get there and sit like a statue. Some people have a few more wider "fluctuations" until they get tired of it, then they knuckle down and realize food intake really has to be managed like a budget for life. Not paying attention is like wild spending with a credit card and we quickly rack up the fat debt again. I hope that helps. -Roberta

57 here. I have lost 40 pounds. calorie counting, using food scale, meal planning, etc.

A great resource for me, is a book by Judith Beck. It's called, The beck Diet Sol'n". It goes into the psychology of weight loss and teached tools for dieting/maintenance. It works with any diet plan.

Also, as we age, our thyroid gland may not be as productive. At your next check-up, have your doc run a thyroid panel. Current medical rec is to start replacement with thyroid hormone if TSH is 3 or more.

I am 51. I try not to think of age as a limit to being trim and healthy.

Been using MFP for 27 days today and down 8.5 lbs!!! Had been very frustrated with all the wotkout time I spent and little weight loss. A couple things that help me are: a) I ignore the remaining calories and stick to staying at or below the goal calories; b) pay very close attention to my sugar consumption; c) look forward to completing my daily entry... seeing what I'd weight in 5 weeks if every day were like today.

No, every day is not the same, BUT every day has been a lot closer to my target weight!!!

Good luck!

PS - Regarding sugar... I'm trying to staying between 30-50 g/day. What was explained to me was my sugar intake was so high that my exercise was busy burning all that sugar and not getting to the stored stuff.

I am 45, younger than some. I am also trying to lose the last 40 pounds of extra weight. However I did lose 70 pounds by using MFP and Wii My Fitness Coach.