About to turn 60 and reflecting on the impact of having been overweight much of my life....What will it have had an impact on?

[loveyouradvice]

Hi. I'm going to be 60 in March and am using this as an opportunity to create great health - yup, I know, better late than never! My focus is on great sleep, exercise and nutrition - and I'm starting to look at other things like introducing Tai Chi for balance and daily mediation for general health and a more "gut-friendly" diet.

One of the things I've been reflecting on is that I've been overweight much of my life...Chubby child, slim teen and then as an adult some of the time normal BMI but probably around half of it between BMI of 26 and 31, and higher for a couple of years. Probably in all around ten years at 30 to 33, and another ten at 26-29 with twenty years in the normal range - curvy and happy with it! Definitely a yo-yo dieter I'm tall and most of it around hips and bum. Oops - realised that reads a bit weird: I've been as high as over 15 stone, and lots of the time at 12 stone 7 lbs.

So, I'm at a 27.5 at the moment and aiming back to 24 where I feel very comfortable (11 stone 7 lbs).

I've noticed a creaking in my knees as I go downstairs or get up from sitting crosslegged on the floor.......

What are the things that may have been affected by being overweight so much? Or by yo-yo dieting?

I'm guessing:

• diabetes
• osteoarthritis

What else? What have you found - and what can I do about it now beyond losing weight??

Cholesterol
BP
Higher risk of cardiovascular disease
Increased risk of cancer

Losing weight and increasing exercise will reduce the risks.

www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/lifestyle/what-are-the-health-benefits-of-losing-weight/

thanks ... anyone else??

I would focus on addressing the Yo yo dieting most of all. Have you ever had a normal relationship with food? I am 40 and have had disordered eating since I started dieting in my late teens. It's only been recently I've addressed that. It's sad to think of facing another 20 years of how I was when I was at my worst.

I would concentrate on positive changes you can make now rather than beating yourself up about past choices. Having such a focus on your fluctuating BMI isn’t necessary. An awareness of how you can take care of yourself now will be much more productive.

I'm a couple of years behind you, OP, and embarked on a similar mission at the beginning of the year

I find the nutrition advice on line confusing and the NHS info contradictory)so I've been consulting with a nutritionist focusing on eating for health, weight loss, avoiding diabetes. It's all possible and not too late at 60! Take your Vit D.

I've started physio-led Pilates for posture, building core strength (for the first time in my life!) and balance.

I'm also doing a walking video (don't laugh ) on YouTube for cardio and weight bearing - really important post Meno. Will join a gym when I can pluck up courage.

Oh and I'd ask MNHQ to move this to Chat as you'll probably get more replies. Just ask people not to go on about anti-ageing creams and the like!

This seems like a bit of a negative exercise, you can't change the past. Look at the benefits of getting healthier in future instead.

You are so on the right track. Don't be looking back Mrs. No regrets. What's the point. Also quite possible you haven't done any harm or that it's reversible. Do this!

Having said that you know you are prone to yoyo dieting and that is unhealthy and I think has a negative effect mentally. So whatever you do try to avoid getting sucked back into another cycle of dieting and regaining the weight. Look for long term sustainable changes, rather than overly strict things you can't keep up. Or if you take up an exercise regime make sure you have a plan B in case you can't keep it going for some reason, like when all the gyms closed in lockdown and some people found it hard to keep fit at home. Circumstances can change so make sure your plan is flexible.

@loveyouradvice As others have said, you need to look forward BUT also learn from the past.

In terms of damage done, the weight will have impacted (literally) on your joints and you may have wear and tear in your knees and hips and possibly need replacements at some time. If you feel joint pain, take notice and get X rays to see what's going on.

Being overweight increases inflammation in the body which adds to the risk of blocked arteries and also cancer. The fat evidently stops the body processing inflammatory changes- this is why Covid affects overweight people more and their lungs can't cope because they are not working efficiently.

You are also at a higher risk of all cancers - especially bowel and female cancers - but losing weight now is a huge benefit so don't assume it's all too late.

I think you need to stop thinking about being on a diet and adopting a healthier way of eating long term.

I'm over 60 and the only way I can stay slim is by eating very few carbs, making sure the ones I do eat are wholegrain and I don't drink (that's for a medical reason; allergic to alcohol.)

I work on the 80:20 principle. For most of the time I don't eat cake, biscuits, crisps, pasta, white rice, white bread, very little potato, sweets and anything with sugar.

I eat loads of eggs, fish, chicken, green veg, cheese, plain full fat yoghurt, fruit etc, lentils and other pulses.
My normal day is usually eggs or porridge or plain yoghurt, with fruit, homemade soup for lunch or a salad with protein, and dinner is anything from a homemade shepherds pie, stir fry, salmon, white fish, roast chicken, etc. I try to get 5-7 fruit/ veg a day.

At a weekend or whatever I'll have a small portion of a pudding as a treat. And 1 square dark choc a day :)

By the way you might find it helpful to do some monitoring at home.

You can buy - cheaply- a home blood pressure kit and a kit to test your glucose levels to see if you are pre-diabetic, or diabetic. You can get both from Amazon for under £50. We've got both and I'm not obsessive over it at all, but it's handy to keep an eye on it all.

You could read up on autophagy. Dr Jason Fung videos and Diet Doctor website are good resources. It's the process of reversal of ageing in the cells - or cleaning out the rubbish.
While anecdotally there is a lot of evidence for it - the science is new and it doesn't look as if further research has been funded since the scientist won the Nobel Prize for it (nobody makes money out of it - in fact, big pharma would lose). The research was done in the lab on mice. But very interesting.

Weight on hips and bum isn't as bad as abdominal fat, so being a bit over bmi and pear shaped isn't necessarily too bad. But for sure looking after yourself in the ways suggested can only be a good thing.

I'd second the recommendation for Pilates - it's really good for core strength and stability, and also should include some weight bearing exercises. Possibly need more of that though, for averting osteoporosis. Stability and strong legs are important as we get older for avoiding falls etc - I think we sometimes forget how many older people are affected badly by sheer mechanics. (Obviously your idea of doing tai chi sounds good for this too)

Fab fab fab advice and thank you..... and I do think I am building a much better relationship with food. I'll second the one square of dark chocolate a day Jingling - it really helps. As does eating from 11 to 7 pm - ie 8:16 intermittent fasting - six or seven days a week.

I'll read up on autophagy ... what I've heard so far makes a lot of sense - and of course is very encouraging.

Comeon I'd love a link for the walking video... it sounds VERY appealing so no not laughing, just full of admiration.

Dance is something I love and am wondering why I didnt make more time for it earlier in my life - so yes, lots of Zoom dance now and in real life once things are open again.

For me, low carb has really helped. I’m 73, but about 5 years ago had a HbAc1 test done as part of a full blood test, which showed my blood sugar levels were creeping up to pre-diabetes - I was also overweight at 11.3 and 5 foot tall. I embarked on the low carb way of eating, lost nearly two stones over the course of a year (now 9.5 stones), felt much more energised, and it helped my acid reflux too.
Not easy for some people, but it works, and my personal opinion is that it is a much healthier way of eating, as sugar(=carbs) is very inflammatory to the body.

OK, OP, as you promised not to laugh

Exercise will do you no end of good.

Comeon... not laughing at all - but smiling broadly!

Feels such a darn good-humoured and approachable workout - no wonder she has 44m views so far on Facebook.

Rather fancy this when its wet and rainy outside so going to give it a go... thank you!

Her enthusiasm is infectious, OP, which is just what I needed as I'm very lazy

Good luck!