I'm 5'7" and my happy weight is 135. If I go any lower, I look gaunt, anything over 145 and I feel too puffy. I keep within that range by
1. Sleeping 8 hours a night (doesn't always happen, but it really helps)
2. NO alcohol. This makes a huge difference. Once in a while I'll have a glass of wine, but if I start having a regular glass or two, I start gaining weight fast. That, and I get migraines, so it's a double whammy for me.
3. I drink lots of water.
4. I eat lightly, and very little processed food. I like to cook and we eat a lot of vegetarian or organic lean poultry/red meat.
5. I eat very little sugar or desserts.

Other than that, I'm pretty active, walk a lot, etc, but don't diet, or restrict myself (except for alcohol). And there are no "off limits" foods. The real trick for me seems to be sugar and alcohol.

I am 50 with small kids. I work FT and while our kids aren't drowning in activities, they have one activity that keeps them busy 2/x week. So we're pretty busy.

My ideal weight at 5'7 is between 138 and 140. I'm at 145 right now. I cut out a lot of carbs and although I've always been a vegetable and fruit eater, I stayed away from starchy vegetables and tons of fruit. I started eating more chicken, turkey and fish, and added lots of green, leafy vegetables to my diet.

But I also started lifting weights. I don't go crazy with cardio - but I walk and will walk/run on the treadmill. So I do try to work that in also.

It takes dedication. So oftentimes I'm working out later in the evening - after the kids are in bed.

But I also eat breakfast and bring a hearty lunch to work with plenty of snacks. Once dinner rolls around, I eat lightly b/c I'm not too hungry.

And of course, I drink lots of water - and I started adding cucumber slices to it. It's very good.

So I wish I had the magic answer. But unfortunately, there isn't one. It's MUCH harder for me to lose at this stage. So I work harder at keeping myself healthy. It's not about rock solid arms and legs; it's about keeping myself as healthy as possible so that I can keep up with my kids and I'm not a burden to them later on.

Anonymous wrote:I'm 53 and I've lost 38 lbs. since January of this year. I have another 20 lbs. to get to my goal weight. I've started exercising, I've cut back on what I eat and when I eat it (my few carbs are the in the morning vs. late in the day), and I got prescription medication to help me control my appetite.

And there it is......sigh....

I'm 53 and I've lost 38 lbs. since January of this year. I have another 20 lbs. to get to my goal weight. I've started exercising, I've cut back on what I eat and when I eat it (my few carbs are the in the morning vs. late in the day), and I got prescription medication to help me control my appetite.

Calories in and Calories out has not been disproven- that's really a general misinterpretation. It's not as simple as that statement because metabolism plays too large a role, so its not really calorie per calorie burned. Some who exercise more and eat the same may have a different result than those who eat differently or exercise differently, or not at all. Its about YOU and not the type of food.Metabolism slows down in this age group- people need to adjust how they ate from when they had a great metabolism.


It boils down to how many calories can YOU burn based on your metabolism and your eating habits. In the end, in order to lose weight we will have eat less period, not really less of one food category. If you go low carb and lose weight, great, but it is because you are eating less calories than your were before from a whole category of food that was probably providing too much in the way of intake, not because you are eating less of that category of food. Eat carbs, but eat less, bit not to the degree that you don;t eat them as a food group. Eat thte bread, the sweet potato, the pasta- but less.

Portion control Portion control Portion control- eat what you want, but, sorry, you will eat less of it. That's all. You do need to exercise to be healthy, but it might not contribute to a huge loss of weight. Having said that, if you start training for a marathon, and you are running everyday, miles at a time, yes, you will lose weight. And you will eventually have to carb up a little.

Anonymous wrote:My mother lost a lot of weight around 64, and has kept it off (she's 71 now). She works out every day, and she eats very little during the day (piece of toast for breakfast, apple or nothing for lunch, "sensible" dinner, dessert). I'm not willing to eat like this for the next 40-50 years, so she looks better than me at this point (I'm 44).

Well, right, and how much stress does your 71 year old mother have? She's not working full time and raising kids while working out daily.

My mother lost a lot of weight around 64, and has kept it off (she's 71 now). She works out every day, and she eats very little during the day (piece of toast for breakfast, apple or nothing for lunch, "sensible" dinner, dessert). I'm not willing to eat like this for the next 40-50 years, so she looks better than me at this point (I'm 44).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do intermittent fasting. And it's working. Give it a try

Not feasible for those of us who workout frequently and intensely.

I fast typically 16 hrs: from 5pm to 9am. Work out afterwards. Really improved my blood work and overall energy, and isn't difficult.

You don't typically socialize in the evenings? Hard to imagine never eating and drinking with friends after work. Don't you ever want to eat dinner with your family?

There are many variations of fasting protocols and you don't need to do it every day to benefit. You can fast for 14-16 hours a few days a week; do longer fasts once or twice a week...

Anonymous wrote:Intermintant fasting would be migraine hell for me.

Yes, really hard if you have hypoglycemia.

My inlaws lost 20 lbs doing whole30 in their 60s

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do intermittent fasting. And it's working. Give it a try

Not feasible for those of us who workout frequently and intensely.

I fast typically 16 hrs: from 5pm to 9am. Work out afterwards. Really improved my blood work and overall energy, and isn't difficult.

You don't typically socialize in the evenings? Hard to imagine never eating and drinking with friends after work. Don't you ever want to eat dinner with your family?

What really worked for me was a very low carb, higher fat diet called Always Hungry? by Dr. David Ludwig. I wanted to lose about 20 lbs. Haven't quite made it yet, but most of the way. You don't have to count calories or points and the style of eating becomes natural after awhile and it focuses on healthy, nutritious, natural foods.

Anonymous wrote:I'm looking for some inspiration on weight loss in middle age. I am a 55 y.o. female and have a lot of weight to lose. It feels so much harder to lose weight in my 50s than the last time I tried losing weight, in my 20s. I know I have to eat less and exercise more (calories in, calories out) but is there some particular strategy/approach or combination that worked best for you if you lost weight in your 50s? TIA

this has proven to be a misconception.
If that was the case, you would not have such a huge range in body mass index, especially in children.
If you can go overseas for 6 months or so, you'll definitely lose quite a bit of weight without trying much.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do intermittent fasting. And it's working. Give it a try

Not feasible for those of us who workout frequently and intensely.

I fast typically 16 hrs: from 5pm to 9am. Work out afterwards. Really improved my blood work and overall energy, and isn't difficult.

Anonymous wrote:I am 50+ and a website referred by DCUM (in the sports/fitness section) changed my life:

marksdailyapple.com

OP, the short story is calories in=calories out is not the correct way to go about it.

Eat what your ancestors ate. (Like that saying, if you want the rocket to fly, give it rocket fuel)

I got down to my pre-pregnancy weight without being hungry, and without doing "chronic cardio." I gave up eating grains and added sugar, I go for walks, I lift weights a little bit, I get sleep. I can eat meat, fat, butter, bacon!

Before I figured this out, I used to excercise like crazy, was in weight watchers, etc. and I was just stuck on a hellish hamster wheel of excersise, hunger, calorie (point) counting and tiredness.

52 and a chronic dieter until recently. Past few months I cut out processed foods, wheat, sweets, most grains, bread. Eat fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, nuts, legumes, occasional beer/ wine. Finally able to maintain a lowish weight( 5"5, 131 )without counting points, calories . I do a lot of walking and yoga but I was doing that before and still struggling.