Calorie input after 55+ It's not shifting!

RetiredTravel
My GP got me to keep a food diary and my typical intake is between one thousand and one thousand five hundred calories a day. I don't have a car so I walk a fair bit and (I'm a brisk walker), run up the stairs etc. I also do exercises given to me my a ph(ysio to help my arthritis as when I am immobile I seize up a bit. I don't do ten thousand steps a day (I had one of those step thingies for a while) maybe half to two thirds of that.
There are two distinct body types in my family. Tall and thin and eat like horses and short and dumpy with a tendency to put on weight by looking at a sandwich. I am the latter group. Most of my life I was a size 14 or 16 depending on the shop. M&S 14, usually, but not always as I have big boobs so it depended on the cut of the garment. Occasionally I had to buy a size 18 if it had a tighter bodice. I was always a 14 in trousers though. I wasn''t obese until my menopause. My Mum became obese after her hysterectomy in her thirties. This may or may not be hormonal. My mum got very depressed after her hysterectomy. Her sister got very fat after her menopause too although my maternal GM stayed tall and slender until she died. .

Thanks MOnica.

I saw a programme a while ago where a slim woman was given a faecal transplant from her overweight daughter to cure a chronic condition. The condition was cured but the woman became very overweight in a short space of time.

There was no other reason other than the transplant to explain it.

Considerable evidence actually oldgimmer1. the New Scientist magazine is sponsoring a several lectures on this subject in the next few weeks.

I'm really interested in the gut bacteria notion.

Not sure there's enough research yet to prove it works but apparently faecal transplants are the way to go...

Maybe it depends how much overweight we are? Depending on my height I am either 1 lb or 8 lbs overweight according to the BMI charts (wish they did `1/2 inches!) However, I feel more overweight than that and would be happier in the middle of normal.

M0nica

I like the idea of that. Is it possible to have 14lb of bacteria in there?

agnurse Mon 21-Oct-19 22:29:45 good advice but is it accurate? Mine was checked over and over again and was 'normal' until they discovered the gland was so big my life was in danger! Now I don't have the gland my dosage is very, very low and apparently the latest blood test was 'bordeline'. I really do eat very little, no breakfast, fruit and fat free natural yogurt for lunch, maybe an apple or pear mid afternoon and lots of fresh veg with a small amount of meat or fish (or not) for dinner. I have two rich tea fingers with my bedtime drink, alternate nights warm milk/sleepy tea. I am physically able to do some very brisk walking.

I do not think food has much to do with it. It is other factors. I put on nearly 2 stone after the menopause despite a change in my circumstances meaning I changed to a much more active life then, and watching what I ate.

At 70, I lost that 2 stone and more in four months. I think it was a combination of hormone changes and what we now know of the human biome, the 2lbs or so of bacteria in our bowels. Twin studies have shown that identical twins on identical diets and exercise, can still be different weights. This has been atrributed to the different types of bacteria each has in their bowels

SirChenjin. To answer your question about bread, I don't eat it at all. I eat a small amount of granola with extra berries for breakfast and then no other carbs all day . there are some carbs in a lot of vegetables: i know I am getting enough to keep me health but I don't do bread, pasta, rice , potatoes , biscuits, cakes etc. as i said it works very well for my OH and basically I have joined him.

I'm going to do both. I'm going to try a week of high protein , veg & low carb. I'm going to try a week of coffee and cup of soup lunch time one meal fish and veg.
I miss the bread already but I'm going skiing in January so I have to shift this weight.

I'll feedback.. ? No pressure...

RetiredTravel it’s complicated! If you’ve dieted all your life (as I have done) then it’s the hardest thing ever to try and lose weight in the later years. My metabolism is at a standstill and to lose any weight I would have to restrict my calories to 800, anything more than that and the scales stay the same or I gain weight! And that’s with being quite active! (Walking daily and looking after grandchildren)

We are all different and you have to find a solution that you can live with.

London granny,
Please tell us the rest of your story ; it's intriguing.
I wasn't quite sure if you're telling us to stay slim its endless hard hard work or even by eating virtually nil you've still put weight on

Those of you taking the low carb approach - do you eat low carb bread etc? I’m thinking of giving it a go but I’d struggle to give up carbs completely so had thought about going for the low carb stuff the supermarkets sell.

Yes Scentia what you're describing is no surprise to me. I cycle probably around minimum. 50 miles over a week and am up and out. I do sit alot at night watching the TV however.

The difference from even 10 years ago is really very obvious to me.

Hey ho I'm very fortunate to be fit and well but my goodness I never ever thought weight loss would be such a challenge..

? I'm kicking my self for over eating in the first place!

I am a similar age to you. I have a full time very physical job, I walk to and from work every day I go to the gym 3 times a week and run on the treadmill for 25 minutes.
That is an active lifestyle I think, I cannot take in more than 1500 calories without putting on weight. Prior to the menopause I could have 2500 and not gain a pound.☹️
That is how that situation makes me feel!!

Thanks all so much for taking the time to reply..

Gonegirl....You're correct I should have said ; I'm 56..

I'm another who adopted the Low Carb, High Fat way of eating nearly 4 years ago. Altogether, I lost nearly two stones over the first year, had more energy, and as I was almost pre-diabetic (not quite!), blood sugar levels are very stable.
My feeling is that it's much easier than calorie counting, and the weight starts to drop off very quickly. But you have to be fairly disciplined, and not fall into temptation too often. A bonus is that you lose your sweet tooth, and don't crave cakes and bikkies, and you rarely feel hungry.
It's also supposed to help with blood pressure and cholesterol levels, according to some cardiologists.

Metabolism changes after menopause. I couldn't believe how much weight I gained. I've never been a big eater either. I tried the 5:2 thing. It worked wonders on my husband who is back to the weight he was in his early 30s. I followed it religiously and stayed at the same weight after an initial loss of a couple of pounds. My GP says it doesn't work for some people, typically women.

My typical day starts with one or two cups of fresh coffee with milk (before 8am) . I've never eaten breakfast, not since puberty, as eating first thing makes me feel sluggish and bloated. I have a piece of fruit (usually an apple or a pear) or some wholemeal toast & marmite between 12:00 and 1:30.
I don't like chocolate, biscuits or sweets. I don't buy crisps or suchlike.
I cook the tea and it's done & dusted by about 7pm. It's always cooked from scratch now I'm retired. When we were both working full time we did have one or two takeaways a week, usually curry. I can't remember the last time we had a takeaway. Not for at least five years, anyway. No need, I'm never too knackered to cook these days and my curries are excellent, if I say so myself. Not swimming in oil like a takeaway, either.

We eat meat a maximum of twice a week but often not at all, fish once a week but the bulk of our diet is plant based. I cook a roast about three or four times a year. We don't have fry-ups more than two or three times a year, typically at Christmas or birthdays. An evening meal might be a green salad, pasta with garlic, a bit of olive oil, and chopped fresh parsley & chillies.
We don't drink much alcohol or juices. The bulk of our liquid intake is water or tea, often without milk unless it's British Rail type tea.
My vice used to be cheese but when my cholesterol readings were almost off the scale in my forties I knocked that one on the head and cheese is now a rare treat because of the fat & salt content. Just how many calories are in statins?

I'm not on HRT. I reacted very badly to the pill back in the 70s so I avoid anything hormonal. I always became slightly bonkers during pregnancy as well and I certainly never glowed with health but glowed with livid all-over acne. It would disappear within a fortnight of giving birth.

I have calorie-counting, points calculating friends and frankly it rules their lives and it bores me to tears. If I go out for a coffee with friends I don't want a preamble that looks like a maths tests showing all their working. It's so tedious. I wouldn't care but I don't even like cake. Just drink the damn coffee and talk about something else because talk of calories, LighterLife & Weight Watchers makes me want to set fire to the tablcloth and leave without a backward glance.

I've just resigned myself to being an endomorph.
My GP says from a medical point of view, knowledge is largely confined to white men because they're almost always those who take part in medical trials because it's believed that pesky stuff like periods will mess up the results. Almost no research is done on menopausal women at all. Basically women's bodies are as little-studied as the Mariana Trench. We may be over 50% of the population but as far as medical research goes we may as well be invisible.

I have finally found a diet that works for me, but it is brutal. Being vertically challenged, I have researched and found that eating more than 1100 calories a day will make me put on weight.

I had put on more than two stone since I was 50, (before that I could eat anything I liked and never rose above 7st 3lb) and whilst I would not want to lose all that because my face would fall in, I needed to get back to a BMI of under 25.

My current diet enables me to lose just 1lb a week, but it does work. I have tried all the organisations, and although I might lose more than that the first week, after that the weight loss stops.

I don't eat breakfast, but do have coffee (no sugar in drinks) mid morning. Lunch is a Batchelor's cup a soup because I like them and there are several varieties. Will have a pint of water or sugar free squash as well. At some point during the day I will have two tablespoonsful of orange juice and one tablespoon of olive oil, which the hospital told me I have to take. One Cup of tea mid afternoon, and then my main meal, small portion of meat, fish, veggie dish, with two veggies but no carbohydrate. No pudding, but I do have a cup of coffee afterwards.

As I said, brutal, but for me the only thing I have found that works consistently.

The OP asks for advice from GNrs of a similar age, but doesn't say how old she is. There is a huge difference between the dietary needs of a fifty year old and someone in their seventies/eighties/ nineties.

The diet industry is a multi million pound industry, the reason being that dieting doesn't work, and there are lots of return customers!

I found to lose weight (was pre diabetic and arthritic) required permanent changes in eating habits and lifestyle.

Walking, even short distances daily I found helps, also cutting down on bread, pasta, rice and a lot of cakes and biscuits and other carb laden foods. I do drink beer.

I lost weight 3 years ago, am no longer pre diabetic, and haven't regained the weight.

There are probably two different types of would-be slimmers on GN. The younger ones still with children at home and more energy for an active lifestyle, and the older ones who lack the energy or motivation to move around much and can, therefore, exist on a smallish amount of food without getting hungry.

It would be harder for the younger ones to lose weight. They still have the physical need for more calories from whatever source.

I find I no longer crave cake. I eat much less these days all round. I don't seem to lose much weight. Sometimes a little.

I am 78.

I think that you have to get into the right mindset before you can lose weight. I tried for ages, as my weight crept up. I ate fairly healthily, and didn’t eat big portions. I don’t drink alcohol, or take sugar in my drinks. I’m not ‘into’ takeaways, and don’t eat a lot of meat. However, I ate too much bread (it’s not the bread that puts on weight, but what goes on or with it) I also didn’t eat much fruit and veg. My weakness was cake, biscuits, chocolate and sweets. Once it was bought, I couldn’t help but eat it all, making a pig of myself.
I had been having a lot of pain in my hip and knee. Weighing almost 12 stone, at only 5ft tall didn’t help. Last May I got a new hip. Hauling myself about on crutches was the turning point, and I decided that the excess weight had to go.
The new rule is - no fattening goodies in the house at all. The first few weeks were hard, but now I don’t miss the sugar rush I used to get. I allow myself the occasional small slice of cake, or a couple of biscuits if I’m at a coffee morning, or suchlike, but find that I can now take it, or leave it. I buy a loaf, and freeze it in separate batches of a few slices, and now eat very little bread. Otherwise, I eat normally, just avoiding anything fried, or too fatty. Frylight spray is a useful tool, instead of cooking oil.
Breakfast is either two Shredded wheat, or just a bowl of citrus fruit. Lunch could be two boiled eggs and a slice of toast, a healthy sandwich or a bowl of home made veggie soup. I make a big batch of soup, throwing in about a dozen different kinds of veg, and freeze portions. Tasty, healthy, and low-calorie. My evening meal could be a salad, or a smallish portion of meat or fish with vegetables and perhaps a few potatoes. If I feel hungry between meals I slice up an apple and take my time eating it, or have a low-fat portion of Dairylea, or similar, on a few crackers. You don’t have to starve to lose weight.
I have joined our local Slimming World, because going along to get weighed every week is a great incentive to stick at it. I don’t feel the need to ‘stick to their plan’, but it is a very healthy way to lose weight, and you never go hungry. They also have an exercise hour afterwards, which I enjoy. I have also started aqua aerobics, which is helping to strengthen my muscles around the new hip.
Since starting my new regime, ten weeks ago, I have taken off 16 pounds, and feel much healthier and fitter. A pound or two a week is what I aim for, not a quick and unsustainable plummet! I no longer crave sweet things, but I know, from previous experience, that it’s so easy to ‘fall off the wagon’ by starting to buy them again. I hope that, this time, the weight will stay off.
Good luck, Retired Travel. Find your moment, and make a start, and I hope that the pounds will start to slip away. I am 80, and hope that getting down to a healthy weight (at least another stone) will help to prolong my mobility and longevity.

The NHS Choices website has a healthy eating plan designed to help you lose weight with all the up to date information included and its free. Basically its a 1400 calorie a day diet (use Myfitnesspal- a free calorie counter app). You should get three good meals and a couple of snacks out of that if you do some light exercise (150 mins a week is recommended)- plenty of fruit and veg to fill you up.

I’m another who needs to lose a couple of stone. I’ve tried the 5:2 without success, hate SW with syns and WW with points. Every meal was like a bluddy maths lesson!

Anyway yesterday I saw the practice nurse for my routine blood pressure check. I was delighted it was normal. I mentioned needing to lose some weight and she has strongly suggested looking on line at the British Heart Foundation website.

I’m going to check it out today.