Reassessing Goals

Walkywalkerson
Walkywalkerson Posts: 456 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
As I get nearer to my goal weight - I still feel like I have too much excess fat and am considering 10 / 15lbs less.
I'm 47 ( in a couple of weeks )
5ft 7 , CW 165, GW 150
I don't want my face to look ancient so I am a bit apprehensive about going into the 130/ 140 range.
Not that it's happening any time soon as I'm unable to stick to a deficit at the moment 🙄
Does anyone have any advice on body composition for women of my age?
Maybe I need to join a gym rather than lose an additional 15lbs?
My exercise at present is walking and cycling - I've never been a fan of the gym.
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Replies

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,985 Member
    I totally understand you! I'm at goal weight for years (plus/minus a bit of extra every time I move. It's kind of a hobby) and decided to keep my weight a bit higher as my face looks so much better then. Yeah, I'm one of those people who seem to lost first in the face.

    Building muscles is good, especially at your age (hey, we're pretty much the same). But losing more fat in order to build muscles instead of course also removes fat from the face. I build muscle, but try not to lose more fat. Thus in the end there might be a bit more weight on the scale, but that's fine with me.
  • Walkywalkerson
    Walkywalkerson Posts: 456 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    Join and gym AND lose 15lbs would seem a better option, not seeing why joining a gym would exclude losing weight?

    I'm also not seeing why you are wondering about the 130/140 range when you don't know what your body will look like when you get to 150lbs. Get there and reassess would be my advice. The last few pounds to goal weight often make a far bigger difference than you might expect.

    "Does anyone have any advice on body composition for women of my age?" - be the best you that you can be. 47 is no barrier to improving your body composition.

    I still want t lose the last 15lbs but don't enjoy the gym at all.
    But I think without any additional exercise I still won't like my body at 150lbs.
    But you're right - I need to get there and see.
  • Walkywalkerson
    Walkywalkerson Posts: 456 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    I totally understand you! I'm at goal weight for years (plus/minus a bit of extra every time I move. It's kind of a hobby) and decided to keep my weight a bit higher as my face looks so much better then. Yeah, I'm one of those people who seem to lost first in the face.

    Building muscles is good, especially at your age (hey, we're pretty much the same). But losing more fat in order to build muscles instead of course also removes fat from the face. I build muscle, but try not to lose more fat. Thus in the end there might be a bit more weight on the scale, but that's fine with me.

    How much above goal weight are you if you don't mind me asking?
    Do you find having an additional 10lbs ish for example helps your face look younger?
    I'm not bothered about a flat stomach or abs etc I'm pretty strong and would like to keep it that way.
    But exercising in a gym isn't my idea of fun at all.
    I just find that type of exercise boring.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    edited March 2022
    sijomial wrote: »
    Re. the "old face while dieting" thing.....

    Often that's temporary and it was in my case.
    A friend was worried I had lost too much weight (I really hadn't!!) but after a few months at maintenance the same friend said she was pleased I had regained some weight. Except I hadn't and was actually about 7lbs lighter than when she last saw me.
    Some of the recovery will be skin improving/tightening but it does seem that fat loss can be disproportionally from the face while dieting but later redistributes. To me it’s one of those things that are curious but not to the degree that you should worry about or be deflected from getting to a healthy weight.

    ^^THIS!

    I'm 5'7" 140-143. (female)

    I've been hovering around 21 BMI for 15ish years. I lost 80 pounds at age 54, and thought it made me look old. That is mostly skin at first and in a year that had changed dramatically - and not just my face but loose skin in a lot of other places that were kind of scary to me. Part of it (IMO) is also that it took time for my mind to catch up to my actual new body. I was not focused on weight lifting or the gym; mostly walking, swimming, kayaking and some light resistance bands.

    I first settled at 155 before losing the additional 15. My experience is that I am MUCH happier at 21 BMI than I was at even 15 pounds heavier .

  • sailor789
    sailor789 Posts: 33 Member
    i am within the age range of the posts here, and i need to lose 60 lbs to get within the weight ranges that many of you have mentioned.

    just wondering: which diet changes worked best for you to stay on a steady loss, and what changes did you have to make as you plateaued during your weightloss?

    thanks!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,610 Member
    sailor789 wrote: »
    i am within the age range of the posts here, and i need to lose 60 lbs to get within the weight ranges that many of you have mentioned.

    just wondering: which diet changes worked best for you to stay on a steady loss, and what changes did you have to make as you plateaued during your weightloss?

    thanks!

    What worked for me was simply trying to eat nutritiously overall on average, in a way I personally found filling (that varies by individual), eating foods I enjoy eating (or at least tolerate well), that are affordable and practical for me; and to rearrange portion sizes, proportions on the plate, and frequencies of calorie dense foods, to average a reasonable calorie level over a short time period (i.e., averaging over the week, say - not averaging this decade vs. previous one! 😆).

    In more detail, this:

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

    I lost 50+ pounds in just under a year, have maintained for 6 years since, doing that. While losing, I didn't "plateau", ever, in the sense of having a 4+ week period where my eating and exercise/daily life activity stayed constant, but my weight loss rate suddenly stopped or slowed for no observable reason. I'm not saying that doesn't ever happen to anyone. It can.

    However, I have to admit, I don't see much point in worrying in advance about a thing that may never happen, as it never happened for me (and some others). When it does happen, the reason it happened matters, and that can be diverse/individual. Figuring out the reason tends to highlight the right solution.

    A subset of people who experience what they consider to be a plateau, based on posts here, turn out to be feeling plateaued based on unrealistically shorter time periods, or for water-retention reasons they haven't thought of as explanations, or because approximations that worked with a lot of weight to lose don't work when there's much less left to lose, and a variety of other reasons. Those folks should re-examine their routine, maybe tighten up any weak points . . . and many of them should simply wait out the plateau.

    That kind of thing doesn't apply universally, it does seem that a subset of people experience extended (couple months plus) stalls for reasons that - at least in threads where they're willing to tolerate a lot of cross-examination - aren't obvious. From reading posts here for nearly 7 years now, I think this kind of case is fairly rare. Non-zero, but rare.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    @sailor789

    I followed an intermittent fasting schedule (5:2) that allowed me to eat at maintenance most days and have just two days a week at a high deficit. Doesn't suit many people but suited me well as I detest everyday deficits. My food choices were never the problem, I just needed to eat a bit less for a while which I did to lose at 1lb / week on average.
    Quite a personalised approach using my strengths (short term determination) and avoiding my weaknesses (bored and frustrated by routine) - lessons learned from earlier failed attempts.

    Didn't plateau, just lost pretty steadily until I got to goal weight.
    My impression from my time on here is that the genuine plateaus reported seem to be far more likely to be encountered by people going for rapid weight loss and making a hard job even harder, more unpleasant and more physically and mentally stressful than it has to be.
  • fatty2begone
    fatty2begone Posts: 249 Member
    edited March 2022
    @springlering62 dismissed all complaints that “ew, gross, fat women shouldn’t wear leggings”. I did. 100% if the time. *Kitten* them.

    Well 100% of the time this fatty is in leggings too! When I am skinny, might be 98% of the time as I have a short skirt and a pair of jeans I would like to rock, but.... Leggings are the best thing ever invented for comfort. Now I am shooting for the bod to rock the curves that will come ;)
  • Hollis100
    Hollis100 Posts: 1,408 Member
    NYPhotographer2021 wrote: »
    Everyone tells me I look years younger now. I tell my friends that I still have fat around my stomach area, and they tell me to do sit ups. Sit ups may build ab muscle, but doesn't get rid of the fat.

    Just a quick note about sit-ups. Research shows they can damage the spine over time, making tiny breaks and even herniated discs. Here's one BBC article out of a zillion on the topic:

    https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160418-the-surprising-downsides-of-sit-ups?msclkid=67c47ab9aae611eca05a72d161962eab


  • NYPhotographer2021
    NYPhotographer2021 Posts: 510 Member
    Hollis100 wrote: »
    NYPhotographer2021 wrote: »
    Everyone tells me I look years younger now. I tell my friends that I still have fat around my stomach area, and they tell me to do sit ups. Sit ups may build ab muscle, but doesn't get rid of the fat.

    Just a quick note about sit-ups. Research shows they can damage the spine over time, making tiny breaks and even herniated discs. Here's one BBC article out of a zillion on the topic:

    https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160418-the-surprising-downsides-of-sit-ups?msclkid=67c47ab9aae611eca05a72d161962eab


    I thought I had read something like that too. That sit ups can actually damage your back. I believe it. I don't do them. I have done leg lifts though. I'll have to see if doing those could also damage the spine.

    I do this very simple, very isolated form of core development. You can do this no matter what you are doing...sitting at a desk, lying in bed, driving, standing in line. Breathe in deeply thru your nose. Breathe out thru your mouth until you've expelled as much air as possible. Then deeply suck in your abs like you are trying to touch your abdominal wall to your back. Hold for 10 counts, then release. Do 3-5 of those. I don't hold my breath doing these. But I take small, shallow breaths. So no worries of me passing out driving the car down the road! LOL! If you really want to take it to the next level, do it while you are planking! I know I have stronger ab muscles. You just can't see them because of all the dang fat in front of them!
  • Walkywalkerson
    Walkywalkerson Posts: 456 Member
    Thanks for the replies re : old looking skin on the face.
    It's good to know that some of you saw a lot of change after a while in maintenance.
    I used to weigh 150lbs in my early 30's and was happy at that weight.
    But my body is a different shape now 15+ years later - so I'm unsure of how my body will look after I gained so much weight.
    My starting weight was 232lbs - I am definitely not happy at my current weight of 165lbs - so I aim to lose an additional 15lbs and reassess.
    I've been trying some home strength exercises as I can't stand the gym - but I'm finding it boring so it's difficult to stay motivated.
    Someone on this thread mentioned yoga - that's a good idea thanks.
    I'm shaking up my diet at the moment and trying new recipes/ macros as I'm in a food rut and have plateaued since January 🙄
    At least I know I can maintain- so silver linings and all!
    The last 15lbs is on my belly - it's not a good look!
    Has anyone had any success losing fat with yoga?


  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Has anyone had any success losing fat with yoga?

    But...you know that fat loss comes through calorie deficit, right? Yoga is good for you, but it's still all happening in the kitchen.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,668 Member
    NYPhotographer2021 wrote: »
    I do this very simple, very isolated form of core development. You can do this no matter what you are doing...sitting at a desk, lying in bed, driving, standing in line. Breathe in deeply thru your nose. Breathe out thru your mouth until you've expelled as much air as possible. Then deeply suck in your abs like you are trying to touch your abdominal wall to your back. Hold for 10 counts, then release. Do 3-5 of those. I don't hold my breath doing these. But I take small, shallow breaths. So no worries of me passing out driving the car down the road! LOL! If you really want to take it to the next level, do it while you are planking! I know I have stronger ab muscles. You just can't see them because of all the dang fat in front of them!

    These are the “stomach vacuums” outlined a year or so ago by @ninerbuff and they are the bomb.

    I started out of curiosity, idly doing them while walking, then longer and longer, holding them as long as I could. I feel like they’ve helped my stomach area enormously, not to mention my posture.

    I was looking at apple health stats yesterday and realized I’ve gained almost a tenth of an inch in height since I started in 2018. (How does it know?!!!) At my age, it’s supposed to be heading the other direction.

    Hell yeah!
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Has anyone had any success losing fat with yoga?

    But...you know that fat loss comes through calorie deficit, right? Yoga is good for you, but it's still all happening in the kitchen.

    Maybe my studio is outside the norm, but the folks who take the power yoga classes are really fit. This isn’t the yin or slow stretch type classes. These are the classes that leave you gasping for air (or not, if you’re breathing properly.). OTOH I’d say it’s a safe bet that we’re all doing other stuff, too- running, mostly, but we’ve got dancers, rock climbers, lifters. My experience has been, you get out of yoga what you put into it. It’s not like “I’m zen, my LuLus are chillin’, and I’m magically growing muscles”.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Walkywalkerson wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies re : old looking skin on the face.
    It's good to know that some of you saw a lot of change after a while in maintenance.
    I used to weigh 150lbs in my early 30's and was happy at that weight.
    But my body is a different shape now 15+ years later - so I'm unsure of how my body will look after I gained so much weight.
    My starting weight was 232lbs - I am definitely not happy at my current weight of 165lbs - so I aim to lose an additional 15lbs and reassess.
    I've been trying some home strength exercises as I can't stand the gym - but I'm finding it boring so it's difficult to stay motivated.
    Someone on this thread mentioned yoga - that's a good idea thanks.
    I'm shaking up my diet at the moment and trying new recipes/ macros as I'm in a food rut and have plateaued since January 🙄
    At least I know I can maintain- so silver linings and all!
    The last 15lbs is on my belly - it's not a good look!
    Has anyone had any success losing fat with yoga?

    Absolutely! But not directly. I started yoga not long before I stopped medicating with alcohol. So there was a big calorie difference between self-soothing with an activity that BURNS calories vs self-soothing with a substance that CONTAINS calories AND leads me to eat more and move less.

    Oh, here's a good time for me to say that anyone who claims that yoga doesn't burn a lot of calories has never practiced Ashtanga :lol:

    You'll get a wide range of calorie burns across different styles of yoga. I hurt my wrist in November, and while it's healing, have been doing a lot of gentle and restorative classes. These are great for my mood, mental health, sanity, etc., but sure don't burn a lot of calories.

    I'm well enough to do yard work now, but still can't do Downward Dog :disappointed: I have PT tomorrow and thought I'd do some DD last night, but I only got as far as hands and knees and realized my wrist is still very far away from being able to support any weight.

    So as to learn form correctly and prevent injuries, I recommend that anyone interested in learning a vigorous style of yoga such as Ashtanga, Power, etc., do it in a studio rather than self-directed.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited March 2022
    springlering62 wrote: »
    NYPhotographer2021 wrote: »
    I do this very simple, very isolated form of core development. You can do this no matter what you are doing...sitting at a desk, lying in bed, driving, standing in line. Breathe in deeply thru your nose. Breathe out thru your mouth until you've expelled as much air as possible. Then deeply suck in your abs like you are trying to touch your abdominal wall to your back. Hold for 10 counts, then release. Do 3-5 of those. I don't hold my breath doing these. But I take small, shallow breaths. So no worries of me passing out driving the car down the road! LOL! If you really want to take it to the next level, do it while you are planking! I know I have stronger ab muscles. You just can't see them because of all the dang fat in front of them!

    These are the “stomach vacuums” outlined a year or so ago by @ninerbuff and they are the bomb.

    I started out of curiosity, idly doing them while walking, then longer and longer, holding them as long as I could. I feel like they’ve helped my stomach area enormously, not to mention my posture.

    I was looking at apple health stats yesterday and realized I’ve gained almost a tenth of an inch in height since I started in 2018. (How does it know?!!!) At my age, it’s supposed to be heading the other direction.

    Hell yeah!
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Has anyone had any success losing fat with yoga?

    But...you know that fat loss comes through calorie deficit, right? Yoga is good for you, but it's still all happening in the kitchen.

    Maybe my studio is outside the norm, but the folks who take the power yoga classes are really fit. This isn’t the yin or slow stretch type classes. These are the classes that leave you gasping for air (or not, if you’re breathing properly.). OTOH I’d say it’s a safe bet that we’re all doing other stuff, too- running, mostly, but we’ve got dancers, rock climbers, lifters. My experience has been, you get out of yoga what you put into it. It’s not like “I’m zen, my LuLus are chillin’, and I’m magically growing muscles”.

    All the dedicated Ashtangis and Jivan Muktis I knew were also really fit, and yoga was all they did. But they did a LOT of it.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,668 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    springlering62 wrote: »
    NYPhotographer2021 wrote: »
    I do this very simple, very isolated form of core development. You can do this no matter what you are doing...sitting at a desk, lying in bed, driving, standing in line. Breathe in deeply thru your nose. Breathe out thru your mouth until you've expelled as much air as possible. Then deeply suck in your abs like you are trying to touch your abdominal wall to your back. Hold for 10 counts, then release. Do 3-5 of those. I don't hold my breath doing these. But I take small, shallow breaths. So no worries of me passing out driving the car down the road! LOL! If you really want to take it to the next level, do it while you are planking! I know I have stronger ab muscles. You just can't see them because of all the dang fat in front of them!

    These are the “stomach vacuums” outlined a year or so ago by @ninerbuff and they are the bomb.

    I started out of curiosity, idly doing them while walking, then longer and longer, holding them as long as I could. I feel like they’ve helped my stomach area enormously, not to mention my posture.

    I was looking at apple health stats yesterday and realized I’ve gained almost a tenth of an inch in height since I started in 2018. (How does it know?!!!) At my age, it’s supposed to be heading the other direction.

    Hell yeah!
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Has anyone had any success losing fat with yoga?

    But...you know that fat loss comes through calorie deficit, right? Yoga is good for you, but it's still all happening in the kitchen.

    Maybe my studio is outside the norm, but the folks who take the power yoga classes are really fit. This isn’t the yin or slow stretch type classes. These are the classes that leave you gasping for air (or not, if you’re breathing properly.). OTOH I’d say it’s a safe bet that we’re all doing other stuff, too- running, mostly, but we’ve got dancers, rock climbers, lifters. My experience has been, you get out of yoga what you put into it. It’s not like “I’m zen, my LuLus are chillin’, and I’m magically growing muscles”.

    All the dedicated Ashtangis and Jivan Muktis I knew were also really fit, and yoga was all they did. But they did a LOT of it.

    We’ve got a guy my age’ish who was run over by a tank while serving in the military. The treads broke nearly every bone in his body.

    I just thought he was a normal but good yoga practitioner til someone whispered his story to me.

    Now, any time I feel like something hurts or I’m too tired to cope, I look at his smiling face on the next mat and I am totally humbled.

    Prior to pregnancy, “all” my daughter did was teach yoga. She was stacked. She’s chomping at the bit to get cleared to start again.
  • Walkywalkerson
    Walkywalkerson Posts: 456 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Has anyone had any success losing fat with yoga?

    But...you know that fat loss comes through calorie deficit, right? Yoga is good for you, but it's still all happening in the kitchen.

    Yes you're right - I just want to start doing body conditioning exercises I might enjoy.
    I want to be strong and the hope is that when the fat finally goes there will be a bit of muscle under there!

  • Walkywalkerson
    Walkywalkerson Posts: 456 Member
    Thanks @kshama and springerling62
    I'll look into yoga classes - but I definitely need a beginners class 🤣
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 2,085 Member
    I enjoy lifting weights, although at first I was pretty intimidated - but once I got over myself it didn't take long to not feel that weird and I learned I loved lifting.

    As for your weight, it's going to vary based on your body and what you prefer and how your body carries weight. For me, I am a total "apple" with no real curves - so while I'm also 5' 7", 43 - my goal weight is somewhere between 126-132 depending on how I'm feeling/looking when I get down there (this is based on what I weighed well into my 30's). All arms and legs, no torso.

    Currently at 148-ish, and that is clearly still far too heavy for my body type, as I big old saddle bags hanging off and not much visible tone to a lot of my muscles unless I'm flexing. I would say I'm fairly fit, but I'm no where near "trim."

    So, just keep going. Take some progress pictures, and see how you feel when you drop some weight. Nothing wrong with assessing as you go!
  • honeybee_s
    honeybee_s Posts: 10 Member
    Day 1 here and with journey. I have enjoyed reading this. Thank you all for sharing. I really DO need to take a START photo.. ugh. :s
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,668 Member
    honeybee_s wrote: »
    Day 1 here and with journey. I have enjoyed reading this. Thank you all for sharing. I really DO need to take a START photo.. ugh. :s

    I didn’t do progress photos the first five or six months until I got with a trainer who insisted. I really regret I didn’t do any early on. All I have is a couple of awful vacation photos from earlier that year.

    Many of us who have weight issues hid from cameras when they come out. I still do. Knee jerk reaction.

    Get someone trustworthy to take good photos.
  • Xellercin
    Xellercin Posts: 924 Member
    Maybe forget about a target weight and focus on a target lifestyle. Maximize your health and strength and just see what happens to your body in the process?

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