Need to lose 25 before my 50th BD

Like next month? Yeah, it doesn't fall off. You have to work it off.

For your 50th bday you can give yourself the gift of making this your healthiest year yet!! You can def get the weight off in a year

booksandchocolate12 wrote: »

I hate when big events just spring up out of blue, unexpectedly like that. If only you had known you were turning 50 in May, you could've started earlier and had more time to make a plan and implement it!

Seriously.....plug your info into MFP, use the calorie goal it gives you, weigh your food and log it faithfully. Wherever you are in May is where you are.

Good luck!

I know, those darn birthdays just sneak up on you. Or cruises or weddings.....

Sleeper1968 wrote: »

50 pounds in 8 weeks is not doable. Sorry, but it isn't.

Well, it might be doable . . . but it's a really, really, really, REALLY bad idea. And the older and female-er you are, the worse an idea it is.

Here's the deal:

Your body can only burn a certain amount of fat daily - it's a biochemical thing. The exact amount depends on your starting weight, but it isn't a huge amount. Think in terms of losing maybe 1% of your body weight per week, tops, just as a simplification.

So, let's say you eat way fewer calories, leading to a loss rate that exceeds your body's ability to burn fat. Let's pretend that - unlike most people - you're actually able to keep up that crazy deficit for a long while without falling off the wagon. What happens? You'll lose weight: But your body's going to burn other kinds of tissue. Like muscle.

What's that you say, you didn't want to be all muscle-y anyway? Remember: Your heart's a muscle, too. Wanna mess with that at age 40+, or any age, for that matter? And the less overall muscle you have, the slower your metabolism, and the harder it gets to lose weight or keep it off . . . not to mention that everyday life gets harder as you get weaker, too . . . not even counting the fatigue part that comes with it.

Planning to re-build that muscle through exercise, including some nice cardio for your heart? As a later-in-life female, that's a very, very slow process. It would be practically miraculous if you were to build a pound of muscle a month, with a progressive heavy lifting program, a great high-nutrition diet, and while eating more calories than weight-maintenance requires. Bummer, huh?

Losing weight as a 59/60 year old very active woman, I personally have tried to keep as much muscle as I can. I think of it as one of the things that stands between me and an early move to the assisted living facility. I really don't care how cute I would look in assisted living as a skinny girl.

Oh, and about that "cute" thing: If you lose weight too fast, other things that can happen include brittle nails, hair loss, and other things that really are not very cute.

Please, please: Take the advice of others in this thread. Commit yourself to getting healthier, pick a sustainable weight loss rate, think about nutrition and sustainability, and gradually get more exercise via activities that are fun for you. Stick with it, and I promise you'll look better by your birthday, and fabulous by the end of the year.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Sleeper1968 wrote: »

50 pounds in 8 weeks is not doable. Sorry, but it isn't.

Well, it might be doable . . . but it's a really, really, really, REALLY bad idea. And the older and female-er you are, the worse an idea it is.

Here's the deal:

Your body can only burn a certain amount of fat daily - it's a biochemical thing. The exact amount depends on your starting weight, but it isn't a huge amount. Think in terms of losing maybe 1% of your body weight per week, tops, just as a simplification.

So, let's say you eat way fewer calories, leading to a loss rate that exceeds your body's ability to burn fat. Let's pretend that - unlike most people - you're actually able to keep up that crazy deficit for a long while without falling off the wagon. What happens? You'll lose weight: But your body's going to burn other kinds of tissue. Like muscle.

What's that you say, you didn't want to be all muscle-y anyway? Remember: Your heart's a muscle, too. Wanna mess with that at age 40+, or any age, for that matter? And the less overall muscle you have, the slower your metabolism, and the harder it gets to lose weight or keep it off . . . not to mention that everyday life gets harder as you get weaker, too . . . not even counting the fatigue part that comes with it.

Planning to re-build that muscle through exercise, including some nice cardio for your heart? As a later-in-life female, that's a very, very slow process. It would be practically miraculous if you were to build a pound of muscle a month, with a progressive heavy lifting program, a great high-nutrition diet, and while eating more calories than weight-maintenance requires. Bummer, huh?

Losing weight as a 59/60 year old very active woman, I personally have tried to keep as much muscle as I can. I think of it as one of the things that stands between me and an early move to the assisted living facility. I really don't care how cute I would look in assisted living as a skinny girl.

Oh, and about that "cute" thing: If you lose weight too fast, other things that can happen include brittle nails, hair loss, and other things that really are not very cute.

Please, please: Take the advice of others in this thread. Commit yourself to getting healthier, pick a sustainable weight loss rate, think about nutrition and sustainability, and gradually get more exercise via activities that are fun for you. Stick with it, and I promise you'll look better by your birthday, and fabulous by the end of the year.

Thank you for the advise. I'm only 29 so not as old as you think. Do you think that working out whilst on this plan will help with muscle retention? Must just be my grammar, I meant I have a big do in two months not that I was also turning 50

itsbasschick wrote: »

working out and eating enough will help you with muscle retention. sure, eat less than your body burns each day - that's eating at a calorie deficit. but if you eat LOTS less than you burn each day, your body will have no choice but to consume its own muscle, as it won't have enough food.

Thank you that makes a lot of sense.

mumbles2013 wrote: »

Me too trying to lose 50 before an event in June I have 8 weeks

Took me almost 8 months. And I thought that was fast.

mumbles2013 wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Sleeper1968 wrote: »

50 pounds in 8 weeks is not doable. Sorry, but it isn't.

Well, it might be doable . . . but it's a really, really, really, REALLY bad idea. And the older and female-er you are, the worse an idea it is.

Here's the deal:

Your body can only burn a certain amount of fat daily - it's a biochemical thing. The exact amount depends on your starting weight, but it isn't a huge amount. Think in terms of losing maybe 1% of your body weight per week, tops, just as a simplification.

So, let's say you eat way fewer calories, leading to a loss rate that exceeds your body's ability to burn fat. Let's pretend that - unlike most people - you're actually able to keep up that crazy deficit for a long while without falling off the wagon. What happens? You'll lose weight: But your body's going to burn other kinds of tissue. Like muscle.

What's that you say, you didn't want to be all muscle-y anyway? Remember: Your heart's a muscle, too. Wanna mess with that at age 40+, or any age, for that matter? And the less overall muscle you have, the slower your metabolism, and the harder it gets to lose weight or keep it off . . . not to mention that everyday life gets harder as you get weaker, too . . . not even counting the fatigue part that comes with it.

Planning to re-build that muscle through exercise, including some nice cardio for your heart? As a later-in-life female, that's a very, very slow process. It would be practically miraculous if you were to build a pound of muscle a month, with a progressive heavy lifting program, a great high-nutrition diet, and while eating more calories than weight-maintenance requires. Bummer, huh?

Losing weight as a 59/60 year old very active woman, I personally have tried to keep as much muscle as I can. I think of it as one of the things that stands between me and an early move to the assisted living facility. I really don't care how cute I would look in assisted living as a skinny girl.

Oh, and about that "cute" thing: If you lose weight too fast, other things that can happen include brittle nails, hair loss, and other things that really are not very cute.

Please, please: Take the advice of others in this thread. Commit yourself to getting healthier, pick a sustainable weight loss rate, think about nutrition and sustainability, and gradually get more exercise via activities that are fun for you. Stick with it, and I promise you'll look better by your birthday, and fabulous by the end of the year.

Thank you for the advise. I'm only 29 so not as old as you think. Do you think that working out whilst on this plan will help with muscle retention? Must just be my grammar, I meant I have a big do in two months not that I was also turning 50

Still not wildly-wrong advice: At your age you might re-build muscle ever so slightly faster, and you have extra years to do it in. Good for you, making a plan to get healthy at 29!

Yes, working out will help with muscle retention, and make you look better at any given weight, and energetic cardio (especially high intensity intervals, once you work up to them) is good for your heart. Bonus: It earns you extra calories to eat! (And you should eat at least 50% of them, to fuel your workouts.)

While you won't gain much muscle mass in calorie deficit, you *can* preserve muscle & also get stronger through better muscle efficiency, especially if you're new to weight training. So worthwhile! (Be sure to eat enough protein, too.)

You're starting at the right age: Good for you! Do the right stuff, you'll feel & look great on your birthday, and be at the on-ramp for many more improvements to come!