45 yrs old female

Exercising and "eating clean" - whatever that means to you, since everyone has their own definition - is not enough on its own. You also need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. It can definitely be done, whatever your age and level of fitness! (I'm 52 and sedentary and have lost over 70lbs just by eating less.)

Check out the success stories pages, and also look at the stickied threads (announcements) at the top of each forum section for help and advice.

This is a good place to start:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

You can absolutely do this! We're here for you if you need help.

Hi there!
I hear ya! We are in a similar place. I’m 40and started at 161 (now like 157), and I am also 5’4. Exercise has always been my go to. I used to be able to run off the weight with cutting back a little, but that playbook has been PLAYED OUT! I also have struggled with achielles issues so I can’t run the amt I used to. I just joined MFP a week ago. I had tried just modifying my diet mainly with exercise for about 5 weeks before joining here with NO success. I thought I was losing my mind. I will confess I’m a foodie! But an overall healthy eater. I also believe I am peri menopausal on top of it, which explain why the old tricks don’t work anymore.

The biggest thing I’ve learned in one week of tracking is I didn’t eat enough protein and my portions and calories were MUCH higher than I realized. I never liked “diet” plans with limits on calories. I’d gravitate to ones with unlimited portions as long as you ate certain things (e.g., south beach, flexitarian, etc.) I am now tracking macros. It’s been eye opening to say the least. I’m aiming for 1571 calories a day with certain macros. Honestly at first I was depressed as heck when I got that number because it seemed soooo small. Some of the women who shoot for 1200... I could NEVER do that, but so far 1571 seems manageable. I think the big addition of protein has made a difference. I am still having carbs (I have to, can’t survive without them... no energy, can’t exercise, get moody and depressed, etc.) in fact I get more carbs than protein, but compared to what I used to eat, protein was my smallest. I naturally love carbs (veggies esp) with lots of fat, olive oil, cheese, etc. So this big jump in protein I think is helping me stay full on only 1571 calories. If you’d like to friend me, feel free to. I don’t have any friends on here yet... not sure how this all works exactly but gonna keep trying and tweaking things to try to find what works for me. The smallest I ever was as an adult was 135# I’m a curvy build anyway, hourglass with slightly athletic build, but I’d be happy anywhere in the 140s. How about you?

Keep your chin up!
Tiffany