Over 60 still trying

I just saw this thread pop up again this morning. With Fall right around the corner, I'm going to increase my weight loss efforts to see how much I can get off before the "hibernation months" set in.

I lost a chunk of weight when my husband died, and have been able to keep most of it off for the three years that he's been gone. I blip up and down in about a five-pound range, and give myself a lot of credit for having kept off what I have--but I have a long way to go, and would like to lighten up a little more before I have to start struggling not to put a bunch of pounds back on during the winter.

Longing4Maui wrote: »

Thinking this thread is coming to an end, but that’s ok; as it has helped me and others on this journey. Maybe there is another thread for those of us ‘over 60’????? Think I’ll start looking.

Just keep this thread active by posting regularly. I will try to keep it going as well.

Some other links for that tend towards the "seasoned citizens" demographic.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100593-over-50-group

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/433277/40-club-where-the-cool-kids-are/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10716128/men-women-in-their-50s-starting-anew-in-2019/p1

DickAich wrote: »

I have been using MFP off and on for weight some weight loss over the years but never paid any attention to the community part of the program. I just recently got back into the program to support my wife and lost some weight myself so I'm getting into maintenance and re-composition and decided to see what others were saying.

I am 70 (a few months left being able to say that) and I think I have found my weight to focus my training around (5'11" and 172.5# and 15.2% BF). I was hoping to see what others might have experience when well in the aging process.

Hi, Dick. I'm 65. I started lifting in earnest at 58 (2012). I take a break now and then, but never longer than a month or so. I have been overweight most of my life. Was at 225 in 2012 - was at 250 when I started a weight loss regimen in 2017. Down to 195 now - BMI at 28.

I lift heavy a couple of days a week currently. Deadlifts and bench press one day. Squats and overhead presses on the other. Usually finish with pushing a weighted sled on one minute intervals. Walking, hiking and wade fishing for cardio work. Yoga when I can fit it in the schedule. Should stretch every day (but I don't).

You might check out "The Barbell Prescription" as well. Specifically written for older lifters. I still refer to it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y4LXFCK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Jonathon Sullivan also has a YouTube channel with good information for older lifters.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwNjgwAS3wBBxcwouQz5J9w

I have bookmarked this thread as well and will start posting to it, instead of my usual habit of just reading other's posts. I am 60, have lost 30 pounds (as of today, yay!), with another 50-70 to go. I have found that I used to be able to carry a lot of excess weight in my younger years, and still be somewhat active, but now that I am older, it is causing health problems. In past decades I would lose weight because of appearance, but now it is all about health (and if I look better that is a bonus).
I try to stay positive. I have diabetes and am working very hard to get that under control. But am fortunate that my physical body is still functioning well, with few injuries over the years. There is a lot of mileage left in this 60-year old body, and I intend to make good use of it.
Have a great day, everyone! Pam

Happy to see this thread still going on. It has helped me on this journey to better health. Thanks @alteredsteve175 for the other group links, I’ll check those out.

DickAich wrote: »

I have been wrestling with some approaches to maintenance and would be interested if anyone is running into the same. Having reached my weight, I would like to maintain while cutting into the body fat %. My gym has an InBody 570 which I have been using for weight and other readings. Trainers tell you to lift more weight to gain more muscle. I want to lose fat weight and that does require that I add muscle. The problem is I have been injuring myself (elbow and knee) by lifting heavy. The worst part is that I don't recover from injury as quickly.

I am thinking about lifting lighter but more reps. It seems it would save the joints but still work the muscles, it just wouldn't stimulate big muscle growth. Any thoughts?

There's a great thread about recomposition that lives over in the Maintenance part of the forum. It may answer your question. If not, a lot of people who are knowledgeable about it follow the thread, so it would be a good place to ask this kind of specialized question. My personal best guess would be that it could work, but on a somewhat slower timeline than an optimal mass-focused lifting routine, but that's only an unknowledgeable guess.

Here's a direct link:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat

P.S. You won't be the only over-60 participant in that thread.

Hi - I'm 60 - but only for another week!
I'd like to join your gang.

I have always been someone who struggles with being FAT. I am actually pretty good at weight loss, I have regularly lost significant amounts over the decades. BUT once I stop being 110% focussed I tend to creep up again pretty fast, mainly because I love good food / eating well (I am not a junk-food junky) and also I eat in repsonse to emotional stress.

Regaining weight is even more easy to do as out metabolism slows, etc. so here I am (again) probably about 30lbs heavier than I want to be. I have good muscle mass though, I am very fit and exercise a lot so "weight" as a number is not a big issue - more I don't want to grow out of my nice clothes! This is really the main thing for me atm. This and continuing to improve in Time-trials on my bike.

alteredsteve175 wrote: »

Longing4Maui wrote: »

Thinking this thread is coming to an end, but that’s ok; as it has helped me and others on this journey. Maybe there is another thread for those of us ‘over 60’????? Think I’ll start looking.

Just keep this thread active by posting regularly. I will try to keep it going as well.

Some other links for that tend towards the "seasoned citizens" demographic.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100593-over-50-group

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/433277/40-club-where-the-cool-kids-are/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10716128/men-women-in-their-50s-starting-anew-in-2019/p1

Thanks for these lins, though it doesn't seem as though this particualr thread is quite ended yet - it's good to winkle out the other older-folk threads.

suzesvelte wrote: »

Hi - I'm 60 - but only for another week!
I'd like to join your gang.

Welcome, suze! Join us! The more the merrier!

Pamela_Sue wrote: »

I am curious about something. I am now 60, and asking myself what changes in my mobility, strength, etc. have I noticed since I was ages 40 or 50? I carry good muscle but am not very fit, and need to lose another 50 pounds or so. While I do have more backaches, arthritis in my hands, and some difficulty squatting down (I hyperextended both knees 5 years ago), I just don't see a lot of other physical changes except less flexibility due to my lack of activity.
Is this typical of aging? What should we expect as we age? I feel fortunate that I have had few injuries in my life, and believe that my body still seems capable of doing more and becoming more fit as I age. I have been doing cardio and stretching, and plan to add some moderate weight training in the coming months (one thing at a time).
What is your experience with aging and physical changes?

I have never been very flexible and that is getting worse as I age. I lift weights, but the first 20 or 30 minutes are spent doing a warmup and stretching. I have also done yoga in the past, and that helps with general flexibility. I have always been a fitness walker and hiker and that continues. I can't always keep up with my younger companions, but they have not had to carry me off the mountain yet. HAHA!

But like you, I am otherwise generally healthy and do not have any limitations on activity. I have some mild arthritis in my hands, but it comes and goes. I have lost 50+ pounds so far and I am working on losing another 15-20 pounds, but I'm not in any rush to do that. Slow and steady and making sure that I don't regain any significant amount of weight.

Pamela_Sue wrote: »

I am curious about something. I am now 60, and asking myself what changes in my mobility, strength, etc. have I noticed since I was ages 40 or 50? I carry good muscle but am not very fit, and need to lose another 50 pounds or so. While I do have more backaches, arthritis in my hands, and some difficulty squatting down (I hyperextended both knees 5 years ago), I just don't see a lot of other physical changes except less flexibility due to my lack of activity.
Is this typical of aging? What should we expect as we age? I feel fortunate that I have had few injuries in my life, and believe that my body still seems capable of doing more and becoming more fit as I age. I have been doing cardio and stretching, and plan to add some moderate weight training in the coming months (one thing at a time).
What is your experience with aging and physical changes?

What we should expect as we age depends - for many of us - on what we do as we age.

I'm 63. Many of my friends are in one of two groups: On-water rowers, and artists. Most are my age, +/- a few years, up to a decade or so off my age in either direction.

On average, the artists are sedentary, overweight to obese. To the extent that they are overweight + inactive , they require more medical interventions (surgery, drugs - all with side effects, especially as drugs interact!). They can have less fun (via things that require walking or stairs, like art and music festivals, sports/concerts in stadiums, etc.). They have hard-barrier eating prohibitions due to diabetes or drug regimens, unless they can tolerate significant health risks or consequences from an indulgence They recover much more slowly from surgery. They need more help from others (children or paid workers) with routine chores like yard work, flipping mattresses, moving furniture, painting. Their lives (financially, socially) are, frankly, stunted as they age. This makes me sad!

The rowers, at the best edge, can do what daily life requires (including purely-fun stuff). My poster gal is my frequent rowing-double partner. Four weeks to the day after hip replacement surgery, and 5 days after her 73rd birthday, she was back in a boat rowing with me. She's been weight training regularly since her 40s, running, doing Pilates and more. Last weekend, she and I went to a community festival, drank craft beer (plenty! ), ate crazy nonsense, danced, walked miles. So fun!

None of us have a time machine to go back and do more retroactively, but we have choices now. Good choices matter, in a big way. We can always start now, and build, with what we can manage.

The artists are definitely more creative, and accomplish more in the realm where they focus. They impress me significantly, in that way. That's useful, and important, too - no deprecation or diss intended or implied. I value them as friends and people: Balance is vital.

Most common aging-related consequences, for many people (not everyone) can be mitigated, at least for a time. Older fit people in my life have tended (again, not universally) to have a short, sharp decline before death. The fat + unfit ones have tended (also not universally) toward lengthy, slow, painful decline.

I figure I have choices. The choices may shift my odds (!!!), but they guarantee nothing. Still, it seems pretty clear what my best bet is, to play most favorable odds.

YMMV,

Pamela_Sue wrote: »

Thanks for the great responses. Ann - I really took what you said to heart. Being overweight and inactive leading to more medical problems and interventions, and having much less fun in life. It brings to mind the word 'limitations'. Steve - I need to make my own flexibility more of a priority.

Also the comments about our 'death process' were thought provoking. While a few of us may die from a sudden heart attack, many of us will die of other causes. I want to avoid that lengthy, slow painful decline, if at all possible and if within my control.

I don't want to have limitations, especially self-caused ones. I don't want to be like my mother, who just turned 80, and has greatly reduced both her mobility and her ability to enjoy life because she has sat on the couch for the last 5 years, willing herself to die. I see a slow, painful decline in her future. My dad is 83 and vigorous and loves life, even with a bad heart.

I have lost 30 pounds so far, with another 50 to go. Perhaps I am doing better this time around because my focus has been based on improved health and longevity and not appearance (added benefit). I shall continue my cardio, renew my stretching efforts and add in some strength training in the next month or two (I can only make so many changes at one time).

Sounds like you have a great attitude, and a sound strategy. Congratulations on your progress so far, and best wishes for continued success (which seems likely!). :flowerforyou:

Pamela_Sue wrote: »

I am curious about something. I am now 60, and asking myself what changes in my mobility, strength, etc. have I noticed since I was ages 40 or 50? I carry good muscle but am not very fit, and need to lose another 50 pounds or so. While I do have more backaches, arthritis in my hands, and some difficulty squatting down (I hyperextended both knees 5 years ago), I just don't see a lot of other physical changes except less flexibility due to my lack of activity.
What is your experience with aging and physical changes?

Things changed for me when my husband died shortly before I turned 60. It felt like grief aged me quite a bit. For the first time ever, I started "feeling old".

I just turned 63, and am trying to improve my health in general. How I look, or what size I am, is no longer the most important thing. Retaining as much mobility as I can, for as long as possible, is what I want now.

Hi Everyone!

@AnnPT77 Did I see a thread were you posted tips? If so can you post the link? Thank you.

@ThisMagicMoment I am sorry for your loss.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

ourbestlife wrote: »

Hi Everyone!

@AnnPT77 Did I see a thread were you posted tips? If so can you post the link? Thank you.
<snip other tag>

Maaaybeeee . . . but which tips were you thinking of, about what? (I've been pretty opinionated on several subjects! )

I think these are the most commonly cited actual threads:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

I will take a look. Thank you!!