Hi- Looking for a spot to support my goal of a 45# weight loss.

I turn 52 in a few days. I am frustrated that as of this birthday I can say I now weigh what I delivered all 5 of my children at. The sad thing for me is that I was in pretty decent shape until about 5 years ago- running, working out and was 20# less than now.

I have made some attempts to get back to my "fighting" weight over the last few years- but have failed and just keep creeping up the scale. I am tired, weak, and just having more trouble doing what I like to do. I just can't see losing my ability to leap around the sailboat, hike the woods with a backpack etc... and I am on my way there if I don't do something about it now!

I am going to use CalorieCount.com to manage eating and working out. I also will use the Couch to 5K app to get back to running. Hopefully this forum will help in connecting to others for support. I am setting New Years Day (I know) as my day 1. It just helps my OCD to have a good fresh start.

Lots of planning of meals and a schedule to get on for my workouts...

Just to make sure - have you been to the doctor and made sure everything is okay as well? A lot of middle aged women become hypothyroid.

Otherwise, good luck! I turned 40 last year, and they weren't kidding it's worse after 40! This is an awesome place to be, hope you enjoy it and use it to help keep yourself on track.

Hi Ripple,
I know what you mean about the middle age bulge. I have one forming and I decided to definitely do something about it starting 1 Jan 2013. Lots of exercise and better meal planning/eating is in the works. I hope we can work on this together and share tips, experiences, and results.

Hello and

Good idea to have the thyroid checked. I had a tumor unknowingly; had it removed and am now on meds. Low Vitamin D is also a frequent culprit.

I wish you all the best on your weight loss journey.

Definitely have a thorough checkup and MAKE the doctor check for thyroid, vitamin D deficiency, hormone levels, etc. If it turns out that everything is fine -- and I hope it is -- then one of the things to factor in is that our metabolism slows down 5% every decade after childhood. So, even when we're as active and eating the same, there's the possibility of gaining weight because our metabolism is heading towards being a tortoise instead of a hare.

Your desire to get back to being active is repeated throughout the posts. I'm currently in the super morbidly obese category, and I'm really looking forward to the day when tying my shoelaces isn't a 15 minute exercise!

Good luck. I've only been posting for a week or so, but already feel that I have the emotional support I need to stay on this path.

WOW, I can relate to this. I was skinny my whole life but when I had my daughter at 42, the pregnancy weight never came off. Now I just turned 51 and have been carrying around 30 extra pounds for almost 10 years!

Welcome to the 50's, sdejager! What diet are you following?

Rob

I started IP yesterday...STARVING and headaches today. Hopefully this won't last long. I am pretty determined to DO IT RIGHT!

I love the determination! I'm not familiar with IP, but best of luck with it. How long does that diet take before you start seeing results?

Rob