The secret to 50+ diet & exercise

[ChaffleLifeChanging]

Sorry posting here for traffic. But for the last 3 months I have been doing the daily 4 x 1 minute planking & wall sits as recommended by Michael Mosley, and also been living off chaffles. (Cheesy egg waffles) I had never been massively overweight until my late 40s, I’m nearly 52, but the combination of the chaffles & really simple exercises has been a game changer for me. The weight has dropped off me, chaffles are delicious & you can make sandwiches out of them for work.

I’d really struggled to lose those menopause pounds, but so delighted to see a change.

@Cryliner well done, but go for a lower angle than 45 if it helps for a start.
@JosiePosey they look amazing with all of the lovely styles salady bits and homemade burgers.
@BlastedPimples yes planks absolutely pull your stomach in, but this is about a slow approach- don’t expect to see results overnight. And you kind of have to lose the weight off your tummy too which may be more achievable by introducing Chaffles into your way of eating if you’re trying to low carb. Even if you’re not trying to lose weight simple planks are a good all rounder ! As per Michael Mosley.

Has anyone got link to chair exercises please? 😁

My chaffle maker (the light green which as a bonus actually matches my light blue Swan microwave) arrived and I made my first batch yesterday -ate 2 for lunch then with left over quinoa salad and reheated the other 2 in the toaster and had them for a carb lite version of beans on toast.... Had a session with my PT this afternoon and he has gone off and ordered a mini waffle maker too!

I managed 2 minutes of wall sits and 2 minutes of the inverted plank this afternoon after my cardio/weights session at the gym.

@BlastedPimples flutter kicks are a really good lower abs exercise assuming no pelvic issues.

I started doing a bit of low carb a few weeks ago. I also track on MFP so try to stay under 1200 cals per day. I bought a chaffle maker on the back of this thread and they are really great! Took a BLT chaffle to work yesterday which was delicious. I am mainly eating fish/chicken with huge salads or grilled mushrooms and tomatoes for dinner. Started planking too. Have just under 5 weeks to holiday and I'm over 50 years old so not so easy to lose. My start weight 10st 9Ib and weighing in at 10st 1Ib today so it's definitely working for me. The chaffles keep me full so are really helping. Thank you for this thread!

How many calories are peoelp logging these as? I use MFP too and yesterday picked one that was 270, I thought that was probably about right, but not sure.

I scrolled down and found the blog name where I got the recipe (thebestketorecipes.com), but my waffle maker is a different shape so I have to guess my portion size. I figure 3 of my little triangles equal about 2 of the mini-waffle-maker-sized ones.

I tried making oat and banana pancakes in my waffle maker today and they came out really well - delicious with Greek yoghurt and pomegranate seeds for lunch (as I don't eat breakfast).

I made my first chaffles for lunch, had them with a green salad and they were amazing, like a much nicer version of a cheese omelette. I used 2 eggs and half a cup of cheese and made them in my Belgian waffle maker, only meaning to eat one but ate both. They have filled me up more than most lunches though, even carb heavy ones.

I can’t eat all that cheese regularly so think I will eat one tomorrow but make a massive salad to go alongside . I couldn’t resist today though!

Actually, I’ve just read a recipe which says Chaffles made with one egg and half a cup of cheese = 300 calories. So 2 eggs and half a cup of cheese won’t be much more ? So I could eat TWO and not be greedy?

I’m thinking about having these for breakfast, and then Ryvita with salad for lunch , probably with tuna/anchovies rather than my usual soft cheese. Then fish/quorn etc with veg for dinner .

My body refuses to cooperate with the 90° angle. It just says nope. Not sure if it's my knees or my thighs that are reluctant. Anyway, I've started with a bigger angle, with the intention of working up (down) to 90° soon. I found this 30 day wall sit challenge here if anyone's interested. I might give it a go once I can get to 90°!

Does it taste eggy? Don't like the taste of eggs

Thanks for all the updates everyone. Can’t help on the calories I’m afraid. @Devilledmeg I think they taste cheesy rather than eggy, there’s a lot more cheese than egg versus an omelette, and no soggy egg. Interesting to hear that others find them filling too. Since I’ve been eating them I’ve been a lot less hungry. @comeondover thank you for the link, from what I’ve read on the wall sits, you are doing exactly the right thing with increasing the angle.

Thanks for the wall sit advice @ChaffleLifeChanging, will definitely have to work my way up - they're bloody difficult (for me!)

As an aside, I had been planking every day anyway just for one minute. On the back of this thread, I decided to watch some "How to Plank" vids. Turns out I'd been doing it slightly wrong so tried today with an adjustment - omg! The difference! I don't know whether to say thank you, or to cry in a dark corner!

chaffle maker arrived yesterday and I scoffed my first ones last night, they were lovely! Had them with chicken, mushrooms, broccoli and a big squirt of mayo 😋
Thanks for posting about them, first I’d heard but think they might be my new obsession 😁

@FreyaFromTheFens looking good & filling I bet.

marking to follow - thank you

Chicken salad chaffle for brunch. Really delicious and will keep me full up until later.

I made some more chaffles today - I cut the cheese back a bit and added in a teaspoon of marmite - they were out of this world. I had them with tuna and avocado but tomorrow I'm going to have with some baked beans.

I haven’t succumbed to a Chaffle yet. But I do like seeing and reading about all the great combos.

I have been doing planks. I got my dd to time me and that helped a lot. Did two lots of 60 seconds. Could really feel it!

Another boost. I won’t buy anymore after this. I might switch to dark chocolate or kids chocolate mini bars.

Can I please ask how you managed to get iron in this way (should declare, I’m not vegan) , I really struggled when I cut down on certain foods groups (i.e. meat) If I don’t take an intense supplement I end up feeling ill from the low iron, feel unwell and no energy for exercise and so less active, end up hungry and hit the snacks, so round I go in a vicious circle. Would love to achieve good levels through food. Are red lentils the key?

@StillCreatingAName - I think firm tofu is about the best vegan source of iron and has twice as much iron as the equivalent volume of lentils.

I take spirulina or chlorella - both good sources of iron.

Got any links?

Has anyone tried using cottage cheese rather than hard cheeses, to reduce the cals?

My friend sent me this recently https://themodernnonna.com/?block_area=after-first-paragraph so wondered if it would work for chaffles.