Pat, please feel free to stick around here no matter what your age. One of the people here is in her 60s (can't remember who that is, however). I'm 53, so I'm one of the older ones here. I applaud anyone here who has the courage to change his or her life no matter how old or young.
Regarding motivation, health is a big one for me. I think the older you get, the more the concern is for health and less for vanity, although, to be honest, there's a lot of vanity in it for me, too.
I'm much healthier in my 50s than I was in my 40s. I started losing weight when I was 49, looking at 50 in just six months. I experienced some chest pain, and, frankly, it freaked me out to think of paramedics trying to lift my severly obese body onto a gurney. It's taking a lot longer than I thought to lose weight, but I've never given up. My father is 90, and I've watched him go through health crisis after health crisis because he has diabetes, and I know that's one disease I do not want to get! Okay, he
is 90, but if I'm going to make it to 90, I want to be 90 like the two 90 year olds in my water aerobics class (one who is on her way to Peru!), not shuffling along with a walker and getting short of breath just going to the bathroom.
My suggestion is not to think of losing weight as a diet. Just change your lifestyle to a healthier one that you can live with the rest of your life. Take baby steps like drinking more water this week. Next week add in a 30-minute walk every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Then start working on eating right. For me, it was commitment and persistence that's paid off. It doesn't matter how long it takes to lose weight (you'll see benefits after that first 10% drops off)--just that you're eating healthy and exercising daily.
Please stay around and post often so we can get to know you.