[wannaloose40]

This is a great thread. I am new and loving all of the ideas. I am 43 and this weight loss journey is sort of new to me. I put on all of my weight after having 3 babies back to back in 4 years. My youngest is 10 months and I am SO tired of this extra weight!

I initially lost 5lbs (not a lot) by working out 6 days a week and a 1500 calorie diet. But that took me nearly a month. I can't sustain that and when I stopped working out so much the weight loss stopped.

I also skip breakfast and have brunch instead. Night time snacking is killing me.

Sorry to get off track......thanks for the tips ladies!

[AbnormallyAmy]

I'm noticing a lot of praise for the low carb high protein diets, and I'm really excited to hear it! Low carb worked for my daughter and I almost 10 years ago, and I'm back to do it again. This time though, I have decided to create my own program which incorporates high lean proteins, low carb and good carb veggies, certain fruits, limited whole grains, nuts and seeds, and a few vitamins and supplements. I started 3 days ago, and am down 4 lbs (water weight i'm sure, but hey, weight is weight!)

[Zumbachica]

I'm starting to feel like nothing will work for me...what I will say is that low carb is the only thing that has worked for me in the past. I'm an emotional eater so I can't seem to keep the weight from coming back on.....right now I can't get it off again.

[Sassyblonde]

My body keeps changing the rules at this age! I have to constantly change before my body gets used to what I'm doing. That's ok once I figured that out. I do Paleo, low carb, carb cycling (gotta keep those ghrelin levels up) I do intermittent fasting. Same with exercise, one day it's dance then treadmill the next weights and this I just learned ....recovery! I keep an arsenal of tools in my toolbox and use them all. I also have to keep motivation up and have a whole bunch of things I do for that. My strategy is always changing, which was very demotivating and frustrating at first. But I am glad I figured that out about my body to continue on this journey.

[SMeeker71]

I've never been one to exercise. I have always just tried to watch what I eat, and as I have hit the "forty-something" stage of my life, that just doesn't seem to be working. I battled my weight about 15 years ago, I got quite heavy, and honestly don't remember what I did, but managed to lose about 50 lbs. I have not inched my way almost all the way back up to where I was when I was younger. And, no matter what I seem to do, I just can't seem to get that first pound to come off. This is where frustration comes in and I would really love to sit down with a big bowl of ice cream and bag of potato chips!!

[WeightGoingDown]

I'm glad to have found a group of people over 40 who have experienced the same frustrations as I losing weight. LOL. I ditched all the grains, including corn, but not the carbs. I eat fruit. I especially use grapefruit juice, in the morning with coffee. If you can stand the combination, it will increase and extend the caffeine in coffee. I also eat a square of dark chocolate for heart health. I try to keep my protein as lean as possible. I lift weights, walk, Pilates, and swim, trying to increase the activities. It's hard to know when you're over 40 if what you're doing is working, since it's so hard to lose pounds.

[WebWoman]

Sassyblonde, could you explain carb cycling?

Andi