Location: from Houston, TX—now in Maryland (Washington DC area)
Posts: 1,167
S/C/G: 351/267/140
Height: 5'3"
Howdy y'all! (Ah'm from Texas, so I'm allowed to talk like that.) I'm new to this thread, and eager to learn more about losing weight after 50. I'm a 58 y.o. retired physician, artist & writer. Married with no kids (by choice). We usually have a couple of cats, but sadly, not at the moment.
Do y'all ever talk about post-menopausal skin? All my fat places are so much more saggy than they were 10 years ago, it really bugs me. Am I gonna lose a whole 200+ pounds of weight, only to discover that I have all this stretched-out skin to deal with? I hate to even contemplate future plastic surgery for such a problem: it sounds expensive, painful, risky...yuck.
Just something that's on my mind. On the whole, though, the project's going well, especially since I made the big choice, about 40 days ago, to be abstinent (for the near future) from my Big 3 dangerous foods: cookies, candy & donuts. I just can't tell you what a relief it is, to be free of worrying about when & how & how much I'm going to indulge in cookies. The very existence of cookies out there in the world somewhere was torturing my mind. Now I'm liberated from that godawful obsession, because cookies are not available to me anymore. =whew!=
I look forward to getting to know y'all! Hi Betsy! (I know Betsy from the chat thread...=grin=)
Hello to all new posters Its nice to have other people in the over 50 group here to share info with AND I am so sorry for all of our losses (family) in our lives... I still "talk" to my sister tho sometimes she is not listening (just like in real life LOL) but most of the time I know she is laughing at me too (Betsy!) saying... STOP DOING THAT! I mostly feel her and my Grandmother and my best friend while I walk at night by myself.
Fiona... loose skin.. OH LORD.. yep.. you do get that...I know that we lose our elasticity in our skin as we get older... but have also heard that the skin does bounce back some a year or so after you have lost the fat. All I know is the top of my front thighs are GROSS! Wrinkles YUCK YUCK YUCK and walking is not helping and doing squats and helps a scooch.. but not enough (I can fold my skin over ) So all I can hope is that is bounces back alittle as I do not have any money for surgery.... BUT, in my mind, I am happy to have this problem, as that means I have less fat on my body. so a trade off
I have gained 2 lbs of water back again GGGRRRRR I swear, I look at bacon and suck up water like a sponge... sigh.. Gotta eat what I have in the fridge... so a few more days of water holding and then maybe the whoosh fairy will visit again!. Trying to learn how to do a Plank .... There is a contest in another site I belong too and getting down on the floor and getting back up in the last few years has been a problem (MOST of my life I have been a floor sitter and really miss it!)... So if I yell really LOUD for help to get up.. will someone call my neighbor?!
HUGS to you all and I hope you all have a Joyous Day!
Last edited by wannaskipandlaugh; 11-05-2013 at 08:03 AM.
Hey there all...I too met my loose skin when I lost my first round of weight a couple years ago..I went from 188 to 125 and saw what my 60+ year old skin looked out without the plumpness of the fat. Waaaahh so not fair..but I did wait until I got older to lose the weight...so now I wave my arm and watch my arm skin wave with me..Hi Helens I believe its called. lol...but overall I'm glad the weight is gone..its far healthier for me than some loose skin. Love Fiona's notes about the relief she felt when she started her project about not eating her danger foods..it is a relief just to know certain things are off the menu..that's why my hubs and I are back on ITG Diet..its just a relief to not have to think about all the things we could be eating and know exactly what we can eat.
Hi back at 'ya, Fiona. I lived in the South for 25 years (GA and NC). So you talk Southern all you want and I'll understand you.
Yes, being our age and losing weight gives new definition to being a loose woman. Heck, I'd be thrilled if anyone thought of me as a loose woman in any context. But, while I'm not thrilled with the prospect of having so much skin, I also find that I'm at an age (64) where a) so many of my friends and family are beginning to have serious health problems or worse die that I have relegated loose skin to the back of the closet and b) I definitely have found that as I get older I just don't give a flip what other people think. Doesn't mean that I'm not self conscious about it and am already wondering how bad it will be. But I figure that the number of people who see me in various stages of undress are few and far between. And I've checked out the skin of some friends who have never weighed more than a gnat but who are our age. Guess what -- their skin is moving south, too. I've decided that getting older is a perfect example of why a sense of humor is important. We just get to an age where mentally we're getting it all figured out and things are so much easier to deal with and then our bodies start falling apart.
That must be why I decided that getting a puppy to housetrain was a good idea. I have to admit. I'm up and moving a whole lot more.
Location: from Houston, TX—now in Maryland (Washington DC area)
Posts: 1,167
S/C/G: 351/267/140
Height: 5'3"
Well, I've been sticking with the low carb. I just read Gary Taubes's Why We Get Fat: it's excellent info, well written, and it definitely backs up the notion that restricting carbs, not calories, is the wise choice. I'm glad to have read the book, because now I know there's scientific support for my being able to eat all the protein and fat that I want. I do enjoy the fact that I'm never hungry for any longer than it takes to walk to the fridge.
I discovered the other night that 3FC has a whole section devoted to loose skin and getting surgery for it. If you go to the top level of the forums you can easily find it. I got all weirded out for a while after reading that info, but I'm back to being mellow now, just taking this project one day at a time. I'll either have problems with loose skin when I get there, or I won't: there's no percentage in worrying about it now.
Fiona, you're absolutely right--either we'll have loose skin or we won't. Since I had real health issues (diabetes, high cholesterol, intermittent high blood pressure) that losing weight has helped, loose skin isn't much of a price to pay for dropping those values into healthier ranges.
I'm down to 178 this morning and really excited about it. I hung out right at 180 for over 6 weeks, so I'm feeling motivated and eager to be losing again.
I've got some real challenges over the next few days, including our Thanksgiving carry-in at work. But I haven't eaten sweets at work all year--and I am not going to break that, even for a carry-in. I'm bringing a salad, I can choose healthy real food, and will probably snag 2 deviled eggs for my afternoon snack. Friday dinner will definitely be very light (as light as much lunches usually are), and it should all work out.
My party on Saturday will be harder--but I'll get through Friday first, and keep reminding myself that those snacks have nothing to do with me!
Hi there, I am over 50 and on the way to 60. I have just got to get rid of the extra poundage. Looking for people to talk to and some inspiration. I am getting inspired from the great signatures I see here, the trackers. I want one of those. I am not to worried about the skin, I hope mine is elastic enough, jeez I never even thought about that.
Looking forward to talking and getting to know people.
Also, congrats to bethFromDayton for getting down to 178, I would love to be that thin! XD
Welcome Medeis--I think you'll find 3FC to be a fantastic group! I know the support I've received in the Beck forum and in the 100 lb club have really been critical to my success so far!
I'm down to 177.0 this morning. Tonight is a party at our house--I decided not to bake brownies, although other people will probably bring sweets. I'm putting out caramel and apples, veggies and hummus, cheese, summer sausage, and crackers--and may bake up a few quiches since I have reasonable ingredients in the house and that would let me use them before having to toss the eggs!
Parties and buffets are hard for me--but hitting a new low this morning is encouraging--and I don't want to UNdo it!
That is a really nice menu! Kudo's to you for not doing the brownies. All the best with portion control, etc. I have a friend over so not a great opportunity for me, but I will set a goal on portion control and getting back on track tonight with dinner and some exercise.
Yeah...I am one of those who had extra arm skin waving back at me when I lost my first 60lbs..very sad..but I'd rather be healthy than have plump arms and tummy. I'm not a surgery person but kudos to anyone that is. I just realized that I need to up the toning workouts, that's bound to help!
Will be turning 50 in December. 3 months ago I could barely walk due to plantar fasciitis pain and knee pain.
I am down 40 lbs and my foot no longer hurts and my knee is much better as well. And no more swollen ankles! Now starting some walking.
I am seeing the hanging skin and kinda freaking out about it. The insurance companies say we should lose weight to save them money, they should cover skin removal surgeries to keep us motivated!
I'm new too at 52! I am down to my last very resistant 10 lbs, after taking nearly 2 years to lose 30lbs. But, in retrospect I am glad it was slow, as I never backslid. I joined 3FC because I found that exercise was essential to reduce my weight once I got near a BMI of 25 (157 lbs for me). The support here for diet and exercise will help me with my next (and final) 10 lbs I hope (now at 151)!
THe reason I was motivated to lose was that as menopause approached, I noticed a quick build up of belly fat. Co-incidentally I had an ultrasound for something else, and they said - "oh, you have a fatty liver, FYI"!! Well, that sounded the alarm bells, as I know that is often a pre-diabetic indicator. Bye, cake and icecream :-(
One thing I had to do though, in order to exercise, was to get a lot of physical therapy to properly mend a lot of problems. Torn shoulder cuff, sublexing unstable knee, and - right now - really weak hips. The therapy, with exercise including cardio work, is really making a drastic improvement.
It's funny how time sneaks up and you notice things like having difficulty getting off the floor, compared to your youth. I think that's what affects us 50+ folks, and gets our attention. That, and a thickening waist.
This is a really great forum - Cheryl
PS - Fiona - I'm with you all the way on low carbs. And you need the protein and fats to build and repair muscle as you add exercise.
Its nice to have other people in the over 50 group here to share info with 
) So all I can hope is that is bounces back alittle as I do not have any money for surgery.... BUT, in my mind, I am happy to have this problem, as that means I have less fat on my body. so a trade off 
