I need to lose 35 lbs

[Anonymous]

I'm 53 and lost almost 100 lbs over the past ~20 months, mostly through low-ish, high protein meals and going down to 2 meals a day (basically intermittent fasting), fitting some walking in also. I'm around 157 now at 5 ft 7 and just looking to lose another 1 or 2 pounds. Honestly for me it was mostly just willpower not to eat when I wanted a snack or a delicious carb. It can be hard when you start, but once the scale starts moving you gain a momentum. Push through the plateaus! You can do it!

[Anonymous]

Ozempic or Mounjaro! Works!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Walking is a start, but isn't enough on it's own. Add in some other exercise. I've gotten into the Carolyn Girvan workouts on youtube, but you could also find pilates or some other HIIT workout to do. You need some weights.

How much are you walking now and how much do you want to increase it to?

It 100% CAN be enough if you eat less and move more. Calories in, calories out.

[Anonymous]

Weight lifting! Total honesty with yourself about what you are eating. Track calories and take it slowly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weight watchers really works. It's not that fun to measure your portions and track your points, but it works and it's more flexible than a lot of other diets. Walking is great too for many reasons, but it isn't going to burn a lot of calories.

+1. Sad but true. Okay, not really sad, but still true. I was always fairly savvy about nutrition basics, but WW is very eye opening and doesn't let you make excuses. And I didn't find that I was hungry, which is another revelation. I had gotten into the habit of eating because it was meal time and not because I was hungry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm 53 and lost almost 100 lbs over the past ~20 months, mostly through low-ish, high protein meals and going down to 2 meals a day (basically intermittent fasting), fitting some walking in also. I'm around 157 now at 5 ft 7 and just looking to lose another 1 or 2 pounds. Honestly for me it was mostly just willpower not to eat when I wanted a snack or a delicious carb. It can be hard when you start, but once the scale starts moving you gain a momentum. Push through the plateaus! You can do it!

Wow, congrats, PP! I’ve only lost ten (20ish more to go), but this is so true.

[Anonymous]

Some poster indicated eating 3 meals a day. You will not lose weight on 3 meals a day. It's not happening.

Cut out breakfast or eat only a salad for lunch ( no protein).

You need to get down to 1500 calories a day. That's 500 per meal if you are eating 3 meals.. It's not going to happen if you have a great appetite.

Skip one meal ( or eat an apple and an egg for breakfast, and then eat 2 medium sized meals.

I skip breakfast and eat lunch around 11. Then dinner around 5:30. Then I avoid the kitchen completely until bedtime. You need to get into a strict meal routine during the week and stick to it.

[Anonymous]

Expect it to be slow. I’ve never had a weight issue until peri menopause. If I felt a bit too constricted in my pants, I’d cut back for a couple weeks and be fine. Now? Triple or quadruple that time. It’s frustrating and annoying and maddening all at once. So, my advice is to set expectations before you begin.

Also:
Lift weights
Do light cardio
Incorporate mobility work into whatever you do
Definitely up your walking; good for everything and overall quality of life and longevity!!
And cut back on calories, but don’t go hungry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I lost 30 lbs at 51 (pre menopause) by eliminating as many carbs as possible. No potatoes, only whole grains when we did have carbs like bread (which was rare). More vegetables. Portion control. Exercise. It took about 6-7 months. We've generally stuck with that approach to eating.

I kept most of it off for 6-7 years. But menopause and the pandemic brought 20+ lbs back and I have found it much harder to lose weight post menopause. Also starting to see health impacts from being overweight. So I have now started ozempic and it is making a huge difference. Remains to be seen how much I will lose but 30 lbs is the goal. Worth looking into if you haven't already.

Ozempic is crazy unhealthy and risky I’m in medicine and it’s really a very scary drug

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lost 30 lbs at 51 (pre menopause) by eliminating as many carbs as possible. No potatoes, only whole grains when we did have carbs like bread (which was rare). More vegetables. Portion control. Exercise. It took about 6-7 months. We've generally stuck with that approach to eating.

I kept most of it off for 6-7 years. But menopause and the pandemic brought 20+ lbs back and I have found it much harder to lose weight post menopause. Also starting to see health impacts from being overweight. So I have now started ozempic and it is making a huge difference. Remains to be seen how much I will lose but 30 lbs is the goal. Worth looking into if you haven't already.

Ozempic is crazy unhealthy and risky I’m in medicine and it’s really a very scary drug

Being overweight and pre-diabetic is also very unhealthy. I am willing to take the risk in order to lose weight and improve my overall health.

Why is it okay for people with diabetes but not for people who are pre-diabetic and would prefer not to transition to full Type II?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some poster indicated eating 3 meals a day. You will not lose weight on 3 meals a day. It's not happening.

Cut out breakfast or eat only a salad for lunch ( no protein).

You need to get down to 1500 calories a day. That's 500 per meal if you are eating 3 meals.. It's not going to happen if you have a great appetite.

Skip one meal ( or eat an apple and an egg for breakfast, and then eat 2 medium sized meals.

I skip breakfast and eat lunch around 11. Then dinner around 5:30. Then I avoid the kitchen completely until bedtime. You need to get into a strict meal routine during the week and stick to it.

It depends on how you define a meal. I eat three meals a day and I am not overweight. I have family members who are overweight because they overeat at every meal and they snack. I don't think they have any idea what is an appropriate amount of food at a meal. They are the ones who say they need to skip breakfast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some poster indicated eating 3 meals a day. You will not lose weight on 3 meals a day. It's not happening.

Cut out breakfast or eat only a salad for lunch ( no protein).

You need to get down to 1500 calories a day. That's 500 per meal if you are eating 3 meals.. It's not going to happen if you have a great appetite.

Skip one meal ( or eat an apple and an egg for breakfast, and then eat 2 medium sized meals.

I skip breakfast and eat lunch around 11. Then dinner around 5:30. Then I avoid the kitchen completely until bedtime. You need to get into a strict meal routine during the week and stick to it.

I eat my calories approximately like this and it works. Also: I never skip meals; works for some but I would overeat the next meal or snack.
300 calories for breakfast
450 lunch
250 in late afternoon, pre workout snack
500 dinner

Drinks are
water (gallon/day)
Black coffee
Plain tea (Numi chocolate pu erh is amazing)
Maybe a small glass of wine with dinner

Days I run into # issue are if I have something like a latte. Drinking calories makes me hungrier later. On occasion not a problem but I avoid it as a habit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lost 30 lbs at 51 (pre menopause) by eliminating as many carbs as possible. No potatoes, only whole grains when we did have carbs like bread (which was rare). More vegetables. Portion control. Exercise. It took about 6-7 months. We've generally stuck with that approach to eating.

I kept most of it off for 6-7 years. But menopause and the pandemic brought 20+ lbs back and I have found it much harder to lose weight post menopause. Also starting to see health impacts from being overweight. So I have now started ozempic and it is making a huge difference. Remains to be seen how much I will lose but 30 lbs is the goal. Worth looking into if you haven't already.

Ozempic is crazy unhealthy and risky I’m in medicine and it’s really a very scary drug

For me it’s been like a miracle. I don’t think I ever felt “full” in the way I was supposed to, tbh. Now I can eat a healthy diet just by making good choices and listening to my body. It’s impossible for me to know what other people feel like. But not only is my blood sugar coming down, my relationship to food is suddenly peaceful. All of the “advice” about how to eat healthy and in moderation that always felt so impossible to me is suddenly in reach. Like anything else, there will be people who abuse it and more we need to learn. But I would never listen to someone who says it’s “crazy unhealthy” and “very scary” because that’s not a real argument.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some poster indicated eating 3 meals a day. You will not lose weight on 3 meals a day. It's not happening.

Cut out breakfast or eat only a salad for lunch ( no protein).

You need to get down to 1500 calories a day. That's 500 per meal if you are eating 3 meals.. It's not going to happen if you have a great appetite.

Skip one meal ( or eat an apple and an egg for breakfast, and then eat 2 medium sized meals.

I skip breakfast and eat lunch around 11. Then dinner around 5:30. Then I avoid the kitchen completely until bedtime. You need to get into a strict meal routine during the week and stick to it.

It depends on how you define a meal. I eat three meals a day and I am not overweight. I have family members who are overweight because they overeat at every meal and they snack. I don't think they have any idea what is an appropriate amount of food at a meal. They are the ones who say they need to skip breakfast.

I’m your overweight family member and I am not an idiot. I have always struggled to control my eating. It’s not because I don’t know how to count calories or make an appropriate portion. All of my diet “tricks” and schemes were to try to get around myself and my constant hunger, to keep myself under control. They worked sometimes and other times not. Now I’m on Ozempic and I can have a small portion of lasagna. I can recognize that the restaurant portion is too large and leave half on my plate without salting it or completely losing the conversation at the table. What’s different is my hormones. Not my emotions, not my knowledge of portion size, not my willpower. These drugs have really made me hear the comments people make about fat people in a new way. I wouldn’t tell a person with depression that they just don’t know how to think positively. I wouldn’t tell a child with ADHD that they just need to buckle down. I’m learning to be kinder to myself and I’m starting to hear the world around me and I think what you are is so much worse than being fat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lost 30 lbs at 51 (pre menopause) by eliminating as many carbs as possible. No potatoes, only whole grains when we did have carbs like bread (which was rare). More vegetables. Portion control. Exercise. It took about 6-7 months. We've generally stuck with that approach to eating.

I kept most of it off for 6-7 years. But menopause and the pandemic brought 20+ lbs back and I have found it much harder to lose weight post menopause. Also starting to see health impacts from being overweight. So I have now started ozempic and it is making a huge difference. Remains to be seen how much I will lose but 30 lbs is the goal. Worth looking into if you haven't already.

Ozempic is crazy unhealthy and risky I’m in medicine and it’s really a very scary drug

What ridiculous thing to say. Please point to the studies indicating that it's "crazy unhealthy" or "risky". Millions of Americans have taken it for diabetes for at least a decade.