looking for friends - 50s and female and getting fabulous!

[frauline_annie]

Hi!  I'm looking for some friends for motivation and support.  I'm 51, female, and working on losing 30 lbs.  My A1c is pre-diabetic so I'm shedding some weight to try and get it under control. 

Anyone?

[JuliA_F]

I love my Dog Mushu. She love going on walks and she keeps me in a good mood when I have a bad day.

Keep up walking and you will see the results.

Juli 🙂

[rgbgeorgia]

Those last pounds are the hardest and seem to take forever.  Keep at it and it will happen.

[rgbgeorgia]

Besides the help I get from my Dog Max, I also use Guided Walking mp3(s) to motivate and push me.  My favorites are by Kathy Smith.  These MP3 are transports from cassette programs she did in the early 90's but they are still great.  She can be a little cheesey and she talks a good bit on the (a) side of each program but she is very motivating. You can purchase all SEVEN of her programs for $29.99 on her official website.  I do not like Country Walk, Let's Go Disco and Pump Up the Pace (a combination of the other two) because those songs have lyrics and the beat is not as up front in the mix and as easy to catch.  But the other prgrams: Walking Easy (2 30 minute programs), Better Body (actually Walkit 2a and 2b), Walkfit 1a and 1b and Walkfit 3 (60 minute) and Lean Walk 1a and 1b, Leanwalk 2a and 2b and the hardest Leanwalk 3a and 3b are EXCELLENT.  You have seven hours that you can mix and match.  I also like the Couch to 5k podcast programs on itunes which mix and match walking and running over certain number of weeks to work up to running 5k.  I mix the running programs with the Kathy Smith but find her aerobic and anerobic intervals better for fat loss.

[rgbgeorgia]

I knit or cross stich while watching tv at night.  I also make big bowel of plain air popcorn and that or celery is the only thing I allow myself to eat while watching tv.  Makes you realize how much you are eating out of habit and boredom and not because you are hungry.

[BarbHELLO]

I've lost 25 lbs in a year.  Not as good as some but you and I just have to keep trying. You know where your problem areas are and believe me when I say that you have to cut back to lose weight. And more muscle will help lose the weight too. You might try drinking a little less and see if that helps. I have cut back on sugar, carbs and no alchohol and I'm exercising every day. Good luck to you!

[Liitleshadow]

Hey everyone,

I am feeling a little down today.
I've had fitbit charge hr for the past month. Nonetheless, I have been trying to lose weight for the past 1 and a half. I started with 86kg and I am now at 74.3 kg. Its been 1 month amd a half that I have reached my goal (running for 25) and No change has come to my body. I have lost 5 cm on my belly, but my weight has not changed for the past month. I eat only healthy stuff and have been doing a deficit of 1000 calories with the hope of losing 2kg per week (fitbit app deficit goal)

Can anyone help me please? I dont know whats wrong...

[BarbHELLO]

Hi Little Shadow,

It could be one of two things or maybe both.

1. you are gaining muscle and muscle is much heavier than fat.  Do your clothes fit any differently? So you might be losing fat and gaining muscle!  That is a really good thing because muscle burns the fat.

2. you might not be eatting enough. I think you are supposed to be nearer to 600 calories under rather than 1000. Women especially will retain weight because God wanted us to be able to bear children and that takes a bunch of fat. That's one reason men can lose weight faster than women.

I am 62 and that still happens to me.

[charliemon]

Have more muscle for sure but clothes are all still tight. Took a bad fall
last week so my activity is limited sadly
--
Donna Randazzo and Donald Sinnott

[casperss]

I only have one six oz glass of red wine each nite. Good for my heart.
Since putting effort into this weight loss regime starting last week I
have lost a total of 4.7 lbs. I only exercise 45 min/day, five days per
week. I had open heart surgery last year in March and being limited to what
I was allowed to do I gained 30 lbs. It is a slow process of taking the
weight off but I positive I can do this.

[gbailey]

Hi Little Shadow. I have some of the same issues. I exercise daily and watch my intake. I get plenty of water but still can't shed any pounds. I will keep at it though because I know I am healthier. I just wish the pounds would cooperate. I sit at a desk all day which doesn't help. I think I will just keep going for a while longer and see how it goes. Stay strong.

[BarbHELLO]

You have to keep with it the rest of your life.  This is a life style.  You and I will be able to lose the weight, it's just going to take longer.  WE WILL GET THERE. 

I have a desk job too.  8 hours a day. But when it's coffee break time I'm out of my seat and walking with friends.  I try to go to the gym at lunch (lucky enough to have a gym here). And I jog in the morning before work and walk after work; those two walks are with the cutest dog on the face of the earth.

Do your best to watch the calories but not as sever as you have been.  The weight will come off.

[BarbHELLO]

Wow!  You are doing great!  Congratulations on the sucessful heart surgery!

[BarbHELLO]

Do as much as you can be make sure and heal properly. Don't over do it! It all takes time.

[Trooper]

Corrections- Weight is now 211 as of 5/18/15.

[joanie25]

littleshadow:


you say you have not changed, but you started out at a higher weight then you were, so you do have a change! Do not ignore any changes if they are positive! It takes it slower, I was also discouraged the first couple of months but after it seems to have been a slow and steady weight loss. Since February I am now down from 199 lbs to 182 lbs yes not a lot but still a step in the right direction and I feel better. You need to look at that also! Stay positive!!
Joanie25

[rgbgeorgia]

I read an article recently that said whatever amount of calories you think you are consuming add 250 to that. I would say the same in regards to calories burned.  So you might be eating more and burning less than you think.  Sodium is a BIG issue with me.  I try to eat 95% or more clean but sodium can be tricky.  I had a frozen bad of peeled shrimp and the sodium on it was like 33% of the RDA - - that was plan shrimp.  I friend at the local chicken plant told me they inject the raw chicken with sugar and salt water to plump it up and make it taste better.  So it you eat nothing but fruits, veges and lean protein you could still be getting enough sodium to be "masking" any weight loss by water retention.  As for the age old issue of eating too little being the problem or not eating enough - every one is different.  You need to become an expert on your body and how it handles weight.  You need to try to figure out what your "set point " and at what amount of calories you gain, maintain and lose weight.  Depending on your age, hormones, metabolic health, history of dieting/weight gain and food habits it might be EXTREMELY lower than you think it is and what might seem normal to other people. (There is a good HBO doc called "Weight of the Nation" and the 3rd part "Challenges" really talkes about this - - it is on youtube and Amazon Prime.)  There is a lady in the doc who is about my age and height and weight history and like me she has to keep calories at 1,200 to MAINTAIN - not lose but maintain - her weight.  If I exercise hour at LEAST five days a week I can bump it up to 1,500 but again that is to keep my weight the same not to lose weight.  This is not a myth or just a quess on my part - this is three years of almost daily weighing and food diary that has taught me what years of yo-yo has done.  Eating more calories - which I know some people are going to suggest - does nothing but make me gain more weight.  This is my body and that is the amount of calories it needs/wants.  So it might turn out that you need to consume less calories than you think you need so you might want to some trial and error and increase by 250 and/or decrease by 250 until you start to lose weight to see if you can figure which camp you are in.  Personally I do better cutting back on exercise and getting the defecit almost exclusively through lowering calories to lose weight than I do through combination of diet and exercise but I feel better with high intensity exercise due to increased levels of feel good hormones.  So this time I started with diet and exercise for two months.  I am going now to switch up and focus more on lower calories for 30 days to bump up the weight loss so I stay motivated and not depressed by slow weight loss.  My intention is after Father's day to go back to slightly higher calories and longer more intense exercise for 30 - 60 days and rotate.  That is what works for me and you need to find what works for you.

[BarbHELLO]

Excellent advice.  Thanks Georgia!

[dancefoxtrot]

rbggeorgia

You have lots of experience and know what works for you. Congrats. It turns out that I too need to keep my cals low and do my 10k a day in part through dancing, gardening and walking. I'm near goal weight and the last 3 lbs are sticking like glue.

I think that the notion that in spite of being active and burning 500+ over consumption daily that you will go into starvation mode is nonsense.  I think it is a myth that you need at least 1500 a day. Not my body! I think it is super important to eat nutrient dense foods like non starchy veggies, fruit and lean protein. 

When I started exercising more I think I added more muscle which slows down the scales decline. Muscle burns 8x more calories than any other body tissue so it makes sense to build muscle through activity to burn more calories. Exercise also oxygenates cells and helps remove waste. Processed food for the most part is full of sugar, salt, preservatives and other crap that is bad for us. I read labels before buying even organic food. 

Go for it and enjoy the journey,

Barbara G

[dancefoxtrot]

Julia

Log all calories from food and drink and don't miss a thing for a while. The answer is usually in the extra calories. To lose it takes the willingness to give up something. Look at how active are you during the time when you are not walking you dog. There is a reason that the pounds aren't dropping off. Lot's of times we eat larger portions than we account for. Read labels carefully. 

Stay active, and don't give up.

Barbara 

[dancefoxtrot]

gbailey,

Keep at it. Log ever morsel of food, snack & drink. Read labels. Walk or run on breaks and at lunch to up your metabolism. Take the stairs. Sitting too long is not healthy for us. 

The lbs. will start coming off if you are active and burn more than 500 calories a day. Logging food was eye opening for me. It was the extra handfuls of nuts that I ate that were healthy but a 1/4 cup of walnuts raw, no salt is 190 calories.  We tend to fool ourselves so measuring and logging our food may show us what needs to change. 

If still no results check on symptoms of low thyroid.

Yours in health,

Barbara G