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I'd rather just eat better and exercise more efficiently, than take a pill. That's the answer to so many things: take a pill. And then you have side effects, and have to take a pill to counteract the side effects. Of course THOSE pills have to be combined with something else, or you end up with a dificiency in blah blah blahdiblahblah.
And all you had to do in the first place was put the fork down when you stopped feeling hungry, and get up from the table and go for a brisk walk.
^^^This. At 20 years old, I weighed 118 lbs. and at 60 years old, I weigh 146 lbs. and am working to take that down to 138. It was easier to burn off the extra calories when I was younger so decreeing calories seems important as one ages. I had to replace jumping rope with aerobic exercise at 35 years old.
Eliminating sugar, most flour products and jump food can work wonders. Because I care for my adult son with Down syndrome, my exercise choices are more limited than I would like but the walk each day benefits us both not to mention the dogs.
I have two workout dvds: (1) "Walk Away The Pounds" Ultimate Collection with Leslie Sansone - 4 different workouts and (2) Keeping fit in your 50's - Aerobics. We also live in a 2 story house with laundry and food storage in the basement.
The more raw foods you can eat, the better for your health and weight issues. And, saying "It doesn't matter what I eat." I really think it does.
I think people do too much sitting at the electronic devices. Ways to avoid snacking in the evening for me is doing simple crafts and being so tired from keeping physically active during the day that I am too tired to get up and get a snack. And, the TV commercials that tempt people with a snack from the fast food restaurant that equals one or two meals in calories.......... We cut the cable 8 years ago.
I struggle with my weight, but my ideal weight as far as how I look is 123 lbs., but I feel good at any weight between 115 and 135. (I am 61 and 5'4", btw.)
Six years ago, my weight gradually increased until I weighed 162 (OUCH!), and I went on a 1,200 calories per day diet until I got down to 115 lbs., which took me nine months to do. Now my weight has crept back until I now weigh 138, so I am dieting again (but this time, 1,400 calories a day) -- just started it five days ago.
The problem with me now, though, is motivation. Six years ago, I felt motivated to diet because I wanted to look better, but now I look in the mirror and see a woman definitely past 55. So even though my goal now is just to get down to 125, I find it very hard to stick to my diet this time -- especially since my being attractive doesn't really matter to my husband any more. (He has said repeatedly that as long as I am well-groomed and healthy, that's all that matters to him.) I figure what's the point, as long as I try to lose just a few pounds to feel better.
Is anyone else past 50 experiencing this lack of motivation? And how do you get past the "what's the point" mindset? Or do you also just think, "Why bother?"
I don't look in a mirror except to "do my makeup" every morning. I let my clothes and "how I feel" determine most of my motivation. I don't really emphasize motivation at all really. I work at getting fit and lighter, because it feels better when I'm fit and lighter. I'm not trying to lose weight. I'm trying to be healthy. The weight comes off naturally as a result of trying to be healthy, for me. It's a mindset that's a lot different from the "must lose 25 pounds" mindset, and it works for me.
With that mindset of "getting healthier" around 30 pounds came off over time, without adhering to a restricted set diet. It was restricted only in that I had to eat less of the things I enjoy eating. I didn't have to cut them out completely - if I want ice cream, I can have it. I just can't plow through a whole pint of B&J Coffee Heath Bar Crunch in a single sitting. I have to spread it out so it lasts me a week. I eat more salads now than ever before, more chicken breast, more nuts, much less bread than I used to eat, but I still eat it.
Now that my hormones have changed AGAIN (gotta love menopause), I've replaced my usual morning oatmeal with a field greens salad - sometimes with gorgonzola and balsamic with olive oil and herbs, sometimes with cheddar and regular oil and vinegar and croutons and black olives, sometimes with feta and tahini (which I make myself from the paste, water, garlic, and lemon juice).
Instead of a tuna sandwich once or twice a week, I might have the same tuna - but in a bowl eaten with a fork instead of on bread.
I'm eating peas, raw - love that.
That's the kind of changes I've made that has worked for me. I have more energy to work out, and I've switched gyms so I'm closer to home and have less of a reason to say "ugh - not today, I can't be bothered going halfway to the next town just to lift a few weights".
I'd rather just eat better and exercise more efficiently, than take a pill. That's the answer to so many things: take a pill. And then you have side effects, and have to take a pill to counteract the side effects. Of course THOSE pills have to be combined with something else, or you end up with a dificiency in blah blah blahdiblahblah.
And all you had to do in the first place was put the fork down when you stopped feeling hungry, and get up from the table and go for a brisk walk.
That is exactly my incentive. I was already overweight when I developed a rare type of thyroiditis that caused a cement-like substance to grow around my thyroid and throughout my throat. I couldn't talk without gasping because my trachea was being squeezed shut and moved to one side, and this stuff was surrounding my carotid artery. My neck was visibly bulging.
The treatment is high doses of predinisone, followed by tamoxifen, the latter of which I am still on. The prednisone shrunk the tissues quickly, but it also made my blood sugar go up to one-tenth of a point below diabetic and I gained 30 pounds. My blood sugar was normal prior to the prednisone, so rather than say "oh well, I'm diabetic now" and start taking metformin, my doctor and I discussed it and I said, "Let me try getting rid of the weight and take down the blood sugar levels with diet and exercise before we do pills." He said, "That's what I would do." So, I started in the winter--only lost a few pounds initially, but the blood sugar dropped from 6.4 to 6.1 by April. My next appointment is November. I've lost nine pounds since the April visit with tracking on Myfitnesspal and walking every day and starting some strength exercises, and I intend to continue with what I'm doing and have normal blood sugar tests by the time I go back.
I don't look in a mirror except to "do my makeup" every morning. I let my clothes and "how I feel" determine most of my motivation. I don't really emphasize motivation at all really. I work at getting fit and lighter, because it feels better when I'm fit and lighter. I'm not trying to lose weight. I'm trying to be healthy. The weight comes off naturally as a result of trying to be healthy, for me. It's a mindset that's a lot different from the "must lose 25 pounds" mindset, and it works for me.
With that mindset of "getting healthier" around 30 pounds came off over time, without adhering to a restricted set diet. It was restricted only in that I had to eat less of the things I enjoy eating. I didn't have to cut them out completely - if I want ice cream, I can have it. I just can't plow through a whole pint of B&J Coffee Heath Bar Crunch in a single sitting. I have to spread it out so it lasts me a week. I eat more salads now than ever before, more chicken breast, more nuts, much less bread than I used to eat, but I still eat it.
Now that my hormones have changed AGAIN (gotta love menopause), I've replaced my usual morning oatmeal with a field greens salad - sometimes with gorgonzola and balsamic with olive oil and herbs, sometimes with cheddar and regular oil and vinegar and croutons and black olives, sometimes with feta and tahini (which I make myself from the paste, water, garlic, and lemon juice).
Instead of a tuna sandwich once or twice a week, I might have the same tuna - but in a bowl eaten with a fork instead of on bread.
I'm eating peas, raw - love that.
That's the kind of changes I've made that has worked for me. I have more energy to work out, and I've switched gyms so I'm closer to home and have less of a reason to say "ugh - not today, I can't be bothered going halfway to the next town just to lift a few weights".
Or Chunky Monkey...
I'm an ice cream freak myself. I have a homemade family-owned ice cream place about a mile away. In the past I've gotten off the train some nights and gone directly there, the same way some people go to the bar after work. And then had dinner afterward.
Now that summer is here and they keep late hours, I allow myself one time a weekend to get a small cup of ice cream from there. My alternate right now is strawberries and blueberries, because they are in season and I can get them from local farms, mixed with plain Greek yogurt. The berries add just a touch of sweetness, the yogurt is creamy, and I use the plain because now that I'm looking at sugar content on the labels, I'm appalled at how much sugar is in even the vanilla yogurt.
I'd rather just eat better and exercise more efficiently, than take a pill. That's the answer to so many things: take a pill. And then you have side effects, and have to take a pill to counteract the side effects. Of course THOSE pills have to be combined with something else, or you end up with a dificiency in blah blah blahdiblahblah.
And all you had to do in the first place was put the fork down when you stopped feeling hungry, and get up from the table and go for a brisk walk.
I don't disagree, in theory. There really isn't a magic pill so to speak (except maybe DNP, but that stuff is just radical) but there are a handful of drugs and supplements that work very well in conjunction with diet and exercise. Bromocriptine is one of those, and it works mainly by "tricking" the brain into thinking you're in a fed state and preventing the crashing hormones that happen on diet.
Postmenopausal women are the one group that can get that sort of "magic pill" effect from bromo though, because their hormone levels are already all over the map and bromo normalizes a lot of that.
I struggle with my weight, but my ideal weight as far as how I look is 123 lbs., but I feel good at any weight between 115 and 135. (I am 61 and 5'4", btw.)
Six years ago, my weight gradually increased until I weighed 162 (OUCH!), and I went on a 1,200 calories per day diet until I got down to 115 lbs., which took me nine months to do. Now my weight has crept back until I now weigh 138, so I am dieting again (but this time, 1,400 calories a day) -- just started it five days ago.
The problem with me now, though, is motivation. Six years ago, I felt motivated to diet because I wanted to look better, but now I look in the mirror and see a woman definitely past 55. So even though my goal now is just to get down to 125, I find it very hard to stick to my diet this time -- especially since my being attractive doesn't really matter to my husband any more. (He has said repeatedly that as long as I am well-groomed and healthy, that's all that matters to him.) I figure what's the point, as long as I try to lose just a few pounds to feel better.
Is anyone else past 50 experiencing this lack of motivation? And how do you get past the "what's the point" mindset? Or do you also just think, "Why bother?"
Focus on improving your health and weight will come off as a result. Having a healthy body and mind well into your later years should be the big picture here.
I'm 41 and am worried about gaining weight as I age. I don't *seem* anywhere near menopause yet, but it worries me a lot. I have no weight to lose now. I'm just worried about gaining as I age.
I'm 41 and am worried about gaining weight as I age. I don't *seem* anywhere near menopause yet, but it worries me a lot. I have no weight to lose now. I'm just worried about gaining as I age.
One of the things you can do is to build some muscle. Muscle burns more calories than fat even when your body is at rest. Most people lose some muscle as they age and losing muscle makes it more difficult to maintain your weight as you age. You can get a jump on preventing weight gain by doing muscle building exercises.
True, strength training is really important. You don't have to bulk up like a bodybuilder to get the benefits of strength training. Even using modest weights a few times a week will make a difference.
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