Is there an over 50's weight loss chat?

[Oto]

Hi - I've just got back from holiday where I felt fat and frumpy and I hate all the photos of me. I weighed myself and I'm the heaviest I've ever been and need to lose 3 stone.

I'm 50 years old now and it's not as easy as it used to be when I could just lose it with barely any effort. I'm also bad at sticking to diets and I'm overwhelmed with the amount I need to lose and the fact that if I do it properly (i.e without crash dieting) it will probably take me about 8 months to get to where I want to be.

I was looking for a thread on here for women trying to lose weight at a similar age but can't find one. Is there on and if not does anyone fancy joining me?

Thank you.

One last post (I promise!).

Drink enough water. At least 2.5l per day, more if you exercise.
prioritise weights. Cardio is fine, but don’t make the mistake of thinking you can put exercise a bad diet. For weight loss it’s about what goes in your mouth.
Body builders- they are the extreme end of the spectrum, but they know what they’re talking about when it comes
to changing body composition. You can adopt some of the tactics they use to a lesser degree and get good results.

Np!

Dentistlakes
I have been eating similar to this for six week

morning / smoothie made with high protein yogurt and three or four types of fruit (a small amount of each) and maybe some Keifer drink.

Lunch either a massive salad with five or more types of salad and protein such as chicken or tuna or an omelette with a few veg or fried eggs with the veg separate. I often put a bit of cheese on the omelette or salad for the calcium and to add flavour.

Dinner protein with three or more types of veg. Yesterday I made chicken fajitas and had the chicken/veg mix on top of a salad with some salsa.

Could I tweak this, I do like to eat a lot of fruit and veg so ideally don’t want to cut that down?

Are you tracking your calories/macros? It looks ok
in principle, but unless you know your target calories/ macros it’s not possible to make a judgement. Losing weight is really just about being in a calorie deficit and being consistent. The fewer deviations from the plan, the easier the process.

if you use MFP (free version), you can enter a calorie target and target macro percentages (under ‘goals’). I target 40/30/30 (protein/carbs/fat) at the moment. It will then give you the exact number of g to aim for, based on your our calorie target.

No I haven’t been doing anything like, I’ve cut down on carbs to shrink my appetite, portion size and sugar cravings. So far it’s working and I’ve lost 17lbs.
Oh and I ditched my daily fanta zero/diet lemonade and I think this has definitely helped with sugar cravings.

Great thread. Some wonderful inspiration. Thankyou!

I'm in the 3 stone to lose camp, 60, about to start Zoe. Have holiday coming up but maybe understanding how my body works can help limit the damage. Alcohol will be the challenge.
Couple of questions - can anyone recommend beginner Pilates on YouTube? I'm so stiff.
And any podcasts? I saw the Michael Mosely one mentioned. Will try that but any others?

@Dentistlakes I've found your posts so helpful, thank you, I'll be taking some of your advice to lose this last stubborn bloody stone! I've never looked at macros etc but have become more interested in this over the last few weeks. I think I've fallen into the 'all calories are equal' trap, like many people I guess, but I do understand that's been me fooling myself.

I'm starting tomorrow by going back to my WW meeting & sticking to it

@flyright Alcohol will be the challenge.

Yes, absolutely for me too. I've come to realise over the last 6 months that, weight aside, I was drinking too much. Enough to make me think that, if I was being honest with myself, I could have a bit of a problem (not saying that's the case for you at all!). I stopped drinking completely and didn't have a drop until last week. I realised that not only can I just not drink (as soon as I have one, I will always have more), it just makes me scoff myself too. I can't be a social drinker, I have to not drink at all. I'm not going to lose this weight to mess it up. As I've got older, it's so hard to lose weight and it's made me look at the (my) bigger picture a bit. This thread has been really helpful.

Do you think MFP is good for tracking calories?
And what would you suggest woudl be the best way to work out your deficit.

I've been fasting since 8pm yesterday and I'm feeling great!
To kill some time because I couldn't eat I've had black coffee outside in the sun, cleaned the bathroom properly,
Made a chickpea curry for lunch, done an hrs worth of catch up work (I work term time mainly) and did some reading.
I don't think I've been this productive in one morning in a long time!

I think it's good, yes. You can work out your TDEE on there and it'll tell you how many calories to aim for. I used to use it but for some reason now it keeps charging me and won't allow me to go back to using the free app, otherwise I would use it. Lose it is also good. I'm using FatSecret at the moment, which is a shockingly bad name for a calorie tracking app 😂, but I quite like the app and it's free.

Having said that, I don't think you can use the scanning tool for free on MFP anymore, but I could be wrong. I think that's a useful tool.

From a calories in/out perspective in terms of weight loss you will lose weight if you are ok a deficit no matter the macros. However, prioritising protein will help
keep you satiated and preserve/build your muscle mass. The more muscle you build the more you will be able to eat long term. Plus it’s good to be strong!

That’s a very good result so far! If you find weight loss slowing or stalling it may be useful to start tracking. Ime knowing what you are eating is key to an efficient and long term weight loss. However, it isn’t necessarily the only way, you have to do what suits you and your lifestyle.

Cheers. <MFP worked out my deficit as 1280 which tiktok warriors seem to think is way too little and tbh its HARD to stick to that.
I will have a look at the others there thanks.

I need to join too please!

I'm 😲 at the protein intake @Dentistlakes mentioned. It makes sense though if you are weight training.

I'm 53, belly is the main thing and getting stiffer by the day. I used to run but injury has meant no running. Both my hips hurt just walking now.

We're on hols but when the kids go back I can get into a new routine.

I'm interested in intermittent fasting and reducing carbs and processed food as way forward. And wine. I can't just have one glass of wine. It's better for me to have nothing. So Friday I will have wine, I think cutting out wine as well now will be too much. But I'm aware it needs to happen.

Hi all, well I lost just half a pound this week (weigh in was Monday - SW online member). Hopefully more to follow! I think it's slow because I'm a) 55 b) not massively overweight c) already active d) already vegetarian so eat loads of veg and fruit e) already a non-drinker. I didn't have many changes to make except for cutting down on sugar, and SW has really helped with that because the way I am eating now I don't feel like I want to eat between meals and I'm content with just a couple of biscuits or a Cadbury Fudge (instead of a packet of biscuits or 3 Fudges). I also had a tendency to eat sugary stuff covertly (at work, in my study at home, in the car) and I haven't done that at all since I started SW 6 weeks ago. I have lost 6.5lbs so far - we are eating out at least once a week and have had two weekends away since I joined.

That isn't a lot really I do think it depends on how much you hope to lose a week, I never put any more than 1 lb in when they ask you and mine has come out at 1500 which is a bit more manageable for me. It's a bloody hard slog at 56.

Following!

1lb a week wld be fine, i think i will re do it, its too low for me at the moment,.

So today I have put into action the pointers laid down by @Dentistlakes. 1. Steps good (never a problem as have 2 dogs who are too excitable to walk together) 2. weights done at the gym. 3. Concentrated on protein and not calories and well over 110g (good for me) and calories stayed in line. 4. No alcohol as Wednesday and 5. All helped by a good sleep last night. Feeling positive

I only eat about 50/55g of protein a day.

Excellent! Keep going and stay consistent. Building muscle will help a lot and give you a nicer shape as you lose weight.