to Live longer and healthier I need to lose 150lbs, does anyone else need to lose this much?

57 here and will have lost 100 pounds by the end of the month after nearly one year. I'm happy with what I've accomplished but at 3 pounds shy of 100 I can't just stop here. This app is an awesome tool as I am no longer at risk for metabolic syndrome.

You're doing great at 20 minutes! The diet part is hard but doable. Measure, weigh, and estimate those calories as closely as possible. You will be amazed at how simple it becomes.

Hey y'all - I'm Pam and I turned 60 in January. I retired (actually, just quit my job in journalism) 3 years ago because it was literally killing me. I'm 5'9 and weighed 313 when I quit working - 65 hour weeks, coming home after midnight and eating dinner at 2am, working across the street from the best donut bakery in town, and constantly eating fast food in my car as I ran from place to place all took its toll.

After hiding out in the peace and quiet of my house for about a month, I finally let a good friend start dragging me out of the house to do things - easy stuff, like walking around grocery stores looking for bargains. I'd broken my ankle in a car wreck 2 years previously, and I never gained back 100 percent mobility as it healed, so I wasn't able to do very much. Then she talked me into joining Weight Watchers with her. Then we joined the gym and I started doing exercise classes (Silver Sneakers) geared for senior citizens. I started out doing all the exercises while sitting in a chair.

I started losing weight and made the decision to work with a personal trainer too - probably because my Weight Watchers leader WAS a personal trainer as well (he'd lost 140 pounds on his fitness journey). I saw more progress - my mobility increased, my stamina improved, and I could move easier. I didn't have to sit in the chair during exercise classes any more.

I was about 70 pounds down this past December when Weight Watchers changed its program. I have philosophical differences with the new program so I dropped out and started using another free health and fitness app. I started doing cardio dance and Zumba. I hiked and climbed and walked 5Ks and was able to do all sorts of things on vacation with my husband. I was flirting with the magic "100 pound" weight loss milestone. I had gone from a size 28 to a size 18 and was starting to think about size 16s. My doctor was ecstatic with my blood work and overall physical health.

But then I hit a rut - I called it diet fatigue after doing this for about 2 years - and backslid, putting on about 20 pounds of the weight I'd lost. My exercise stayed constant but my food addiction reared its ugly head and I binge ate whatever was in the house after 7 pm at night. When an old friend and I crossed paths at the gym and she sent me a friend request on MFP (which I'd downloaded on my phone but never used), I decided that maybe switching to MFP would be like starting a new program and would help me regain my focus.

So far it's working - I'm 2 weeks in and I've been tracking faithfully. The weight is coming off slowly but I'm doing all the healthy things I need to do to see results and all it will take is patience and perseverance to make it happen. I do have some significant arthritis issues but my trainer and I work around them. It's all good.

I still haven't set an ultimate goal weight. I'm post-menopausal and I think I have to set my sights a little higher than I would have 10-15 years ago. So, I'm aiming for not quite 150 pounds lost but maybe more like 133....I think I could be very happy with 180.

Moral of this tl;dr story? It's possible to lose 150 pounds or more if you approach it like eating an elephant - one small bite at a time. And I'm still chomping away.

Pam in GA

PS - Friend requests gladly accepted

I was 63 before I decided to stop yo yo dieting and start to eat to live vs a premature death. I have maintained at 200 for the last year eating all that I wanted plus some. For pain management I cut out sugar and all forms of all grains Oct 2014 and keep my daily carb intake just under 50 grams of carbs daily and protein around 75 grams daily plus walk a 1/4 mile daily were I have been active or slept most of the day.

It is great to see so many younger people addressing their way of eating while it can make a great difference in their potential longevity and impact on family life. There are many different Ways Of Eating and by Trial and Error we can all find the WOE that works for us.

This time around I only eat a WOE that I am willing to eat for the rest of my life and do not use exercise for weight loss but for longevity walking and talking the entire way.