Weight loss in middle age and beyond

[maize]

I'm having weight-related health issues and really, really want to get back to a healthier range. In spite of years of effort I cant seem to ever drop more than 10 lbs.

What have you done that actually works?

23andMe tells me I am genetically predisposed to weigh more than average; I'm sure that isn't helping.

Edited June 1 by maize

[regentrude]

My friends who achieved dramatic, sustained weightloss in middle age changed their lifestyle to embrace a high level of physical activity. One took up bicycling and lost 100 lbs. Another is hitting the gym every morning at 5am and changed their diet to a more plant-focused one.

[mmasc]

For me, eating low glycemic seems to help quite a bit. I don’t “diet”, but if I limit sugar, carbs, etc, I have been able to drop pounds. Weight-bearing exercises help me more at this age than cardio. 
 

ETA: link with a little info

Edited June 1 by mmasc

[Spryte]

Weight loss is hard. No expert here, but I lost what I needed and maintained it for years and years. Have had a recent-ish set back with health issues that impact activity level and food, but prior to that:

I lose and maintain best with exercise — higher intensity is better but not always an option for me. For food, a version of alkaline keto/low carb — I like “Keto Green” with a concentration on more veggies. YMMV.

[City Mouse]

The only thing that ever worked for me to lose more than maybe 20lbs was one of those extremely low calorie meal replacements plans were you mostly only eat what is purchased directly from the company. It was expensive to me, and the price of the meal replacements keeps going up, but most products were decent tasting. I lost about 75 lbs that way. Since I stopped that, my weight has gone up and down, but right now I hover 45-50 lbs lower that my highest weight. 
I think about going back to that plan to lose this 25lbs but it is quite expensive. I just keep plugging along with a combination of WW and MyFitnessPal. 

[Scarlett]

I am right there with you. I am hovering at the edge of being over weight according to charts but realistically I am at least 15 pounds heavier than I need to be for my comfort level. Dh is in the obese range but our doctor wants him to lose at least 30 pounds. 
Our doctor keeps repeating that a Mediterranean diet is what we need….my gastro  doc tells me high fiber. Those two can work together just fine but I think mainly our biggest obstacle is portion control and secondly portion control. 

[ScoutTN]

1 hour ago, mmasc said:

For me, eating low glycemic seems to help quite a bit. I don’t “diet”, but if I limit sugar, carbs, etc, I have been able to drop pounds. Weight-bearing exercises help me more at this age than cardio. 
 

ETA: link with a little info

This for me too.

[KrissiK]

I am struggling with that myself. I need to lose at least 50 lbs. I am 56 years old. Definitely genetics play into it. I am not currently dieting because it gets very discouraging and what I needed to do to lose even a little weight wasn’t very sustainable. but, I am also not either eating crazy unhealthy.  I don’t want to go the medication route because I just don’t trust it. So… 

 

Edited June 1 by KrissiK

[Ottakee]

I lost 50 pounds at 50 through diet and exercise and then the next 50 continuing with diet and exercise and Wegovy.

wegovy seems to protect the heart as well and my grandfather and mother both died at 78 from Congestive Heart Failure combined with type 2 diabetes and I look just like them.  I also had a 2  heart defects corrected at age 3 1/2 as well as 2 different bouts of CHF as a teenager.

I started low with the meds and went up much slower than typical and never reached the highest dose.  Now I take it every 3 weeks and have maintained for 6 months so far.

I still walk and hike and go to Planet Fitness 4-5 days a week.

I am still just above the healthy weight category but my doctor is happy with where I am for my age and build.

[QueenCat]

This is a fellow boardie's blog. It has been very helpful to me. 

 

http://theinspiredeater.com/

[Jaybee]

I've been planning to post about this when I get closer to my goal, but check out https://homemademethod.com. It's not cheap ($47/month), but it has been so helpful for me. I'm 64, and my goal has been to lose 70 lbs. I have lost 34 so far, since Nov. 1 of last year. The recipes are delicious and the support is great. (There have only been a few recipes I didn't care for.) I don't have to cook differently for myself than the other members of the family. It's a learning curve, so it's best to take your time to understand the program. Instructional videos are very helpful, the chef videos are fun and you learn a lot. Active private Facebook group, app, periodic live online events, personal coaching advice if you need it. Basics: whole foods cooked at home, including healthy fats, protein, and fiber in each meal/snack, learning to listen to your body, getting rid of "dieting" mindset. The recipes are developed by licensed nutritionists/dieticians, and they focus on balance of the nutrients our bodies need. I had my last big lab work done about the time I started, so I won't have feedback on that until November. But my A1C has dropped from 5.8 to 5.5 so far. The food you make is beautiful, appetizing, delicious, and satisfying. My dh and ds really like it as well.

ETA: I also exercise, but I was doing it before, and while it made me feel better when I did, it did not help me lose weight.

Edited June 1 by Jaybee

[Jaybee]

Also, if you are a vegetarian or have food allergies, there are workarounds. Basically, you substitute something similar nutrition-wise for what you can't/don't eat. 

[KidsHappen]

I lost 40 lbs using semaglutide but then developed a side effect that caused me to go off of it. I have gained back 10 lbs so far. I am thinking about trying it every other week instead to see if that works but if not I guess I am just going to give up and accept that I have reached the matronly grandmother stage. Because of my health I am unable to really exercise. I can barely walk for any amount of time and I have yet to find a diet that works for me even short term.

[Carol in Cal.]

35 minutes ago, Jaybee said:

Also, if you are a vegetarian or have food allergies, there are workarounds. Basically, you substitute something similar nutrition-wise for what you can't/don't eat. 

Does it mostly consist of recipes and an overall food plan?  Do you feel like you can learn the stuff and then do it on your own or is it more of a ‘you have to subscribe for life’ type thing?  

I just worked through the introductory teaser stuff, and it is really unclear to me what you get for all that money.  Also, they said they would email me a free trial thing, but I’m on msn and so no links work—I have to copy/paste a url into a browser to get to a link, and they don’t include the url in the email.  So I feel like I’m in the dark.

Edited June 1 by Carol in Cal.

[Doodlebug]

Low cal weight loss plans did not work for me after 45. Emphasizing protein and fats and limiting carbs did. 

[Kuovonne]

I started this year at an obese BMI and am now at a normal/healthy BMI. While I toyed with weight loss before, I was never as serious about it before. I also have health issues which make exercise very difficult and losing weight more important. 
 

Here are some things that helped me. 
 

I bought a digital scale that syncs with an app on my phone. I weight myself every day, twice a day. Once in the morning, right after using the toilet. Again in the evening just before going to bed. Because I do not eat or drink anything during the night when I am asleep, my morning weight is always less than my evening weight, which helps with my motivation and gives me a better understanding of water weight fluctuations. Having lots of data points also helps me accept normal fluctuations and not freak out at sudden jumps. The app averages things out for me so I can see the trend line. 
 

I radically changed my diet: what I eat and how much I eat.

I greatly reduced the amount of carbs and fat in my diet and increased the amount of protein. I eat a lot more raw veggies and berries. I grill or steam food. Most of my personal groceries are either produce or foods with less than 15 calories per gram of protein. This has been tough on the budget. It also means that most of the time I am not eating the same food as the rest of the family.

I log everything I eat, usually just before I eat it. I have an app on my phone where I record everything I eat. I list what I eat, when I eat, where I was when I eat, and my starting hunger level. I also take a picture of everything I eat. I track how many servings of refined carbs, fruit, dairy, lean meat, etc I have for the day. This helps me be more intentional in what I eat and reduces mindless snacking. I don’t look back on the log, even though I could. For me, it’s the act of logging that is important, not analyzing past data.
 

I found that using tiny dishes and utensil helps me. It’s weird, but it works for me.

I cut down to two meals per day, although the exact time of the meals can vary greatly. Sometimes I have a protein heavy snack after exercising. Once a week, I try to have one reduced-activity day where I have only one meal.

Here are some things I did not do.

I did not completely give up any food in particular. I still have the occasional fast food burger, pizza, candy, etc. Knowing that no food is off limits reduces craving forbidden foods.

I do not count calories. Counting calories seemed like way more work than I wanted to do, and is imprecise at best. Two other quirks also make counting calories unpractical: I occasionally eat other people’s leftovers, and a certain family member will sometimes eat food off my plate.

I do not have regular “cheat days” or “cheat meals”. Every time I eat matters. I might have more indulgent meals at times, but there is no food free-for-all. 

I do not have a fixed target goal weight. I knew that I wanted to get to a health BMI, but I am not sure how much below that threshold I want to go. I found my target weight kept changing from month to month depending on how I felt. The less I weigh, the harder it is to loose additional weight. I did have secret target weights in my head, but I did not write them down or tell anyone because until I am actually at a given weight, I do not know if I can reach it or how I will feel at that weight. I expect that I will either reach a plateau that isn’t worth trying to break (most likely), or I will drop to a weight that I feel is too low and then build back up to whatever I feel best at (less likely).

I did not use a reward system or do any celebrations for hitting milestones. From watching my daily fluctuations, I knew that when I hit a new low, it was temporary and I would go above it in the next day or two. It takes at least a couple of weeks of being consistently below a given weight before I could trust that it was not a fluctuation of water weight.

I did not use any medications. I did not consult a doctor. I did not join a diet program. I did not ask anyone else to change how they interact with food. I did not join a gym or subscribe to any fitness programs.

Exercise has been a tricky aspect of my weight loss journey. I have health issues which make exercise very difficult. Even walking for five minutes (with assistive devices) is tiring. I do strength training at least three mornings a week, and cardio at least three evenings a week. The exact days vary depending on what else is going on and how I feel. It has taken a lot of tweaking to figure out what exercises to do and how much so that I still have enough energy for the day, and every few weeks I find myself adjusting my exercise.

My strength training is little more than a warm-up for most people, but I have been getting stronger, although very, very slowly. For me, strength training doesn’t burn enough calories to help with weight loss, but it is super important because weight loss without strength training results in muscle loss as well as fat loss. And I desperately need to build muscle, not lose it.

My cardio started as a few minutes of leisurely pedaling on an exercise bike but has increased to 20 minutes to an hour using a variety of different home exercise machines that I can tolerate. The duration and activity varies from day to day depending on how I feel. Finding the right cardio has been a lot of trial and error, including purchasing machines that are now collecting dust. However, I find that low-intensity steady-state cardio (my heart rate rarely leaves zone one) has helped with weight loss (along with other health benefits) when additional dietary changes were making me hangry.

Figuring out what works for me has taken a lot of time, effort, and money. There has been a lot of trial-and-error. But I have been satisfied with my results and I believe that I can sustain these lifestyle changes indefinitely.

[Jaybee]

1 hour ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Does it mostly consist of recipes and an overall food plan?  Do you feel like you can learn the stuff and then do it on your own or is it more of a ‘you have to subscribe for life’ type thing?  

I just worked through the introductory teaser stuff, and it is really unclear to me what you get for all that money.  Also, they said they would email me a free trial thing, but I’m on msn and so no links work—I have to copy/paste a url into a browser to get to a link, and they don’t include the url in the email.  So I feel like I’m in the dark.

Warning: Long response. I thought about just replying to Carol, but thought others might be wondering too. 

I originally signed up expecting to just do it for a couple of months, getting the concepts and a bunch of recipes. But it has been so helpful that I'm still there. My tentative plan is to stick with it through the end of the year, to where I will hopefully be close to my weight goal, but will have over a year's worth of recipes. If I were wealthy, I would probably keep on with it, because the encouragement and support mean so much. It's just a healthy way of eating, suitable for anybody, even if you aren't losing weight. It's sustainable--as long as I am able to cook, I should be able to follow this. It doesn't involve counting anything. My grocery bills were higher for a few weeks until I stocked up on the staples. But now, with a combo of Aldi then Walmart, my bills are back down to normal, and sometimes less.

So the breakdown is this:

Each Friday, I am sent by email a recipe pack with a schedule of three breakfasts, three lunches, three dinners, and two or three snacks. Included in the pack is a link to a video of Chef Lizzie preparing usually four to six of the recipes. 

The meals are interchangeable, so you can have breakfast for dinner, switch them around, repeat favorites from past packs, etc. They do try to include a variety of vegetables and nutrients throughout the week, so I try to do that as well. I have never followed the meal plan exactly, because I don't usually need that many dishes per week due to leftovers etc., even though leftovers are built in. If you sub anything in a recipe, it should be like for like: tofu or beans for meat, black beans for white beans, etc. I try not to substitute much, because I don't want to alter the nutrients in the dish. I try to make several new recipes per week. I don't make the snacks often, because I don't really need snacks much. The meals are satisfying.

When I signed up, I was assigned a coach who specializes in my health issue/s, but I haven't needed to email her specifically, because I have gotten answers to my questions on Facebook posts or through the videos. There are only six or seven of the coaches, and they are all quite knowledgeable, so they often pinch-hit on questions, depending on who is handing fb that day.

Access to the Members Only Facebook page--here people post photos of what they have cooked, ask questions of all kinds, share victories, share discouragements, etc. It is a very encouraging group. There is also a Homemade Method Community page that is open to all, but the posters there are not as encouraging and sometimes share info that isn't quite in like with the concepts.

Access to the Homemade Method App: the app has a huge data base of recipes, including the meal packs that have been sent to you since you started. But you have access to the recipes from before you started as well, through the app. They are continually trying to improve the app to make it more helpful, but the recipes from before sometime in 2023 (can't remember when), when they activated the app, those recipes do not yet have pdf files of the recipe, so they are more complicated to print if you prefer your recipes printed rather than on a phone. A frequent complaint which I also voiced early on, is that the app/data base is not available on your computer, but only on your phone. I don't like to use my phone for recipes. What I do, is that each week I print out the recipes, double-sided, and put them into page sleeves. I keep out the ones I plan to use that week. So far, I have three large binders full of recipes. I made up categories to file them, and have one of half the categories, another of half, and one of favorites I have pulled so far. But if I keep up with this system, I am going to have to further divide up and add more binders. I have tons of recipes I have not used yet, and my favorites binder (recipes I will definitely make again) is getting way too full.

Access to the members part of the Homemade Method website, where the library of videos is located. There are videos that address lots of issues that are common to women ages 50+ (and younger can definitely also benefit): blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, digestive issues, etc. There are also videos that address nutritional questions, as well as that address mindset issues. These are very instructional, and they also put the caveat out there that they are not medical doctors, so if you have questions about how these things apply to you, you should talk to your doctor. I am slowly working my way through the archives.

Access to the periodic teaching sessions that you can watch live or later, the recorded version.

It takes a little time to get used to the system and for me, it took time to adjust to the food prep--lots of fresh veggies. I also was not accustomed to preparing breakfast or lunch. Most of the meals are not complicated, but take more time than throwing together a bowl of bran flakes, for instance. But I am adding in more and more. I feel good. I noticed some changes in tastes right off. As I have been eating this way probably 95% of the time for seven months, more changes in my food preferences are becoming more apparent to me. Food outside the home tastes more salty; a peanut butter cookie at a church potluck tasted so sweet to me that I couldn't enjoy it, I am seldom cooking the red meat meals, etc. I had lost interest in cooking, but this revived it. My dh says it is so interesting, the food looks like a restaurant, and it makes you anticipate what you are having for dinner each night.

If you try it, and then decide you want to cancel, please give them some time before your next payment is due. They do not have a huge staff, and people sometimes try to cancel and get angry when the results are not immediate. To make sure, you can cancel it online and also send them an email to do it.

Hope this helps. 

 

Edited June 1 by Jaybee

[Toocrazy!!]

I think certain plateaus are hard to break through. There is a set point our body gets used to. IMHO and experience. No professional here 🙂 
 

I lost 25 pounds a couple years ago and have kept it off. I used a privately purchased continuous glucose monitor. But it basically led me to go lower carb, more veggies, more protein, and some sort of exercise after eating any carbs to reduce the insulin spike. I walked in the morning on a fasted stomach to try to use up fat instead of the calories I just ate.
 

I think there are probably a lot of ways to lose weight depending on what the lifestyle is that lead you to gain weight. Look at your weaknesses and try to fix those. Whether it’s too many carbs, not enough activity, processed foods, wine too many nights a week, etc. 

But now I’ve weighed this for almost 2 years and I’m technically still 10-15 pounds over normal BMI. But my bloodwork is pretty darn good and I feel great. No weight loss though 🙂 

Pretty much everything I’ve read for women our age recommends resistance training 2-3 times a week with a progressive overload, walk 10,000 steps a day, and prioritize protein and fiber. I just happen to love pickleball and not weight training. Maybe  I’ll try again this winter! 

[Toocrazy!!]

https://www.caseymeans.com
 

her book Good Energy is my newest motivation to do better! One step at a time. 

[Frances]

7 hours ago, Spryte said:

Weight loss is hard. No expert here, but I lost what I needed and maintained it for years and years.

I lose and maintain best with exercise — higher intensity is better but not always an option for me. For food, a version of alkaline keto/low carb — I like “Keto Green” with a concentration on more veggies. YMMV.

This is also what works for me. And I found that if I go no sugar, it’s actually far easier than moderating, as it takes less than a week for all sugar cravings to completely disappear. Plus the more I read about sugar and health, the worse it seems.

[PeterPan]

9 hours ago, Ottakee said:

wegovy

Interestingly a recent study on semaglutide also shows kidney protection with this med. Seems like a good choice on multiple levels. 🙂

[DawnM]

18 hours ago, Ottakee said:

I lost 50 pounds at 50 through diet and exercise and then the next 50 continuing with diet and exercise and Wegovy.

wegovy seems to protect the heart as well and my grandfather and mother both died at 78 from Congestive Heart Failure combined with type 2 diabetes and I look just like them.  I also had a 2  heart defects corrected at age 3 1/2 as well as 2 different bouts of CHF as a teenager.

I started low with the meds and went up much slower than typical and never reached the highest dose.  Now I take it every 3 weeks and have maintained for 6 months so far.

I still walk and hike and go to Planet Fitness 4-5 days a week.

I am still just above the healthy weight category but my doctor is happy with where I am for my age and build.

I have lost 50 pounds with Wegovy as well. I would like to lose more but seem to be at a huge plateau.   I am reading that they have recently discovered that Mounjaro helps with sleep apnea.   I am surprised I still have it, but I do, even with the weight loss, so I am thinking of switching to that at some point.

My insurance stopped covering it as of April 1st.  I had a supply of a few months left, so I think I can make it through July, but then may have to switch to a compound.   I can't pay out of pocket.

And to the OP, nothing else worked.   Nothing.   I don't eat much right now, I can't go down to this level. of eating without help.  I wish I could.  

Ask me what I have tried.....it is pretty much everything.   😜

 

Edited June 2 by DawnM

[wintermom]

Out of curiosity, what age range is "middle age" these days? Are we talking 40s or late 50s. It made a huge difference for me regarding my body's capacity to lose weight. 

[Sneezyone]

I’m 48. I’ve gone from a 16/18 to a 10/12 (-24 lbs) since March with a combo of exercise (2-3 miles of walking for 3+ days a week and light Pilates/resistance exercises), intermittent fasting (I don’t eat or snack from 6p to 10a), and low dose semaglutide. BMI is a useless measure of health or size for me (my doc agrees) and I’m halfway to *my* goal weight, firmly in what BMI says is the overweight range. 😂 I have always been a pretty clean eater so no changes there.

At 165 lbs. and 5’4”, I’ll comfortably and snazzily wear size 6/8 clothes.

BMI is a joke for anyone with an athletic/muscly build.

Edited June 2 by Sneezyone

[Ottakee]

5 hours ago, DawnM said:

I have lost 50 pounds with Wegovy as well. I would like to lose more but seem to be at a huge plateau.   I am reading that they have recently discovered that Mounjaro helps with sleep apnea.   I am surprised I still have it, but I do, even with the weight loss, so I am thinking of switching to that at some point.

My insurance stopped covering it as of April 1st.  I had a supply of a few months left, so I think I can make it through July, but then may have to switch to a compound.   I can't pay out of pocket.

And to the OP, nothing else worked.   Nothing.   I don't eat much right now, I can't go down to this level. of eating without help.  I wish I could.  

Ask me what I have tried.....it is pretty much everything.   😜

 

My latest sleep study showed that I no longer have sleep apnea.  So another win.

[SKL]

I'm on that last 10 lbs too.  Have been for months.

I pretty much know what to do, but it's hard to stay disciplined for so long, especially when we can still squeeze into our "ideal weight" clothes, and our numbers aren't really scary.

Things that helped me last time and that I need to reinstate:

• Really seriously get people to stop tempting me with stuff I like to eat.  Guilt trip if necessary.  (Only half joking on that last part.)
• Be childish / borderline OCD about saying no to the things that do show up around me.
• Keep the fun stuff far enough away that it will at least burn calories if I go sneak some.  (Kids' snacks live in the basement.)  Also, if I do go sneak some, just eat 1 chip per trip.
• Every day, every meal, less white carbs and more fruit/veggies.  (I love white carbs, but they will be my undoing for sure.)
• Don't allow myself to be guilted into eating everyone else's leftovers rather than waste food.  As my sister once said, "either way it goes to wayst ... question is, whether it will go to MY waist."
• A couple changes I made years ago which help:
  • When the kids do fast food (sports schedules etc.), I don't need to order anything.
  • There is no need to drink anything other than water.  I no longer drink with meals, and when the setting calls for ordering drinks, I choose water.  (Rather than fruit drinks, I eat the actual fruit.)  (I do still drink coffee.  Coffee is 0 calories and necessary to my kids' continued existence.)
• On the exercise front, if I could just be consistent about doing reasonable things every day [yoga, walk the dog, TKD practice], it'd be awesome.  This also needs to be done in moderation, though, because injuries will throw everything out of whack.

[Pawz4me]

I'm 61 and lost about 12 pounds recently. I guess I started about mid-August of last year and lost those pounds by about mid March. So it took me seven months to lose 12 pounds. I've maintained since then. I know to a lot of you 12 pounds doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm very short (less than 5'). It's a lot for me.

For me weight loss always comes down to CICO. I was a chunky kid and by my mid-20's was obese, probably morbidly obese. I completely revamped my eating and my entire approach to food and exercise. I lost all the weight and kept it off except for a couple of blips--a wonky thyroid and then the recent 12 pounds. Getting properly medicated for the thyroid enabled my weight to go back to my normal w/o much effort. And for the recent 12 pounds--I think part of it was due to reduced metabolism due to aging/menopause, but also because I'd let a few bad habits in during the pandemic and had been in denial about them. They snuck up on me slowly. I got brutally honest with myself, cleaned things up, and the weight came off ever so slowly.

I did go through a period of time in my 50's where just maintaining was a huge struggle. Hormones are a thing.

I think we need to be gentle with ourselves WRT weight and aging and body image. I weigh the same now as I did ten or fifteen years ago, but I sure don't look the same. I'm softer and fluffier, definitely more grandmother like. But I'm okay with that. It's a natural part of life.

[Carol in Cal.]

Jaybee, thank you for the detailed response.  It’s very helpful.

I feel like I don’t have a sense of the principles that the approach is really getting at, and so that would make me feel like I had to keep using the specific recipes to make it work, but I’ll bet that inside your membership that information comes out little by little.  I care about that because I really like to cook, and so I would like to make the right changes to some of my existing recipes to be able to continue to use them but improve them.

[Jaybee]

I decided to delete because it might not be fair to Homemade Method. Sorry. @Carol in Cal., your inbox must be full.

Edited June 2 by Jaybee

[Carol in Cal.]

3 hours ago, Jaybee said:

I decided to delete because it might not be fair to Homemade Method. Sorry. @Carol in Cal., your inbox must be full.

I made some room if you want to try another PM.

[Ginevra]

On 6/1/2024 at 2:42 PM, Toocrazy!! said:

https://www.caseymeans.com
 

her book Good Energy is my newest motivation to do better! One step at a time. 

I’m reading this right now too! 

[Scarlett]

22 hours ago, Sneezyone said:

 

At 165 lbs. and 5’4”, I’ll comfortably and snazzily wear size 6/8 clothes.

BMI is a joke for anyone with an athletic/muscly build.

Wow!  I believe you but still wow. I am 5’’6 and 150 pounds and can barely fit into most size 10.

At my thinnest I was 112 pounds and could wear a size 4. But I was too thin. I felt my best at 125 and a size 6. I fear those days are gone forever.  

[Scarlett]

18 hours ago, Jaybee said:

I decided to delete because it might not be fair to Homemade Method. Sorry. @Carol in Cal., your inbox must be full.

Wait what did you delete?

[Jaybee]

52 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

Wait what did you delete?

I'll PM you.

[Toocrazy!!]

19 hours ago, Ginevra said:

I’m reading this right now too! 

I finished the audiobook and then borrowed the real book from the library so I could screenshot the steps at the end. She's the cofounder of Levels, which is where I got my CGM, so I've been following her for years. Most of the info wasn't new because of that, but putting it all together is hard. I'm trying to improve the diet part. It makes so much sense, but it's hard for me to be truly consistent day in and day out. She recommends zero added sugar, zero refined grains, zero seed oils, 50 grams of fiber and 3 probiotics foods a day, and 30 grams of protein per meal, among other things. I started my food journal today just to see what I was truly eating. It's easy for me to think I'm doing better than I am. 

[Ginevra]

1 hour ago, Toocrazy!! said:

I finished the audiobook and then borrowed the real book from the library so I could screenshot the steps at the end. She's the cofounder of Levels, which is where I got my CGM, so I've been following her for years. Most of the info wasn't new because of that, but putting it all together is hard. I'm trying to improve the diet part. It makes so much sense, but it's hard for me to be truly consistent day in and day out. She recommends zero added sugar, zero refined grains, zero seed oils, 50 grams of fiber and 3 probiotics foods a day, and 30 grams of protein per meal, among other things. I started my food journal today just to see what I was truly eating. It's easy for me to think I'm doing better than I am. 

I hear you on that. I have the Cronometer app and it *could* be so useful, but there are two main issues that make it hard for me to use it consistently. 
1) I can’t have my phone with me at work, so two meals and possibly a snack are eaten where I don’t have my phone for logging. I have tried writing it down and putting it in later but I forget/resist/don’t. The other (huge) obstacle to recording is;

2) I eat 95% homemade/home-prepared foods. The app is easy if you have a package to scan or it’s manufactured food, but difficult if you have to create a recipe and weigh your portions. It’s too complicated so I mostly don’t. 
 

Yet I fully agree with that last part. Logging makes me really honest about what I eat/drink. 
 

I have a friend who had a very serious cancer two years ago and she is the most disciplined eater I have ever known. Her diet is the closest thing to perfect I’ve seen. She hasn’t eaten a cookie/pastry/cupcake/candy bar in two years. She will not even eat roasted Brussels sprouts if they have some maple syrup on them. No grains/bread of any kind. 
 

In some ways I aspire to be as disciplined as she is but I also don’t want to be that constrained. I think her cancer gives her an “excuse” that people accept more readily than if a person without cancer eats that strictly. People get really funny about other people’s choices if it makes them wonder about their own. 

[Sneezyone]

9 hours ago, Scarlett said:

Wow!  I believe you but still wow. I am 5’’6 and 150 pounds and can barely fit into most size 10.

At my thinnest I was 112 pounds and could wear a size 4. But I was too thin. I felt my best at 125 and a size 6. I fear those days are gone forever.  

I don’t like telling people my weight because they never believe me, not even DH. dd is the same. We’re dense with lower body fat. She’s a 4/6 and 145 lbs, 5’5”. I attribute it to genes but also long term athletic participation and strength training as kids.

Edited June 3 by Sneezyone

[Scarlett]

2 hours ago, Sneezyone said:

I don’t like telling people my weight because they never believe me, not even DH. dd is the same. We’re dense with lower body fat. She’s a 4/6 and 145 lbs, 5’5”. I attribute it to genes but also long term athletic participation and strength training as kids.

They never believe me either 😂 my late FIL said, ‘hmff. I’d a figured you for more than that’. 

[ava_johnson]

I often check the benefits of this or that product because I'm currently in the process of losing weight. That's why it's important for me to calculate everything, but sometimes I really want to eat something tasty. For me, https://betterme.world/articles/food-cravings-chart/ is a salvation, so now I can afford more and not harm my health 

Edited June 27 by ava_johnson

[Ellie]

I feel your pain.

I have Hashimoto's, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. One of the common symptoms is that our metabolism breaks. I am insulin resistant. I do not lose weight. For some years I was able to do so with very limited calorie diets, but even that has stopped working. As a last resort I'm doing injections of...dang, I always have to go look it up, lol. It's been slow, but it has been working. I don't know what my future is, but it is what is right now.

[Rosla]

I've also faced health issues and need to lose weight. I've already started the journey. I do yoga and run twice a week, drink more water, and calculate calories. I see the result, but I wish I could fasten the process. I read some people buy wegovy online and find it helpful. I'm thinking about giving it a try, but I want to talk to a doctor first.

Edited June 28 by Rosla

[Scarlett]

I have lost my usual 4 pounds this week. I lose it, I gain it. I wish I could keep the momentum and get 10 off. 
I notice when I lose it when I cut back /cut out wine, snacks, and almost all meat. Very difficult to sustain. 

[Ottakee]

15 hours ago, Rosla said:

I've also faced health issues and need to lose weight. I've already started the journey. I do yoga and run twice a week, drink more water, and calculate calories. I see the result, but I wish I could fasten the process. I read some people buy wegovy online and find it helpful. I'm thinking about giving it a try, but I want to talk to a doctor first.

I see it says 1 pen but then 4 needles.  Does each pen have 4 doses in it or just one dose?

I take Wegovy but my insurance covers it for me.

[matrips]

So I’m late 50’s- I’m finding that I’m losing an average of 2 lbs a month (not a week like I did when younger) at this age. It requires patience, and more nonchalance. I log the weight daily and can see the patterns and don’t freak out. I don’t count calories but I eat so much less than I used to. It’s easier with the kids gone and just me and dh home. There’s less food in the house and cooking for two is easier than five. No diets, books, special foods or meds. But definitely eating less! And not really any exercise- I have a bum knee that may need surgery- appt in a couple weeks.

I don’t make anything special; often it’s something like those Voila frozen meals with chicken, veggies and pasta. Easy to make and pre-portioned. The prepared meal portions make the biggest difference to me. With kids at home, I always cooked way more stuff, and ate more too. I do a lot of salad kits to eat with dinner, and we eat earlier. So I’m naturally fasting from early dinner time to mid-morning. I find my appetite and desire for food has changed. I’m content with one burger instead of two. The idea of big bowl of ice cream doesn’t thrill me anymore, nor does a huge meal. No real snacks in the house. I don’t eat bread/butter much anymore; not deprivation, just lost my craving for it. Meals in general have just taken a back seat priority with the kids at college. It is harder when they come home to visit and the food increases in the house.

I started wanting to lose weight 6 months ago- started at 153, now down to 140. I’m 5’6”. Very slow, but big picture steady progress. If I can end up anywhere in the 130’s, and stay there, that’s fine for me.
 

[wintermom]

On 6/27/2024 at 8:28 PM, Rosla said:

I've also faced health issues and need to lose weight. I've already started the journey. I do yoga and run twice a week, drink more water, and calculate calories. I see the result, but I wish I could fasten the process. I read some people buy wegovy online and find it helpful. I'm thinking about giving it a try, but I want to talk to a doctor first.

Yes, it's a good idea to have a doctor help you throught this journey. They can help with dosage and monitor your body's reaction to going on this drug. 

All the best! 

[Corraleno]

I lost 40 lbs by going WFPB and using Cronometer to track both calories and exercise. One of the most useful things I learned from using Cronometer is just how critical exercise is for losing weight. If I plug in my height, weight, age, and click "sedentary" for activity level, my maximum calories for maintenance are ~1400/day. That means if I wanted to lose 1 lb per week without adding exercise, I'd have to limit calories to 900/day — which is not sustainable. So I generally aimed for around 1200 calories/day plus burning at least 300 calories through exercise.

For me, the most effective way to use Cronometer is to log a full day's worth food and exercise in advance. So I will plan out my meals and snacks the day before, add in the amount of exercise I expect to get, log all that in Cronometer, and then add or remove things as needed. So if I log 3 meals and 2 snacks and I see that I'm spot on for calories but a little short on protein, I might add some nutritional yeast to the lunch or dinner, and then take out something of equal calories. If I eat something extra that wasn't logged beforehand, then I'll add however many extra minutes I need to do on the exercise bike to offset that. Or if I end up going way over on calories or I'm short on exercise one day, I'll try to cut back a little on calories and increase exercise the next day. It doesn't always work out that way, but I try to stay as consistent as possible.

[Ottakee]

2 hours ago, wintermom said:

Yes, it's a good idea to have a doctor help you throught this journey. They can help with dosage and monitor your body's reaction to going on this drug. 

All the best! 

I have had great success with Wegovy….down 50 pounds in 9 months and now holding.  This is on top of the 50 pounds I lost through diet and exercise.

I think that a doctor supervision to start is good.  It did affect my blood sugar and I needed to make sure to eat high protein, esp early in the day, stay well hydrated and eat enough calories overall.  My weight loss was an average of 1.5# a week.  That was even a bit fast for me.  I think 1-1.5 is the max loss a week to aim for.

[KungFuPanda]

I’m convinced I need to do some weight training in order to activate my metabolism, but I haven’t made it out of the planning phase. I was naturally thin until about 46. I just don’t know how to do this and I’m not happy I have to make an effort. I’d love to lose 10-15 lbs. I’ve started bike commuting but a measly 5 miles round trip on an e-bike can’t possibly do anything. 

[regentrude]

1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said:

 I’ve started bike commuting but a measly 5 miles round trip on an e-bike can’t possibly do anything. 

Can you switch to a regular bike? And up the biking, for example bike home for your lunch break? That's 10 miles a day and about an hour total. I definitely notice the extra exercise when I do that.

Edited June 30 by regentrude

[Ottakee]

1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said:

I’m convinced I need to do some weight training in order to activate my metabolism, but I haven’t made it out of the planning phase. I was naturally thin until about 46. I just don’t know how to do this and I’m not happy I have to make an effort. I’d love to lose 10-15 lbs. I’ve started bike commuting but a measly 5 miles round trip on an e-bike can’t possibly do anything. 

I don’t know if you have a planet fitness near you or not but they offer tons of free classes each week and membership is just $15/month.

I have met good friends there and have certainly improved my fitness level.