By Kyle Keener, for USA TODAY "My cooking has changed," says Marilyn Pearson, 67, of Rochester Hills, Mich. Here, she prepares a turkey lettuce wrap. She keeps track of her calories on her iPhone.

“Marilyn Pearson, 67, of Rochester Hills, Mich…. At 5-foot-3, she weighs 137 pounds, down from 172.

Pearson had wanted to lose weight for years, but believed she couldn’t succeed because of her age. “My biggest excuse was that my metabolism had slowed down because I was getting older.”

To lose a pound a week, she had to cut her calories to about 1,200 a day. When she exercised, she could consume 1,500 to 1,600 calories a day and still trim down.

She made several smart trade-offs, switching from yogurt loaded with sugar to a non-fat Greek yogurt that she topped with raspberries and blueberries. She started eating whole-wheat bread instead of white and limited herself to no more than two slices a day.

Everything she ate, she recorded in her iPhone. “I made sure I never went over my calories.””

Sounds like many of the things we’ve been talking about here.  It’s never too late!