Hi, I'm 70, married with 2 sons and 3 grandchildren. I am having problems maintaining a healthy eating lifestyle, due to age and stress levels. My mum died 3 years ago from Alzheimers and now my dad is 91, living alone and I am his primary carer. I am new to the site and have joined to offer and receive support and to weigh in every week. I need focus and I believe I can receive it here. By the way, I use the name OscarsMumx because that's my cat's name! He is 11 years old, a British cream and very cute (and like all cats) he knows it!
Healthy eating support please! - Weight Loss Support
Healthy eating support please!
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30 Replies
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TheTabbyCatAdministrator16kg
Hi OscarsMumx and welcome to this amazing forum. You'll find that there are several cat lovers here. 
My screen name comes from my cat, Tubby the tabby! He's 12 this year.
It's never easy when we find ourselves caring for elderly relatives. I realize that we don't always look after ourselves but the truth is we have to look after oursleves before we can find the strength to help anybody else.
I suggest you spend some time clicking about to find your way around. It's easier if you have a lap-top as there are several threads.
Have a good read of the pinned post “Welcome Newbies” and follow every thread.
Here’s the link to the pinned posts,
healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...
Here’s the link for the “Tour” of the forum. If you haven’t already taken it.
I strongly suggest you read and contribute to the Daily Diary and participate in a Weekly Weigh in.
You will find there's loads of tips about better eating, from other members. Sharing your daily menu not only helps you stay committed, it can help other members too.
Good luck I hope to "see " you around.
• in reply toTheTabbyCat
Thanks for your message, TheTabbyCat, and your lovely welcome. I'm feeling very positive and looking forward to exploring the forum.
You're very welcome. If you get lost just shout. When I 1st joined I spent a whole day just clicking about . I followed every link until I knew where I was going.
• in reply toTheTabbyCat
Thanks! That's a good idea.
DartmoorDumplingRestart Feb 2024
Hi OscarsMum,I know the constant anxiety caused by having to care for elderly parents and how the stress can drive you to the biscuit tin! I am 66 and had my mother to live with us for 3 months last year…it nearly split my partner and me as she and my partner were constantly competing for my attention. (We had lost my Dad some years back).
She went into a nearby dementia care home for a week’s respite, and actually loved the busy atmosphere and the social side of things, so she decided to stay there. Our lives are a little easier right now…apart from all the Covid restrictions when I visit each week of course!
I too have a cat…a semi feral who is now immensely friendly but incredibly bossy, always telling me off if I don’t follow his daily routine.
I hope you are feeling focussed and are managing to keep to your eating plan….best of luck!
Black and white cat having a wash…
• in reply toDartmoorDumpling
Thank you so much for your friendly reply. So sorry you have had your family challenges. At least my mum didnt have to go through all the restrictions of covid. I have begun my plan and will have my first weigh in on either Saturday or Sunday. Cats are born bossy! I saw on a greetings card once: dogs have masters, cats have staff! How true! Looking forward to exploring the forum.
Alisongold• in reply to
I am afraid that many of us are the ‘sandwich generation’, pulled between the needs of our adult children and elderly parents. Our partners often feel short changed and we don’t give ourselves the time and care we deserve. Your project to lose weight needs time and energy for you to focus on it.
Our health matters, my knee joints hate me being too heavy on them, good luck , lovely to have you with us.
• in reply toAlisongold
Thank you for your lovely encouragement; I really appreciate it. Looking forward to giving and receiving the support we all need.
BridgeGirlAdministrator2 stone
Welcome, Oscar's Mum. I had an Oscar once: he was a darling and a favourite throughout the neighbourhood. You can see my current furry friend as my profile picture.
But to get back to eating: this is a simple plan, no gimmicks just real food, home cooked. Maybe it's something that would work for you phcuk.org/wp-content/upload...
I too have just joined. It seems a lovely supportive group. I weigh in on a Monday and I come and look at the main page every day just to remind me what I'm doing.
I need to lose weight for my health and just a reminder is beginning to help keep me on track. Good luck. I have three cats by the way!
• in reply toMutleylaugh
Thanks for your lovely reply. 3 cats, wow, I find one a handful! It does seem supportive. I think I will weigh in on a Saturday or Sunday and look at the main page every day, as you do. I need reminding and focus as to what I'm doing and why. Good luck on your journey.
Mutleylaugh• in reply to
We live on a farm so they are outside cats which helps a lot (I am allergic so this works well). But I do love them to bits and they get terribly spoilt! It took me until yesterday to get the hang of why I was looking at the page every day and it made such a difference to my eating and my motivation it was remarkable – long may it last! I look forward to following your progress
• in reply toMutleylaugh
Thanks a lot. Glad something has clicked for you; I'm sure it makes all the difference. We are all different, so our progress is too. Now you know why you're here you can and will do so well. I look forward to hearing all about it. By the way, love your forum name; my sons used to laugh at their Dad's mutley laugh! They even bought him a mug and tshirt when we were in Florida together. Happy times.
Mutleylaugh• in reply to
Are you still in The States? I have never been to Florida. When I was laughing the other day my son and husband actually found Mutley laughing and played it at the same time and you couldn't tell the difference! I did used to love Wacky Races and might have to revisit it at some point. I agree we are all so different but that is part of what I am enjoying about this forum because the different ideas are very thought-provoking and helpful.
• in reply toMutleylaugh
No, we were only in the states on a 3 week holiday. Florida is amazing: Disney, Great Universal etc. All 4 of us loved it. It was over 25 years ago, but my sons (and we) still talk about it. Absolutely, it's wonderful that we can all be so different and yet respect one another.
Mutleylaugh• in reply to
How wonderful. We had the same with a Canadian holiday 15 years ago!
Hello Oscarsmum, good to meet you. I have my 70 th birthday tomorrow and am dreading yet another decade! I’m sorry to hear that you are having such anxieties at our stage of life. I am still doing some work/ volunteering within my local ( in England ) health care system and so have some suggestions for you. First, do you have an active Age UK group near you? Where I live they offer a lot of support . Also, there is the Carers association who might be able to offer you support. If your father has dementia, your local authority might have an Admiral Nurse service to support you. Your local authority social services should also be able to advise you on support - home care, adaptations to your father’s house to aid mobility etc, help with finances and financial assessments etc. I am fortunate in that I live in a local authority area where there is a lot of support for carers and the elderly and so things might be different in your area but I do hope you can reach out to organisations for help. As for eating the right stuff - it’s hard to drop bad habits! I found the first 2-3 weeks the hardest! I still occasionally crave cakes, biscuits, sweets. I live in a village so it’s not easy to buy them without getting in the car. My husband does the shopping and does not buy the. Without these naughtiest in the house I can’t eat them! I wish you well with your weight loss. The determination to do the weekly weigh in is a good start! That gives some structure and discipline I find! Good luck!
• in reply toTwiggynot
Ah, thank you so much for your helpful and encouraging reply. Don't worry about turning 70 tomorrow, you won't feel any different to being 69! Hope you have a lovely day. My Dad is very independent; I have suggested we get agencies involved but he won't hear of it. He hasn't got dementia but is very forgetful. He looks after himself and the house very well, but has started to have falls. Naturally, I cannot go on holiday or even overnight stays, as I never know...... He has had 2 strokes and 2 heart attacks. He has begun to talk of care homes, but when I suggest taking it further he backs out. Very understandable, but my husband and I feel our lives are in limbo and we're not getting any younger. Every now and then I have an out of control eating binge (chocolate all the way) and sabotage my good intentions. I need to be fit and healthy for my Dad as well as for me and husband. So here I am. I have found this forum and trusting this time I can control my eating habits - with a little help from my friends !
Happy birthday in advance, Twiggynot, and welcome to the senior ranks
Thank you! People say it’s only a number but…..
It is only a number but we'd rather it was another number 
!
It sounds a difficult situation for all of you. Your father sounds frightened of giving up his independence and that is very understandable, as you say. My way of coping with the cravings for the wrong food is to just not have it in the house! I do, though, buy Go Ahead ( for dieting) biscuits for a ‘reward before going to bed if I have had a good diet day! My weight loss has been incredibly slow and only 1stone + but I know I am eating healthily and I do feel a lot better. I am hoping to increase the exercise as the weather improves, too. I am looking on this all as more of a lifestyle change rather than a crash diet.
We were supposed to be having a family get together tomorrow to ease me into my next decade but we now have a ? Case of covid in the family so might be fewer than hoped!
• in reply toTwiggynot
Oh, bless you. Thanks for your reply. Hope you manage a good time tomorrow, despite you know who. Perhaps a belated party later in the year. To our shock our son and daughter in law have just had covid, at this late stage. Yes, I don't buy all sorts of things, but then its 'what the heck'! And the floodgates open! Must stay focused. Eating healthily really does make me feel better. I'm done with crash diets; like you, I'm looking for a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. Here goes ........! Good luck!
Oh, I am so so familiar with those, ‘what the heck’ moments! 😢
TheJazzSingerVisitor
Hello OscarsMum. I’m 70 and decided to lose weight during the 2nd lockdown. I lost 19lbs through doing the 5:2 (fasting until 6.30 p.m 2 days a week), I no longer eat breakfast, and cutting carbs. I based my diet on meat, fish, eggs, dairy, low carb bread, salads, lots of veggies, low sugar berries and pears, avacadoes, yoghurt, low carb rice and pasta, nuts and black chocolate. I baked sweet treats using almond flour and erythritol. I had a weekly cheat meal and drank the odd G&T with slimline and wine. It took about 6 months and now I maintain and it varies by a couple of lbs. I did have to try very hard after Christmas though to get the 6lbs off that I had gained. It was quite strict but it’s so difficult at our age to lose weight. I exercise (Zumba, swimming & walking) and garden which helps a bit. There is so much help out there these days. With books and online. I’m sure you’ll find a diet that suits you and your lifestyle. Good luck with your journey.
• in reply toTheJazzSinger
Thank you for your encouraging reply. You have done so well, losing 19lbs, through lockdown too. I know, I'm struggling to lose the Christmas naughties! Problem is Christmas lasts about 3 months in my house! I am not diabetic, but I do have to eat regularly (otherwise I become very faint and dizzy), so couldn't go without breakfast. I am aiming for 3 meals per day + mid morning and mid afternoon snacks, which will be fruit. Bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and sugar bloat me and I can put on 2lbs overnight, so will cut them out, but have fruit and veg in moderation. I love(d) crumpets for Sunday tea but have found an American pancake recipe online which uses almond flour. I'm really hoping this works. As you say, there is so much help online to help us on our journey, not least: this forum! Keep up your good work.
Hi a brilliant post treat your run walk as your me time and you will love the amazing feeling.your pace and no one else
Hello and welcome to this friendly and supportive forum. You sound like you enjoy exercise and we have a Fit is Fun club for exercise.
healthunlocked.com/weight-l...
TO find your way around go to pinned posts were you will find all the information you need
healthunlocked.com/weight-l...
Keep coming and chatting and if you have any questions just ask
Aginghippy1st 7lbs
I am in my 70s my problem is a poorly daughter and a husband that doesn't do diets.I try not to eat before 11am or after 7pm. This seems to work with only 2 meals a day on a smaller plate and I try to avoid potatoes and bread. I've lost nearly 2 stone and feel well.
Good luck with everything. X
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