40+ weight gain-never had to watch my diet before-would like a buddy for mutual encouragement

Hi, there.  I am almost 45 and one of those girls we love to hate who never had to worry what I ate until I hit 40.  I'd only gained 10-15 lbs between 20 and 40 and was able to eat whatever I wanted.  I'm only 5 feet tall and have packed on almost 25 more lbs on over the past 5 years-that's 5 lbs a year since I hit 40.  Dr says if I have a tendency to gain weight in perimenopause I will gain even more in true menopause and I need to change my eating habits/portions now as a prevention.

My main motivators are:

Look better

Feel better

Be healthier

Good luck everyone :-)

Welcome to c-c/happy to meet you.

You have come to a great site to learn new ways to fuel your body.

I am 43, but have been struggling with weight for about 13 years.  Good thing you are learning about it now when you have 40 lbs to lose and not 100 lbs. 

Enjoy the site, you will meet a lot of nice people here.

Hi there - I am 52 and have been menopausal for about 3 years. I am finding it very hard to control my weight and have never been so heavy so I can understand how you feel. I am getting married next year so I have some really good motivation to stick at a diet. My aim is to lose about 20lb. I am going to try to be a bit more active - I work in an office so I really need to make the effort. My advice is to record everything you eat. It is very easy to miss out the odd thing here and there and it is amazing how the calories add up!

Hello! I turn 45 in three weeks and have about 30 pounds to lose.  It gets harder with every year.  Maybe we can help each other! I joined today after a tough moment on the scale this morning (I hadn't gone near it in awhile).  Spent the first half of the day annoyed, frustrated, and overeating . . . now, I'm typing this with a spinach salad at my elbow. Tonight, we're headed to a baseball game . . . the first test of my new resolve.

Good luck to you! Let's keep in touch . . .

 

Hi Everyone. I have been very good all week. I have kept to my calorie allowance - but now I have visitors for the weekend. This will mean meals out, and visits to the pub. I think it will be very hard to avoid temptation....What is the best food to choose in an Italian restaurant? I got on the scales this morning. I have to admit that I guessed my weight when I started this diet at the beginning of the week, and I was underestimating my weight - I have 10 more pounds to lose than I thought! Even more reason to watch what I choose from the menu....

Thanks for sharing everyone...I followed the calorie allowance and used the diary religiously for this week, but fear I have not lost even one pound.  I'm going to invest in a new digital scale to keep myself motivated.  I'm pretty easy to please, and know that if it took 5 years to pack this 30 lbs on, 6 months at a pound a week is not too hard an objective, but I need to be motivated by results, or I won't be able to sustain these eating habits.

 

Original Post by darkinhere:

Hi, there.  I am almost 45 and one of those girls we love to hate who never had to worry what I ate until I hit 40.  I'd only gained 10-15 lbs between 20 and 40 and was able to eat whatever I wanted.  I'm only 5 feet tall and have packed on almost 25 more lbs on over the past 5 years-that's 5 lbs a year since I hit 40.  Dr says if I have a tendency to gain weight in perimenopause I will gain even more in true menopause and I need to change my eating habits/portions now as a prevention.

My main motivators are:

Look better

Feel better

Be healthier

Good luck everyone :-)