Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I lost 30 lbs, two years ago at the age of 67 when my daughter was about to be married. I decided when she announced her engagement that it was then or never. I was highly motivated.
I ate a low carb diet by eating mostly protein (beef, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese, etc.) and steamed vegetables. I would add butter to the veggies and if I needed a snack I would mostly have nuts. So dinner would be a protein with veggies, and my first meal would be later in the morning or early afternoon which would usually be a fried egg with cheese and spinach. I would drink mostly water with lemon and a morning cup of coffee.
Once I started to eat this way it took a few weeks for it to not be difficult and I actually didn't miss eating sweets. Low carb really works but it is hard to get past not eating bread, pasta, potatoes and rice at first. There are a lot of great recipes for low carb meals and desserts too that one can easily find online.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,747 posts, read 58,102,528 times
Reputation: 46237
Quote:
Originally Posted by jetgraphics
Check out DR JASON FUNG on YouTube, etc.
He explains why we get obese - and it's not what we've been led to believe. It's not a case of calories in - calories out.
The major culprit is insulin and recent changes to our "national diet" that replaced fat with processed carbohydrates.
He's an advocate of intermittent fasting. Eat only in a 4 - 8 hour window, no snacks, fast the remainder (14-16 hours).
I'm using his program and down 60 lbs.
Basically, I'm using a high fat, moderate protein, low carb regimen. . . with a few twists to control insulin and other hormones.
You might find similar programs like carnivore, ketovore and ketogenic plans.
....
And not all fats are good. Dr Fung suggests avoiding most seed oils, and only recommends olive oil. (There goes commercial mayonnaise, made with soybean oil)
And some protein sources trigger more insulin than others. Dairy and fish, for example, trigger more insulin release than other protein sources. (Cheese is out) Overall, he suggests foods that have not been processed. "Shop the perimeter, not the center of the supermarket..."
In short, most processed foods contain verboten ingredients. Sigh.
In other words.... Eat like it was1850-1920.
And probably beneficial to live a lifestyle of physical work and activity to match.
Fewer recliners and couches, more time outside, no tv, early to rise, cooler house temps in winter, walk to town or the store.wash clothes by hand for the vigorous exercise... prepare your meals from raw foods (with blemishes and a bit of soil), not from boxes and bags of refined ingredients.
I'm about 10 years younger than you but am having similar issues. My mom is 79 and also has these problems. This coming after a life of mostly being very thin. I suspect, like you, that you probably "only* have about 10 lbs to lose and then you'd be fairly happy. As you know, those last 10 pounds are difficult for everyone!
So in this age group (and would say over 50), it becomes increasingly important to lift weights. By the age of 60, women have lost an astonishing amount of muscle mass that gets worse every year. This, in turn, slows your metabolic (burn) rate so you can really only afford to eat much less than ever and losing weight becomes incredibly difficult.
While your 30 minute walk is doing you a world of good, you're probably only burning about 50 calories on that walk.
You can build muscle as you age--recent studies have shown even 90 year olds, when put on a supervised weight lifting regimin, can and do grow muscles.
If you have the time and can invest in some dumbells, kettlebell etc, you can do this at home and you don't need to go to a gym. But you definitely need to spend time watching videos and reading the correct way to do it. There are resources out there on YouTube that discuss routines and you can search to find ones for seniors.
One of the physical therapy centers near where I live offer a "gym" option where you don't really have anything wrong with you, but you can pay cash and have a certified physical therapist safely guide you through exercises to increase muscle mass.
I think if you could work on building your musculature up, you might see some of that weight budge a bit easier.
Having said all that, I really need to take my own advice!!!
I lost 30 lbs in 2020 at age 63 and have maintained since then. I use WW as my food plan and workout with weights 4 days a week and cardio 1 day a week.
Yes.
After cardio bypass surgery in '21 I topped out at 227.
Yesterday I weighed 182.5 - up just a couple pounds in the past couple days. I try to keep it at 180. 5'10" tall.
Man. 78 years old.
I found it was all in the set up. No bread in the house, no pasta, etc.
I remember it being a little confusing at first. I mean, how does one have lunch without bread?! But it's easier now.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SETTLE FOR BEING TOO FAT!
My success started with learning about the carnivore diet. I don't really follow it, but sometimes I come pretty close.
Breakfast, for example, is pork chop and egg. That's it. That's all. No toast, no muffin, no biscuit - all that stuff is just filler, anyway. I don't get hungry until 2PM or so, and then I just want some cheese and roast beef or something like that.
I have learned that a HUGE portion of what I was eating is just not necessary and a very large portion of that is actually harmful.
Not needed: salads, fruits, most vegetables
Harmful: Salad dressing, cooking oils, crackers, grains of all sort, breads made American style.
Yeah. It's been a real eye opener for me. I feel like I have been used and betrayed by the food industry with its "vegetable oils" and "low fat" that and that. They are killing us and are doing so very successfully.
You can lose weight. You can! But you cannot do it by eating salads, and chicken and vegetables, whole grains and following the official advice given by the various government and private bodies.
I wish you the very best of success, but I have to warn you: You will encounter headwinds of the strongest sort. We have been manipulated and used and lied to by the food industry and government for so long that going against the grain is like shouting into a hurricane. Everyone knows you are wrong and they will tell you so very loudly.
Correct, we have been lied to big time. The first thing I would suggest anyone do is to become more knowledgeable about nutrition. I haven't done the Carnivore diet but it sure looks mostly correct and if that works for you, then great.
I've found several Youtubers that have great advice that I watch including Dr. Gundry, Dr. Berg, & Dr. Fung and others have good videos. Until one becomes more knowledgeable about health and nutrition, you're just shooting in the dark.
Dr Fung's videos also show how our "thermostat" tries to compensate for our intake.
When you cut calories, the basal metabolic rate DROPS - styming our weight loss efforts. (plateaus, fatigue, cold)
Whereas when you boost calories the rate RAISES - burning off more calories. . . without exercise !
The insulin (and insulin resistance) is the factor that prevents burning the stored fat.
So the longer one has periodic fasts, the more fat is metabolized.
Since protein can also bump up insulin, moderating that helps.
And autophagy kicks in to resorb protein, from old fat cells no longer needed.
So a high fat carnivore or ketogenic diet will continue to trigger weight loss despite a relatively high caloric intake - providing there are enough long fasting periods.
During the pandemic, mrs & I both lost 20-ish pounds. We attribute it to mostly eating at home with appropriate portion control rather than going out to restaurants many nights per week. We also bicycled 4 or 5 days/week (summer) and skied a hundred days (winter).
I am not talking about losing weight after a serious illness or surgery.
I am 70, and my weight has yo-yoed ever since I was about 35. It was never a problem because when my clothes became tight, I would diet and lose about two pounds a week. For the last four years, however, I have not been able to lose any weight no matter what I do. Believe me, I have tried everything (including Keto, intermittent fasting, etc.) except getting my caloric intake down to something like 900 calories a day -- and for two entire months, I was on a strict average caloric intake of 1,400 calories a day and a minimum of two miles of fast walking, and nothing -- no results at all. And last winter I had a severe virus (not COVID), and I ate almost nothing for a week, and yet did not lose any noticeable weight then, either.
I am in good shape otherwise -- I'm on no medication, blood pressure 130/80, and I can still hike on uphill and uneven trails.
Is it time to just accept that I will never again be a size 6/8? (I am now a size 10 and my waistbands are tight, whereas when I was younger, there was always about a 3" gap in my jeans and slacks waistband.)
I do NOT want to take any weight loss medication! I would rather lose weight in a natural way, but sacrificing eating good food -- especially around the holidays -- is not worth it when there is absolutely nothing to show for it, except for possibly not gaining any more weight.
Btw, my current doctor is almost useless as far as I'm concerned. We moved here three years ago, and he took zero interest in my health -- I guess I was too healthy? -- but I am stuck with him as there is not a large choice of doctors here. I had to search and wait to even find him.
I have never dieted. My weight has been up and down when I was young, and then after spending 5 years under 170, I had a bad year and my weight leveled out at 194 for 20 years. So I moved back to New Mexico, different kind of activity and I lost about 10 pounds. It goes back up in winter and down 10 or 15 in spring through fall because of the type of exercise I do. (digging, planting trees, gardening, landscaping, hiking etc). Before, when I lived in Texas, in an apartment I walked 3 to 6 miles a day and my weight neveer changed. There were no hills, just parks with nice walking tails. I don't think weight is as important as activity. Healthy people are active people.
Size of clothes vary from manufacturer are you aware; years ago, women wearing size 10's, by different manufacturers, each skirt fit differently.
IF you're not obese, your doctor hasn't said anything, Please let it go !
Enjoy ? Have a spouse, like to read, socialize, volunteer ?
My story, healthy weight 115 lbs, 5'. Mama wanted me to be 90 lb like her; she had small bone structure, I'm large. Obsessed by my weight all my life ! Currently, have maintained my weight (not obese, fluffly, yes i could lose some )doc hasn't said anything, so !
Accept myself as I'm, think of others, try to have a personality others enjoy being with.
Thank you for your Post.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
