Post by Ramsey prompts me to post this. I’m 81 yoa, retired, 6 ft tall and can’t lose weight. This morning I’m at 207. I spent most of my life at 140 to 150 and was moderately active. As the years progressed, so did I.

I eat lightly twice a day. I generally go to a city park twice daily to do a one mile walk. I strap on 5 pound ankle weights prior to walking. Due to arthritis in back, legs and right knee, I walk on grass instead of the concrete. Doc says that, with the exception of my mild pot belly, I’m in better shape than any of his other patients of my age. Arthritis limits my activity somewhat but I don’t feel handicapped.

This is not acceptable. How to get the pounds off?

Try eating 5-6 small meals a day, this keeps metabolism active. Since you do one mile twice a day, try extending each walk a little farther each time. Just take it easy and don't push too hard. With a goal of two miles each trip to the park.

6 feet and 150 lbs sounds very thin to me

It’s pretty thin. My middle son is 5’11 and 130 lbs….kid could hide behind a T-post.


I’m 5’5 with no shoes and 150-152lbs currently.

Certainly tougher the older we get. Heavy water intake, smaller/more frequent meals and moderate exercise for me. 259 on December 1st, 206 this morning. Still a work in progress but slowly getting there.

That's pretty good

I dont recommend drinking alot of water, makes me fatter.

I drink when I am thirsty

At 150 pounds, I was thin but healthy. Could go all day doing manual labor, run a mile,etc. Now, I feel just like an old fat guy. On dang little input.

I tried that did not work for me. I go one small meal a day. And if I do that in combination with low carb, the weight pours off. I’m sure there is merit to the metabolism concept with more meals a day, but the most important concept is to not eat too much, no matter how you spread it out, it really is that simple.

I have found, it is just me, that when I lose all my body fat, my metabolism rate seems high, I can eat a slice of cheese cake and my body seems to burn it, vs if I’m 10 lbs over my ideal weight, I will gain weight with that cheese cake.

Workout different topic, the other side of the coin. I never have been a gym person. I like doing push ups my favorite work out, builds a lot of muscles, it is great for my back. And free weights in my office. At work I walk 36 flights of stairs 3 days a week, sometimes I do it twice. Been doing this for a year now and love it, much better than my bike for cardio and muscle build.

cut carbs and sugar.

When we get this "old" our body likes to hang on to calories. It knows when we are "cutting back" and senses starvation and reacts by shutting down metabolism.

IMO you are doing fine, 6 ft. 205# is about right.

When you get to 300# holler back.

Cutting carbs and calories to get to your ideal weight sometimes you gotta do, but once you get there, you should focus on eating healthy #1, and #2 don’t eat too much. And it’s ok to cheese cake every now and then, just not too much.

Are you on any kind of medication?

I was 142-145 from 1997-2021. In 2021 I had a medication I took for a heart issue just completely quit working for me and ended up in the hospital. While in the hospital they switched me to a different medication and the pounds started to creep up on me. I am still only 155 but no matter how hard I try to get back to my old weight it just aint going to happen. At first I couldnt figure out what was causing it until I started doing some research on it. Thats when it clicked that the weight gain started as soon as I switched medication and there are plenty of other people that I found online sharing the same experience I have had with it. I could easily be 250 pounds right now if I didnt fight the urge to eat like I did before 2021.

First thing is do you have regular checkups and blood work. IF all of your numbers are good and your BMI is within limits, ask the doctor to do some further blood work to check you vitamin levels (B12, D, B12, folate, magnesium, iodine and zinc) and your thyroid levels. I think this is the test (Labcorp Vitamin Deficiency Test).
My wife's thyroid level was way off and she takes meds not that really helped her.
Good luck.
txtrophy85, I am the same height as you just 10 pounds heaver. I have dropped 6 pound in the past 3 months and plan on dropping 5 to 10 more. Just got to push back from the sweets and walk a whole lot more.

Regular checkups, etc. At 81 yoa, I seem to have about 3 doctor visits per week for one thing or another. Today was the dermatologist. We have a white board with mostly doctor and/or dentist appts.

The last 3 days I’ve increased my one mile walks to 3 per day. With 5 pound ankle weights.

This is what I'm doing now, less calories and way down on carbs and the weight is coming off. I've cut way, way down on bread, no pasta, no chips, no sweets other than fruit, very few potatoes. I'm on a low carb kind of a carnivore diet. I do eat some fruit and some low carb vegetables. So far it's working at the rate of a couple of pounds a week.

When I started my weight loss, other than water and exercise my meals were based on Carbs and Protein. Minimum 60 grams of Protein daily. If Carbs and sugar added up to more than 20 grams on the food label, it was on the do not eat list.

I'm trying to lose

I've lost 11 lbs by eating light, and having one big meal a day. Couple that with walking just about every day and the pounds are coming off slowly. I'm trying to get down to 185, currently 191, and I'm 5'11. I cut back on sweets, sodas, unnecessary carbs, eat more fruits, vegetables, and drink more water. Typical day is coffee, breakfast sandwich, almonds, banana, jerky, peanuts, water, and a medium sized meal for early dinner.

I curbed my sweet tooth by cutting out my nightly bowl of ice cream and daily cookies and lost 10 lbs in a month. Also trying to very slowly wean myself off sweet tea.

Down 11 pounds since July 2nd. Still on my modified carnivore diet. Eating meat, vegetables, some fruits, very little carbs, some days no carbs. I feel good and don't go hungry. I'm also walking 4 days a week, 2 miles each time at a 16 minute mile, plus ranch work. I'd still like to lose about 20 more pounds.

I exercise regularly, but just by eliminating alcohol completely, I dropped 30 pounds since my worst weight at Christmas 2023. I'm 6' 1", 230 down to 200. No other diet change. Beer and wine are loaded with empty calories.

I was 6’2” when younger about 6’1” now at 77. I put on 100 lbs after I turned 40. Well my Dr. put me on Ozempic in Oct. 2023. I weighed 289 lbs. I weighed last Tuesday when I carried my wife to the cardiologist and I weighed 225 lbs. since I have been on Ozempic I have gone from 3 blood pressure medicines to 1 and now I am off my insulin. My blood sugar is right at 100. My Dr. says my target weight is 210 lbs. I tried the protein shakes and it gave diarrhea bad so I quit them.

Started the carnivore diet a year ago with the hopes of preventing dementia in the future. I am 69 yrs old 6' and was 200lbs. Just couldn't lose the weight around the waist & hips eating salads & baked potatoes & vegetables.
I didn't start it trying to lose weight, but noticed my pants seemed looser at 2 wks and had lost 12lbs. At that point I thought I would give it 60 days and see if I feel any different. After 60 days I had lost 25lbs which was what I weighed in HS and college. Yes, I will have the DQ Blizzard when I go see the grandkids in Mississippi, but other than that it's meat, fish, chicken, eggs & bacon and cheese.

Keto seems to really work great the first time you do it

Get off it for a while and go back on it and it doesn't seem to have the same results.

The potatoes are the waist killer.

They are. But they taste so good

I keep reading that potatoes satisfy your hunger best of all food out there

I agree! Can’t remember last time I had a big pile of mashed potatoes and gravy. Last time I ate a big baked potato stuffed with chopped brisket, I put on a couple pounds at weigh in the next morning.

I think plain potatoes are fine. But they are bland alone, so people load them up with oil, butter, sour cream, or cheese, which completely negates the low caloric benefits.

You need carbs!

Butter isn’t bad. Margarine is bad

How would you know if butter is even real butter anymore. The way the FDA labels stuff anymore it may or may not be butter.

By the taste, try some kerrygold like from Costco.

Lol, my wife will eat straight butter, no BS!

I don't eat that margarine crap either and only eat real butter. But, if weight loss is your goal, you can't load foods up with too much butter. One tablespoon of butter is 12 grams of fat, 18% of your recommended daily intake.


Pretty easy to decipher the taste between actual butter and a substitute. I'm not aware of any FDA controversy about the mislabeling of butter. If in doubt, look at the label. Butter is made from milk or cream from cows, while margarine is made from plant and/or animal fats.

Butter has zero carbs. Cheese low carb as well. I have never looked at calories. Eat meat, butter, cheese, and these veggies.

The 20 Best Low Carb Vegetables (Plus 1 Great Low Carb Fruit)

One meal a day and not too big, I’ll lose a pound a day if not more.

Google top 20 low carb veggies, nothing special with that link I posted.

Also, don’t get diet salad dressing, like ranch. Oddly enough, diet salad dressing has more carbs.

That kinds seems obvious that you'll lose weight if you only eat moderate sized 1 meal a day, no matter what you eat.

That's true, my point tho is 1) one meal a day, 2) small portion, and 3) low carb, all 3 are good methods to lose weight. Combined them, and it is x2 and x3. All 3 you will be shocked how much weight you will lose, probably 10lbs a week.

You gotta cook that steak on all 4 sides.

If your only eating one meal a day, you have to make sure your getting enough protein, which is hard to do on one meal a day.

Most of the weight your losing is probably muscle, as muscle “costs” more to maintain

In 48 days I've lost 12.5 pounds. Eating 2-3 meals a day and getting full. Mostly protein, very few carbs and mostly bananas for fruit, but just one a day. Also started collagen powder and tumeric capsule in the mornings.

Many on keto or carnivore diet chomp on butter as well.

I do love real butter slathers all over my green veggies like brocolli or asparagus with salt, very tasty combination.

Sounds like a eating pattern that is easy to stay with as well.

This - at my heaviest I was 247 and in 2010 decided to cut back and got down to 205 (which feels good to me) and stayed there until covid. More beer and wine during the extended stay at home and crept back up to 226 and floated there until June of this year. I am active and eat fairly well but realized the alcohol was keeping me from losing, so I cut back to maybe a beer or a drink with a meal on occasion. Since doing so, in just 3 months, I have lost 12 pounds with no other changes. Also, side benefit, my acid reflux, which I have dealt with for years is no longer an issue.

no beer
no liquor
no sugar

helps

Very easy, a lot better than what I have tried before. Before I ate want I wanted, just didn't go over 1500 calories a day. That was not sustainable. I certainly feel a lot better since cutting way down on carbs.

No fun

I could forego the sugar.

I quit drinking for the most part a few years ago.

I’ll have a few beers once a month or every other month with friends.

3 Coors lights at mid day and I’ll feel it well into the next morning.

I haven’t drank in a few years. Until I get kids out of house sugars are hard

Whiskey, Tequila, etc have zero sugar and no carbs

Drink away..........

I have never tried to count calories seems like a pain in the arse

Carbs reduction seem to be key to success for many on weight loss.

True

gotta shootem or have diet soda/triplesec.

Bourbon on the rocks with a splash of h2o.

I like Evan Willams 1783 and Diet Zero Coke, pretty good combo

I had a couple 12 oz IPA yesterday afternoon, put a pound on me when I hit the scale this morning.

The sugar is the only one I like. I have cut way back on it though, trying to get the wife to quit buying candy when the grandkids come over. I am now bagging the candy up and sending it home with them. The wife went on a diet and I have lost 5% of my body weight in 3 months.

I am actually having the opposite problem. The first of the year I had a sciatic nerve problem. I lost a lot of muscle in my legs and then using my arms too much got tendonitis in one arm and a torn rotator cuff in the other. I am a little over 6 ft. and weighed around 180 pounds. I got down to 165 pounds and am having a tough time getting back to my former weight. My wife is pissed because if she looks at food she gains weight.

You looked into a nerve block? My FIL had same issue, nerve blocks been a big help

I got some pills that supposed to help nerves. They worked pretty good. I had a lot of pain in my shoulders and had an MRI that showed the damage that was done to them from me using my arms to get out of chairs etc. Did 6 weeks of physical therapy, then a month on my own. The pain is pretty much gone, and I am getting my strength back but am having a hard time gaining back my weight.

Becareful Don. Good news sound like you on right track back

I got my dad some high calorie high protein shake mix, it’s helped him put a little weight back on.

I think now he drinking Boost to kind of maintain

Has your doctor or maybe therapist suggested drinking like Ensure?

I am drinking the 530 calorie Boost plus eating protein bars.

Went to Costa Rica in July and when we got back, didn’t like the way I looked in photos. All that late night snacking and frequent cheats had finally caught up with me.

Down around 12lbs, cut out most sugar and carbs, don’t stuff myself and mainly stick to a high protein, simple diet. Almost zero sweets save for fruit.

Back to fighting weight

I doesn’t get any easier the older you get. Easy to put on, harder to take off.

Fruits I hear your supposed to stick with anything that ends in berry, Like Blueberry, Strawberries, raspeberries. Stay away from oranges, apples, mangos, bananas, etc super high in calories and sugar.