Everyday Systems

I have noticed that many on this board seem to be rather youthful. Are any of you over 40's having success?

Annie, I'm well over forty and enjoying this free ride! I don't use the daily check-in page but you can read about my experience - so far - in the post titled "three x twenty-one =minus ten."

I'm thinking I should write down my Christmas eating observations before I forget the lessons learned! Maybe tomorrow. Are you a senior too?

61. This is the place to be.

58 this month. It works -- but I think you have to make sure to be active.

I've read that one of the reasons we "women of a certain age" gain weight or have a harder time losing it in addition to the changes in our metabolism is that we become less active with age. I know it's true for me. Not only am I not chasing kids around, my job became far less active than it had before.

Even when I consider that I was getting 12,000-15,000 steps regularly when I worked, I know that was far less than in previous years. So, now that I'm not working, I really have to make a very conscious effort to MOVE.

I'm 55, have been no-s-ing for a year and a half. Don't really need to lose much weight, but it works very well for maintenance.

50...which I have trouble believing most days. (I have a six-year-old who keeps me thinking I can't be THAT old.)

So funny that you thought so many of the group were younger - I had the opposite impression. Some younger, but a good many around my age. However, I noted many years ago that I tended to assume ages online according to the following impressions...

Impulsive, not thinking things through = young
Rigid, not willing to consider new ideas = old
Experience, with flexibility = "about my age"

(I realized that when someone I'd categorized mentally as "young" revealed their age as 15 years older than I was at the time. Since then I've tried not to make such age assumptions... but I think I still do sometimes.)

I think No-S is supremely sane for any age. However, I DO think that women have to be a little more careful than men, and older people more careful than younger ones - metabolism matters.

"Careful" translates in my mind as (1) paying attention to eating mostly healthy food on N days, so fiber content will naturally take care of portion size/calorie ratios and (2) attending to exercise, whether SG or something else.

YMMV - I also think people are much more individual than common medical practice has traditionally believed, and will do best if they attend to their own bodies and how they process food.

Thanks so much for chiming in on this. I'm 55 and have a lot to lose. I really am worrying about carrying so much weight around at my age and have tried everything else. I could follow the other programs for a time but couldn't be a "calorie accountant" for long. I'm pinning a lot of hope on this program and I'm pretty determined right now.

""
Impulsive, not thinking things through = young
Rigid, not willing to consider new ideas = old
Experience, with flexibility = "about my age"
""

Strange I think the same things about people..... and I'm 24.

I didn't assume much about age at all coming here, as being online it's really hard to tell.

I'm 54. I've been doing NoS since July and have lost 14 pounds. It's real slow, but it works and I don't feel deprived at all. I plan to eat this way forever.
_Monica in Oregon_

I also think people are much more individual than common medical practice has traditionally believed, and will do best if they attend to their own bodies and how they process food.

Oh boy, ain't that the truth.

I think No-S is supremely sane for any age. However, I DO think that women have to be a little more careful than men, and older people more careful than younger ones - metabolism matters.

"Careful" translates in my mind as (1) paying attention to eating mostly healthy food on N days, so fiber content will naturally take care of portion size/calorie ratios and (2) attending to exercise, whether SG or something else.

I agree. I've also found that the more active I am and the more vegetables I eat, the more I lose -- and the better I feel. The activity doesn't have to be a formal exercise program, it's just moving more in the course of day-to-day living. Not using the remote or the garage door opener, parking in that spot furthest away from the store's doors and so on. It all adds up. I call it making life a little less convenient.

I tend to save heavier, richer foods for "S" days (not just desserts and treats, but heavier main dishes and side dishes) and eat pretty simply on "N" days.

I live in an area where just about everything I need is available within about 6-8 blocks of my home -- grocery, bank, doctor, hairdresser, several coffee shops and numerous restaurants, drug store -- everything. Whenever I can and I'm not going to have too much to carry home -- I walk. It makes a huge difference! It also makes a huge difference in my stress level.

The more active you are, the less "careful" you have to be about what you eat. It doesn't mean you can throw caution to the wind, but you just don't have to watch it quite so closely.

Have you ever looked at pictures of people from other cultures? Typically, it's only the elderly (over 80?) who are a little heavier. Previously, they've been very active but as they age the sons and daughters take over more of the "work" of life and they become less active on a routine basis -- and they gain. But if they remain active -- they remain slim. Of course, most of their lives have been far less convenient and far more active than we're used to!

I think for many of us, weight loss on No-S is probably going to be slower than if you follow some miracle diet program. I also think that it will be more permanent. For many of us, it's not what we've been eating that has caused the weight gain, but how we've been eating it; eating 24/7 isn't a way to maintain a healthy weight. Don't get me wrong, I think what we eat is important, too. But we Americans and other Westerner's have developed some very bad eating habits.

nonskanse wrote:""
Impulsive, not thinking things through = young
Rigid, not willing to consider new ideas = old
Experience, with flexibility = "about my age"
""

Strange I think the same things about people..... and I'm 24.

I didn't assume much about age at all coming here, as being online it's really hard to tell.

Well, I was still in my 20's (maybe early 30's) when I made that realization.

I probably still make those kinds of connections online (since "age is a state of mind" sort of applies there), but have tried to not assume the reverse in my dealings with people in real life. (That is, someone who is chronologically old may not be rigid and inflexible... and someone chronologically young may not be impulsive and unthinking.)