Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Weight loss chat

A space to talk openly about weight loss journeys and challenges. Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Original poster

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

393 replies

FitBeforeFifty · 09/07/2022 18:15

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)?!

OP posts:
dudsville · 08/08/2022 12:05

Thanks for the link @FlowerArranger , it is a helpful reminder of the process. Thankfully, generally, I don't have the fantasy stage he talks about but I can get over excited about the promise in the idea of a cocktail and am often let down by the reality! Anyway, friends were drinking coktails yesterday and I was fine not having one, didn't even have any kind of alternative. I'm already feeling back to my normal self, but I'm going to do at least a week, with the hope of extending it to a month, and a friend is doing a dry september so I also have extending to this in the back of my mind, and then continuing on. My partner is teetotal so this helps.

The fluctuation is annnoying @Transformatio , thankfully you saw the scales yesterday and could put it in context! You've reminded me that I used rice cakes earlier in the year - they are surprisingly helpful at curbing hunger, and at reminding me that all food intake doesn't have to be a big meal.

As for me I've started the day as I'd intended to, finally! I'm starting at the weight I've been now for several months so it will be very motivating if I can drop below that finally. I have almost no ultra processed food - occassionally I'll have some veggie sausages, but I'm talking monthly if not less with that, and I do have good quality bread, otherwise even pasta has been replaced with my newfound love of bulgar wheat. And in addition to counting calories I'm also tracking the fiber count, which is my new interest re food!

EmmaH2022 · 08/08/2022 17:29

I'm wondering if I should be more focused on diet than exercise

so easy to say on a boiling hot day though.

right, I just recounted my goal. It's 47lb loss - yikes - in 30 weeks. But that should be doable. I thought this week would be tough for various reasons but I think the heat will quash urges to eat junk.

HooverIsAlwaysBroken · 08/08/2022 18:37

@FlowerArranger thank you SO much for those videos. I tried the full body one just now. I had to pause it several times to get through it and at the end (when you were supposed to have a few 60sec intervals after each other, I just reversed the video 15 sec, found out what I was supposed to do and did it.

I am quite proud of myself… will revisit my diet tomorrow, just enjoying the feeling of having done a workout!

dudsville · 08/08/2022 20:05

Day 1 has gone well. I'm just within my calorie allowance. Mondays are easier for me though, hope tomorrow goes smoothly.

I'm impressed with the exercising going on here. I honestly wonder if I'll ever move quickly ever again!

AuntieN · 09/08/2022 06:44

I've been a little bit missing in action over the last couple of weeks. I have never known work be so bad. Having said that my approach to taking baby steps with my weight loss seems to be working. A steady 1lb a week even with a couple of off plan eating meals.

My next problem is how to get regular exercise back. Currently working 14 hrs a day and frankly have no energy for major workouts. I tried doing a session in the morning but it means getting up at 4am to still make my train to work. That's not sustainable so I need another approach. I'll work on it 😀

dudsville · 09/08/2022 07:32

With 14 hour work days @AuntieN isn't it time to just cope as best you can? I don't know how long your commute is but that barely leaves time for a decent wind down and proper rest/sleep. (I so feel my age posting this!) Well done on the steady loss! How long is the work pattern going to be so you think?

AuntieN · 09/08/2022 08:05

dudsville · 09/08/2022 07:32

With 14 hour work days @AuntieN isn't it time to just cope as best you can? I don't know how long your commute is but that barely leaves time for a decent wind down and proper rest/sleep. (I so feel my age posting this!) Well done on the steady loss! How long is the work pattern going to be so you think?

Wise words! I think you are right. Work situation will be like this for the rest of the year.

HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow · 09/08/2022 09:31

Frustrated this week, after fantastic losses in the first 2 weeks (8.5lb) this week I'm showing an increase in weight by 1.5lb.

I'm keeping on it knowing that it'll sort itself out but it is disappointing 😬

Hey ho, hopefully better next week

Transformatio · 09/08/2022 10:40

That sounds really intense @AuntieN - if your job means your on your feet for a some of that shift time then I would say that is your exercise. Maybe you could fit in some 2 min bursts of strength training whilst your at work/run up the stairs when you need to take them?

You and me both @HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow ! Mine is a pretty predictable time around mid cycle where my weight STS/goes up/down/up/down and lasts for what feels like forever! Monthly WI is probably the most sensible. I'm tracking it again using a spreadsheet...hoping a in a few days that it will suddenly whoosh off!

Transformatio · 09/08/2022 10:42

If your job means you're on your feet. Sorry😊.

dudsville · 09/08/2022 21:15

I'm on my phone so it's annoying trying to scroll up and down to reply to specific posts, but we're all doing what we can!

I'm just in under my calories again today, and noticed early on that the sugar craving was gone, so that's good. I weighed, as I do daily, and for the first time since 2020 I'm in a new stone point. So that would be 1 pound loss if it's true, and I'm now worried about weighing tomorrow as I so much do not want to see that number again. I need to remember the fluctuating nature of daily weighing and go ahead and do it, remembering that at least its a sign it's going in the right direction. It's like i lie to myself - when it's at its lowest i think that's my true weight and when it's high i dismiss it. 🙄

EmmaH2022 · 09/08/2022 21:17

duds I know what you mean.

I had a smaller dinner than usual...hope I don't wake up hungry. That's never a good start!

HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow · 10/08/2022 12:32

1lb back off again this morning so heading in the right direction 😊

I seem to just hoard water when I eat simple carbs. The pain of menopause 😊 thank goodness I love veg and don't miss rice, potatoes, pasta and bread too much

EmmaH2022 · 11/08/2022 13:42

1lb is the right direction.

I tried having an avocado for breakfast, made me feel a bit stomachy.

dudsville · 11/08/2022 13:49

Absolutley, 1 pound inthe right direction is a win @HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow !

@EmmaH2022 , how did you have it? On it's own?

I had an off piste day yesterday and forgot I had a meal out. Always hard to calculate but I reckon I was nearly 200 calories over my daily allowance and included wine. I'm not too anxious as I was under by 200 on Monday and Tuesday so overall the week is still going well. I'm finding fiber is really the way to go for me to not feel hunger, but I know we're all different. I weighed in today and yesterday without my glasses on so it looked roughly to be in the right place but I won't know for sure until tomorrow or saturday - I hate weighing in when I've had a bigger eating day so I'll be weighing with my eyes effectively closed another day or two!

HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow · 11/08/2022 13:53

I like oats for breakfast, with 10g mixed seeds in it. They fills me up for ages. But if I eat carbs any later I just bloat. I love greens and salad though so not so bad once you've got through the first week of reduced carbs.

I find it easy to stay in the calorie count if eating at home, but out is so much harder 😔

One of my favourite tricks is to share a pudding with my other half. I don't feel denied and sad about not having one but hand it over after a taste 😊 works out really well

dudsville · 11/08/2022 20:24

With my current diet i bloat too, and worse 😮but I'm hoping to adjust! I have a patient partner.

I'm loving porridge too, and i also have a ground seed mix, can't recall the brand, and also add that and fruit, cinnamon, but it's a bit sweet for me at the start of the day so i often turn meals around, do a stir fry with chillies, garlic, ginger and soy sauce for breakfast and have the porridge at the end of the day. I'm new to the ground seeds, which ones are in your mix?

dudsville · 12/08/2022 08:40

i like that mix, I'll look out for it. At the moment I have seperate bags of seeds for adding to food and that's a faff and this looks perfect. I'm downstairs now so I looked for my mix, it's ground, so I think that's not as good, it's Linwoods brand and has flaxseed, sunflower, pumpkin, chia and gogi. And it's chatting about things like this that lets me know I'm not 20 anymore!

I'm two pounds down. This is obviously too quick to be real.

dudsville · 13/08/2022 08:40

Yup, it was a temporary loss!

Transformatio · 13/08/2022 17:16

The hot weather is having the opposite effect on me to the last heatwave - that got me eating healthily, ditching the booze and doing IF...this time...I'm just going with it I've decided and I'll re-group next week.

dudsville · 13/08/2022 18:31

There's time @Transformatio . I've taken a few breaks since starting down this path in December, and so long as I maintain during my breaks I just see them as good practice for future when I will reach my goal and need to maintain!

I'm wearing a dress today that I bought early pandemic and quickly grew out of. It's still a little tight as it has a narrow waist but it looks good and that's been a real boost to my day.

MinervaRemus · 13/08/2022 21:51

Very late to this but can I join in too? Most of your posts I could have written myself. I just need an extra bit of motivation to keep at it!

dudsville · 14/08/2022 08:54

Absolutley @MinervaRemus , welcome!

HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow · 15/08/2022 13:21

I'm starting to see a difference, had some photos taken and there are some I actually like of me 😊

Now that I've started exercising most days I also feeling better, more energetic and healthy. Had to do some physical activity yesterday, much more than normal but felt ok and not too achey afterwards.

Im at 9.5lb down over 4 weeks, but really looking forwards to the next 2lb as I change stone boundary then 😊

Swipe left for the next trending thread