almased

Another useless "weight loss" product designed to make money off of the uneducated and desperate.

Steer clear of that crap and eat at a caloric deficit. Easy peasy and costs a lot less.

I found some Almased at a discount grocer for a heck of a good price so I decided to try it just to see. Realize it could be a fake product but since my results mimic my experience on low carb plans, and this ultimately is a fairly low carb "diet" I figure fake or real, unless it's actual poison. ...

Anyway, felt awful the first two days, felt great on day three, now on day 7, have felt awful since day 3. I have added some Greek yogurt to one shake and sometimes MCT oil in hopes of...something, and I will sat, I wasn't hungry, exactly--I just have no energy, almost no will to do anything; my breath is rancid, even peppermint sugarless gum doesn't mitigate it, and after the furst two days of significant water loss, my progress at the scale has stalled. I'm 62, hypothyroid, have osteoporosis and am shrinking, officially still in "healthy" weught zone but look like a butterball, so had hoped for something that could push me into that "last ten pounds" zone. I am weighing less today than I have in a decade, probably, but it's by ounces--as soon as I eat that salad with some chicken, it's going to come back on. (sigh) Was going to at least do 7 days on the shakes only...we'll see. (Just 10 more hours and I can go to bed again!)

Misery is 100% optional.

Like Spring said above, add some strength-challenging exercise. That will help with rebuilding the muscle mass we lose over the years (if we don't do enough to challenge, remind our body we need it). It's a slow thing, but it works, even at our age. As a bonus, being stronger tends to improve posture, which also reduces the butterball look, not to mention the value of strength exercise for limiting osteoporosis damage. When people say "lift heavy", that just means "things that are heavy to you, enough to create a mild but manageable challenge to your current strength".

I joined here a little younger than you are now (59), lost weight starting from from class 1 obese, have been at a healthy weight for 7+ years since, now age 67. Like you, I'm hypothyroid (severely so, but properly medicated), and have osteoporosis. Those are not insurmountable obstacles, in my experience.

For me, the properly-medicated hypothyroidism put zero restraint on weight loss as far as I could tell, and the effect of the osteoporosis is mainly a need to choose types of exercise that minimize injury risk.

If you're concerned, see if your doctor will refer you to physical therapy for some help getting started safely, or look for a personal trainer with good experience working with seniors (maybe even one that's a senior him/herself). Don't put up with low expectations - either from trainers/physical therapists, or for yourself. Yes, it's important to be cautious, but we can still make great improvements in our 60s.

Personally, I lost weight fine eating foods I enjoy that added up to overall good nutrition on average over a day or few, and to the right calorie level. Shakes-only would make me miserable even if they didn't cause nasty physical symptoms. Extra weight is not a sin we need to expiate via suffering. There will be challenges, and some compromises . . . but, to repeat myself, misery is absolutely optional.

Wishing you success!

ETA: Yes, if you eat 6 ounces of chicken, you'll weigh 6 ounces more, until that all gets digested/metabolized. Once all of that settles out, what determines whether body fat is gained or lost is whether the calories exceed the number we burn (from being alive, daily life, exercise - in total), or are less than those calories. Fat loss shows up in weight trends over a period of several weeks. The multi-pound jumps up and down in shorter time periods are undigested food residue on its way to becoming waste (partly) and changes in water retention (mostly). Our bodies can be 60%+ water, and fluctuations in water retention are part of how a healthy body stays healthy. Don't fear it.

Watch that multi-week trend. That's what matters.

josephinius wrote: »

I found some Almased at a discount grocer for a heck of a good price so I decided to try it just to see. Realize it could be a fake product but since my results mimic my experience on low carb plans, and this ultimately is a fairly low carb "diet" I figure fake or real, unless it's actual poison. ...

Anyway, felt awful the first two days, felt great on day three, now on day 7, have felt awful since day 3. I have added some Greek yogurt to one shake and sometimes MCT oil in hopes of...something, and I will sat, I wasn't hungry, exactly--I just have no energy, almost no will to do anything; my breath is rancid, even peppermint sugarless gum doesn't mitigate it, and after the furst two days of significant water loss, my progress at the scale has stalled. I'm 62, hypothyroid, have osteoporosis and am shrinking, officially still in "healthy" weught zone but look like a butterball, so had hoped for something that could push me into that "last ten pounds" zone. I am weighing less today than I have in a decade, probably, but it's by ounces--as soon as I eat that salad with some chicken, it's going to come back on. (sigh) Was going to at least do 7 days on the shakes only...we'll see. (Just 10 more hours and I can go to bed again!)

Do you do any strength training? My mom started in her late 70s for her osteoporosis, so it's never too late

Like Spring said, weight bearing exercises are the best for “skinny fat.” If you're new to this or need a refresher, I can't recommend getting a personal trainer more highly. Every gym I've ever joined had 1-3 sessions with a personal trainer for free with membership. Many gyms also have small group classes for free or really cheap.