Where are the 60+ weight loss role models?
Discover more from Autumn Diaries
Where are the 60+ weight loss role models?
The real question is: am I too late and running out of time?
Sunday Scales: +3.8 lbs | Total loss since May 2020: 25.6 lbs
I am bringing back Sunday Scales, my weekly weigh-in, which has always been one of my most effective accountability tools. The gain this last week reflects the emotional rollercoaster I’ve been on. Time to turn it around.
* * *
Something I am learning over and over again: no matter how much I think I got it or how much something clicked, it doesn’t take much for me to undo it all again. Taking a day 'off’ over Easter was no problem, but a whole week during my friend’s visit saw the quick return of old habits, such as snacking on carbs and sugar, and falling back into last-supper mode. The crappy weather is not helping, either, May is normally warm and lovely but I am still wearing scarves and gloves and it’s been wet, grey and gloomy! All I want to do is cocoon and eat.
Additionally I am experiencing side effects from one of my blood pressure meds. I am seeing my GP about this next week but in the meantime I am struggling to get my head back into the game, it is definitely easier to work on changing habits when I’m not dealing with things like vertigo or joint inflammation. Things have certainly been very up and down over here, sigh.
Nonetheless, losing a good amount of weight will help so much with all of these health issues and I remain determined to figure this out. My meds will probably require some adjustment and that will hopefully help with the dizziness. My joints are thankfully all ok again, for now anyway. Next week I am also seeing a new therapist. The previous one, who I had found online because all the recommended ones were booked out, did not work out, we just didn’t click. But one of the recommended ones just got back to me because she has an opening so I’m meeting her on Monday.
Often, when I am struggling, I look to people who have successful lost a lot of weight and kept it off, like my coach Sean Anderson who has been maintaining a 250 lbs loss for well over 10 years, or Corinne Crabtree who’s kept 100 lbs off for more than a decade, or Heather Robertson of Half Size Me who’s maintained a 110 lbs loss for many years.
They all use different methods but here is what they have in common:
They plan and/or track their meals
They have non-negotiables, like no sugar for Sean
They consistently practice attention and awareness
They live in the space between stimulus and response
They lost most of their weight in their 30s.
I am realizing that much of the crux for me lies in that last statement: as I am nearing my sixth decade I often feel like I am too late and that I am running out of time. And I have no role models who have lost a significant amount of weight in their late 50s or 60s. I am sure they are out there but even googling it I wasn’t able to find anyone, all the advice for weight loss after 60 refers to women who gained a bit of weight during menopause, not women who’ve struggled with obesity for decades.
Maybe I have to become my own role model?
I know what to do, I know what works. I also know that the only way to do it is to do it. As Sean always says:
“It’s not what we know, it’s what we do.”
So as of today I am going back to basics, which for me means:
Tracking my calories in the LoseIt app
Abstaining from refined sugar
16:8 Intermittent fasting
Walking
Daily journaling
I am curious: how do you lose weight, what works for you? Let me know in the comments or email me.
Have a great week!