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  #1   ^
Old Thu, Mar-12-20, 09:47
bkloots's Avatar
bkloots bkloots is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 10,147
 
Plan: LC--Atkins
Stats: 195/162/150 Female 62in
BF:
Progress: 73%
Location: Kansas City, MO
Default Older Women Rock

Well, I just discovered that there IS a thread for older people on this forum--older women in particular. I know we have different requirements, not to mention results, than the younger folks here. And most of us are NOT beginners on the low-carb journey.

To recap just a bit, I began my weight management saga as early as high school, when I had to drop about 30lbs I gained overseas as an exchange student. That wasn't too hard to manage at the time. But I suspect that my natural tendency (genetic) to accumulate fat got a boost at that time.

Fast forward to mid-marriage. With a Who Cares? attitude towards convenience food, and no other pressure to watch my weight, I got up to almost 200lbs. With a doctor's assistance (prescribed appetite suppressant), low-cal/low-fat, and tons of exercise, I dropped 55lbs. within a year.

Began to fail on the low-cal thing and found Atkins. This led eventually to a sustainable low-carb journey. However, as in all other plans, it only works when you do it.

Now in my 70s, health is excellent. Eating is sustainable. Weight is heavier than I like, and I'm working to get back to my preferred weight. But it isn't like the "old days" of deprivation and guilt.

My favorite NSV? Being able to wear last season's clothes. I still have stuff I'd like to wear again hanging right there in my closet. And summer is on the way.

Let's see who shows up here!
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  #2   ^
Old Thu, Mar-12-20, 10:38
Merpig's Avatar
Merpig Merpig is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 7,582
 
Plan: EF/Fung IDM/keto
Stats: 375/225.4/175 Female 66.5 inches
BF:
Progress: 75%
Location: NE Florida
Default

Haha, well I definitely fall into this category too. I'll be 68 at the end of the month. I was a skinny kid until I hit puberty and then the weight started to come on. By high school I'd gotten up to about 160 (which man I'd just about KILL to be now). My mom and a friend sent me and the friend's daughter to Weight Watchers together, though neither of us lost weight.

Age eleven:


From then on I struggled, though I wish I could just be there now. All through my 20's I dieted and dieted. I took up running, all sorts of exercise - skiing, racketball. At times I got as low as 150, but as soon as I relaxed a bit it bounced back to about 165.

Age twenty-five:


When I hit 30 I I had a fall and destroyed the posterior cruciate ligament in my left knee. I needed surgery, was in a wheelchair for a few months, crutches for months after that, a year of physical therapy. And it was like it set off a storm in my body, weight began piling insanely. Within less that 18 months after my injury I was up to 320 pounds.

And life has been a constant struggle ever since then - nearly 40 years ago now and I've been seriously obese ever since, up to nearly 400 pounds at my top.

First discovered LC with Protein Power in 1997, when I was hovering about 340 at the time. I went on PP and within 14 months I was down to 275. And then I stalled, and stalled, and stalled, and stalled. After 3 years I was still at 275 and I was so discouraged I fell face down into the carbs and before I knew it had gained back all the weight and the proverbial "and then some" all the way up to 375.

Fast forward to 2006 when I had just given up and decided I might as well eat whatever I wanted and just die. But I decided after a while that I didn't want to die just yet, and went back to LC since it was the only thing that had ever worked. A lot slower this time and it took me three years to get back down to 275 by 2009. And then once again I stalled, and stalled, and stalled,and stalled.

Been stalled at +/-275 for 11 years now and nothing I've tried has been able to shake that number. 2009 was when I joined these forums hoping to get some good advice on breaking the stall. I've tried ever popular idea that's come along in the last 11 years: Atkins Induction again, JUDDD diet, Optimal Diet, 5:2 diet, intermittent fasting, keto, paleo, potato hack, carnivore.

They've all worked to get me back to 275 if my weight had started to creep up a bit, but in every case as soon as I got back to around +/-275 it was like hitting a brick wall.

So I still haven't found the magic, and my fairy godmother never seems to show up to wave her magic wand at me. But hope springs eternal event though as I get older it seems harder and harder.

Last edited by Merpig : Thu, Mar-12-20 at 10:45.
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  #3   ^
Old Thu, Mar-12-20, 13:55
bluesinger's Avatar
bluesinger bluesinger is offline
Doing My Best
Posts: 4,924
 
Plan: LC/CancerRecovery
Stats: 170/135/130 Female 62 inches
BF:24%
Progress: 88%
Location: Nevada Desert, USA
Default

Guess you knew I'd show up here. LOL

I really never expected to find myself smack-dab-in-the-middle of my 70th decade, but here I am.

I've been on one diet or another since I was 9 years old.

Used Atkins in 1972 to lose 30 lbs of baby fat and have been struggling on and off-plan ever since.

Thanks to this forum, I'm currently in maintenance, but keep to VLC so that my joints won't give me pain.

Today, everything is A-OK.

Last edited by bluesinger : Fri, Mar-13-20 at 07:36.
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  #4   ^
Old Fri, Mar-13-20, 06:01
bkloots's Avatar
bkloots bkloots is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 10,147
 
Plan: LC--Atkins
Stats: 195/162/150 Female 62in
BF:
Progress: 73%
Location: Kansas City, MO
Default

Hello, my friends! Yes, we've known each other quite awhile here, haven't we.

Debbie, your story is vastly more inspiring than those "I lost 200 pounds in two years" success stories (which are wonderful to read, of course).

Because nobody except US lifelong learners and never-give-uppers knows yet what a triumph it is to simply hold the line against bigger and bigger. Thanks for your story and your success. It isn't magic--it's character.
Quote:
I might as well eat whatever I wanted and just die
Holding out against this defeat is serious business.

Cheers to you, and us, today.
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  #5   ^
Old Fri, Mar-13-20, 06:16
cotonpal's Avatar
cotonpal cotonpal is online now
Senior Member
Posts: 5,283
 
Plan: very low carb real food
Stats: 245/125/135 Female 62
BF:
Progress: 109%
Location: Vermont
Default

I can't provide a timeline of my weight journey because I never kept records (except for lately) or paid a whole lot of attention to the ups and downs. I was thin as a child. Got fat as an adult. Went the weight watcher's route several times and finally decided in my mid 50's when my health and weight were a major issue that I needed to get serious. Except for the very occasional glitch I have been serious ever since and it has made all the difference. I feel quite fortunate to be 71 years old, to know how to eat and to have no trouble sticking with it. I may not be rocking but at least I am not falling over.

Me at 20

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  #6   ^
Old Fri, Mar-13-20, 08:26
QueenBee2's Avatar
QueenBee2 QueenBee2 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 857
 
Plan: low carb
Stats: 210/172/140 Female 64
BF:
Progress: 54%
Location: Ohio~~~
Default

I love this thread. I just turned 60, and have been battling my weight since I had my 2 boys.
I was tested for gestational diabetes, and that came back negative, but in my early 50's was diagnosed with diabetes. NOW I have to get serious.~!
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  #7   ^
Old Fri, Mar-13-20, 13:23
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 19,177
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

Hi ladies!!

My buldge has been since late teens.....fast forward, found DANDR. Struggled to stay on plan ever since.Now late 50's but feeling like 100.

Have learned our female body morphs and has complicated hormone imbalances that few docs understand. Pile that on top of ADD , Asbergers and the 4 strokes.

I just dont quit. I keep trying again and again when I fall off the wagon.
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  #8   ^
Old Sat, Mar-14-20, 04:52
Demi's Avatar
Demi Demi is offline
Posts: 26,664
 
Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"
BF:
Progress: 109%
Location: UK
Default

Older Women Rock - oh yes, we do!


I turned 60 six months ago.

Looking back I didn't have a weight problem until my late twenties when I was diagnosed with endometriosis. The hormonal treatment caused me to put on weight, which I didn't manage to lose before becoming pregnant.

I then spent a number of years yo-yoing up and down on various low-fat regimes, and thought I was destined never to lose the weight. However, in 2001 a friend told me about Dr Atkins.

I originally got to goal in 2002 by faithfully following the Atkins diet. I did count carbs, but not calories and found it a breeze. Unfortunately, once I had lost my weight, I took my eye off the ball, and within a year I’d put all my weight back on again, plus more.

It took a while but in 2008 I finally lost 65lbs to get back to my goal weight. I did manage to more or less maintain this for a number of years, but eventually the weight went back on. It probably didn't help that I injured myself while running, and have been suffering with a hip and back problem ever since.

Now my third time around, it's hard going but I'm determined to get there
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  #9   ^
Old Sat, Mar-14-20, 06:33
bkloots's Avatar
bkloots bkloots is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 10,147
 
Plan: LC--Atkins
Stats: 195/162/150 Female 62in
BF:
Progress: 73%
Location: Kansas City, MO
Default

As I was saying...WE ROCK! And not in chairs.

The health and healing aspects of LC are being scientifically supported more and more these days. Yesterday at the grocery store, I spotted a tabloid magazine with the headline: I lost 30 lbs in 30 days and cured my diabetes!

In the past, I might have thought, Yeah, right. Now I might think: Yes! You can!

Not likely I'll lose 30 lbs. in 30 days--or 30 years, for that matter. But not regaining them is a perfectly fine target.

Although the midwest where I live is not the epicenter for viral infection, my whole city is shut down. We will be happy, and lucky, if this cautionary effort reduces the chances of a true crisis. Thank goodness for Kindle books, Netflix, and forums like this for enjoyment and staying in touch.
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  #10   ^
Old Sat, Mar-14-20, 06:41
bluesinger's Avatar
bluesinger bluesinger is offline
Doing My Best
Posts: 4,924
 
Plan: LC/CancerRecovery
Stats: 170/135/130 Female 62 inches
BF:24%
Progress: 88%
Location: Nevada Desert, USA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Demi
Older Women Rock - oh yes, we do!
Now my third time around, it's hard going but I'm determined to get there
Until I migrated from Jimmy Moore's forum to this one, I was stalled for 6 years, steadily regaining. Since that first weight loss in 1972 on Atkins, that was my pattern. The same 30 lbs. over and over again ad nauseam.

We know what works. The hard part is not giving up or giving in to the outside hype.

Keeping the weight off is the hardest part of my journey, and every day I'm successful, I prove them wrong.
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  #11   ^
Old Fri, Mar-20-20, 20:47
Merpig's Avatar
Merpig Merpig is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 7,582
 
Plan: EF/Fung IDM/keto
Stats: 375/225.4/175 Female 66.5 inches
BF:
Progress: 75%
Location: NE Florida
Default

So this past week seems to be crazy all over the world! We have several cases of Covid-19 reported in my county and one death at a local hospital (70-year-old man). Being 60+ and having a couple autoimmune issues I feel like I'm in the crosshairs for this virus to get me. I'm self-isolating and feeling very stressed, and we all know stress is not healthy for us either! So what is everyone doing to keep their sanity right now?

I have my daily routine I've been pretty much sticking too: I get up in the morning and do my daily 2-minute "Lifting the Sky" qigong exercise. Then I go make my morning pot of coffee (or decaf or Crio Bru) in the French press. While it's steeping I go outside and top off my bird feeders. Then I come inside. I have a "Florida room" back porch with sliding glass windows that open, and then screens. So when I come inside I open some windows to let the fresh air in through the screens, and for about an hour I have my coffee and watch the birds at the bird feeders and in my pond, keeping tracks of species seen and their numbers for my eBird reports.

Then I have certain things I do every day though not on a set time schedule. I take 5-6 minutes to jump on my rebounder, 12-14 minutes following a YouTube on seated exercise with dumbells, 15 minutes of deep/breathing meditation. I don't walk as I have a bad knee and can't walk very far without being in pain for days. I used to swim laps at the YMCA but that is out now.

I'm also taking my vitamin C, D3, K2, various other supplements and herbs and minerals as well. The rest of the day is pretty free-form but I always find time for reading. I'm not much of one for watching TV and can go months without turning it on except when the grandkids are over.

And that's the hardest thing for me, missing the grandkids so much, They usually are over here a couple times a week and have weekly sleepovers here on the weekend, but not now. I did have a sweet Facetime conversation with the two littler ones yesterday though.

I have not been to a store in over a week and have enough supplies that I have no urgent need to go to one, though the eggs will run out relatively soon I suppose.

Being retired, and having Social Security and a pension I'm pretty set financially at least. I do feel badly for all those folks losing their incomes and livelihoods on top of all the other scares.

What are the rest of you all doing to preserve your sanity?
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  #12   ^
Old Fri, Mar-20-20, 21:01
bluesinger's Avatar
bluesinger bluesinger is offline
Doing My Best
Posts: 4,924
 
Plan: LC/CancerRecovery
Stats: 170/135/130 Female 62 inches
BF:24%
Progress: 88%
Location: Nevada Desert, USA
Default

Since it's still cool, I get to sleep until 4 am. Then I walk, come home and have coffee, check out all the internet forums and online news, pay bills. BTW, I listen to my books (free from the public library via the internet) while I walk, drive, shop.

Now that my college class is solely online, I have much more writing and reading homework. More than I want.

There's no bread flour to be had, so I can't bake DH's bread anymore, but I've been foraging all over the place to keep us in fresh food.

While I don't have television, I do stream tv shows on my computer, and that is my escape from this messed up world. If I run out (depends upon how long this lasts) I'll get out my art supplies and start using them.

I'm still on plan, and haven't had a seasonal allergy attack in over a year. Yay!
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  #13   ^
Old Sat, Mar-21-20, 06:40
bkloots's Avatar
bkloots bkloots is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 10,147
 
Plan: LC--Atkins
Stats: 195/162/150 Female 62in
BF:
Progress: 73%
Location: Kansas City, MO
Default

We are considered among the "elderly" now. This is a designation I would take advantage of as needed. Otherwise, I'm happy (and lucky) to be able-bodied and self-sufficient.

Today starts Week Two of self-isolation, or, as it is often called in the media, sheltering in place. No need for a grocery run yet. I still think of the weekend as a more crowded time at the usual stores, but I wonder if that would be the case now. Our city government has put responsible restrictions in place.

Books. Online movies and music. Friends. Time. All good gifts.

Be well. Stay safe.
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