Over 50 overweight woman having trouble losing weight.

[Medh63]

Over the past few years I lost 20, gained 10...lost 20, ran 3 5k's in the Spring of 2014, then gained 15. It's not so easy losing now that I'm 52. I joined a gym the beginning of August and I weighed 164 lbs. In the first few weeks I gained 4 lbs and I'm finally back down to 164lbs. The first 4 weeks I lifted 4 days a week, a different group each day (legs, chest & shoulders, back, arms) and at least 20 min a day cardio for 5 days. The next 5 weeks I combined (legs, chest & shoulders & triceps, back & biceps, legs) still lifting 4 days a week and a little cardio. Then I took a week off from lifting and only did 2 days of cardio. I've been trying to make healthy food choices to the tune of 1200-1400 calories a day. After 10 weeks, my weight is about the same and I've lost about 3 inches overall. I've been reading the NROLFW along with other posts online. I'm not sure what the best plan would be for an older overweight woman trying really hard not to give up.

[kimm4]

As long as there are no medical conditions the basic calorie deficit works for everyone. 1200-1400 calories is quite aggressive for a female at your stats. You should be eating right around 1550 calories for steady fat loss. If you haven't lost anything in 10 weeks you're not in a true deficit and you're eating more than you think.

Get a food scale to weigh, measure and track everything that goes into your mouth. Guessing/estimating portion sizes doesn't work and people always end up overeating. Stay in your deficit and there will be steady loss.



Good luck.

[Medh63]

As long as there are no medical conditions the basic calorie deficit works for everyone. 1200-1400 calories is quite aggressive for a female at your stats. You should be eating right around 1550 calories for steady fat loss. If you haven't lost anything in 10 weeks you're not in a true deficit and you're eating more than you think.

Get a food scale to weigh, measure and track everything that goes into your mouth. Guessing/estimating portion sizes doesn't work and people always end up overeating. Stay in your deficit and there will be steady loss.



Good luck.

I really appreciate your help!! ...So basically my diet is my downfall? I was measuring, but evidently not correctly. (and here I thought I was doing so good!) I do have a food scale, I guess it's time to dust it off and put in fresh batteries. ;-)
As far as I know, there are no medical conditions to hamper weight loss... other than I'm premenopausal. Guess I'll find out for sure in a couple of weeks at my annual. After the first 20lb weight loss, I came off my BP meds and will do whatever it takes to stay off. I know I need goals, and I'm trying to set realistic ones and be patient. I would like to lose 20 lbs in the next 6 months and another 10 the 6 months after. Is that realistic for a 52 yr old woman? What would be a good exercise plan to start with? I love going to the gym and lifting. I feel so much better when I leave...even on days I have to force myself to go, I've never regretted going.

Thanks for your input! I need all the help I can get!!

[MoldyGopher]

I know I need goals, and I'm trying to set realistic ones and be patient. I would like to lose 20 lbs in the next 6 months and another 10 the 6 months after. Is that realistic for a 52 yr old woman?

I find it easier to think of/set weight loss goals by counting weeks.

Six months = 24 weeks (roughly)
Losing one pound/week = 24 pounds

1lb/week is definitely doable. That's a deficit of 3500 calories per week or 500 per day.

Tracking your calorie intake and regular weigh-ins should give you the personal data you need to make it work. Consistency, consistency, consistency!

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

I am 41 (almost 42) and I lost 125 lbs since last November.
Not bragging or anything ... just sayin' that it can be done.

As stated above, if there is no medical issue, a caloric deficit should work for you, even with no exercise.

Also as stated above, if you focus on losing about 1lbs a week, that can add up to a lot of lbs in the long run.
Last week I lost 1.6lbs.

You should read some of the stickies in the "Lose Fat" section of the forum.
Best of luck to you!

[DeviLFisH]

Back to diet perhaps?

Cut sugar intake , fast food perhaps you still like .maybe once just in one month " treat it as a treat "

I check around those women age 40 , 50 ..who managed to lose weight is more on their diet. They go gym is tone up those flabby arms , legs ....for ads yup is the tough part as your diet really need to be clean + cardio/ ad workout

[kimm4]

Back to diet perhaps?

Cut sugar intake , fast food perhaps you still like .maybe once just in one month " treat it as a treat "

I check around those women age 40 , 50 ..who managed to lose weight is more on their diet. They go gym is tone up those flabby arms , legs ....for ads yup is the tough part as your diet really need to be clean + cardio/ ad workout

Losing fat always goes back to your diet and age has nothing to do with it. There is nothing wrong with sugar or any other foods in moderation. Anyone can easily overeat in clean food calories and not get results. Getting results goes back to sticking to your deficit and the food choices don't make a difference in the end result.

Cardio is a personal choice, but it's not needed for fat loss. The main focus should be a solid lifting program and letting your diet do the work for you.

[Watsonm5]

Losing fat always goes back to your diet and age has nothing to do with it. There is nothing wrong with sugar or any other foods in moderation. Anyone can easily overeat in clean food calories and not get results. Getting results goes back to sticking to your deficit and the food choices don't make a difference in the end result.

Cardio is a personal choice, but it's not needed for fat loss. The main focus should be a solid lifting program and letting your diet do the work for you.

OP ...read the last two sentences...that makes the most sense by far. Just focus, stick with it and see the results. Thanks Kimm4!

[freedomworkshop]

Over the past few years I lost 20, gained 10...lost 20, ran 3 5k's in the Spring of 2014, then gained 15. It's not so easy losing now that I'm 52. I joined a gym the beginning of August and I weighed 164 lbs. In the first few weeks I gained 4 lbs and I'm finally back down to 164lbs. The first 4 weeks I lifted 4 days a week, a different group each day (legs, chest & shoulders, back, arms) and at least 20 min a day cardio for 5 days. The next 5 weeks I combined (legs, chest & shoulders & triceps, back & biceps, legs) still lifting 4 days a week and a little cardio. Then I took a week off from lifting and only did 2 days of cardio. I've been trying to make healthy food choices to the tune of 1200-1400 calories a day. After 10 weeks, my weight is about the same and I've lost about 3 inches overall. I've been reading the NROLFW along with other posts online. I'm not sure what the best plan would be for an older overweight woman trying really hard not to give up.

Are you using artificial sweetners or drinking diet coke or consuming any other "diet" products?

[Kansascarver]

Kim, thank you very much for posting that video!

[Medh63]

Are you using artificial sweetners or drinking diet coke or consuming any other "diet" products?

No. I do not like the taste of "diet" drinks. I use agave and honey mostly as sweetener and sparingly at that.

[Medh63]

Losing fat always goes back to your diet and age has nothing to do with it. There is nothing wrong with sugar or any other foods in moderation. Anyone can easily overeat in clean food calories and not get results. Getting results goes back to sticking to your deficit and the food choices don't make a difference in the end result.

Cardio is a personal choice, but it's not needed for fat loss. The main focus should be a solid lifting program and letting your diet do the work for you.

My diet evidently needs work. I try to make smart choices but that's not always possible. I can tell I'm getting stronger because I have gradually been increasing my weight, but I'm not sure how "solid" my lifting program is. It's not a laid out plan. I go in with notes from the last day of the muscle group I'm working and base it off that.

[Medh63]

Losing fat always goes back to your diet and age has nothing to do with it. There is nothing wrong with sugar or any other foods in moderation. Anyone can easily overeat in clean food calories and not get results. Getting results goes back to sticking to your deficit and the food choices don't make a difference in the end result.

Cardio is a personal choice, but it's not needed for fat loss. The main focus should be a solid lifting program and letting your diet do the work for you.

What do you think about fat burners? The trainer at my gym suggested I try using one.

[ElrondHubbard]

Your workout should be the fat burner. No gimmicks, just lift and eat correctly.

[69cam]

Your workout should be the fat burner. No gimmicks, just lift and eat correctly.

This is what has worked for me.

[Jdizzlean]

the less supplements or other artificial bs you ingest, the better off you'll be. work harder, don't try to shortcut it w/ fake crap.

[shaneinga]

Kim nailed it. It really is an eye opener when you actually start truly "counting" calories with a food scale and not estimating. I remember the first time I weighed out a bowl of cereal. Needless to say, I have not had many more bowls of cereal since.

Once you start counting calories, honestly the "eating clean" etc., starts to take care of itself. Satiation is a huge part of dieting, and finding the right mix of foods to get you through the day and not want to gnaw your arm off is going to make you stay away from the crap that you were eating in the past anyway.

Good luck OP.

I like Myfitnesspal for tracking cals. It is really easy to use. They have a huge database of foods and you can scan barcodes on items, weigh them up and easily add them to your journal. They also store foods and meals that you make in your food diary and you can easily add foods that you eat from day to day on there as well.

[JayVincent]

Losing fat always goes back to your diet and age has nothing to do with it. There is nothing wrong with sugar or any other foods in moderation. Anyone can easily overeat in clean food calories and not get results. Getting results goes back to sticking to your deficit and the food choices don't make a difference in the end result.

Cardio is a personal choice, but it's not needed for fat loss. The main focus should be a solid lifting program and letting your diet do the work for you.

YES! "Cardio is not needed for fat loss" Thank you! Someone acutally understands physiology! REPS

[Garage Rat]

Get a qualified dietitian / trainer to get you going in the right direction.
This will help take a lot of the guess work and trial and error out of it for you.
Lots of good advice above.
It is a life style change and commitment from you to yourself.
It takes will power and strong mind to go through each and every day.
If you have someone to be accountable to it will help you not stray away from your goal.
It's not easy but can be achieved if you want it bad enough.
My wife just hit a two year mark and lost 130 pounds in that time through proper dieting and training.
It's not impossible.
Good luck to you.

[EjnarKolinkar]

Do you own and are you using a food scale OP?

Best way to get started is to use one. Record every single thing you eat. You will figure it out in no time.

[Medh63]

I don't know any qualified dietitians/trainers around here. The only trainer in my gym is the lady who is running it. I asked her if she was familiar with NROLFW, and she wasn't. So, I tried to explain the concept to her a little, and she doesn't agree with doing a total body in a workout. She said I need to work only one muscle group at a time and spread it out through the week or I won't exhaust my muscles like I should for a good workout. Not sure I agree with that...

My diet....I do have a food scale and have been using it. I found out real quick that my 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is not 2 tablespoons when weighed. Neither is my hummus.... I have been using the # of grams called for in a serving. It's interesting that the grams for 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is different from the grams for 2 tablespoons of hummus. Neither is as much as the 2 tablespoons that I had previously been measuring. I have been trying to stay around 1550 calories and keep my protein up. It has been difficult. On days I go to the gym if I'm in the 1500-1650 range, I'm ok. On days I don't go to the gym, if I come in below the 1500, I don't freak out about it too much. So far, in my first week of weighing/measuring food properly, I've lost 3.6 lbs. I'm happy. I don't expect to keep that rate up for very long as my body will adjust and hopefully fall into about a pound a week weight loss. I have my yearly Dr appt. today and am wondering, if because of my age, I should have my thyroid checked.

I really appreciate all the great advice I've been getting here!!

[mcbourque]

I don't know any qualified dietitians/trainers around here. The only trainer in my gym is the lady who is running it. I asked her if she was familiar with NROLFW, and she wasn't. So, I tried to explain the concept to her a little, and she doesn't agree with doing a total body in a workout. She said I need to work only one muscle group at a time and spread it out through the week or I won't exhaust my muscles like I should for a good workout. Not sure I agree with that...

My diet....I do have a food scale and have been using it. I found out real quick that my 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is not 2 tablespoons when weighed. Neither is my hummus.... I have been using the # of grams called for in a serving. It's interesting that the grams for 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is different from the grams for 2 tablespoons of hummus. Neither is as much as the 2 tablespoons that I had previously been measuring. I have been trying to stay around 1550 calories and keep my protein up. It has been difficult. On days I go to the gym if I'm in the 1500-1650 range, I'm ok. On days I don't go to the gym, if I come in below the 1500, I don't freak out about it too much. So far, in my first week of weighing/measuring food properly, I've lost 3.6 lbs. I'm happy. I don't expect to keep that rate up for very long as my body will adjust and hopefully fall into about a pound a week weight loss. I have my yearly Dr appt. today and am wondering, if because of my age, I should have my thyroid checked.

I really appreciate all the great advice I've been getting here!!

Your trainer looks like she is trying to make money off you. NROLFW is simple and effective, so you won't need a trainer for that. Your trainer is trying to get you on a complicated program so you need to pay her for it. I've worked at gyms long enough to know the drill

for your diet, just follow what Kimm said.

(science geek here - your spoon of hummus weight different than your spoon of peanut butter because they have different density as they are different substances, sorry I am teaching this to my students right now LOL)

Fat Burners: no don't do them. Some can be harmful, especially if you have a family history of heart condition.

God luck.

[kimm4]

she doesn't agree with doing a total body in a workout. She said I need to work only one muscle group at a time and spread it out through the week or I won't exhaust my muscles like I should for a good workout.

She may be running the gym but it doesn't sound like she's well versed in a proper training program. All training programs need to be focused around the important compound lifts: bench, rows, overhead press, squats, deadlifts, etc...these lifts are crucial for building a solid foundation, preserving muscle when dieting down, creating overall muscle balance and a strong core. Isolation work for the smaller muscles can be used sparingly and it's never the main focus of any program.

Full body and upper/lower routines are a good place to start. There's nothing wrong with running a typical bro split, but I feel they're better suited for lifters with more experience under their belt's.

Exhausting the muscles, training to failure, training for soreness, etc...is never an indicator of a good workout. You want to master your form and train for progressive overload, which means you continue getting stronger over time.

Congrats on your loss so far! This is a clear indicator that you're on the right track so keep going.

[Cass40]

I don't know any qualified dietitians/trainers around here. The only trainer in my gym is the lady who is running it. I asked her if she was familiar with NROLFW, and she wasn't. So, I tried to explain the concept to her a little, and she doesn't agree with doing a total body in a workout. She said I need to work only one muscle group at a time and spread it out through the week or I won't exhaust my muscles like I should for a good workout. Not sure I agree with that...

Nope. She's wrong. NROLFW is a great program.

[Medh63]

Your trainer looks like she is trying to make money off you. NROLFW is simple and effective, so you won't need a trainer for that. Your trainer is trying to get you on a complicated program so you need to pay her for it. I've worked at gyms long enough to know the drill

for your diet, just follow what Kimm said.

(science geek here - your spoon of hummus weight different than your spoon of peanut butter because they have different density as they are different substances, sorry I am teaching this to my students right now LOL)

Fat Burners: no don't do them. Some can be harmful, especially if you have a family history of heart condition.

God luck.

I don't have a personal trainer. The lady in the gym is a personal trainer, but I don't think she is training anyone right now. She's got a shoulder injury herself. She showed me the equipment and some exercises to get me started. She will show me new moves to try sometimes but I've been reading and researching to try and figure out the best path for me to take. I might wait for Strong to come out next month and try that one.

Science geek...Ha! Ha! thanks!! That explains a lot!

[Medh63]

She may be running the gym but it doesn't sound like she's well versed in a proper training program. All training programs need to be focused around the important compound lifts: bench, rows, overhead press, squats, deadlifts, etc...these lifts are crucial for building a solid foundation, preserving muscle when dieting down, creating overall muscle balance and a strong core. Isolation work for the smaller muscles can be used sparingly and it's never the main focus of any program.

Full body and upper/lower routines are a good place to start. There's nothing wrong with running a typical bro split, but I feel they're better suited for lifters with more experience under their belt's.

Exhausting the muscles, training to failure, training for soreness, etc...is never an indicator of a good workout. You want to master your form and train for progressive overload, which means you continue getting stronger over time.

Congrats on your loss so far! This is a clear indicator that you're on the right track so keep going.

Thanks!! I've pre-ordered Strong. That may be a good program for me to start with.
I really appreciate all your help!!

[sugarmaple11]

I've only been lifting and dieting (I should say "eating properly") since late spring/early summer but I found NROLFW to be a great starting point. I agree with the suggestions above about compound lifts, using a food scale and tracking food intake. It was kind of a hassle at first for me but really helped and now I have a better sense of portions. It also helped me increase my protein intake, which is the one thing that seems to keep me from being hungry. I've managed an average loss of about 3/4 of a pound per week since June so the tracking and lifting have worked very well for me. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that this happened with little cardio, but yes, it has worked!