Most of the time I am proud of my age. I`ve learned a lot and had so many wonderful and fulfilling experiences.

But when it comes to dieting, IT ALLL GOES SOOO S-L-O-W-L-Y

I lost 3lbs. this week but the first 2 were from day 1 to day 2 - we had been on vacation and were eating up a storm and having cocktails everyday so that was the vacation weight.

I`m still motivated but it`s a gruelling process to watch the weight in Tenths of a %......if I don`t weigh myself everday, I will be freaking out that I`m gaining so the number today acts as tomorrow`s barrier.

I guess I have to increase my exercise.....maybe I could use this guy as my workout partner?? ----->>

sigh

Don't get too down just yet, those first few weeks do seem to be the hardest when all you can seem to focus on is your new healthy lifestyle but the weight loss will come. In time it will get easier and before you know it a few weeks or months will have passed and you will be thankful for the loss, however great or small.
I have a lot more to lose than you but some days I can hardly believe that just a few months ago I was starting out over 20 lbs heavier than I am now and that time has passed so quickly.

HelenMay, I feel your pain! For me, being post-menopausal is the stumbling block. Never in my life, until now, have I lost so slowly. But what Huntress said is so true - as time passes, these small losses do add up. I started back OP Feb. 1, and have had steady, but small, losses along the way. Here is it, 6 months later, though, and I'm down nearly 35 pounds! So, just stay with it, and don't let the scales be your only judge of how well you are doing. As you lose, you will feel better and better, and your clothes will begin to feel loose. Time is going to pass anyway, so you might as well get healthier and slimmer along the way.

Please join in the daily chat threads here in the Age 50+ forum! You will find support, encouragement, and friendship to help you through your journey.

Eating up a storm and having cocktails is DEFINITELY going to slow down the pace!!

I find staying on plan - consistently - day in and day out, regardless of the circumstances or events - is the key to *faster* weight loss.

HelenMay has just restarted, POST holiday weight gain. Let's give her some support, in a kind and encouraging way, since she already admits "eating up a storm, and having cocktails everyday" was influential to her gain. She's looking for others in the same boat of losing slowly now that she's back on the wagon, not reasons she isn't losing *faster*.

Thanks ladies for the support. I know that what you are all saying is the truth. I have to learn to have patience.

So many things have come easy to me but this weight thing....since I developed the thyroid condition and being post menopausal, it`s so hard to lose at the pace I want.

Yeah re that vacation - we were gone to Asia for 2 months so it was really hard to control what I was eating. Restaurant food every single night. I think the only reason I only gained 3lbs was because I ate Sashimi when I could.

I`m happy to be here and happy to have the company to even be able to discuss this. It is motivating and comforting to know I`m not alone.

You went away for 2 months and only gained 3 lbs??? That is awesome!!! I go away for one weekend and I'm up 5. Seriously.

Obviously I am not a regular on this particular board or I would have known more about your situation.

Again, not knowing that much about you, it sounds to me as if your expectations *may* just be on the higher side. What we *want* and what we *get* are often two different things.

Again, not knowing the *whole story*, but you said that you lost 3 lbs the first week, so I'm assuming (though I probably shouldn't) that you're speaking of slow losses after the initial week.

I am curious though, if you care to share, what does your plan look like - food wise and exercise wise??? And how slow a pace are you speaking of???

WARNING WARNING - WHAT FOLLOWS IS AN INSANELY LONG POST!!!!!

Hi rockinrobin,

No I don`t mind to share what I`ve been doing for the last 10 days. Normally I could put on 5lbs over a weekend also but on this trip we did a lot of walking (touring and shopping in Tokyo and other cities in China). Mostly the weather was brutally hot 95 and extremely humid so I sweat a lot and some days was taking 3 showers just to cool off when we got back to the hotel. I sweat a lot of weight out of me.

Before I tell you what I`ve been doing, you should know that the reason I decided to get back on the wagon wasn`t so much to do with my weightv (although it was a factor because I need to lose about 20 lbs) but more to do with my cholesterol. Before leaving for vacation, I had my yearly check up and my cholesterol was 300. Quite high. Having heart disease in my family, being 58 and post menopausal and having a16 year old son, I vowed to myself that I would conquer this cholesterol thing. (I`m not a *pill taker* by nature, even though I HAVE to take a cholesterol lowering vitamin, synthroid for my thyroid condition, an aspirin every other day as a prophylactic and a prescription for Folic Acid to keep one of my heart numbers down, the point being that I don`t want to take a additional pill to lower cholesterol and shouldn`t because my liver enzymes have been off for the last 16 years -and drugs like Lipitor can wreak havoc with the liver - but the liver story is another story altogether).

So I decided not to go on a "diet" per se because WW was generally too slow for me, Atkins is my dream diet because last time I was on it, I lost about 25 lbs but with the high cholesterol, a diet too high in protein (animal fats) isn`t what I need right now. At this age, I also don`t want to have to give up any one food group but prefer to eat balanced, so I thought I will increase my intake of fruits and veggies, limit myself on the protein, and try to keep my carbs on the lower side.

I normally have 1 or 2 glasses of wine a night to keep my blood slippery. I gave that up because we know that alcohol adds weight and bloat. I also never add salt and avoid it like the plague when I can because it makes my fingers swell.

I think what I need to do is to experiment and tweak my diet.

For example, I should be eating oatmeal every day because it`s proven to lower cholesterol, so I generally have a Quaker Instant envelope (160 cal) for breakfast and I alternate that with 3/4 cup of Special K each day and a fruit.

Around 10:30am I usually have a fruit

Lunch is maybe 3 slices of turkey breast with 2 small thin pieces of bread and a dab of mustard or a green salad or an individual tuna with a demi spoon of mayo or conversely no mayo and a squeeze of lemon.

Around 3-4pm, I am usually feeling like I need to eat, so I either have some popcorn, or a protein bar (about 130 calories), a fruit or I blend up some fruit juice or a small yogurt with an envelope of the oatmeal mixed with it.

Dinner is either, fish, chicken or veal or pasta with some veggies.

If I`m craving something at night and generally I don`t, I have about 2 tablespoons of sorbet.

I have a pedometer and I know that I walk at the very least 2miles around the house everyday, just from doing housework, laundry and ironing. I don`t do any summer sports but I do x-country ski and can lose then (LOL as long as I don`t do the Swiss thing of cheese fondue for the apres ski!). X-country ski season starts here around mid-October. I am planning on going every other day this season. I hate exercise and really have to force myself to do it, didn`t get to any this week because I`m still trying to get everything organized and back in place from the vacation.

Part of the problem is this I think: My grandmother used to say that oatmeal "sticks to your ribs" and LOL, I think that is truer than anyone can image but I have got to eat it. Secondly, I have to eat Benecol each day because it is loaded with plant sterols which lower the cholesterol, the problem is that it`s a fat and the only way to deliver it into my body is melted on veggies or buttered on bread. It doesn`t cook well on meats or used in a pan to saute. The recommended amount to lower cholesterol is 2 tablespoons per day - that is a lot.

My frustration is coming in with playing with tenths of a pound. So many posters here talk about the same 5lbs or 10 lbs that they are playing with. The last 10 days have seen me playing with .04!! That`s why I am a bit frustrated. Also in my younger days I could drop about 8lbs in a week if I really put my mind to it.

So what does that mean? It means for me that despite my committment, my "vow", and my drive to lose lbs and lower cholesterol, my motivation my wane because I don`t see the numbers changing. Now that isn`t to say that the cholesterol won`t come lower but I won`t know that till mid-December when I have the number checked again. This is why I was whining a bit in my post. i want to see some movement.

Many people think that if you just shed lbs, that the cholesterol will come down. That isn`t true. I lost 25lbs on Atkins and my cholesterol went up. I was on the Zone diet, lost 15lbs and my cholesterol went up. This is also the reason why I want to "play" with the foods to see what works best for me and my metabolism. If in the end I have to get myself down to just fruits and veggies, then so be it.

I feel vowed to my health issue in the same was that I did when I got married or when I became a mother. But I know how weak I can be and how I have a tendency to put myself last. Sometimes I almost feel a bit selfish because so much of my time has been spent logging down what I eat but that`s another post entirely I guess.

Our scale here is in kilos, so I weigh in the morning, calculate it into lbs and then note the change from the day before. LOL, you will see those tenths I`m talking about. I just want to ram my weight through the 67k mark and damn it....it just won`t go in these 10 days. Also calculating in kilos is a pain because 1 kilo is = to 2.233lbs, so I need to lose 2 lbs just to have the kilo number move 1 integer, that`s why I also calculate in lbs, they change faster.

Anyway here`s a log to illustrate what I`m talking about. You can see that for a week all I`ve lost is .07 net of a pound from Day 2 to Day 10

Weight Chart beginning August 12, 2010 (BMI=27.9)

1. 68.3 = 153
2. 67.8 = 151 -2
3. 67.6 = 150.9 -.02
4. 67.5 = 150.7 -.02
5. 67.1 = 149.8 -.09
6. 67.1 = 149.8 BMI=27.8
7. 67.3 = 150.2 +.04
8. 67.3 = 150.2
9. 67.1 = 149.8
10. 67.3 = 150.2 +.04

Well if anybody is still reading this ridiculously long post, and hasn`t fallen asleep, I`m up for insights and advice!

WARNING WARNING - WHAT FOLLOWS IS AN INSANELY LONG POST!!!!!


I can definitely see where it is VITAL for you to lose the pounds AND lower your cholesterol. And you do have a couple of obstacles (but who doesn't?). But for each and every one of those obstacles - there IS a solution, make no mistake about it. You CAN lower your weight and most likely your cholesterol as well. But you are going to have to make some changes. You can't have it both ways. You can't remain doing what you are doing and expect different results. Changes are going to HAVE to occur.

First off, are you counting calories and if so, how many are you consuming? And just how consistent are you with keeping to them? You did mention logging, but not a calorie count. That is VERY important. EAting healthy is not enough to create a calorie deficit. And that's what we're after.

You also mentioned (several times) that you HATE exercise. But you also HATE having such high cholesterol and having those extra pounds on you. You said you want to see some movement (scale), well my dear - then you are going to have to get moving!!! You are going to have to accept that exercise is going to have to happen 12 months a year. Not only is it going to be a key to shedding the pounds - but it is KEY in lowering cholesterol - and isn't that the most important thing to you right now??? Remember - you can't have it both ways.

I do urge you though to stop dreading exercise and look to it as a key to helping you and extending your life and adding to the quality of that life. We WERE meant to exercise, after all. Each of us.

Strength training. That is something we MUST incorporate into our lives - ESPECIALLY when we are older. A simple resistance band can do wonders and once you get into it, I'm fairly certain you will LOVE it. That's right, love it.

Walking two miles around your home is un-intentional exercise. That is what we *naturally* do and are supposed to do. You need to do INTENTIONAL exercise on top of that. Something more. Try swimming, biking, brisk walking, Zumba, dancing, exercise DVD's (like Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds). You want that weight off, the cholesterol down, energy - it really is a MUST. There is no way around it.

And you're diet? Let's get back to that. I DO think it could use a little tweaking. Again, you'll have to track your calories carefully, including measuring out your foods. I think at your age and with everything going on, you may have to adhere to a lower calorie level, but you can only know that through experimentation. I would start out at 1300 or so and be prepared to take it down to 1200. BUT, don't fret. If you make those the *right* calories (and you really should) you can get LOTS of food with that and never be hungry or bored or craving.

I'd eat that oatmeal with a 3 egg white omlette. Lunch, I'd stick to lots of greens with the protein that you spoke of - tuna, turkey. Dinner - protein and lots of veggies.

For snacks. I'd lose the protein bars. I'd have either a veggie platter - cukes, tomatoes, peppers, string beans with some salsa or a huge bowl of homemade veggie soup. Or a no fat yogurt with some Fiber One Cereal.

I'd lose some of that bread and stick to veggies, veggies and more veggies. I'd experiment with different ones and different methods of cooking them (like roasting - yumm) to make them DELICIOUS.

I really think you also have to change the way you are thinking a tad. I'd love for you to look at this as a challenge that you are more than up to. Challenge yourself. Push yourself. Conquer something new. Master some new skills. Raise your standards. Make something wonderful happen. Amaze yourself. You have the ability to do this. Look for the joy in this. Don't think of it as some miserable way to live, but a way to live BETTER and hopefully longer. With more energy, vitality, stamina, choices and happiness and LOTS less worry.

Become passionate about adhering to a healthy lifestyle. Don't dread it. Make it your job, your mission. Your hobby in fact. Get excited about it.

Also, a lot of this is just plain old habit. Step outside your comfort zone (which doesn't sound all that comfortable). Get used to doing things this new way and before you know it, this new lifestyle will become your new normal, it will be automatic to you and habit. And yes - ENJOYABLE.

I personally am excited for you. Because I KNOW that you can do this. I see room for improvement and that's exciting. You CAN make this happen. You can and you should and I look forward to hearing of your transformation.

Helen May and all who read this - please remember to check with your doctor before you begin any diet or exercise program. What's right for one person may be harmful to another.

Yes Jane, thanks for the reminder but don`t worry the MD is the one who told me to get the cholesterol under control otherwise he wants to put me on medication and I sat with him and told him what I intended.

I think I would have been less today because I fell off the wagon yesterday pretty much big time and was only up .01 - go figure. A friend called yesterday and came over for dinner, so we had wine and he brought a desert that I had to have a piece of.

Oh well not too much damage done and I won`t do that again today. MIL coming for dinner tonight.

rockinrobin - what you say about the exercise is definitely true. What`s a "resistance band"? Sounds like my underwear!!!!

Re the calories, I`m sticking around 1200, some days I get less. I will try your diet suggestions this week. They seem healthy and after 10 days eating pretty much the same thing, I need some variety.

Here's a couple of links to some great resistance band workouts:


http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/...les.asp?id=720

http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com...exercises.html

You didn't HAVE to have it. You CHOSE to have it. And that's fine. But than I urge you not to be disappointed with the *slow* losses. You mentioned the scale was only up .01, I will caution you that what we do one day will usually not immediately show up on our bodies (the scale) right away. It may take a few days.

Please keep in mind, you don't HAVE to have something just because you want it. It's okay to tell yourself no, especially give that there is something that you want more now - your weight and your cholesterol to go down. You want optimal health. You've got to remember that. You can't have it both ways. We can't give into momentary temptations. It passes. It always does. Work past the discomfort. Learn how to tell yourself no, I'm not doing it. This matters too much to me and is NOT worth it. I don't need it. Sometimes we've got to dig down deep and find the adult in ourselves and do the responsible thing. I have never, ever, not even one little time regretted NOT eating something. Never. You will find that telling yourself no feels fabulous. Never mind the fabulous results, but just in and of itself.


Great! Mix things up a bit. Make this delicious and enjoyable. EAting well doesn't and shouldn't be unenjoyable.

Jump back on the wagon today. STICK with your calorie allotment. Stick with it. STick with it. STICK WITH IT. Consitency. Consistency. Consistency. THAT"S what will get you those results that you looking for and deserve.

Thanks for the links rockinrobin. I`m going to check out a "yellow" (thin) resistance band today. I guess I should start with the thinnest.

I too feel your pain. Being a dozen different sizes over the years, multiple gains and losses, what I have learned is sometimes you get smaller, but the scale doesn't move, and vice versa. My discipline problem (that I am tackling) is the multiple weighings. Trying to just do it twice a week. It's the long term that matters. When I was obsessed with my size (size 5, didn't eat a bite of potato for years) I could weigh myself several times a day, and whole days were ruined with self hating thoughts because of a pound on that scale. Now I may have been small, but I sure wasn't any healthier in the broader sense. Just some thoughts.

Hi Helenmay...just wondering how you are doing. I too have to get/keep my cholesterol down..I am on meds and it is ok now but I'd love to be able to stop taking meds for it and my bp. Plus I am diabetic and would love to get better control of that. On a med for that too....and I like you hate to take pills!

Think you did great in Asia!! I usually gain several pounds when I travel, but about a year ago (Nov) we went to the Philippines and we all (4 of us) got sick...I was the last to get sick and for me it just came on very slowly..extreme fatigue, a little nausea (all those open markets and bus rides!) and then finally the Travelers Revenge...ugh! Anyway I actually lost weight...even though I ate a lot of the wrong foods esp in the first half of the trip when I was feeling ok. But by the time I got home I had dropped a few pounds. So guess maybe I should go back...LOL...well I will as my dh is Filipino but because I got sick, I'm saying, not for a while, dear!

I've been experimenting this week with a little different eating. I always eat veggies but have been eating a lot more and I call it a beans and greens diet! I've been eating a LOT of beans! And for the first time on any diet I actually feel full...I think about other foods and kinda want them but I don't have to eat, you know? Even with being diabetic I've upped by fruits to 4 a day and eat as many veggies as I can swallow (luckily I like them), and try to limit my starchy carb and veggies to one a day..either not both. I am not keeping to this diet exactly as I do eat some eggs and dairy and I eat a tiny bit of meat at least every other day...like about 2 oz. usually. I have eliminated almost all sugar...I have had a little brown sugar now and then and a little of my mocha mix most days. But may have to give them up too to keep my bs down. I think we all have to experiment and find out what works for us.
Just posting this to give you ideas...sounds like you are eating kind of similiar anyway. And remember I have only been doing this this week so who knows but I feel better, my bs are better and my weight is beginning to drop again although that's just because I'm eating less calories. But all the fiber is helping me to keep to my calorie restriction. That's the easiest part now...the hardest part is getting my bs to be stable.

Hope you are doing well...keep posting.