Frustrated by Fitness After 50? 5 Unexpected Reasons You Are Not Seeing Results

By our age, most of us don’t want to look younger… we want to feel healthier. We don’t want to lose weight for others… we want to get fit for our own sake. So, why is it that so many of us are frustrated when it comes to fitness?

Today, I’d like to share 5 reasons that you may not be getting the results you deserve from your sports, fitness activities and exercise programs. I’ll also share a few of my personal experiences.

How would you describe your fitness level? Do you find it easier or harder to get results from your fitness efforts?

Read our article and join the conversation here: http://sixtyandme.com/5-reasons-youre-not-seeing-results-from-fitness-after-60-and-how-to-fix-them/

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33 comments

  • Doro

    I guess I eat too much, but it seems like so little!

  • The life is chemistry الحياة كيمياء

    I like your style,thank you for your advices
    I loss 10 kg in one year by organize my eating and excersice , and decrease sugar daily. But I need to obtain strong muscles

  • Pamela Goodson

    I am not consistent 😩. This video is an encouragement to begin again. Thanks. Wish I knew what lipstick you were wearing. Looks great on you.

  • Monica111960

    Thank you so much for this important reminder! I just did one of the yoga videos and I am considering enrolling to a gym. I have osteoporosis and I refuse to take the nasty medications, so exercising and taking supplements is the only way to fortify my bones. Your positivism is contagious 😍

    • Cindy Grimes

      Wow. Me, too! It’s scary (you think you’ll break something. Congratulations on being healthy despite not having the treatment. Curious how that is going. Cindy

  • Iluj Enna

    You’ve offered wonderfully gentle advice for maintaining healthier lives as we all inevitably grow older. I appreciate all you do to inspire. This was a great topic! Thank you !

  • J Hixon

    I used to belong to a gym, mainly to use their swimming pool. Otherwise, I have a (second hand) recumbent stationary bike, which I ride while watching my favorite tv show. Also, small hand weights ( a.k.a dumbbells) work well for working arm, shoulder, chest muscles. Playing favorite music while working out makes it almost fun. (“almost”…ha.)

  • Ann OSullivan

    Hi does running around minding grenchildren help 2tone ?

  • Stephanie Jo Rountree

    I highly recommend the keto lifestyle for losing weight!

  • Patty Martens

    Thank you for this encouragement Margaret — it’s just what I needed. I’m 58, 5’8″ and weight 200 pounds. I decided 10 months ago that this was the year to get rid of the weight. Of course I have lost and gained the same 30 pounds many times. This is the biggest life challenge I have ever faced and I have faced many. When you study the science, change your lifestyle, eat less, exercise more, and sometimes you even GAIN weight it is demoralizing to hear someone say, “you’re not doing this correctly”…or “you should be doing this”…and you try it and it doesn’t work. I have been walking 4 miles a day and eating a plant based diet of 1200 calories a day for 10 months and I lost 25 pounds in the first 4 months and have not lost a SINGLE POUND for the last 6. I think the best explanation is adaptive thermogenisis which is only a theory, difficult to study, but has to do with your body adjusting it’s metabolism to fewer calories and increase energy output. Your body just wants to be in homeostasis. The best thing anyone can do in this situation is to only listen to people who say “don’t give up”. Anymore advise and you want to punch the wall. You wait to have that turning point when you start to feel better and more energized or you see the number move on the scale but month after month it doesn’t come. It’s as if you get up and go to work every day for 6 months and never get a paycheck. And then people always have advice “drink cold water” “eat more walnuts” “put chili powder in your meals” when all you really need to hear is “don’t give up”. Thank you for that. I will not give up. I’m stubborn and angry and determined. So thank you for just saying it…”don’t give up” -that is my message to all of you out there too. Don’t give up.

    • Cindy Grimes

      Hope it works out for you. Hard to change who we are. When I was a girl, I wanted to get rid of my hips. Then I saw a picture of my birth mother (she was curvy!). So I was fighting myself. Now it’s OK to be that way. I accept it now. Maybe you’re just a big girl! You could ask your doctor, if you have a woman doctor. She could tell you, if you need to lose weight (good luck). Prayin’ for ya. Cindy

    • Cindy Grimes

      There was a library book I saw. ‘The Pocket Stylist’. Alibris or another book search engine could find it. This girl includes 3 body types in her work (she’s a stylist). Type A (my type, pear). Type B (the boyish figure–the classic model types–wide shoulders and narrow hips, and Type C (the hourglass, the voluptuous type). She dresses each one, and her drawn illustrations of outfits are very flattering. I thought you might like that. If you’re uncomfortable physically, that would be a reason to lose weight. But maybe this is proportionate to you. If not, best to you (one woman I used to know, had surgery, and she does look good). You’ll know what’s best for you.

    • Ellen h

      Be proud of yourself for your tenacity! No scale in the world can measure that! When the weight isn’t coming off maybe the reason why you keep eating well and exercising needs to be adjusted. Maybe the ‘why’ you do it can be recognizing you have more energy. Or that you are going to be a capable active person as you age instead of bed/chair bound. Maybe your goal isn’t in the scale for now. When the numbers start moving down again you can always go back to that way of thinking. But for now. ..are you stronger than you were? That’s a reason to keep going!

    • missmayflower

      Patty Martens Try Keto, at least for a while. I did it for three months and lost 20 pounds that stayed off even when I went back to my more normal diet.

    • Patty Martens

      @missmayflower Thank you Miss May, I’ve tried Keto twice and GAINED up to 8 pounds even when working with a dietitian. She couldn’t explain it except to say “it doesn’t work for everyone”. My niece has lost about 40 pounds on Keto and swears by it. I’m glad it works for some people. My body just wanted to cling to and store the fat. Thank you again for your interest and compassion. I may try it again if I can get to a healthy place.

  • nancyhorio

    I enjoy watching! It’s like having my morning hot beverage with a good friend. Going to try the yoga today!

    • Sharon Mitchel

      nancyhorio have you tried the yoga videos. Very gentle workout. There are several videos so boredom doesn’t set in!

  • Rozanna

    I am 55 years old, this profile picture is one year old. I changed my eating habits completely and the results are unbelievable. There is no point in going for work-outs if you are not going to change your eating habits. Women run after all kinds of “youth promising” cosmetics when all they have to do is cut down drastically on meat, dairy, bread. Too many women with thin legs and bloated stomachs – that’s the grains.

    • Cindy Grimes

      You look great. Dieting worked for you, but not for someone else. I personally don’t like to diet. I had rice and vegetables for my errand today, and that went well! So that may be good for me. Maybe it’s trial and error. Our bodies may change. Take care.

  • Gail Gulliver

    Im afraid as im getting older my will is getting weaker..lol…I do a lot in my head ,so my inner self is very slim..lol…x

  • Norma Costin

    I go to the gym 3 mornings a week. I havd certainly felt the benifits from doing this much stronger and posture improved.

    • Dee B

      Here too. Just started 3 weeks ago.
      I tell myself, this is not only for weight loss; this is for my heart, structure in my day and commaraderie. This reminder helps combat the negative voice in my head saying that I am not going to lose weight and that I am doing this for nothing. A sense of accomplishment is a win!! 💪❤👍

  • Gigi CS

    You look so light and fresh today… so lovely!
    Indeed, exercise, plus simply, additional movement throughout each day is so important; even more so as we age. And yes… weight lifting is crucial! ALL the points you made are excellent, and if followed, WILL result in us feeling better, as well as looking better. Put in the effort and the improvement WILL begin to follow.
    The best to you, Margaret!
    Keep encouraging us in your sweet manner… often it takes being reminded countless times before we agree to stick our toe in the water!

  • Penny Wheeler

    I know everything you said is true but the thing that worked the best for me was a low carb diet….not keto that’s not for me.
    When I started eating healthy carbs 75 grams or UNDER per day.
    I started losing weight.
    Ladies watch your carbs.💜💜💜xx

  • Elizabeth Sleison

    Thank you so much, Margaret. I appreciate you and learn from you as I often do chatting with good friends. Important topic.

  • Joan N

    Hello Margaret! I want to thank you and your team for giving us free access to the yoga videos. There is nothing better for our demographic health than moving our bodies and staying ambulatory. Weight resistance and yoga is key for us to maintain our strength and balance. I admire your dedication to our senior health. Blessings 💐

    • Sixty and Me

      Thank you Joan – so happy you are finding the yoga videos of value!

    • Sharon Mitchel

      I too appreciate the yoga videos. So much variety! I do one a day and after a month my low back isn’t aching as much and I’m feeling stronger overall! And, this fits my fixed income budget! I’m so glad I found Sixty and Me. Thank you!

  • Ann Ramsey

    I workout 6 days a week with DVDS. I am 58 and started daily exercise at age 25. I still look great in a mini skirt. But I have to cover my abs now. It used to be flat & gorgeous, but now I have a bit of a menopot. It doesn’t stick out further than my boobs, but it takes 10 times the work now just to keep it down to a little menopot that doesn’t stick out past my boobs. My back arms & legs are strong & have no flab. Why can’t I get rid of that dogon menopot?

  • Ann

    I learned to start slowly. The first day I drove to the place where I wanted to walk. Second day I chose the clothes I would walk in. 3rd day I dressed, drove, walked 15 minutes. Baby steps. Over time it became a habit and it worked! I hiked in Tuscany for 8 days this summer! I love Keto too.

  • Rose Polkey

    Hello Margaret. I would love to hear what Linda has to say about exercise while recovering from burn out.  Thanks for your continuious enthusiasm.