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

MissusMoon wrote: »

I turn 45 in a few days and I've lost 98lbs. I did it by removing motivation from the equation. I went to the gym and stuck to my calories whether I felt like it or not. I changed my mindset. I can't spend all money, even if I really want something. I looked at my intake the same way. I have to budget for it. If I didn't feel like going to the gym, I went, just like I have to go to work. This has made it so much easier for me.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

cjdalla wrote: »

Thankyou so much for the advice and real life success stories. I am a sugar fiend as well. I notice on MFP I am regulalry over my sugar level early in the day so that's one to look at.

The MFP default sugar goal can be silly, unless you have a medical reason to control sugar. It measures sugar from all sources, not just added sugar.

While I was losing weight, I went over my MFP default sugar goal every day, when the only added sugar I ate all day was some concentrated fruit juice (not even the top item on the ingredients list) in a 30-calorie single tablespoon of all-fruit spread.

Then where was all that "evil" sugar coming from? It came from 2-3 daily servings of whole fruit, and sugar that's inherent in no-sugar-added dairy products. My solution was to drop the sugar column from my MFP diary, replacing it with fiber, something more important for me to track.

I can see the point of the sugar column if you have a medical reason to control total sugar, or are using it thoughtfully as a tool to reduce added sugar, or find a low-carb diet easier to stick with, or some such thing . . . but absent those kinds of reasons, it's not particularly useful, IMO. Eating "all that sugar" didn't prevent my losing 60+ pounds and reaching a weight I hadn't see since 30+ years ago.

Trixiegirl66 wrote: »

I started to get serious about losing the 40 pounds that refused to budge after my fourth child was born in 2006. I for one do not abide by the CICO myth - I spent the greater part of the past decade buying into this mindset, and all that I lost (and repeatedly gained right back) was five pounds.

After reading a great deal, I decided to eat instinctively, walk five times a week and lift very heavy weights - since my 50th birthday on the 14th of June, I have dropped from 168 to 139 and have lost over 12 inches. More importantly, I feel as great as I did in my 30s, and have gained significant muscle mass.

So while I know it is an unpopular viewpoint, please reconsider the whole CICO mindset - for one can eat a highly processed and sodium/sugar/transfat nightmare of a diet and still meet the guidelines of CICO - I see food diaries that break my heart, and yet these naive dieters are being commended because hours of cardio allowed a deficit.

As a fifty year old woman with many friends in the same age bracket, I assure you that while CICO may work in the short term, the health of your organs, elasticity of your skin, brightness of your eyes and so many of the other signs of optimal health can only be gained by the quality of the food you ingest. I do log what I eat, but this is simply to keep myself accountable, as I do not like to go overboard with sweets. If I am honest, I only started to see real fat loss when I ignored the suggested 1200 caloric intake suggestion, and ate more on a daily basis.

I hope this helps - my diary is open and extremely honest if anyone wishes to see just how much I manage to eat. And think of this - American doctors all back the CICO theory, and we are one of the fattest nations on the planet.

Trixiegirl66 wrote: »

Thanks for posting your story...and round of applause losing and keeping the weight off at 50!!!! I am one that hardheartedly believes that the quality of food matters. I just don't believe that you have to give up everything you love, just to be fit. However, I seek pleasure in finding healthier alternatives or enjoying some of the foods that I love on occasion. I used to do 1200 calories and I ate back exercise calories...and I gained most of the weight back b/c I went to my old eating habits. I'm learning that I can't focus so much on the results....that I need to focus more on making better choices - like building my strength in the gym and going up on weights. Eating to fuel my body and treating it right by choosing food that shows my body that I love and care for it and not eat for pure enjoyment all the time. I try to keep my goal conscious and before I eat something, I ask myself, "is this going to get you closer to your goal?"

STLBADGIRL, I think it is great that you have made the connection with making better choices, and putting most of your attention on fitness and weights. After all, if you follow the "is this going to get you closer to your goal" logic atleast 80% of the time, the diet can almost go into autopilot.

I also agree that giving up everything you love is pointless, but my Dad was sick for decades before finally testing positive for Celiac in his 80s - so when I feel sick after a bowl of healthy whole wheat pasta, it is a no -rainer to nix that from the diet. So while I still eat the occasional muffin or bagel, I am working to clean those from my diet as well - but at fifty I understand that getting neurotic and obsessive does me no good!