In 366 days I will be 50 and I want to be in the best shape of my life. Who's with me?

[FitBeforeFifty]

I am currently overweight, at 12st 5lb, and a BMI of 27. I am perimenopausal, addicted to sugar, and a bit of a coach potato. I WFH and snack A LOT.

Last week I went on holiday and wore swimwear for the first time in years. I felt like crying when I saw the reality of what I am doing to my body with too much sugar, booze and not enough exercise. I've been kidding myself that it's ok, but it isn't.

In 366 days I will be celebrating my 50th birthday. I feel as if this is my last chance to properly get a grip on things and reverse some of the damage I've done before it gets even harder.

These are my goals for the next 12 months:

• get to 10 stone and the middle of a healthy BMI


• stick to fasting / OMAD / no snacking (I know this works for me, I just fall off the wagon too easily due to WFH / boredom)


• stick to a lower-carb (not no-carb) WOE, again I know this works for me


• daily yoga / barre (I use DownDog app, but not often enough!)


• 10k steps per day

I don't want to be fat at fifty. I don't want to be a menopausal cliche with a big gut and a load of excuses as to why I've still not shifted the weight and am still on the sofa mainlining wine and biscuits every evening.

This feels doable - anyone want to join me and be fit and fabulous at fifty (and beyond)?!

Totally agree that exercising is energizing, @HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow !!

For those looking where to start with fitness training:

Lucy Wyndham Read is excellent for starting out. Especially her Thighs & Glutes , which is excellent, but she has hu dress of other workouts, most of them very short.

Also try Rebecca Louise's Best Abs and the Bowflex 3-minute plank to strengthen your core, which is soooooo important.

If you want to challenge yourself, try Growingannanas, including those workouts where she uses weights. Start off with 2-3 kg dumbbells and watch the workouts before you do them - correct form is very important!

Nothing to report as heat is killing me
flat never gets cool. Missing my long walks but can’t bear it in this weather. Might try late tonight. I did my weights and stretching yesterday though but I really feel irritated without proper cardio. Eating what I can face.

Hu dress???
Hundreds!

It sounds like you're making such great progress @HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow ! I agree that stone boundary is an exciting marker, sounds like you might get there soon, fx!

It is warm, but where i am it had started to cool. I'm a week in now. Aside from an immediate loss, which was a 24 hr temporary blip,I've had no change but I'm familiar with this pattern and know it's a part of my process. Oddly, though there's been miniscule change on the scales, i have fitted into some things that were not comfy to do up before, so i seem to be "fat shifting", a term i made up for the phenomenon!

@dudsville I know what you mean, the same weight can be quite different sizes.

One of the positive but weird phases is when my belly goes flabby. It's a good sign as the fat is reducing but it looks horrid. Hurray for big pants 😊 I know I come out the other side so trying not to fret.

My other half is doing it with me this time and is experiencing the same thing which weirdly helps 😊

We're spurring each other on with the exercise as well as the healthy eating. Trying not to get eat the extra calories earned by exercising too. Hoping that will speed along the stone changes 😊

For him the next stone will become he hasn't seen for 10 years +. For me it's the stone zone that I want to be in, although I want to be at the stone mark, so just over a stone to go!

Hesdeadben "One of the positive but weird phases is when my belly goes flabby. It's a good sign as the fat is reducing but it looks horrid. Hurray for big pants 😊 I know I come out the other side so trying not to fret."

oh! Is that a thing? I was worried I was getting fatter!

btw where is your username from please?

@EmmaH2022 it was something said during the recent tribunals when GC lawyer Ben made a particularly devastating point

I was wondering that too @EmmaH2022 , fabulous name @HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow !

Oh! I was thought it was from a film! 😂

I've got less than a year and nearly half my bodyweight to ditch before the big 5 0, so I'm starting 16/8 IF, upping water intake and improving my sleep pattern. Big declaration here to hold me accountable!

Well done for making a start @AliasGraceful

Here's a second well done from me @AliasGraceful !

I trie the 5:2 in the past and really didn't like it... but I'm considering trying it again by introducing some fasting days. Anyone do this? I'm doing a google search for tips. I happen to have miso as I like it occassionally of an evening or cold afternoon. I'm also wondering about making some VLC veg soups on those days. Anyone here do this?

I think vegetable soup is an excellent 'meal replacement' - as long as you don't add any cream or cheese! Broccoli, pea, asparagus and sweetcorn soups contain a fair amount of protein and thus are very filling. Or lentil soup if you want to make it more of a meal while still staying beyond full meal calories.

Another filling low calory meal: 1-2 boiled eggs, tomato and cucumber seasoned with salt and pepper but without dressing, plus a quarter of a melon or cantaloupe.

Thanks@FlowerArranger , i love lentils, not so keen on eggs, so will have a look at lentil calories. I'm giving it a go today as a way of exploring what it feels like, but I did some thinking first around anticipating stomach grumbling and not responding as I normally would.

So out of curiosity I did a fasting day today. I've never done this. I'd gone massively over my calorie count yesterday so that was a motivating factor. I won't make a habit of it but it was interesting. I became hungry by about 10am (my day starts at 6.30, so that was a good way in) with stomach gurgling, but it didn't get any worse as the day progressed, no light headedness or foggy thinking like I expected, and between 10 and about 2pm I had 4 cups of miso, obviously lots of water throughout the day. I don't feel bad or weak. I have had bloating, and apparently Google says this is a thing. So my little experiment has left me considering the 5:2 and I'll Google that now. Out of curiosity I weighed myself when i got home. No shift, but it was still an interesting experience!

Well done duds I tried it and found it awful. Plus I ended up overeating later.

I wondered if i would (will?) overeat @EmmaH2022 , but the stomach grumbling ended over night, I woke up a couple of times and just felt fine and was able to wait very comfortably until morning to eat, and then was able to make less than what I normally would have or had planned to eat to break the fast. I presume I caught myself, quite by chance, on a good day re my cycle and perhaps having eaten so much the day before the fast.

That's great duds
it seems to work for a lot of people

maybe I'll give it a try again.

I think I would like to try it again too. It did feel like A Big Thing To Do, so I'd want to choose my next time carefully, but I noticed I reacted differently to a grumbly tummy today than I did yesterday and I would like to hone that - I think I see it as mildly anxiety provoking and therefore I must eat, whereas yesterday I was ok with the thought "It's ok to want that but I can have it tomorrow / it's only however more hours until bedtime / it's ok to have a slow day / it's ok to have a grumbly tum" etc.

On another note, I'm terrible with numbers and I'm calorie counting so it's a pita. Each time I make something I have to read the packet, weight the stuff, etc., I just took about 15 things I like to eat and made myself a ready reckoner and can add things as I go. I'd better not become obsessed with food when this is all over! When I was at my current target weight I just ate and lived normally!

duds it is a big thing. You have inspired me to eat less today!

re calories, it's a weird one. My slim sister thinks they are irrelevant but she avoids sugar. My slim mum was always a calorie counter so doesn't have to do it any more because she internalised that knowledge, but she lurves her sugar.

Sugar is such a pain! My in laws are all massive sugar addicts but maintain good weights. I'm not suggesting they are healthier than I am, but it's interesting that genetically they can all manage sugar just fine.

I've decided to try the 18:6. I went from 6pm through to just past noon today before having a meal, and yesterday morning and this morning i woke up feeling well and happy, slimmer in my stomach, and that's really motivating.

I've lost 16 pounds so far this year. It's been a very slow process, with significant breaks from engaging in any weight loss stuff, but always with an eye on maintaining (not gaining) during that time. I'm over the hump with only 12 more to go, and that thought makes me happy. Last December I was so disapppointed in myself. By this December I should have reached my not insignificant goal.

duds that is amazing! I am only on 7 out of 47 which I wanted to hit by March.

Well done!

Well done @dudsville what great progress. I've managed to get 11 pounds off so far another 20 to go. Just trying to keep focused and not worry that is going to take time.

Thanks both, it's funny, I was feeling really positive yesterday and then today woke up feeling not so confident. No reason, but I think I'd planned to reach my goal ealier and started thiking maybe I won't make it by December. I would like to, obviously, I would like then to just be focused on maintanance, and I would like to have the dieting behind me, but being older and stronly peri I just feel not so much in control of how this goes, so much time between shifts on the scales! This thread is a helpful reminder not to just go "ah, f*ck it", August is nearly over, I can do this for a few more months, a lot of the hard work is behind me.

... not to just go "ah, fck it", August is nearly over, I can do this for a few more months, a lot of the hard work is behind me*.

Well done, @dudsville - 12lb to go? That's less than a stone, is it not!! Maybe time to start transitioning to a long term healthy way of eating....... just less of it until you've reached your goal. Plus finding a way of making exercising enjoyable 😁

What has worked for me:

• 16:8...... aka intermittent fasting
• high protein - low carbs - virtually no sugar - but LOTS of vegetables, plus fruit to manage sweet cravings
• keeping a food diary - knowing I'll have to record it helps...
• exercising with weights, plus HIIT, and not forgetting the daily 3-minute plank

I don't know how old you are, but believe me if I tell you that if you stick to the above you'll be laughing when you're in your 60s!!!