Age 40's, 50's 60's weight loss stories PLEASE

I'm only 39... But am thinking a healthy body is an awesome 40th birthday gift to myself... I've got until November 15th to get the rest of the weight off! I started in November and have lost 72lbs so far.

I am 52, 53 in August and I started in January 2012. My beginning weight was somewhere between 165 and 170. I have reached my goal (currently weigh 138, 5'7"). I am now really trying to tone.

50 years old.

55 lbs. so far this year.

Still have a LONG way to go, but I will get there.

Good luck to everybody!!!

Liz Howerton - I love your story! It is so nice to hear how you are maintaining too!!!


How old are you? (you don't have to be specific if you don't want to...you can just say 50's, 60's 40's--whatever, okay)
46

How much have you lost?
63 pounds

How long did it take you to lose the weight (and/or issues/attitudes that kept you overweight/obese)?

I started here on MFP in May 2011. I had tried many other diet plans and failed in the past, and I was at the point of thinking there was not a plan I could live with on a long term basis. I took it step by step when I did start MFP. I was picky about not starting something I didn't think I could keep up so my first step was to get in enough water and tame down my daily calories. Once that was under control I added in more fruits/veggies in my diet along with some light exercise. I have gradually increased my exercise plan and try to make healthy choices more often.

How long have you kept it off?

What did you do/are doing to STAY slim and healthy?

I have about 20-25 more pounds to lose before I can get to these questions, but I am interested in hearing how others are keeping with the lifestyle changes after meeting their goals. This is the first time since jr. high school that I feel like my goal is within reach. I would really like to meet my goal by my 47th b-day (November 20).

Thanks to everyone who is sharing their story.

How old are you? 44

How much have you lost? 70.6 pounds. I went from busting out of a size 16 to now wearing size 2-4 pants. Michelle Obama tells people that she wants *my* arms. Ok, kidding, but it's possible that she would say that if we met. lol

How long did it take you to lose the weight? 410 days

How long have you kept it off? I am just transitioning to maintenance. Actually, I reached my goal of losing 60 pounds in under a year, but rather than going directly to maintenance, I eased in by spending a few months at that .5 lbs/wk calorie level.

What did you do/are doing to STAY slim and healthy? I work out 6-7 days per week. I do strength training 3x, and cardio 3-4x per week (if I don't take an all-out rest day, I will do a lighter cardio day once per week). I track here on MFP and try to keep as close to my macros as possible. At this point, I am going to really focus on fine-tuning diet. I don't want to lose more weight, I just want to get a bit leaner.

Great thread: thank you all for sharing. I'm going to keep checking back for inspiration.

Me Too

How old are you? 42
How much have you lost? 115 lbs

How long did it take you to lose the weight (and/or issues/attitudes that kept you overweight/obese)? I started 8/15/2010 and still have about 8 more lbs to lose to hit my goal of weighing 125 lbs. I've been overweight almost my entire life. Health issues for me and my husband prompted us to make a life style change. He has lost 65 lbs and has maintained for over a year. My weight loss has definitely slowed down but I hope to make my goal by 8/15/2012.

How long have you kept it off? still a work in progress

What did you do/are doing to STAY slim and healthy? I watch portion sizes, eat healthy foods and exercise (walk approx 6-7 miles per day)

am 46

How much have you lost?

27 lbs.

How long did it take you to lose the weight (and/or issues/attitudes that kept you overweight/obese)?

4 months

How long have you kept it off?

Still working on my goal.

What did you do/are doing to STAY slim and healthy?

Drinking my water. I exercise almost 6 days a week, your body needs one day to rest but walk on that day if possible.)
I log all my food into MFP to keep myself accountable. If I can add in additional exercise I do. I have to agree being active is very important. Practice portion control. If I fall of the wagon, I don't beat myself up, just climb right back on with the next meal. Everyone on here is great for support and encouragement!

I'll be 46 in 3 months. Since January I'm down 15 lbs, to 147, want to get to 140 or possibly 135.

I'm down almost 40 lbs from my adult high of 185. That came after 8 years of fertility drugs-->pregnancy-->nursing-->nursing and pregnancy-->just pregnancy-->ridiculously long nursing.

I lost 35 lbs 2 years ago, then put 30 back on in 6 months (I have a VERY seasonal job, half the year I barely work and get fit, the rest of the year I am completely sedentary). I lost 27 of those last year, then put on only 10 during my busy season at work (and all within the last 6 weeks, I maintained until Dec. 2 then on Jan 15 was up 10!). Now I'm down below where I was and doing my best not to put anything on this busy season which is just heating up.

It's definitely been harder the older I get and the less weight I have to lose. I'm really hoping to drop these last 7 by Aug. 1 and then maintain until mid-January when I can start pushing myself again.

--How old are you? (you don't have to be specific if you don't want to...you can just say 50's, 60's 40's--whatever, okay
Turned 59 last month

--How much have you lost?
58 pounds in about 9 months, beginning in January, 2011.

--How long did it take you to lose the weight (and/or issues/attitudes that kept you overweight/obese)?
I was "soft" in my young adulthood because I didn't exercise enough, but didn't begin to develop a serious weight problem until the latter half of my 40s. My BMI didn't cross the line into the overweight range until after menopause, past 50, and never quite reached the obese range. I was already having some of the health problems associated with obesity, though.

--How long have you kept it off?
8 months

--What did you do/are doing to STAY slim and healthy?
I run every other day and cook nearly all of my meals at home and from scratch. One of the big contributors to my weight gain, along with age and menopause, was a big change in my eating habits driven by a change in my cooking habits. We were eating out once or twice a week and eating a lot more processed foods at home. Those bagged meals for two can become a convenience trap when you're down to only two in your household.

For me, just getting back in the habit of applying good portion control to mostly real food was 90% of the job done. And by "real" I mean "real" as opposed to "processed," but also "real" as opposed to "diet." I think of it as the "start as you mean to continue" diet.

I've changed my cooking practices some to reduce calories (not much fried foods and a lot less fat for seasoning), but for the most part I lost the weight and have kept it off by eating standard full sized servings of the full range of foods I knew I would want to eat for the rest of my life. I just didn't eat seconds or over sized servings of anything other than non-starchy vegetables, and I don't snack in an uncontrolled way between meals. Sometimes I have to make choices in order to stay within my calorie budget. For example, I may eat a baked potato or a dinner roll, but not both at the same meal. Or spaghetti or garlic bread, but not both at the same meal. But for the most part I can eat just about any home cooked entree with whatever seems to go with that entree without blowing my calorie budget for the day. It's not that I don't eat a lot of things that are commonly thought of as being good diet foods, I just don't treat them as special diet foods or eat them often enough to get burned out on them.

I'm 41 years old- 42 next month
lost 56 lbs since January 2012
Combination of eating right (no cheating) and exercising 6 days a week playing basketball or running.
I still have 7 lbs to lose (goal is 199- onederland)

to stay healthy, I have changed my food choices to healthier ones and found replacement foods for my favorites. (turkey burgers vs. regular burgers)

I did it at 60. All it took was my doctor saying to me, "You're Type II. Keep it up and your feet will fall off." I got serious about it the next day, went to a great nutrition class at a local hospital, dropped 80 lbs and have kept it off. Diet, exercising, logging, measuring food and MFP support. I take no meds and my blood work is entirely in the normal range. I use MFP to keep it that way.

51. Lost 30lbs since February 29th. Started P90x on March 29th after losing an initial 10 lbs. I started at 226.6 and I'm now at 196.0. Intermittent fasting Leangains style. I have a base calorie goal of 1700 and try my best to eat my exercise calories....on most days the total requirement is 2100-2300.

Awesome! I'm 51 as well and started P90X the day after the Super Bowl in February. I'm now doing a P90X/Insanity Hybrid. The exercise combined with a healthier diet has allowed me to lose 25 lbs so far. Still would like to lose another 18 lbs.

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