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Old 06-27-2010, 09:48 AM
 
Location: northeast PA
811 posts, read 1,380,189 times
Reputation: 588

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I'm 46, 5'8". I was overweight as a teen, but all through my mid-20's & 30's, I was a comfortable weight in the 130's. My eating habits were far from perfect, but not terrible, and I have always exercised regularly, minimum of walking 2.5-5 miles 5-6 days a week, and often more. Now that I've hit my 40's, I have gained 15lb in 4 years, now cashing in at 146lb, and I certainly don't want to keep going up! I figured walking just wasn't enough, so in January I joined a gym, and in addition to the walking, I do aerobics 3X/wk. Since I started, I have not lost a single pound, and I am beyond discouraged. There is only so much time to exercise; how much more can I do? (I work full time and spend my lunch 1/2 hour every day walking 2.25 miles). So the eating habits definitely have to change. The good: in my own cooking, I make and prepare foods with low fat. I honestly never "over-eat". The bad: Hubby and I eat out 2-3 days a week, and I simply get no enjoyment whatsoever out of vegetables. So many meal plans involve lots of vegetables, and I just couldn't hack that. I know I can eat out less and make healthier choices while out. Are there any minimum-vegetable meal plans you've used successfully? And how can I control the hunger pangs I will inevitably get when I start cutting calories? I've never really "had" to diet, so this is new to me. Thanks for your suggestions!
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Old 06-27-2010, 10:12 AM
 
8,228 posts, read 14,151,938 times
Reputation: 11225
Its hard isn't it? I was where you were but smoking helped me a lot. Then I decided I had to quit. That involved replacing cigs with ice cream and I gained prob 30-40 lbs. Then I went through a job change, moved states, everything was out of kilter, menopause, put on more weight. 10 lbs a year for the last 3 years. I know young people look at me disgusted and I just look back at them and think, Wait.
Wish I had some good info for you. All I can think of is when I watch successfully thin people they really don't eat much. They turn down food a lot.
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Old 06-27-2010, 11:33 AM
 
16,886 posts, read 16,149,541 times
Reputation: 28119
Middle age weight gain is the pits.

I don't have any real bad eating habits - I don't snack after dinner, don't eat much fast food, almost never order dessert or appetizers when I eat out and try to order healthy, I cook most of our meals at home and use fresh ingredients, I even eat my vegetables - but I've still managed to pack on the weight over the past 6 years. It is frustrating.

The only thing I can suggest is - really pay attention to the calories that you are consuming. Look up the nutrition info on the restaurant meals you're having, you might be in for a shock. I know I was. Be aware of where the extra calories are coming from - second helpings, snacks, treats at the office, etc.

You can control hunger pangs by having a good amount of fiber in your diet and avoiding simple (white) carbs.

You're walking 2.5+ miles 5/6 days a week and doing aerobics 3X a week - that's a fair amount of exercise. You might consider doing some strength training which would add some muscle and give your metabolism a boost.
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Old 06-27-2010, 03:30 PM
 
Location: NYC
7,364 posts, read 14,628,583 times
Reputation: 10379
Quote:
Originally Posted by odessa3 View Post
I'm 46, 5'8". I was overweight as a teen, but all through my mid-20's & 30's, I was a comfortable weight in the 130's. My eating habits were far from perfect, but not terrible, and I have always exercised regularly, minimum of walking 2.5-5 miles 5-6 days a week, and often more. Now that I've hit my 40's, I have gained 15lb in 4 years, now cashing in at 146lb, and I certainly don't want to keep going up! I figured walking just wasn't enough, so in January I joined a gym, and in addition to the walking, I do aerobics 3X/wk. Since I started, I have not lost a single pound, and I am beyond discouraged. There is only so much time to exercise; how much more can I do? (I work full time and spend my lunch 1/2 hour every day walking 2.25 miles). So the eating habits definitely have to change. The good: in my own cooking, I make and prepare foods with low fat. I honestly never "over-eat". The bad: Hubby and I eat out 2-3 days a week, and I simply get no enjoyment whatsoever out of vegetables. So many meal plans involve lots of vegetables, and I just couldn't hack that. I know I can eat out less and make healthier choices while out. Are there any minimum-vegetable meal plans you've used successfully? And how can I control the hunger pangs I will inevitably get when I start cutting calories? I've never really "had" to diet, so this is new to me. Thanks for your suggestions!
You started losing muscle mass in your late 30s, and as a result your metabolism slowed down. This is the number one reason why people find themselves getting fatter over time despite no major changes to what they eat.

You need to add resistance training or weight lifting to your gym routine; this will add muscle and thus get your metabolism up, which will in turn burn off fat.
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Old 06-27-2010, 03:38 PM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic east coast
7,055 posts, read 12,561,737 times
Reputation: 15842
Hey, you're not alone! Mid-age spread going on here...I'm experimenting with the South Beach Diet--my own version...reducing my white, simple carbs, eating more meat and eggs, good fats and being faithful to the gym (trying interval training on the bike there)...and trying my best to curb my sweet tooth...doing much better!

What I'm finding is that eating more protein is lessening my appetite...can it be true that the carbs send us into sugar spikes that make us hungrier?

Anyhow, wishing you the best. It's clear our metabolism slows down after menopause...wish our appetites did, too! We'll see how the South Beach way of eating progresses...so far so good.
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Old 06-27-2010, 04:04 PM
 
4,502 posts, read 13,428,313 times
Reputation: 4098
146 lbs at 5'8" isn't at all overweight. At your height, you should be between 126 and 167, so you're right in the middle.

Anyway, if you want to lose the weight, I would just consider cutting certain things out of your diet. Working out builds muscle so, while you may not be dropping pounds, you could be dropping fat and building muscle.
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Old 06-27-2010, 07:02 PM
 
Location: northeast PA
811 posts, read 1,380,189 times
Reputation: 588
Quote:
Originally Posted by omigawd View Post
146 lbs at 5'8" isn't at all overweight. At your height, you should be between 126 and 167, so you're right in the middle.
No, I'm not overweight.....YET! I want to prevent the creeping upward of weight. I'd actually like to lose 8-10lb to get back in the range when I really felt great. Thank you all for your suggestions so far. I suppose I should get going with some workouts with weights.
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Old 06-28-2010, 04:37 PM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic east coast
7,055 posts, read 12,561,737 times
Reputation: 15842
Hormone shifts can make we women start to put on weight during peri and menopause. Actually, I've read in several places, that it's not a bad thing to have a bit of extra weight at menopause as fat's where estrogen is stored and those with a bit (not a lot) of padding/fat can have a gentler menopause as estrogen depletion is more gradual, hence less drastic menopause symptoms.

With a slowing metabolism, weight loss often entails calorie reduction and exercise increase to keep weight in check. Maybe it's worth it, maybe it's not. Up to you to decide.

This may not be any comfort to you if you're determined to drop those few extra pounds, but it's something to consider.
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Old 06-29-2010, 04:16 AM
 
11 posts, read 40,102 times
Reputation: 13
Hi,
I have read this post. yoga is the best for our health. I have done my yoga teacher training course. schedule is very important, when we are doing any type of workout and yoga also.and so real fact of gaining and fitness .
_________________
ganja seeds (http://www.top-cannabis.net/seedbank.php - broken link)
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Old 07-12-2010, 01:05 PM
 
90 posts, read 321,011 times
Reputation: 61
Start strength training. Women naturally lose muscle every year if they don't strength train. Over time, the loss of muscle really starts to add up. When you have less muscle, you don't need as many calories to maintain your weight and it's very easy to gradually gain weight even if you don't eat more than you used to.

By strength training, you can rebuild muscle that you lost and start to speed up your metabolism closer to where it used to be when you were younger. Instead of all-cardio classes, try some classes that include some using light weights, kettle balls, stepping on boxes, etc. Try getting a personal trainer to coach you on how to use dumbells and machines if you feel intimidated in the gym. You can just do it a few times until you feel comfortable and then do it on your own. The key is pushing yourself based on what your current fitness level is - if the weight is too easy, you won't get much benefit from it.
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