Fighting Fat at 49!

[FightingFatAt49]

This thread is to keep me accountable to myself, happy to have anyone else along for mutual support.
I'm turning 50 in 4 months and really want to be happier in myself by then. I lost 10kg last year, but lack of motivation to lose more (or even maintain) means I've put 8kg back on 😭

I know my issue is my head, when my head isn't in it I just eat and eat and eat. Telling myself... oh I'll start tomorrow... this butter laden toast isn't bad for me if I only have one (or 2, or 3....)
I'll go for a walk tomorrow, it's cold tonight.... I'm tired from work.... I've to clean the kitchen first, oh look now it's too late....
You get the idea, it's all excuse after excuse.

So now I've set myself a target; lose 10kg before I turn 50 in 4 months time 😲 (how is that happening?? Pretty sure I'm still 30-something!)

I'll be honest, more honest here than with anyone in my family or even with myself, even with 10kg down I'll still be very overweight. Probably still obese. But we have to start somewhere, right? If I thought about the weight I should be I don't think I could do it.... it's more like 30kg 🥺

So here's my stats....
• Currently 104kg
• Target 94kg
• lose 10kg = 2.5kg a month / 625g a week

625g seems very little right??? Less than a standard loaf of bread. So easy to go on, but not so easy to get off! Especially when I could eat that bread so easily, even better toasted with a ton of butter!!

I plan to keep this as a kind of motivational diary for myself, I really hope I'm still here next week....
I'll try to update my weight on a Wednesday every week.
Wish me luck, thanks all!

Hi, I will join you if that is ok.

I don't have as much to lose as you do, I need to shift 2 more stones.

I actually started about one month ago and I have lost 11lbs so far. I have been trying to do this for around 5 years, every day I tell myself I will start, and every day I had failed by 11am. So, so sick of this messing with my head.

I finally decided enough was enough and I have been ridiculously good. Now that I can start to see the results it is motivating me.

This morning I weighed 11st 3.5. I started at just over 12st.

Good luck, you can definitely do this.

Can I join in? I'm 50 in March and am trying to chip away at weight loss little by little.

Hello 👋

I've half been doing an online programme that focuses on protein and fibre, plus weights and steps. I'm hoping that by losing really slowly over the year (approx 20lbs) that it stays off. So 8-10lb loss so far in 3 months but that seems to be staying off (if I lose fast I can put it all back on over a weekend).

Hi @PersianPete and @PrimalLass, delighted to have you along for the ride 😀

I think my problem had always been I think of weight loss as a short term thing, not long term. So it's all too easy for it to go back on again. You're right @PrimalLass that slow & steady wins the race. Good luck to you both!

@FightingFatAt49 Thanks for having me. I agree with weight loss being a temporary thing, I've finally realised that it is a complete change for life. The second you go back to the old habits the weight just piles back on plus a bit more.

I'm 52 and it is so much harder trying to lose weight now that I've gone through meno.

I used to be able to force off half a stone in a week for an event but it would be straight back on. I put on weight the winter before covid then didn't have that reason to lose it as we were stuck inside. Now it's time.

I put on loads of weight during the lockdown. My sister went the other way and got into exercising at home and very healthy eating. She still looks amazing, I'm just fatter.

It's my ambition to be 50lb down by my birthday next year - I'll be 48 at the beginning of May! Not doing very well so far, I must admit like @FightingFatAt49, I am a genius at excuses...

50lb would just about put me into the healthy weight zone for my height. It feels like a mountain to climb though - I feel exhausted at the very thought and then eat some chocolate to sustain myself - I'm planning to overhaul my habits and do a healthy shop at the weekend!

Hi @MarchMiddleton, happy to have you here! 50lb is a lot, fair play to you! Do you have smaller targets in mind to get there? Or just the overall aim? 5lbs a month seems very manageable - best of luck to you!

I like that saying @PrimalLass Now it's time If not now, when??

@PersianPete, I'd love to have your sister's determination. I can manage a 5k walk when I force myself but don't enjoy it. I'd really love to find something that I enjoy and want to go to, but my weight holds me back from trying new things.

Been to Tesco today and bought lots of salad & veg which I actually enjoy. Most importantly, did NOT buy a maple pecan Danish to munch on my way around! Was tempted though 😋

@FightingFatAt49 eating a Danish walking round the supermarket made me proper laugh. Well done resisting this time.

Well done for getting in the headspace. I've literally just turned 50 and still have the weight I was going to lose for that milestone.
But it's summer, time for salad and I'm suddenly quite determined to drop a chunk before August Bank Hol so ten weeks away.

I was 196lbs on Friday, the heaviest I have ever been. That's 14stone, or 89 Kgs.

Simple steps
Take my HRT properly each day
Drink a lot of water
Think sensibly about eating - skip meals if I don't feel like them but no snacks in between.

See how it goes!

@FightingFatAt49 , I was in Tesco earlier and thought of you and your Danish

I have it all worked out how to lose weight in chunks... now I just need to actually get my arse into gear and start!

@AIBUWeight , could I ask if you find the HRT helpful? I do wonder if I should start some (I'm 46 and have terrible heavy periods, brain fog, anxiety) but the GP has recommended anti depressants instead, which I'm not keen on...

@MarchMiddleton I was 46 when I started HRT. I'd gone from being fit & happy to having lots of small unexplained things - heart palpitations, numb toes but the unexplained change in my mental health was the worst - intrusive thoughts, crippling anxiety.
Looking back at my medical notes it had started around 41 so I was a bit of a mess 5 years on.
I too was offered antidepressants but insisted on HRT which was correct.
I need a hell of a lot to absorb enough but it's made a huge difference. Please explore more information about this. Mumsnet, Dr Jane Newson, etc It's against the NHS NICE guidelines to treat just one symptom rather than the cause.

@AIBUWeight sorry to hear you were suffering so much, but glad to hear you now seem in a better place.

Today was quite good food wise for me but I didn't get out for a walk. I haven't weighed myself since yesterday morning, not sure if I should only do it once a week or every day to keep track?

Thank you @AIBUWeight , I'll definitely look into the HRT. The GP surgery has been very good TBF since I told them about my anxiety, but I'm just not sure antidepressants are right for me.

@FightingFatAt49 I too am doing well with my exercise, not so much with the food 🤦‍♀️ I weigh myself weekly as I'd find myself obsessing over it if I weighed daily, but that's just personal preference!

First week in and I'm 4.2lbs smaller, I'll take that as a win and encouragement for the next week.
Short term goal 190 here I come.

That's fantastic @AIBUWeight, well done!! 👏 🥳

oh can I join you. 104kg here too and want to lose at least 10kg before a family wedding in October.

Well done @AIBUWeight !!

DP suggested that we get a takeaway this evening - I thought lovely, let's get Thai, that'll be reasonably healthy - I did a run (in the boiling heat, I might add) and looked forward to him collecting dinner on the way home whilst I sorted out the DC. Nope, he couldn't be bothered, just went and got himself a kebab instead he knows the Thai place don't deliver, he knows there's nothing for me to eat at the kebab place (I'm vegetarian) - so I've had toast for dinner as I was too exhausted to even think about anything else by that point

Absolutely join in @ExcusesExcuses! Best of luck with your target.

That's very disappointing @MarchMiddleton 😞
It's especially tough when you have something in your head that you're looking forward to.

I'm finding the hot weather is helping to drink a lot of water and the heat and the fluid is helping suppress my appetite.

I turned down a cake from the local fancy bakery today saving the calories and £3.20!

I turned down a cake from the local fancy bakery today saving the calories and £3.20

Well done @AIBUWeight 😁

Hope this week is going well for everyone! Weighed in at 103.3kg this morning, slightly disappointed it's not more, but I did go out for dinner on Saturday night so....

I'll celebrate your shift to a different Kg zone.
At this point in life not gaining also feels like an achievement.
A week in and I feel like I am in diet mode, finding it easier to say no to the calories of boredom as well as the actually unnecessary calories of celebration cake. Cake/wine doesn't make me happier about someone's event, so for now, I'm deciding no.