spiriteagle99 Member

Orthostatic hypotension can be caused by dehydration. I get it a lot in the summer when it's hot and humid and I am exercising hard. Since you are on blood pressure pills, you may need to decrease or eliminate the pills. Talk to your doctor.

I did the app several years ago and went on to do some races which led to me running 5 marathons. I started running at age 54. Fourteen years later I'm still running, about 30 miles a week ATM. So yes, the app does work. Best advice for starting out is to run slowly, really slowly. Some people say they walk faster than…

Did you set it to lose weight or maintain it?

Get an appointment ASAP with your GP. They should have copies of your records from the Urgent Care. If not, go to the Urgent Care office and get them. Then ask what you can do as far as exercise. I had surgery on my hand a couple of years ago (avulsion fracture) and the surgeon told me he didn't want me to sweat until the…

Happy Birthday!

I lost 50 pounds in my late-50s and have maintained the loss for several years. I lost the weight eating about 1200 calories. That is the lowest that MFP recommends since it is difficult to get adequate nutrition on less, and it isn't generally sustainable for long. My maintenance at 125 lbs. is about 1600-1800 calories. I…

Calories are based on your current weight, not your goal weight. Figure out how many calories it takes to maintain your current weight. If you consistently eat 500 calories a day less than maintenance, you would lose about a pound a week.

I use the generic yoga entry in the database. You will burn some calories but it is hard to be exact because yoga can vary so much, from mostly breathing exercises to flow routines. If you don't want to count the calories, just change the number burned to 1.

Ask your doctor when you can start walking for exercise again. Also whether you can increase the time you're on the bike.

It may be that you have set yourself as more active than you actually are. i.e. if you tell MFP that you are lightly active but only walked 3000 steps that day, it could take away some of the extra calories you were given at the start of the day. I'm not sure of the actual breakdown, but I seem to remember than even…

Generally, yes, since that is the way MFP is intended to work, but really it depends on how much exercise you do and what kind. You don't want to be eating too few calories as it can impact both health and energy. I don't think Pilates burns a lot of calories, so it may not be worth logging. If an hour of exercise burns…

Congratulations!

If you are sedentary aside from your exercise sessions, then you can either say Lightly Active and not eat back your extra calories or say Sedentary and log your exercise separately and eat those calories back. It sounds like you may be double counting. Unless your lifestyle involves a fair amount of time on your feet…

I had the same fear when I started running, largely because I was in my mid-50s when I started. I thought people would stare and I would look funny because I have never been athletic. The first few months I only ran on a treadmill at home. Then I decided to do a 5k for charity, so started to run outside because I knew it…

@PTAnn77 - I'm sorry to read that you were injured. I hope the head heals quickly and completely. Being inactive must be hard for you. I'm glad you can still do the bike.

I also burn more calories than expected at my age (67). I do about 2 hours a day of exercise: walking the dog, running, biking, etc. The rest of my lifestyle is sedentary. MFP and Garmin both say my net calories should be 1400 plus exercise. I actually need about 1800 plus exercise calories to maintain my weight (123 lbs.)

Agreed. I am hypothyroid as well and have been taking meds for 20 years. In my mid-50s I lost over 50 lbs. and have kept it off, in large part by a consistent and fairly strenuous exercise routine as well as logging everything I eat on a daily basis.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Watches are not that accurate for heart rate and can be higher or lower depending on how tightly you are wearing it. Stress, lack of sleep or fighting off a cold can also raise your HR. Pay attention to how you feel during your walks and runs. It should feel easy. If it doesn't, slow…

For encouragement, I also lost 50+ in my mid-fifties and have kept it off for the past 10 years. Being retired meant I had the time to devote to physical activity in a way that was different when I was working. There were also a lot fewer restaurant meals, so I had much better control of what I was eating every day. Eating…

Congratulations!

I have been maintaining my weight for many years, after losing about 55 lbs. I don't measure or weigh my food, but I do log what I eat. It keeps me honest. I am less likely to eat a donut or an extra cookie when I know that it will show up on my log. I have a long history of yoyo dieting and I really don't want to go back…

To lose weight, it doesn't matter whether your calories come from carbs, protein, or other macros; it only matters how many calories you eat. Don't complicate things too much. Try to stick close to your calorie goal and see how it goes. Experiment with the food you eat to find which foods help you feel full and which make…

That is the way weight loss works: it isn't linear. Your body retains water for a lot of different reasons: too much salt, too much fiber (takes a while to digest), new exercise that causes muscles to retain water to aid healing, ovulation, etc. Just within a week, your weight will go up and down a couple of pounds whether…

Again, it depends on where you live and how cold and wet it is there. I live in Pennsylvania, so it gets cold, but not sub-zero. Most of my mid-winter runs are in the 30s or 40s since I run in the afternoon. What I have found is that I need a lot less than I ever thought I would for winter runs. I mentally add 20 degrees…

The best exercise is one you'll actually do, and hopefully enjoy doing. As stated above, walking is very accessible. If you are working long hours, there are online videos you can do at home before or after work. Weekends do something outdoors that you enjoy.

Discipline and habit. I plan on 45+ minutes of exercise 6 days a week, plus dog walking every day. I don't always want to do it, but I make it happen. I'm a runner, but I also hike, ride a bike, do yoga, etc. I have learned that I feel better both physically and mentally if I get some good exercise regularly. That pushes…

Five days a week is fine. The recommendation for good health is 150 minutes of exercise each week, so 5 x 30 is good. Your swimming takes care of the basic 150 minutes, anything else is bonus. Walk if you enjoy it. Or bike, dance, ski, mow the lawn, do yoga or tai chi, do online videos, etc. if you want to switch things…

I need the endorphins and serotonin I get from exercise. I may not feel a high, but I feel a calmness after a good workout that I really need.

I've been maintaining for over 10 years after decades of yoyo dieting. For me, I need to keep doing the things that helped me lose weight: log what I eat and stay active. By logging daily, I can't pretend that having an extra cookie or another beer won't matter. But it also lets me know I can have a couple of cookies or…

Congratulations!