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.

Beer has a lot of calories in it, I thought.

I went paleo about 2 years ago. Cut out dairy to stop hormonal hot flushes. Cut out all alcohol because of headaches. Eat clean. Lost weight without trying other than not eating processed food and sugar. Weight came down gradually but stays off. Also do light weights to keep muscle tone. Im mid 50s. I also do mindful eating which makes me think about if i am genuinly hungry.

Im 50 this year. I am the heaviest i've ever been in my life - eleven and a half stone and 5 ft 8. It just doesnt feel right. I feel sluggish and unfit. I even struggled to get out of the bath earlier!

I spent years being really skinny and if anything wishing I was curvier.

SW really seems to work for a lot of women I know.

I'm determined to lose a stone. I do a lot of walking and used to do Yoga before I knackered my knee. I have started going to a weekly glo rave dance fitness class. Have to really force myself to go to it though!

I have to say a lot of this is classic middle-aged spread/ menopause related with me.
My BFF who I have known forty years is still lovely and slim - I think I'll have to ask her for tips!!

I have been having horrendous hot flushes - does cutting out dairy help? Should i just drink water and have obe or two cups of tea a day? 🤐

Watching with interest as at 45 1/2 I put on a lot of weight last summer plus my energy levels were really low and I was run down (got a lively 5 y old and a toddler)
I'm only 5'1 so at 9 stone 7 my BMI showed I was overweight even as a 10/12.
So have increased protein and cut out biscuits and cake. Cut down snacks too. I used the NHS weight loss course which is really good. I did lose 4 lbs biut progress seems so slow at this age :(
I like Lunathe cats comments above
What your body can do!! Am aiming for strength more than fitness!

58 here!

I've lost around a stone and a half in the last year and kept it off. I'd like to lose perhaps a stone more. I'm a 10/12.

I use Mfp to count myself 1200 cals a day. I eat everything in moderation. I try to do 10k steps a day and weights, which is the best exercise imho for shaping your body.

I get loads of compliments but by God it's a struggle. This year, I felt confident to wear a swimsuit on Venice Beach and didn't feel out of place. I can tuck my tops into my jeans now and wear clingy clothes with impunity. I feel fitter and stronger.

I thought I'd lost my waist for good but it's back (kind of).

My shape has changed however; I now seem to distribute fat around my belly and torso whereas in the past it'd go on my thighs and bum.

Our of my old school friends, I'm the slimmest and I don't care if that sounds smug. It's bloody hard work but worth it (To me at least).

I'm 53 and pretty much do as other posters. I have managed to stay a size 8-10 by watching the carbs as I got older. I don't really have a sweet tooth so cake etc is not an issue, but I do have a bit of dark chocolate after dinner. Don't drink fizzy drinks. My only drinks are black coffee, water and wine. I go to regular spin classes and cycle quite a bit. I love clothes and refuse to buy anything bigger than size 10.

@bringbacksideburns one of the unexpected side effects of low carbing for me was the significant reduction in hot flushes.

I did a bit of Googling about it, and it appears that a lower carb diet will help here, and also if you can reduce your caffeine and alcohol intake.

What are everyone thought she on breakfast? I'm told it's very important but also recently read it isn't. Right now I can't face eating, but I'm not doing too good emotionally, but most mornings I can't face eating before I need to go out. I want to learn to eat by hunger and not by clock but lately I've not being eating enough which is part of the reason I can't lose weight I think. I have over two stone to lose and are 45.

I believe that you should eat when you're hungry. If you're not hungry at "breakfast time" then you don't eat.

I'm approaching 50 - and have overhauled my eating and exercise regime.

Have been into running for the past 10 years, but have gradually got bigger and bigger. So I decided early last year that i wanted to be in the best shape ever by the time i was 50.

I joined the gym, did a lot of classes - strength training with some cardio. Plus the outdoor running. A few months ago one of the personal trainers made me a food plan, which I am still on. We've tweaked it once or twice . It's strict. And boring. However it has worked wonders. High protein, medium fat, low carb. I have also since signed up for Personal Training sessions.

The whole thing costs money and time. (it is surprising how much I spend on turkey and fish!). However - prior to my Christmas week off - I was looking extremely toned and was trying on my bikini in anticipation of forthcoming beach holiday.

I have come to the realisation that if I don't want to be big and unhealthy then it's bye bye carbs (incl alcohol of course) and hello to regular, filling meals.

I ain't giving in to the menopause years. I'll fight it all the way.

I'm nearly 60 (how did THAT happen!?). Between 1Jan and 31Dec 2017 I lost exactly 4 stone. It took me 5 months to lose the first 7lbs doing high carb and very low fat. Totally miserable, hungry all the time. In May I switched it round to low carb, high fat, and lost the next 50 lbs. I joined the LCHF bootcamp here on MN (next one starts 8 Jan). I believe it saved my life. I even lost weight over Xmas :).

ilovecherries what kinds of things do you eat on low carb, high fat?

Its probably easier to list what I don't eat, to be honest. No sugar or sweeteners of any kind. No flours, pulses, beans or grains (including bread, pasta or rice), no low-fat anything, no fruit except berries, no carby vegetables (e.g. Parsnips/squash) . I also don't drink alcohol any more, although it's allowed in moderation.

I eat a LOT of green veggies (probably 8-10 portions a day), lots of salad, any meat poultry or fish I fancy, cheese, eggs, butter, cream, olive oil. I've never felt deprived apart from once over Xmas when I passed on the mince pies for the 10 th time in an afternoon.

The biggest mindset shift for me was eating fat, after being a fat-dodger for decades. Everything suddenly tasted so nice, and you become satiated very quickly, to the extent that after a few weeks I was able to add in intermittent fasting without feeling hungry.

So if you made a curry or a chilli (my faves) what would you have instead of rice?

I might have spiced cauliflower or aubergine, or courgette ribbons, sautéed cabbage ribbons, or shredded spinach.

I think I need to educate myself about low carb food choices!

I eat lots of stir fry’s and cauliflower or broccoli rice gives the same texture and volume as brown rice. And with a stong tasting sauce like curry you will hardly even taste the difference.

WOW ilovecherries congratulations on loosing all that wait. You must have amazing willpower to keep going through Christmas. I had a very naughty Christmas and am keeping a food diary this week to make sure I don't eat any crap. First spin class this morning.
Good Luck for 2018!

lljkk my friend said I need to eat breakfast to kick start my metabolism . So far today I've eaten when hungry, wasn't a great choice as in the car but didn't feel rubbish about it, now just enjoying a cup a soup and some cheese and pumpkin seed snacks. Don't feel controlled by food and eating. Win.

Would anyone care to offer a shopping list suggestions to get us started, e.g. full fat greek yogurt, almonds, eggs, etc?

I'm nearly 49 and it definitely is more difficult. I can't just eat Wotsits with gay abandon anymore - nor anything else actually.

Reading this thread with interest in the quest to find the perfect method.

Hey, if you go over to the Bootcamp topic there are shopping list threads, etc :) Crisp, some of it is a mindset shift about no longer seeing carbs as integral to a meal. I love both curry and chilli, but it wouldn't even occur to me any more to eat rice or bread with them. The rest of the family still eat them I just don't any more Expat, thank you, but it's not really down to willpower so can't take any credit for that! Firstly, all my cravings went within the first couple of weeks, and secondly, I realise now that a high carb diet made me sick - I feel so much better now I don't eat them any more (apart from the green veggies, obviously)

I'm 70, and I lost 2.5 stone in 2017. I decided that I couldn't go on carrying the extra flab I'd gained since the menopause - it was seriously slowing me down - so I decided to get a grip and do something about it.

I didn't follow a diet. I got myself a Fitbit, did 10k steps a day, counted calories initially, and cut out cakes/biscuits/chocolate completely for several months. Lost the 2.5 stone within 6 months and it's staying off because I've lost the sugar cravings and it's a way of life now.

I eat meat, fish, cheese, eggs and vegetables and very little bread/potatoes/sweet stuff. We don't do that thing of popping out for coffee and cake any more - in the early weeks, I checked My Fitness Pal and it was sobering to see how many calories are in the huge slices of cake we consumed. I get full much more quickly now, so even if we do have cake, it's a tiny portion - the sort of portion we grew up on, in fact.

It's been a revelation to me. I feel healthier and more in control of my body and that feels great.