Cannot lose weight

[Anonymous]

More veggies (salad with lean protein, no cheese for lunch), and real food, not processed food that probably has too much salt in it for dinner.

[Anonymous]

I noticed a dramatic shift in my ability (and speed) with which I used to lose weight (started in the last year, I'm about to turn 50 in July).

First, I did a lot of reading about cortisol levels. Decided that giving up my Peloton (which I LOVE) was the way to go and shift my workout focus after losing 3lbs in months of spinning 60min a session (prior, if I'd committed to 60min sessions for weeks and weeks on end, I would have lost a ton of weight).

I run/walk 3-5k 5x a week (I started with walking now I run/walk and the change in output through my workout seems to work well for me). I also focus on strength/toning workouts (pilates) and I run with weights in my hands and during the walking portion, I lift.

I'm pretty lucky that my weight loss speed made it this far - I used to be able to look at my Peloton and lose weight in a week. It is what it is!

[Anonymous]

OH and I'm PP: I also practice intermittent fasting and I run in the morning (I dont eat anything until Noon-1pm hour). And I finish dinner by 8pm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nothing is wrong with you. You’re 50. Your metabolism has slowed, body composition is changing, and even if you still have your period you are likely in menopause.

This. You are eating very little. Stop torturing yourself for the sake of vanity. No one else will think you look better anyhow. If anything, they will probably think you are sick

[Anonymous]

That makes sense. During the week, my work day is pretty busy, so eating is not particularly on my mind. Some weekend days I feel hungry, depending on how busy I am with my kids. I don't buy unhealthy snacks for myself and don't particularly like the ones DH and the kids have around, so am not really tempted.


So you have kids and you are eating lean cuisines and frozen food for dinner?

They're older teens with sports obligations, and we are a blended family, so only with us half the time anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You’re 50. 132 is where your body is happy. It doesn’t care about those last 7 vanity pounds.

I get it and on some level I don't either, but I really do not want to have to buy all new suits, and cannot fit in my current ones. They're nice and I have also paid a bunch to have them tailored to fit my former body.

Clothes fit people not the other way around.

You shouldn't be wearing 4 year old suits anyway.

^That is a ridiculous statement. You buy new suits every year? You're dumb.

Nobody changes the size of their body every year. Buy a new suit FFS.

[Anonymous]

I turned 40 a few years ago, and it was like a switch was flipped. I could lose weight previously, and can't anymore.

I'm a former athlete, who in his teens couldn't eat enough, and in my 20s didn't worry about anything, and in my 30s had gotten out of hand.

At that point, on doctor's advice, and through moderate exercise and an overhaul of my diet, I very successfully lost about 35 pounds, and could've stood to lose another 20, but I got complacent. Hovered in the range of about 25-30 down for several years. During the pandemic, it crept up, I turned 40 and it allllll came back. That said, before the big weight loss I was a largely sedentary person, a former athlete who was happy to have retired from doing anything at all. Since the big weight loss, I have remained a regular gym goer, I bicycle or peloton several times a week—in no way fanatical, but 30-45 minutes, 5-8 miles—and do a moderate amount of planks, pushups, situps, etc. I am 100 percent a more active and healthy person—but my weight won't go away. And that's keeping me from being a much healthier person that I want to be.

For the last two years, I've been battling it, and I can spend weeks and weeks very carefully monitoring my diet and getting excercise—lots or a little, doesn't matter—and I will very, very slowly see tiny signs of improvement, dropping a pound or two, or if I'm really diligent, 3-3.5lbs in a month of hard work. I know that a pound a week is a good number, and that it's a long-term project. So I'll feel okay. Then I'll have a long weekend with the in-laws, where I have no control over where I'm going to eat, and even doing my best to turn down beers and opt for the fish instead of the steak, etc., I'll come back... 4lbs up.

It's just water weight, bloating, etc etc I'll tell myself, but nope... if I get right back to the hard work, it'll hold steady at the 3-4 pounds up range, and then begin slowly ticking back down. If I don't immediately go back to the careful diet and moderate excercise it will start climbing.

I feel like it's one enormous grueling step forward, followed by two steps back and it's so exhausting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I turned 40 a few years ago, and it was like a switch was flipped. I could lose weight previously, and can't anymore.

I'm a former athlete, who in his teens couldn't eat enough, and in my 20s didn't worry about anything, and in my 30s had gotten out of hand.

At that point, on doctor's advice, and through moderate exercise and an overhaul of my diet, I very successfully lost about 35 pounds, and could've stood to lose another 20, but I got complacent. Hovered in the range of about 25-30 down for several years. During the pandemic, it crept up, I turned 40 and it allllll came back. That said, before the big weight loss I was a largely sedentary person, a former athlete who was happy to have retired from doing anything at all. Since the big weight loss, I have remained a regular gym goer, I bicycle or peloton several times a week—in no way fanatical, but 30-45 minutes, 5-8 miles—and do a moderate amount of planks, pushups, situps, etc. I am 100 percent a more active and healthy person—but my weight won't go away. And that's keeping me from being a much healthier person that I want to be.

For the last two years, I've been battling it, and I can spend weeks and weeks very carefully monitoring my diet and getting excercise—lots or a little, doesn't matter—and I will very, very slowly see tiny signs of improvement, dropping a pound or two, or if I'm really diligent, 3-3.5lbs in a month of hard work. I know that a pound a week is a good number, and that it's a long-term project. So I'll feel okay. Then I'll have a long weekend with the in-laws, where I have no control over where I'm going to eat, and even doing my best to turn down beers and opt for the fish instead of the steak, etc., I'll come back... 4lbs up.

It's just water weight, bloating, etc etc I'll tell myself, but nope... if I get right back to the hard work, it'll hold steady at the 3-4 pounds up range, and then begin slowly ticking back down. If I don't immediately go back to the careful diet and moderate excercise it will start climbing.

I feel like it's one enormous grueling step forward, followed by two steps back and it's so exhausting.

I feel similar. I’ve gained at least 5+ lbs in the last year and now another 3lbs since January. I’m very short so it’s a lot. And it was on top of a lot. I’m up 25lbs since my wedding. I watch what I eat, workout and am still gaining. I feel like something is wrong with how my body treats fat. I’m 50 and in perimenopause, just started HRT and I’m still gaining weight. Do IF, focus on protein, eat less than 1200 calories. It’s brutal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I turned 40 a few years ago, and it was like a switch was flipped. I could lose weight previously, and can't anymore.

I'm a former athlete, who in his teens couldn't eat enough, and in my 20s didn't worry about anything, and in my 30s had gotten out of hand.

At that point, on doctor's advice, and through moderate exercise and an overhaul of my diet, I very successfully lost about 35 pounds, and could've stood to lose another 20, but I got complacent. Hovered in the range of about 25-30 down for several years. During the pandemic, it crept up, I turned 40 and it allllll came back. That said, before the big weight loss I was a largely sedentary person, a former athlete who was happy to have retired from doing anything at all. Since the big weight loss, I have remained a regular gym goer, I bicycle or peloton several times a week—in no way fanatical, but 30-45 minutes, 5-8 miles—and do a moderate amount of planks, pushups, situps, etc. I am 100 percent a more active and healthy person—but my weight won't go away. And that's keeping me from being a much healthier person that I want to be.

For the last two years, I've been battling it, and I can spend weeks and weeks very carefully monitoring my diet and getting excercise—lots or a little, doesn't matter—and I will very, very slowly see tiny signs of improvement, dropping a pound or two, or if I'm really diligent, 3-3.5lbs in a month of hard work. I know that a pound a week is a good number, and that it's a long-term project. So I'll feel okay. Then I'll have a long weekend with the in-laws, where I have no control over where I'm going to eat, and even doing my best to turn down beers and opt for the fish instead of the steak, etc., I'll come back... 4lbs up.

It's just water weight, bloating, etc etc I'll tell myself, but nope... if I get right back to the hard work, it'll hold steady at the 3-4 pounds up range, and then begin slowly ticking back down. If I don't immediately go back to the careful diet and moderate excercise it will start climbing.

I feel like it's one enormous grueling step forward, followed by two steps back and it's so exhausting.

I feel similar. I’ve gained at least 5+ lbs in the last year and now another 3lbs since January. I’m very short so it’s a lot. And it was on top of a lot. I’m up 25lbs since my wedding. I watch what I eat, workout and am still gaining. I feel like something is wrong with how my body treats fat. I’m 50 and in perimenopause, just started HRT and I’m still gaining weight. Do IF, focus on protein, eat less than 1200 calories. It’s brutal.

I do Noom, and I have to say the lessons are somewhat helpful but they have also explained to me in GREAT detail the science of why your body resists losing weight. I think I just let me body settle at a high weight for too long, am at a point in my life where my body chemistry and metabolism are changing and it's just going to be really, really hard. Probably possible, but really, really hard.

I'm down 7lbs from where I started on Noom, but at one point I had been down 15. Dramatically changing my ways (or returning to good form) when I started, had a shock effect and now my body is trying to fight back.

The first time I lost weight, I totally rethought what I ate... I eat a lot more vegetarian or vegan foods, rarely eat red meat, do not drink soda, rarely drink alcohol, and am generally much happier and healthier. But going on Noom, I realized that when I was focusing on eating better, I was also eating too little, and my body was essentially slowing my metabolism, and the moment I slipped up and overate, it was storing it all as fat because it thought something terrible was happening. I think I just need to go to a nutritionist and talk through all this, but, like I said, even with the best help, it's just going to be hard and I should've done it in my 30s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I turned 40 a few years ago, and it was like a switch was flipped. I could lose weight previously, and can't anymore.

I'm a former athlete, who in his teens couldn't eat enough, and in my 20s didn't worry about anything, and in my 30s had gotten out of hand.

At that point, on doctor's advice, and through moderate exercise and an overhaul of my diet, I very successfully lost about 35 pounds, and could've stood to lose another 20, but I got complacent. Hovered in the range of about 25-30 down for several years. During the pandemic, it crept up, I turned 40 and it allllll came back. That said, before the big weight loss I was a largely sedentary person, a former athlete who was happy to have retired from doing anything at all. Since the big weight loss, I have remained a regular gym goer, I bicycle or peloton several times a week—in no way fanatical, but 30-45 minutes, 5-8 miles—and do a moderate amount of planks, pushups, situps, etc. I am 100 percent a more active and healthy person—but my weight won't go away. And that's keeping me from being a much healthier person that I want to be.

For the last two years, I've been battling it, and I can spend weeks and weeks very carefully monitoring my diet and getting excercise—lots or a little, doesn't matter—and I will very, very slowly see tiny signs of improvement, dropping a pound or two, or if I'm really diligent, 3-3.5lbs in a month of hard work. I know that a pound a week is a good number, and that it's a long-term project. So I'll feel okay. Then I'll have a long weekend with the in-laws, where I have no control over where I'm going to eat, and even doing my best to turn down beers and opt for the fish instead of the steak, etc., I'll come back... 4lbs up.

It's just water weight, bloating, etc etc I'll tell myself, but nope... if I get right back to the hard work, it'll hold steady at the 3-4 pounds up range, and then begin slowly ticking back down. If I don't immediately go back to the careful diet and moderate excercise it will start climbing.

I feel like it's one enormous grueling step forward, followed by two steps back and it's so exhausting.

Why can't you turn down alcohol? I assume the people around you will understand that you're focused on getting healthier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try an anti inflammatory diet

This 100%! Cut out sugar, diet soda, caffeine, dairy, gluten, alcohol, pasta, beans and all processed foods. Eat vegetables and lean protein but include healthy fats in your diet like avocados, eggs, nuts ( not peanuts), nut butters and seeds. After ten days you will lose weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try an anti inflammatory diet

This 100%! Cut out sugar, diet soda, caffeine, dairy, gluten, alcohol, pasta, beans and all processed foods. Eat vegetables and lean protein but include healthy fats in your diet like avocados, eggs, nuts ( not peanuts), nut butters and seeds. After ten days you will lose weight.

And put it right back on. The only way to maintain a healthy weight you’re happy with is to make SUSTAINABLE changes that aren’t difficult to maintain on a daily basis as part of your lifestyle. This is not that. A person could do this for 4-6 weeks then inevitably pile the weight back on when they start adding back in.

People who can manage their weight well eat lots of protein and fiber, a wide variety of fruits and veggies and legumes (focusing on whole foods), move consistently (daily movement / walking to increase NEAT as well as strength and mobility training), rarely indulge in alcohol, and eat treats in moderation. That’s really about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You’re 50. 132 is where your body is happy. It doesn’t care about those last 7 vanity pounds.

I get it and on some level I don't either, but I really do not want to have to buy all new suits, and cannot fit in my current ones. They're nice and I have also paid a bunch to have them tailored to fit my former body.

You’re 50 and it’s 2024. How often do you need to be wearing suits?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am 50 years old, 5'4" and 132 lbs. I would really like to get back down to around 126. I exercise daily, avoid processed carbs and sugar (except for a small square of dark chocolate per day), and am not intaking more than 1300-1400 calories a day. After four months of doing this, my weight has stayed exactly the same. I really despise HITT workouts, and cannot see myself sticking to them on a regular basis, but I do weight training in addition to cardio. Is it possible that my weight is never going to get to where I want it? What is wrong with me?

1) Switch to a form of exercise you actually enjoy… doing a form of exercise you hate is not a long-term solution
2) Your calories are way too low and are slowing your metabolism
3) You need to eat more and change up what you’re eating. Avoiding sugar and processed carbs is good, but you need to be eating lots of fruits, veggies, and lean protein, and non-grain carb sources (yep, you might need to cut grains for a time) or try intermittent fasting
4) Whatever (not low-cal) plan you choose, stick with it- weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You’re 50. 132 is where your body is happy. It doesn’t care about those last 7 vanity pounds.

I get it and on some level I don't either, but I really do not want to have to buy all new suits, and cannot fit in my current ones. They're nice and I have also paid a bunch to have them tailored to fit my former body.

You’re 50 and it’s 2024. How often do you need to be wearing suits?

Oh FFS. OP wants to lose a few pounds. Help her or don't.