Please only reply if you're female and closer to 50 than 40

[IWillSurviveHeyHey]

Because how in the name of the holy cheeses does one loose weight at the age of 48, when nothing that used to work in the past, works anymore?

I am reasonably active and don't overeat although admittedly I do drink alcohol and have a weakness for sweets. This was never an issue before but clearly it is now. Simple I hear you say, stop drinking alcohol and eating sweets. But I have. And whist in the past I would have started noticing some change after a couple of weeks, nothing moves at the moment. In fact, I am just getting bigger and bigger.

I have extremely large thighs and I am only short so I feel really uncomfortable within myself. My only saving grace is that I don't have a fat belly.

I am a bit sick of being hungry pretty much all the time and still, it seems I need to accept that I've gone from a size 10 to a size 12 in the space of a year and I've been hungry for the most part. Well I don't want to accept that. I need to go back to a size 10 or by the end of 2018 I'll be a size 14.

Please help me.

TO clarify, Chronic ketosis in that instance refers to long-term ketosis

Use leek instead of onion. I whizz a bit of blue cheese into my veg soup; it’s lovely.

I can see that use of the word chronic gives the impression that there is something inherently unhealthy about ketosis to be fair I think that is his view on the subject but earlier in the piece does say that ketogenic diets are, according to the US news and World Report diet rankings, effective for short term weight loss.
There does appear to be evidence that it may not be healthy in the long term.

How does one square this statement:

We still have uncertainty about the long-term effects of such a diet, but given the alternatives I don’t think it’s unreasonable to try it.

with this statement:

There does appear to be evidence that it may not be healthy in the long term.

I was not aware that uncertainty and evidence had the same meaning. What "evidence" can you point to?

You seem to be confusing evidence with proof Olivia, at least that's the only way your post makes any sense.

As regards evidence please refer to my previous post where I quoted from Stephan G

Right. So we're back where we started.

One dude's blog citing uncertainty constitutes evidence. Not robust enough - sorry.

Let's move on shall we? I think hearing about people's experience is more interesting.

Wasn't the Atkins a ketogenic diet? For SOME people it worked well (and still does for dh when he goes on it). It made me ill.

As I said before the only surety is that we're all different.

IMO and E too much 'fuss' about the family all having to eat together or vice versa can create problems. Flexibility is the keyword!

I'd guess that the induction phase of Atkins is ketogenic, but after those first two weeks, when you increase your carbs, it's less likely to be.

Yes it includes fruit after the first 2 weeks doesn't it? Not starchy/bread or rice style though?

@IWillSurviveHeyHey

As a long-term low carber, this is a selection of typical meals for me:

Breakfast

Often nothing, as I've started to introduce 16:8/intermittent fasting. But if I do eat it, then it's often full fat Greek yoghurt, with some vanilla added. Occasionally peanut butter. Sometimes eggs - boiled, scrambled or hard boiled, mashed with butter or mayo. At the weekend, sometimes bacon and egg, with low carb sausage and fried mushrooms

Lunch

At work, so it very much depends on the time available, and what I fancy from Pret/Sainsbury's!

Pret does some good low carb salads, and their Wednesday soup is No Cream of Cream of Chicken Soup (it's made with celeriac which gives it a lovely creamy texture)

If I go to Sainsbury's, then it's often something with salad, and with a home-made vinaigrette dressing. Tuna mayo, or mozzarella with some pesto, or sliced ham/beef/chicken.

Dinner

Some favourites:

Roast chicken, or sausages, with roasted veg (shallots, peppers, courgettes, garlic, fennel)

Aubergine, cut in half lengthways, roasted with olive oil, and then dressed with crumbled Feta, served with salad

Salmon fillet, marinated in lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, then baked. Served with stir-fried veg (baby sweetcorn, mange tout, shallots, broccoli)

Stir-fried pork fillet, with stir fried veg and Bare Naked Noodles (zero carb) or egg-fried cauliflower rice

Meatballs (beef mince, shallot, pepper, chilli) with a garlicky tomato sauce, served with salad or green veg, and grated cheese

Poached smoked haddock, with a poached egg and spinach, with a creamy/cheese sauce

Shepherd's pie, with mash made from celeriac and leeks

I'm 50 in September and I am seriously in better shape now than 15 years ago.

The short answer is HIITs and weight training. Food is basically healthy stuff, I don't see it as a 'diet'. I have carbs if I fancy them, but after exercising (I am a bit rubbish at always doing this bit right). I don't eat bread anymore anyway except on the odd occasion I fancy it.

Gave up all booze about 3 years ago. Generally eat fish and veg for my tea, it helps that I love that kind of food.

Snacks are yoghurt/almonds/protein shakes.

But not a big fan of ever going hungry so will eat what I want really but up the exercise.

If I could only ever do one thing it would be weights, although it is HIIT that has helped me shed pounds.

It's keeping on it that is the hard thing. I've only just come out of the Christmas fog of nuts and chocolate. Made me feel like rubbish.

I can honestly say that finding HIIT was a revelation to me from a weight loss and strength building perspective.

I'm interested in learning more about the weight loss benefits of weight training.

My exercise is currently two one hour walks a day with the dog and as much as possible on the exercise bike. I usually do at least 45 minutes a day on it but wonder if more time at a slow pace is the opposite of what I should be doing. Any pointers would be great, thank you.

@PeppermintPasty

Why do eat carbs post workout and not pre-workout? NB: I do this too ... just want to hear your reasoning in case I can read up on something I have missed.

What do post workout carbs look like?

What is your HIIT workout like? How many times a week do you do it?

I'm back after joining the thread at the beginning.

I went to the pharmacy to get weighed about ten days ago. 66.6 kilos... now convinced the devil lives in my fridge, cos that is much more than my optimistic assumption I had gained about three kilos, more like 6.6 needs to be lopped off me

I've been using the cronometer app most days, chosen because it shoves nutrients (vitamins and mineral consumed) to the forefront, which seems to stop me “wasting” any spare calories on crap.

I think I have lost some weight. Several pairs of jeans are less snug.

The quality of my diet has deffo improved by leaps and bounds and I feel way better in terms of energy and general well being than I did a couple of weeks ago. My innards seem to approve with an formerly unheard of regularity.

I'll pop back to the pharmacist tomorrow to see if I have replaced my satanic number with something a little lower. Hoping to see 66.3kg. Not sure how much 0.3 of a kilo is in pounds. Not a lot I suspect, but I'm ok with whittling it all off slowly, because so far I haven't been suffering any real hunger. Just some sulking when my (irritatingly svelt) husband is scarfing lollies, ice cream and butter laden popcorn.

I think I like the “see how many of each mineral/vitamin target you've hit” part of the app more than the calorie counting part. It shifts my focus away from just aiming for low calorie consumption which would probably up with me trying to subsist on carrots, failing, stuffing self with popcorn as an act of protest at the carrot dictatorship, and not doing myself any good in the process.

Oh lor Olivia, not sure I have the science bit off pat, but it's to do with refuelling your glycogen isn't it, after exercise? I actually think it should be a mixture of protein and carbs. It helps it replenish quicker I think, which in turn helps build muscle more effectively.

I might have some wholewheat pasta with fish, or sweet potatoes/potatoes etc. Normally don't eat them too often during the week, sometimes I just like a good old fashioned sandwich.

But bugger it, as I say, I'm not very good at sticking to it, and eg if I'm in a hurry I might work out, stuff in a banana, have a shower then a bit of soup or something, so I'm probably doing it hopelessly wrong.

As for exercise, I aim for 5x a week at something be it a HIIT for 15 mins plus an extra 15 mins of weights tacked on. If I'm having an off day I might think sod it and do nothing, but also might just do ten mins weights at home then eat all the chocolate in the house.

Yesterday my dc were at surf club training in the nearby pool so I nipped to the gym in the same building and ran for half an hour. Day before I did a bloody hard kettlebell workout by My Trainer Carmen (on instagram) in my kitchen.

For basic HIITs that have me sweating I always do the body coach.

What do you swear by?

It's the 'revelation' to me that I could do so little time-wise yet have this radical (for me) effect on my body. I used to pound away for hours on runners or bikes. Bugger that these days. So much quicker and more effective.

@PeppermintPasty

WRT to post workout carb loading, all you said makes sense. Thanks for sharing.

I don't yet have the courage to add in the slower carbs like you do. I want to experiment with that though.

I only reload within a two hour window after I have done something anaerobic as aerobic exercise doesn't seem to deplete muscle glycogen as much.

The added twist I put in is to avoid fructose as I'm told this molecule goes to restore liver glycogen vs muscles. So I use dextrose, maltodextrin or waxy maize w a 90 whey isolate.

I don't swear by any exercise in particular. Rather, I have a routine which is designed to support a martial art I practice.

It covers mobility (simplified yoga exercises on the hips pre workout), heavy weights (loaded Olympic plates and bars + pullups and dips), aerobic work (75% ish VO2 max with rower erg or jogging) and high intensity circuits (5 sets of 5 @ 35 secs with 2 min rest of tractor tyre flips, battle ropes, KBs, box jumps, sandbags, shuttle runs, that kind of stuff; I vary it). I try to do doubles but it sure is harder than when I was a kid.

Importantly I try to train fasted (I do 16:8) whenever I can but mainly when I do aerobic stuff as this a) burns more fat b) allows me to benefit from supposed large increases in HGH and testosterone production from being fasted (which in turn supposedly aids in recovery and tissue generation). Seems to work - I find building muscle is easier doing this, but I admit I have a hard time with the psychology of working out on an empty stomach.

Wow that sounds amazing! I would love to do that hardcore stuff of tyre lifting/battle ropes etc but I live in the back of beyond and can't get to a gym in the free time I have (have to be at home at night-just me with the dc etc etc), so I do what I can at home and I am really strong but I know that by now I should have stepped up all the weights but I can only have so much equipment at home. I do have a dip/pull up station which I'm trying to use more and more.

Yes, I train fasted too, makes a big difference I think.

Ref. exercise; I do stretches and tui na (which is a chinese diy acupuncture) It has given me a waist line and delicate abs (which I never had even when I was 21 and a size 8!).

I do dance round the kitchen, not religiously, 1\4 hr. before breakfast too!

Once again different people respond to different types of exercise. Paul Mackenna says do what you really enjoy. Also he says "No pain, no pain no pain!"

@PeppermintPasty

I bought the equipment - cheaper than CrossFit or a gym. Old tractor tyre costs £25 on ebay + delivery. 15m ropes are £20 and you can attach them to a KB or a tree. Sledgehammer is £15. Etc. Go cheap!

Haha I love it. Actually, I do have a huge garden and could easily get an old tractor tyre. I never thought of that! I'm gonna do it! Thanks!

If it's big enough you can do the box jumps on it. Then get a big sledgehammer and pretend the tyre is your least favourite politician!

spoilt for choice!

Or just come round here and chop up some wood for us!!!!