45 woman now what

jennice23 · September 12

Now I’m 45 and no matter what I do I can’t lose weight. I can get up every morning and go to the gym. Or ride my peloton in the morning and still no results. Wondering how should I do a reset? Because even after trying to eat salads still not even an ounce. Plus my ta tas have not stop growing. Also did I mention no uterus? Due to the fact that I ended up with fibroid from hell.

spiriteagle99 · September 12

How much weight do you have to lose? How long have you been trying to lose weight? Are you weighing and measuring and logging every bite you take? Usually when people say they can't lose weight, it's because they are guessing how much they are eating rather than actually weighing every bite. Or they try for a few days, decide it's too hard and give up. It takes time and patience.

FWIW, I lost 50+ pounds in my late 50s and have kept it off for more than 10 years. It is possible to lose weight as you get older, but it does take perseverance.

AnnPT77 · September 12

IME, body weight is about how many calories we eat on average daily over quite a long period of time, consistently. Many weeks, say.

Exercise burns a few more calories, but for most people it's around 5% of the total calories they burn. It takes me a solid hour of very intense exercise to burn 400 calories. I can skip eating 400 calories in an instant: Any one of a peanut butter sandwich, a 20 oz. mocha latte, or a cup of premium ice cream is more or less 400 calories. Even a very generous serving of ranch dressing can be 400 calories.

Everything counts: Bites, licks, tastes, beverages, condiments, cooking oils, dressings, dips, secret snacks, cheat meals, oopsies, alcohol. It adds up . . . whether we add it up or not.

If you think you have a medical issue limiting weight loss, discuss it with your doctor. Ask for blood tests for things like vitamin D levels, thyroid hormones, etc. (Most of those don't have the huuuuge impact some people think, but it's worth ruling them out.)

It's not age, it's not menopausal or pre-menopausal status. Those things can make things a little harder in some ways (sleep problems, for example), but they're not weight loss doom. Recent scientific research indicates that metabolism doesn't change much from our 20s to around age 60, and even in the 60s it declines rather gradually. Mostly, our lifestyles get less active - not just exercise., but daily life stuff; and we lose muscle mass if we don't challenge it. As we lose fitness, moving becomes harder and less fun, so we do it even less, creating a negative down-spiral.

Most of these factors are things within our control: We can manage what we eat, move more in daily life, gradually rebuild fitness and muscle mass, if we commit to the process and stick with it.

Personally, I started getting athletically active in my late 40s, after a bout with advanced-stage breast cancer and its full-bore treatment, which was very physically debilitating. Despite being very active after that point, training hard 6 days most weeks, despite mostly "eating healthy", I stayed overweight/obese for another dozen years.

Don't get me wrong: Getting fit was a huge quality of life improvement. But it wasn't enough.

Finally, at age 59, with more health issues staring me in the face, I finally got serious about losing weight. Not only was I 59, I was menopausal and severely hypothyroid (medicated for it). Once I committed to the process, I lost weight. It wasn't as difficult as I'd imagined, once I took it seriously. In just under a year, I went from class 1 obese to a healthy weight, and I've been at a healthy weight for 9+ years since.

I think you can do this, if you commit to the process and mean it. It's not psychologically easy every second - changing habits permanently is always hard - but the logistics are pretty simple. If a hedonistic aging hippie flake like me - a woman with a severely limited budget of motivation/willpower/discipline - can do this, I think most any adult can if they truly want it and work for it.

For me, the quality of life improvement from the weight loss was also huge, on top of the earlier improvement from better fitness. The combination is gangbusters. It's more than worth the effort it takes to achieve, if you ask me.

Wishing you success!

rudyzenreviews · September 12

I get it, 40s can make weight loss feel way tougher. Sometimes it helps to go back to basics and double-check calories, keep protein high, and mix in strength training along with the cardio. Hormones and surgery history can definitely play a part too, so chatting with your doc might be worth it.

shaunarca · September 12

I am 56, and was well over 300 lbs. 3 years ago. I lost 85 pounds and have kept it off. I. For transparency, I used a GLP1 for about 6 months to get my weight loss going, but I haven't used them since late 2022. I recommend looking at information from Dr. Vonda Wright. I originally saw her on the Diary of a CEO podcast. She talks about building muscle and eventually "lifting heavy" to get your body to start burning calories. I started building muscle with TRX equipment. ($75 bucks on Amazon) I can get my heart rate to around 140 in 30 minutes, so its building muscle and cardio at the same time. I have just recently started lifting heavy. Contrary to what it sounds like, she talks about lifting heavy in reps of 5-6. Again, it's minimal time commitment with maximum results.

cmriverside · September 12

Yeah, I was mid fifties when I lost 80ish pounds.

I logged all my food, adjusted calories as I lost the weight and basically just educated myself. Exercise is good but it's not the whole story. It's about finding the calorie goal that allows you to lose with as little discomfort as possible. That meant changing a LOT about what I ate.

You can do it.

improveme78 · September 12

Make sure you are drinking enough water and getting enough sleep. Those are two keys to weightloss along with the calorie deficit and exercise. If not already, highly suggest weight training. Depending on your age and health circumstances, you might be doing too much cardio. I know for me I see better results from the weight training with limited cardio. Remember too that if you are weight lifting, you are building muscle which is a part of the weight factor.

For your food, have you calculated your new macros based on your current weight? Suggest Googling the TDEE calculator and enter your current stats to get your maintenance calories and subtract 300 to 500 to be in a deficit, making sure you get a good amount of protein. Make sure you are eating those calories. When we dont eat enough, pur bodies hold on to everything.

I would definitely talk with a nutritionist and your doctor if even after that, still no loss. Remember slow and steady wins tje race, so even if you only drop 0.3 pounds one week, you are still losing. Its so hard for women our age, but we got this!! Pray to God about this journey specifically every day...game changer!!

Good luck to you in your journey!!💓

csplatt · September 14

Have you tried weighing all the food you are eating on a food scale for your calorie logging? Eyeballing (even with stuff like cheese or banana or peanut butter) is definitely less accurate.

Strudders67 · September 16

I started going to the gym when I was in my late 20s. By my late 40s I still weighed the same. I felt fit, but my weight certainly wasn't going down. Then, a few months before my 50th birthday, I set up an account on MFP and started logging my food intake - absolutely everything I ate or drank. Some things have to be estimates as I eat (and drink) out quite a bit, but everything that I have at home is weighed in grams or measured in ml for liquids. When I started doing that it was a real eye-opener. Age wasn't the barrier to weight loss - I was simply eating back everything I'd burned in the gym.

Reducing my portion sizes and tracking snacks before I ate them (and only eating them IF my calorie count for the day had surplus) did wonders.

tamzindgillis · September 17

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48760529#Comment_48760529

Thanks for sharing your inspiring journey!!

rms62003 · September 17

Agree with above, I'm 52, and just hit the 90 lb mark - in 13 months. Logging an monitoring calories is the big player in weight loss. Exercise has helped me do more and be more functional, however. Never thought I'd be turning the treadmill up to 5mph, or doing 25 lb bicep curls!

I would recommend taking a close look at your diet and logging food. It will help with being more mindful of what you eat and focusing on healthy eating habits.

PixieKazza · September 17

Long term yo-yo dieter here, female, late 40s. The only way I have lost weight is calorie counting everything, and keeping to a calorie deficit. I know it's different for everyone, plus some research says it doesn't work, but this is what works for me.

I'm 4'10, TDEE around 1000 cals a day if I do nothing apart from sit on my bum. I try to eat homemade higher protein/lower carb/high fibre meals, with plenty of fruit and veg. I like protein shakes for breakfast though, lazy I know, but I'm doing me. Filling meals include lentil and veg or bean soups for lunch.

I do a lot of walking and I have been running up to 3 times a week lately training for a race. A 5k run for me uses up 300 cals.

When I feel up to it, I do a 30mins weights/bodyweight/cardio workout to build muscle and improve fitness. Uses around 100 cals. Sometimes I burn up to 2000cals per day. That is rare, it's more like 1800 per day.

I'm now around 4lbs off my current target weight. It is hard work.

I'm struggling now as I'm closer to target, my TDEE is lower now, so my calorie deficit window is smaller unless I eat hardly anything or move an awful lot more. Plus it's autumn and it's cold and I'm so hungry!!!! If I'm not careful it'll all go back on.

Good luck op! Maybe look at your food intake first, vs energy out. Try more protein and higher fibre meals to feel fuller.

mfeis · September 19

PR every Peloton ride.

(Also, I will ride with you if you ever want to. DM me.)

45 woman now what

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