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Success for Women over age 50?


townsra

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This is such an interesting thread! Thanks to all who have contributed. I'm "just" 45 and still pre-menopausal so I don't really quality for this thread, but I find all of your stories inspiring. We're changing our lives with this amazing way of eating!

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  • 1 month later...

I'm having a pretty good time on this journey. Day 18 today. Since foregoing dairy I have very few hot flashes and those that I have are mild. I also have noticed that I don't obsess over food. I do eat the same stuff day after day and now am somewhat bored with it all. Poached eggs and 1/2 avocado for breakfast with bacon if we have any. If not I put a few raw cashes in the bowl too. It's kinda weird but good. Lunch is usually a salad with a protein, or butternut squash soup. Dinner is some kind of protein, too often chicken thighs, a veggie stir fry or salad and sometimes a baked sweet potato. I haven't stepped on the scale but I don't feel like I've lost any weight. I'm ok with that though because of the reduction of hot flashes. So are there any other over 50 women out there? I'm 54 by the way. Would like to hear how others are doing.

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I'm having a pretty good time on this journey. Day 18 today. Since foregoing dairy I have very few hot flashes and those that I have are mild. I also have noticed that I don't obsess over food. I do eat the same stuff day after day and now am somewhat bored with it all. Poached eggs and 1/2 avocado for breakfast with bacon if we have any. If not I put a few raw cashes in the bowl too. It's kinda weird but good. Lunch is usually a salad with a protein, or butternut squash soup. Dinner is some kind of protein, too often chicken thighs, a veggie stir fry or salad and sometimes a baked sweet potato. I haven't stepped on the scale but I don't feel like I've lost any weight. I'm ok with that though because of the reduction of hot flashes. So are there any other over 50 women out there? I'm 54 by the way. Would like to hear how others are doing.

There's a whole thread of folks over 50, not all women, here: http://forum.whole30.com/topic/32952-jan-2016-start-date-calling-all-over-50-folks/

About the boring meals -- there are a ton of compliant recipes out there. You don't have to have eggs for breakfast. You don't have to have salads. Check out www.meljoulwan.com for a ton of options -- even something as simple as a sauce or a seasoning mix from her site could change the flavor of your meals and make them more interesting.

Also, don't forget vegetables at all your meals, even breakfast -- avocado is really a fat source for whole30 purposes.

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  • 1 year later...

I am 53. I have suffered from migraines for many years. I have been a sugar junkie for even more. Every diet I have ever been on was doomed to fail, because they all let me "eat the foods I love." Well, that makes about as much sense as telling an alcoholic " you can get sober and drink the booze you love."

My turning point was that I had a lightbulb moment one day after having my MRI done on my neck for my headaches, on a new arthritis pill, etc. my healing must come from the inside out. I was looking for the fix formy bad moods, over eating and untreatable headaches, and hot lava-like acid reflux. I had heard of Whole30, and a good friend had done it and was so successful, I was intrigued but never took the plunge. One day, I thought, it's only 30 days, I won't die, I can do it. So I bought the book just to find out what I could eat and started the next day, I couldn't  wait,  I couldn't plan, if I waited too long I'd change my mind like every other time in my life I quit. I read and planned as I went. 

I am now on day 17, praise God! I have proven to myself that I am not a quitter, that I have taken back my power. When I look in the mirror, I am not disgusted anymore. I love ❤️me! I see someone I haven't seen in a long time. I feel smaller, healthier, more focused and energetic. My headaches are gone (except for the detox ones, those were over my forehead and not horrible like my migraines. )  Above all else, I have hope again, which I had lost years ago.

In my heart and mind, I can't ever go back to where I was. Pain, shame, closet eating. 

The rest of my life will be here before I know it, and I'm excited and ready for it! 

 

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12 hours ago, Cheryld said:

I am 53. I have suffered from migraines for many years. I have been a sugar junkie for even more. Every diet I have ever been on was doomed to fail, because they all let me "eat the foods I love." Well, that makes about as much sense as telling an alcoholic " you can get sober and drink the booze you love."

My turning point was that I had a lightbulb moment one day after having my MRI done on my neck for my headaches, on a new arthritis pill, etc. my healing must come from the inside out. I was looking for the fix formy bad moods, over eating and untreatable headaches, and hot lava-like acid reflux. I had heard of Whole30, and a good friend had done it and was so successful, I was intrigued but never took the plunge. One day, I thought, it's only 30 days, I won't die, I can do it. So I bought the book just to find out what I could eat and started the next day, I couldn't  wait,  I couldn't plan, if I waited too long I'd change my mind like every other time in my life I quit. I read and planned as I went. 

I am now on day 17, praise God! I have proven to myself that I am not a quitter, that I have taken back my power. When I look in the mirror, I am not disgusted anymore. I love ❤️me! I see someone I haven't seen in a long time. I feel smaller, healthier, more focused and energetic. My headaches are gone (except for the detox ones, those were over my forehead and not horrible like my migraines. )  Above all else, I have hope again, which I had lost years ago.

In my heart and mind, I can't ever go back to where I was. Pain, shame, closet eating. 

The rest of my life will be here before I know it, and I'm excited and ready for it! 

 

Hey there- Congratulations, this is amazing!  We will change your life!!

Just a housekeeping note, we don't allow cross posting to multiple threads using the same copy and pasted message so I've left this one here and removed your other one :)

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Although I'm technically 47, I am chemically menopausal  due to hormone therapy related to breast cancer. My weight jumped up 10-15 pounds from the baseline I'd maintained for almost 20 years after treatment. I didn't eat very much and couldn't understand why the weight wouldn't budge. I just completed my 30 days and lost 7.6# and nearly 7". I ate so much more, quantity and frequency, on the program and the weight fell off. I'm so inspired I'm going to continue many of the habits I learned going forward. What was especially rewarding for me was that most of the weight came off my belly, torso, and arms - the places that it had taken hold after menopause.

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Day 31 today - cannot believe this program!  I have struggled with my weight for years, my emotional eating, my secret eating/grazing, years of little to no sleep and terrible fatigue which has held me back for so long.  Then there were the swollen ankles and fingers. I thought at 55, this was what life was going to be for me.

On the program I lost 13 pounds, and even though that's a huge accomplishment in itself - what is even better is how I feel, it is truly amazing!!  It's like my head has come out of the fog - I am so focused now that work is no longer a chore and.  Even talking to my sister in Australia, she commented on how well, and clear, and happy I sounded on the phone. 

One great support tool was Real Plans - putting together meal plans, adding in some of my own recipes, modifying others etc. really made a difference.  It meant there was always the right kind of food in the fridge/pantry and quite honestly it saved me money because I was buying the right amount at the store.  It was worth the money to sign up.  I learned a lot about food - especially added sugar.  I didn't realize how insidious sugar is in our lives - even chicken stock has it!  I also bought a pressure cooker and make my own stock - it saves me money and have better stock than I could buy at the supermarket.  My husband followed the food with me, but was unlikely to give up milk and sugar in his coffee and a beer at night :-)

It does take some discipline (the first two weeks at the supermarket, I felt like I was running the gauntlet to get past some areas!), and planning took some time, but I am oh so glad I did this.  I want to keep it going and just accept that there will be times when I have to eat foods that don't fit the program.  Still struggling with sleep, hoping that will work out over time if I keep going.

I am so grateful, thank you Melissa and the Whole30 team

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Congratulations Lizl61 and Mama E!  It's good to hear Success Stories from the hormonally challenged.  Things continue to evolve for me, but W30 remains my default way of eating - there's magic in following a practice for 30 days.  Some say it takes longer than that to cement a new habit, but 30 days worked pretty well for me.  Carry on, and check back. 

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