WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR NOVEMBER 2015

Thanks Janet, yes, I would like to join the group. My name is Susan. I try to be helpful because I have been there and I want to share the mindset I had to have in order to accomplish a goal I thought would be near impossible.

I didn't mean to come across like I giving some sort of testimonial but hey, whatever works, right!

Cheri, don't get discouraged. I would suggest, one huge thing that I forgot to mention. We all know about exercise but we still have to make huge efforts to move throughout the day. We have to continue to move throughout the day: Cleaning, washing a car, walking, instead of parking close, Cooking great healthy foods ahead of time and cleaning up after. We can do outdoor activities like gardening or raking. It doesn't sound like fun but we can accomplish three things: we burn more calories throughout the day, we take our mind off food and we end up feeling accomplished in what we've achieved.

I don't know if I did this post correctly but I am trying!

Susan

susb wrote: »

Thanks Janet, yes, I would like to join the group. My name is Susan. I try to be helpful because I have been there and I want to share the mindset I had to have in order to accomplish a goal I thought would be near impossible.

I didn't mean to come across like I giving some sort of testimonial but hey, whatever works, right!

Cheri, don't get discouraged. I would suggest, one huge thing that I forgot to mention. We all know about exercise but we still have to make huge efforts to move throughout the day. We have to continue to move throughout the day: Cleaning, washing a car, walking, instead of parking close, Cooking great healthy foods ahead of time and cleaning up after. We can do outdoor activities like gardening or raking. It doesn't sound like fun but we can accomplish three things: we burn more calories throughout the day, we take our mind off food and we end up feeling accomplished in what we've achieved.

I don't know if I did this post correctly but I am trying!

Susan

The moving throughout the day is correct. I don't work outside the home at this time and find myself thinking of ways to keep moving: taking laundry upstairs after each load, ironing one shirt and walking to MB closet to put away instead of at end of all shirts, taking dog for 2 short walks (outside of my 3 mile purposeful fitness walking), walking up and down stairs during commercials on tv, having a planned household chore for each morning and each afternoon...it takes effort or else I would be on the couch all day engaging in my passion of reading and crocheting.

This time around (dieting) I made sure to do only those things (eating and exercising) that I could sustain going forward into seniorhood. Nothing over the top commitment wise as in the past that has been my downfall. Going full force and then messing up and then ultimately giving up. I want to engage in fitness and eating patterns that I know are sustainable. I think I am doing that as I have stayed longer on this path than ever before. Perhaps I can pull the reins in a little tighter as I have been successful thus far in staying the path.

Your words are very helpful to me!

Cheri

Susan-great advice!

Cheri- ditto on what Heather said. My suggestion is to lift heavier weights and build muscle. You can increase your weights by a pound at a time it doesn't have to be 5 to 10 pounds. But every increase make your muscles stronger and burn more calories during your workout. I like doing compound lifts. I do Stronglifts 5x5. I also started kettle bell swings. I find that I need to change up my exercise and really follow closely as clean of eating as I can.

Mary from Minnesota

Susan (susb)... Great advice! Thanks for sharing.

SRR65... You replied to the whole group. If you want to reply privately to someone, using mail/message seems to be the only way to do so.

Margaret ... Good advice about watching prescriptions. I've run into this before with my older son who has been on multiple medications over the years. A watchful eye is imperative!

Cheri... I thought I didn't have to watch so closely with measuring and weighing after I lost some weight... Thought it was being obsessive and, frankly, my family made fun of me. Well now I'm having to re-lose 20 of the 72+ pounds that I thought I had lost forever when I was weighing and measuring. So you know what I'm back at ... Weighing and measuring. It's what works for me. And Heather is right ... The math works.

Beth in WNY

pebble221 wrote: »

Anyway, I'm trying to do this differently, by losing weight gradually, which is a big change for me. I'm very black and white about eating/exercising. I'm either on it 100% or off it 100%. I'm going to try for 80% success, which I'm told still yields good results.
Again, I'm hoping for an 80% success rate on the everyday stuff. That's still a passing grade!
Thanks for any insights you may have.
Z in NY

I was always the exact same way- either all in or all out, very black and white, if I "messed up" somewhere along the line I would scrap the whole thing. It wasn't until this time around that I dropped that attitude and eased up on my OCD attitude regarding weight loss and fitness. I found that I needed to be forgiving of myself and regard this as a lifestyle journey one that would take me into old age. The 80% rule is a good suggestion one I am going to adopt to help with the all-or-none attitude.

Prime example: I was unable to get in my daily walk for several days this past month due to the death of my FIL and the traveling involved. In the past I would have thrown myself a pity party and called the whole thing off. Not this time. I was able to pick right back up and consider it a new re-beginning with the daily walk. I win for me.

We can and will do this!

Cheri sunny NE Ohio

Great points, Heather and Mary. Don't be too hard on yourself Cherie, if any of this would be easy, everyone could achieve their goals with ease, it's not; it has to be a change of lifestyle.

I don't think or feel it is OCD to write down your intake. That is how I achieved my goals. We acquire valuable knowledge when we measure and take note of what we eat. It blew my mind to imagine how many calories I was carelessly taking in when I had no real knowledge of every single thing I popped it to my mouth!

We can easily be ingesting 1,800 calories when trying to lose weight while thinking we're taking in 1,400 and that's why a plateau lasts longer than it should. It's not really a plateau; we may be eating enough to maintain our present weight.

I used a simple dumbbell routine and I did squats and conditioning routines, along with Pilates. Like Mary said: the weights produce muscle which burns off more calories throughout the day, plus, the fact that we're over 50, it's important for our bones!

The most important thing to do is to write down everything you put into your mouth. Measure it out!

I suggest it is best to first get your intake down on paper. I did not add exercise for six weeks until I set that pattern first. I lost weight because I created a healthy, doable, eating deficit. After that fact, I slowly incorporated exercise but I stuck to it once I added it to my lifestyle change.

It can be overwhelming for most to attempt to get their eating patterns down while incorporating exercising at first.

Once you begin to eat correctly, you realize how often, throughout the day, food is shoved into your face. Magazines, commercials, etc. No wonder so many of us are overweight! Food, in America, is a constant topic of conversation. Are we going to do Italian tonight?

We derive pleasure from it because we have so many various outlets to eat out, cook or pick up anything we like, any day of the week.

It's not our fault; we have to see it for what is, we simply need great fuel for our bodies, and we must adjust our intake in order to reach and maintain our goals.

It is simple math like Heather stated. The most important thing is getting a healthy pattern of eating down so that we can get the most bang for our bucks each and everyday.

Quality foods most of the time!

Susan