Over 50!
 

Health wise, getting older presents a new set of challenges and risks, and for women over 50 it's so easy to gain weight without much effort (metabolism slowing down, etc).

I've gained 50# in just three years, not only because I'm in that age range, but I just got plain lazy. And it finally hit me (duh!!!!) that if I want to live a long, healthy life I better start taking care of my body.

It's hard, though. Harder now to lose weight than even five years ago, so I created this thread as means of support for those of us getting older. Tips for making it easier as well as motivation to keep on this journey are welcome.

What do YOU do to make it easier?
For me, it's cutting calories, walking daily and using free weights 3x a week.

10/11/10 Start weight 196
11/9/10 Current weight 191
Goal weight 145

I hear ya
 

I'm finishing up my 50th year next April. The whole hypothyroidism and peri-menopausal combo has presented me with umpteenth challenges. If I'm very meticulous on food and moderate exercise, I can drop maybe 1lb a week. However, if I stop paying attention, I can gain it exponentially. No problems on the gaining side...:mad:

I am doing what you are and trying to stay active and watch my nutrition. The most challenging thing is not just total calories. For me, it is making sure I'm getting the right nutrients in the total. For example, using today as an example, I've logged my food and eating clean only to see that I'm 50% short on my Vitamin A for the day. I really need to learn about combining different Freggies to make the total calories balanced for total nutrition.

I've gained about 20lbs this year {added to other years} so I've slowed down. The knees are hurting. I'm starting back into exercise this week with low impact aerobics and free weight training. I remember a few years back how good I felt with 40lbs gone. I want that feeling back.

All that said, I'm somewhat new to posting on these forums. I've been a member for awhile but didn't post much. Everyone seems very supportive. It's nice.

Thanks for your post.

Yeah, I have to keep tabs on meeting my nutritional needs.
Keep track of foods here is great and it's making me aware of just how many carbs I eat. That's something I definitely need to modify.

Hi, I'm new here and saw your post. I am 49 and just started on fitday. I weigh 212, and my goal weight is 145.

:)
Welcome Justme!
I've used Fitday in the past, lost about 30#, left and gained back 50#. Tracking everything (food and exercise) seems to be what works for me.

Glad to hear I am not the only one having problems and getting older. DG

You're only as old as you feel! I'm 65, grandmother of 7, and am working hard right now to keep in shape. I lost 15 pounds in the last year and got my BMI down into normal range: 24.6. However, I have started to gain some of it back, so it's back to basics time for me.

1. Log in what I eat and look at it critically--where could I have cut fat, how can I up the vitamin A and pantothenic acid, and uh oh! watch the calorie creep.

2. Be more vigilant about getting enough exercise. Here, there's an additional motivator: if I don't do the minimum amount of stretches or yoga and walking, my back hurts so much it's hard to stand up.

3. Remind myself that the MD said if I lost some weight, I could probably get rid of some of my daily pills. Getting my blood pressure and blood sugar into normal range is a powerful motivater!

I have a clipping I cut out of a magazine posted in a prominent place: To be ready for old age, you need to start becoming strong now. Getting in shape is like putting money away for retirement.
(Wish I could remember where I found that!)

I think of every workout as "money in the bank." I'm 65, at my ideal weight for 20 years since I got off the diet train. I eat real (quality) food when I'm hungry, until I'm completely satisfied, and I no longer crave junk or obsess about diets. Such a relief after years of dieting and weight swings of 40 pounds, overexercising, starving myself, waking up hungry and night-eating, and all that. I am also hypothyroid. I don't do low carb, high protein, low fat, prepackaged food, shots, pills, drinks, exercising 20 hours a week, none of those things any more. I learned my lesson in my younger days, thank goodness.

It's funny....I feel good, don't have issues with sugar or blood pressure or bad cholesterol...but I've put on 50# in 3 years!

I'm exercising and watching my calories and what makes up those calories but I'm still having a hard time losing! I lost an initial 5# and not an ounce since I started over a month ago. :mad:
Hoping this is a plateau and I'll see a drop here soon.

Another Oldster
 

Hey Ginasj55, I've been using fitday for about 5 months now and it has been very helpful. It seemed pretty easy to get where i was at over 280 pounds. It has been quite a struggle to wrestle my hunger to the ground and try to learn to eat like a normal person. Like you I realized that at 54 my life was nowhere near over and I just wanted to feel better. I started by saying it wasn't about losing weight,but as the lbs have come off...39 of them so far...I find that I enjoy weighing less. Anyway heres to us!!Now if I could just get as commited to exercising as I am about logging....oops wink wink

Us older women do face specific challenge, one of them being how easy it is to gain weight and how hard it is to lose it. And when we do lose weight, it comes off the wrong places. My skirts are a bit tight, I lose 10 pounds and what happens? My face loses its roundness and my skirts are still too tight.

yehudit

Hello BEAUTIFUL 50+ ladies! I'm in the club too. I will be 54 in March. I started lifting weights after my last child turned 1-back in 1995, and that has got to be one of the best things I did to help me keep my weight in check. Of course, I still have to watch what I eat like everyone else, but I'm convinced that weight-lifting has helped me avoid large gains associated with perimenopause/menopause. I also use bioidentical hormones prescribed by a doctor and know that has also helped. Many women fear hormone replacement therapy and I respect their opinions, however, my MD feels that it's the best course of action for me at this time and I am pleased with the results. It's a decision each woman has to make based on their own circumstances and health history.

Balanced nutrition has always been my biggest challenge...and this site has always been my best defense for managing it WHEN I USE IT.

I'm glad there are so many 50+ women on this site...back when my mom was 50 most women just gave up and assumed that it was too late for them to do anything about their body composition. Thankfully, that has changed.