Weightloss over 45! Any suggestions?

[Tlmoore]

Hi! I've found it's getting harder and harder to lose those extra 10 pounds as I get older. I am watching what I eat....I use weight watchers online which is awesome....and make sure I get exercise daily but I am still struggling to see the scale inch it's way down to where I'd like it to be! Has anyone else had this issue or anyone have any suggestions? They would be greatly appreciated 🙂 

[cruiserred · Accepted solution]

I also go to Weight Watchers and you have to be honest with yourself.  If I gain I look back at the week and discover maybe I was not as good as I thought.  Also, you may have to excerise with more intensity.  My adult daughter could only lose weight if she excerised to the point where she was sweating, a real workout, then the weight came off. She was told this by a doctor, that for her it came down to intense excerise, sweating.  I tract everything I eat and watch the portions.  You may be eating more than you know.  Weight Watchers is the best eating plan out there, there is no magic pill, cream, drink, whatever, I wish there was.  I've lost 41 pounds on WW but it's been a struggle at times too.  Keep it up...good things will result from it.  

[Tlmoore]

Thank you so much and congratulations on your 44 pounds! That's amazing!!! I have a goal of 20 and feel motivated by this fitbit thing and I love weight watchers, too! It sounds like I might need to amp things up though!!! 

Thanks again and have a wonderful rest of your day. 

Tracy

[froglet]

hi yes its harder to lose weight as you age your metabolism slows down to a small degree. Just need to keep moving as much as possible and make good food choices, boring i know. A liitle extra as you age doesnt really hurt 1-2kg smooths out the wrinkles abit, my theory,. What I really found helped a lot and I lost 8kg late lost yeat and it is still off was to really look at my sugar intake. I havent gone sugar free entirely though I find that hard. I bought a book on it "The Sugar Smart Diet" it explained a lot I really already knew. Got really careful with what I ate Im a shift worker with Nights as well so its even harder.

be more mindful when you pick up that biscuit even savoury ones are full of sugar in one of its many disguises. Dressings sauces packaged foods even weight watchers stuff be careful and watch the serving sizes. I still have my icecream but i have good quality small serve and not every day any moe. I have to have one small vice I dont drink alcohol(full of sugar)or smoke my Dr is happy my clothes fit and I feel well .The last five KG are my problem but my face is going to be really saggy then.

[HopeGraceLove]

Diet is 80% of the struggle. But as far as exercise is concerned... I started running at the beginning of my weightloss journey and struggled to run a half mile without needing to slow down to a brisk walk. My goal was two-fold - lose about 15 pounds and increase my endurance. In the beginning, my heart raced so fast and I struggled to catch my breath.

I worked my way up to longer distances, but never really intensified the speed or pushed myself. After a while, running 3 miles was much easier than briskly walking only a half mile a couple months earlier. I realized I wasn't breathing nearly as hard when running three miles as I had earlier when only running a half mile.

My goal of increasing my endurance had been reached. Yay! But my weightloss plateued. So, I intensified my running by increasing my speed for short periods of time. I guess some people call that interval training. Whatever it is, the scale began to nudge again.

It seems our bodies become accustomed to our exercise routine. To burn calories requires cardio and as you exercise more, it takes more intensity to keep up.

[BurdsNest]

I am also a Weight Watcher, and it is a very good program.  We are all pretty intelligent human beings and it all boils down to calories in vs calories out.  No mystery to it and no magic pill to take either.  Portion control plates are also a good tool to have and if you like to cook, the wonderful WW recipes that are out there.  

I've been with ww since 2013 and even though I am a life-time member, I still go to meetings because it's a marathon, not a sprint. 

Sincerely,

Happy 56yr old gym rat on maintenance and along with my FitBit.....life is good!  

[Tlmoore]

Thank you both for your ideas about how I can beat the rut I am in! You are
both very kind. Good luck to us all on this continued journey 🙂

--
Mrs. Tracy Moore
Title 1 Reading/Math
James C. Bush Elementary School
2117 W. Church St.
Johnsburg, IL 60051
(818) 385-3731

[JanRM]

Losing weight in my forties .... I realized that the biggest difference between me in my forties from me in my twenties is my activity level. In my twenties, 10K steps took less than a couple hours. In my forties, all day. Walking up to 20K steps a day was not enough to lose weight. Active minutes was key for me.

Portion control helps a lot. No FAD diets (weight watchers is not a fad diet). I make sure I get portions of fruits, veggies, protein, etc. No over eating. I slowed down on red meat, focused more on fish and chicken and beans. Then I concentrated on getting active minutes in addition to daily step goal of 15K. I am neither runner nor any other type of athlete. My daily goal of 75 active minutes a day starts getting met in the morning when I do 30-45 minutes of aerobics, 30-45 minutes of yoga exercies. I do not have time for more - and I do not have time for the gym as my commute to work is too long. I still eat sweets once in a while, but not to over do it. I have lost 12 pounds since I started a few weeks ago, and I am getting toned. I am now losing at a rate of 1 to 1.5 pounds a week. I am not looking for muscle definition, but just something that works for me that I can do for the rest of my life for health management. My start weight was 166. I am now 153.5. 

Water consumption is crucial. I drink half my body weight in ounces. So, weight 160 equals about 10 cups of water. Not only has it helped in wrinkle control and in keeping the joints from drying out, but I have read it burns 50 extra calories a day. Green tea not only helps to take up the slack in lost metabolism, but it also has many other health benefits as well. Oh - and food allergies. Most of us have them, but don't know it. 

[BurdsNest]

After losing 40 pds, I'm finding it really difficult to lose 2-5 more.  Don't get me wrong.....I love my size and my weight, but have this ideal weight in my head.  It isn't easy, and sometimes there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it all. Two weeks ago, I was extremely diligent in my eating, and I take two classes a day at the gym from Sunday through Wednesday. It's nothing for me to reach over 10,000 steps a day.  On Saturday, I weighed in @ ww and gained 1.6 pds.  Blew my mind! I gave myself a pity party for a day, and then it was back on track.   But if you follow the simple logic of eating and staying fit, you will see results.  Progress not perfection.

Congratulations on your journey, and welcome to the FitBit forum!

[Tlmoore]

Dear new friends! I just want to thank you all for responding to my
question today. You have all given me bits and pieces of advice and
reminders.....drink lots of water (and I love the wrinkle connection, too),
it's active moments that count, be diligent about what I eat....etc. that
are very helpful!!! I appreciate all of your help very much. Let's all have
a healthy week 🙂

--
Mrs. Tracy Moore
Title 1 Reading/Math
James C. Bush Elementary School
2117 W. Church St.
Johnsburg, IL 60051
(818) 385-3731

[BurdsNest]

Also remember ladies, when your body begins to exercise, and it's doing things that it's not used to, your muscles get confused, and you will definitely see it on the scale.  Also, your muscles hold onto  water as they are repairing.  When your body begins to get comfortable with what your're doing (especially when you are adding a new exercise) the scale will eventually adjust.

How's your clothes fitting.  That's the true indicator!!!.

[SPORTYMOM23]

I was feeling the same today; been walking for 9 months now....(before I did none)...and feel the weight isn't coming off like 'walking' is supposed to be...Im watching my food intake...so can't figure out why...

[Anna]

What a great thread -- all very sensible suggestions (and borne from experience I would say too!). I have found it harder to shift those last five pounds and have two thoughts about it a) I might think 135 is nivarna for my body but actually 140 may be what my body thinks it should be and b) I really don't need as many calories as I used to (about to turn 50). 

Exercise is not the problem for me (I love the time alone that running gives me), but I do think that 'snacking' and 'nibbling' during or at the end of the day have to go. It's those few extra calories that keep me where I am. 

Burdsnest wrote 'progression not perfection' and I really like that idea. I'm going to aim to be just a bit better at what I do (and probably not a bad philosophy for life in general -- just trying to get a bit better all the time).  

As others have said, it's a marathon not a sprint and keeping at it (even when you fall) is probably the key. 

[Dianac412]

Welcome to my world lol, I lost 60lbs from Feb 2014-Aug 2014. Im down to my last 10 lbs and I cant get there!!  I know what i do works, I LOST 60LBS,  hahaha... It's winter in New England and it's been a snow buster, not able to get out and walk like i did.  Im eating lots of fruits and veggies, keeping breads to a minimum (1x a week). That's all I can do is not to gain til this winter ends.  Good luck to you

[Chinara]

I'm 55 and using Weight Watchers. Since the beginning of April I've lost about 30 pounds.

I'm very careful to log my points including butter and oil. I also eat a LOT of veggies and fruits instead of other things. Very often, my meals only consist of veggies.

I've not been very good at exercise but now that I just got a FitBit, I'll have to be better. When I lost a lot of weight ten years ago, I walked at least an hour a day as well as watched what I ate.

I also notice that I lose more weight on the days I drink a lot of water. The best days are when I drink a lot of water AND exercise.

Good luck!

[JuanVB]

Change your routine. Your body is adapting and you need to 'trick' the way your body funcion.

Remember all is coordinated between your body and your brain, when it get s confortable it adjust and you dont loose Weight

Change exersise routine and adjust carbohidrates intake. Little changes makes a big difference.

I start 339 lbs. Every day I am trying to do something new but I am stick to 20'000 steps a day or in the weekends I do that in 2h 45 minutes. It is killing me in the weekends but now with a fit bit scale 'aria' I check andvlost 45 lbs. And at the same time I keep my body-brain gessing what is Next.

I have to loose another 150 lbs but this is a journey that should last a year.

[JanRM]

Good morning!

It is exciting to hear what you are doing. I know how hard it is to maintain 20k steps a day on any day. I average 12k. I keep the active minutes to 60 minutes a day.I mostly maintain where I am .... 160. When I am ready, I'll drop the 15 I want to get off.

As time goes on, the weight loss rate will drop and it won't come off as fast ... which is normal. Don't let that discourage you. It took time to put it on. It will take time to take it off.

I will pray for your encouragement and success! I hope the best for you ...

Jan

[JanRM]

Oh .. the routine I need to change is desserts. ... I eat what my husband eats ... less portiosa but not the right stuff. I have lost to 150 but my allergies made it impossible to do much without coughing. I out the 10 back on. I am losing again but also need to quit eating out. This year was hard as children move ... we are moving ... weddings ... and my husbands family stayed the summer ... Once we are back in a routine so will eating habits settle again.

And thank you for your encouragement. ..

[I-train-hard]

Tlmoore 

Yes, eat plain proteins and all kinds of vegetables. Drink water. 

Let me know if that works for you.

[JuanVB]

Now I am eating out once a month.

For me is easy I already lost the need to eat carbs.

Once a month I am going out for Fish and chips with a beer.

Next Month probably we will go to a latin reataurant.

It is a treat that you can not miss.

But remember always all in moderation.