Need to lose weight at 67 years old.

mariea59
mariea59 Posts: 3 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi, I am going to try to lose weight and not get discouraged. Hard to lose when your over 65, but am going to work really hard at it. Any suggestions and support will be greatly helpful.

Replies

  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    Welcome to the community! <3

    If you haven't already, read the stickies at the top of the getting started forum. Very informative and helpful.

    I'm 61. I'm very happy with my results so far.

    Buy a food scale. Weigh everything you eat and log into the food diary.

    Good luck with your journey!
  • aracely2224
    aracely2224 Posts: 1,070 Member
    Welcome! MFP has helped me achieve my goals with the calorie count. I’m cheering for you!

    You can do it! 🌺
  • LAT1963
    LAT1963 Posts: 1,375 Member
    edited September 2019
    Some promising initial anecdotal data on losing weight when older.

    I'm going on 56, post menopausal, have had a few (pre-menopausal) starts on MFP followed by setbacks (orthopedic injuries that stopped my exercise regiment short) and regaining weight. This time I'm going straight diet without relying upon exercise or limiting food categories (eg: Atkins, which I've done before), because my orthopedic situation isn't reliable and if I rely on diet alone then injury can't become a setback to weight loss. If I become mobile enough to exercise later that's a bonus.

    It's been about 35 days and I've gone from 255 to 245. I'm happy with that, hoping my loss rate is slow enough to reduce the likelihood of saggy skin when I'm done. I've also started taking vitamins on the theory that hunger might sometimes be due to deficiency in a nutrient rather than deficiency in calories, so I'm hoping it will keep me from feeling hungry. For me, skewing my diet away from carbs a little bit reduces my hunger (though as I said I'm not doing Atkins this time because I don't want to lose too fast & exacerbate the potential skin issue.)

    I am not quite as old as you but probably biologically similar in terms of hormones. Calorie restriction alone seems to be working, based on this month-ish of data. At my height and weight and (lack of) activity, my target is 1750 calories/day for 1 lb/week, and I haven't been hungry except on days I made stupid, carb-rich food choices.

    I've typically been coming in on-target for calories, 5-10% high on fat, 20% low on carbs. I don't eat much meat so it's been a challenge hitting the protein target, usually about 5-10% low on that one.

    PS: make an effort to hit the fiber target; not only does it help with regularity (if that's an issue for you) but it decreases the residence time of food in your gut--what goes in comes out faster. This is alleged to reduce the efficiency with which you extract calories (questionable), but is also proven to reduce cholesterol levels (medical literature confirms).
  • annliz23
    annliz23 Posts: 3,255 Member
    Good luck with your journey I have found logging in your meal diary and reading these comments along with adding friends has helped motivate me.
  • ChrisS_51
    ChrisS_51 Posts: 16 Member
    Hi
    I am 67 too; I lost 25 kgs in 2012, but 15 kgs has snuck back on, and I am back to lose the weight again. I know I can do it, but it's just that I'm lazy and lack motivation :-) but I know that logging on MFP and having supportive friends helps. It does get a bit harder as we get older because our muscle mass is less - so maybe building muscle would help. Happy to be added if you like :-) I'm in Western Australia
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
    Hollis100 wrote: »
    mariea59 wrote: »
    Hi, I am going to try to lose weight and not get discouraged. Hard to lose when your over 65, but am going to work really hard at it. Any suggestions and support will be greatly helpful.

    One suggestion: so many middle-aged and older people say things like how hard it will be to lose weight. Drop those words from your mindset and replace them with positive words. Find a way to look forward to improvements you plan to make in your life. People can lose weight at any age. Best of luck to you!

    I definitely agree with this. I'm 42 and have even seen women say they can't lose after 30, 35, 40...
    Don't assume that to be the case. I lost over 100 lb in my late thirties.

    My mom just turned 69 and has lost about 16 lb in the past year just from eating fewer sweets and more fruit & veggies, simply watching her overall intake. She isn't a very large lady either, she is 5'6" and went from around 170 to 155. She is on medications that can make it harder to lose weight, but she still did it.
  • mariea59
    mariea59 Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you all for your incouraging words. I ment so much to me. It really helps. I am down 6 pounds so that is a start. So I will think positive each day and drop the negitive thoughts. Thank you again.

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