Okay over 50 and can't drop the weight!

[emily_in_nc]

I'll be honest here - with myself as much as with anyone. I don't have an accurate numerical measure of my body fat %, but I'm sure it's at a healthy but higher than ideal level. I can feel my iliac crests all the way around within 2-3 mm of the skin. I have some definition in my arms, mid to lower legs, delts, pecs, back, upper abs and obliques. The last time my cholesterol was checked, it was a total chol. of 165 with 102 HDL. All my life I've carried extra fat around the hips and upper thighs. I was going to say I'm nowhere near a racing weight... but that's not true; I'm within 2-3 lbs of my racing weight, but my body composition is not what it used to be. I've never been happy about my big butt and thunder thighs, but right at the moment what I'm really bummed about is that pooch around my navel, and the loss of definition in my middle abs. (I never had any in the lower abs ) Bottom line: I'm lamenting the depredations of age, and because of my fitness focus I'm a whole lot more bummed about the menopot than I am about the white hairs, the laugh lines or the saggy boobs.

Oakleaf, you said this really, really well. I am 46 and pretty much could have written the above too. Even down to the HDL > 100! I weigh less than I weighed in high school (by about 6 lbs.), and back then never exercised at all, but today my waistline is larger, despite never having children due to infertility issues. I have loose flab/skin on my belly and in my love-handles area and around the back on my flanks (back fat, ugh). My upper thighs are looser on the side than I'd like. I almost hate to post on a thread like this, because I am the kind of woman that larger women would probably look at when I'm dressed and "hate" because I'm small -- but seeing me naked is another story. I am NO Karen Carpenter. I can pinch flab, plenty of it.

I only weigh 102-103 at 5'1-1/2", so losing more weight would require depriving myself more than I am willing to (giving up my nightly glass of wine, or occasional dark chocolate...) or working out/training a lot more than I really have time for with my job and life. I already do some form of exercise every day, even if I only have time for thirty minutes.

So I live with this middle-aged spread, as it were, and figure I'm still in pretty darn good shape for my age. But I do get what you are saying. And it's a little frustrating to weigh what I do, exercise every day, and still have more flab/higher BF % than I'd like. I know if I had lived the lifestyle I live now in my 20s, I'd have had a flat tummy, no question.

I try to tell myself, though...the alternative to aging is definitely not preferable! I try to be thankful for my good health and not let my imperfections get me down. But you won't see me flaunting it in a bikini, that's for sure!

Emily

[Susan126]

I just love coming to this forum and reading all of your posts! You guys never fail to bring a smile to my face! And I've learned a lot from your posts too! I'm also glad to know that I'm not alone in this battle. And I have made changes this week.

For breakfast (yes I am finally eating breakfast!) I have been having either hot oatmeal with soy milk and coffee of course or scrambled eggs (egg beaters) and coffee.

I have not been having snacks. Is that important?

For lunch I have rice and a chicken breast.

When I get home from work I am usually famished and will have a bowl of cherrios and soy milk.

Dinner I have with hubby. This week it's been lean meat (chicken, chicken, and more chicken . . . except last night I baked tuna filets) with rice or baked potato and fresh veggies.

So one week down and already I've noticed I am losing a lot of "water". I am also trying to drink a lot of water. But really I am going to the bathroom almost every half hour at work! Cheryl, the librarian at the middle school where I work, must be wondering about me this week. LOL

Oh nights are still very hard for me. I had such a craving for ice cream last night! But I was good and instead had a bowl of dry cereal, cheerios.

Oh I hope I can keep this up with the holidays approaching! Hubby will be out of town for two weeks, Nov. 3 - 17, and my daughter and I decided this would be a good time to bake our annual holiday cookie stash. I place the cookies in my big freezer and take them out over the holidays for guests and to give away too. I must bake 12 dozen or more cookies. All kinds! But I'm on a mission now and I think I will get through it fine!

I don't know what my body fat is (I don't think I want to know) and my HDL and LDL levels were not good in June when I went in for a checkup. Hopefully I can bring that around. Has anyone tried the Promise Active Supershots for high cholesterol? It's new on the market. I have been drinking them with breakfast and dinner. I hope they help.

[Pax]

Susan - Conventional wisdom says that spreading your calories out throughout the day...same amount of food/calories as three meals a day, just spread out into six smaller meals will keep your metabolism running evenly instead of doing those spikes that make you crave ice cream.


BTW - if you want something sweet and don't want to indulge in ice cream try this, frozen fruit (I like blueberries) and just a little bit of soy milk, stir it up and the frozen fruit will semi freeze the soy, ends up like yummy soft serve ice cream.

[Susan126]

BTW - if you want something sweet and don't want to indulge in ice cream try this, frozen fruit (I like blueberries) and just a little bit of soy milk, stir it up and the frozen fruit will semi freeze the soy, ends up like yummy soft serve ice cream.

Oh yummy that does sound gooood! I'll have to try it for sure. Thanks Queen!

[Zen]

I only weigh 102-103 at 5'1-1/2", so losing more weight would require depriving myself more than I am willing to (giving up my nightly glass of wine, or occasional dark chocolate...) or working out/training a lot more than I really have time for with my job and life. I already do some form of exercise every day, even if I only have time for thirty minutes.

I'm 5'2" and weigh about 135. I do have a belly but I would not describe myself as fat. I can't imagine someone my height weighing in the neighborhood of 100 pounds yet describing herself the way you do. You don't need to lose weight. You should build muscle.

I do weight and core training on the stability ball. I rarely use weight machines, most of my lifting is done on the ball and with relatively light weights. You can do this in thirty minutes a day.

[emily_in_nc]

I'm 5'2" and weigh about 135. I do have a belly but I would not describe myself as fat. I can't imagine someone my height weighing in the neighborhood of 100 pounds yet describing herself the way you do. You don't need to lose weight. You should build muscle.

I do weight and core training on the stability ball. I rarely use weight machines, most of my lifting is done on the ball and with relatively light weights. You can do this in thirty minutes a day.

It is possible to not weigh a lot and still be overfat, though, based on bodyfat percentage.

I do lift weights - light dumbbells (8-12 lbs. depending on the muscle group) and do weight machines, though lately I've been lucky to get to the gym 1-2 times a week for a lifting session, just barely enough time to maintain. However, another often overlooked factor in differences in weight among people of the same height is bone structure. My wrists are like tiny little bird wrists; I have narrow little hips (the boney part, that is!), etc. I have very slim ankles. I'd wager my wrists are a lot smaller than yours as they are smaller than most women I know.

But I do know that I could use more muscle. It seems hard to put on and maintain muscle in my mid 40s, harder than it used to be. One reason: I suspect my testosterone levels are pretty low (they tend to fall in women around menopause).

Emily

[Zen]

But I do know that I could use more muscle. It seems hard to put on and maintain muscle in my mid 40s, harder than it used to be. One reason: I suspect my testosterone levels are pretty low (they tend to fall in women around menopause).

My 50th bday is nipping me on the a$$. I didn't start lifting until I was 42.

See that belly? (Lycra is your friend)
You can do it.

[emily_in_nc]

My 50th bday is nipping me on the a$$. I didn't start lifting until I was 42.

See that belly? (Lycra is your friend)
You can do it.

Yeah, you're definitely more muscular than me - great arms/shoulders!

I started lifting at 39, but I've never gotten that much muscle definition, and now I have even less. When I am lifting, I always think I look pretty muscular in the mirror, when the muscles are actually working, but then I look at my arms later, and they just look kinda slender, not very well defined. I definitely need to lift more -- we've been so busy this summer with buying a sailboat that I've kinda slacked on that -- I always tend I do more in the winter (when no one can even check out my arms! )

Emily

P.S. You can see photos of my on my blog below just to reassure you that I am not an anorexic with a severely distorted body image. I may not weight a lot, but I am definitely still curvy, including the pooch over the top of my underwear....

[Zen]

I am definitely still curvy, including the pooch over the top of my underwear....

why fight it, it's more powerful than we are. Another reason to go commando.

EMBRACE THE POOCH

you're a waif!
I wish I could train with you,you'd have hams like The Rock.

Remember though that a lot of what we look like is genetic no matter how hard we train.

Be glad we're reasonably healthy, can walk talk see, hear and have roofs over our heads.

[teigyr]

why fight it, it's more powerful than we are. Another reason to go commando.

EMBRACE THE POOCH

No embracing here. I poke it sometimes. I'd love to be a waif. And commando? Don't the underwear hold it in a bit? Or is it an illusion?

Yes there are a lot of things to be grateful for but I'm not ready to be matronly. Aging is undignified and rude.

[emily_in_nc]

why fight it, it's more powerful than we are. Another reason to go commando.

EMBRACE THE POOCH

you're a waif!
I wish I could train with you,you'd have hams like The Rock.

I love you zen.

Pooch-bellies unite!

"The waif"

[shootingstar]

It's been..um 1-2 months since I've weighed myself. In the summer I was weighing myself at least once a wk.

But yesterday I was asked to give my height & weight to match with my photo government ID that I was applying for: 5'1", 100 lbs. Even when I was underweight at 93 lbs. I NEVER had a 24" waist. It's true that part of our body is genetic in terms of its bone structure and natural distribution of body fat.

I am 48 and experiencing I believe, perimenopause for past year. And am hoping that menopause will be the same...gentle, rarely any hot flashes for me. Just a warm flush for 5-10 min., several times per week.

I cannot blame any weight gain in belly, to menopause. I'm simply snacking more in evenings and over past 10 years my intake of sugar has increased. This is completely the opposite of the diet that I was raised on for lst 20 yrs. of life --80% Asian diet. Now it is 60% Asian in dishes and ingredients. Back then , the sight of a Danish pastry made me ill, now I eat one happily.

Because I began life with predominantly Asian diet, I dislike any form of carbonated drink. I occasionally drink wine, perhaps 1-2 glasses per month. I dislike beer. But I have allergy to wine and get flushed even after 1/4 c. of wine. Not good on the bike. But probably natural weight control tactic!

This past summer I found it helpful to increase my intake of fresh fruit by 3x. I became a fruit nut...but it helped with my evening snacking.

For past 4 years, I am eating small breakfast --usually microwaved 1/2 c. of oatmeal with abit of milk. And fruit of some sort or soy cheese. I found this necessary since my day starts at 4:30 am.

For past 8-9 years, I haven't eaten lunch regularily on workdays. I'm just not hungry. If I have a business lunch, then I try to eat more lightly for supper. During weekend, I have some sort of "lunch" since I'm cycling 40-50 kms. each weekend day.

So I know my problems.

In winter I snowshoe several times. But that's all. I walk alot if not cycling, because we choose not to have a car. I sort of do stretching exercises several times weekly. Gotta do more of it.

I would like to stick to 60% Asian diet, because I understand and use many of the healthy cooking techniques very easily, also some of the Chinese veggies are quite healthy for you...and I see powerful evidence of results in my own family in terms of health.

My father is 78, he doesn't really exercise but he has been eating consciously healthy for past 15 years. ie. salt-reduced, little fat , hardly no sugar. He has LOW blood pressure, no respiratory nor other cardiovascular problems. He occasionally has mild arthritis. But that's all. He is a small guy at 5' 2" and under 110 lbs.

And he does share household chores with my mother. I guess that's his exercise plus walking 15 min. to buy newspaper. He was a restaurant cook his whole life before he retired.

By the way, I do eat meat. But only 2-3 times weekly and usually chicken or seafood or low fat pork chop. It's been a gradual reduction..more for cost-saving reasons and sheer laziness.

ANd yes, I do eat primarily white rice, when I do have rice. Approx. 2 times per wk. or so. I find brown rice just too heavy in palate taste for me to eat it often. I will eat sushi and sashimi several times per month.

The pasta I eat now is a lighter Chinese dried or fresh linguine. I do love thicker pastas and will have it occasionally, but they do have more carbs.

At home, we do not stock chips, pop drink. We still have a few boxes of chocolates...from 12 months ago. But I stress, we love European, gourmet cakes and gelatos. This is what I get being with a German-Canadian partner who has instilled in me how to assesss fine gourmet baking since his mother was an excellent pastry baker.....like tortes, kuchens, fantastic German cookies....