Sick of watching my weight!

[Anonymous]

I will be 50 in 6 months. I have watched my weight religiously since I was a teenager and was always thin and fit, but in the last few years, I just watched my weight go up and up. 40 pounds in my 40s. Ugh. I feel terrible about it, but I just don't have the motivation/discipline anymore. I'm sick to death of green salads with grilled chicken. I'm sick to death of counting calories, carbs, points, etc. What makes it worse is that it is about 10 times harder to lose a pound now as it used to be. I get plenty of exercise, but it's like I have diet ADHD now --I start the day with good intentions, but completely forget them when I come in contact with cookies or pizza. How to get back some balance at this stage of life?

[Anonymous]

Weight Watchers. I lost 30 pounds last year. Kept it off.

[Anonymous]

I don't use a diet plan of any sort, though I know many women who swear by Weight Watchers. Instead, I exercise (lots of cardio), am mindful -- but not obsessive -- about what I eat and use common sense to guide me in food selection. For me the motivation comes from looking in the mirror and liking what I see. I also feel that I'm setting a positive example for my DD. Finally, it gives me pleasure that my husband compliments me about my body and takes pleasure in it.

[Anonymous]

I find that letting go of the "watching my weight" idea and forging ahead with the "staying healthy" idea motivates me.

I had food problems in my late teens and read a book that said food problems were caused by obsessive dieting and obsession with weight and food. So I let go of all that, and until I turned 50, really never had a problem with my weight, except for gaining a few pounds after the birth of each of my children.

I am very careful about eating healthy food. I do not eat junk food, pizza, soda, candy, anything with preservatives, colors, artificial ingredients or anything processed. I cook a lot and shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's and buy almost all my produce at farmers markets.

I gained 20 pounds since turning 50, and it upset me a great deal. I've been focusing on exercising more and trying to avoid sugar, which is my big bugaboo. I love cookies and sweet things. A doctor recommended using stevia as a sweetener, which seems to satisfy the craving for sweets. I add it to drinks to make them sweeter, and that seems to stop my need to eat sweet things.

I force myself to exercise every single day, even if it's just taking a brisk walk or working out at home using hand weights for 10 or 15 minutes. Today I ripped out an entire garden (hard work in this weather), which exhausted me. I've lost about five pounds since starting this routine about a month ago. It's very hard, but I've been asking DH to exercise with me, and that helps, or I exercise with my teenager, which also helps.

I am an older mom, and I want to live long enough to be a grandmother, so I have to stay healthy. I don't worry about weight, but I do worry about health.

[Anonymous]

dont watch it, walk and eat healthy, and try to be happy all the changes are horrible but with a little sense of humor, being surrounded by love, being active, taking good care of yourself it all helps, the hormones affect the weight alot

[Anonymous]

Op keep in mind, you have made progress. Even though you've gained weight, you have not gained nearly as much as you would have if you were not being careful.

[Anonymous]

As we "mature" our metabolism slows down. That makes is much harder to lose weight. I read about some easy ways to kick-start my metabolism and it really helps. I don't have to starve myself to control my weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will be 50 in 6 months. I have watched my weight religiously since I was a teenager and was always thin and fit, but in the last few years, I just watched my weight go up and up. 40 pounds in my 40s. Ugh. I feel terrible about it, but I just don't have the motivation/discipline anymore. I'm sick to death of green salads with grilled chicken. I'm sick to death of counting calories, carbs, points, etc. What makes it worse is that it is about 10 times harder to lose a pound now as it used to be. I get plenty of exercise, but it's like I have diet ADHD now --I start the day with good intentions, but completely forget them when I come in contact with cookies or pizza. How to get back some balance at this stage of life?

OP, you don't forget your good intentions, you ignore them.

You have to decide, once and for all, that you want the weight off. That has to mean more to you than yet another serving of pizza or cookies.

When you've put on 40 unwanted pounds, it can be a tough haul, because there is such a temptation to say, "It's already bad, how much worse will one more piece of cake make it?" So start with small goals. Tell yourself that this month you WILL lose 5 pounds. Just that and no more. Then do it. Next month, when you are only 35 pounds overweight, you can make a new choice as to whether or not to continue.