In your fifties, fat and fed up? Come on in!

[RoosterCogburn]

Anyone want to join me in some motivational supportive chat.

I'm 56 and 3.5 stone overweight. I'm 5'2" and weigh 13 stone

Depressingly I've lost this before - in 2019 I lost 2 stone and felt much better and was really disciplined ... and then I stopped and the weight crept back on.

I feel fat, frumpy, unhappy in my clothes and my middle spare tyre feels awful.

If I could lose 2 stone again I'd be thrilled - 3.5 is the dream.

Last time what worked for me was healthy breakfast, green smoothie for lunch and balanced tea. In between meals veg sticks or an oat cake as a snack.

My downfalls are savoury stuff - crisps, cheese, savoury biscuits.

I've been diagnosed as pre diabetic with high blood pressure which I'm hoping will be the kick up the arse I need.

This time I'm trying to up my game with exercise - I have 'treated' myself to about elliptical machine. Horrifyingly on the first day I could only do 2 minutes - I'm up to 15 mins now - I am aiming for 30 mins a day of elliptical/walking.

Anyone want to join me and share what is working for them?

That’s brilliant! Well done. I think feeling in control is probably the key. I’m a bit of a cliché in that I can make great choices all day, but come the evening it’s almost as if I’m hypnotised and muscle memory guides me to the fridge. Then, before I know it, it’s carnage😅

I might swap it for the 5% - not sure what the difference in calories are though?

Yes often I'll have broccoli with the chilli too, but hadn't any in the house so just had rice. Will swap to brown rice as basmati isn't cutting it.

I’m the opposite! I hate feeling full. Partly because I have acid reflux and end up suffering the consequences, particularly when I go to bed and lie down. I’m more of a constant snacker, never letting myself get to the point of hunger. That’s why I think intermittent fasting is quite good for me as I learn to live with a little bit of hunger.

I suspect, like lots of women my age whose struggles with simply living life aren’t always outwardly obvious, that I may have ADHD (my 17yo son with ASD is currently being assessed). And I do wonder if the constant snacking is partly seeking dopamine (as it is for many) but also variety and interest, as I tend to jump constantly between sweet and savoury. Just a thought.

What did you have with the chilli? I sometimes serve mine with a pile of broccoli and cauliflower.

oh yes, broccoli and cauliflower - along with butternut squash and beetroot - are my go-to carb substitute. Or I will make quinoa instead of rice, pasta or potatoes.

Regarding yoghurt, I highly recommend LIDL’s full fat Greek yoghurt. It is very filling and yummy - no sugar needed, and a handful of berries turn it into delicious dessert.

Constant snacking is the downfall for many. I think it was Michael Moseley who explained (maybe in The Fast 800?) how he learnt to ‘sit’ with hunger pangs, till he got to a point where the urge to eat was no longer overwhelming. I found that I very quickly got used to not eating between 7 or 8 at night and around 10.30-11 am. Especially once I started to think more carefully about the composition of my two main meals (protein and veggies mainly), and not having junk food snacks in the house.

Another thing I find really useful is organising my fridge strategically. When I open my fridge, this is what is at eye level:

• a platter of fruit - typically apples or pears, some berries, a few clementines or a melon/cantaloupe
• a bowl of boiled eggs, aka protein bombs - they are super filling and only 75-80 calories
• LIDL Greek yoghurt
• cottage cheese

If I do buy naughty things - which I do occasionally, especially those little LIDL cheesecakes in ramekins… - they will be at the back of an upper shelf.

I buy that Lidl yoghurt sometimes @Enrichetta. It’s lovely. And it’s satisfying. I also make my own using either an electric yoghurt maker or an Easiyo flask thingummy jig. But I don’t use their ridiculously expensive sachets. I either use UHT milk or heat fresh milk to make the yoghurt, then strain it through a muslin cloth to make it a bit more ‘Greek’! I also buy a big bag of frozen mixed berries and boil it in a saucepan with extra water (usually with a bit of honey or maple syrup to take the edge off the sourness but that’s optional) then use it as a compote in the yoghurt.

Oh yes, I quite often make some compote, particularly if the berries are no longer fresh. Or apple crumble with barely any crumble - though I may add in a few berries to make it more interesting. A bag of frozen berries is always in my freezer - very useful!

I’m not sure whether I’ve posted this before, but it’s very helpful in explaining how to wean oneself off sugar:

It will have more calories but the extra fat will increase satiety and hopefully keep you fuller for longer.

I don't even particularly like chocolate. It wasn't a choice, it was a compulsion. The medicine has turned that off and now I can actually choose.

Great tip about organising the fridge strategically. I will be looking at mine tonight to see if I can tweak the layout so I see the protein and fibre filled things first

Today I had wholemeal toast, banana, 2 apples, pepper and ham pitta and salmon, potatoes and peas for tea with dill yogurt. I feel full but no exercise. This is the kind of thing I am going to eat each day.

I feel like I've been pretty good today but have succumbed to a g&t tonight, oops 😬!

I don’t think a wee G&T is going to spoil things. Hope you enjoyed it😊

I am probably losing weight by default now as l’m in a really stressful situation at the moment. Well, stressful to me anyway. I find that when I’m moderately stressed I eat too much. But when I’m extremely stressed and therefore anxious, I lose my appetite. My stomach is churning like a washing machine. Not a good thing because I really need the fuel to get through the stressful situation!

I've been swimming twice this week, and will go again tomorrow. Hoping to make it a routine to go 3 times a week, as well as do some cycling at the weekend. Unfortunately I succumbed to the reduced christmas chocolate in Tesco so have had a bit too much of those this week. Oh well.

I'm aiming to close the exercise ring on my watch everyday, but it's a struggle.

Am trying really hard to focus upon how much better I'll feel in my own skin if I'm three stone lighter.

At the moment when I sit down I have rolls of fat on my stomach.
I know I'll never be thin, but I would love to feel comfortable and non flabby

Focus on weight training - check out Caroline Girvan on YouTube. And remember, muscle weighs more than fat.

Well here's a victory. In 2024 I was 7 stone heavier and borderline for needing blood pressure medication. GP asked me to do a week's worth of readings again recently so I started yesterday. Both readings were WAY lower, I mean 20 points lower. If this carries on I am well clear of the zone of concern.

That’s a huge victory! 7 stone is amazing.

@SirChenjins eating more protein might help.

I’m doing the fast 800 except I’ve upped it to 900 as I think that still works but gives me a bit more leeway.

I’m feeling really excited about being thinner actually, I feel in my heart that this is the year I’m going to finally achieve it. I don’t even want to be thin, just not fat fat, which I am now. I know I'm only 2 weeks in but motivation is important and mine is high. Not drinking probably helps, I’m doing dry Jan as well.

I like the analogy about the phone btw!

I’d like to join please. I’m 5ft and over 12.5 stone now (no scales so not sure exactly).
56 years old.

I feel and look huge. (Often offered a seat on the bus and I know I look pregnant! )

I can’t do WLI (have been offered by GP because diabetic) as I have a gallbladder full of stones and various digestive issues.

I’ve always been overweight but it’s getting worse and worse. I’ve got a lot going on at the moment (DH and mother both have cancer for starters) and my comfort is to stuff food in my face.

Can you have your gallbladder removed, @Porkpieandmustard ? That would be a great start to finding a way to improve your diet and start exercising.

I’m waiting for an appointment (should be this month) to discuss this. So yes hopefully because the pain is pretty horrible too!

That is absolutely brilliant. I imagine it’s very satisfying to see such clear evidence of such an improvement in your health.

My blood pressure has always fluctuated wildly due to anxiety. When I was pregnant, I kept getting high readings and the GP was poised to send me to the hospital. Then she would take another reading a few minutes later and all was fine. I was told (jokingly) by a different doctor when I was in my mid twenties, that I had ‘white coat syndrome’. The thing is though, blood pressure being so reactive to stress isn’t good. But I am a worrier and will never change at 58!

Hello feel a bit if a fraud but can i join?
Im 54, 5ft 2 and lost 2.5 stone on MJ.
Have another stone to go before im in healthy weight bmi and frankly things arent moving.
Im veering between giving up as im thrilled ive lost 2.5 stone.
Thankfully being 54 people stopped thinking i was pregnant! But i have had that experience a few times!
Ive had my gallbladder removed and been fine on MJ.
Getting it removed was the best thing i did as gall bladder attacks/pain are appalling, no problems since.
Anyway guess im just pissed off as a short menopausal women its soooo hard to lose weight even compared to how it was even 10 years ago in my mid 40s.
And days of cutting back and seeing instant results like in my 20s have long since gone.
Its a hard slog , MJ makes it easier as less food noise, but still been very slow as apparently my body needs hardly any food🥺
good luck everyone.

@Dutchhouse14 - there are two things that - in my and many others experience- really helped with reducing the food noise: intermittent fasting and cutting out/severely restricting UPS, sugar and refined carbs.

Also, Dr. Becky Gillaspy’s short talks on YouTube are really useful reinforcements when one is hearing that food noise.

It doesn't , a lb of fat is a lb , and a lb of muscle also weighs a lb. It An urban myth .
What is different is the density .