Any other 50ish women struggling?

Hi Im turning 50 in August Im about 220 lbs over weight I am very discouraged and hoping to find encouragement and freinds as well as ideas on what to do how to stay motivated cuz this is stinking hard at this age I have along way to go

Definitely struggling! 53 years old, 5'3", 176 lbs. Seems when I turned 50 my body started to fall apart! Thyroid problems, lower lumbar back pain (minor at least) , blood pressure got worse and I have to lower my sodium intake. My job being shift work makes it difficult to stay on a routine of any kind.
I really could use some online friends so we can motivate and help each other. Please feel free to send me a friend request!

Give up the scale I put duct tape around mine and put it in the closet. Ha
How your clothes fit is a better indicator of how you are doing. Keep it up!

lol!

I'm 54 and finished menopause several years ago. And, strangely, I'm having success losing weight and keeping it off for the first time since....well, since I did that damn MediFast plan back when Oprah raved about it and promptly gained it all back plus a few extra when I went back to real food. So maybe 1990?

I'm not to my goal yet but I'm confident I'll get there eventually. What I'm focusing on more are fitness gains and inches lost than the scale. While it's nice to see the scale weight go down, I was more excited to go down a pant size in January even though I had only lost 1# since my previous drop in pant size. 1# should not = a pant size but it did. I attribute to switching to lifting heavy weights/low reps instead of lighter weights/more reps.

I've also been focusing on repairing my metabolism. My entire life I could never eat as much as my thin friends. And this was always a huge frustration. There are a lot of tips throughout the MFP forums on how to do this. I've upped my NET calorie intake to my BMR and eat my exercise calories. But I don't sweat it if I don't eat them every day because I also zig-zag my calories shooting for a weekly target instead of a daily one. This allows me to "bank" calories to "spend" later in the week at social events, restaurant meals, or just because I can. It's wonderfully freeing and I really don't even feel like I'm dieting at all. In the last two weeks I've enjoyed a huge special Valentine's Day dinner out with wine, gourmet-style foods, and a dessert that was too die for, my husband's birthday with a special dinner and cake, pizza, ice cream, a good greasy burger at my favorite burger joint with about 1/4 of the french fries, and I still lost 2# and the pants I bought in January are already getting looser.

I don't think the eating more would be working so well if I wasn't exercising. I'm finding that a good mix of heavy lifting, HIIT (high intensity interval training) and just a day or two of steady-state cardio is a good combination for me. I'm focusing on improving my times, my intensity, increasing resistance, etc., so I'm not just doing the same thing all the time.

Fitness goals are important to me because just a few years ago I was virtually bed-ridden for a year with a bad back injury. After it healed, it took me months just to re-learn to walk with a normal gait and stand straight. And then a couple years where I could only do walking for exercise because anything else was too much strain on my back. But, gradually, I got to the point where I could go to fitness classes and the gym and just modify the exercises to protect my back. Now I don't even really have to do that because my core muscles are strong enough to support my back well. And I just started back to the gym and taking the classes in August so it hasn't been that long ago. I'm thrilled at the progress I've made in that time.

My goal is to never be incapacitated by a back injury again. It was awful. I suppose if I ever do get an injury again, I want to at least do it in a "blaze of glory", like doing something fun like skiing or hang-gliding (on my bucket list). Anyway, this experience has made the fitness goals far more important to me than the weight goal. I feared I would never be able to play with my dog, future grandchildren, dance with my husband, etc., ever again and it was horrible. I figure if I exercise in a way to continually increase my fitness level, eat healthy about 80-90% of the time and enjoy my splurges the other times mostly eating foods that will provide my body with decent nutrition to fuel my workouts, and have fun in the process, the weight will go in the direction I want it to as well. I'm currently training to do a 200-mile, 2-day bike event this summer and I'm having a blast.

I hope I don't sound like I'm bragging. I'm not trying to do that. I'm just so excited about the changes I've been making in my life and the way it is effecting every other area of my life. My husband and I are doing ballroom dancing classes. I just got cast in my first play since high school. I'm doing things that I never imagined I would have the energy to do or even the guts to do because I used to be too self-conscious (mainly due to my weight and my lack of fitness). It's wonderful. I guess I'm out to prove that the 50's are really the new 30's, LOL. Well, that might be a stretch but I do know that I'm more energetic and feel younger now than I did in my 40's.

Oh, I should mention that I haven't lost all my pounds just since starting my exercising in August, just 23# of it, but I'm down 2 pant sizes and 1 shirt size in that time. As long as my clothing size goes down, I really don't care what the scale says anymore.

You can do it, Ladies! Find things to do that make it fun and you won't care if it takes a year or two or more to reach your goal weight because you're having a great time on the journey. Fun ways to exercise, fun goals to shoot for, fun new ways of eating. it's all good. Enjoy!

Yes. Me too! I lost 50 pounds three years ago, and it was sure a lot easier then. A mere three years later, and a regain of 20 pounds, I can't seem to get the scale to budge this time.

Six weeks, I have been working out on the Elliptical for 30 minutes every morning. I have only missed one day, I think. I also walk my dogs for 45 minutes to an hour every afternoon. I eat sort of a South Beach-ish plan, and try to stick to my 1200 calorie limit without eating back exercise calories.

I am down a mere 6 pounds since I started, with NONE of it being in the last two weeks. I have hit a plateau already! Lord, it is tough this time.

Hello! So glad to hear I'm not the only person in this predicament. I'm staying in my calorie range, making decent choices, but only exercising with moderation. I think that's the issue - My doc says I need to get 4x cardio and get heart rate up to 140 in order to really burn fat. Try that for a few weeks and see what happens! I'm on the mend from shoulder surgery so can't do that right now,.

That's me! I turned 54 a month ago and have been putting on 7-8 pounds a year for the last 10-15 years. I lose 5, gain 7 back. Finally my husband started to gain weight, too, which in my case is a good thing. Because now we are both trying to lose it together. We started Ash Wednesday with a detox, body detoxification program (through M'lis) and as of today he lost 15 and I lost 10. He's been drinking like 10-13 bottles of water and we are eating a lot of fruit and veggies. Although I'm happy with our loss now, it is usually two weeks later that I end up going back to old ways. Even last night I shoved handfuls of Cranberry Nut Antioxidants like a starving dog.

I'm 50 and it's coming off just fine. My diary is open if anyone wants to peek

What is a healthy portion plate and where do you get one?

I am going to be 50 years in July. Despite all my aches and pains I get to the gym daily do the elliptical and strength training. My appetite has come down a little bit , metabolism has slowed but strength training makes me feel stronger, frequent saunas gives me restful sleep . In fact now I feel young than I did in my early forties or thirties .