60 yrs and up
Replies
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Hello to all the new folks: Glad you've joined us here. Keep us posted on how you're doing, ask questions, or solicit ideas for addressing your current challenges. I'm betting that some of the folks who've been here for a while can offer ideas to try.
It's so great to see so many new participants lately, plus a lot of good interaction with and among the longer-term participants. We go through some .quieter phases on this thread, so it's good to see the robust mutual support going.ridiculous59 wrote: »It took me three years to lose 90 pounds. Mainly because I enjoyed life along the way. If there was a birthday to be celebrated I was there. Christmas goodies? Yes please! Friday pizza and a glass of wine? Count me in (and boy, did I look forward to that every week). But I didn't go crazy with my indulgences and all the other days I buckled down. And of course I exercised every day.
That's what worked for me and I know that it's not the way for everyone. Some people just want to get 'er done as quickly as possible. Like ripping off a bandage. But my point is that slow and steady isn't necessarily a bad thing 🙂
For my own part - may not apply for others - going slow at some point(s) during loss was really helpful. (I intentionally slowed down at the end.)
Why? Statistics, plus a lot of people on MFP, say that maintaining that healthy weight can be quite difficult after losing. Some people say it's harder than the loss! (I'm not sure I agree . . . .)
By taking some time close to maintenance calories while still losing, I was able to test/practice maintenance habits with that cushion of a small deficit in case of oopsies (failed experiments). By the time I got to goal weight, the only change I needed to make was to add a small number of daily calories . . . not remodel eating or activity habits in any major way at all.
When I did add back calories, I did that 100-200 daily calories at a time, then waited to see the scale effect. With each add, it took longer for the trend to sort itself out from the "noise" of daily fluctuations.
A key plus, for me, of adding calories in increments was that it encouraged me to think of small, pleasant tweaks to my eating habits. I know myself: If I added 400-500 calories all at once, I'd be much more tempted to add a single big daily treat. That's not as helpful for my long-term goals, and the gradual adds didn't hit me that way. (I'm not saying I never have big treats. I do. They just aren't routine, daily things. Small treats daily? Yeah, pretty much.)
For those of you who are new: There are many alternate paths that can work. I think finding the right personal approach is really key. We each have different preferences, strengths, life situations, challenges . . . different things will work best for different people. I'm cheering for any method that allows a person to reach their weight goals, alongside staying reasonably healthy en route.
Happy December, all!3 -
@ridiculous59. Yes, slow and steady is probably the best way, especially to maintain muscle mass. Everyone has to find what works best for them. In the beginning I was very focused and hardly ever indulged, an approach that let me see immediate rewards. I'm starting to relax more and let myself have a piece of pie or cake occasionally on holidays and birthdays. I've been on and off so many diets in the past and been derailed by a vacation or other life event it's hard for me sometimes to give myself permission to indulge in those things without going overboard or let a one day celebration turn into a week, then a month, etc. It is a learning experience.
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@ridiculous59 and @Pdc654 :
Well, my fellow sexagenarians, when you lose weight, your choices are slow or even slower. Even when you really kill yourself, you'll only lose about 2lbs/week. And, you'll suffer greatly the whole time!
But, the slower you lose, the smaller your calorie deficit, and the easier it is to maintain that deficit for a long period, which will be necessary.
And, I'm the poster child for failing in maintenance. Over the past year, I've had so many life changes that I've allowed myself to gain some weight. I need to get back into deficit mode and stop all this moping around!3 -
@ridiculous59. Yes, slow and steady is probably the best way, especially to maintain muscle mass. Everyone has to find what works best for them. In the beginning I was very focused and hardly ever indulged, an approach that let me see immediate rewards. I'm starting to relax more and let myself have a piece of pie or cake occasionally on holidays and birthdays. I've been on and off so many diets in the past and been derailed by a vacation or other life event it's hard for me sometimes to give myself permission to indulge in those things without going overboard or let a one day celebration turn into a week, then a month, etc. It is a learning experience.
It absolutely is a learning experience! Or a relearning experience is some ways - I'm still me - the one that got obese while simultaneously jumping on & off the diet wagon - 'dealing' with me successfully is the ongoing struggle.
I love reading your stories ❤️ - thank everyone of you for sharing 😊
For some, that steady downward march on the scale is so motivating that it breathes new life daily into their resolve (okay, actually for everyone we like to see the scale go down!).
For others, lifestyle gains (fastening seat belt on airplane, fitting grandchild onto lap, sitting in restaurant booths, tying shoes, going down in clothes size) are what really gets you going.
Still others love setting and reaching mini goals, be it fitness or weight, and find that so motivating.
Then there's the gamers, how much can I squeeze out of this journey, living on the edge, but still lose weight - these might also be the lifers that know themselves as 'long haulers' that get bored easily. The palate ticklers fit here too - endlessly changing up their food choices, trying new things and new recipes!
And we might, probably will, switch it up as we go...🙃, and find that our approach has shifted! Or needs to...But there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a 'steady Eddy' either - if it ain't broke, don't fix it after all 😉.
Like Ann pointed out (depressing as that may be) maintenance will not be nirvana - it may be Phase 2, but it will be a continuation of this quest to manage our weight at a healthy level, get fit and stay there. A lifelong quest!
So, while getting there is is priority 1 in Phase 1, we need to take the approach that works for us - and depending on how much you have to lose or your particular circumstances, this may well have some ebb & flow to it, and that's OK provided we keep at it and accept our own foibles and proclivities 😁 and SEE IT THROUGH.
And while I sure wish (if wishes were horses, eh) I had lost more already, apparently I was not willing to make enough of the necessary changes to make that happen - but I am so jazzed to be down A CHUNK with my resolve to see this through intact. 🤗6 -
@BCLadybug888 Everything you said above is so true and very insightful. Those non-scale victories are so motivating. A year and a half ago I could not get up off the floor without holding on to a piece of furniture and now I can get right up. Tying shoes, seat belts on airplanes, even, dare I say it, toileting, has become much easier as I lost weight. Regardless of the approach we take, we just gotta keep on keeping on and we all will get there.6
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Greetings, all. Just checking in.
No significant changes here. Caregiving continues to be a challenge. Starting to feel like a grind, every day. I don't know how people do this for years on end. The breaks and an outside social life help, but the realities of the situation are never far from my thoughts.
Have been diligent about logging food lately and have seen a slow weight loss. Should get my trend weight under 200 lbs. in the near future. Then I'll strive to stay in Onederland for good.
Have a Merry Christmas, one and all.14 -
alteredsteve175 wrote: »
No significant changes here. Caregiving continues to be a challenge. Starting to feel like a grind, every day. I don't know how people do this for years on end. The breaks and an outside social life help, but the realities of the situation are never far from my thoughts.
Caregiving is one hard job. My Mother lived with us for over thirty years. The last ten or so years became increasingly difficult what with medical challenges and personality changes. It is a daily grind. I didn’t have the strength to even consider weight loss during those years. In fact, I did much comfort eating. I wish I had thought to take better care of myself!
It took a few years after mom’s passing to regain my equilibrium. But I knew I was doing the right thing by mom and wouldn’t have regrets. Anyone in a caregiver situation deserves all the support and help possible. Hang in there Steve.
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A year and a half ago I could not get up off the floor without holding on to a piece of furniture and now I can get right up.
This is good to hear! Being able to get up from the floor without having to hang onto furniture is one of my goals too.
The discussion about going slowly is interesting. Even though I have a lot left to lose, I've chosen the half-pound per week weight loss, because I feel too deprived when I try to go for the larger deficits. I've been a little embarrassed about this, but I know myself, and if I tried to cut back enough to lose two pounds a week, I'd give up before noon.
It may take me a lot longer to get where I want to be, but I think I have a better chance this way, and like Ann always reminds us, it works better if we do this in the way that's least painful for us.
I've kept off 40 pounds for six years, but have been on a gradual regain all summer and fall so far. I'm trying to nip this in the bud so I don't regain EVERYTHING I lost. I'm not going to wait until January 1st because I don't want to see the scale continuing to go up for the rest of this month.
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Hi Gangalteredsteve175 wrote: »Greetings, all. Just checking in.
No significant changes here. Caregiving continues to be a challenge. Starting to feel like a grind, every day. I don't know how people do this for years on end. The breaks and an outside social life help, but the realities of the situation are never far from my thoughts.
Have been diligent about logging food lately and have seen a slow weight loss. Should get my trend weight under 200 lbs. in the near future. Then I'll strive to stay in Onederland for good.
Have a Merry Christmas, one and all.
Steve, Happy Holidays to you and yours.1 -
alteredsteve175 wrote: »
No significant changes here. Caregiving continues to be a challenge. Starting to feel like a grind, every day. I don't know how people do this for years on end. The breaks and an outside social life help, but the realities of the situation are never far from my thoughts.
Caregiving is one hard job. My Mother lived with us for over thirty years. The last ten or so years became increasingly difficult what with medical challenges and personality changes. It is a daily grind. I didn’t have the strength to even consider weight loss during those years. In fact, I did much comfort eating. I wish I had thought to take better care of myself!
It took a few years after mom’s passing to regain my equilibrium. But I knew I was doing the right thing by mom and wouldn’t have regrets. Anyone in a caregiver situation deserves all the support and help possible. Hang in there Steve.
Thanks for the encouragement, @Yoolypr. I'm blessed that my children also help out as needed. I'm lucky that I don't have to bear this burden all alone.4 -
A thought for today—
Steve- glad you have help. I liken recovery from caregiving to having a mild case of PTSD. I would constantly be anxious feeling like I was forgetting to do something, waking in the night listening to make sure everything was okay. My thoughts are with you as I’m sure are those of anyone who has faced this.
At 75, hubby and I are doing our best to arrange things so our son (an only child) does not have to deal with this burden. Of course we don’t know what will happen but hopefully we can keep the duress to a minimum.8 -
One fact of being 60+ is that, when I get a cold or anything, I'm really floored by it.
I picked up one at the Thanksgiving weekend, over which I was very active with jogs and walks outside every day. Then, I had to put exercise aside for a whole week as I recovered from a bug that I picked up over the weekend. It really wasn't that bad, not sure what it was, mostly a head cold, but included some digestive problems, too. Per company policy I had to work from home all week and per my low energy I didn't exercise (which I hate!). Finally felt better the next Monday and able to resume exercise.
This seems to happen all too frequently. As I look back at my Strava workout schedule, I see a number of gaps this year. How many bugs can one person pick up?4 -
Unfortunately you can pick up all kinds of yucky stuff!!! I don’t think it ever stops! Good luck and here’s to a healthy 2023🥂🍷🥳🎉4
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »One fact of being 60+ is that, when I get a cold or anything, I'm really floored by it.
I picked up one at the Thanksgiving weekend, over which I was very active with jogs and walks outside every day. Then, I had to put exercise aside for a whole week as I recovered from a bug that I picked up over the weekend. It really wasn't that bad, not sure what it was, mostly a head cold, but included some digestive problems, too. Per company policy I had to work from home all week and per my low energy I didn't exercise (which I hate!). Finally felt better the next Monday and able to resume exercise.
This seems to happen all too frequently. As I look back at my Strava workout schedule, I see a number of gaps this year. How many bugs can one person pick up?
Sympathies, @Jthanmyfitnesspal!
With my early COPD (mostly asymptomatic, thankfully) I feel that deeply. All we can do, is pursue health to the maximum compatible with a happy, balanced life . . . I think, maybe?
Wishing you fewer bumps in the road ahead!4 -
For those of you who are new: There are many alternate paths that can work. I think finding the right personal approach is really key. We each have different preferences, strengths, life situations, challenges . . . different things will work best for different people. I'm cheering for any method that allows a person to reach their weight goals, alongside staying reasonably healthy en route.
Happy December, all!
I would be one of those who is (re)new. I have a goal to feel good about my body and for me this means being a little less painful and a little lighter on my feet. I also (re)joined Noom. I loved it before and it really make me think hard about myself. CBT isn't for everyone but it works for me as long as "I believe". So I'm here for the long run and just need at kick in the butt every so often. Glad to meet you all!
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Just a li'l status update: The holidays tend to be my personal Season of Discouragement (as a widowed, orphaned, childless only child whose 45th wedding anniversary would've been 12/3/22, holidays are challenging, psychologically sometimes) . . . but this is now, y'know?
Most years recently, I shoot to do the Concept 2 Holiday Challenge. This is a thing where Concept 2 - a company that manufactures rowing machines, oars, and more - will make a charitable donation when machine users roll up 200,000 rowing machine meters (about 125 miles, or equivalent on their other machines) between US Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.
Annually, this helps me get over grieving the end of on water rowing and road/trail outdoor biking season, to maintain some kind of vague fitness over the Winter, so I don't have to re-start conditioning from scratch in Spring. In recent years, I usually alternate between my Concept 2 rowing machine and bike, 6 days a week, around 40-45 minutes daily, mostly easy-to-moderate steady state workouts. Rowing meters count one for one, bike meters count half.
As of yesterday, I'm at the halfway point, and about 1.25 days ahead of schedule (that will go up and down). If no body part blows out along the way, I'll probably make it to 200k by Christmas Eve.
I love my on-water rowing in boats (with friends) and road/trail outdoor bike rides. Winter is a bit of a slog. After the Holiday Challenge, my usual routine is to laze about for a bit, and over-indulge in various ways, then pick up with slightly reduced row/bike volume and some added strength training, yoga, or something like that. Hoping that idea holds together for another year!
How do you handle Winter, or other like time periods?4 -
Hi, everyone. Enjoying reading the posts on here. I'm female, age 72 and back to counting calories. Current weight is 180 and hope to get down to 150. Have decided 1200 calories to start with and may have to adjust that number down a bit. Finding exercise is a challenge in the winter due to our extreme cold conditions (rural Alberta) but try to get out for a walk every day. Good luck to everyone.
I'm from Leduc so I feel your pain with the cold, thankfully we've had a reprieve for these next few days. I struggle with walking in the cold no matter how much I bundle up and keep my self moving, I was thinking of going to some indoor facilities like deep water aquasize or a treadmill and weights for awhile. But good luck to you and befriend me if you want.
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For those of you who are new: There are many alternate paths that can work. I think finding the right personal approach is really key. We each have different preferences, strengths, life situations, challenges . . . different things will work best for different people. I'm cheering for any method that allows a person to reach their weight goals, alongside staying reasonably healthy en route.
Happy December, all!
I would be one of those who is (re)new. I have a goal to feel good about my body and for me this means being a little less painful and a little lighter on my feet. I also (re)joined Noom. I loved it before and it really make me think hard about myself. CBT isn't for everyone but it works for me as long as "I believe". So I'm here for the long run and just need at kick in the butt every so often. Glad to meet you all!====
CBT can be some good stuff! If Noom delivers for you, that's great! If you have some insights to share here, please do - we can all learn more, at any point.
Glad you've joined us - keep contributing! Wishing you much success!4 -
@Jthanmyfitnesspal I hear you on being floored by a cold. If I had a cold pre-60 I went into work and even stopped at the gym on my way home. "It's just a cold" I told myself. But last week I had my first cold since retirement in 2019 and it definitely floored me. It got me thinking though, I guess that one good thing to come out of the pandemic is that it's no longer considered acceptable for us to just casually spread our germs around at work or in social settings.
@Thegle and @Joy1580vb I live in northern BC and I also lived in Manitoba for four years. They say that there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. But those people have obviously never experienced a prairie winter wind! My personal cutoff temp is -32C. Why -32? Because that's the temp that the local school district cancels all school busses. I figure if small children can stand outside waiting for the school bus until that temperature, then I can take the dogs for their daily walk haha
It was a beautiful day yesterday and only about -10C. Yay!
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@AnnPT77 I'm sorry that this time of year is so difficult for you ♥️ I'm sure that the darker days just add to those feelings. For me personally, December 21 is a huge day and I breathe a great sigh of relief when it comes.3
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