Over 40 Belly Blues

[kelownagirl]

I too have been frustrated with my body since my last child. I'm 46 and he was born when I was 37. Since that time, I have gained a little over 20 lbs and seemed to be gaining about 5 lbs a year in the past few years. I have tried dieting alone but it didn't do much. Then last spring I started riding along with the dieting and I started losing. I did not eat more even though I was riding a lot. I drank only water and unless I was riding thru the lunch hour, I didn't eat power bars or anything. So I consumed less calories, and burned lots of calories as well. I lost 15 lbs before summer, then all summer I didn't diet although I didn't go overboard either. I rode lots all summer and only gained back 2 lbs. Now I'm back to dieting and exercising again and I'm slowly losing weight. I KNOW that I can't have a 20 year old body again but my goal is to be able to wear a bikini again by next summer. I figure it's my last chance. If not next summer, then it'll never happen and I can live with that. But I figure I may as well try.

My point, if you make a concerted effort to eat fewer calories and burn extra calories, you will gradually lose weight, even at our age. But I tell ya, it's HARD and if I didn't write down eveything I eat, I wouldn't be able to do it. There are so many places where I didn't realize I was adding up a lot of calories. (I eat between 1200-1500 calories a day, staying pretty close to 1200 if I can and I only lose about 1 lb a week.)

I think peri-menopause is just beginning for me although it's hard to tell because I'm still on the pill...

[jobob]

Pilates might help.

[bambu101]

I am also a 53 year old member of the Blubber Belly club, and 2 years post-menopausal. About 6 years ago, I lost 35 pounds on Weight Watchers, and have put all but 10 pounds back on again. When I lost the weight, the belly was still there, only smaller, but iy never went away.

A friend of mine at work bought one of these midriff bulge smoother things that she referred to as an all-in-one. She manage to suffer for a whole 30 minutes before running to the restroom to wriggle out of it. It sure smoothed out the belly, but all that blubber had to go somewhere, so all of a sudden her hips ballooned out form all the belly fat being squished downwards. She was bemoaning the fact that it didn't squish the fat upwards to enhance her cleavage! The rest of us that were witnessing this display were laughing hysterically!

[Bikingmomof3]

My point, if you make a concerted effort to eat fewer calories and burn extra calories, you will gradually lose weight, even at our age. But I tell ya, it's HARD and if I didn't write down eveything I eat, I wouldn't be able to do it. There are so many places where I didn't realize I was adding up a lot of calories. (I eat between 1200-1500 calories a day, staying pretty close to 1200 if I can and I only lose about 1 lb a week.)

Wow, I need to eat at least 2000-2200 calories a day or my metabolism shuts down or worse, I lose muscle not fat. Another thing I can be grateful for-more food.