40 year old women and older who has lost 40 or more lbs - HOW THE HECK DID YOU DO IT???

I lost 106 pounds at age 44/45. I ate healthier food and stayed within my daily calories. Also did a lot of cardio 5 to 6 days a week. It took me 14 months to lose it all. The key for me is to not get bored with my food. I am always switching it up and searching for new recipes. Find a ways to substitute your favorite treats with healthier options that satisfy you. Good Luck!

I'm 44 and have lost 99 pounds. I have another 20 to go. This is the closest I have ever been to a "normal" BMI in my adult life and I plan to get there. It has been very slow, but well worth it. I started 3 1/2 years ago, 3 months before my 41st birthday.

My story: I have always, always been overweight, from the time I was just a little kid. I had lost weight over the years by starving myself and exercising like a mad woman and then quickly burned out and gained it all back plus more. I had reached an all time high weight, clearly in the morbidly obese BMI range, and had pretty much given up. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and T2 diabetes when I was 38 and not even the diabetes caused me to rethink my eating habits and lifestyle. I really just didn't care anymore.

3 months before my 41st birthday, my husband and I decided to go to San Francisco for my birthday. As I started to plan the trip, I realized that there would be A LOT of walking. It suddenly dawned on my that I couldn't walk a block without being miserable and I was really going to be disappointed in the trip if I didn't do something. So, I decided to start walking every day at lunch to build up some stamina so I could enjoy the birthday trip. After about a week of walking, I was feeling pretty good and on the spur of the moment decided to start tracking my food as well and signed up on MFP. My thought was that I really wasn't going to "diet" but I'd keep track of what I was eating and just try and cut down a little bit before I went on the trip. I plugged in my current weight and stats and a very conservative goal of losing a half pound a week and was shocked out how much I could actually eat! I was especially pleased at the high calorie goal because I really wasn't willing to give up any of my favorite foods and it was obvious that with a little planning, I would be able to still eat all the things that I wanted. Well, by the time we left for San Francisco, I was down almost 30 pounds! I was so thrilled with my progress, that I tracked everything I ate on the trip, even though I was just tracking for a record and really wasn't trying to lose, with all the walking on the trip (which I enjoyed completely, btw), I lost another 2 pounds while on vacation. Since I had such great success while on vacation, it was easy to continue tracking food and walking once I returned home. Well, that was over 3 years ago now. I have logged every day of that, even when I couldn't get onto the site because I was on vacation or somewhere without internet (I didn't get a smart phone until last fall), I used pen and paper. As I lost weight, I lowered my calorie goals slowly. I have had hills and valleys and looooong plateaus in my loss, but I didn't give up throughout it all. When I look at my total weight loss, I have averaged just about 1/2 pound a week and I expect to get to goal right around my 45th birthday.

Results: I have gone from a tight size 24 to a loose 12; My A1C (diabetic marker) has gone from 6.5, clearly in the diabetic range, to 5.5, clearly in the "normal" range. My blood pressure now runs low. I can hike for miles without a thought. I ride bikes regularly with my son. I am in the best physical and mental shape of my life. Best of all, I have learned to eat in a healthy, sustainable way that should allow me to remain at a healthy weight for the rest of my life.

So, long story short, it is ABSOLUTELY possible to lose weight over 40. It's just not going to be as easy or as quick as it was in our 20s!

Hey! I am 51 years old and have lost 40 lbs over a period of 12 months. I started changing my lifestyle when I was 49. I was at my lowest point in life, feeling like crap, and one morning I woke up and I realized if I don't get serious with my health/weight NOW, it's just going to go downhill from here on. The way I see it is that when you get "older" you really don't have a choice anymore. I decided right there and then that I would do anything in my power to live a long, happy and healthy life looking freakin' good! What helped me the most (of many things I changed) was 1. consistency (I do my exercise in the morning to make sure it happens) and 2. I motivate myself daily by looking at transformation stories (mainly on www.bodybuilding.com). Whenever there's a day where I don't feel like working out (which hardly happens anymore because I look forward to it now) I go online and read other people's success stories, and THAT always makes me do my exercise ;-) Good luck to you!

just do it,,,when it becomes important, you just get it done, I am in the best shape I have ever been in.its all about how bad you want it

I am 46 and have lost 65 pounds. I have maintained the last 6 weeks and now am starting the next 5-10 pounds. Close to normal BMI
I eat my favorite foods. I cut back on alcohol, processed food and sugar. But didn't give it up completely. I love ice cream. I also limit restaurants to 2x a week. (And order anything I want)
I added moderate exercise
It sounds like you get excited at 4 pounds and maybe fall off plan. Don't weigh!! Have a pair of tight jeans that you try on.

Turned 40 this year. Have lost over 45 pounds since January and am now within a healthy BMI. Used fitnessblender.com programs and work out 1/2 hr a day/ 5 times a week. Stopped eating at night (was not good with that) and portion control. Used this app for the success stories. I didn't track food. Weighed myself daily to stay on track and set tons of mini goals. Planning to lose about 10 more but will take it slow. It's doable if it's maintainable.

shadowfax_c11 wrote: »

I am 45 and as of today down 41 pounds in 6 months. CICO. That's pretty much it.


I walk about 14-15k steps a day just from my job.
I practice a martial art 6 hours a week
I ride my horse for an hour or two maybe 1-2 times a week
I trim hooves part time which is a huge calorie burn. I trim about 30 horses over a 6 week cycle average 20 minutes of actual work per horse. Some days 1 horse ,some days as many as 10.

All of the above I was doing and not losing weight.

What's changed?

I set MFP for a reasonable calorie deficit
I use a fitbit to track actual activity and log almost no exercise. (I only log the hoof trimming because I am standing in one spot, basically doing a standing crunch with a 900-2500 pound horse leaning on my back. It's a lot of core work and engages every muscle in my body.
I eat back most of my calorie adjustments.
I try to keep my Net calories at or just below my daily goal
I try to drink plenty of water
I eat chocolate, candy, cookies, Ice cream, pizza, donuts, take out etc within my calorie budget
I use a food scale and weigh about 90% of my food and log everything.
Some days I make the conscious choice to go over my calorie goal but stay at least at or under maintenance.

What clicked in my head? IDK one day I was arguing pointlessly to my intelligent friends that weight loss was impossible for me. I realised that they were 100% correct that CICO was scientifically proven and correct and logical and... well you can't really outlogic your friends when they are all really actual scientists.I accepted that my weight was entirely my doing and in my control. I realised that I did not want to keep living in this overweight body that has trouble doing the things I love to do. I got really tired of having to use my weight as an excuse to not do things and living with constant pain in my knees. I realised that I had fixed all of the other big problems in my life that were making it hard for me to focus on controlling eating and that I was finally in the right place mentally and emotionally to deal with this. And I just got to work.

I did it myself. Lost 150+ lbs here on MFP. Not following anyone's "diet" nor do I go to a gym.

I pre plan/pre log what I want to eat for the day, making sure I have enough extra "junk" (as I call it) in snacks so I can adjust things thru the day if I need to (and I do change things before I post for the nite).

I weigh, measure & log my food and I am here every single day. I weigh myself once a week.

I really didn't do much in the way of exercise till I was close to the minus 100 lb point. Got my first tracker (Fitbit) and started walking. 2 years now plus a few months and I'm still walking, every day for 10K steps (at least).

Was on meds for Type 2, HTN & high cholesterol/lipids. Am on NO meds now nor do I have those diagnosis on my medical record.

Went from womens size 24 to size 6/8. I feel wonderful and I still eat junk food, fast food & chocolate-- just planned for & in moderation. At goal for a while now, although still under the weight I consider goal, but still in healthy BMI range, just lower side of it. Trying to figure out just how much I can eat w/o gaining (yo yo dieter history)

Set your mind to do this, make a lifestyle change (don't call it a diet) and just do it. One day, one pound, one step at a time.

See my profile for more info, pics etc

I am 55 and I lost 85 pounds through bypass surgery over the past three years. (Two years were prep, classes, and surgery waiting list).

I'll do anything that is clinically proven to help.

I had a dietitian's support who guided me here.

I logged my meals. I made small changes that cut a lot of snacking calories from my day.

I attended a weight loss therapy group for eight weeks.

I had a personal trainer for six weeks.

I log my steps and progressed from recreational walker to recreational runner.

I register for fun runs to have a goal to shoot for.

There's more but I'll stop for now.

Thanks for starting this thread! It was very motivating to read everyone's stories and I'm super excited to get started on the long-term goal I never quite hit!! Your stories are so motivating make feel like it is possible no matter what age I am (currently 47 ) I'm targeting a 67-lb. weightloss so here I go!!!!