Have you lost weight after 50 without being seriouslly ill?

[klmama]

Title says it all.  Thanks for any suggestions. 

[JFSinIL]

Yes, via strength training. Up to 30 lbs.  Stayed off, too, until car crash and subsequent problems that won't let me strength train ever again :-(  so am back where I started.

 

[Laurie4b]

Well, I had cancer but that didn't cause weight loss. It motivated it. 

 

I have lost over 50 lbs. 25 of that has been off for 3 years. The other is within the past year. 

 

Healthy eating. I don't count calories, fat grams, etc. However, I do keep a mental tab of how many fruits and veges I have eaten. I am not on a diet. I have simply continued to refine my food to more and more healthy choices. Right now, desserts are for special occasions only. 

 

Exercise has been key for me. I don't think it's burning calories so much as altering hormone levels. 

 

I don't have time to type more right now, but will when I get back. I have found what works for me and am glad to share. YMMV.

[marbel]

I lost 18 pounds following a program that basically said don't eat if you are not hungry (among other things but that is the most basic principle).   But I stopped paying attention, started eating because I wanted something even when I wasn't hungry, and now I am back to where I started. 

 

I was 56, I think, when I did that.  I kept the weight off for a year before getting lazy.

[EmilyGF]

My mom has. She has written down and tallied up every single thing she has eaten for the last two years. She has lost about 50 lbs. She says she is miserable every day (somewhat sarcastically) but that she knew it was hurting her health.

 

Emily

[Laura Corin]

Yes.  5:2 diet, now maintaining for a couple of years.  Lost 13 pounds. 

 

ETA: More recently I have increased my exercise: 12,500 steps a day plus around two yoga classes a week and heavy garden work (over ten tonnes of compost shovelled and wheelbarrowed this year, for example).  My weight has not reduced in that time, but I've lost over an inch off my hips and my fat percentage has gone down by one percentage point (about three percent).  My belly no longer descends towards me so badly when I do shoulder stands, and I have a little thigh gap.

[Kim in Appalachia]

My mom did.  She lost weight using Weight Watchers, something she has used a lot over the years.  It always works for her.  She is the type of person, who, if she watches what she eats, she loses weight.  She is fairly active, not with exercise, she just never sits down, so I think that helps.  If she stops watching what she eats, she gains.  Right now, she's in her mid-60's, and she's a bit overweight, not a lot, but she knows she could stand to lose some pounds.  She no longer cares, she likes to eat what she wants. :)  

[kroe1]

Adding free weights and lowering portion sizes.

[Pawz4me]

I'm 52. I lost about 8 pounds last summer (2014). Then my thyroid conked out and I regained them. Got the thyroid diagnosed and medicated and have lost 15 pounds since late June. I've done it by counting calories, moderate exercise (cardio and weights) and slightly reducing carbs.

[Slache]

My girlfriend did with weight watchers. It was like 80 pounds too.

[TranquilMind]

Title says it all.  Thanks for any suggestions. 

It's not easy, but yes.  Cut out most dairy, gluten, and sugar....so, um, yeah.   Food is scarce. ;)  But I feel good.

 

Dropped another 8-10 pounds or so in the last few months. 

[trulycrabby]

No, but the pleural effusion/gallbladder diet is really working. :ack2:

[Scarlett]

I lost 8-10 pounds 6 months ago and I've kept it off.....through a summer full of vacations, company, special events pool parties etc.

 

I started with the 17 day diet and adapted it to my life.

[PrincessMommy]

I also know someone in her mid-50s who lost nearly 100lbs via Weight Watchers.  It took her a long time - like 2yrs.  I'm pretty sure she did not exercise either.  Unfortunately, I've noticed it's creeping back up.

 

 

[kewb]

Weight watchers works.

One friend did it with kick boxing.

 

I find I can lose weight and keep it off if I add exercise and if I count every calorie. I don't find the calorie counting enjoyable and stopped doing it. I lost weight when I paid attention.

[vmsurbat]

Yes!  By following the principles and habits of the NoS diet:  No Snacks, No Sweets, No Seconds except on S days (and S Days = limited preplanned Social events/days).  For more details, visit the website:  http://www.nosdiet.com  (After 7 years, I still love and follow NoS basics).

 

Plus I've found it very helpful to eat more mindfully, to fully taste,  savor, and enjoy my meals; this makes my one-plate meals seem luxurious... 

 

All told, I've lost 50 pounds despite being short (5'2"), post-menopausal, with Hashimoto's.  I'm very grateful!

[Arch at Home]

Yes, I lost about 5 pounds by starting running, giving up chocolate, cutting back on portions. It may not seem like a lot but it was the 5 I needed to loose.

[Laurie4b]

Well, I had cancer but that didn't cause weight loss. It motivated it. 

 

I have lost over 50 lbs. 25 of that has been off for 3 years. The other is within the past year. 

 

Healthy eating. I don't count calories, fat grams, etc. However, I do keep a mental tab of how many fruits and veges I have eaten. I am not on a diet. I have simply continued to refine my food to more and more healthy choices. Right now, desserts are for special occasions only. 

 

Exercise has been key for me. I don't think it's burning calories so much as altering hormone levels. 

 

I don't have time to type more right now, but will when I get back. I have found what works for me and am glad to share. YMMV.

 

Ok, I have some time to weigh back in. (haha)

 

I think something that needs to be stated up front is that all people are different and what works for one person doesn't work for everyone else. Additionally, once someone is very heavy, their whole body chemistry is set up against weight loss. So this is what has worked for me. YMMV.

 

I had a reason that was compelling. I could not mess around with my health. My mindset shifted. I now look at food as not so much "I want that taste" as "What will this do for or to my body? What am I getting from this food?" Food is now my employee. With the exception of a rare treat, it has to work for me; it has to contribute to my health or it's unemployed. My mindset also shifted with regard to exercise. Prior to the cancer, I did exercise really well for about 6 months, then something would come up to throw me off schedule, and inertia would result in 3-6 months of not exercising. It just cycled. I do not believe that I have the luxury of that any more. Sometimes life happens and I don't exercise to schedule for 2-3 weeks, but there is still some exercise and I am always aware of when I can get back on schedule. This paragraph is to say that you have to have a really good reason in your head because this is a lifelong commitment to healthy choices. So if someone wants to lose weight past 50, I'd first encourage them to focus on the why. Write it down. Read it to yourself every day. Whatever works to keep the why in your head.

 

Within that framework of mental commitment, here are some things that have helped me.  

 

Healthy eating: As I said above, I don't consider myself to be "on a diet." I just eat differently. My first focus was on shooting for 9 servings of fruit and veges per day. That is the target on the DASH diet (diet to lower blood pressure). I found that once I started getting loads of nutrients via fruits and veges (not to mention being full) that my cravings decreased for non-nutritious foods. For a while I kept a food journal, but don't anymore. A food journal is helpful at first. As I said above though, mostly what I tally is a count of fruits and veges. I am just not cut out to count points, grams, calories, etc. I eat a good amount of protein everyday from fish, fowl, plant sources, and dairy. I limit red meat to once a week or less. I eat avocado, olive oil, and nuts for their fats. I eat yogurt and kefir for probiotics. I do not count carbs, but I have found that it is best for me to keep grain at a minimum, and it's best for me to ingest them earlier in the day. If I start on grain at night, I can eat too much. . I can say no at the grocery store to "trigger foods" but not to them in person looking up at me in my kitchen! I pay attention to where what foods are stored so the first thing I see is not bread, for instance, but fruits and veges. I also ask the kids to put the cereal right back in the pantry. If it's left on the table, I am likely to grab mindless handfuls. Though we only have healthy low sugar cereals, mindless eating adds up. Desserts are for special occasions. They are not in the house otherwise. The one exception is dark chocolate. I keep a supply of Trader Joe's organic dark chocolate bars around. I consider it healthy and a few squares will do when I want something sweet. Because it's not as rich and creamy as some other bars, I don't keep it eating it for the melt-in-your mouth sensation.

 

Exercise: For me, exercise is key. It changes the way I feel and I am less likely to overeat after exercising. (For some people the reverse is true, so I am lucky in that regard.) I could not permanently lose weight without it.  I think that exercise must adjust internal body chemistry for me. If I don't exercise, I won't eat as well.  I am fortunate to have been an athlete in high school and college, so I have that foundation. I let things go quite a bit over the years though with my on-off exercise.

 

Researching how to get rid of the most harmful fat around the belly, I found that studies show that high intensity interval training (HIIT) is the best way to zap that, but you can maintain the loss through simply brisk walking. You regain it fast (even if not regaining weight) if you are sedentary---like even for a few weeks. Google visceral fat if you want scientific studies. I sometimes do  HIIT on the treadmill, but my HIIT of choice is Zumba. I will go to Zumba when I "don't feel like" exercising because I enjoy it so much. I also love to hike outside.

 

I do not love to do strength training, but it is important to build muscle mass after 50. When you diet about half of what you lose is muscle mass. Add that to age-related muscle loss and that's not looking good for your health. Muscle mass is what is going to keep you out of the nursing home. (For example, if your legs and butt muscles can no longer do squats, you can't use the toilet on your own. )  So I weight train. Though I don't find it particularly fun, I do focus on what I do like: I like challenging myself and beating what I did previously. I like the endorphin rush a whole lot! And I like how strong I feel just when I move around in everyday life.

 

I think the "find something you like" principle is really important with exercise and focusing on what feels good is also. I do strength training 2-3 times/week, try to get in at least 10,000 steps per day (I use a fitbit) and do Zumba 3 times per week. I also keep an eye on how long I am sitting at any given time and try to get up at least once an hour and move around for a few minutes.  I keep an exercise log because it motivates me.

 

Sleep: you will not lose weight if you don't sleep well. It screws around with the hormones that regulate eating. So I focus on getting 8 hours. Sleep hygiene, etc. 

 

Other stuff: 

 

I weigh myself daily. This works for me. It bothers other people, discourages them and is better for them to weigh less often. I know my weight will fluctuate some, but I want to see the trend. When I gain, I gain fast and it doesn't seem to correlate exactly with food, etc. I also measure around my belly every 5 pounds or so, because my real target is belly fat loss. not weight loss. 

 

I also do a lot of reading of health & exercise websites It keeps me motivated and my mind in the game. 

 

So yes, it's possible. It's not a short-term project, however, but a change of lifestyle. It requires a fair amount of time and focus. 

[plansrme]

I will be 48 next month and have lost eight pounds over the last few weeks. I started with eliminating sugar and then converted to the No S diet. Interestingly, I am losing weight in my thighs. My jeans and shorts are baggy in the legs and only a little looser in the waist.

 

I have added to that some of the principles I learned from the book "No Sweat," focusing on adding activity to my day. (I highly recommend this book.) I walk two mornings a week and run on trails two days a week. I have runs a lot more in different seasons of life and lost less (or no) weight, so I give most of the credit for weight loss to eliminating sugar. Most of the credit for just feeling great, though, I give to exercise.

[Joyofsixreboot]

No S, which amounts to calorie reduction without counting, helped me lose 10. It is simple but like everything else not easy. It only works if you do it. I then added exercise. Walking didn't do much for my weight but got me in shape enough to begin running. Once I was running I list at a faster pace. I ended up losing 40 lb which I've kept off for three years. I played around a little with Whole 30 after I lost weight but I felt the same so went back to good, old, sensible No S. * personal quirk alert No S means no counting but I added in myfitnesspal because I weirdly find it fun.

[goldberry]

These responses are really encouraging.  I am about to be 49 and am trying really hard to get healthier, but I *hate* it sometimes.  Thanks for sharing your stories.

[J-rap]

I've mostly cut out desserts, except for special occasions, or maybe 1/8 of a piece of cake with my coffee instead of a whole piece of cake.

 

Cut out most, but not all, carbs.

 

Cut my lunch in half.  (For some reason I'm completely satisfied doing that at lunch.  I'm full whether I have the full portion or half a portion.) 

 

Eat a greens smoothie every day (takes away my desire to nibble on junk when I get a little hungry).  I find this is especially helpful when I get the early-mid afternoon sleepies (2:00ish).  It revives me.

 

Use my fitbit and keep increasing my goal. 

 

Walk briskly around the house whenever I can, and that includes lots of running up and down the stairs throughout the day, at least 20-30 times.

 

Taking several long brisk walks during the week whenever I can.  I would love to do this daily, but it just doesn't work out.  I squeeze it in whenever I can.  (If I go to our Super Walmart, I'll walk briskly inside around the store several times while I'm shopping, for example.)

[goldberry]

 

 

Healthy eating: As I said above, I don't consider myself to be "on a diet." I just eat differently. My first focus was on shooting for 9 servings of fruit and veges per day.

 

 

 

I know this would really work for me and I would benefit from it.  How do you do this though, especially in the winter when there are no good fruits?  I get so bored, there are only so many apples a person can eat.

[Laura Corin]

Goldberry: do you have access to frozen? My supermarket has peas, two kinds of beans, chopped peppers, carrots, mixed root veg, roasted mix veg, cauli, broccoli, spinach and three kinds of berries.

[Laurie4b]

I know this would really work for me and I would benefit from it.  How do you do this though, especially in the winter when there are no good fruits?  I get so bored, there are only so many apples a person can eat.

 

I start at breakfast. I usually have an egg with veges, usually spinach, onions, garlic, and avocado. I will also have either oatmeal or plain yogurt with frozen blueberries or other berries. Sometimes, I have oatmeal with a scoop of pumpkin puree and cinnamon with a few raisins. I've trained myself off most sugar over the years, so that is sweet enough for me. Others may need to add a bit of real maple syrup or something to sweeten it a bit. So breakfast will have 2-3 servings of F&V.

 

Soups are a good place to pack the veges in during the winter. I keep some low-sodium soups from Trader Joe's in the pantry for something quick. I especially like their tomato. I might or might not toss some other veges in. Then I also have various homemade soups with veges. I like to make a curry using the Harvest- something- or -other pack of veges from Trader Joe's. It's a nice vege mix.

 

Winter fruits. I love Clementines, Cara-cara oranges, and other citrus and they are always in a bowl on our table over the winter and are at their peak then. Bananas are another staple (but they can be kind of a trigger food for me.) It seems to me that kiwis and mangos are plentiful in the winter, too, but my memory may be off. I try to make snacks be about fruits and nuts. 

 

I like prunes, so I keep them on hand. I read somewhere that they help prevent osteoporosis and may even reverse it. 

 

Squash: Love spaghetti squash and serve it with more veges usually in the form of tomato sauce, but also using a Moosewood cookbook recipe. (You can google it online.) 

Pumpkin: I make pumpkin custard --essentially pumpkin pie filling but without crust. I reduce the sugar to something like 1/2-2/3 of what the recipe calls for so there is relatively little per serving. I will eat that for breakfast, but a lot of times I serve it as a vege at dinner. 

 

Apples: Besides eating them raw, I saute them with a little cinnamon. Yum! It makes a nice addition to a winter dinner.  I sometimes grate or chop some and add to my morning oatmeal with or without pumpkin.