55-65 year old women's success?

Mk2loser:: thank you!!! That is what I was looking for. It is not anger that sparks eating poorly, but worry. Health issues with family and being in the sandwich generation makes for a lot of people to take care of. Plus my profession is one that requires daily problem solving for many who require care. That is what derails me. It is difficult to find time for me and to have a routine. Life gets in the way. I have lost 33 lbs over the past year but am hanging on by a thread. Exercise is difficult when overwhelmed. Prayer is my constant.

You're only gassy when exercising? <blink> Though I do find that when exercising other muscles, especially when running, it gets harder to exercise the sphincter. (Which comedian was it who called the sphincter the smartest muscle in the body? "Try holding a mixture of solids, liquids and gases in your hands and releasing just the gas.")

Eleted, you're more than welcome!!

@ilikegardens Karen, I had hip replacement 2 yrs ago at age 60 and have lost about 45 pounds (30+ in the past year with MFP). The hip surgery was the impetus to get myself healthy again. Knowing that good nutritious food, less weight to stress my joints, and moderate exercise to strengthen the supporting muscles would help my hip recover fully was a great motivator to change a lot of things in my lifestyle. I have other health issues that affect strength and stamina, so my exercise isn't strenuous - just enough to keep the muscles strengthened little by little, to keep the joints supple, and to do a little cardio. It's an ongoing process but I take it slow and steady. I keep a moderate calorie intake and don't deprive myself, just make healthier choices and smaller portions. Between the lost weight and the new hip, I feel 20 years younger!
- Pat

Hi Karen
I just had hip replacement surgery 3 weeks ago. I lost 108 pounds before the surgery but still have about 100 more to lose. So far my progress is going ok. It hasn't been easy but it is possible. I do think it will be worth it once I'm recovered and gain back my mobility. Good luck with your surgery.

ilikegardens wrote: »

Hi Cheryl,
Wow, congratulations! That's wonderful--especially since it's tough to lose weight when movement is painful! I'm about 7 weeks post surgery. Today's been a rough day, but overall things are going well. I can almost walk up the stairs with alternating feet--I think it will happen within a week. Before the surgery I hadn't walked up stairs normally in months, and I'd been struggling with hip pain for years. ...So maybe today wasn't so bad comparatively speaking--there's no denying that the pain has diminished dramatically and my mobility is better.

Good luck with your recovery, Cheryl! It will be worth it.

Thank you. I'm glad to hear your making progress on the stairs. Right now I can't walk up the stairs to my bedroom. There are 10 of them and my legs are still so swollen it feels like they weigh an extra 50 pounds each. I'm doing my exercises and practicing on the stairs twice a day. I have a hard time walking as my house is small and the walker makes it difficult. I sure hope all this will be worth it in the end. I guess I'm suffering some post operation depression too.

ilikegardens wrote: »

Have you talked to a doctor or nurse about the swelling in your legs? The walker is tough--it's always in the way, but it's helpful,too. I think it will almost certainly be worth it in the end. Everyone I've talked with who has had a hip replacement felt better later. In the meantime, keep doing your exercises--you'll notice a difference everyday (even if it's small). Can you walk outside where there's more space and where, perhaps, the sun will help with your depression. I walked up and down my driveway. It was flat, felt safe, and got me outside. We don't have sidewalks and I live on a hill. I'll be thinking of you.

I can't walk outside as I live on a hill and my drive way is very steep. My daughter is going to take me some where this weekend that has a walking path. I will be able to get out of the house and get in some walking then. In the mean time I will continue to do my physical therapy exercises every day. My doctor prescribed some lassicks to help with the swelling so maybe I will start to see some improvement. I guess I just want to be normal now and that's just not how it works. Are you still using a walker or are you past that stage? I'm anxious to get back to my weight loss program but don't want to weigh in until some of this swelling and fluid retention goes away. I'll be thinking of you too as this is major surgery and quite a recovery period.

ilikegarders & Cheryl, I haven't broken my hip (at least not yet anyway), but I did break my wrist last Dec (15). I have been told that it takes between six & 12 months to get back to normal. Thing of it is, you don't want to try and rush it as you may re-injure yourself and end up worse off then you are now. Need to follow your docs instructions for physical therapy/exercises, etc. The wrist is better but the tendons in my fingers froze and I am still trying to get the use of my hand back (it's usually stiff when I get up in the morning). Small victories are best (I can finally pick up the coffee pot when it is full). We need to remember that we're no longer 25 and can't bounce back like we used too--we'll get there, it will just take a little longer.

Yes recovery is a long and slow process. I'll just be glad when my body does release the fluid build up. Everyone just keeps reminding me it takes time. I still can't go up all the stairs to my bedroom and I'm so ready to get back to my own bed. All we can do is just keep working on it.

Cheryl, I had hip replacement 2 yrs ago. What really helped my swelling was constantly drinking water (which also gave me plenty of exercise shuffling back & forth to the bathroom, lol!) and keeping a gel ice pack on my leg almost continuously. (I had 2 or 3 that I rotated, so one was always frozen.) Even at night, I would wedge it against my leg using a towel or blanket. It helped relieve pain and reduce swelling. And as long as you aren't constantly snacking on junk food, I wouldn't worry about cutting calories right now...your body needs the extra nutrition to heal (especially protein). Even though it feels like you are not doing much physical activity, remember that everything takes a lot more effort, so you are likely expending more calories than you think. I remember how wonderful it felt to finally be able to sleep in my own bed...here's hoping you will soon be able to achieve that!
~ Pat

Cheryl, pstegman is right about the calories; when I broke my wrist my husband had to fix dinner (so I had to eat whatever he sat in front of me). Most of it was ok, but not all of it was what I was eating before the accident (read some of it was frozen meals). Any way I ended up losing over three lbs.; I' 5'3" and weigh between 116 & 117 now. I'm over 60 and don't need to weight 111/113 lbs.; 116/117 is fine. I had to over eat to get the weight back up. Mine was only my wrist (much smaller than the hip) so your body needs the cals to rebuild. My prayers are with you on a speedy recovery!

I have to say, in retrospect I wish I had gone to maintenance calories (or at least close) for a month while I was healing (from gallbladder surgery, which was quite a minor thing). Nothing terrible happened, but I think I got more dragged-out fatigued than was healthy by trying to maintain a substantial deficit at that point. That had a cost in terms of workout effectiveness (once I was cleared to work out), among other things. My body needed more calories, and probably more protein, in order to heal. No long-term damage, but it was a low period.

@Cheryl7777, I think you're on the right track by limiting the aggressiveness of your goal for a while. Your surgery was much more intrusive than mine.

Thanks all for sharing. I am aiming for a 90 lb loss. 5 down so far

@odirish, First and foremost, stop beating yourself up! After a lifetime as an adult of being overweight, I think I have caused myself far more damage by mentally beating myself up over my failures then my actual overeating! Be a little more kind to yourself and understand that you are making some major changes in how you look at food. While I have not really been a yo-yo dieter, I have lost a serious amount of weight before only to gain it back because my life became too stressful and I let myself and my needs be pushed to the back burner. I was not forced to do this by some other person, but I just kept giving up on my own goals because they seemed too hard and sometimes (now) I think I was better at being a martyr to my family's needs. I guess with age comes a little wisdom.

I've decided if I don't want to be a medical statistic on women and heart attacks, I need to take control of my weight and stop shoving food in. I knew, this time, I had to be able to live long-term with the "diet" I was going on, and that it had to include all the foods I love. I really haven't changed the foods I eat a lot. I just don't eat as much of them as I used to. I do stick pretty close to my 1200 calorie daily goal. I try not to eat out of boredom which I did a lot of before I started tracking my calories. I am an admitted sugaraholic, and I keep Rice Krispie Treats in the house and even in my purse to snack on when I just have to have something sweet. It keeps me from stopping and buying something much higher in calories and it has more bulk than a cookie! I also keep lower calorie cheese sticks in the fridge when I just have to have something. I eat 1%cottage cheese, because fat free tastes awful to me, I love steamed cauliflower and cheese and it is a regular on the grocerie list even though my husband hates cooked cauliflower. I never used to buy anything that was just for me. In my mind, it just seemed too selfish, now I realize that it's ok to keep healthy foods in the house that only I like. I bought favorite foods for others for years without thinking it was unfair. We switched to thin crust pizza, but we still eat pizza regularly. We use 2% cheeses mostly now, but they taste way better than fat free and we both love cheese so we're going to have it.

I've rambled a lot here, but the simple fact is that it's doable. Take every day as a new day. Remember that you want to be healthy and don't let anyone shove food at you. You are in control. It's not about others at all, it's all about how you perceive yourself. I don't know if I really believe it's about will-power at all. I think it may be a lot more about acceptance. I accept that for me, food is an issue I have to be very aware of. I believe I will most likely need to track and log forever, but I'm ok with that if it means I am more accepting of myself. I don't really want to sound selfish here, but I really need to be able to look in the mirror and be comfortable in my own skin, saggy, a few extra wrinkles and even the silver hair. It's nice to see a shirt that hangs straight down in front instead of draping over my belly! My weight goal is nowhere near the insurance company goal charts for my height, but if I can maintain it, I will be comfortable, have less knee pain, a side effect I've already achieved by losing 50 pounds. I am healthier, have more stamina and I feel so much better. I have thirty more pounds to go, but it feels good knowing that I'm doing it for me. And it's definitely ok for me to value myself enough to care about what I am eating. I am worth this small effort. So are you all!

If you have not read the success story called "how the CHOICES I made helped me lose 80 pounds" you should. Godlikepoetyes has written a great post about her journey. Well worth reading.

I'm done rambling now...hope you're all having a great week!