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Old 05-12-13, 08:21 AM  
mmis29
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: MA
Ten Years of Working Out and...I'm FED UP!

Ten years on this fitness journey and I have come nearly full circle.

I lost 40 pounds when I first began exercising and eating healthy, and gained 20 back over the past 5 years. I just cannot get this weight off. I work out regularly (45 min to an hour 5 days a week); running, elliptical, bike, spin, step, weights, circuits, kickboxing, rebounding, intervals, etc. I am so discouraged. So sick of trying so hard for zero results. I try to tell myself that I am healthy on the inside and that's what matters most, my heart is strong and so are my muscles. But the uphill struggle is tiring. I work and have a family; I simply don't have any more time to work out than I already do.

I am going to be 35 this year. Perhaps this is normal as we age? How do you battle the slow and sneaky weight gain over the years?

I know many of you have probably been here...I would love to read about your experiences.
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Old 05-12-13, 08:37 AM  
Harantwanders
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
I am very close to twice your age and I still love working out daily, mostly walking these days with my pal the Fitbit, as my knees hurt more than they used to but they are better than they would be if I had gained weight instead of losing more than 100 over the decades. These days I lift lighter weights, walk instead of run, do more Pilates and just generally keep going at it, watching food and calories, but the whole aim for me is to stay active and strong and pain free and working and outta the sphere of giving up and going to live in a nursing home as I age further.

I get discouraged with life sometimes but have honestly never regretted the decision to keep exercising.

There hasn't really been a "slow sneaky weight gain over the years" for me. I sometimes gain some, then I get busy and lose that. I've never regained the major loss that took me two decades.
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Old 05-12-13, 08:44 AM  
hotncmom
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
I am sorry you are so discouraged. There are other healthy reasons for exercising besides weight loss, so don't give up. You probably need to see a doctor and have some tests run because a lot of us struggle with weight because of thyroid or other hormone issues. Make sure your doctor doesn't just run TSH and dismiss a problem because it's not high. There are thyroid issues that only show up when you run T3, T4, reverse T3, etc. Not saying it's your thyroid, but that's very common.
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Old 05-12-13, 08:45 AM  
Tugger31
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
I'm 42, I have found even moreso as I get older that it really doesnt matter too much what type of exercise I do, it all comes down to that four letter word....D-I-E-T.

I did an experiment in Jaunary, I did a self-made Cathe LIS/XTrain rotation. I ended up working out 21 out of 31 days for the month and didnt change my diet at all, which wasnt a horrible diet to start with but definitely nowhere as clean as it could be. I lost 1-2 lbs, I did get stronger and my arms looked a bit more defined, but no appreciable scale loss and my lower body which is the hardest area to shape up (I'm a pear) was a tad less jiggly.

Then I started watching my diet more closely and just did whatever workout I felt like, sometimes only working out 3-4 days a week. I lost 5 lbs in 2 weeks and definitely lost body fat as my mini muffin top had about disappeared!

I do have to always stop and consider that scale loss is not necessarily progress. The past month I have really let myself go and eaten total junk, havent worked out except maybe twice in the past 3-4 weeks. I have gained back 3 lbs, putting me pretty much back at the weight I was in January, but unlike in Jaunary, I feel tired all the time, and my body feels SO flabby.

So that is my experience. I guess the take home message is I definitely need both exercise and diet for the ultimate results, but it's more diet than exercise that determines my visual results. Exercise is just icing on the cake, a way to maintain/increase strength and a great stress reliever.

Good Luck to you, and dont give up. Dont stress about what or how much exercise to do, just do something that is fun but still make sure that your workout is a workout, try not to go thru the motions. Instead focus your energies more on what you are putting into your mouth.
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Old 05-12-13, 08:53 AM  
sunday
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: The Midwest's Best Kept Secret
You're very young! I am 48 and have lost a total of 80+ pounds, 50 of that being while menopausal.

For me, it really is ALL about diet; not clean versus not clean but the amount of food. Calories are what matter for me.

Through weight loss I just did whatever workout I wanted. It doesn't matter if you are putting the diet first.
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Old 05-12-13, 09:04 AM  
Taramisu
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Join Date: Dec 2003
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I am a very sporadic exerciser. I work full time and am a part time college student so I am quite busy. When I do exercise I pretty much just do whatever.

Since October I have lost almost 30 pounds, and it has been primarily diet. I hate to say it but what the others are saying is true. I used to exercise very consistently, almost obsessively but didn't really notice much in the way of results because my diet was not very good.

I need to bring the exercise back in though, because I am a bit flabby now. I just have to figure out where to fit it in and what to do. It's a relief to know that you can achieve the weight loss results but you just have to watch what you eat. I never really believed it before but now I do.

It may not hurt to get checked out by a doctor though, it's possible you could have a thyroid issue or something.
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Old 05-12-13, 09:05 AM  
mmis29
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: MA
Harantwanders, your post is very inspiring. I hope to be active into my 60's, 70's and beyond, and you posted fitness benefits I hadn't really thought of. Thank you for your perspective.

hotncmom, that is also something I hadn't thought of. I am going for my annual physical next month and I will ask her to run those, just in case.

Many of you posted about the D word....I probably do need to shift my focus there and take a hard, honest look at what I'm putting into my body. I've never consistently kept a diary, now is as good a time as any to start
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Old 05-12-13, 09:09 AM  
mtnmom
 
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Santa Cruz Mtns, CA
Metabolism slows down after 30. So if you eat the same, you'll have those pounds slowly creep up on you.

Working out more, for me, doesn't work. It only makes me hungrier. I have found that if I cut out, or back, one tiny thing in my eating habits, it makes a difference.
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Old 05-12-13, 09:09 AM  
Lucky Star
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Join Date: Jun 2004
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sunday View Post
For me, it really is ALL about diet...

Through weight loss I just did whatever workout I wanted. It doesn't matter if you are putting the diet first.
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Old 05-12-13, 09:15 AM  
Demeris
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
All through my 20s and up until 35, I could eat anything and everything I wanted and keep my weight/size down with exercise.

35 was the year that what I ate became more important than how much I exercised. I'm now 56, and that has become even more important with each passing year.

Exercise is for keeping healthy--for being strong & flexible, for having stamina and endurance during the day, for growing older with as much grace as I can.

Exercise and eating to nourish my body are my very best insurance program, and they are two things that are in my control regarding health and aging.
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