Getting fit at 50 and beyond...200+ pound club

jm216
jm216 Posts: 3,965 Member
in Motivation and Support
Everyone is welcome! Jump in anytime.
I’ve been on My Fitness Pal on and off for years, and I’ve always had more success when I’m part of a fun group.

Tell us about yourself...what works...what doesn’t work...what makes you happy. 😊
This is a guilt-free group...no judges...as my daughter would say! We are here to enjoy the journey together.
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Replies

  • jm216
    jm216 Posts: 3,965 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Just in real quick to cheer you on: I'm waaaay 50+ (64, lost from obese to healthy weight here at age 59-60), afgter becoming much more active/fit from my mid-40s on, but staying fat for another dozen years anyway, by eating too much!).

    You're doing great: Keep up the goodness, it's so worthwhile!

    Thanks Ann! You’ve had an amazing journey.
    Thanks for sharing!!

    Jill
  • jm216
    jm216 Posts: 3,965 Member
    Hello Eapar507!

    I’m pretty tall, too. They used to call me the Jolly Green Giant in 2nd grade. I used to wear a green jumper back in 1977...just imagine how stylish it was with a giant collar. Anyway, I’m 5’8”.

    I was never a skinny kid usually pretty average in weight until after having my daughter when I was 34. I got up to 225 pounds when I was pregnant. Now at 50, when I again surpassed my pregnancy weight, I said, “Enough is enough!”

    I’m glad you’re here Eapar507.
    You can call me Jill. 👍

  • eapar507
    eapar507 Posts: 64 Member
    jm216 wrote: »
    Hello Eapar507!

    I’m pretty tall, too. They used to call me the Jolly Green Giant in 2nd grade. I used to wear a green jumper back in 1977...just imagine how stylish it was with a giant collar. Anyway, I’m 5’8”.

    I was never a skinny kid usually pretty average in weight until after having my daughter when I was 34. I got up to 225 pounds when I was pregnant. Now at 50, when I again surpassed my pregnancy weight, I said, “Enough is enough!”

    I’m glad you’re here Eapar507.
    You can call me Jill. 👍
    Thank you for the welcome Jill. You can call me Ellen.
  • jm216
    jm216 Posts: 3,965 Member
    Pat_Stiles wrote: »
    I am 5’10 and weigh 213. Down from 230. I was always the tall skinny girl. I weighed 125 when I got married and 135 three kids later. With my 4th i gained all my weight after at the end and have gained more each year after. .... he is now an adult.
    It is so hard to lose weight at 55... but I am determined! I eat healthier now than ever before and get more than 150 min of workout time in each week and feel great. I cannot wait until my body responds.

    Hi Pat,
    Welcome to the tall girl’s club! 😁
    I used to tell people that I was 5’9”, but my daughter is now 5’7”...and just an inch shorter than me... so I guess I’m not as tall as I’ve been telling people for years. 🤭

    Together we will break the 200 pound barrier. Ellen is standing right there ready to cross it, so we’re here to cheer each other on!

    We’ve got this!

    Jill
  • eapar507
    eapar507 Posts: 64 Member
    Pat_Stiles wrote: »
    I am 5’10 and weigh 213. Down from 230. I was always the tall skinny girl. I weighed 125 when I got married and 135 three kids later. With my 4th i gained all my weight after at the end and have gained more each year after. .... he is now an adult.
    It is so hard to lose weight at 55... but I am determined! I eat healthier now than ever before and get more than 150 min of workout time in each week and feel great. I cannot wait until my body responds.

    Hi Pat. It seems this is turning into the tall girls club lol. I agree it is harder to lose weight now at 50 something. Let’s all rock this as best as we can!!!
    It is great to meet you!!
  • eapar507
    eapar507 Posts: 64 Member
    sherim1963 wrote: »
    Hi, I guess I'm going to be the odd duck. I'm only 5' 6" tall. I weigh 245 down from 255 in the last 6 months.

    I've never been the skinny girl. They called me chunky when I was young. I lose and gain, lose and gain. I lost a great deal at one point, but I didn't keep it off. I fell back into a bad pattern.

    I'm 55 now and have decided once and for all it's time to eat healthier and get myself in gear. I used to exercise alot, but now not so much. So NOW is the time for a change. I've already started eating a little healthier, tomorrow I'm going shopping for a better diet, and today I went for a walk.

    It's a new day! Great to meet you all!!

    Happy to meet you sherim1963. We can support each other and stay active. Your first steps are good ones. Are you logging your food yet? That will help you even if you aren’t eating in a calorie deficit yet.
  • eapar507
    eapar507 Posts: 64 Member
    I think the data on these graphs suggest I am eating at maintenance level and not a deficit. I don’t understand it because even if I made some errors in my logging I should have lost some weight over the past 30 days and I have not. Any advice? I might have to lower my calories down another 150. I started at 1700 the first 2 weeks but only got that high on a few occasions. Then my trainer lowered me to 1500 to see if the scale would move, but I am not having any luck. I will discuss with her tonight, but thought to ask here.

    hrdduj8ijexu.jpeg
    6cdnj6p37kvg.jpeg
  • jm216
    jm216 Posts: 3,965 Member
    sherim1963 wrote: »
    Hi, I guess I'm going to be the odd duck. I'm only 5' 6" tall. I weigh 245 down from 255 in the last 6 months.

    I've never been the skinny girl. They called me chunky when I was young. I lose and gain, lose and gain. I lost a great deal at one point, but I didn't keep it off. I fell back into a bad pattern.

    I'm 55 now and have decided once and for all it's time to eat healthier and get myself in gear. I used to exercise alot, but now not so much. So NOW is the time for a change. I've already started eating a little healthier, tomorrow I'm going shopping for a better diet, and today I went for a walk.

    It's a new day! Great to meet you all!!

    Welcome Sherim1963!
    All girls are welcome... not just tall girls.😉
    I, too, lost about 40 pounds when I first started MFP, but gained it all back since I didn’t switch into maintenance mode... I just went back to eating everything and anything.
    This time, we’re on the journey together. We’re glad you’re here.

    Jill
  • jm216
    jm216 Posts: 3,965 Member
    eapar507 wrote: »
    I think the data on these graphs suggest I am eating at maintenance level and not a deficit. I don’t understand it because even if I made some errors in my logging I should have lost some weight over the past 30 days and I have not. Any advice? I might have to lower my calories down another 150. I started at 1700 the first 2 weeks but only got that high on a few occasions. Then my trainer lowered me to 1500 to see if the scale would move, but I am not having any luck. I will discuss with her tonight, but thought to ask here.

    hrdduj8ijexu.jpeg
    6cdnj6p37kvg.jpeg

    Hi Ellen,

    You had mentioned that your body tends to hold weight for a while, then you experience a whoosh and lose finally lose some weight. Maybe this is the new healthy habit your body has gotten used to and your loss is just around the corner.

    What are your trainer’s thoughts?

    Jill
  • eapar507
    eapar507 Posts: 64 Member

    [/quote]

    Hi Ellen,

    You had mentioned that your body tends to hold weight for a while, then you experience a whoosh and lose finally lose some weight. Maybe this is the new healthy habit your body has gotten used to and your loss is just around the corner.

    What are your trainer’s thoughts?

    Jill[/quote]

    I haven’t talked with her yet, but I will report back when I do. I haven’t been able to reach the protein goals she set for me yet. I am struggling to get slightly over 100g but my goal is 130g. I usually end up going over on my Fat and hit my carb goal easy without going over or under much.

    It would probably be a good idea to get my blood work done to check my thyroid levels as it has been a while. Maybe my medication dosage needs to be adjusted again. I would hate to think I am one of those people that only loses at 1200 calories, but the last time I lost a significant amount of weight 4 years ago I was eating right around 1100-1300 and limiting carbs a bit more.
  • jm216
    jm216 Posts: 3,965 Member
    dustyspal wrote: »
    Hi ladies. Mind if I join in?

    I've been on MFP for what seems like ages. Actually, it has been. I'm 5'8". My first weigh-in was back on 11/16/14 at 275. Since then, I've lost hundreds of pounds, then put them all back on again, plus more. My highest was 340. I restarted last June at 313.3 and currently I am 248. I was down to 220 and am trying to lose again. It's been a lifelong struggle for me to keep weight off. I can lose, but always put it back on. Lets try to keep each other motivated.

    Welcome Dustyspal!

    We all seem to have had travelled the same road. (Sounds like the start of a good country ballad. 🎶) I went back to see when I officially started MFP, and it was in December 2012. The good thing is that we’ve all had success in the past with weight loss, and we’re working on it again. We just have to keep each other on track and keep it off. I believe a big part of this is having a judge free group of friends who are there for you. We’re so happy you’re here!

    ❤️Jill
  • eapar507
    eapar507 Posts: 64 Member
    dustyspal wrote: »
    Hi ladies. Mind if I join in?

    I've been on MFP for what seems like ages. Actually, it has been. I'm 5'8". My first weigh-in was back on 11/16/14 at 275. Since then, I've lost hundreds of pounds, then put them all back on again, plus more. My highest was 340. I restarted last June at 313.3 and currently I am 248. I was down to 220 and am trying to lose again. It's been a lifelong struggle for me to keep weight off. I can lose, but always put it back on. Lets try to keep each other motivated.

    Hi dustyspal. Glad you are here. I lost close to 100 pounds and put back almost half of it in the last 2 years. I think many of us have been in this position. No judgement from me ever. The struggle is real!!!
  • eapar507
    eapar507 Posts: 64 Member
    Those shakes look good Jill. I make a coffe flavored shake with a mix I get on Amazon called Chike. I may have to try some of the Premier shakes for on the go. Thanks for the tips!!!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,228 Member
    eapar507 wrote: »
    I think the data on these graphs suggest I am eating at maintenance level and not a deficit. I don’t understand it because even if I made some errors in my logging I should have lost some weight over the past 30 days and I have not. Any advice? I might have to lower my calories down another 150. I started at 1700 the first 2 weeks but only got that high on a few occasions. Then my trainer lowered me to 1500 to see if the scale would move, but I am not having any luck. I will discuss with her tonight, but thought to ask here.

    hrdduj8ijexu.jpeg
    6cdnj6p37kvg.jpeg

    Did you start working with your trainer, or otherwise increase exercise, at about the same time, start of that 30 days? That would tend to increase water retention (for muscle repair), and that can definitely mask fat loss on the scale for a while, even for a few weeks. This is a good article to read:

    https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations

    Also, if you're pre-menopausal, and happened to start this at a relative low in cycle-related water retention (for which the exact timing differs among different women), that can also make the scale a misleading guide.

    How often do you weigh, and record your weight in MFP? It's unusual, among people who weigh frequently (like daily) to see a graph that is that close to a straight line. For many people, water weight fluctuates up and down within a range of a few pounds day to day, so same weight for a whole month is not a standard thing to see (might make one wonder about the scale itself), unless weighing quite infrequently.

    Hang in there: I, too, think you may be setting up for that "whoosh" on the scale when the water weight drops. Further, if you go to 1200 and that happens the next day or thereabouts, I'd fear you may credit the change, when in reality small changes in calorie level - even 500 calorie changes - don't show up with a big "boom". Reduced digestive contents in transit, and water retention drops, do show up with more drama, more quickly.

    Best wishes!
  • sherim1963
    sherim1963 Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks Jill! I'm going to check out Amazon. Welcome dustyspal!!
  • eapar507
    eapar507 Posts: 64 Member
    edited July 2020
    AnnPT77 wrote: »

    Did you start working with your trainer, or otherwise increase exercise, at about the same time, start of that 30 days? That would tend to increase water retention (for muscle repair), and that can definitely mask fat loss on the scale for a while, even for a few weeks. This is a good article to read:

    https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations

    Also, if you're pre-menopausal, and happened to start this at a relative low in cycle-related water retention (for which the exact timing differs among different women), that can also make the scale a misleading guide.

    How often do you weigh, and record your weight in MFP? It's unusual, among people who weigh frequently (like daily) to see a graph that is that close to a straight line. For many people, water weight fluctuates up and down within a range of a few pounds day to day, so same weight for a whole month is not a standard thing to see (might make one wonder about the scale itself), unless weighing quite infrequently.

    Hang in there: I, too, think you may be setting up for that "whoosh" on the scale when the water weight drops. Further, if you go to 1200 and that happens the next day or thereabouts, I'd fear you may credit the change, when in reality small changes in calorie level - even 500 calorie changes - don't show up with a big "boom". Reduced digestive contents in transit, and water retention drops, do show up with more drama, more quickly.

    Best wishes! [/quote]

    Yes. I started logging the same week I started with the trainer. I decided this time I wanted some help losing the weight as I want to do it healthy and hopefully start gaining some strength. I have noticed I am fairly week in the arms and I can’t run the distances I used to. I have been doing 3-4 strength workouts a week so maybe it is water weight. I only recorded 3 weights on MFP, starting weight (200) then July 7 ( 198.5), today 200.2. I’ll double check that to be sure. I hate weighing daily because my weight is always up and down and it usually take me 2 weeks before a lower weight holds and levels. I thought that would happen but my body is not cooperating. I am on medication for a thyroid issue so maybe I need to get checked. With the pandemic I have put off my bloodwork not wanting to go near a doctor’s office. Oh, I have already been through menopause. I had a hysterectomy 6 years ago. I will read the article you linked to. Thank you for your help.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,228 Member
    eapar507 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »

    Did you start working with your trainer, or otherwise increase exercise, at about the same time, start of that 30 days? That would tend to increase water retention (for muscle repair), and that can definitely mask fat loss on the scale for a while, even for a few weeks. This is a good article to read:

    https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations

    Also, if you're pre-menopausal, and happened to start this at a relative low in cycle-related water retention (for which the exact timing differs among different women), that can also make the scale a misleading guide.

    How often do you weigh, and record your weight in MFP? It's unusual, among people who weigh frequently (like daily) to see a graph that is that close to a straight line. For many people, water weight fluctuates up and down within a range of a few pounds day to day, so same weight for a whole month is not a standard thing to see (might make one wonder about the scale itself), unless weighing quite infrequently.

    Hang in there: I, too, think you may be setting up for that "whoosh" on the scale when the water weight drops. Further, if you go to 1200 and that happens the next day or thereabouts, I'd fear you may credit the change, when in reality small changes in calorie level - even 500 calorie changes - don't show up with a big "boom". Reduced digestive contents in transit, and water retention drops, do show up with more drama, more quickly.

    Best wishes!

    Yes. I started logging the same week I started with the trainer. I decided this time I wanted some help losing the weight as I want to do it healthy and hopefully start gaining some strength. I have noticed I am fairly week in the arms and I can’t run the distances I used to. I have been doing 3-4 strength workouts a week so maybe it is water weight. I only recorded 3 weights on MFP, starting weight (200) then July 7 ( 198.5), today 200.2. I’ll double check that to be sure. I hate weighing daily because my weight is always up and down and it usually take me 2 weeks before a lower weight holds and levels. I thought that would happen but my body is not cooperating. I am on medication for a thyroid issue so maybe I need to get checked. With the pandemic I have put off my bloodwork not wanting to go near a doctor’s office. Oh, I have already been through menopause. I had a hysterectomy 6 years ago. I will read the article you linked to. Thank you for your help.
    [/quote]

    No need to weigh daily: It has pros and cons, so isn't for everyone. One of the cons of infrequent weighing is that you can randomly hit days with weights that are misleading. I've long been a daily weigher, and I have time periods like that - even some where if I'd picked just the wrong days I'd have thought I was gaining, when I was actually losing, maybe even losing fast. (But if weighing daily makes a person stressed out, that's a reason not to do it. For me, it's just a piece of data about my body's momentary relationship with gravity, and doesn't affect my sense of self at all. I like understanding what causes my person daily fluctuations, so I weigh daily & use a trending app to kind of smooth out the bumpy daily observations.)

    Can't hurt to check your thyroid levels (I'm severely hypo, too, BTW, also menopausal - chemo put me there a couple decades ago).

    I strongly suspect water weight as at least one factor in what you're seeing. To the extent that's true, patience will bear fruit. :)
  • eapar507
    eapar507 Posts: 64 Member
    Hi Cindy. I am new to this group and I am so glad I decided to join. I think you can turn your health around. You have a great attitude. I skipped the pre-diabetic and went straight to a diagnoses of type 2 in 2014. Definitely eating fewer carbs will help as well as adding in exercise My biggest issue seems to be maintaining a lower healthy weight for longer then 8-12 months. Life gets busy and I start slacking on the exercise and logging and then the weight comes back fast. I hope we can encourage each other along the way to make long term changes that will last.
  • eapar507
    eapar507 Posts: 64 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    eapar507 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »



    No need to weigh daily: It has pros and cons, so isn't for everyone. One of the cons of infrequent weighing is that you can randomly hit days with weights that are misleading. I've long been a daily weigher, and I have time periods like that - even some where if I'd picked just the wrong days I'd have thought I was gaining, when I was actually losing, maybe even losing fast. (But if weighing daily makes a person stressed out, that's a reason not to do it. For me, it's just a piece of data about my body's momentary relationship with gravity, and doesn't affect my sense of self at all. I like understanding what causes my person daily fluctuations, so I weigh daily & use a trending app to kind of smooth out the bumpy daily observations.)

    Can't hurt to check your thyroid levels (I'm severely hypo, too, BTW, also menopausal - chemo put me there a couple decades ago).

    I strongly suspect water weight as at least one factor in what you're seeing. To the extent that's true, patience will bear fruit. :)

    I hope your suspicion is correct and it is water weight. I discussed this with my trainer tonight and she agrees pretty much with what you said. She wants me to stick with the 1500 calorie goal, but I may eat a little less on my 2 rest days each week. I am also going to add an extra day of cardio so that I will be doing 3 cardio workouts and 2-3 strength training workouts per week. I am going to do my best to be patient with the process because I am working towards developing changes that will be sustainable. I think I need an app like you mentioned so I can stop fearing the scale and see that the trend is downward. Which app are you using? Thanks again for your advice.
  • jm216
    jm216 Posts: 3,965 Member
    gethealthytoretire wrote: »
    I am 57 and my highest weight was 220 and I lost down to 155 but over a ten year period I have gained back to 200 and just found my gallbladder is not working well, pre diabetic, and very high cholesterol. My Dr. says I can turn this around or I can take medicine the rest of my life. I REALLY want to be able to retire in good health able to have fun. I am an emotional carb eater and a lone over eater. I need a safe group to be real with and to seek positive support and give support back. You all sound so nice and I am so encouraged reading your posts. Hope I can be included. :) My name is Cindy.

    Welcome Cindy!
    You’re now part of this team. We’re in this together for the long run.

    Logging was my nemesis in the past, but now I love how it keeps me on track. I haven’t missed a day since June 1st. I fight my need to be perfect, and strive for progress instead.

    We’re glad you’re here with us!!

    Jill
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,228 Member
    eapar507 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    eapar507 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »



    No need to weigh daily: It has pros and cons, so isn't for everyone. One of the cons of infrequent weighing is that you can randomly hit days with weights that are misleading. I've long been a daily weigher, and I have time periods like that - even some where if I'd picked just the wrong days I'd have thought I was gaining, when I was actually losing, maybe even losing fast. (But if weighing daily makes a person stressed out, that's a reason not to do it. For me, it's just a piece of data about my body's momentary relationship with gravity, and doesn't affect my sense of self at all. I like understanding what causes my person daily fluctuations, so I weigh daily & use a trending app to kind of smooth out the bumpy daily observations.)

    Can't hurt to check your thyroid levels (I'm severely hypo, too, BTW, also menopausal - chemo put me there a couple decades ago).

    I strongly suspect water weight as at least one factor in what you're seeing. To the extent that's true, patience will bear fruit. :)

    I hope your suspicion is correct and it is water weight. I discussed this with my trainer tonight and she agrees pretty much with what you said. She wants me to stick with the 1500 calorie goal, but I may eat a little less on my 2 rest days each week. I am also going to add an extra day of cardio so that I will be doing 3 cardio workouts and 2-3 strength training workouts per week. I am going to do my best to be patient with the process because I am working towards developing changes that will be sustainable. I think I need an app like you mentioned so I can stop fearing the scale and see that the trend is downward. Which app are you using? Thanks again for your advice.

    The weight trending apps I know about are Libra for Android, Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Trendweight (you need a free Fitbit account, but don't need a Fitbit device), and Weightgrapher. There are probably others.

    It's important to realize that they're not a magical crystal ball, but rather just a statistical projection that minimizes the effect of random scale fluctuations by basically averaging over time. I'd want to get a month's worth of daily weights into one, maybe more than that if less than daily, before taking what they say even remotely to heart. They can still be wrong over short periods, but they do help. FWIW, to give you an idea of what they do, this is my Libra graph from a big chunk of when I was losing weight.

    79f9phe4s9qg.png

    The connected down-hill-ish line is the trend; the little vertical bars connect each daily weight to the trend. You can see that the daily weights *bounce all over*, including some changes in the 2-pound range within a very short span of just a couple or three days: That's the fluctuation. Even the statistically-smoothed trend doesn't just keep dropping smoothly! For sure, daily scale weight just isn't going to drop steadily down (and waiting for weekly weigh-ins has the potential to make it look even worse, because of the potential for sampling a low day one week, and a high one the next).

    Truth in advertising: That chart includes a period where I accidentally lost weight too fast for my then-current weight. Please don't do that: It's a Really Bad Plan, trust me on this. ;)

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