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'm not a huge fan of 5:2. I think it's too restrictive and feels like a punishment for being overweight. Much better to get into a consistent habit of eating an amount of calories which is both effective for weight loss and realistic.

I find I can manage perfectly well on 1400 calories a day. Mostly lean protein and vegetables/salad eaten between 11 am and 7 pm. Eggs and salad at 11, and Chicken or salmon and vegetables at 6.30, plus some fruit mid-afternoon. No carbs (other than those in veg and fruit), no processed food, no dairy (other than milk in tea and the odd knob of butter), and virtually no alcohol. Lots of fluids - Robinson's cordial, tea, coffee mostly.

I think the key is finding a routine and foods that works for the individual. And exercise! I'm a huge believer in fitness as I find it incredibly motivating. Started off with Lucy Wyndham Read, added in Rebecca Louise after a while, progressed to Joe Wicks and Growingannanas, and now working out - using weights! - with KayKay and Caroline Girvan. The change in my physique has been phenomenal - and I'm in my 60s!

I tried 5:2 but found it pretty awful. Agree you have to find what's right.

I have lost four pounds in a month by consistently cutting back, which is 4 more than I've managed before!

Fair enough, I've done it before for 18months and was in the best shape of my life and felt amazing, I had to stop as I would have got too skinny.
But it does take some real effort to get started on and it's definitely not for everyone. I'm quite an 'all or nothing' person so it suits me if I can find that initial motivation.

Hello all, sorry I've been a bit quiet on the thread but it's lovely to see everyone just motoring on! Some fantastic results here, well done everyone.

I'm now 5lbs down, no alcohol for over a week, managing well with 18:6 as a minimum and quite often just one meal a day. To have cut back on the snacking to the extent I have is really quite amazing for me, although I am having to keep my water intake well up! It really does feel so much better though, to not have the blood sugar highs and lows that I would get from constantly pick pick picking at food all day.

Work has been super-busy and my peri-period has been hellish this week, so I've not kept up the exercise quite as well as I should have, but I did do a gorgeous session of park yoga in the sunshine this morning.

Keep going everyone, small changes make the difference!

I know someone who did the 5:2 and loved it. I tried it and really, really didn't get along with it at all. The 16:8 is great for me, and I can frequently turn it into a 18:6 by choice simply because I'm full at the close of the window and know I'll be fine until it re-opens. I also didn't get on with the lo-carb approach, anything that feels like denial or suffering doesn't work for me. With the low calorie approach I can still feel full on things I like to eat - and it's my usual diet anyway so it's easy to maintain, more so now I focus on fiber. But I'm lucky, my weight is from large portions of good stuff. We have a house full of chocolates, biscuits, cakes and ice cream and it just doesn't phase me, meals out I want a starter rather than a pud. I joke that my weight is all buttery savoury goodness!

Butter is my favourite food group by far 😂

I wasn't a 5:2 fan either, I do too much running around after small DC to spend a couple of days without any energy!! But I have two friends who it's worked really well for - it's just not for me. I did low carb for a bit and that did work, I felt good on it, but again it's not practical at the moment when I get very little time to cook/ eat and need to have something like porridge for breakfast to keep me full.

@AuntieN can I ask about your habit tracker app? I've created an Excel sheet for myself but am thinking that an app might be more practical!

😂@SandrasAnnoyingFriend !

I've found a peanut butter I can use on toast that doesn't require butter. I miss it!

Hi @ScarlettMcCain I used to use a spreadsheet too but it became too much like hard work. I looked around at a few apps and decided on Strides. www.stridesapp.com
There is a free version which lets you have a limited number of habits buy I paid for the year as I thought it was worth it. You can add habits to form, habits to break, challenges eg. 30 days of…
hope that helps!

Joining in as I need to kick some weight that has crept on through the menopause.

Started last Monday and have lost 6Ib so far. I'm using MyFitnessPal and limiting calories to under 1200 plus starting gentle exercise. I tend to be lower carb anyway, only really having them at breakfast (porridge).

I want to lose about 1 1/2 stone more and that will get me into healthy range.

Target is Xmas if possible

Ben 6lb in 10 days, wow!

I woke up hungry, hate it when that happens.

any ideas how long it will take me to regularly climb 120 steps in one go? Atm I need a few mins break after 60. I can't do it daily as I'm not in that place every day. But I can practice in my block of flats.

Joining in, I’ve got 14 months until I’m 50. Going on holiday next week so will be starting when I get back

I think the first week is always higher losses as lower carbs means less water retention. It gets that bit harder now. Hoping for 1-2 a week in order to get there by Xmas.

That's in line with time it took in a previous year

Well done @HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow you've got off to a great start. I'm still no alcohol and the difference in my skin is amazing. Also my resting heart rate dropped massively in just 2 weeks. I gave up for a year in the past and now I remember why. Feel better and look better. Just need to stay focused and positive going in the right direction with weight.

At the end of week 4 and only lost 5lb so far 😭. Keeping to calories but exercise (dog walks) dropped off with the heat. Have M.E/CFS and been v tired over the last 2 weeks. Just need to stick to it and start the lane swimming.

1lb+ a week is good though @Stressybetty , congratulations! That's 5lb you won't have to lose again!

I'm about to start an alcohol free week. I had such a good grip on that until the last month of too many festivities, so hopefully this will reset me!

Last week, having noted my 4lb loss over a month, I was really bloated a d thought it was the weather.

now I've debloated, thank goodness. But scales are showing a 2lb gain this morning. WTAF?

Good luck with the alcohol free week @dudsville . I'm getting the placebo effect from 0% alcohol gin and slimline tonic seems to be enough to trick my brain.

I did 8 days no alcohol and felt disappointed that I didn’t feel any different. Yesterday I went out to a party having decided that I was going to have a couple of drinks and I also ended up eating fish and chips on the way home. Woke up this morning feeling so sluggish. It’s shown me that I actually was feeling quite good so I’m definitely sticking to no alcohol from now on.

Im feeling motivated again now and it’s encouraging to read everyone’s progress so far.

Can I join as well…? I am 50 and probably not massively overweight but I am very “squishy” as my DCs keep telling me - in addition to asking me (hopefully) if I am pregnant. I am menopausal so most of my extra weight is around my tummy.

I need to lose a bit of weight, tone up and eat much more healthier.

But is is summer and trying to madly balance childcare and work (I am beyond lucky to have managed to take my annual leave as 1/2 time over four weeks.

Thanks, hope it goes well!

Just to check if anyone using My fitness Pal. Says for average 2lb a week loss to have 1200 calories a day but calculating online it shouldn't be less than 1303 for safe weight loss. Also I connected my step tracker app and it gives me more calories on my fitness Pal. I've read that the app vastly over-estimates the calories burnt and you shouldn't take them. Should I just re-set it to 1300 and disconnect the step tracker?

I stick under 1200 where I can. Having monitored my weight using mfp for a long time I know my maintenance level is at around 1550 so I need to drop to 1200 or below in order to lose at a decent rate. Around 1-2 Ib a week after the first 2 weeks.

Note the NHS prescribe an ultra low programme for some new diabetics with very good results (less than 800 calories per day for 12 weeks). It had been show to reverse diabetes. So not dangerous of unhealthy.

I generally don't eat the calories added due to exercise. It will fast track your weight loss if you can manage that. But it's a choice you make each day according to how you feel and what's going on.

The odd higher calorie day doesn't do much harm but I still record it.

I've lost another 2.6 lbs this week (2.2, 1.2, 2.6, 2.6 = 8.6 lbs so far). As I now daily weigh I know the last 1 lb of that was a bit of a whoosh today - so happy to see that this morning!. I'll be coming up to my mid-cycle lull so I'll brace myself for something less exciting on the scale for the next couple of WIs now.

An average of 1.25 lbs/week is good @Stressybetty ! The way I look at it too (but I am, no, was a horror for this) is that I probably would've gained in those four weeks if I wasn't losing (most recently 1 lb/wk, so the difference between where I am now and where I would've been without action is even bigger). I've started off losing slightly faster (and I don't expect this to be maintained at all) because I have so much to lose (again!) - 8.6 lbs is only 10.5% of the weight I need to lose to get to 10 st (BMI 23.5). Yes, I agree - MFP definitely do overestimate exercise calories. Your plan 1300 kcals instead each day sounds good.

I've found that too @DixiePeach - it isn't that I feel amazing on no alcohol it is that I got used to feeling sluggish/a bit tired whilst on it. I'm really not missing it at all at the moment. It really was the #1 thing I needed to do to change my lifestyle and start losing weight. Good luck with it this week @dudsville !

@EmmaH2022 - now idea, other than to say probably 'hormonal' - I often gain/STS midcycle. Frustrating to see this on the scale! Stick with it and hopefully it will whoosh off as quickly as it appeared.

Hello and good luck to @HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow , @Countyforever and @HooverIsAlwaysBroken and any one else who has recently joined but I've missed.

I'm full steam ahead today after overeating all weekend.