Any advice on how I can lose weight

38 redwood

Hi. I am 65yrs old. Height 5Ft 3 inc. Weigh 11st. I have a healthy diet. Breakfast - Kiwi + bowl porridge with tablesp of all bran. Lunch bowl of WW veg soup with 3 slices chicken breast + Tiny piece of wholemeal bread. Dinner chicken or meat with 3 or 4 veg and small potato. Snack 1 banana and apple. I don't eat cream or cheese and very little butter or fat. I use skimmed milk. I don't drink alcholol or fizzy drinks. I have several glasses water a day. I walk fast for 35mins every day. I was told at WW I am not eating enough which I don't believe. If I go away to hotel for week where I eat much more eg deserts, Ice cream, pastries etc I can put on 4 or 5 lbs. I go away with my 2 sisters alot. They are 9 st. They eat twice as much as me plus Bot wine with dinner plus drinks and they dont put on an ounce. My daughters say "why are you worrying about weight at your age" but I have loads of clothes I cant wear and my weight is still creeping up. What am I doing wrong? Any advice appreciated as I have a family wedding coming up soon. I would be happy if I were 10st 7 lbs. PLEASE HELP. THANK YOU.

Frogdog

Hi OP. My advice to you would be to forget WW altogether. It doesn't promote healthy eating, such as having enough fats in your diet.

I'd suggest that you start counting your calories instead. In one of the stickied threads in either this forum or the Fitness forum there's a "maintenance calorie calculator". You input all the figures that are specific to you and your circumstances.

This calculator will calculate the calories you need daily. To lose weight, eat 500 calories less than that figure, daily. To gain weight, eat more calories than that figure, daily.

Hope this helps.

pinkypinky

I don't know why people are so down on WW - the motivation that attending a group session provides is the best thing about it. People join it because they aren't achieving their goals alone.

OP - that does sound like a healthy diet. What points are you on? You could possibly increase your level of exercise - change it up a little. I always find when I shake up my exercise routine, some weight comes off.

Dixie Chick

Hiya

I think if you were to add all those calories together it wouldnt be very much to be honest. If they are telling you in WW you arent eating enough then I would believe them. They are encouraging you to eat good healthy food. The reason you gain when you have a splurge like that is probably cos its unhealthy food you are taking in.

Would you consider lifting weights? I know you say you are 66, but with good form and guidance you could really rev up your metabolism and see results quickly.

metamorphosis

you may be at a plateu which commonly happens. Try eating at maintenance or slightly above for a few days. Might gove the body the shock it needs to kick back into gear.

+1 on weight training. My mam in her 50's got 9 weeks with a PT recent;y and is in a routine and she likes it and is happy with her progress.

38 redwood

Thank you all very much for your replies. I am no longer a member of WW. I got disheartened when weight was static for several weeks. I thought it was a joke when leader said I needed to eat more. If that is true why do anorexics lose alot of weight I honestly could not see myself doing weight training at my age. I am fairly fit and do a fast walk for 35 mins every day. I have been dieting on and off since I had my first child. I joined WW at 9st, 9st 7lbs,10st,10.7lbs and 11st. I could loose weight when I was younger but then put it all back on again. I think all the dieting has played havoc with my metabolism. I know exercise is the only thing which will change that. All the weight is on my stomach. The rest of me is fine. I thought somebody out there might have the magic formula. I am reading all the diaries,posts and stickies and have got good advice so many thanks for that.

Dixie Chick

38 redwood wrote: »

Thank you all very much for your replies. I am no longer a member of WW. I got disheartened when weight was static for several weeks. I thought it was a joke when leader said I needed to eat more. If that is true why do anorexics lose alot of weight I honestly could not see myself doing weight training at my age. I am fairly fit and do a fast walk for 35 mins every day. I have been dieting on and off since I had my first child. I joined WW at 9st, 9st 7lbs,10st,10.7lbs and 11st. I could loose weight when I was younger but then put it all back on again. I think all the dieting has played havoc with my metabolism. I know exercise is the only thing which will change that. All the weight is on my stomach. The rest of me is fine. I thought somebody out there might have the magic formula. I am reading all the diaries,posts and stickies and have got good advice so many thanks for that.

Weight can stay static for lots of reasons. 1 being that your body is so used to getting the same amount of calories or running on a slight deficit for so long that it goes into famine mode and holds onto fat. Another reason is that as you get older your metabolism slows down. I am only 28 but i had a tough time shifting weight in the past from what I thought was an underactive thyroid but i simply was just eating too little (on ww) and doing too much cardio. Since february ive lost 36lbs, and ive never eaten more, but i veered away from low fat stuff. I do exercise everyday though, but i started doing weights and i honestly, hand on heart, know that its what made my body change.
Look to be honest, you have done the 35mins brisk walking and the low fat food thing for years and yet you seem to be gaining gradually, that should set someting off in your head that maybe you should change you approach and try something new (ie weights and more food:D, sorry, but im very passionate about it!!)!!

Dixie Chick

ULstudent wrote: »

you may be at a plateu which commonly happens. Try eating at maintenance or slightly above for a few days. Might gove the body the shock it needs to kick back into gear.

+1 on weight training. My mam in her 50's got 9 weeks with a PT recent;y and is in a routine and she likes it and is happy with her progress.

UL, i wish my mother would be open to something like going to see a PT but she is insistent that weights will bulk her up. Did she go about it herself or did you veer her in that direction?

metamorphosis

Dixie Chick wrote: »

UL, i wish my mother would be open to something like going to see a PT but she is insistent that weights will bulk her up. Did she go about it herself or did you veer her in that direction?

Well, she paid upfront for 9 weeks with a personnel trainer to lose weight that she put on though an eating year after been made redundant. The PT was the one who actually started her out on weights from day 1. I think having heard me talk and asking me questions about diet and exercise that made here not apprehensive about doing weights. She's a month into it and is doing full body movements. She's loving it and im really impressed. this time 2 years ago she would have ran from weights, she says she's noticing inch loss and her clothes getting looser and her diet has radically changed. She now is not afriad to eat fat and full fat milk, avacados and nuts. Im shocked at the difference.

Wonkagirl

Hi Redwood

I did ww on/off for yrs, combined with walking the legs off myself and sweating like an eejit on the crosstrainer in the gym.. with VERY limited results at best.

A yr ago I started doing weights (free weights in the gym and body weight work in bootcamp) and cut out sugar (kind of GL diet) and got results really quickly.. lost a stone fairly quickly (10 stone to 9 stone) despite believing all along that maybe 10 stone was my 'right' weight, but it wasnt.. i was eating low fat rubbish doing ww (diet coke and winegums are only 2 points:rolleyes:), just to 'stick under the points'- now i eat a lot of good fats, and low GL food, and do weights.. works like a dream. I eat way more than i ever did on ww.. You are NOT too old to do weight training. Dont be so defeatist! Just try it. Book 1-2 sessions with a personal trainer and see how you like it.

walking, imho, is a waste of time for anyone who wants to lose weight. IMHO i stress.

defattify

Wonkagirl wrote: »

walking, imho, is a waste of time for anyone who wants to lose weight. IMHO i stress.

That's interesting, I don't find this at all! I don't have the finances at all to get a personal trainer or join a gym so the best I can do is get out for regular walks and cycles and I find them really beneficial for my weight loss.

I've been doing regular walks since I started my weight loss and it's continued to come off steadily. I feel that it defo has an impact on my weight loss at the end of the week.

I also feel great for the walks, it gets the heart going and it helps me with stress and my sleep too. It is a pain when it rains though!

Wonkagirl

defattify wrote: »

That's interesting, I don't find this at all! I don't have the finances at all to get a personal trainer or join a gym so the best I can do is get out for regular walks and cycles and I find them really beneficial for my weight loss.

I've been doing regular walks since I started my weight loss and it's continued to come off steadily. I feel that it defo has an impact on my weight loss at the end of the week.

I also feel great for the walks, it gets the heart going and it helps me with stress and my sleep too. It is a pain when it rains though!

Yeah, it's nigh on impossible to motivate oneself in the rain right enough!

I guess it all depends on how much you have to lose, and how your diet is going... I suppose for me personally, I had tried the whole cardio thing for yrs and it got me nowhere. I didnt have much to lose (5'7 and 10 stone) but my body fat was a little on the high side (32%). The minute i switched to weight training it fell off me, i quickly enough got down to 9 stone and 21% body fat and have been able to maintain easily enough... the lean muscle that you build burns off fat after you stop working out - wherease with cardio, you're only burning calories while you're on the machines.. if that makes sense

if the walking is working -keep at it! and you're right, it's great for the heart- i'm a big runner myself, so i'm not totally anti cardio, but for me, the greatest and quickest results i've seen are from weights..

spaceylou

redwood like someone else already said, your body gets used to doing something after a while so to see changes you need to change your routine.

If you walk 35min briskly everyday change it around a bit so maybe a few days a week you could walk for 45mins - maybe working up to an hour.

Or you could increase the speed, maybe build up to jogging. Also if your route is the same everyday, try vary it so that some days have a decent hill in them.

Swimming is another great one or you could try a class like pilates, aqua aerobics, regular aerobics, yoga or anything else going on in your area.

And like a fair few of the others have said - weights are not the enemy!

Sapsorrow

You also need to bear in mind that at 65 you generally get away with a lot less than younger the WW members would, my mum follows an incredibly strict (and inadvertantly low kcal) diet and still has a good few pounds of shift despite her best efforts. I think you shouldn't be cutting your fat intake down so low, there's no reason to be scared of it. You don't want to run the risk of vitamin D deficiency. I think weights training would be a good idea if you're struggling so much, it has many other benefits aside from toning the body like increasing muscle and bone strength and helping to prevent falls.

Sapsorrow

Oh and if the advice given fails, consider giving low carbing a go. It seems to work for anyone who sticks to it. You're low GL/fat/kcal as it is and that isn't working so maybe it's particularly worth trying in your case.

Dotcomdolly

Do you remember the programme Operation Transformation? you could follow the exercise plans online
http://www.rte.ie/ot/
a combination of cardio & weight-training at home.