Would like to hear from older South Beach Dieters!

[HouTXMom]

I have been doing SB for about 6 weeks and my total weight loss is 11 lbs. Lately I have been hopping on the scales and try and tell myself there are a number of reasons my weight could be fluctuating. One day it is 145; then 145.6 and this morning 145.8. I thought I had a "model" day yesterday and trying to ignore the fluctuations. It is not like me to be hopping on the scales, but because my weight edged up and not sure why, I have been checking to see if my weight is going down. This morning it was still slightly up. I have gone back and read the threads about plateaus which really helps but could it be that I within about 10 lbs of my goal weight? The first 10 lbs came off like a breeze and now I have only lost about 2 lbs. I am also 56 so my weight comes off slower these days. In addition to the foods on Phase 1 I am taking in a couple of fruits and eating the Fiber 1 cereal. I would sure like to hear from others that are my age or older and hear how their weight loss journey is going. Thanks!!

[RedRox]

Well a couple thoughts. First of all is that I'm a guy so my gender helps me lose and maintain weight. But I started SB as a young lad of 47/48 and am now about to turn 53 in a couple months so it's not impossible, it just may take some additional work that younger (and more male) individuals do not have to deal with.

The biggest problem as we age is that we lose muscle mass. Since at a resting state, our bodies expend more calories to maintain muscle tissue, the less we have of it the fewer calories we use on a daily basis to maintain the muscle tissue we have. This is the biggest contributor to a "slower metabolism" as we age. That's what that term really means.

The best solution to that is exercise and to include some kind of resistance training to maintain as much muscle mass as possible. (Losing muscle mass is just a natural process of aging. There isn't really anything we can do about it other than just working to maximize the amount we have left to work with at any age that we are at.)

You may also need to tweak quantities of things down a bit as well to maintain a larger caloric deficit and particularly watch the more calorie dense items more closely.
????: South Beach Diet Forums http://www.southbeachdietbulletinboard.com/south-beach-diet-forums-phase-2/5680-would-like-hear-older-south-beach-dieters.html

I found a good article at the Mayo Clinic website on weight gain after menopause which you might find helpful or at least interesting. You can read it here: Weight gain after menopause: Reverse the middle age spread - MayoClinic.com

And finally realize that trying to translate one day's eating pattern to the scale weight the following day is a twisted tangle of logic to begin with. It would be nice if our bodies were as simple as inputs in and results out, but thankfully really we are a whole lot more complex than that. And also our "weight" is a whole collection of things taken together, water, bone, muscle, soft tissue, digesting food yet to be eliminated and yes even fat! Losing a pound of fat is a good thing, but losing a pound of muscle tissue would be a very bad thing and yet the number on the scale would not be able to discriminate between the two and you would be just as happy at the scale movement, but really shouldn't be in that example!

Sad to say, but you are just in this for the long haul. Focus on hopefully feeling better, improved health and look for long term trends of improving things slowly. And yes those last 10 lbs do go much more slowly than the first 10 (it sounds like you had about 20 to lose in total?). I know it took me almost 6 months to lose my last 5 lbs and the vast majority of the time, the scale did not move or did that annoying up and down thing without a lot of actual progress. I just knew none of the other alternatives were going to work and giving up wasn't going to get me there after all the progress I had already made (I ended up losing about 40-45 lbs total).

Enjoy the adventure and the process. Be thankful you aren't gaining and you are working to get it off now and live a healthier life for as long as you can. Be active and involved in all the other enjoyable aspects of your life!

[HouTXMom]

RedRox..as usual your replies are awesome. Thanks again and I intend to read the article. Thanks for helping to "un"frustrate me..Cindy

[no2atkins]

Is Red not a genius or what? I am about to turn 41. I find that the last 10 pounds for me will not come off with diet alone. Now when i did Atkins 15 years ago I was able to get to my goal weight, but not now. nope. Red said it took him 6 months to lose the last 5 pounds...wow...but it makes you realize how this is a for life change that we have chosen here. I am really excited about all of this, just hang in there and start a exercise program and in well i was going to say in no time..lol...but at some point you can find the perfect balance of exercise and healthy eating to get to your (and stay at) goal.

Have a great week!

[HouTXMom]

Thanks no2Atkins. I know I can always come here for support and advice. I keep telling myself even though mentally I feel very young, I AM 56 and things don't happen quite as fast as before. I live in Houston and trust me there are morbidly obese people everywhere so I am extremely fortunate I do not fall into that category. Now is not the time for me to be impatient, but to keep plugging along and stay committed. Thanks again! Cindy

[RedRox]

I'm hardly a genius. I can however be very stubborn!

You know I would have been very happy at 185 or a little below. I still go up to near that during the winter usually. I just never really knew what I wanted to be my goal. I was surprised at 195. Happy at 190. Pretty ecstatic at 185 and 180 was more or less just a fantasy weight I never really believed would happen. I think somewhere after a while at or under 185 I just said, "Oh this must be P3" and just went on with my life. And then after a month or so I was consistently weighing 1-2 lbs less. And then after another month it was kind of the same thing and sort of the same thing. I've never been lower than 176 though, so I figure if I keep 180 as my "goal" then I've got a little room up and down on either side depending on the time of year, how much exercise I'm getting and how much off plan stuff I'm eating. Mostly I just know that this is what works for me now and what I was doing before SB didn't, so I just keep doing this. Hopefully it continues to work!

[no2atkins]

yeah I am not sure what my "goal" is either. Once i was 282, and maybe heavier than that!! I remember kinda half A** dieting then weighing and seeing 282lbs. I freaked out and started losing...when I got to 182, that was an even 100 pounds lost. I think it was more symbolic than anything. Eh...I am 189 or something now..to be honest I am happy under 200lbs, wouldnt mind being 180.

[ecbrady1]

I've been on SB for 8 weeks and have lost a good amount of weight already, close to 30 lbs. I think that the reason that I have lost so much so fast is that I was the king of all things junk food. Just eliminating those things dropped my wait almost 15 lbs. in 10 days. For the record I'm 43. Since I have levelled off on my weight loss it has been about 2 pounds a week.

If you were even a semi-good eater the change may not be as significant as it was for me, hence the slower pace of your loss. My biggest fear is the possible frustration that I will have once the weight loss slows down to a pound every 2 weeks or longer. I'm just trying to achieve a healthy lifestyle and feel a bit better about myself. Keep on plugging away!

[no2atkins]

My biggest fear is the possible frustration that I will have once the weight loss slows down to a pound every 2 weeks or longer. I'm just trying to achieve a healthy lifestyle and feel a bit better about myself. Keep on plugging away![/QUOTE]


as long as your looking at this as a lifetime lifestyle change I really think you will do fine. And congrats on losing so much weight!!!

And yes you will find that it will slow down and possibly even stop. red and I have been discussing this. I find that the last bit of weight comes easier with exercise. It puts in you in a good frame of mind, plus it burns a few calories as well...gets your metabolism up too!! And thats good for people 40 and up for sure.

you may consider only weighing in once or twice a month also.