Help with weight loss

I was 59, severely hypothyroid (medicated properly for it), 5'5", started at 183 pounds, but I was in menopause (put there by chemotherapy at age 44-5).

What worked for me was calorie counting, rough counting at first (roughly 28 pounds) then logging in detail with MFP (around another 22 pounds). I used this eating plan:

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

That won't be perfect for everyone: No one approach is. (My advice: Beware of those who tell you there's "one true way" to weight loss, or offer "hacks". We're all individuals, and different strategies work best for different people.)

This is a very good thread about the effect of hypothyroidism on weight:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10767046/hypothyroidism-and-weight-management

It was written by a former MFP-er who is a scientist in the field, himself hypothyroid, who lost weight by calorie counting. There's a lot of nonsense on the web about hypothyroidism, often from sources selling a so-called solution. This thread has solid science-based information.

As far as eating snack (or skipping them when they're in front of us), that's another place where solutions may be individual.

One solution may be alternative (more nutritious or lower calorie) snacks, planned into one's day.

Another dimension is practicing not eating the snacks, maybe not necessarily skipping every snack but being intelligent and selective, taking responsibility for one's decisions/choices. One MFP-er compared this to training a puppy: If we always or even frequently give in to the puppy, they don't ever consistently behave as we'd like. If we are firm for a period of time, the desired behavior starts happening without much fuss and frustration.

Our bodies aren't that different. We make new habits by practicing them consistently. In the snacks context, that new habit could be skipping the snacks, or making mindful choices about them, as one may choose.

I get that this isn't easy at first, but the more we repeat our desired behavior, the easier and more automatic it becomes. I'm also not advocating constant white-knuckled total avoidance of treat foods, because that's not a realistic way to live. I'm talking about fitting in the most important to me snacks at reasonable frequencies and in reasonable portions.

For me, nutrition goals and calorie goal are the constraints on snack choices. If I make good choices, my future self has much higher odds of health, happiness and independence. Knowing my calorie goals lets me include some treats confidently for current happiness, within my calorie goal. There's a balance of current and future well-being. I like that, personally.

At this point, I'm 68 and still at a healthy weight, 7+ years after reaching goal weight. That's after around 30 years previous to loss being overweight/obese. The quality of life improvement has been huge, and I want to stay at a healthy weight for as long as possible, ideally for the rest of my life.

If a hedonistic aging hippie flake like me can do this, I think most anyone can. Motivation, discipline and willpower are not my strongest skills. But I found that I could use my limited budget of those to experiment, find a new and better habit, practice it until it was an autopilot part of my daily routine; and then hold steady with that until I had another burst of ability to push a change. The majority of my days create the majority of my results, so in that sense focusing on daily routine habits is a power tool. That one rare day where I eat too much cake or work out for six hours is a drop in the ocean by contrast.

You can succeed at weight loss, if you can flip that switch in your head to "I'm committed". It's like a fun, productive science fair project for grown-ups, IMO: Test drive a new positive habit for a couple of weeks, see how it goes. If it suits you, keep it. If it doesn't suit you, it's not any kind of personal failure, it's just a learning experience about a thing that wasn't right for you. As long as you keep going, keep working at it, you will succeed. Stopping trying is the only way to fail.

Do yourself a favor by not trying to lose weight super fast, not adopting very restrictive unsustainable eating rules, or thinking you need to do oodles of punitively intense exercise. Use the power of daily habits, find positive, healthy, enjoyable (at least tolerable/practical) habits you can continue long term and practice them until they're routine.

Best wishes!

Also severely hypothyroid when I lost all my weight. Simply because my GP thought a TSH of 12 is no problem and I don't need hormone replacement. Didn't stop me from losing weight. However, if you feel shite, are tired, possibly more hungry then weightloss is a lot more difficult. The best, and possibly most difficult thing is to approach your gp for a medication adjustment to a level at which you feel normal. Many doctors seem to think that feeling rubbish is normal, especially for women. Fight for it!