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.

Thanks everyone for encouraging the cold turkey on the sugary tea, day one done and it has been fine.

I had a low carb healthy lunch (cucumber, tomato, olive, feta salad, a medium sized bowl - what other people would call a side portion) and then felt really faint and dizzy on a walk to the shops - that's the reality of cutting down food for me - I'm already eating so few calories that any less makes me feel ill - how do you cope with that?

That Diet Doctor article - eat low carb, don’t eat too much protein, don’t eat too much fat, don’t drink alcohol. Presumably you’ve already cut out sugar. I am wondering what food groups are left .... thin air?
The other tips are reduce stress, and get lots of sleep. Maybe I could manage that if I didn’t have 3 kids...
Then after all that the last tip is be realistic!! Ha ha.

Reading this thread it all seems so complicated. Eating certain foods at certain times of day. Ketosis testing. Special mail order supplements. Certain types of exercise at certain times.

All I want is to be able to eat healthily, drink occasionally, share meals with my family, be active without it taking over my life, and be able to fit into my clothes. I don’t even want to be skinny - I have accepted that at my age that’s unrealistic - I just don’t want to be a size 16! Why is it so difficult to achieve? Feeling fairly demoralised right now!

KindDogsTail - I think if I had to give up caffeine along with sugar, alcohol and carbs, I would be a sobbing heap in the corner.....

I will RTFT later, but I saw the title and couldn't resist commenting. I am going to be 50 very shortly and am a tall size 10-12. However, I have over the past few years, gradually gained half a stone from my "fighting weight" which, cosmetically if not from a healthy BMI point of view, I am trying to lose - I don't carry any extra weight well. It is definitely harder than it would have been to lose it a decade ago.

I have gradually come to the conclusion, which was discussed in detail on a thread on here are a month or two ago (the OP spent a weekend with slim people and learned a lot from their eating habits) that the amount of food needed to maintain a slim weight is a lot less food than we like to think, and this becomes even more the case as we get older. I am keeping a very close eye on how much I eat, although my diet still leaves a bit to be desired, and I am running for about 45 minutes three times a week, which has made a fantastic difference to weight loss and maintenance, as well as my general health and alertness. The unavoidable truth in all of this is that you really have to do the honest about how much food you need and how much activity you are doing.

I have taken the decision that I am, frankly, buggered if I'm going to end up fat in my late middle age. I'm getting my head around permanent changes which I will need to make in order to ensure that that happens. I can't be doing with faddy diet and exercise regimes, but I know that I need to up the veg and reduce the sugar. Wish me luck!!

elektra - could you try a bit less?

Lovely post @Fozzleyplum and I wish you luck!!

Thank you! I might need it....

This fell off my threads I'm on and I think need more help

I was using my fitness pal to log everything, walking the dog for a m8nimum of one hour twice a day and also going on the exercise bike.

I lost six pounds and was happy. Then for two weeks I've not watched what I ate, haven't been on the bike but have been walking well over two hours a day. Five pounds back on.

I thought I'd do part of the one week in four diet. Breakfast was dry toast and a grilled tomato. Toast before a two hour walk with the dog then the tomato when I got home. Lunch was meant to be as much fruit as I wanted but I felt so weak I needed more. I sautéed peppers, mushrooms, red onions, Mediterranean veg, chilli flakes but no oil then added two beaten eggs. Was lovely but two hours later, and after 3/4 hour walk, I'm hungry.

I can see the weight gain. I'm 46 and just feel and look disgusting. I only managed eight minutes on the bike this morning as still tired from the walk I think.

I doubt very much that you look disgusting, YoYR. :(

Thank you ragged.. I'm just so annoyed with myself. I know why I eat too much, or not enough at times, so why do I keep doing it?

habit... so much is just plain habit.

Sometimes I eat to say up yours to the people who were supposed to look after me as a kid and didn't feed me but I know they don't care. I'm only hurting myself.