55-65 year old women's success?

littlewomensmom wrote: »

Just finished a year of logging my food and exercise on MFP. Gone from 278 to 186 - 92 pounds! I can't believe it! I am almost 56 and had resigned myself to being a "big woman". Instead I am in the best shape I have been in in 30 years, with a simple, free tool I can use for the rest of my life. You can do this!!

@littlewomensmom After a little over one year logging and an 82 pound loss, I wholeheartedly agree with you! I am 60 and sometimes want to kick myself for not doing this sooner! My daughter, the mother of three has used MFP along with me and has lost 50 pounds n the same time span. I am so proud of her for figuring this out at half my age. My middle son has now started using MFP and is nearing the 30 pound weight loss mark. We all were basically healthy eaters before, we just ate too many calories!

EVERYONE: I know a lot of people think inputting everything you eat everyday is too much work, but if like me you practically own your own library of diet/weight loss books, you already know that keeping a food diary is recommended by nearly every single one. Even Weight Watchers wants you to keep a daily log of foods/points you eat. Having had some success with WWs 12 years ago and then putting the weight back on because I was tired of going to meetings and knowing I didn't even want to be as slim as they thought I should be before I could be going for free, all I could see was a lifetime of calculating points. MFP makes it easy and I get the added benefit of figuring out percentages of protein, fat, carbs, sodium, sugars, etc. all for free. I can glance at any day in my diary and see what kind of calories are in meals and look at the nutrition I am getting and I don't have to calculate any of it for myself! Don't get me wrong, I did pick up some good tips at WW meetings, but I was already hearing repeats long before I got anywhere near the weight loss I did want to achieve. The more you log, the easier it gets! You have to read labels a lot at the beginning, but your diary develops a database of your frequent foods and it gets easier to find them as you go along. YOU CAN DO THIS! YOU ARE WORTH THE EFFORT! Every day is a new day to start over!

Nana, I'm 60 but in my head I'm 45.

I almost died a year ago today. Until then, I'd taken my health (which was good, not really great) for granted. I went to the gym a fair amount and saw an overweight person in the mirror but did little to fix it. Seeing CT scan images of my internal organs woke me up to how much that excess fat was doing to me, all because I love food and a good (occasional) adult beverage.

Getting weight off isn't hard so much as it's an organized march. The days and weeks will pass whether I eat and exercise or not, so I may as well write a better story.

I am a southern girl from NE Coast of Virginia, USA. I am post-menopausal; I have my uterus and my ovaries and have been on bio-identical HRT (Vivelle Dot and Prometrium) for several years. I am also on thyroid medication per physician's script.

I live / work in Washington DC. I am going on my 6th year working as senior level manager in executive administration. It is a highly politicized environment and very stressful. Until recently I worked many 10 to 12 hour days. And, as a result of sleep deprivation (I am at my desk at 6:00 am) I began to eat more and measured my stress level based on the number of charms blow-pops I ate at work (in the place of smoking). I went from a size 12 to a size 16.

All of the women in my family died obese, with a myriad of health problems relating to disease after menopause; heart failure, diabetes, stroke, etc. In October 2016, we buried my oldest cousin, whose health followed in the footsteps of our grandmother, and, her mother. She was my mentor and my friend. I had to buy a sized 16 suit for the funeral and I realized then that I needed to do something to save my own life. So, in November 2016 I joined another site (which is now defunct) and at that time I weighed over 185 lbs.

I came to this site (in January) when the other site announced it was shutting down and my game weight at that time was 180 lbs.

I attribute my current weight loss (I currently weigh 166 lbs.) to a fairly strict 1400 calorie low carb / sugar, high protein / fiber / fat diet where I am compliant 2/3 of the time (in terms of calories) and the addition of several supplements (7-keto DHEA; 80 mg. adrenal cortex and 80 mg. whole adrenal). Since taking the adrenal supplements I actually started menstruating again and had to stop the Vivelle dot.

I do not exercise currently beyond what one does normally, like grocery shopping, family laundry, light cleaning, and walking to and from my car or while I am at work. I am trying to rebuild my health and that includes trying to not do anything that causes me to excrete cortisol (and exercise does that.)

In my opinion, what the medical establishment has done to women is shameful. To tell us that all we need to do to lose weight is have more self-control / eat less and exercise more -- and if that doesn't work, then, we're weak willed and lazy, is just wrong. I have known instinctively that something was wrong with my adrenals, because adrenal issues and thyroid go hand in hand, but, I never really saw anything definitive anywhere.

Doctors would give me adaptogens (like Ashwagandha, Holy Basil, Rhodiola, Schisandra, Licorice Root), but, they didn't do me any good because these only work if my adrenals are capable of recovering. If my adrenals are "truly broken", past the point of recovery, then adaptogens won't work.

I started putting together the pieces myself by reading several medical publications sites and playing dot to dot with some commercial websites.

What was first described as Generalized Adaptation Syndrome (in the 1950's) is now being called by the less accurate term "adrenal fatigue", which implies that the condition is not generalized, and unfortunately infers that it only involves the adrenal glands. While the adrenal glands do play a major role in responding to the demands of stress, the adrenal glands are not the only part of the body affected by stress. This generalized response actually affects many systems in the body, as discussed in the 1950 article titled "Stress and the Generalized Adaptation Syndrome“, (first referenced in the British Medical Journal, June 17, 1950, by Hans Selye). The systems discussed in that article include: Adrenal, Gonadal, Thyroid, Nervous System, Inflammation, Glucose,
Catecholamines (neurotransmitters), Kidney/Fluid, Liver, Cellular/Tissue Response, Blood Chemistry (oxidative stress), Digestion/ Appetite....

Ref: https://www.yourhormones.com/adrenal-fatigue/

Note: Cortisol secreted by adrenal gland is the "mother's milk" for almost all of our bodies' biological processes in some way. It is either used as an input, a process, or an output.

(So, the "stress" of childbirth, living with uncertainty, surviving the financial crisis of 2008, having family, work and medical issues could all contribute to something called Generalized Adaptation Syndrome in the modern 21st century woman, right? Also, if my mother and grandmother had stressful lives and especially while they were pregnant, then might my adrenals also be more susceptible to fluctuations in the hormones that they secrete and the amount and their recovery time? I am a woman living in quiet desperation.)

Generalized Adaptation Syndrome is the result of many homeostasis regulatory systems being effected by stress. We realize that there are multiple systems involved in clinical conditions that manifest as fatigue disorders. The various homeostasis regulatory systems that are affected by stress and the inability to adapt to stress include:

• Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical (HPA) axis (primary response to stress through an interaction between the midbrain and the adrenal cortex)
• Sympatho-Adrenomedullary System (SAS) (primary response to stress through an interaction between the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal medulla)
• Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal (HPG) axis (controls growth, development, reproduction, and aging)
• Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Thyroid (HPT) axis (responsible for the regulation of metabolism)
• Neuro-Endocrine-Immune (NEI) system (interaction between the nervous system, the endocrine system and the immune systems as a response to stress)
• Glucose-Insulin System (GIS) (responsible for maintaining appropriate blood glucose levels)
• Brain Monoaminergic System (BMS) (responsible for balancing excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in the brain)
• Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS) (regulates blood pressure, electrolyte and fluid balance)
• Hepatic Detoxification System (HDS) (liver’s ability to reduce the toxicity of molecules from both endogenous and exogenous sources)
• Cellular Signaling Systems (CSS) (supports proper cell function throughout the body)
• REDuction-OXidation System (REDOX) (controls both oxidation and reduction biological processes that occur through the entire body)
• Ghrelin-Leptin-Adiponectin System (GLAS) (system that regulates appetite, metabolism and energy homeostasis and growth)

The two regulatory systems that involve the adrenal glands are the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical (HPA) axis & the Sympatho-Adrenomedullary System (SAS).

These two systems typically are the first to respond to stress, and the last systems to become fatigued. However, all of the other homeostasis regulatory systems also respond to stress. The stress response of these additional systems is typically a secondary response that takes place after the two regulatory systems that involve the adrenal glands have already responded to stress.

Ref: https://www.yourhormones.com/adrenal-fatigue/

Anyway, my opinion, it's not us -- we're not weak willed, and, we're not fat, and, sick and, tired, because we are weak willed. We are fat, and, sick and, tired, because we are sick to death of being stressed out!

...I am just putting this out there for you all to think about. I am no way advocating that you self-medicate without completely understanding the consequences that it might have for you. I am also not advocating the products that are referenced on the website I mentioned. I bought mine on Amazon.

Cheers and happy to have met you all!

You all are so amazing & inspiring. I do read here, but haven't contributed much because I'm in another group here & can't spread myself too thin time wise. I used to think I couldn't loose wt because of my age (almost 63) & was eating healthy but too much. I'm down 36 lbs & feeling better than I have in years. Thank you for sharing your wisdom & insight

Well, I hesitate to disagree regarding doctors. A few years ago my husband had emergency surgery 50 miles away from home during a snow storm. I could not be there. The surgeon did her thing and called me when she was done. He was a mess, ended up in the hospital for 4 weeks, BUT, she saved him and saw him through his recovery and fought for him to come home when others said not. I trusted her enough that I could come home every night. I am a firm believer in nurses. Without them, I believe my husband would not be here. BTW, his best nurses were male. Go figure...a female surgeon who saved his life and male nurses who kept the ball rolling.

@tina4kids

That's awesome, congratulations! I'm curious.... How did you lose your weight? Counting calories or carbs? I'm trying to lose, but having a hard time sticking with it!

I realize you were actually asking littlewomensmom this question, but just thought I would throw this out there. For me, it s very important to live in my real world. That being said, once I committed to logging everyday and staying within my calorie goal daily, I ate the same foods I always ate, however, I noticed how high in calories bread and pasta were and those two things are something I now eating with caution because I can still run up calories quickly and finish the day hungry. I still eat both. I switched to a lower calorie sliced bread so I can still have sandwiches when I want. Most sliced breads run about 90 calories per slice, Sara Lee Delightful is half that. I'm sure there are others. And it tastes good and I still get to eat my bread! Small things like this can make a huge difference. I like 1% cottage cheese but hate fat free. I put pineapple and maraschino cherries in it. Good protein, sweet fruit. 2% cheese saves calories and still tastes and melts like the high fat stuff. Learn what a real serving size is. It is a very big deal. Be honest with yourself because if you're lying to yourself, who are you really kidding? The biggest, most important factor for me is this: value yourself enough to think you are worth this effort, even on really crappy, nothing's going right kind of days. Throw out the I can't attitude and just keep plugging along. When you run out of calories, you're done eating for the day.