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.

I'm loving this thread! Lots of inspiring stories.

I'm back on the "diet" (more like healthy eating / lowish carb / dry) wagon today. TBH I'm quite pleased to be back to "normal"

Today is my second day of fasting. Will do it for 3 days to 'erase' cravings and then continue with a more structured diet plan, although I'm not yet sure what it's going to consist of. I need structure, at least for the rest of the month. I would be so grateful if someone would tell me what to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I don't mind routine as I know it's short term.

It's very important not to be hungry so up your protein which is satisfying and prevents craving. Turkey slices (you can have up to 8 per meal) chicken breast, fish etc. Not dairy. Eat lots of salad and non starchy veggies. Drink 8 cups of water a day, if you have a water bottle filll it up and take it with you everywhere. Herbal tea instead of black tea and coffee.

Amazing babyboomer!

Eggs! High protein, tasty, easy and very filling!

Bacon, eggs and mushrooms for breakfast?

I’m 48 and have been put on hrt - doesn’t make a difference . I’m doing WW now . Also have a look at Louise Parker etc . Change your eating habits to eating more lean protein , fruit and vegetables and cut down on carbs and fat . Go easy with the wine ... I’ve lost a stone since the summer and need to lose another stone .it can be done ... join a slimming club if stuck

That's my line BOOP

Yes, it's not going well. 50 years. I try to eat healthily. I'm not mad on exercise but try to do some stretches to tone up. I used to be a skinny teenager.

My bust is expanding which I hate as I'm still small framed

Yep forgot the eggs!! Two eggs plus two egg whites scrambled with mushrooms and spinach, yum.

Hi Op,
Am in 50's and lost 4 stone in 2017.
Probably had lost most of it by June.
The fitbit helped me enormously-
motivated me to move and although I have been terrible at counting calories it gives you a rough idea how many you're burning and then you can't avoid it! I get close to 20,000 steps a day.
I did Dry January last year to kick start. I banned myself from carbs at home-no beloved bread or toast. No potatoes.
But if we eat out I can.
It made it easier-ate very cleanly-lots of salt, veg, tuna, prawns, avocado etc.
I am more on maintenance now-but didn't really gain over Christmas-it's all about choices.
I do not want to gain weight back so I get that it means I choose things to have or not have based on that overriding desire.
I now have a healthy BMI and my blood pressure great.
I feel and look much better and that is very motivational.
But I feel like "being on a diet" never works because when you go off of it it spirals and leads to giving up.
I looked at it as overhauling my eating and drinking habits-and found it easier to get on with it.
I tried and failed lots before but everything just clicked this time.
Slow and steady.....
Good luck You can do it!!!

I think strength/weights work is important. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn so I would really recommend finding a personal trainer and learning the techniques (don't do it on your own with a video, you can get it wrong and injure yourself really easily, it is worth the investment of having a PT watch you and teach you). I really like my food and am 45, so I sincerely hope that I won't have put on a stone in 2-3 year's time! I run and swim and occasionally cycle, and try to average 70,000 steps over a week.

I weight a little more than I did 2-3 years ago but more of it is muscle and I am wearing the same clothes and they're not tight.

My main issue is my appetite, I eat a lot more than other people. I also like cheese which is bad. I do like turkey and eggs though, so maybe cut out cheese (or cut down) and eat more of those.

OMG
Not lots of SALT-lots of SALAD!!!!!

Quim you've converted me

I'm nearly 62 and agree that during the menopause I did put on quite a bit of weight. I didn't like it - clothes looked awful and I felt unhealthy and sluggish. I started 5:2 about 4 years ago and lost the weight over a year. I now maintain by fasting one day a week (or 2 if I have put on more than 2/3 pounds and I am back to the weight I have always been. I also realise that exercise is essential for a healthier lifestyle and last year completed couch 2 5k. I still run 3 times a week. This year I intend to introduce some strength training.

Doh, I started a thread (Fat and Fifty?) before I saw this. Room for another one?

I’ve lost and gained stones and stones over the last 35 years and what galls me is I’d be happy to be the size I was when I started my first diet (UK 12. I’m now an 18 and I haven’t seen a waistband that wasn’t on a pair of leggings since 2008)

Mumsie that does sound like a great plan. I’ve got some Cambridge packs which my GP has OKed (although she has made the point that a) it’s not sustainable long term b) I should avoid carbs permanently and c) I need to do cardio 5 days out of 7 )

I’m feeling pretty damn positive about it all, but am aware that in 2 days time I will be on MN crying because I’ll be 4 packs down by 11.40am and wanting to eat my own arm.....

hattie I def have a smaller appetite now and put much less on my plate-think that is quite an important mental thing...
Also you do get used to skipping the carbs and it stops being so hard.
Thinking getting moving-little things like a flight of stairs instead of a lift become second nature and really helps.
Get a fitbit no I do not work for them it even reminds you to get up and move when you sit for too long.

I'm much closer to 50 than 40 and am still the same size as when I was at uni. I am under no illusion that I will be able to easily maintain this as I get into menopause and beyond, however my mum was able to maintain her very slim build until about 70 and genetics do play a part.

Keys to maintaining my weight are:

1. eat mindfully. I listen to my body and eat what I feel like and stop when I feel sated, not full.
2. I can't really abide sweet things and so cheap carbs were never an issue with me 3)I rarely snack, and when I do it is a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts 4)I don't forbid myself anything, but I do eat very moderate portions
3. have always eaten a highly plant based diet low on processed foods
4. I have never dieted
5. I am very active - run 30+ miles a week and walk the dog 3-4 miles a day on top of this
6. get adequate sleep
7. as I age, I am upping weight training - this is key to trying to maintain the same metabolism. I know that going forward, I'll probably cut down on the running and really amp up the weights. My mum started to put on weight because she has never done any weight training and has lost so much muscle mass, resulting in a much more sluggish metabolism.

Studies have shown to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight tracking what you eat really helps. When you are honest with yourself you see how you are sneaking an extra 100-200 calories here and there and at this age without more exercise it can really add up.

I love My Fitness Pal because it is free and has an enormous database of foods so I don't often need to enter a new good item. I also love how it remembers all the foods you eat frequently as favorites so updating is extremely quick and easy.

I never tracked calories before using MFP so was shocked to see the hundreds of calories in two rounds of toast with butter . It helps you identify the foods you love which help you stay healthy and those you need to be eating in moderation (it's easy to deceive ourselves about how much food we are eating that are way beyond nutritional need).

Before the past year I lost weight after my first two pregnancies by using the advice on eating in "Eat to Live" a book by an American heart doctor. He gives you all the scientific studies that show which foods are directly linked to heart disease, cancer and other chronic conditions. It scares you straight or at keast it did me!

For anyone thinking women should feel comfortable and quietly slip into Middle and old age, gaining weight, losing muscle and being inactive because the alternative is somehow oppressive - read this book. Dairy for example is linked to so many cancers in women and green veggies are super protective

I've just had dinner. I was hungry while cooking it and dh was late, the chocolate coins were just there but I poured a drink of water and had that instead. Smaller portion of potatoes, three times at least the veg I'd normally have. Have had a small piece of chocolate log. Have eaten my exercise calories but wonder if I'd lose weight better if I didn't? Will go on the exercise bike later on and dh is under strict instructions not to let me eat anything else.

I’ve found this thread very helpful and having considered it all, I think I need to do my first low carb diet.
Can carbs be reintroduced when back to maintaining weight?

Moveable totally agree with the dairy issue. We have been sold a lie. Growing up with the milk moustache etc. Dairy appears to be terrible for humans (well obviously it's not meant for us) especially hormones in both men and women 🥛

Happily do some research. There are low carb diets that encourage the eating of lots of processed food and dairy. There are other lower carb diets that encourage mostly meat, fruit and veg. Some are healthier than others

I love this thread, can we have a name or be a club? So we know our audience if we start new threads? I can't think of anything ......

If you decide to go for the soups, cook then yourself, the over the counter variety have some thickeners that will make the problem worse (or at least they made it worse for me even when I was in my early 40s.

I cycle, I walk, I do Pilates, I have small portions and no diet I ever did in the past works anymore.

Last time I managed to loose some weight (at 46) I only saw a difference when I reduced my daily calorie intake to less that 1000. Nowadays I have about 1600 and despite the active life, I have a BMI of 27.

Age is unstoppable...

Mumsie I do have a Fitbit and I used to weight train (am getting back to it this year) but was/am still a lardarse because my diet was shocking and I drank like a fish. A very thirsty fish.
I have done 10k steps and 40 mins walking today so hurrah. Need to actually break a sweat with cardio tomorrow though.....

Movable oh I’m not slipping quietly anywhere, I’ll be dragged kicking and screaming into beige, comfortable footwear and early bird specials. The SAGA life is not the life for me. But if I don’t sort my health out there won’t be much of a life, full stop.
I’m up for a club/group name, great idea