Tips for losing weight at 38?

Use a food scale for solids and semi solid foods. There are plenty of people here who have lost weight at 40+

You aren't going to lose weight every week due to water fluctuations, especially as a female. Be patient, log and weigh EVERYTHING, and it will happen.

HonestBuddha wrote: »

I do use a scale and measuring cups. But this week I haven't even lost half a pound.

Measuring cups measure volume not weight - calories are in relation to the actual weight of your food, ditch the cups.

Weight loss often isn't linear - a week is nothing. If you have a sustained period of many weeks not losing then suggest you make your food diary public and ask for advice because that's the most likely place to find the problem/

Please don't use age as a reason not to lose weight when you are only 38!
It's still just down to a sustained calorie deficit.

malibu927 wrote: »

You aren't going to lose weight every week due to water fluctuations, especially as a female. Be patient, log and weigh EVERYTHING, and it will happen.

I agree with this. I'm male, 38 and it seems I lose weight every other week. Week 1 I might lose 5 pounds then week 2 it either goes up a little, stays exactly the same or I might lose 1 pound. From what I understand it can be different for different people.

For this reason for some it might be a good idea to only weigh themselves every other week or once a month lest this discourages them. One thing I do notice though are the pant sizes and the pants getting looser all of a sudden even on the weeks where the scale is the same.

Same as at any other age - calorie deficit. Lock down your logging, make sure you've selected the appropriate activity level, and stay the course

(BTW I am 37 and the last time I lost significant weight was about 5 years ago. It *does* feel slower/harder this time, but there are so many factors in my life that have changed in 5 years, I can't reliably blame being older.)

Just to reinforce what's been said above - I'm 52 going on 53 and I'm losing 1.5 - 2 lbs per week doing what MFP tells me and weighing my food. Just trust CICO; the process works.

And I have a pituitary tumour which has dicked my growth hormone, thyroid hormone and adrenal hormone output.

If I can do it, anyone can.

HonestBuddha wrote: »

I do use a scale and measuring cups. But this week I haven't even lost half a pound.

I'm 36, and lose about 1.5lbs a week, but it sure doesn't feel like that sometimes. The scale can be all over the place on a day to day basis, or not move at all. As long as you know that you're logging accurately, just stick with it and be patient. Some weeks, even a 1 pound or half pound loss doesn't seem like much, but when you look back to where you were last month, or when you started, THAT'S when you see the real difference.

It takes a long time to gain weight, and it takes a long time to lose it. Don't get discouraged and stick with your plan and appropriate calorie goals to your desired loss rate. As others have said, weigh your food and log everything. I dismissed the whole idea of weighing and thought that I was doing a good job logging until I actually got a scale on a whim on day, and it changed everything!

You CAN do this, and all you have to do is one thing: use more calories than you consume . Oh, and be patient. So, two things .

ETA: When I get discouraged, I just remind myself that I'm going to be a year older no matter what I do, so I might as well stay on plan and be a year older AND 50 pounds lighter

I have noticed losing is much harder at 39 than it was at 29. I definitely stick to lower carbs, higher protein and do more weight lifting.

I hope all these people are showing you that age shouldn't matter. I lost my weight 3 years ago at 50. Take your time and try to remember that it's not linear. Some weeks you lose, some you gain and some you stay the same. You will continue to lose if you eat less calories than you burn.