Weight loss over 45?

[Anonymous]

If you’ve had success losing weight at age 45+, how did you do it?

I walk/run 10k steps almost every day and eat fairly healthy, but the weight is not coming off and I feel like my belly fat/mom pooch is getting worse. What else should I be doing?

I have struggled with my weight since beginning anxiety meds in 2016 and have gone from a size 2 to size 10/12. Would love to stop the anxiety meds but not sure I can manage without them.

Appreciate any suggestions.

[Anonymous]

I have been trying to lose weight since 2020 and the only thing that has been working (same age as you) is semaglutide. Before that it was 5 up, 5 down.

[Anonymous]

Try a different medication.

But beyond that - track all of your food and intensify your exercise, especially to build some muscle.

[Anonymous]

I lost 20 lbs at age 50 and have kept it off for 10 years. I don't have a specific diet just eat less than before. I exercise the same. I think some of it was hormonal.

[Anonymous]

The pounds fell off once I treated my hypothyroidism; that will only work for your if your TSH is high. Do you track calories?

[Anonymous]

Weight Watchers. It works if you follow it closely.

[Anonymous]

I had a normal weight on a bathroom scale of about 145 for lots of my adult life. I started lifting and running a little less and as I got older kind of settled into about 150-153 when I was eating well, working out, not drinking a lot but not restricting either. In August, I started gaining about a pound every two weeks. not a straight line, but looking back it was consistent and in one direction.

In mid-December, before the winter holidays I was 164. I went to an endocrinologist who did a InBody Scan. Body fat percent of 26.2. She put me on a mild calorie restriction and a goal of eating 100grams of protein a day. Last time I was there about two weeks ago, I was 153 and my muscle mass was the same as the day I started this, all of the loss is attributed to fat, and my body fat percent is now 21.9. She also put me on a very low dose of metformin and indicated that this was warranted b/c my visceral fat was within healthy range but much higher than she would have expected for my body size. The visceral fat has come down as well.

When I am getting the protein, I am not looking for a snack. There have been more than a few days when I have not kept precisely to the plan.

I'm 50.

[Anonymous]

It's hard OP. Limit carbs and alcohol and sugar and don't eat much. I find that intermittent fasting works (I have Coffee, but nothing else until noon) and you get used to it. It brings you down to 2 meals a day and I finish eating by 7.

[Anonymous]

I cut drinking back a TON. And walk 5-7 miles a day and went to top of normal BMI to high mid-point (154 to 148) in a couple months. Not a huge change but enough for me to notice it.

[Anonymous]

You might consider looking into weightlifting (including a bit of power lifting). It sounds like it’s going to be tough otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You might consider looking into weightlifting (including a bit of power lifting). It sounds like it’s going to be tough otherwise.

yes, i'm the 50 year old poster above, and that is a detail I forgot. No cardio unless i have gotten or can commit to getting in 3-4 lifting sessions that week. It's not that cardio is bad, but it can't come at the expense of the lifting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's hard OP. Limit carbs and alcohol and sugar and don't eat much. I find that intermittent fasting works (I have Coffee, but nothing else until noon) and you get used to it. It brings you down to 2 meals a day and I finish eating by 7.

Not eating much would not help if she adopts weightlifting. I agree that lifting at our age, and as we get older, is key to maintaining an active lifestyle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’ve had success losing weight at age 45+, how did you do it?

I walk/run 10k steps almost every day and eat fairly healthy, but the weight is not coming off and I feel like my belly fat/mom pooch is getting worse. What else should I be doing?

I have struggled with my weight since beginning anxiety meds in 2016 and have gone from a size 2 to size 10/12. Would love to stop the anxiety meds but not sure I can manage without them.

Appreciate any suggestions.

Eating "fairly healthy" can mean 1000 different things and overconsuming "healthy" food can still lead to weight gain. For starters you need to determine how many calories you are currently consuming because if the weight is not coming off it means you are eating at maintenance. To figure out how much you are currently consuming track all days for a week or two, not just the "good" days. From there reduce calores slightly to create a deficit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’ve had success losing weight at age 45+, how did you do it?

I walk/run 10k steps almost every day and eat fairly healthy, but the weight is not coming off and I feel like my belly fat/mom pooch is getting worse. What else should I be doing?

I have struggled with my weight since beginning anxiety meds in 2016 and have gone from a size 2 to size 10/12. Would love to stop the anxiety meds but not sure I can manage without them.

Appreciate any suggestions.

Eating "fairly healthy" can mean 1000 different things and overconsuming "healthy" food can still lead to weight gain. For starters you need to determine how many calories you are currently consuming because if the weight is not coming off it means you are eating at maintenance. To figure out how much you are currently consuming track all days for a week or two, not just the "good" days. From there reduce calores slightly to create a deficit.

I agree. OP, you should track your calories for a week to understand portion size and know exactly how much you are consuming. Then you can create a deficit from there.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry but you won't loose weight until you get off the meds. You can starve yourself, but that won't do much.