At age 53 I realize I'm not going to be as nimble as I once was - but I also realize the 40 extra pounds I'm carrying are not helping. So I did some research and decided to cut out sugar all together (sooooo hard) and reduce my carbs to very few each day. So I'm eating protein and veggies mostly. The problem is that I used to see results so quickly - I'd begin eating well and exercising the the pounds would come falling off. It was always so encouraging. NOW - it's a week before I see even a half a pound!!! Grrrr.
But I'm determined. I have left over Christmas cookies that i'm bring to the nursing home, I'm throwing out the remaining dough that I had frozen. My nephew moved out of the apartment on the side of the house today so it becomes our gym again (treadmill, wii workout, etc.)
What kind of a weight control change are you making for the new year? Any ideas to help stay on course? Encouragement?
Thanks mamas! When I eat carbs it's almost always complex carbs (except for Christmas cookies and semonlina italian bread (I could eat an entire loaf) but I'm like an addict and can't have just a little. so I've cut it out altogether. Lat night my 13 yr old son asked why there's nothing in the hosue to eat... He's still growing upward (6'1" at age 13) so I unerstand he's hungry. But we're all in this together and it'll be fruit & veggies (I'll put some ice cream in the downstairs freezer chest for him).
I did get my thyroid checked a year ago and it's fine - so I can't blame it on that (my mom and 2 siblings have thyroid imbalances for which they take medication.) So I jsut have to use will power, get rid of sugar and excercise - in one day I lost one pound - so that's encouraging!
I am right there with you. I just cut out all sugar and reduce carbs as well it is extreamly hard. Especially since I feel like I am doing it alone. we can do this. I work out at least once a day but sometimes when I have that extra push I work out a second time but not as hard. We can do it. :) I have big goals and I am ready to obtain them I have done it once so I know I can do it again.. so can you.
Congrats on your decision. I am trying to be healthier, eat more fruits and veggies, and lose 30 pounds. Wow, that sounds like a lot, so hard. I'm afraid of failure, because it all seems so overwhelming and challenging. I also do not see results very easily or quickly, which makes it hard to stick with. One tip, and I'm going to really try to do this myself, is to have a green smoothie every day. Frozen fruit, and then throw in a handful of greens--you can barely taste them. A good one to start with is spinach with frozen banana--just toss it in the blender--if it's too thick, add water, or yogurt, kefir, juice, etc. You can of course add stuff like chia seeds, honey, etc. If you google it, you can find lots of tips and recipes. My sister lost a lot of weight doing that for lunch, watching the rest of her food intake, and exercising. She lost 40 pounds. We can do this! Right?
If you have a smartphone or a tablet, I highly recommend the MyFitnessPal app. I went off it for the holidays and now I'm back on to lose any holiday weight I might have gained. Scared to step on the scales! :)
It is true that the older we get, especially us ladies...the harder it may be to lose pounds! Have you had your thyroid levels checked lately? That can play a HUGE role!
My hubs and I are starting (yesterday) a new path, hopefully we stay on course :) I was doing pretty well up until right before the holidays. Lame excuse I know!
When you little carbs, what kind of carbs are you doing? Bread should be nothing but %100 whole wheat. Brown rice or quinoa only. And pasta at minimum should be the Barilla in the yellow box. Even a small amount of white carbs can wreak havoc on ur diet!
Right now we are doing the south beach, phase 1. I lost an entire pund in one day! Even if you don't want to go that crazy, go to phase 2. Or you can look up Dr. Ann's eat right for life. She has a great shopping list to stick by, and awesome recipes. Thats what I was doing before, and still having some sweets here and there and working out and I was getting really tone. good luck!!!!
I am 43. Last January I was diagnosed with severe arthritis in both knees due to a defect in my kneecaps. My ortho told me 1 lb of weight off = 5 lbs of force off my knees. I immediately gave up all carbs/sugar with the exception of fruit. So no more rice, pasta, pretzels etc. The first 3 days were by far the hardest but now I like being thin so much it is not a problem to not eat junk. it took me 10 weeks to loose 15 lbs and I've kept it off for months now. I also bought an eliptical and recumbent excise bike and I do 1 hour of cardio per day. (Also got a subscription to Net Flix and made a rule I can only watch it if I am on the bike. Best of luck! You can do this!!!
OMG, I'm 50 too. I thought I was the oldest mom here. Anyhow, yes I've noticed the pound don't seem to roll off as easily either. Then I sat down with myself and asked why? First excuse was "I'm older and that's typical of someone my age." Then I asked, "Why is it typical other than hormones?" I realized that my life-style has changed. Family has become more "needy," house has also gotten older and demands more attention, have to take MIL to the grocery store and doctor's, more really bad sweet/chocolate cravings, etc. Yep, lots of excuses for fast meals and no energy/time to exercise. So what to do about it. Here's my plan:
1. Stop blaming myself and start learning to not get upset over anything. (Very hard task.) - Discovered a really nice Yoga (Can't believe I said, "Yoga.") video that I can tolerate and do on Youtube just 2 days ago. It's called "Hatha Yoga 1." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3kA7G3hZbg) Can't believe how relaxed I felt after doing it. Ok, didn't get through the whole 43 min. yet, but the little bit I did actually helped me out. I was surprised to find no morning puff ball stomach the next day. Don't understand why, but it's something to add to my routine.
2. Try to sort of go back to the way I used to eat when I had my first bout with high cholesterol. (I did the vegetarian thing.) Trying to just focus on eating smaller portions of meat. It just smells too good when I cook it for skinny DH. I use the oven and non-stick pan (Can't believe the non-stick pan,since I was always the stainless steel Mama.) a lot more often. Non-stick pans require less oil. Got to get back into eating lots of fruit again. My family used to call me the "fruit bat." My idea of a fruit basket is a wicker laundry basket full of all kinds of fruit. (Great stuff for the bowels.) Need to lay off the nuts, since I'm eating meat now. (I classify nuts as meat...same amount of fat.) Sugar....I'm not doing anything about that one, since I never really eat a lot of sugary stuff anyway. Don't eat until full. I really do not need to fill up the gas tank, since I love to snack. (Very difficult task for me.)
3. Already started helping DH outside more. Mowing the lawn, (when I can pry the mower out of my son's hands) shoveling snow, and working in the field/garden is like adding an extra excercise routine to your day, gives you that daily dose of vitamin D, and builds muscle. It also helps with DH and DW bonding, good for emotional well being, makes the property look nice, and yeilds the best produce ever!
4. Pet the dog and play with the cat more. Can't snack at night if you're busy petting/brushing the dog or teasing the cat.
5. Repete to myself, "I am not a garbage can. I do not need to finish off everyone else's plate. It's ok to throw it in the real garbage can or put it in the mulch pile or feed it to the squirrels."
6. Now it's time to get that exercise bod into gear. Got to amp it up. VCRs aren't working anymore, so I need more DVDs and a player that works. For now, I'll just have to use the "Dancing with the Stars" exercise video and exercise videos on YouTube like Grand Rapid's "Telephone" exercise video. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wxgR_LP90E)
7. Ignore the scale for now and concentrate on fitting into my dress pants.
8. I eat carbs. There's no problem as long as you keep it to a single serving. Just watch the calories. Non-fat frozen yogert or fat free ice cream are great alternative, when you crave something fun. Just make sure the fat free ice cream isn't also sugar free, because that stuff tastes nasty. Also get the flavored or vanila bean and not just plain vanila. Invest in Chinese/Asian rice bowls. They are perfect for ice-cream and keep you from giving yourself too big of a serving. Hersey's sryup in the can is fat-free, so it's lower in calories. I got to get back into chocolate rice cakes, which are a better alternative for granola bars and low-fat candy bars.
You can do it! Wanting to be healthy is the biggest and most important step to getting into shape. Just think how healthy and sexy you'll be by this time next year!
For me, its always about portions but it has taken me years of conquering my will power. Someone once told me in the South Beach diet, it says all you really need is 3 bites of something to get the satisfaction, so I've tried to follow that rule. I do have a few rules for myself:
1 Hand rule - I measure my portions by my hand...fist = meat portions no larger than my fist, 4 fingers - side dishes, 3 fingers - carbs like rice and bread, 2 fingers - alcohol, 1 finger - slice or 1 spoonful of dessert. I can eat all the fruits and veggies I want as long as it is 1 palm size at a time.
Kid portion rule - my son doesn't eat alot so I try to fix our plates to be the same in portions - he struggles to eat alot and I struggle to eat less, so its a group effort at meals and that makes it more fun for us.
Serving size on sweets and junk food rule - counting calories depresses me, so I just eat serving sizes if they are provided. For example, on a bag of Doritos, it says a serving size is 1 oz or 11 chips. So instead of chowing down until I'm full, I just make sure I don't eat more than 11 chips. I have no idea what the calorie count is in 1 serving size but all I care about is eating my chips. On the carton of my ice cream, it says a serving size is 1/4 cup, so I try not to eat more than that.
Good luck and keep at it. Don't focus so much on food, try to plan your meals, and try to squeeze in at least 30 mins of activity (walking, running, sit ups!).
just turned 50 this past year, & decided that after living my entire adult life overweight.....I'm ready for a change.
My husband & sons are on board. For Christmas, they gave me my requested tools...an AbDoerTwist & a FitBit +. I chose the Twist, because I like that it has a seat & is non-impact. It also has upgrades available. Right now, my only goal is to limber/loosen up.
The FitBit tracks my activities, food log, & sleep. It's a handy little tool, & offers many online options. My goal for the FitBit is to use it as an incentive to keep moving. To take those extra steps each day!
& here's my Funny Story for the Day: my 16yo & I were online with the FitBit program. As he watched me log my lunch/drink, he asked to see my FitBit. I reached into my shirt, & started pulling it off of my bra strap.
He was horrified, jumped back, & said, "nah, we're done. I'm good. Nope, don't need to see it, Mom". LOL, I hit the floor laughing!
I wish you Luck! Instead of drastic cuts, I've been making small changes. In 6 months, I lost about 20lbs. I have a lot more to go, but am happy with the adaptations I've made:
**no more "real" soda. Diet gives me horrible stomach cramps, so I switched to 1/2 & 1/2, then to 1/3 "real" & 2/3 Diet. I rarely drink soda now.
**I've always used unsweetened tea. I have increased my intake.
**very rarely do I have booze of any form.
**when I have fast food, I toss 1/2 of the bun. & small fries only.
**I switched to "no sugar added" sweets....which fits in with my husband's diabetes. I rarely have "real" sweets. (eye roll here)
**I try to add in more vegies, limit the fruit.
**I have cut back on all pastas, rice, etc for the entire family. Simple menu change for all of us. & cutting back was much easier than full elimination!
