Podcast Ep.45: Weight Loss After 50 – The Harsh Truth
Well in this episode of the podcast we get a little personal and talk about…weight. We discuss the challenges of maintaining (or getting back down to) a healthy weight after you turn 50. We start off sharing about “the beach picture” from the 1970s and theories why obesity has become so widespread since then before diving into some nitty gritty with our own current successes in keeping weight off. Which of course leads to some of our favorite real food recipes for weight loss. Plus we update you on all the things being completed on the farmhouse (so many things, though they’re not all pretty…), and the cool things we’ve discovered.
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Weight Loss After 50
Here are links to some of the things we talked about:
- Above is the British beach photo from the 70s that started a discussion on obesity. Here’s another article where the photo was described as an “alien race”. Though I don’t agree with the author’s point – as the other articles pointed out we eat differently now (many more times a day, etc.) and we definitely have the power to control what we eat and how we look. Brian and I do it everyday and our point is – it’s not easy, but worth it for quality of life.
- Eye-opening article on how many times people ate in the 70s vs. how much we eat now.
- Article on how intermittent fasting can increase longevity.
And here’s our wrap-up on weight loss at any (adult) age, really:
- Eat less hours in a day (have an 8-10 hour “eating window”) – aka, Intermittent Fasting.
- Eat less times a day (just say no to multiple snacks).
- It’s okay to be hungry sometimes (try drinking water, coffee or tea, go for a walk, etc. to distract you – it will pass if it’s not time for a meal).
- Don’t just ‘give up’ – keeping healthy is key to enjoying a full life.
Farmhouse Updates
In addition to a new indoor electrical box and heating/air ducts to the upstairs (exciting stuff, right?) we were able to install the new door in we talked about soon after recording (with help from some dear friends)! Isn’t it beautiful?
It’s this door from Home Depot and so far we’re really happy with it. It was free delivery to the store and we saved hundreds ordering it online – specifically on the phone – instead of the store (so odd…) so definitely check all the places if you’re in the market for a door! The door was packaged really well with no damage. Installation was fairly smooth, though we had extra framing and siding to deal with that most others wouldn’t.
The light its already brings to the front rooms is amazing and the curb appeal pretty much skyrocketed in my mind. Of course you have to imagine it with all the siding replaced and the two black barn lights on each side, lol. But this is an area we are splurging on since it’s the first thing people see.
Healthy Recipes for Weight Loss
Here are the ebooks I’ve written with my weight loss story and the real food recipes we eat as a family that helped me lose it and keep it off. It’s still my strategy, but after 50 I find I’ve had to add other things like intermittent fasting to keep the weight from creeping back up.
Here are a few of the recipes highlighted in the books that I make pretty much all the time:
- Swiss Chard and Sausage Frittata
- Quick Mini Meatloaves with Chipotle-Honey BBQ Sauce
- Quick and Easy Parmesan-Herb Crusted Baked Fish
- Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
This is Really Cool!
Brian’s – Athletic fit jeans at Old Navy. Finally a jean for men with muscular thighs but isn’t baggy.
Jami’s – American Eagle Italian leather backpack from DSW.Ā Amazing price for a real leather backpack that’s large enough to carry my laptop, small purse, water bottle and more for travel.
Since recording I’ve used it on a trip and did find that the zippers are a bit rough opening and closing. Maybe a bit of WD-40? It certainly doesn’t hurt the pack and I LOVE it. Such a deal. (It comes in a fun stone color, too.)
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You two are so cute and fun! I listened to your podcast this morning for the first time in a while. I get it on the Castbox app. I’m awake “early” since the time change. I lost 50 lbs doing Atkins and live a fairly low carb lifestyle, as does my husband. I’m 58 and he is 71. He has recently taken off about 17 lbs at my urging to be healthier. Being post menopausal made it more difficult to lose and took me about 5+ years. But slow and steady made it more of a lifestyle. I’m interested greatly in intermittent fasting! I urge us not to eat dinner later than 6pm and really like eating our main meal much earlier. I have put on a little muscle but also a few lbs by not eating my best. So, I am being diligent to keep near my goal weight, but even taking off a few lbs is tough! I will look into IF and let you know how it goes. Thank you for all the links!
Thank you so much, Robin – I’m so glad you enjoy the podcast! Congrats on your loss – that is impressive. I so agree with slow and steady to change your life and not an on-and-off again thing. I’ve found that when you work to get more veggies into your menus, I just don’t see the need for carbs. But I don’t avoid them – I love my morning granola (though I am thinking about creating one with just seeds and nuts!), a pasta dish every couple weeks, and a good piece of bread a couple times a week. It’s more thinking about it, isn’t it? Like hamburger buns are not special to me, so it’s easy to forgo those – but a piece of crusty garlic artisan bread? I’ll make room for a piece of that. š
I hope you find an IF time that works for you – it really has been so easy to fit into my life. And even not doing it everyday, it’s still working for me. I’ll be looking forward to hearing your experience.
Thank you Jami. I agree about not avoiding foods you love. It’s natural and lifestyle. Once we feel deprived we’re done for.
I will let you know how the IF works for me/us.
Oh, and I haven’t even heard of the Castbox app – I’ll have to look into it!
So much good information here. I had never heard of IF before but since listening to your podcast I have heard it mentioned several times and think Iām going to give it a go. I would love to see how you make this work over the course of a week. (Blog post idea maybe?š) Iām currently trying to process how to make it work for me while still getting my kids the food they need. (I have a 15 year old 5ā 7ā son who is very healthy but doesnāt even quite weigh 100 pounds so I donāt feel I can cut his food intake at all!) Thanks for sharing.
I’m so glad you found this useful, Julia, it’s not always the most fun thing for me to talk about. š I do plan to add another weight update to my story on the blog, but in all honesty, it’ll probably be more towards the new year, just because there’s so much going on the next few months!
For my kid’s breakfast when they were in school, I provided options for breakfast, but they were responsible for getting their food and making their lunches. It’s all good skills for them to learn and then you aren’t dealing with food while you’re fasting. š
Jamie
I have a question about how u do IF, so u still get I. 3 meals a day or do u skip breakfast now? Was wondering if this makes a difference in how it actually works? Less total calories.
It probably is less calories, Teresa – I have thought about this, too. So, somedays I eat my granola at 11:30, have lunch at 3, then dinner at 3:30 = 3 meals/day with no snack. Other times I have lunch at 12, snack of dried fruit and nuts at 3:30, then dinner at 6:30. Both ways I’m losing some calories, either through no breakfast or no snack. I also don’t do IF on most weekends, so I can eat meals with my family. AND I have whole milk in my coffee and tea which helps to get to my eating window.
I’ve done all this and lost the 10 pounds, so I’m really happy that it works and fits so easily into my lifestyle! I’m comfortable where I’m at, weight-wise, so I don’t really plan to try any smaller eating window (though some days it happens naturally). š
I really loved this podcast about IF. Itās all over the web now and seems to have many benefits. I have been practicing alittle myself & hope to extend my eating window gradually to 18:6 from 16:8, happy to know u were able to lose those 10 lbs:)
Thanks
Teresa
I’m glad you found this helpful, Teresa!
Oh my goodness, I checked out the article in the guardian. 1976 was one of the hottest summers on record, it was an Indian summer, my parents put their pool in that year, I was 16. I absolutely believed I was fat then but probably weighed less than I should have. I literally cannot believe that no one in immediate sight was overweight let alone obese. I weigh less now than I have for 30+ years but Iām still not as slim as I was in my mid teens to early 20s. I loved the podcast, I took one of your articles about the size of our dinner services on board just over a year ago and with the help of a healthy eating plan I have lost 16lbs and feel so much better for me. I think the key is the type of calories we consume now and as you discussed the snacks and amount of times a day we āexpectā food. Thanks for this Jami really enjoyed the article and podcast.
Well, you have a personal connection there that brings it to life for sure, Julie. And I’m so glad that I’ve inspired you in any way – that makes me so happy. š Yes, this kind of stuff is super interesting to think about and figure out how to make it work for us.
I do agree with Beth, portion sizes are really way out of control and have been for quite a number of years. My kids are now adults, and they have no idea of what portion sizes were like in the 70s. I have told them that the child size drink at McDonalds is what a regular size drink used to be at a restaurant when I was growing up. A half pound burger was unheard of back then. I normally bring home about half of my meal when we eat out, now if I could just convince my husband to do the same.
I find it does help to dish our meals up in the kitchen & take our plates to the dining room table. If the food isn’t on the table, you don’t reach for a second helping, you have to leave the table to get it.
Jami, you are right when you say weight loss after age 50 is very difficult, especially for women. I am going to try the intermittent fasting you suggest as I just can’t seem to shift the pounds that have crept up in the last 10 or 12 years. More tea & water in the evening instead of a snack.
On another note, I love your new front door! It looks wonderful. I enjoy watching the progress on the farm house.
I know, I told my kids that 1/4 pounder at MacDonald’s was a super big burger in the 70s – I seriously can’t believe there are 1/2 lb. burgers. No one needs that! And you’re so right about dishing up – when that food’s in front of us, it’s easy to keep taking one more “taste.” š
I hope the intermittent fasting works for you – there are lots of different schedules you can try, but I find the daily window the easiest. I eat in an 8 hour window from 11-7 or 12-8, depending. Sometimes I eat my granola at 11ish, lunch at 2:30-3 and dinner at 6:30, other times I eat lunch at 12, snack at 3:30-4 and dinner at 6:30. This works for me since I love my granola and wouldn’t like to give up breakfast all the time.
Ha! I just happened to listen to your podcast today while washing out the coffeemaker and looked up the DSW/American Eagle/Italian made leather items later out of curiosity– guess what, that line is 20% off today! My daughter is in Italy (active duty military son-in-law) so I know the quality and cost of Italian leather very well. So now a gorgeous olive green tote is on its way to me, no customs involved– thank you for the timely tip!
Hoping this benefits other readers who are tempted. BTW, no code needed for the 20% off, and it’s for one item only, BUT, apparently they offer free shipping for orders over $35. Even though the discount brought my one item below that threshold, you still can get free shipping if you have your order delivered to a nearby DSW store.
Have loved the blog content and tone for may years, am enjoying the podcast too– thanks for all you do!
This is so great, Ursula! I thought they were such good deals as it, but on sale – wha-hoo! I’m so glad you enjoy the blog and now podcast. š
For me, anyway, a major reason for weight gain is portion size. Whether it’s sit-down restaurant portions, fast food (and then there’s the issue of fat, salt, and sugar…), even portions eaten at home. We’ve just become clueless over the past few decades about what constitutes a serving. I’ve found that when I work on adhering to that, I do pretty much OK (for an almost 70-year-old š ).
Yep, agree totally Beth! Our forks, spoons, and plates have all grown bigger too – it’s a bit ridiculous, actually. Brian and I are trying to be pretty diligent about bring food home when we eat out. š