Midlife Weight Loss: Losing Weight Naturally at 59 and Body Reshaping

Early summer of 2024, I saw a photo my husband had taken of me and I cringed. It was so unflattering and there was no way I was going to share it anywhere, but it wasn’t that simple to forget. My outfit was cute, but when had my arms gotten that big? And my cheeks? When had my jowls started to sag that much, and when did my booty fill out those baggy elastic-waisted beach pants? So many thoughts, but at the end of the day, I have to thank that photo for inspiring me to begin my journey towards midlife weight loss, body reshaping at 59, and losing weight naturally. (And no, I’m not selling anything, I’ve got nothing to sell! Just sharing what worked for me!)

In an era of weight loss meds, there’s so much assumption that everyone who loses weight is doing it via injections like Ozempic or Mounjaro. No shade on that approach, but some of us are still losing weight without meds. It’s not always easy to find what works for you, particularly in midlife when your hormones may be non-existent and your metabolism is slower than a Prius in the fast lane. I’d tried a few ways to lose weight prior to 2024, none with much success, but this time, I was determined to make it work.

Being a post-menopausal woman in my 50s, I knew my metabolism was slow. I also knew that stress and cortisol levels can do a number on weight gain. I’d tried the macro approach (with minimal success), intermittent fasting (zero success, unless making me grumpy was the goal), cardio on cardio (I got quickly burned out trying to fit that in AND I saw no success after weeks) and HIIT or Tabata workouts (zero success). It was time to find a new way that addressed things long term in a realistic way and fit with my lifestyle as a busy mom and business owner and someone who wants to enjoy all the foods while traveling.

I started googling cortisol and I found so much stuff out there. Granted, it’s still relatively new-ish as a big topic around weight loss, and not all doctors even are on board with some of the protocols being a thing, but I figured at this point, why not? Enter my new midlife weight loss plans.

Midlife Weight Loss: Losing Weight Naturally at 59 and Body Reshaping at Home

I knew going into this it wouldn’t be just about dropping pounds. I had to also work on reshaping my body, which meant addressing saggy muscles, wrinkled skin and who knows what else I’d find along the way. What I didn’t think about was the motivation I’d find so quickly, which would inspire me to throw in more serious skincare with a side dish of fashion knowledge, which I didn’t have at all prior.

This was going to be a BIG project.

To lose weight naturally, I did a number of things:

Found out the optimal number of calories for me to eat per day in order to lose a specific number of pounds and get to my <first> goal of 135 pounds. I started off at 156.6 pounds, a number that still kind of astounds me because it crept up faster than I thought. I didn’t get on a scale often and when I did, I had no consistency. One night of partying with friends could alter it heavily and then my comparisons would be different.

Tip: If you choose to weigh yourself daily, or even weekly, pick a time that you can be consistent about. For me, it’s right after I get up and use the restroom but before I drink coffee or ingest anything.

I did this, in full transparency, using the Noom app. A while back, I had a partnership with them that gave me the app, and I had let it get a bit dusty. I updated my profile and started using it daily. There are other apps that are free or cost less, so it all depends on what type of tracking you want. You could also achieve it by finding your caloric range (using your current weight, activity level and goal) and track it on a piece of paper, the Notepad app on your phone, or anywhere else you want to write it.

Tip: A calorie-tracking or food-tracking app that does the work for you, such as “Chick-Fil-A Garden Salad = XXX calories” is a huge timesaver and convenience. If you get burned out because it takes too much time or effort, you’re less likely to want to do it every day.

Once I learned what kind of range I had, I spent some time looking at low-calorie and high-protein recipes. I learned things like how my old fallback of rice as an easy part of an entree was not a great choice; it’s higher in calories than one would think and isn’t nutritionally the best thing. Damn. (You learn a LOT about food choices when you start tracking, and even if you already know quite a bit, some things will still surprise you.)

I put together meal plans when feasible, and the rest of time, we winged it, using as many vegetables and proteins as possible, just minus fats and oils as much as we could. It became easier to make meals that were focused on meeting the low-calorie high-protein options, but best thing yet?

NO FOOD IS A BAD FOOD. THERE IS NO FOOD YOU CANNOT EAT.

Read that again. Over the past seven months, I have enjoyed <many> bourbon cocktails. I order dessert in restaurants, I go wine tasting and I happily ate a fatty cream cheese-laden Dutch baby for Christmas breakfast and cheesy homemade lasagna with garlic bread for dinner that same day…and I didn’t gain weight.

That may sound like an infomercial, but I promise, I’m selling nothing, just telling you how I lost 33 pounds in six months by making smart choices.

It really is all about choices. If I choose to have two cocktails and go ham on a charcuterie board during happy hour with friends, I’ll just be more careful at breakfast and lunch. I parse out my calories during the day, and if now and then I go over, I don’t sweat it. We don’t gain a pound of real fat in one day of indulgences.

Moving on…

In addition to tracking my calories and eating healthier, I began to focus on 30 minutes of intentional movement per day. Some days it was weight lifting, others it was yoga or pilates. I didn’t even always do 30 minutes at once, and some days, I’d do 20 minutes of weight lifting (because my arms particularly needed the help) and later, I’d do 15 minutes of yoga. On days where I wasn’t able to do that, or I’d just been sitting at my laptop too much, I’d walk in place while watching tv, often while everyone else was in bed at night.

Weight lifting has been shown to be critical for many reasons, even if it’s light weights. It can contribute to better bone health and strength and it is good for your metabolism. As women enter midlife, this is even more important than before. You don’t need to focus on looking buff or gaining muscle — unless you want to! For me, it was toning up what I already had and keeping my body strong. I use almost solely 3-5 pound weights.

I also use the FitOn app. It costs $29.99 per year and has hundreds of at-home workout videos for you to follow, in countless categories. If I want a workout less than 20 minutes that focuses on abs, I search for it and boom, there we go. It syncs to my Apple Watch so it enters it automatically into my calories burned and workout minutes. It also offers meditation, dance, cardio, therapeutic workouts, toning, stretching and so many more. Need modifications? They’ve got you covered. (My left knee is an uncooperative mess, yet I can do all of the workouts! I just skip the squats and sub in something else they suggest. Getting in shape, or reshaping your body, doesn’t mean you need to ever, ever be in pain.)

Speaking of walking, I made a goal to double my steps from my norm…and my norm, let me just way, was ABYSMAL. I’d chase the dogs around and play fetch, clean the house, and go up and down my stairs too many times to count, but some days I’d tap out at 3500 steps. That’s so bad! Still, getting in the recommended 10k at home does pose a challenge, and I had to take deliberate steps to, well, get in my steps.

I have a minimum goal of 5300 steps. I wear an Apple Watch, so it’s easy to track, and it syncs with my Apple Health app AND my Noom app. Noom came up with a goal for me, and as I walked more, the goal increased, too. There were days I cursed at it. “How the heck am I supposed to get in 8000 steps here at home?” It pushed me, but you know what? I needed it. Now my low goal is 10,000 steps, and many days, I get 12k-14k…and I’m not even at Disneyland, where that’s pretty much guaranteed. If I’m not shopping or running errands, that means more walking in place, but one of my favorite ways to mindlessly get it done? Walk while on the phone. End to end, back and forth, I’m walking across my house while I chat. I can get in a good number of steps in 20 minutes.

Water. Don’t skip it. Recommended amounts vary, and if I went too high, I’d pee all night, so I aim for 6-8 cups per day, preferably not too close to bedtime.

One last thing I did was take over-the-counter supplements. In my research on cortisol, I learned that magnesium glycinate (and it MUST be the glycinate version) was being shown to possibly contribute to a lower cortisol level. We buy ours at CostCo. I take two of those at night, every single night, before bed; it’s also known to help with sleeping issues, something I definitely had. I’d wake up every single night at 1am-3am, and I no longer do that.

Additionally, I take Vitamin C, fiber gummies (gotta help the insides, which may not respond to all the fruits and veggies like you think they would), and vitamin B6.

When getting in those 30 minutes of activity per day, I worked hard to include all parts of my body. Some days I focused on arms, while others were focused on glutes, inner thighs, or abs. I shake things up and try new types of workouts so I really challenge my muscles. (Sometimes that resulted in a hot bubble bath after.) I also started on reshaping my face, those saggy genetic jowls, but that’s for another blog post.

I can’t tell you what part of all of this did THE trick, and maybe it is the combo of everything, but it worked. In the first week, I was down a pound. Some weeks, I lost 2 pounds. As I got closer to my goal, it slowed. My initial goal was 135, but I hit that about four months in, so I decided to go further, to 130. Then I changed it to 125.

I’m currently at 123-124, depending on the day, and I hit that number the week after Christmas. I wanted to go a little more, but I’ve had several people on my medical team (as I have an autoimmune disorder and spinal stenosis) gently point out I’ve lost my padding and am at a good weight. I’ve been mostly at a plateau the last few weeks, bouncing around taht same pound. It’s frustrating, but maybe my body is sending a message, and I’m not interested in starving myself to go further. Listening to medial professional advice does matter to me, but in my head, that <non-clinical> body dysmorphia says “but you’ve still got some back fat there” and it’s hard to not want to go a little further.

Keep in mind, none of this is medical advice, and I am not a doctor or any other medical professional. Please discuss any weight loss plans with your physician.

Let’s recap! Here’s what I did for midlife weight loss and body reshaping:

• Learn my optimal daily caloric intake and stay within it as best possible with the help of food tracking.
• Eat healthier when possible, including better choices when eating away from home.
• NO FOOD IS BAD FOOD so I still indulged now and then, without guilt.
• Get 30 minutes of intentional movement per day, including lifting weights.
• Double my daily steps, working towards my own personal daily minimum.
• Stay hydrated.
• Took recommended OTC supplements, including magnesium glycinate, to address specific needs.
• Get enough sleep.

I’m not saying my approach will work for everyone. Every body is different, but I needed to wake up my metabolism, lower my cortisol issues, move my body in new and improved ways, and get better sleep or nothing else would be possible. This, for me, resulted in a 33 pound weight loss. It’s no miracle — my spinal stenosis is no better and my RA didn’t go into remission, but I feel better.

I feel SO much better. I no longer have that roll in my abdomen that I can feel whenever I sit or lean. (I can also buy shirts that button without that gap. Ladies, how many of you can relate?)

I also have more energy, my knees no longer hurt from extra pounds of pressure in every step, I am more confident, and clothes shopping is a lot easier. I don’t mind being in photos now. And I have my stamina back. I’m not going to start running again, it’s just not good for my knee or spine, but I can happily jog a couple of miles without heavy breathing. I like to think I’ve extended my life, or at least improved the quality of it. That’s HUGE.

Side note: almost every single time someone comments on my weight loss, I get THE question. You know the one. “Are you on Ozempic?” First off, it’s no one’s business. No one’s. How intrusive you must be to ask this if you’re not a medical professional on a need-to-know basis. Second, stop assuming. Some people can’t get that covered under insurance or can’t afford the co-pays, and some of us simply don’t want to go that route. That is ALL okay. Weight loss is weight loss, but it’s okay to acknowledge, in a different way, that someone did literally work their ass off. Don’t judge, don’t assume, and most importantly, DON’T ASK. (I’ve still got one person who doesn’t believe me. It’s comical, because I’d prefer they did, but eh, their error in thought doesn’t hurt me, it’s just dumb to think I’d care enough to lie.)

Bonus: I got an entirely new wardrobe! I donated bags and bags of clothing, many with tags. (Ouch.) I found my own style, one not dictated to what fit me, but one that I chose. I literally had to empty out my closet and start over with pants, shirts, sweaters, jackets, dresses, bras, and even undies. We started talking about going skiing the other day, but my ski pants no longer fit. No one warns you about the cost of this, BUT it’s a good problem to have, right?

I hope this gives you some hope or ideas to try something new. Body reshaping can seem daunting, and midlife weight loss, or losing weight naturally, may seem undoable. I don’t know if my approach will work for others like it did for me, but it’s also not rocket science and I didn’t invent anything new that’s not already out there. It’s my real life midlife story. Come back again soon to my blog, I’m going to be sharing a lot more.