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

Sued0nim wrote: »

I calorie count ..no fads, no demon foods, no demon food groups, no fads or gimmicks, an eye on protein aiming for 100g minimum daily. Watching my trend on trendweight.com

Like the Karate Kid's "wipe on, wipe off" training, I do calories in, calories out training

Lost 50lbs in my 47th year

Took up the gym, with the help of a PT, got into progressive weight training and increased my general activity

I'm 49 now, been at goal (5'8, 160lbs for around 2 years)

I'm not perfect but I'm really proud of me

cecrowley wrote: »

Between age 57 and 60 I slowly but surely lost 115 pounds, by strictly and honestly keeping track of eating with MFP. Regrettably no exercise, which would have speeded it up a little. But I am happy. Have stayed at 155 or a little under for 7 months and don't foresee gaining any back. I had been at a steady 180 or so, then gained 90 between age 50 and 52. Now I'm back to where I was in the 1980s.
Motivation was seeing 300 coming over the horizon. And learning that feeling hungry can be your body lying to you was very useful. Found out that if I didn't eat every time my body said to, nothing bad happened. So I started eating a reasonable amount on schedule, and it worked.
This was also while taking various meds that supposedly make you gain weight. They may mess with your metabolism some but they can't pick up a spoon and stick it in your mouth. Or force you to.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Update: I'd hit goal weight in Jan/Feb 2016 (120 pounds at 5'5", age 60 then, 61 now), and maintained that successfully until around that September/October. Then I sort of abruptly put on a few pounds over those couple of months - through some periodic well-over-goal days rather than just general calorie creep - and hung onto it through the holidays, adding a few more pounds on some recent travel weekends.

Now sitting at about 130, working on dropping my weight back a bit via a very low, slow deficit and a little more activity - especially since I do tend to be a little more active in rowing season, which is finally upon us. While I want to drop back a bit, my health markers are still excellent, my smaller clothes are still fitting, and my BMI is toward the lower end of normal, so I'm not in a fret-fest.

I was pretty active before weight loss, and have maintained more-or-less the same activity schedule. In season, that's rowing about 4 days a week, spin class 2 days a week, and some random bike rides and such.

wsandy8512 wrote: »

Hi, I'm Sandy, 47yo. Like many others, I've struggled with weight my entire life. I'm 5'5". The lowest I weighed was 125lbs in my freshman year of high school after losing 15lbs during summer vacation. I regained the weight I lost and stayed around 150 throughout high school. I gained in the military and yo-yoed between 150-170 for four years. When I married I weighed more than my husband and I was 150. Then enter the child bearing years and I got huge with both, around 202lbs. After each birth, I'd weigh around 190 something, and it would take me 8-9 months to lose with eating less and exercising and I would gain it all back, plus. I started suffering from insomnia in my late twenties and along with really heavy menstrual cycles, increased rheumatoid arthritis pain, marital stress (all is well now), teen year stresses (all well there now, too). My highest weight was 234lbs back in 2008 and I lost 40lbs, I allowed stress to win once again and regained weight, except to 224. I lost thirty pounds around 2013 to get back to 194 and then I allowed an injury (plantar fasciitis) to win--can't exercise, let me eat and feel sorry for myself!!! I regained the thirty pounds. Before I continue, I want to say that it always, always took me what is considered a "slow and healthy" weight loss to go back down. However, this time is different...

Tired of being sore and in pain (sans my menstrual cycle, I had a hysterectomy just over a year ago) and living life in a chair, I decided to so something. I've never really counted calories, though I was a member of MFP on and off. I count them now. At first, I didn't really exercise (got in my head that I don't have to exercise to lose weight at first, calorie counting is a great start), just got some of the weight off via intermittent fasting. I started feeling better, but I still struggled with food addiction and wanting to eat between meals, or run to food for comfort when I felt stressed. Looking into different types of intermittent fasting, I stumbled onto eating one meal a day, also known as OMAD--I will never look back.

I get all my calories in at one time and I do count calories. I no longer feel hungry between meals. There have been stresses that I just handle and running to go eat something isn't even a thought. My rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis pain are next to nil, my upper arms don't constantly ache, my feet don't ache after I walk even after doing a 6 mile hike with a friend, as well as a 7 mile walk a couple of weeks ago.I'm sleeping better, I have more energy, I have self-confidence, I eat the healthiest I ever have in my life because my body and mind feel better making healthier food choices, I've lost inches, and my diastolic BP has been 80 my entire adulthood and the other day I fell in the normal range with a BP of 101/75! Most importantly, I am in control and food no longer controls me. All of those are just as, if not more important than weight loss, in my opinion. I've lost the 41.2 pounds since March 5, 2017. I'm only about 3.9 pounds shy of leaving the obese category and it feels great to be at 183.6 right now, I haven't seen the 180s in over a decade!

Even though I'm only a few months in, my attitude regarding food is the major difference now than in past attempts and it's a lifestyle change that I can live with. I eat whatever I want, I just make healthier choices and count calories. If I get a bug up my *kitten* and want McDonald's, I will get some McDonald's. I no longer feel bad or guilt myself to death for eating what is unhealthy, occasionally. I look at it like this: Even people at healthy weights indulge from time to time, just not all the time. I want the mind of a person who has a healthy weight and is good health, and even though I have 53 pounds to go, that's the frame of mind I have right now. :-)