I'm just into my third week of dieting and finding at 53 it is a lot harder to lose weight. I've lost 5.1 pounds and I know I shouldn't complain, but this is tough!
I really want to be in the 150's by early December. Just looking for some support to get me there!
I'm sure you will get there JC..and it's a good time to get to grips with the weight problem as I know only too well! I am now 81 and finding it doubly..nay treble the effort to get the weight off.
I have now made a drastic reduction in my daily carbs - 60, and calories 1000 which seems to be having a very good effect.. Still a way to go as yet..
Hello - I was reading your posts and you all seem like you have a positive outlook so I hope that helps you achieve your goals.
I have been on this site before earlier this year but I got busy with retiring and moving from Canada to Mexico so I have let my weight loss go to the back burner and gained 5 lbs - uggg!
However, since being here for 3 months and walking everywhere I have lost 10 lbs. (5 of that overnight due to a crab taquito - I don't recommend that method!)
I have finally started to be able to keep down food in small portions and I am going to strive to keep this up. It's cheaper to eat out then cook at home so I need to watch this practice. I think I'll either order appys or take 1/2 home. A lot of places don't allow sharing....
I love my white wine and diet sprite and rum but since being sick I haven't been able to hold it down. Probably a good thing .... but I did enjoy my nightly drink ..... or 3 with my husband. We'll see what happens. I won't push that back into my regular dietary intake.
I have noticed that being over 50 and having dietary issues (no gallbladder, acid reflux, sensitivities to dairy and grains (take antihistamines daily because of dust, grass, flowers, etc...), pre diabetic and being a picky eater are not helping me in any way, shape or form.
I will join my calorie counter group again and get back to monitoring myself.
I will continue to read your posts and look for suggestions on things that have helped you and incorporate them into my life style.
It is harder to lose the weight after 50 but it can be done. I keep telling myself that it took a long time to pack it on so I can expect for it to take awhile to take it off also.
wanttochange_ I hear you on the wine but I find it always under mines my efforts so I am trying for the occasional glass.
Wanttochange- just went back to your post and read the last of it. I had to laugh at myself because I always wished I was a picky eater. I eat EVERYTHING. and that doesn't help either. Hang in there you are going in the right direction.
Hey there Rennie! That is exactly where I was at the same height, and I started three months after I turned 50. I just turned 51. Glad to see you back!!
Happy Belated Birthday PrairieQueen I need tons of help. What did you do in the beginning any menus that you have or anything that you would want to share is greatly appreciated. I need something I can stick to. I was just looking at your menu yesterday on the carb thread and I was thinking wow, what discipline.
Rennie I started out on this journey by accident. When we got back from vacay last June, my two gardens needed about 15-20 hours of weeding since I'm organic and don't use chemicals to control. So every morning id go out for 2-3 hours and back again in the evening for an hour or do. I did this for four days straight. I also had loads of cleaning to do. I started to notice my clothes fitting better and started weighing myself.....it was eight pounds or so less than when I went to doc right after vacay! That's when I got serious.
#1 - ditch the diet soda and anything else with artificial sweeteners in it. ... Ditch as much processed food as possible. Have good emergency food handy for when you get hangry and need a quick fix
#2 - high protein breakfast to keep me satisfied all morning
#3 - ditch the white bread and sparingly eat the whole grain/sourdough/pasta (of course I can't give it up totally, but I used to eat loads of it), I eat very little sugar but never did so it wasn't a sacrifice
#4 - keep my calories 600-700 for break/lunch total, then I can splurge within reason at dinner
#5 - splurge every couple of months on your favorite "bad" food.....for me it's fried chicken wings and sides loaded with buttery hot sauce
Realize that your weight goes up when you exercise a lot, Aunt Flo visits, you eat pasta/bread. Don't get discouraged when your weight loss stalls...just keep on truckin'!
I'm sure you know all this but it doesn't hurt to be reminded/encouraged once in awhile. I do better when I stay busy....less time to think about snacks!
Break - sausage mcmuffin
Lunch - Amy's bean/cheese burrito
Dinner - beef barbacoa quesadilla (copycat recipe) and black beans
Last edited by PrairieQueen; 05-18-2016 at 07:45 PM.
Happy Belated Birthday, Rennie and Prairie Queen. When I turned 50 (8 years ago) I had lost about 40 lbs (from 225). I wanted to be in good shape when I hit my 50's. After that, I returned to eating the way I had been before I lost weight, gained the 40 back and then some! This time after getting to an all time high of 233, my body couldn't take the extra weight. Things were beginning to ache and tear (2 sprained ankles from everyday activities). I had to do something. So, I got serious and take it day by day and plan my meals to stay within guidelines. I made a spreadsheet to write down everything I eat, keep track of my daily weigh-ins and then use MFP to get the calories (even though South Beach doesn't require it, but it helps me).
You need to lose it now, in your early 50's. Even though I have lost 70+ lbs now, my skin has gotten saggier! I wished I had kept it off and maybe I wouldn't have all this saggy skin. But, oh well, I have so much more energy than before. I amaze myself at how much I can do in a day and not get exhausted. I know now, this is the way I have to eat for the rest of my life and I am happy with that. I do NOT want to be that big again.
PrairieQueen you did need to tell me, WHY???? because black and white speaks pretty loudly thank you. and I appreciate you. I so need to get the scale moving again. I look terrible. thank you again
Kat, I too have fractured both my ankles when I weighed 199.5 and 218. Both times I stepped down wrong and the weight of my body did it. I also know all to well about the exertion from the weight. I also have problems with my knees from this weight. I know I've got to get the weight off but I truly do not know how to stay focused on my own. It's almost like I need to have someone to keep tabs on me. I now know what it means to have an addiction to food because I have one for sure.
PrairieQueen don't know if you have come back to see my thank you for the eating tips but thank you again. I printed them out to put on the fridge, pantry and in my car for when I want to make those pit stops on the way home from work. I'm gonna figure out how to make it small enough but still legible for my screen saver. I tried to put on a pair of jeans that I got less than two months ago ... so not good. Felt like I was stuffed into them
Kat I was just reading your signature and noticed the dates of when you met the goals this year. What are you doing to keep the scale moving? thanks
Rennie I am going to be your official cheerleader all summmmmmmmer long! I'm so glad you thought my tips were worth keeping It is so worth getting healthier and losing the pounds. I cannot believe how much better I feel (and look) from one year ago. I went to my nephew's graduation and you should have seen the looks on those faces of people I haven't seen in years! I hadn't seen my dad in over a year and he didn't even know it was me he was talking to (granted he is ill, but still). My nephew and I have a special connection AND he lost 60 lbs in the last 18 months as well. I am so proud of him. Long story short, he lives with my dad & step-mom and has to basically cook for himself unless he wants all of the processed junk in the house......well, he started cooking and working out at the school when there was open gym, got a job, a girlfriend, and now he wants to go to community college! That is huge for him, and it all started with cleaning up his food act. Anyway, sorry to get off topic. (I wish I had enough $$ so quit my job and volunteer as a nutritional coach in our little city. I'm a true believer now.)
PrairieQueen that is an awesome story and I am so proud of your nephew and you. It's a great thing to have people (even cyber ones) that have your back. I so want to get this weight off but I have clearly lost my drive. I'm not happy with the way I look. My clothes that I just bought don't fit. I have a gym membership that I don't use ... so I'm just blah right now where weight loss is concerned. My cousin started earlier this year going to the gym with a friend and he has lost a ton of weight eating properly and working out. I'm so proud of him. I wish we lived closer because I would definitely go with him. and on that note you can definitely start with me as your first client.
I need tons of help. What did you do in the beginning any menus that you have or anything that you would want to share is greatly appreciated. I need something I can stick to. I was just looking at your menu yesterday on the carb thread and I was thinking wow, what discipline. 
