I'm 31 yrs. old and I have difficulty losing weight. What is the best way to lose weight for people over 30?

Question

I weigh 100 lbs and I am 5 feet tall. How much weight should I maintain?

Answer 1

I am 33 years old, and 150 pounds overweight. There are my credentials for you. *grin*

First of all, DO NOT SKIP MEALS, especially breakfast. Your body needs fuel to burn fat, you have to spend money to make money, right?

I am in Weight Watchers, and so far it has been the best thing that ever happened to me in my battle with my weight. They advocate a healthy, balanced diet combined with regular exercise (3 to 4 times per week). You also need to be drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day. This is actually not that hard, because if you have one 16-ounce glass of water with or before each meal and another at bedtime, then that's all your water right there. Water helps your body cleanse the fat and toxins out of your body, plus your muscles work better with plenty of hydration and muscle burns fat.

My employer pays for my Weight Watchers program. I live paycheck to paycheck and I would not be able to afford it otherwise. IF you can afford it, however, I recommend it HIGHLY. For one thing, I have been on this program for 15 weeks and have not once felt deprived or like I have been on a diet. You can eat anything you want...they just focus on making sure your body gets everything it needs first. Secondly, they have such a terrific support system. One of the rewards you get is a little sticker for each five pounds you lose, which may not seem like a big deal, but I'll tell you, everytime you lose five pounds and get that sticker, it's better than being handed a bar of gold...LOL

I have been following a personalized plan which is a combination between the Weight Watchers plan and the USDA food pyramid. In 15 weeks, I have lost 20 pounds, lowered my total cholesterol 15 points and raised my HDL (good cholesterol) 20 points. Here is an outline of what I follow:

Fruits and vegetables:

At least five servings a day. For most fruits and vegetables, a cup is a serving. Some of the best, nutritionwise, are bananas, berries, carrots, asparagus, cherries, peppers, and tomatoes. The rule of thumb for fruits and veggies is, the brighter the color, the more vitamins it has. Vary your colors daily, try to have something of each color. Frozen vegetables are good for convenience and better than canned. Spinach and broccoli are high in calcium, too.

Dairy:

A woman should have at least 16 ounces of milk or the equivalent each day, 24 ounces if you are under 18 or over 50. Lowfat dairy is best. Personally, I can't stand skim milk, so I drink 1% which is just as good as skim. The key ingredients to watch for are Calcium, Riboflavin, and Vitamin D. Each dairy serving should provide at least 25-30% of each to be the equivalent of 8 ounces of milk. Cottage cheese and yogurt are excellent, just be sure to stick to low- or non-fat varieties. I like to mix chopped chives and a little bit of ground pepper into my cottage cheese. I like soymilk and soy cheese, too. Silk makes a great chocolate soymilk and regular soymilk can also be used on cereal.

Grains:

Whole grains are the best for your body. As long as you have a regular activity level, you should aim for 4 to 5 ounces of whole grains per day (1 cup of cereal is often 2 ounces and one slice of bread is usually one ounce). Aunt Millie's makes a LOT of lowfat and fat free whole and multigrain breads which are really good. Bran Buds cereal is a good source of psyllium, which also helps lower cholesterol. Kashi makes several cereals and snack bars which have a mixture of seven whole grains as the main ingredient. GoLean Crunch is my favorite. Kashi products also have a lot of protein.

Meats and protein:

Aim for lowfat cuts of meat and be sure to include lots of Omega3 fish. I aim for six ounces of protein a day. Reduce the amount of red meat you eat, but remember that your body still needs red meat at least once a week as it is high in vitamins and iron. Pork loin, skinless chicken breast, and even ground beef are all okay. Make sure your ground beef is at LEAST 90/10 (90% lean, 10% fat). Lake/fresh water fish can have high levels of mercury, but depending on where they are caught, are still okay to eat. Trout is high in Omega3 oils which help with cholesterol. The best fish to eat are salmon, tuna, and sardines. Sardines are very high in calcium and should be packed in water or tomato paste, NOT oil.

I eat about half meat protein and half soy/nut protein. The best nuts to eat are almonds and pistachios. Pistachios are really good, because they are high in protein, potassium and lower in fat than almonds. Peanuts are okay, but not the best. Pecans and walnuts are too high in fat to do much good. For a one ounce serving, you should have about 25 almonds or about 30 pistachios. As for soy protein, my favorites are Boca burgers. When you eat them, you can tell you aren't eating beef, but they do have good flavor. I fix them on a whole grain hamburger bun with ketchup, mustard, tomato, onion, lettuce, and pickle and it's just like eating a hamburger. The best thing is, the regular Boca burgers have 1.5 grams of fat and 15 grams of portein in each patty.

Oils:

Be sure to include at least 2 teaspoons of healthy oils each day as well. (The USDA site says 6 teaspoons a day, but since I do WW, I stick with 2 tsp., since that is what they reccommend.) These include olive, sunflower, safflower, and flaxseed oils. These are high in the Omega oils which your body needs, and they help raise your HDL. You can use these oils for stir fry, salad dressings or drizzle on cooked veggies to bring out the flavor. They can also be used in cooking, in place of corn or canola oils.

The USDA food pyramid website can help calculate how many servings of each food group are best for your age, gender, and activity level.

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

Answer 2

I don't lose weight so much as keep it constant. I eat carefully and count the calories. I plan my meals in advance and shop to the menu. I don't snack, apart form a handful of nuts ever now and then. Plus I exercise daily - a good anaerobic workout which burns off the calories and keeps the muscles toned. I weigh just under nine stone and have done since I stopped gaining height! [I'm 5' 7"].

Answer 3

I am 40 years old and have just started at a gym with a trainer. OK So the trainer is free, but diet and exercise and less TV are the keys to losing weight and keeping it off. I would suggest if you cant afford a gym or trainer to do this.
Walk to the point you can talk but not sing 2-3 times a week. you can do the telephone work out, they are evenly spaced so walk to one run to the next do this ten minutes out and ten minutes back. go to http://www.foodpyrmid.com/ this helps you with more info... Good luck and don't give up.

Answer 4

I am almost 30, and will soon get down to my normal weight of 130 (after gaing a few pounds), and here are my rules for losing weight (I've done this so many times and it works)..

1. NO Eating or Drinking (except water) Past 8:00 PM--No exceptions

2. No pasta or potatoes -no exceptions

3. Drink 1 liter of water a day. (but some 1 liter watter bottles)

4. No Soda or Juice.. If you love it too much, drink diet soda and diet iced teas--but sods & juices can cause you to consume an extra 1000 calories a day without noticing.

5. No Fast Food--under no circimstances. Fast food is the enemy. Try to make your own foods as much as possible

6. No potatoe chips, or ice cream--no exceptions

7 You Must excercise for at least 30 minutes at least 3 times week. Jog on the treadmill, do Pilates (leg lifts, sit ups, leg squats, sit-ups,etc), or do something--but you have to sweat.

8 Eat Breakfast! It boosts your metabolism. But eat a Light breakfast--Oatmeal & Toast....or turkey bacon (or turkey sausage) & toast..... or healthy cerael with soymilk or low fat milk.... No eggs, no grits, and no pork sausages (dont eat a "fat woman breakfast")

9.No eating Pork

10. No butter--not on toast, or anything. (use jelly instead)

11. Plus, to make life happy--use 1 day a week as your "Free Day". That day, treat yourself to your favorite unhealthy snack or meal, like ice-cream, pototoe chips, whatever--just dont go overboard. Life is about being happy, and its ok to treat yoourself. My day is Sundays.

12. Some people are Salty Eaters or Sweet Eaters (like me). If you love sweets--you can no longer eat cakes & snack cakes, or candy bars. Instead, eat jello, and a great treat is canned friut cocktail (light syrup) with light Cool Whip-delicious. Or eat fat free candies like gummy bears, gummy worms, etc...If youre a Salt Eater--and you love Potato chips & stuff like that--try pretzels, popcorn, etc. But as the police would say "Back away from the chips, maam".

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Eat fruits or vegetables about every four hours to keep up your metabolism.
Drink water daily and some water b/f each meal.
Those two things will help you not be as hungry when meal time comes.
Decrease regular soda intake, friend and fatty food.
Count your calories too--if you really want to see where you are at. Even if you only do that for a week--you will get the idea of what you can improve.
Drink green tea if you like it. It is very good for you.
Walk daily to get your heart rate up and to make you feel better. --you will feel better--believe me.
Go to see your doctor to help you with this if you feel lost and need extra support.
Good luck:)

Answer 6

You can definitely lose weight at a safe, and gradual rate if you research some programs of cardio vascular exercise. It is extremely important to get a physical from your doctor before beginning.
There are some excellent books about the variety of cardio vascular fitness programs. You can try them and try to find the one you like the most. It is very important to make your exercising experience as enjoyable and rewarding as possible.
Most YMCA's and YWCA's have very good fitness classes in the cardio-vascular area. If you do not live near a "Y," try to find a reputable health and fitness club. Ask your neighbors and friends about their experiences at these places.
You want to stick with your exercise program in order to lose weight. The surroundings in which you do it are important.
Cardio-vascular exercise programs such as the following tend to burn considerable calories: swimming, circuit training with weights, ( learn to lift safely and properly; this is crucial). Cardio vascular exercise burns up a lot of calories because you require considerable oxygen to perform them. Most importantly, in order to stay with a program of exercise, you must learn the proper methods to perform the exercises or you will be unhappy. I find it is much better to exercise with others in a social setting because the group can encourage each other. Perseverance is also very-very important because results do not come easily! The terrific thing is that you will get wonderful results if you stay with it and persevere.
good luck, Scott

Answer 7

Increase physical activity. Minimum 30 minutes per day working up to 60. Reduce portion sizes and limit calories. Stay away from alcohol as it turns to sugar in your system. Eat healthy. 2-3 servings of fresh fruit per day, 2-3 servings of fresh veggies per day, reduce the amount of meat you eat and eat healthy carbs only which are whole grains and fat free yogurts, cheeses and milk. Try staying under 2000 calories a day. Try to pare it down to 1500-1800 a day after about 2-3 weeks.

Answer 8

Homeopathic Treatment for Excessive Fat and Weight :-
PHYTOLACCA BERRY's Mother Tincture is perhaps the safest and sure fire way of loosing excessive fat around abdomen. With Phytolacca Berry once you loose the excessive fat and weight you don't get it back because you body takes care of itself after that and keeps you from gathering up excessive fat. It is prescribed after having a baby too, to get the tummy to loose its flab and to make it flatter and tighter. And after loosing weight with this you don't get flabby it tightens up the flab and skin along with helping your body to shed the excessive accumulation of fat around the girth
The dosage is 15 to 20 drops of the tincture in half a cup of hot water thrice a day half hour before or after meals.
Avoid Chocolates, Coffee, Mints, Red Meat and Carbonated and Alcoholic drinks while taking Homeopathic Medicines. You have to take it for at least 30 to 45 days after that you start to feel the results.
To the best of my knowledge its the safest and the most sure fire way of loosing fat and weight and keeping it of for keeps. Excellent remedy for Obese people who cant seem to shed weight despite trying.
Homeopathic Remedies can be found at all Major Herbal Stores or could be bought on line, In most of the world Homeopathic remedies are quite cheap and easy to find and they do not need a prescription.
Take care and God Bless !

Answer 9

I am 31, I have to watch what I eat now & I will go to the gym 2 to 3 times a week for cardio & at home I will do core exercises.

It is working for me....but I eat healthy and that makes a big difference....I love my salads and LOTS of water!!

Answer 10

Don't eat meat every day. Stay away from fast food, junk and sugar soda. Walk more. Drink a lot of cold water.

Answer 11

i hear salads are a great slimming strategy!
but you cant only eat healthy!
other wise you will have a lot of extra skin lol!
but you have to also wok out i hear running is awesome!
also some other form of cardio!
i hear that BOXING is a great way to lose weight and you are not old and you could definately benifit !