Am 55 and used to be very fit and slim. Used to run at least 5k 3 or 4 times a week which kept my weight pretty much even. I also used to follow the slimming world plan which helped keep weight down whilst still eating/drinking the odd treats. About 3 years ago I really started to suffer with bad back which meant I had to give up running. I changed to gym, swimming and yoga and continued to eat healthily so weight remained fairly constant. Since last year, I have had increased problems with my back which meant I have had to give up all of the above because anything and everything was aggravating it and I was constantly getting days when I could hardly move. The knock on effect of that has been as weight increase. I also seem to have lost any motivation in sticking to healthy eating plan and regularly eat crap.... ie cakes,biscuits, chocolate and anything else that is a no no. It’s like I have lost total control and just don’t know what to do to get myself back on track or get back into some sort of sensible headspace. I feel like such a blob. None of my clothes fit...(even my fat clothes are tight). My back for the last 4 months has been so much better, but I am scared to restart any form of exercise for fear of triggering it off again, because having been pain free for all this time has been bliss and I just don’t want to go back there again. At the same time I am hating myself because of the weight gain and am disgusted with myself every time I look in the mirror. I feel that I am all slimming worlded out now and can’t face going back to them or that eating plan. I just need help in finding a new and refreshing outlook. All help/suggestions gratefully received. ❤️
New and needing direction : Am 55 and... - Weight Loss Support
New and needing direction
Hi Honeybee55, I felt just like you 6 weeks ago, and couldn’t think about dieting and scared of weighing myself. I started gentle walking, just short distances to start. In my case it hasn’t been too successful (injuries). Then three weeks later I decided to clean up my diet and ditch the crap, thus far all seems good. Perhaps as you have had injuries and are reluctant to start exercising at the moment why not start your first Step with your diet. Ditching the rubbish food, think of it as healthy eating. I perhaps wouldn’t rely upon will power, if you can remove it from your house, it’s much easier, if there’s nothing there for you to be tempted by you can’t eat it. I started drinking lots water as I was a bit of a fizzy drinker, I really wasn’t keen on water however it’s just become a habit now. For me I’m mainly just eating lots of different fish there’s so many varieties I either eat with salads or vegetables, I also do the same with chicken lots of different spices to make it seem different, again I have it with vegetables or salad. I haven’t been hungry, I think I use to snack because sandwiches didn’t fill me up. I cook now at lunch time. I don’t know all your circumstances, however I wish you luck and I’m sure you will get plenty of advice of other board users.
By the way congratulations for posting as that really is your first step, now you can start a healthy journey, you can think about exercise down the line you can loose weight with out exercise. When your ready to do that you can start with something very gentle, like short walks.
Good luck.
Hello Honeybee,
I was in a similar situation and couldn’t do sports, due to shoulder problems. I read that healthy food intake is much more important than exercise for losing weight. I recommend reading about this PHC plan phcuk.org/healthy-eating-gu..., and eat real food, and you may find you can eat less and less biscuits etc because you will be full from your meal.
Good luck,
Sarah
I can relate to you Honeybee55 don’t dispair. We have all been there or somewhere close at one time or another. The easiest place to start is down load the 12 week Weight loss app And start moving. There are some wonderful videos on YouTube from physiotherapists for people with mobility issues, be gentle with yourself. Start practicing self love 💓 you are so worth it. Easy walks to begin with the slowly increase as you feel able. X
I am 66 so the prospect of losing lots of weight was pretty daunting and again I was eating far too much at the start of lockdown. I too have used slimming world in the past and it’s great at first but then you just can’t do it long-term.
I used to run half marathons but knees have gone now. And other bits as well !
I have significantly changed my eating pattern now. I tried to resist alcohol although that’s my nemesis. I will only drink shorts or wine and then try and keep that in moderation. I am following LCHF low carbs healthy fats and protein. I avoid carbs. Carbs for me means carbs are really bad sugars. I had my blood checked last week I had very high sugar levels and it’s now come right down into normal realms. I’ve gone from 14.13 to 13 .7 in about 14 weeks. My goal is at least 12.7 . 85% of weight loss can be achieved by diet alone.Good luck with it. Remember you are not going on a diet. This will be a way of eating. Funny for me once you give up carbs you don’t miss them. There will be some in a lot of the foods you would eat. So you do have them but in much smaller amounts.
Whichever path you choose good luck with it Honeybee 😀
Jeff
I would be interested in trying low carb but not quite sure how to get started on it. Have read a couple of things about it but end up getting confused on counting the different sorts of carbs. Can you recommend any site/books that can help? X
Here's a good Q&A about low carb healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...
And this post explains how to start off healthunlocked.com/lchf-die...
You'll find plenty of low carb eaters on the Daily Diary and there's also a LCHF forum healthunlocked.com/lchf-diet
Diet doctor is a good site for recipes and information
Edit: you won’t have to do any counting once you’ve got to grips with which are the high carb foods
Thank you so much. X
You're welcome. Some reading for the weekend 😊
P.S. well done on your weight loss. That is good going. 😀
It sounds like regular workouts were the bedrock of not only your weight management but also your self esteem. If you're concerned about exacerbating a back injury what about swimming or cycling? If you're a naturally active person then 55 is way too young to be stuck on the sofa!
Yes it definitely was. I find it so frustrating now that I am limited. I have done swimming but again that annoyingly would aggravate my back. Cycling I do whenever I can, but don’t feel it gives me the workout my body needs.( probably because I’m not a fan of hills!!😁)
Hello and welcome, Honeybee55 😊
It does get more difficult as we get older, especially with long term dieting which plays havoc with the metabolism. This explains what is going on healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... and this is a straightforward plan I suggest you have a look at phcuk.org/wp-content/upload...
You'll find all the information you need about the forum in our Pinned Posts healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... including a Welcome message. A good place to start is by joining a weekly weigh in on the day of your choice, and using the Daily Diary, where members share their meal plans.
This gives you a tour of the forum healthunlocked.com/?tour=true and, along with Pinned Posts, will show you how things work. I hope you'll become an active member and we will see you joining in around the forum 😊
PS the app doesn’t give access to all parts of the forum so we advise everyone to get rid of the app and log on to the full website using the browser on their phone
Thank you. I will definitely look at these links. X
Thank you all so much for your replies. They are all interesting and very supportive. Will definitely be looking into some of your suggestions and hopefully getting myself into a decent headspace so I can move forward and get back to where I want to be. X
Have you considered Yoga or Pilates? It is a form of exercise and may help with your back problems as it may help to make the joints more effective. I used to be on Weight Watchers and found it so regimental and think that's why I failed on it. I use the PHE Easy Meals App which is flexible.
I have had a similar problem. Everytime I stopped exercise I piled on the weight. I used to do triathlons with daily training in all three disciplines. I still put on weight during the training and I was always hungry. I stopped training and gained 50kg. I had to stop eating. I calorie counted for 18 months and lost the 50kgs. I kept it off for 9 years until I got back into cycling which I had to stop after a leg problem. Currently losing the weight again..
So for me it's exercise but not too much. And diet.
As for choc cakes etc. Don't buy them then you can't eat them.
Michael Mosley in his latest programme said that you would need to run 35 miles to burn off a pound of fat! It seems a lot of exercise but I'm sure he knows what he is talking about. But at least it's doing some exercice. I couldn't run 35 miles anyway, but I know I feel better for it. I also have a the Wii Fit program which has yoga tpye exercise and I know that helps as well. It's important to feel good about yourself
Lol I don’t think I could run 35 feet st the moment! 😂😂
Sorry for dim question, did Michael Mosley mean 35 miles a day to loose a pound or did he mean you would just need to run 35 miles. I use to walk 91 miles a week when I was fit. Not to loose weight I just liked walking. I’ve probably worn out my knees now🤣
No, running 35 miles to burn off 1 pound of fat, so if you did it every day you would run 245 miles and burn off 7 pounds of fat. 
Very few people could do that I would imagine!
Ah thank you for the clarification, I can’t run , I can’t walk that well now either😂🤣
I have had a similar experience with the recent onset of arthritis, bursitis and tendonitis. Just ease yourself back into some easy exercises, like walking and some stretches. Do some gardening if you have one. Try not to sit down for a long time, just stand up and walk around for a minute every 30 minutes.
Hi honeybee.
I wish I had your problem. And why, I have lost 8 Stone. And heading to
death. .all through poorhealth. Lung disease. I pray every day to put on
Any kind of weight. .I'm not being negative towards you. I liked your post.
Honeybee. You can always lose weight. But putting weight for me is a nightmare.!!
That all sounds terrible and yes it makes me feel very lucky that I am otherwise healthy. I truly hope you and your medical team can help you get on top of your breathing problems and you can get some normality back in your life. Sending you very best wishes. X
😃😃😃 thankyou.!!!
I'm glad you are here to work with us. Welcome and let's put our lives on track together.
Have a beautiful day.
Hi Honeybee,
my weight gain was due in part to my back injury and like you I was super active before it. Walked 30 miles a week etc. If you are in the UK, you can ask for a referral from your GP to the back exercise classes, specifically for that. It helped me although it also proved what I couldn't do. There's also pilates for injury to the back again from the NHS. The exercises help strengthen your core and then makes it easier to get back into things.
I really thought my inactivity would mean I would struggle to loose weight but, SW actually helped me get back on track and I have lost nearly 3 stones since November and am no longer pre-diabetic.
Good luck on your weightloss journey 👍
I have done all that and completed 12 months of physio. Now my back is much improved it’s just me being too scared to do anything that puts me back to square one.
Take it easy with restarting. The physio told me to just go stand in the swimming pool and walk around a bit, not to start swimming straight away. I have yet to get to that, we're in local lockdown still here. I have been doing bits of Yoga at home to build up a little. It is scary but, you can do it!
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