55-65 year old women's success?

Just jumping in to also give encouragement to people wondering if it is possible to lose weight after menopause. I am in my mid 50s but went in to menopause early due to chemo for breast cancer almost 6 years ago. I put on a lot of weight after that. I was on a variety of medicines, and had some serious complications that left me bedridden and unable to walk for several months. Depression and a variety of bad habits to either punish or self-soothe (never quite sorted out which at the time) followed until I realized I had to get my act together because not only did I not die from cancer, I had a bunch of people relying on me for help with their own health, and I enjoy being healthy. I lost nearly 80 lbs over the course of about 2 years. I had to lose 40 - the other 40 put me at super slim for my height. I am actually working on gaining a few pounds back now.

It didn’t take any extra -ordinary feats of willpower or magic. I met with my doctor and an endocrinologist who specializes in weight and nutrition. I did not have diabetes, prediabetes, thyroid issues or anything similar affecting my weight. If you do you can get properly medicated for those conditions by a knowledgable physician and be on the same footing as most other folks. Some of the medicines I was taking are known to affect weight so I worked with the relevant doctors to determine whether I needed to take them or could switch to others/wean off them. I ended up eliminating everything but one medicine, but there were alternatives I could have taken.

I met with a nutritionist in the weight doctor’s practice. My diet was not terrible but I did not pay attention to how much I was eating of all the healthy foods I was eating. Even good foods add up. I bought a kitchen scale and started measuring as I got closer to my goals I became more not less meticulous about measuring and recording calories. (I actually only joined MFP after I had already lost 40 lbs). I also decided to eliminate alcohol from my diet entirely. I had already cut back significantly and eliminated it for a while due to medications. I felt better without it. It took a while to convince myself I was fully committed to the sober life since my husband and I had been wine collectors for many years and have an extensive wine cellar and many friendships that initially formed through wine tasting groups and cooking. I feared missing out on social life etc. Ultimately though the new options for sober curious living and adult beverages without alcohol (with limited calories) have made it entirely enjoyable to socialize and eat out without drinking wine. Calories from drinks really add up too, so this helped tremendously. Cutting out 2 glasses of wine cuts out roughly 250 calories — more if you/the restaurant aren’t measuring your pours correctly. That is close to the daily deficit I was shooting for (I cut out about 350 calories daily). If you drink soda or coffee with milk the damage is roughly the same.

I have achieved virtually all of my weight loss through managing food & drink intake. I exercise some but do so mostly for my own pleasure and stress release. I am much more active in the summer when I have access to water based activities than during the rest of the year because although I can walk/hike again, my distance is limited and I am physically unable to run anymore.

Finally, I have not, even now that I am trying to gain a little weight, resumed my “old” way of eating (which according to the nutritionist was never bad to begin with). This means that I eat at a calorie level only a couple hundred calories above the level at which I was losing (this means for instance that I drink an extra latte with skim milk every day and eat 24 extra almonds). I continue to measure and record everything I eat, and I will not resume drinking alcohol again.

Bottom line - it is absolutely possible to lose weight — even a lot of weight— in your mid fifties, post menopause. You might need to seek some initial advice from doctors to help you get started, and just like everyone else, you should approach this effort as a life change not a quick fix. To be successful you should figure out what changes you are willing to make long term and get used to making them and living with them and adjust whatever you need to adjust so that you find it enjoyable to do so. This will mean a different combination of changes for everyone — your changes just need to add up to the right mix for your life.
Good luck!

I got 40 lbs off 4 years ago, I am 69. I have had weight problems since I was 16. I have lost 20 to 40 lbs over and over, but this app really helps.

It is good to know that there are many of us who have lost weight (80+ lbs) and have kept it off for a long time. In my case I was 61 when I started and I've maintained that loss for just about 10 years. Still track my food every day. Have made a lot of changes over time but committed to eating healthy most of the time, moving every day, and enjoy living!

MNNice68 wrote: »

HI ladies- I am so glad that I found this thread. 3 years ago I was thrust into surgical menopause, I am 5'7 and WAS 164 lbs. It seems like almost overnight I started gaining weight and bellyfat, I consulted my doctor and was told hysterectomy does not cause weight gain. Fast forward 3 years, I look like I have a spare time around my midsection and weigh 189 lbs. I feel so disheartened and desperate to find the "old me" I wish I never would of had this surgery, unfortunately I had a 10cm growth on my R) ovary and it wasn't an option (it turned out benign). Nothing has changed in my life beside my hysterectomy. My question to all of you, what calorie parameters should I use? How many calories, protein, carbs? How do I figure all of this out? Thank you in advance for any information and guidance. P.S. If anyone is interested in being friends I would love that too!

Start with the MFP defaults that result from setting your profile per MFP's instructions. Shoot for a pound a week loss. Follow that goal closely for at least a month. If the first couple of weeks' weight changes look extremely different from the last couple, ignore the first couple, and go on for a couple more.

Then calculate your average weekly weight change over the 4 weeks. If it's materially different from the pound a week, adjust your calorie goal using the assumption that 500 calories a day is about a pound a week. (Use arithmetic for fractional pounds if necessary.)

Don't alter your plan before 4 weeks of solid, consistent data . . . unless you seek to be losing much faster than a pound a week and start feeling weak or fatigued (danger sign!), in which case eat more.

Don't worry too much about macros at first, focus more on calories and satiating food choices/timing. If you're noticing you're very short of the protein goal routinely, that's worth trying to improve alongside working on calories.

Get calories and satiation in line first. You can work on fine-tuning nutrition later. You won't become malnourished in that time, as long as you're not malnourished now, and don't do some extreme ridiculous restrictive fad diet. Eating reasonably sensibly will be fine.

Best wishes!

I'm so glad that there was some discussion on maintaining weight, after all it is the end goal & hardly anyone talks about it. Many people I've come across don't know what to do when they reach their goals so this was good. I guess maintenance isn't that exciting...just eating a little more of the same as before but I know many people who , after losing weight went back to their old habits & gained it back and if I didn't hear about losing with maintaining in mind, I could have very easily gain it back so it made the world of difference for me