a quote got me to start again...weight loss at 70

joanslavin · February 2018

I think when you reach a "certain age", you begin to realize is not just a matter of looking good, or feeling better or even if your new skirt will fit. It becomes a matter of life or death. People usually who take care of themselves when they are older, live longer. I see friends who don't care for themselves, don't exercise or watch weight and they are all, without exception, sick. THey have walkers, they have operations. They complain, but don't change anything. I don't want to be that way..and I realize that I have to work to make things happen. I saw a show last night, not at all on a weight topic, and one of the characters said "if you are weak, you die." It made me think that for me, that is true. If I am too weak to diet, exercise, go to the doctor's, take care of myself....the result will be that my life will end much faster.

So, here I go again. I need to lose 60 pounds. I have done that...more than that, before. I can do it again. It will make things so much better and I have the time to focus now on myself and my health. I have got this. I will keep posting. Goal for this week...starting today....2 pounds by next friday. JS

jennifer_417 · February 2018

Yay! You can do this!

AnnPT77 · February 2018

I lost about the same amount a couple of years ago, at age 59-60, for many of the same reasons, and have stayed at a healthy weight since.

Yes, you can do it. And it's so worth doing: Transformational.

dsboohead · February 2018

I still work at 61 and I see many patients that are my age and are an utter mess! My coworkers will come get me and say...that patient in room 4 is younger than you! They will look 20 yrs older than me!
Mind you...these are smokers...previous drug users...alcoholics and life has sapped them of their lives! Most of them have allowed their own ridiculous "choices" to rob them of a gratifying life!
Its your CHOICE!

ZoneFive · February 2018

I'll be 60 in two weeks. I've been fat ("overweight" doesn't cover it) all my life and although I've lost substantial weight a few times, it never stuck. 18 months ago I was diagnosed with diabetes and have finally been scared straight. I could wish that that happened years ago, but here we are. I've lost close to 90 lbs in the past year and I think I have a grip on both the physical and the emotional parts of it now. It's been difficult, boring, annoying and frustrating by turns, but realizing how many incipient health issues can be halted or even reversed is making it SO worthwhile.

Yes, you CAN do it. We'll be here to cheer you on.

debs3806 · February 2018

I am 65 years old - a year ago my doctor told me I was pre-diabetic- that’s all it took - I started going to personal trainer and have lost 30 pounds - need to lose 15+ more! You can do it!

Chooklet57 · February 2018

You have got this! Im 60. Lost 79 lbs (36kgs) in 2015 with clean eating ,, help here and a regular gym habit. I have kept up the gym.. (I am a nurse so yes see the impact on health as we age!). Over last year Ive gradually regained 10kgs so today am clearing my head and fridge and refocusing on the clean eating side again. Best wishes. Just start! and enjoy the camaraderie on here!

margiek4mfp · February 2018

I wish you all the best on your journey. I’m 27 and trying to lose 60lbs. Just started yesterday. My dad is 73 with diabetes and chronic kidney disease, he too started trying to lose weight to get healthier.

He loves my fitness pal and the fact that he has something to aim for with 10,000 steps a day.
He has lost weight before but without any help from my fitness pal. He’s fascinated by the macros aswell as how it encourages to fill up on healthy nutritious food.

Even at 27 I’m conscious of the fact that losing weight now will benefit my health now and in the future. It used to be about looks mostly when I was younger but especially with watching my dad I realise it’s so much more.

Here’s to a healthy and happy 2018 and I hope you achieve all your goals

joanslavin · February 2018

Thank you all for your kind words and support. I sent today for a pedometer. Fitbits are great, but I don't think I could figure out how to hook it up and I don't have a smart phone. I am going to try the pedometer and if it doesn't work, bite the bullet and try to figure out how to use the Fitbit. I am sure my daily steps are far below 10,000...but will try to work my way up to that number. Wow, this getting healthy is a full time job....2 trips to PT a week, once a week to chiropractor, logging and trying to reach my step goal. It will keep me busy!

lisabetts142 · February 2018

Thank you for your post. Three of my friends were diagnosed with breast cancer last week and one with type 2 diabetes. I am 51 and have 56 lbs to lose. I'm trying to lose it in 9 months. I don't know if that is realistic, but I'll just take one day at a time.

ZoneFive · February 2018

joanslavin wrote: »

Thank you all for your kind words and support. I sent today for a pedometer. Fitbits are great, but I don't think I could figure out how to hook it up and I don't have a smart phone. I am going to try the pedometer and if it doesn't work, bite the bullet and try to figure out how to use the Fitbit. I am sure my daily steps are far below 10,000...but will try to work my way up to that number. Wow, this getting healthy is a full time job....2 trips to PT a week, once a week to chiropractor, logging and trying to reach my step goal. It will keep me busy!

I started out averaging 3-4K steps daily. It took several months to get up to hitting 10K on the regular, but it comes with its own momentum. The more I moved, the more I was inspired to move. From what I've read, that's a pretty common occurrence, so you have good things to look forward to! Take your time doing this -- no matter what age we are, hurry is not a friend.

Mjones23456 · February 2018

Never give up. This is a journey so we just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Way to be resilient and committed! I pray for your success!!

DulcimerRick · February 2018

It's really awesome to see folks in my age range making positive changes in their lives! It truly is never to late to start over. I'd certainly welcome any friend requests from like minded folks!

ladylaura777 · February 2018

It’s really great to see people that are looking at health and quality of life instead of just skinny jeans.
I will be 60 in a couple weeks. Had both knees replaced, and beat cancer twice. I’ve lost over 80 lbs & feel much better. I’ve still got almost that much to go, but I can walk now - and I've got all these great people here for support

lois1231 · February 2018

You are an inspiration. Fit bits are actually quite simple. Once you get it hooked up it is just a matter of syncing it to get your results. Tip if you can't get it to sync. Turn off bluetooth and turn it back on, on your phone. If that doesn't work, restart the device. I had this problem. You got this.

asharp · February 2018

This is such an honest and inspiring comment. Thank you for posting it. I’m 62 and I go to the gym and work out on the elliptical for 30 Min, 4 x a week. I just do it, pretend that it’s your job, you HAVE to show up if you want to keep your job. If we want to stay healthy and lose weight, we HAVE to exercise. Be patient with yourself, give yourself a year to lose 20lbs. And then another year to lose another etc. keep posting and stay positive

lovesretirement · February 2018

I am 65, 58 pounds down with 40ish to go. After retiring 5 years ago, it was either get busy living, or get busy dying so I bit the bullet and became obsessed with working on “me”. It has not been easy, but it has been worth it. Find your “whys” and those will keep you motivated. It takes dedication and persistence, and it can be done at any age! You can do this...if not now, when?

tinamarie6624 · February 2018

I wish you the best of luck and know that it can be done at your age. My mother was 71 2 years ago when she started and she is almost to her goal weight and she has lost about 95 Lbs.

A few years earlier, she had been in a car accident and her knees had gotten so bad she could barely move. In December 2015, she couldn't walk from Safeway to the parking lot. That was the day she decided to change her life. Now we hike consistently 4 or 5 miles in any given day and she doesn't have a lot of issues. Her knees still trouble her with steep downhills so we try to avoid those. But other than that, she is in better shape now than she has been in 20 years.

I personally started at 49 and have lost 220 Lbs and I'm 51 now.

Thanks for sharing.

Tina Marie

TerriRichardson112 · February 2018

@joanslavin I'm 71, and it's taken me 3 years, but I've lost 63lbs and it's changed my life so much. And you are right. It's a full-time commitment to get back to health and fitness. You can do can do it! Go girl!
PS: I had to lose the weight because I needed a hip replacement. (Successfully Done in Sept 2015) Nothing motivates as much as being told you are headed for a wheelchair.

babecker1951 · February 2018

Love to see people my age on here. I'm 66, have lost 15 and have 35 more to go. I also have been motivated by health and seeing people my age with so many medical issues. I want to enjoy my retirement!

lessismoreohio · February 2018

You've got this. I'm working on losing weight for the same reasons; I don't want the obesity related health issues I've seen with my friends and family.

cshern · February 2018

yay you!!!

ShellyMacchi · February 2018

It sounds like you are in the right place.. both by being in MFP, as well as in the right 'head space'.

About 7 years ago (age 55) a 'quote' from my Dr got me started too ... in discussing why my blood pressure was now consistently hovering around 130/80 instead of the 120/80 it had been maintained at for many years with meds (many years before [untreated] it had been 190/90).
He attempted to reassure me it was 'still ok, just on the higher side of normal' - when I said I was concerned about it just the same, his reply was...

"Well, you are getting older, and with aging you have to expect these kinds of changes, it's just your new normal"

That got to me more than either of us expected apparently. Accept something I felt I could do something about? No darned way!

That in combination to losing my mum due to weight related issues, and watching my husband's health deteriorating (again, due to choices he has continued to make, resulting in many health issues but including type 2 diabetes and heart disease [5 stents in place now]), was the magic combination that flipped a switch in my head.

In other words... I was the only one who had a vested interest in getting me 'healthy'... so, I'd better get busy!

Within the next 10 months I lost 75 lbs, eating well, and logging every single thing.
Exercise/activity started to feel like something I 'wanted' to do (instead of just thinking it was needed), and low and behold, I then found I HAD to start eating back those calories from activity because if I did not, my weight loss actually slowed.
WooHoo!
Keep on losing, more food, feel better than I had in my entire life (have been obese since birth..literally) - what's not to love!

At end of those 10 months, I maintained about 6 months. At the right weight for my height for the first time ever felt so alive and younger than I'd felt in many many years!
And yes, blood pressure went so low Dr had to back me off it quite a bit.

And then, I felt so great, I went back to work.
Slowly, bit by bit over time, I gained too much of that back, sedentary job, mentally exhausted by end of day with no energy, lost my walking companion (my husky), and assorted other life events that seemed to take over = I forgot how good it felt to look after 'me', so I stopped doing so.

In times and diets past, I've never been able to return to a single plan that I'd done before, no matter how well it worked at the time.

But, MFP is simply tracking, focusing on recording the choices I make, all of them good and bad, and it's simply what I need. It keeps me accountable to the only person that matters, 'me'.

So, here I am again, 5 weeks in... I will be 62 this year, and 10 lbs lighter than I was 5 weeks ago

I've returned, because this really is everything I need. 'My' fitness pal indeed!

We are ALL responsible for the choices we make, those of us who have found a way to make this approach work for us, likely feel empowered by seeing just how much difference those choices can make, and moving into the next day with that in mind.

Aging?
Yes I am, and darn proud of it.. but as long as folks are flabbergasted each time I tell them how old I really am, because all they see is an active healthy woman with some laugh lines around her smile and life experience in her eyes, (and folks think I am younger than my 53 year old husband LOL), and my Dr continues to be awfully proud of me... that's all good to me.

note: My profile pic shows when I was still dying my hair 7 years ago, and was at my goal weight.
For now I am purposely leaving it there to remind myself how well I did before. I will update it as I get further along.
(Since that time I've let my natural 'all white/silver' show through (my natural colours since I was in my 40s LOL.)

jloehman · February 2018

I started with MFP on January 2nd of this year. So far I’ve lost 13 pounds. I’m really motivated to maintain healthy eating habits and MFP is helping me to stay on track. I don’t think of this journey as a “diet” but rather a change in lifestyle. I’m taking this path in small adjustments, so that I don’t become overwhelmed, instead of changing all my bad habits at one time.
1st: I started with lowering my caloric intake; 2nd: I started paying closer attention to the nutritional value of my food choices;
3rd: I am eating “good” fish twice a week (this is where I am now);
4th: I will add some type of exercise. Maybe start with walking a certain distance in a week, then work up to 3 - 4 times a week and then hopefully work up to a daily walking distance;
5th: Add some weight training into my week;
6th: I have 53 more pounds to lose to get to my first goal weight.
7th: Then I’m going to evaluate where I am, how I feel, how I look, and my level of health to determine if I need/should lose more weight.

I am hoping I can take off the 53 pounds by January 2019. That will be one year on MFP, one year healthier, one year lighter, one year smarter. We’ll see but at least I have a plan.

BTW, I will be 62 years young this year. I have been married to my high school sweetheart for 38 years, have 2 beautiful daughters, 2 grandchildren and work at a state college here in Florida at a job I love for the past 22 years. I have 5 years until retirement then I plan to work part time.

Wish me luck, wisdom, willpower, and continued commitment to my goals.

I encourage all of you to take this journey with me! #healthyliving

a quote got me to start again...weight loss at 70

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