Haaaaaa--why is the process soooo slow (especially over 40)
kimber0607
Posts: 994 Member
hello all,
I turned 45 yesterday and i have def gained/lost over the years but it has never been this hard!!
I'm trying not to be impatient...but i busted my butt this week and lost 1/2 pound.
Sine i didnt want to rely only on number i have a pair of shorts that are too snug...so I was hoping even if the scale didn't move i could use the shorts as inspiration that I'm moving in the right direction...but that didnt happen either!
I have a goal to get down to 140 by the end of aug (151 now)
Its frustrating to go from not working out at all and eating what I wanted whenever i wanted to eating low carb/clean and working out/counting cals to go down a 1/2 pound in a week
I know I'm not the only one..and I plan to keep chugging and to not give up!
kim
I turned 45 yesterday and i have def gained/lost over the years but it has never been this hard!!
I'm trying not to be impatient...but i busted my butt this week and lost 1/2 pound.
Sine i didnt want to rely only on number i have a pair of shorts that are too snug...so I was hoping even if the scale didn't move i could use the shorts as inspiration that I'm moving in the right direction...but that didnt happen either!
I have a goal to get down to 140 by the end of aug (151 now)
Its frustrating to go from not working out at all and eating what I wanted whenever i wanted to eating low carb/clean and working out/counting cals to go down a 1/2 pound in a week
I know I'm not the only one..and I plan to keep chugging and to not give up!
kim
4
Replies
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To lose weight, you just need a calorie deficit and time. Your age has nothing to do with it, but your mindset and habits. Maybe you should just focus on eating less and being patient, and forget about low carb and clean eating and deadlines and exercise.18
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It took me nearly a year to go from 155 to 140, where I am now maintaining.
I would say - don't try to cut calories too much and definitely keep good records. I don't think it's so much age as it is being already close to a healthy weight and it's just a slow process to get those last few pounds off. I had to eat very close to maintenance calories or I set myself up for binges. The body wants that 10-15 pounds of security.
Because hungry. Not old. Hungry.7 -
You might need to adjust your expectations.
With less than 15 lbs to lose, 0.5lbs per week is kind of perfect, regardless of age. Congrats!11 -
At least you are tackling it before you are 62!
Patience Grasshopper. If you haven't achieved the 11 lbs by end of August it's no biggie, you will be close and you can just keep going til you are where you want to be.2 -
Half a pound is great going, especially as you only have 11lbs to lose. The nearer to goal you are, the more slowly it is suggested to lost it. Or the smaller the deficit is needed...as everyone else has stated above...I am post menopausal and 44 (weight loss is not any harder than when I was in my thirties or twenties)...age does not really factor into weight loss speed. Eating less and being more active does. Unless there is a serious medical condition which needs treating, etc...2
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I'm 52. I'm eating between 1200 and 1400 calories a day and doing moderate exercise at the gym 3 days a week and I'm losing.3
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It is tough when losing is slow - at any age. Try and set yourself other health-related goals. I've found that since I have it in my head that I go to the gym to beat stress rather than lose weight, it feels less like a chore and more like a treat - i.e. I'm taking time to look after myself. Think of the improvement in your cardiovascular health, your muscle and bone strength, your endurance and flexibility. You say that you're "eating clean", well GREAT. Think of all the health benefits your body is enjoying. It will thank you even when those extra pounds are still there. Well done so far and keep at it!1
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cmriverside wrote: »It took me nearly a year to go from 155 to 140, where I am now maintaining.
I would say - don't try to cut calories too much and definitely keep good records. I don't think it's so much age as it is being already close to a healthy weight and it's just a slow process to get those last few pounds off. I had to eat very close to maintenance calories or I set myself up for binges. The body wants that 10-15 pounds of security.
Because hungry. Not old. Hungry.
A YEAR????
oh boy...great job for keeping focused and your eye on the prize..i know if i stick with it...i will see results..maybe just not as quickly as I wanted LOL
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kimber0607 wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »It took me nearly a year to go from 155 to 140, where I am now maintaining.
I would say - don't try to cut calories too much and definitely keep good records. I don't think it's so much age as it is being already close to a healthy weight and it's just a slow process to get those last few pounds off. I had to eat very close to maintenance calories or I set myself up for binges. The body wants that 10-15 pounds of security.
Because hungry. Not old. Hungry.
A YEAR????
oh boy...great job for keeping focused and your eye on the prize..i know if i stick with it...i will see results..maybe just not as quickly as I wanted LOL
Well, I was legitimately hungry.
I had been tracking my food and exercise for a long time, and was just happy-ish at 150-155. I was (just) in the healthy BMI for my height and figured it was good enough.
Then I wanted to see what it was like in the lower or middle of my healthy BMI. I mean, I wasn't super highly motivated and I didn't stick to the plan all the time. Your mileage may vary. I had many eff-it weeks in that time, but I didn't give up. Just kept plugging along.
The problem was/is actual hunger and motivation when you/I don't have much body fat. I was set at, "Lose 1/2 pound per week." That is only a 250 deficit from maintenance calories. I just wanted more to eat on the regular. So I had more. If you are more disciplined, it will go faster. I was making 90% of my meals at home, using a digital food scale and logging everything. I knew if I stayed (or got back) on plan it would work.
I jus' dint wanna.1 -
I’m 58 and a relatively slow loser but i have found that some weeks i will drop a half others 2-3 Lbs so over time it averages out. What ever you do do t give up, keep tracking and look back on what you did differently on weeks you had a larger loss. Keep those shorts as your carrot!!1
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cmriverside wrote: »kimber0607 wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »It took me nearly a year to go from 155 to 140, where I am now maintaining.
I would say - don't try to cut calories too much and definitely keep good records. I don't think it's so much age as it is being already close to a healthy weight and it's just a slow process to get those last few pounds off. I had to eat very close to maintenance calories or I set myself up for binges. The body wants that 10-15 pounds of security.
Because hungry. Not old. Hungry.
A YEAR????
oh boy...great job for keeping focused and your eye on the prize..i know if i stick with it...i will see results..maybe just not as quickly as I wanted LOL
Well, I was legitimately hungry.
I had been tracking my food and exercise for a long time, and was just happy-ish at 150-155. I was (just) in the healthy BMI for my height and figured it was good enough.
Then I wanted to see what it was like in the lower or middle of my healthy BMI. I mean, I wasn't super highly motivated and I didn't stick to the plan all the time. Your mileage may vary. I had many eff-it weeks in that time, but I didn't give up. Just kept plugging along.
The problem was/is actual hunger and motivation when you/I don't have much body fat. I was set at, "Lose 1/2 pound per week." That is only a 250 deficit from maintenance calories. I just wanted more to eat on the regular. So I had more. If you are more disciplined, it will go faster. I was making 90% of my meals at home, using a digital food scale and logging everything. I knew if I stayed (or got back) on plan it would work.
I jus' dint wanna.
that's whats frustrating
work out an hour a day
track cals/do low carb at 1400 cals a day (stop eating for the day at 4:30-5:00)
by eating right foods low carb im only hungry by bedtime
I feel i should be loosing quickly than will become a little more lenient when i am ready to maintain
well that was the plan
1-2 pounds a week would make me more than happy..but 1/2 pound crap has me mad!
1 -
It takes time! especially if you want to lose weight in a healthy manner. With 11lb to lose, then 0.5lb a week is a good goal, having achieved this in your first week, you should be happy.
On my weight loss journey, I have averaged 0.5lb a week loss.
Happy that my weight was moving in the right direction. Time passed and in total I have lost 52lbs!
Trust in the system, put in the work, give it time and you will see results. Time & Patience! are key
Having non scale targets are great, but you still need patience.
Working towards "snug shorts" fitting again is a good idea, but
expecting them to fit again in a week, is unrealistic/impatient.
The key is finding what works for you, so that it continues to happen week in week out. Develop new habits that will be the basis of your lifestyle. Not a fight to acheive every day.
At the moment your finding it; quote
"frustrating to go from not working out at all and eating what I wanted whenever i wanted""
If you return to this way of eating/lifestyle then you will continue to lose and then regain, as you have in the past.
Remember you have made a good start, now you need to keep the momentum going. Only you can decide if all the hard work is worth it.
5 -
But that's not how it works.kimber0607 wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »kimber0607 wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »It took me nearly a year to go from 155 to 140, where I am now maintaining.
I would say - don't try to cut calories too much and definitely keep good records. I don't think it's so much age as it is being already close to a healthy weight and it's just a slow process to get those last few pounds off. I had to eat very close to maintenance calories or I set myself up for binges. The body wants that 10-15 pounds of security.
Because hungry. Not old. Hungry.
A YEAR????
oh boy...great job for keeping focused and your eye on the prize..i know if i stick with it...i will see results..maybe just not as quickly as I wanted LOL
Well, I was legitimately hungry.
I had been tracking my food and exercise for a long time, and was just happy-ish at 150-155. I was (just) in the healthy BMI for my height and figured it was good enough.
Then I wanted to see what it was like in the lower or middle of my healthy BMI. I mean, I wasn't super highly motivated and I didn't stick to the plan all the time. Your mileage may vary. I had many eff-it weeks in that time, but I didn't give up. Just kept plugging along.
The problem was/is actual hunger and motivation when you/I don't have much body fat. I was set at, "Lose 1/2 pound per week." That is only a 250 deficit from maintenance calories. I just wanted more to eat on the regular. So I had more. If you are more disciplined, it will go faster. I was making 90% of my meals at home, using a digital food scale and logging everything. I knew if I stayed (or got back) on plan it would work.
I jus' dint wanna.
that's whats frustrating
work out an hour a day
track cals/do low carb at 1400 cals a day (stop eating for the day at 4:30-5:00)
by eating right foods low carb im only hungry by bedtime
I feel i should be loosing quickly than will become a little more lenient when i am ready to maintain
well that was the plan
1-2 pounds a week would make me more than happy..but 1/2 pound crap has me mad!
Nobody who is lean can lose fat fast.
Half a pound per week is a good rate at your weight.
If you find weightloss frustrating, how will you handle maintenance?
If you try to force weightloss, it will backfire. You will rebound overeat. You will regain. It is known.
If you exercise to lose weight, you'll burn out.
Is low carb/IF actually working for you, in your real life?8 -
the thing is the body can easily fluctuate 5lbs during the day every day ... so as you get close and are aiming for a loss of 0.5lbs a week, they weightloss can be easily hidden by daily fluctuations ... you may well be losing 0.5lbs a week and it not be obvious on the scale until a few weeks down the line ... which is why its useful to me to weigh every day and look at the overall trend.
you are right though ... its a long process and when you reach near the end and the instant gratification dries up its very easy to get de-railed as you think its not working.6 -
kommodevaran wrote: »Nobody who is lean can lose fat fast.
If you try to force weightloss, it will backfire. You will rebound overeat. You will regain. It is known.
If you exercise to lose weight, you'll burn out.
I am living testament to the these truths.
you HAVE to learn to love the process .... actually to be honest you have to learn to ignore the process, infact treat it not as a process but just as a way of life that something you just do everyday .. because if you start micro analyzing it every day it will mentally screw you up !
9 -
That was profound, and so true.kommodevaran wrote: »Nobody who is lean can lose fat fast.
If you try to force weightloss, it will backfire. You will rebound overeat. You will regain. It is known.
If you exercise to lose weight, you'll burn out.
I am living testament to the these truths.
you HAVE to learn to love the process .... actually to be honest you have to learn to ignore the process, infact treat it not as a process but just as a way of life that something you just do everyday .. because if you start micro analyzing it every day it will mentally screw you up !2 -
Just keep at it and there will be gains and loss but you will get there0
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When I was in my early 30's I lost 125 pounds doing 1200 calories a day and lost 10 pounds a month fairly consistently. I gained back 60 pounds in the 15 years since then. I'm back to tracking but I just can't deal with the 1200 calories any more and am doing 1600. I'm still losing but more like 5 pounds a month. It's much easier to track now because of apps like this and most restaurants have nutrition information on their website. I assume I would lose faster at 1200 but it's so hard to eat out and eat with friends etc.1
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From my understanding our general metabolism slows down as we age. If this is correct, that makes sense so if you want to boost it up, you’ll likely have to keep your resting metabolic rate higher throughout the day. Try starting your day with some cardio for about 20-30 minutes, go for a walk at lunch, and try to keep some cardio in your evenings when you’re not weight training.1
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kimber0607 wrote: »hello all,
I turned 45 yesterday and i have def gained/lost over the years but it has never been this hard!!
I'm trying not to be impatient...but i busted my butt this week and lost 1/2 pound.
Sine i didnt want to rely only on number i have a pair of shorts that are too snug...so I was hoping even if the scale didn't move i could use the shorts as inspiration that I'm moving in the right direction...but that didnt happen either!
I have a goal to get down to 140 by the end of aug (151 now)
Its frustrating to go from not working out at all and eating what I wanted whenever i wanted to eating low carb/clean and working out/counting cals to go down a 1/2 pound in a week
I know I'm not the only one..and I plan to keep chugging and to not give up!
kimkimber0607 wrote: »hello all,
I turned 45 yesterday and i have def gained/lost over the years but it has never been this hard!!
I'm trying not to be impatient...but i busted my butt this week and lost 1/2 pound.
Sine i didnt want to rely only on number i have a pair of shorts that are too snug...so I was hoping even if the scale didn't move i could use the shorts as inspiration that I'm moving in the right direction...but that didnt happen either!
I have a goal to get down to 140 by the end of aug (151 now)
Its frustrating to go from not working out at all and eating what I wanted whenever i wanted to eating low carb/clean and working out/counting cals to go down a 1/2 pound in a week
I know I'm not the only one..and I plan to keep chugging and to not give up!
kim
0 -
I am 43 and trying to lose 25 pounds. I have a huge problem with not being toned and having a massive amount of extra skin. I am glad i have a decent face for my age but my body has gone to hell . I totally understand and am right here with you if you need emcouragement!0
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kimber0607 wrote: »hello all,
I turned 45 yesterday and i have def gained/lost over the years but it has never been this hard!!
I'm trying not to be impatient...but i busted my butt this week and lost 1/2 pound.
Sine i didnt want to rely only on number i have a pair of shorts that are too snug...so I was hoping even if the scale didn't move i could use the shorts as inspiration that I'm moving in the right direction...but that didnt happen either!
I have a goal to get down to 140 by the end of aug (151 now)
Its frustrating to go from not working out at all and eating what I wanted whenever i wanted to eating low carb/clean and working out/counting cals to go down a 1/2 pound in a week
I know I'm not the only one..and I plan to keep chugging and to not give up!
kim
I am right there with you. I am 43. I was always pretty thin. In the last 3 years I've put on 20 lbs. So I too went from no exercising and eating whatever I wanted, to a 1200 a day plan and exercising 3 days a week. I have been on MFP for 36 days and lost 4 lbs and then gained 2 back. SOOO FRUSTRATING!!!
BUT, I am determined to stick with it. Even though the weight hasn't come off as quickly as I'd like. I feel 100% better than I did a month ago. Keep with it and I will too :-)0 -
It is so frustrating. To feel like you have worked so hard and to not get the results you want. I totally understand. But you’re losing! And that’s a good thing! Maybe not as much as you want but your efforts are at least paying off! It’s going to happen.0
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11 lbs isn't much, especially when you're not really overweight. And doing this the right way takes awhile. You may need to re-evaluate your time frame. My recommendation: stick with your plan, get rid of the scale, and try on the shorts at the end of July. Then you can adjust if needed for August.1
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