I taught aerobics, jazzercise and aqua aerobics for some 15 years so I have always been aware of my body and what is happening with it... but as one ages, one tends to let things "slip" and your metabolism slows also... hence the weight gain and the muscle loss that begins for most after 50. Fortunately, in my 50s I was still teaching aqua-aerobics but it still snuck up on me... WHO donated those 15 extra pounds to me??? It didn't help that I stopped teaching 15 hours of aqua-aerobics weekly... or that I had three shoulder surgeries... or that I was still eating like I was still working out... (facepalm) My jeans were NOT shrinking...
So I resolved to clean up my act... I got a Fitbit Charge HR to count my steps, help with the calorie and water intake and chart my sleep patterns. I also started following some of the blogs from the FitBit people... one of my favorites is how to lower your sugars intake without the crash that comes from totally stopping all sugar. You can read it here: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/15-simple-hacks-for-eating-less-sugar/
I don't agree 100% with everything in that blog, but it is a wonderful place to start getting your body back to the shape you want it to be in! Yes, it helped... I've only got 7 more pounds to go from my 15 pound target....