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)?!

I've lost 2 stone but still 4 to go .
I've 18 months to do it because I really don't want to be fat at 50 🤞

That's great that you lost two stone already! I will be chuffed if I hit that mark!

@dudsville - why not try quinoa instead of rice or couscous........ much healthier and very tasty!

@flower, how funny, i totally meant to write quinoa, not couscous!

@dudsville have you tried brown basmati?

I haven't! I'll check it out, thanks!

Ok, after 7 months of variable effort on my part, today I resume dieting. I've been 2 pounds down since introducing all the fiber this past week or two, so I now weigh 14 pounds less than this time mid December. My goal is another 14 pounds by Christmas. And then, I don't know how to explain this, I want to lose an additional 4 pounds to have as a holiday buffer/reserve. So I'd aim to never go above the 14 pound loss weight so I want this 4 pounds to help, like money in the bank. Does that make sense or is it a silly idea? So rather than a stagnate number that I maintain, I'm aiming to stick inside the 14 to 18 pound loss weight.

It really depends on your actual weight...... would an additional 4lb loss make you underweight? I found when I once lost 'too much' weight (some years ago..... sigh...) my face was beginning to look slightly haggard.

Had a decent start with 5 pounds off first week of slimming world. Haven't drunk alcohol either which makes a huge difference to me. Have invested in 0% Gordon's gin and Punk AF beers for that placebo effect.

I didn't think @FlowerArranger , thanks for keeping a healthy eye out. I tend not to post my actual weight because I remember the dissapointment of a friend who was shocked that I was happy at my weight, which is the weight I'm trying to get back to. She's a lovely friend and has never said anyhthing else that has ever been critical of me, so it was just a slip of the toungue, but I can't forget it. At that weight I have curves, I feel atractive and healthy and I can eat and drink anything within reason.

So, according to the BMI measure, fwiw, I'm currently overweight, and 14 to 18 pounds will get me to a BMI of 23.5, so the higher end of healthy. I was (luckily) naturally thin (low end of BMI) until my late 30's and I didn't like my shape. I then had a few incidents in my late 30's that led to significant weight gain. It gradually came off just as a result of my lifestyle, no dieting, and I settled at around the 23.5 mark and I found I really liked my new shape! So that's all I'm trying to get back to. But again, I'm glad you checked. These threads can at times have someone who struggles to keep a high enough weight, but that's not me.

That's a fabulous win @wonderfullife123 , and well done re the alcohol!!!!

Thanks @dudsville need to keep motivated!

Brilliant @wonderfullife123 - well done!

2.6 lbs off for me this week 😀

2.6lbs is great! Well done! I wonder what our total weight loss will be between us all!

Thanks @AuntieN ! Just read back and seen that you've lost 4 lbs this week - Fantastic!!

Yes, I wonder...very much hope we're all going strong/at maintenance by @FitBeforeFifty 's birthday and have loads by then!

Well done on the loses and to those feeling the benefit of change already.

I lost 1.5lbs in week one - nothing like I would have pre menopause but a step in the right direction none the less.

Some great results already! Well I’ve done my first weekend without alcohol and it wasn’t bad at all.

Unfortunately I seem to have started getting hot flushes. It’s so horrible especially when I’m exercising it makes it much harder.

Well done everyone!

Wow, some amazing results. Congratulations everyone.

I'm half tempted to start weighing myself but it's just not the metric that makes most difference to how I feel about myself. I am definitely more comfortable in my clothes at the moment, which is one of the aims.

I also got measured for my wedding dress a couple of weeks ago so might just wait until it arrives in 6 months to see if my measurements have changed!

I am adding in small steps which I previously ignored. I was chatting with a young friend of mum's - maybe in her 30s? Very fit and strong but always on the go. I have got to be less of a lazy bum! I was so different when I had physical jobs.

the humidity in London is giving me bloat, annoying.

I had a blip as I started my period - the 4th one in 8 weeks, puts a new spin on the term "peri" and out of frustration/irritation at it I ate finsh finger sandwhiches and drank white wine, but I'm mostly keeping up with the lots of fiber approach. Breakfast is porrige with an apple a banana, sultanas and a large spoon of a ground nut/seed mix. Lunch is roasted veg with some kind of bean, black bean today, and my basmati alternatives - really ejoying bulgar wheat!

oh, and dinner is a free for all, tends to be veggie, sometimes vegan, sometimes chicken or fish, and sometimes nothing or popcorn.

Don't worry about the blip @dudsville you are keeping going - peri is a nightmare.

Been grumpy today going to get up and straight to gym in the morning for endorphins.

I met a friend this evening and had a blip in the form of dessert.

Unusually for me, I felt sleepy after eating. I never normally have sugar crashes so I see this as a good thing!

I am starving this morning but determined to hold out for 12 to eat. 16:8 is definitely a helping though not as quickly as doing full blown 5;2. I just don't think I've got the motivation for it at the moment!