Conference rocks::weight_control

A good way to start exercising at any age and any fitness level is walking. 
This is something that you can do anywhere, anytime, with no special 
equipment (except good shoes).   She might also check at a senior citizen's 
center for some exercise classes.  Can she walk with her knee problems?
If she can't walk with her knee then some kind of water exercise may be 
better.

Also, the exercise will help her stress level tremendously.

As for diet, cut out fats to no more than 15 - 20% of your daily
food intake.  Eat lots of fruit and vegetables.  There are lots of 
good books on basic nutrition.  Don't fall for gimmicy diet plans,
they generally don't work for the long term and may not be healthy. 

Weight doesn't come off overnight.  You need to use up 3500 calories
more than what you take in to lose 1 pound.  At 500 calories a
day that is 1 pound a week.

Hope this helps as a start.

    Tell your Mom to take it slow and easy.  It isn't healthy for ANYONE to
    do drastic things to lose weight but at her age it is particularly
    important to be careful.  
    
    I second the suggestion to start walking and increase the distance and
    pace as she feel comfortable.  The most helpful exercise program is one
    she will DO regularly not one which will give stellar (short-term)
    results.  
    
    And food plans are the same, complex carbs, fruits, veggies, low-fat
    protein and skim milk and yogurt for her bones.  Did she have a fat
    analysis done?  That might be very helpful because to say she is xxx
    pounds overweight says nothing about her body, muscle-tone etc.
    
    I'm not big on doctors either, but try to push Mom to go for some
    professional assistance in putting together a plan, a nutritionist
    maybe?
    
    There are a number of programs (WW, for its imperfections is a good
    plan) which are sensible.  Your mom has one very positive thing going
    for her, your support and loving assistance in this difficult
    life-style change.  My best wishes to both of you,
    
    Sylvia

	Any reputable health club should be able to help her, too.

	There are many women in their 50's and 60's at the club I
	work at that come during the day.  Some do aerobics, some use
	the lifecycles and treadmills.  We also have a recommended nutritionist
	available through the club who offers discounts to members.

	Karen

    >Weight doesn't come off overnight.  You need to use up 3500 calories
    >more than what you take in to lose 1 pound.  At 500 calories a
    >day that is 1 pound a week.
    
    Actually this is a myth; it isn't nearly this simple.  For one thing,
    it doesn't take in to account change in metabolism.  Eating 500 cal/day
    would put your body into starvation mode - at first you would lose much
    *more* than 1 lb/week, and then weight loss would slow down or stop as
    your body tried frantically to conserve energy.
    
    On the other hand, eating 1000 calories a day can, for some people,
    mean losing more than a lb a week.
    
    Anyway, even if you *do* take the 3500 calorie/pound rule seriously (I
    don't), the average woman requires 2000 calories a day, so a 500
    calorie/day diet would mean 1500 calories a day less than she requires,
    which would mean a pound in three days.  But, as I said, it's not that
    simple.
    
    And, as everyone who reads in here has heard time and time again, the
    best way to lose weight is to cut back on fat and calories, and
    increase exercise.
    
    D!

    RE:  -1
    
    D, I think that the 500 calorie a day guideline was calories SAVED not
    total calories eaten,
    
    If you buy the premise that 3,500 calories equals a pound, which I
    think varies from person to person, just as you believe, SAVING 500
    calories a day will enable you to lose a pound a week.  I think the
    point being that a safe loss like a pound a week will facilitate the
    learning of new eating habits and not drastically alter your lifestyle.
    
    Not many of us would endorse EATING 500 calories a day, because of the
    survival mode you mentioned and also the psychological effects of
    feeling hungry and deprived all the time.
    
    Sylvia (who would be happy to SAVE 500 and would NEVER limit myself to
    it)

    Ah yes...saving 500 cal/day is a reasonable way to lose weight.
    
    however, the problem with going on that theory is that at best it's an
    estimate - there isn't an exact number of "calories your body needs". 
    As they reported in the recent Consumer Reports article, your body
    tends to want to stay the same weight - so it will do so at a *range*
    of caloric intake.  So you could eat between 1800 and 2200 cal/day and
    stay the same weight - so how much is 500 less than "needed"?  Also,
    the amount of "need" varies over time even for a given person with how
    much you eat (even if you aren't in starvation mode), how much exercise
    you do, what the ambient temperature is, how much coffee you drink,
    your mood and stress level, etc etc...
    
    I've heard that heavy coffee drinkers can lose 100 cal a day just for
    increased nervous energy.  But at what a cost!  I wouldn't recommend
    that as a healthy way to diet, eh? :-)
    
    D!

    I agree with one of the previous replies.  She needs to eat more, but
    healthy.  And exercise.  Hmm...depends on how bad the ol' knee's are. 
    There are cheap exercise tapes for the older generation.  Debbie
    Reynolds has one, Richard Simmons has one-I think its called Silver
    Foxes, etc.  If the knee's are bad -like one of mine- walking in air
    conditioned malls and water aerobics would be good-IMO.  In Texas we
    have city "centers"--I don't know what they call them.  Exercise places
    that are cheap.  They have water aerobic classes, etc. that would be
    fun.
    
    Thats all I can think of.  
    
    Donna
    
    

    Please tell your mother to be careful, or, if she'll go, to see a
    doctor who can follow her progress and advise her.
    
    This could be very dangerous for her ... when you lose weight fast, you
    lose lean body mass (muscle) as well as fat.  That means she will lose
    some of her heart muscle mass.  If she or her family has any history of
    heart problems, it could mean come ominous complications.