50 and trying my best

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blueboy2526
blueboy2526 Posts: 19 Member
in Getting Started
Hi there. I am UK based and looking to find out how others are finding the use of the app at this age bracket. Also, do you tend to leave exercise calories alone or eat them (percentage of them) back? At the moment I am sticking to my 1500 per day and ignoring exercise. Regardless of the type of exercise (weights/running/HiiT) I am not looking for advice as I feel comfortable with the types of exercise I am incorporating, but interested in a view on this subject. Feel free to add if you want some support (I know I do) along the way. TTFN

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  • LynnBBQ72
    LynnBBQ72 Posts: 151 Member
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    I'm a 44 year old female and have been using this app for about 11 weeks. I find it to be a perfect fit for me. I love data and the science behind losing weight. I started at 222 lbs and am very nearly 20 lbs down. I stick roughly to my 1400 calories per day, and eat back about half of my exercise calories if I'm feeling hungry that day. It seems to be working - I lose about 1 or 2 pounds per week. I'm sure I will have to be more diligent about calories, exercise, and weighing my food when I get closer to my goal of 150 lbs but I am very happy with the app.
  • blueboy2526
    blueboy2526 Posts: 19 Member
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    Thanks Lynn - I appreciate the reply. Keep up the great work :smile:
  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
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    I'm 58 years old and have used MFP for a few years now and am maintaining my weight.
    Throughout, I stayed within my calorie goal and ate back about half of my exercise calories. I lost an average of 1 lb/week when I was losing (which was my set goal). To ensure that I didn't overeat, I manually halved the calories MFP or the exercise equipment gave me for the workout.
    If, occasionally, I had a hungrier day, I would go over calories by 100-200. It never seemed to stop my progress.

    I do the same now that I'm maintaining: eat my daily calories plus half of my exercise calories. If I have calories left at the end of the day, I don't sweat it. If I'm hungry on a day, I go over by a little and don't sweat it. It seems to be working. I'm tryin to learn to live with the rhythm of my body and be aware of intake.

  • sharondjs
    sharondjs Posts: 676 Member
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    @blueboy2526
    I'm 50 in a few weeks i started with MFP in Feb this year , Im a data kinda person also, I love how easy this technology has made it , so a couple of things , get your stats right - meaning your activity level as this determines a part of how many calories a day mfp give you . You said your on 1500 which is the lowest mfp goes for a man 1200 is the lowest for a woman .
    See how you go but you may want to go with what mfp actually sets for you.

    Exercise - unless your wearing a chest strap heart rate monitor or fitbt etc the calories that mfp gives you is a guesstimate only as it cannot know how hard you have actually worked , An example would be i would do a less mills combat class MPF said i had burned over 800 calories in the 60 mins .. In reality when i brought a heart rate monitor it said 430 calories , this is one of those area a lot of people have issues , if I had eaten back all of the 800 calories then i would have gained weight ..
    So even now i usually only eat back about 100/ 150 calorie protein snack after a workout .. Everyone has different advice on this area and you'll have to see what works best for you .Dont starve yourself thats a sure fire way to giving up.
    Do fuel up after working out
    Do get a set of scales & weigh everything no free foods including lettuce .
    once you have a routine of foods in your diary it's easy to select from recent foods so you don't have to do a search each and every time , logging gets faster and faster & easier and lets you see where you are doing well and not so well .
    Do drink at least 2 litters of water a day it not only fuels your cells it makes you feel fuller longer and a lot of times people mistake hunger for thirst , & you will lose weight easier and faster being properly hydrated . this is something a lot of people struggle with.

    Remember this a a long slow haul not a fast short trip , be patient with your self and your body weight loss is linear not straight up and down sometimes you can have the best week and still go up , it all takes time & perseverance . Get some friends on here for support we all know just how hard it can be

    good luck
    sharon
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited October 2016
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    I'm 56 and in the UK. I found calorie logging to be really effective - takes away any excuses....
    But calorie logging means both sides of the equation not just food.

    Your goal on here isn't 1500 (which is already very low for an active man), it's 1500 + exercise calories. If you are going to use a tool then use it properly. There are issues with some of the exercise database entries but you can use various methods to estimate - which is what I do. A bit of common sense helps recognise the suspect ones.

    If you don't want to log / estimate exercise calories separately then go to a TDEE site and use that to set your goal instead (you then get an average exercise estimate so eat the same calorie goal level daily).
    Exercise is a perfectly legitimate energy need for your body and IMHO it's foolish to ignore that. You do exercise - so fuel it properly.

    It's not a race to lose and fast weight loss often isn't good weight loss. If you lose muscle mass whilst dieting it's harder in your 50's to get it back.
  • blueboy2526
    blueboy2526 Posts: 19 Member
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    Thanks so much everyone for your time in replying. I am hopeful that I can make the progress that I so badly want. I do struggle with making sense of what is "exercise" and what is "normal life" Example being my fitbit gives me a calorific value for steps (but I do this in the course of everyday life and do not consider this exercise. I do try and workout, with weights, 3 times per week and do not tend to eat back all of these calories, and has been mentioned, I tend to err on the low side as far as amount burnt. I try to backfuel after a workout with milk or a protein shake if possible. Still - lets see how this all goes and I am looking forward to the journey.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Using a Fitbit does change things - assuming you have enabled calorie adjustments.
    (I think there's a FitBit group on here which may be worth joining.)

    In the end it comes down to finding what works for you and making any necessary adjustments so that you get a sensible and sustainable rate of loss.

    The best feedback loop is your own body - both in terms of rate of loss over a significant period of time and also how you feel.

    Best of luck.
  • Richie2shoes
    Richie2shoes Posts: 412 Member
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    48yrs old and my 2nd time here, recent cardiac bypass patient so I'm especially motivated this time around. I try not to eat my exercise calories, but will occasionally eat some although no more than half.
  • Mammaberry8
    Mammaberry8 Posts: 2 Member
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    Hello everyone. I am new to all of this, well at least the MFP part. I am almost 49 and need to do something about weight and health. I'm hoping that this will help. Best of luck to you all!
  • onsickmom
    onsickmom Posts: 212 Member
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    I'm 53..... On day 2 on this site.....I hope you find it a good tool for tracking your progress... I already learned so much and found motivation real quick...
  • blueboy2526
    blueboy2526 Posts: 19 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the replies - I hope that we all stay the course and get to where we feel content (hmmm.....now that is a completely new discussion!!)

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