To think it's impossible to loose weight in your 40's

[hyacinthwannabe]

I am about 5 stone overweight and I'm really really struggling. I'm 42 and I am trying slimming world. I have young kids so I don't get a lot of sleep. I have stuck to plan two weeks now and lost 1/2 pound last week and 1/2 pound this week!! Gutted.

Can any of you over 40
Who have lost weight please tell me how you have done it.

Thanks xx

Oh and what I actually did/do to lose weight was track everything I ate in MyFitnessPal (MFP) and bought a fitbit to log my activity. The Fitbit is then linked to MFP so that I can balance activity with food. As well as the 20000+ steps a day I also weight train using heavy weights (Squats, Bench, Overhead Press, Deadlift + accessories) twice a week and lower weight higher volume once a week and attend as many high intensity classes a week as I can which is 2 minimum up to 7. I also run at least once a week. I do eat a lot to fuel all the activity though, with carbs and protein being the priority (can't eat a lot of fat got no gallbladder).

Firefly - wow! You've done so well and look amazing. Younger too!

I'm 48 and I lost 4 stone in 18 months with SW. I also go to the gym once or twice a week and do walk most places instead of driving. I have done some research on portion sizes eg on cereal, rice and pasta. It is amazing how many calories a slice of bread is in some cases! I cut out bread, cakes, hard cheese, cheesy coleslaw, chocolate and other stuff. I have kept the weight off + or - a couple of pounds but I still go to the weekly weigh in most weeks. I don't really follow the plan but don't vary what I eat much- lots of salad and veg with my meals. If I want a cheese pasty I will only eat half of it and have the other half another day. So you can have 'naughty' stuff but just cut down on it. I was 13 1/2 stone and got down to 9 1/2, at 5 ft 3 that is within the healthy range. I suffered from boils when I was bigger and carried the weight around my stomach, thighs and chin. I was losing 2-3 pounds a week during the process, sometimes gaining 2-3 pounds especially around time of the month. But the overall route was down. I know full well that if I were to go back to old eating habits I would put it all on again, hence keep going back to the weigh-ins.
On another note, I did not tell anyone I was going to SW but people noticed after a while that I was losing. It is amazing how many people try to persuade you "Go on- have a bit of cake"- when they find out you are losing weight. I have had some 'friends' treat me differently or been a bit nasty to me. I don't know if they don't like the change but I tend to avoid them now. Most people when they found out were very supportive.
Good luck OP.

Blimey Firef1y, you look amazing and a good 10 years younger!

Just wanted to add- there is nothing wrong with having a bit of cake, I didn't mean that!

OP my mate is 41 like me, and has just got her 4 stone award with Slimming World. Her DSis is a couple of years older and has lost even more. Keep at it.

YABU. 80% diet & 20% exercise. I lost 4 stone in my 40's & haven't put any back on.

And wow firefly

Inspirational

I lost two stones last year (45 yo) after gradually gaining over a decade. I too felt it would be impossible. I was a healthy BMI before and still am within the same bracket. My motivation was MUCH more to do with feeling better, rather than looking better, and with reducing future health risks. I eat low carb and have done for 9 months. I wouldn't have succeeded if this hadn't been a viable way of eating long term, rather than a diet one has to endure and count down to getting off.

I'm struggling too OP but the weight does go eventually - just dispiriting how slowly. I have autoimmune hypothyroidism which kicked in at 40 and suspect my dose is too low. I exercise more now than I did in my 30s as have a dog but agree with others on that being a health benefit rather than a major contributor to weight loss. I've done every diet under the sun. Most work but it is finding one that you can live with permanently that is the trick. I really struggle to cut back on so I don't help myself....

And I'm low carbing. When someone tried to sell SW to me by saying you could still eat crap chocolate every day I knew it wasn't the one for me.

I lost two and a half stone in 6 months with Slimming World, at the age of 56, eating a wide variety of foods. You can have good sized portions as long as you have a third of your plate vegetables, a third protein and a third starchy carbohydrates. I probably ate more than usual overall but ate a lot more fruit and veg than usual.