Old, obese and woefully out of shape

Notflorida · December 2016

My name is Sherry. I live in Florida. I am 65. I'm a writer so my work is sedentary. I need to lose about 70-80 pounds. For the past year I have experienced a continual series of ailments, ranging from having artificial knee surgery to a bizarre several months long mystery ailment, to dislocating my shoulder. I feel like i've been ailing--from something--all year long. I am horribly out of shape. (Once upon a time I was a 'barbie doll, and in very good shape) I tried a gym and it was so humiliating I swore i'd never go back. The instructors used to roll their eyes when they thought I couldn't see them. I need to do something at home. I have been walking quite a bit (between 10,000-20,000 steps a day for a couple of months.) It hasn't made much difference, but i'm going to keep it up. I need to do exercises for flexibility and muscle tone. I am very lucky. I have a husband who must be blind, because he thinks I look the same as I did 40 years ago. Anyway, that's me.

AnnPT77 · December 2016

You're off to a good start, and the message above is solid advice. I'm 61, and lost 60+ pounds on MFP about a year ago. (I'm now maintaining at about my college weight!)

Weight loss is almost entirely about the eating side of things. Set yourself up on MFP, set a moderate weight loss goal, hit your calorie goal the overwhelming majority of the time, and you'll lose weight. Then, for better health, you can gradually improve what you eat, to get better nutrition (especially making sure to get enough protein, healthy fats & fruit/veg). Over time, you'll see your health improve.

Good for you for walking - that will go a long ways (pun intended

). But don't let that terrible gym sour you on all gyms forever - those people were just jerks. Not all gyms are like that - they should be encouraging, helpful, and supportive! At our age, it's a good thing to do some resistance exercise in addition to something like walking - it helps avoid injuries and osteoporosis, among other benefits. Weight lifting is one form of resistance exercise, but not the only one (and some you can do at home).

You can do this: Good luck!

Therealobi1 · December 2016

Welcome
Walking is great, but if you want to go to the gym too don't let those fools put you off
Find a nicer gym which suits you better.
Track everything you eat and you will succeed
Good luck

dejavuohlala · December 2016

Notflorida wrote: »

My name is Sherry. I live in Florida. I am 65. I'm a writer so my work is sedentary. I need to lose about 70-80 pounds. For the past year I have experienced a continual series of ailments, ranging from having artificial knee surgery to a bizarre several months long mystery ailment, to dislocating my shoulder. I feel like i've been ailing--from something--all year long. I am horribly out of shape. (Once upon a time I was a 'barbie doll, and in very good shape) I tried a gym and it was so humiliating I swore i'd never go back. The instructors used to roll their eyes when they thought I couldn't see them. I need to do something at home. I have been walking quite a bit (between 10,000-20,000 steps a day for a couple of months.) It hasn't made much difference, but i'm going to keep it up. I need to do exercises for flexibility and muscle tone. I am very lucky. I have a husband who must be blind, because he thinks I look the same as I did 40 years ago. Anyway, that's me.

You are not old, I'm 69 and lost 48lbs, it's taken a while and still more to go, keep at it one day at a time. Stay focused and good luck,

Beth150Ann · December 2016

Wow -- you are guys are great! I'm 54 and in need of losing 43 lbs. I've hit such a weight that at my age everything feels like it is falling apart (body wise not mind!). 2017 is going to be my year and I know Sherry it will be your year too! I'm starting out slowly trying to walk 10,000 steps daily (I have a fitbit); staying within with calories (1500 a day); learning to be kind (I am very critical); getting at least 8 hours sleep a night and stretching 4x a week. I will properly add it weights once I achieve the above. Please stay in touch and let us know your progress

Zinka61 · December 2016

I don't know if you have this where you live, but in our city, we have a senior center for people over age 50 with a nice gym free for all members to use. I'm 55, and I love it. Everybody in there is older, so it feels comfortable. Maybe you can find something like that...don't give up on strength training.

BHFF · December 2016

You know what.....you are not alone. I truly believe if this is something you want you will get it. Let me ask you this....were you always a good writer or did it take practice??

Madux1818 · December 2016

BHFF wrote: »

You know what.....you are not alone. I truly believe if this is something you want you will get it. Let me ask you this....were you always a good writer or did it take practice??

This.

irejb12 · December 2016

I'm so sorry that you had to experience that at the gym. Don't let those people stop you from going to the gym.

Anyway, I have a knee and shoulder injury; as a result, I do low impact exercise. I work out to dvd exercise tapes as I never really liked going to the gym. Currently, I'm doing Country Heat which is a fun, low impact, line dance inspire exercise dvd. I've also done Lesline Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds which is easy on the joints. You may want to look into dvds tapes like these if you're still not comfortable going to the gym.

Best of luck!

rdfaye · December 2016

Keep it up! I am trying to get back to MVP after getting way off track this year. Keep walking, and find another gym. If you have a YMCA near you I would check it out. The one here has an excellent workout area and the members are all different ages and fitness levels. No eyerolling. I have RA and a fake ones, so I struggle with exercising too. And let's not discuss the month long food binge thatcis December. (Whoever brought chocolate peppermint cake pops into work yesterday needs to be shot. )

jwat90 · December 2016

Feel free to add me.

TonyB0588 · December 2016

Sherry,

One thing you need to do is NOT call yourself those words you have in the title to this thread. Skip the negative words, and have positive feelings about yourself. That would set you on a better path to success. You can do it.

I'm glad your husband sees you in a positive way, so ignore those negative people at the gym.

Rocknut53 · December 2016

Sherry, I'm 63 and a year ago felt like you do. Aches, pains, meds for cholesterol & acid reflux were my life. Like you, my husband was fine with how I was. I had the mistaken belief that if I walked and hiked I could still eat what I wanted. You'd think at my age with 35 years of weight loss failures under my belt I would have known better. I started using MFP (3rd time's a charm) last January. I used the calculators to figure out how much I could eat, I bought a food scale and meticulously weighed and measured my food, used Map My Hike to track walking and hiking distance & estimate calorie burn, and read the many forums on MFP that give me good solid information about the whole process. I've lost 60 pounds and weigh less that I have since right after I got married 37 years ago. I no longer take cholesterol meds and my aches are gone. I don't go to a gym, I have a gym outside my door and for cold days (Montana is a little nippy right now) I have a treadmill, stationary bike, and a bow flex in my basement. I also have a large black lab that needs lots of walks and hikes.
I can't even express how my attitude about myself has changed. You can do this too. Like the above poster said, "have positive feelings about yourself."

Madux1818 · December 2016

Op, walking is a start, keep at it, log your food, those nasty people at the gym can go kick rocks! In the mean time beautiful one let's change the title of your post to a self affirming one.

AnnPT77 · December 2016

I want to say something different about the post’s title. Yes, those words can have negative connotations, but . . . .

First, I’m trying to reclaim “old”. I’m pleased and proud to call myself old – especially as a long-term survivor of stage III cancer. “Old” is not a synonym for decrepit, incapable, inactive, mentally declining, unable to change, or any of the other negative stereotypes that try to attach themselves to the word.

“Old” just means having lived through a bunch of years. That means we’ve seen a lot, have learned a lot, and - because we've both succeeded and failed at many things along the way - we know ourselves (and how best to manage and change ourselves) really, really well. These are advantages as we work on getting healthier!

Second, “obese” is a simple, descriptive word. It refers to an objectively-defined BMI range. It’s not a value judgement about us as total human beings. More importantly, “obese” is something that can change. And, while “out of shape” is not so objectively defined – what the heck is “fitness”, anyway?

– it’s still something that can change. If we’re out, we can become in.

So, what’s needed is really just a commitment on our part to take our skills the years have honed, and apply them to moving from an obese BMI, first to an overweight BMI, then to a normal-weight BMI; and from out of shape, to in shape.

It may require skills in multiple zones – emotional, intellectual, etc. – but it’s a set of practical problems. And “old” people are good at practical problems, when we choose to be.

Rocknut53 · December 2016

@AnnPT77 Awesome, inspiring, well thought out post.

Bellipong · December 2016

Well said AnnPT77!

Old, obese and woefully out of shape

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