WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JANUARY 2015

tngram2seven

Much better mood today! Did 80 minutes in the water. It felt so good. Why do I skip it when I am down? Exercise is the best mood elevator - better than my antidepressant.

I've really enjoyed the parade of pet stories - corn eating dogs and kitties; horses with lipstick; horses relaxing with pina colodas; cats and hamsters in the freezer (oh my). So many of your stories make me smile!

Speaking of MILs I was blessed with 2 great ones. My first husband and I were high school sweethearts. His mother took me in as a daughter. She was the mom I never really had. After our divorce she and I remained close but I was careful to give her space, too. She had to deal with her son's infidelity and a new "daughter-in-law". She handled things so gracefully. My DH's mom was a retired teacher so we had a lot in common. She loved me like a daughter and loved my son who was 4 when we married. I'm looking forward to a heavenly reunion with both of them.

Katla - what a lovely walk with your cousin

Kim - so kind to share with your friend

Red - brave girl! Dancing naked???

Joyce - what a funny experience with the turtle! Sounds like you and I share youthful couriousity. When I first saw the ocean on a family trip I found a puffer fish skeleton. I insisted on bringing it home as a souvineir (sp). Mom boiled the thing in vinegar water and I took it to Show and Tell! Your MIL story inspired me to write about mine. In my case it was my mom who had mental illness. From the time I was 19 I was more like her mother.

Heather - enjoyed hearing about the "cake study". So true...... Also thanks for the sweet story about your MIL

Terri in WI - Great NSV!

Judy - I lost a lot of weight with Weight Watchers about 25 years ago but it didn't work well for me recently. I was consuming way too many calories with what they considered "free" foods. I do think it helped me learn about good nutrition and balanced eating. It was very expensive though. Now I participate in TOPS (take off pounds sensibly). It is a support group. Members follow what ever food plan works for them. We meet weekly. It is very inexpensive and I have made some very good friends there. I plan to remain with this forever. When you reach your goal weight you become a KOPS (keep off...) When you keep coming it helps you maintain your weight.

Diana - so glad you are going to your son's graduation! Proud mama!

CP - your phrase "stay strong" reminded me of a little first grader I had last year. He had been showing out a lot and had become a behavior problem. I had an end of the year incentive for those who would stay on track. He came in one morning and told me he had decided to "Be strong" about the temptation to misbehave. He changed his behavior and won the incentive. I cannot see the word "strong" without thinking of Kevin!

Last but certainly not least - SALLY - Yeah! Goal achieved! Thanks for the inspiration!

Longest Post Ever
TNToni

GodMomKim

Judy – I can’t say I really know about using those as a “kick start” but for me I am glad I did all I have done counting calories, as there has been a ton of learning for me, not just about cooking but about why I make the choices I do and what roll food has for me.. and so the long time frame has allowed me time to learn the lessons I need to. That being said, in 11 months I lost 25 lbs.. and hope to repeat that this upcoming year.

Terri - Great NSV!

Diana – congrats – it is so hard to pick good choices with everything sitting right there!

Sally – WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Twhitehead - Congrats!!!!!

Lesley - Happy anniversary; sorry about Mildred…. Sending good thoughts for her.

Exermom – I am up-ping my water and that seems to be solving the fiber problem….

So I don’t have any idea why but I jumped off the rails at lunch today! There is a chain here called chipotle, they serve these great humongous burritos…usually when I really want one, I do it in a bowl (no flour tortilla) and then try to each only ½ of the bowl per meal… but NOT today… I had the buritto – ate the whole thing and a bag of chips… so the logged it and the chips and buritto were a…. drum roll please 1440 calories…. What the *%$@ was I thinking? And really in all honesty the first ¼ was really great, then I went from enjoyment to eating… So lunch was more than my whole day of calories, and I had already eating breakfast, having a small healthy salad for dinner.. One good thing is my fiber is 48g (I try to get 30…) So water water water… washing out salt and keeping things moving smoothly.

I need to make this a strong memory so when I decide to go there again, I bring a container and take a huge chunk home. Another MFP lesson; lets hope it is a lesson learned!

January goals:
Walk every day
Log all bites everyday
Do a fun thing every week.

Kim from N. California

suebdew

Great job Sally. You had a good day.

Lestan48

The vet gave Mildred an anti-inflammatory injection. He says if that works he will give a longer acting one in 2 weeks. All we can do is return her love for us. Took her to the beach and she had a mini gallop on the sand and LOTS of paddles in the sea. Also met a Jack Russel, aged 16, and made a friend.
She is sleeping now.
Lesley in Tasmania

Poerava14

Hi Friends,
Have finally caught up with reading all posts.
Sally and Lesley: Cheers and kudos on your amazing progress.
Meg: Ouch! So sorry about the bad Knee-ews. You’re strong and will get through it.

It’s my bedtime, but did want to share a photo taken today. Barb (hoff2002) is visiting family in Colorado. Laura80111 and I met her and her daughter for lunch today. Always good fun when MFP community members can meet up. (*)

Rori
Colorado Foothills
January goals with progress to date:

1) Keep to under net 100 carbs per day > accomplished 70% of the time
2) Try a Zumba class at the gym at least twice > Done!
3) Keep my MFP streak alive through Jan 31st > Going strong!
4) Savor more, guzzle less. This aligns with my word for 2015: Mindfulness > grading myself a C.

bumblebeejec

CP - - Good for you on your weight loss. Even though you weren't in the top three, you still succeeded in going in the right direction. Proud of you!

Thanks for the many comments on your experiences with weight loss programs. I have taken them to heart and will consider them carefully.

Cold day here in PA today! Stay warm wherever you are!

Judy in PA

jmkmomm

Heather I keep a small ready bag to go to daughter's house. I make sure I have extra chargers and just keep all those chargers already hooked into the surge protector. That way I don't have to unplug my chargers at home and then plug them all in again at the hotel. You mentioned bug spray. I don't think our transit authority would let us on the plane with those. they could be used as a 'weapon' by spraying it in some one's eyes

Judy I guess I will jsut add to what others are saying. Moderation is the key. The first month I was on MFP, the food diary was used to see what I was eating and how that all worked out in the nutrients. I must admit at first I was using a lot of the frozen Lean Quisine and others like it for lunches to help me keep my calorie count down.

terri Milwaukee I was reading today about some billionaire who was divorcing and his wife was demanding 1 million/month for child support. She said her children required a lot.

k2boxlady this republican loved your joke.

My Sunday school class had a going away lunch today for a sweet little lady who is going to live with her son and DIL. She is 99 years old and the sweetest thing. Sharp as a tack. She did give up her car before she moved though. She will miss that. She is going to live in a town in Ohio that has a 2 acre park that is one huge flower garden. The seniors in the city keep it up and she is looking forward to helping with that.

Word for 2015....choice

Joyce, Indiana

dreamwriter

Had to catch up on all the posts.

Heather UK - Love the toe nails. When do you leave on your trip?

Sue in SD - I will pray for your friend's grandbaby. My niece had spinal meningitis as a baby, it caused her to be profoundly deaf.

Meg - The story about the cat reminded me of a cat funeral we attended.
The frozen cat didn't fit in the casket that was built for him. Poor Smoky! I still laugh when I think of the attempts to make him fit. One of the solutions was to defrost him in the microwave. Now that was a smell.

It has been a week of up and downs. I've had a few walks outside in the sunshine. I've managed to do some type of exercise every day.

DS took his girlfriend and his daughter back to Ontario for a week's holiday. He rented a car and took her around to visit her relatives, including driving from Brampton to Hamilton to visit her Oma. They got back and her sister served him papers. He got a lawyer , boarded a plane with DGD and is back in Alberta. She misrepresented where she has been living and really has to do that in this province. No warning. Blindsided him.

Work, the situation and doing Costco left me drained.

This weekend is my Christmas party (that's what happens when you help Santa).
Hockey game and food. Hopefully I find will power and choose wisely.

Sunday is other DGDs 5th birthday. It is going to be a Frozen party.

A kitty decided to hang out at my daughter's house. DGD calls her MeowMeow. She has been there for a week now. She was clearly someone's pet and she is gorgeous. We have posted posters, contacted the last chance cat ranch, posted on social media. No one has claimed her so this weekend she will go to a new forever home in Red Deer.

Supposed to snow tomorrow, dreading going back to the cold.

Sharon in Alberta

Red94568

Sally, just realized that you wrote about meeting your goal!!!! That is quite a hip hip hooray!!!! I'm inspired!

Got frustrated at the office today so I grabbed my clerk and made her do a brisk 2 mile walk with me. Just what the doctor ordered! Then, because we were no longer in the mood to work, we put on music and danced around the office. Today was all about stepping to 10k. Good thing I'm my own boss!

It's an eating out weekend away for me! Staying at a Residence Inn, so I've stocked the fridge with my foods. Hope the familia doesn't mind! VBall tournaments always give me 15-25k steps in a day! Woohoo, I'll be ahead for next week.

Red
- in Sacramento this weekend!

wizzywig

Good Morning, I have lots of plans for de cluttering today, so I'd better strike whilst the iron is hot, othewise all my good intentions will be forgotten and I'll get distracted by other things.
Lesley I hope Mildred is keeping well.

Heather I hope you back gets better before you go on holiday. Loved your toenails by the way.

We have had a snow shower this morning, it was okay when we set off on our dog walk but started snowing soon after. It's turning into rain now, I just hope it doesn't freeze, I'm always frightened I slip on the ice, I can fall over at the best of times, with ice I have no chance.

Our old cat Wizz is still going strong, many a time the poor thing has been asleep in his basket and DD and I have panicked and prodded him thinking he'd gone - he glares at us for having woken him up, but he must go into a deep sleep as we can't tell if he's breathing or not.

Rori lovely photo.

Sharon oh dear - I can't imagine anyone putting a cat in a microwave to defrost the poor thing to fit into a casket. (I think I would also have to throw the microwave out afterwards too) Sorry you have had a week of ups and downs and hope your situation improves.

It's getting darker here, looks like the rain is set for the day, wondering how I'll get clothes dried until I can get a new dryer. Looks like I'll have to put it on or near the radiators. Think I might have to invest in a clothes horse.

Better make a start before all my enthusiasm wilts. (it doesn't take much! )

Hope your weather is better than here in York.

Viv xx

cityjaneLondon

Viv - sending good wishes for the decluttering! We are crossing our fingers for no snow tomorrow. So far it's looking ok.

Red - stay strong on your weekend away! :flowerforyou:

Back/hip still painful. Mobility ok. I haven't done any exercise this morning to see if that helps. Just lots of walking about doing the packing. Too many decisions! ! ! ! ! :sad: I've hemmed my new floppy trousers. Just got to sort jewellery.
DON'T LET THE PERFECT BE THE ENEMY OF THE GOOD.
ADVENTURE!
Couldn't check in last night. Tonight's the check in. Our travel agent told us otherwise. :ohwell:

This is always the worst bit for me. (Nerves) It gets better from now on. Once I'm packed and checked in. Then my holiday starts once I've made it to the airport (about 1 hr 40 mins drive)
Wish I wasn't in pain though. Hard to get comfortable in bed or sitting.

I'm at target weight wise so will just have to be careful with eating, but not too restrictive. We will be walking and swimming, but there are a lot of car journeys. Today I have to be careful, with no real exercise. :ohwell:

I wrote up the list of savings, bank accounts today and put them with our wills. DH still has to revise his. When we get back we must go to a solicitor and get things better organised. We only have DIY wills. I know some of you have sorted all that.

Speak again later, Heather in gloomy Hampshire UK

terri_mom

Happy Saturday ! ! !

Yesterday I bought some low-sodium deli ham and baby swiss, so I can bring wraps and veggies for our long days today and tomorrow. I also found a good deal on pre-washed and pre-cut kale, so I can quickly make chips in the oven. Now, off to the shower, because it is such a project to wash my hair.

Hope everyone has a great weekend ! ! ! Hugs all around

Terri in Milwaukee

Lilymay2

Tngram2seven – “Lillian - How is it that you don't have snow so far up north?” Ha Ha – I would like to ask the meteorologists that too!! We have had really warm weather for too long this January. This morning we at -27 Celsius and no snow forecast until Thursday…
Exermom - rebounder exercises are on YouTube. So far I have managed to jog, do jumping jacks and high knees on mine – and I have worked my way up to 20 mins a day on mine.

Not catching up with all the posts today. Off to another curling bonspiel. So will have to try catch up on Sunday.
Take everyone and have a good weekend.
Lillian in Saskatchewan

bjkidfun

Good morning ladies,
Welcome to all the new ladies, someone asked us to share things that help us to stay on track.
Last year 2/4/14 when I started mfp, the first thing I focused on was calories in and calories out. and fast food was a struggle especially since I was starved after working out of the Y. So instead of ordering a the burger and fries and large soda, I started ordering a kids meal with fries and soda and then a kids meal with fries and water and finally a kids meal with Apple's and water and now I very seldom get fast food. That is what helped me. Especially when you you put all those calories in your food log.

I am struggling emotionally right now and my old cravings are making a come back, you know the
comfort foods, so far by reading everyone's posts keeps me motivated.

Have a great weekend and stay warm.

"What I EAT in PRIVATE, I wear in PUBLIC"

Brenda from Md

k2boxlady

Good morning group! It's a balmy 23F this morning in Central Va. Just finished my morning walk. Knees complained until they got numb from the cold but was able to make my 1 hr trek around the neighborhood. I even pushed myself to walk the more difficult uphill streets! That is a first for me since I started walking outside last week instead of using the elliptical all the time. I took my poor ole dog walking with me yesterday and then had to help her up the porch steps when we got back. I think she was in more pain than me. Left her home this morning. She's still moving slow. Poor baby. She's 12 years old and has arthritis in her back hip.

Enjoy reading all the posts. Wish I could keep up and acknowledge everyone separately like most do, but my iPad tends to shut off when I move back and forth thru all the pages. But I love the read and encouragements. You ladies are wonderful motivators.

Thank you friends!
Karen

Katla49

Rori: Thanks for sharing a grand picture. It looks like you’re working toward your goals. WTG! I tried a Zumba class this month, too, and ended up with a sore knee. Zumba is not for me due to my wonky knee.

Joyce & Heather: I think bug spray could go in checked baggage but I’m not sure. I’m not exactly a frequent flyer. Both of my DC have said they want us to move in with them in our “old age.” It is nice to feel wanted but we hope to be independent for decades to come.

Viv: I agree about throwing out the microwave after using it to defrost a cat. EWWWW! :noway: :noway: We have fog again this morning. Yesterday we ended up with a sunny afternoon.

Heather: Walking is the perfect exercise to loosen up a back. Packing is not so good, in my opinion. Bending over and folding clothes is hard on my back. Moving the packed bag off the bed isn’t too good, either. Thank goodness the luggage has wheels these days. Be gentle to your back and have a good trip. When are you leaving?

Karen: I use my laptop for posting. I have a word document open on the right side of the screen and MFP open on the left side of my screen. I don’t think I could do this with an ipad but since I don’t own one, I don’t actually know. DH has an ipad and loves it. He’s discovered that he prefers reading books on the ipad rather than reading printed books.



My riding lesson last night was challenging. My teacher has me working on “two point” balance. She says this is important for helping the horse do certain kinds of work including jumping. Essentially, I balance in the stirrups over the horse’s shoulders with my butt off of the saddle. This is a work in progress and not easy for me. I love learning so many new skills and my knees are not sore this morning.

Katla in Beautiful NW Oregon


“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas A. Edison


January Goal Report:
1. Log every bite and swallow: 99% accurate.
2. Cardio exercise at least 3 days a week: Met thanks to joining a gym and taking yoga, core and abs classes three days a week.
3. Have fun every day: Met. I am so happy with this goal because it makes my life better and improves my attitude for everything I do.
4. Drink at least three glasses of water daily, preferably more: Met.
5. Eliminate alcohol: Met.
6. Monitor sleep: Met. This goal actually helps with needed support from DH. Since he realized how important it is to me, he no longer gets upset if I move to another room in the night because of his snoring.

I’ll post my “new” goals tomorrow. They will seem VERY familiar.

barbiecat

Out of bed at 2:30 AM, dog walked for "business", breakfast eaten, dogs walked for over 90 minutes, early fun spiritual meeting with lots of people dressed in Seahawks shirts and hats, snack eaten, work on income tax, and now time with all of you.

I will be posting the new thread for February just before my bedtime tonight which should be around 6PM Pacific Standard Time. As soon as I finish writing this, I'm going to give some serious thought to my resolutions for February. I know I'll be repeating at least the one that I failed to meet this month.

Janet, it takes repetition and persistence to keep away from food as recreation and entertainment. When a friend invites me to lunch or dinner or coffee, I suggest going for a walk instead. When invited to a potluck, I eat at home before I go and then enjoy the company of my friends at the event instead of eating (I was surprised to find how many other people don't eat at potlucks and what a wide variety of reasons there are). I am persistent at saying no to food treats that are offered to me and don't let my feelings be hurt by the sometimes not so nice things that people say when I turn down their treats. Weight loss goals are not controllable by me the way exercise goals are. I can resolve to do a certain amount of exercise, but the weight will come off when it's good and ready even if my eating and exercising are perfect.

pipcd, I don't always understand your statistics but I love reading them because they inspire me to be consistent and rejoice in exercise success...also I know that the weather is often unfriendly and you exercise anyway.

KIm, if I had had an experience like the one you had with the burrito, I would have resolved to stay out of that restaurant forever. I hope your plan of bring a container for take home will work for you.

TNToni, you have figured out the answer---exercise every day whether you feel like it or not.

Red, choosing to walk and dance instead of eat in the face of frustration is awesome.

Brenda, I liked reading your description of the baby steps you took from fast food meals to no fast food meals.

Terri, great planning for food for your long days.

Katla, you did a great job on your goals for January.


Barbie from NW Washington

My quote for 2015 (and the last five years)--- The reason most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want the MOST for what they want at the MOMENT.


My word for 2015 is "now"---I won't wallow in the past or waste time worrying about the future

January Resolutions (with end of the month comments)
*walk 18,500 steps a day (over 20,000 many days)
*strength training twice a week (once a week at best)
*review our will and documents of personal information (finished and filed in all the right places)
*don't expect praise or recognition (a great addition to my daily happiness)
*learn and teach two new dances (yes---and one of the dances was one that I choreographed)

megblair1

Hi ladies. It’s rainy and spitting snow here. The handy man is here discussing our rentals. We had a bad windstorm here about two weeks ago and it damaged one of our roofs, which we have been praying for LOL. This roof has at least 5 layers on it, which is illegal and we didn’t know until after buying the place. Plus the newest layer of roof must be 40 years old, so we’ll see what the insurance guy says.

Did my knee exercises with zero pain and a couple of times when I got up last night, if I didn’t already know it I would have never guessed I had a knee injury. Hooray for the copper fit knee sleeve. I don’t believe it’s the copper in the fabric, but the compression is perfect. I managed to get 7012 steps yesterday pain free.

We are going to go look at recumbent exercise bikes then go to a movie and out for snacks, so I’ll be over on cals today for sure. But it will be nice to get out of here since we haven’t done anything in a long time.

DD#2 got a text from DD#1 that DD#1 quit her newest job at the day care center because they were “abusing” her baby there . So once again neither mom nor dad has a job. But maybe without a job right now she can attend to her medical issues.

CP: we have a fitness challenge at work through Blue Cross Blue Shield. We are in teams. The nursing team is in first place….we are in a “walk” across the US. We are ‘in” new Jersey now!

Rita: hope the determination gets you through!

Sally: meeting all those goals must feel wonderful!

Twhitehead: congrats on the weight loss and sticking to your plan!

Margaret: we have tons of Christmas cookies leftover, so we froze and vacuum sealed them in packages of 4. So when we do want a treat, it’s quite limited.

Viv: praying that the third thing never comes about!

Sue: I read your experience with the optifast program. That is my complaint about those types of things; eventually you have to start eating real food and that’s where the problem is!

Michele: you do lots of videos….is there a good on for Pilates? I have a couple, but they are only 10 minutes long each.

Barbie: well my goals were a bust after the knee issue started. So I guess my new goal for February is to figure out what I can do and do it. Plus 7,000 steps a day.

Janet: good for you feeling stronger and exceeding your exercise goals!

TNToni: your post makes me want to say WHERE HAVE I BEEN??? Horses with lipstick? Dancing naked? Wow now I will have to read back to find them! My old house was across the street from a park. When I’d get home from the ED, I’d strip in the entry way and go upstairs and my old cat (the one who recently died) wanted to play. So I’d chase him around the living room, naked. When I first moved there the park and neighborhood were new and pretty vacant. So I never shut my blinds or curtains. Well I soon found out that people were gathering in the park to watch me run around the house. The windows were about 2” off the floor so they couldn’t see the cat. All they saw was me running around naked. I guess I was quite the show for a while!

Kim: wow I would never have guess the calorie count on that lunch! Whew! Around here they advertise as a healthy alternative to fast food ( burgers).

Rori: great pic! Thanks for posting. I was nice to see you and Laura80111 again. It brought back fun memories of our lunch with Laura and JaneHadji.

Sharon: OMG the visual image of defrosting the cat! Hilarious. I hope he had a sense of humor!

Red Hooray for being your own boss. I feel liberated at work when I take off my shoes and walk about in the hallway! I think I’ll do that more often and cite my knee as the reason the shoes need to go LOL!

Heather: I hope you are feeling better soon and in a good frame of mind for your journey.

Terri: I never am successful making kale chips. What is the secret? Mine just crumble away

Brenda: it’s good to make those changes slowly because then you really buy into them

Katla; enjoy your riding lessons!

Barbie: I’ll be rooting for the seahawks tomorrow! We are having our “first Sunday” dinner with DD#1, her BF, her best friend and that girl’s BF. I’m cooking all the food, so it may have calories, but it won’t have garbage in it. Well except the queso. I’m convinced that velveeta is not actually food, but I only make it 1-2 times a year. The rest will be healthy-ish like turkey sloppy joe sliders. I have grapes and cheese, dad’s Swedish meatballs, veggies, and skinless wings. So I feel like I can have the ‘football food” without a lot of total junk. DD’s friend is bringing an artichoke dip and chips, so people who want those will have them. Nice of her to offer. I think DD is bringing the baby but who knows. Haven’t seen her since New Years day.

Well I hope everyone has a successful day and enjoys the weekend. Hope to pop in tomorrow but I’ll be working on the cooking. Take care, Meg from Omaha

exermom

Sylvia - I'd forgotten that I took a pic of the praying mantis that someone else was just starting to do. Here it is
-


Hope this posts correctly.

Any ideas for colors?

Michele

exermom

Sorry it's so large. How do I resize for the next time I post a pic?

Michele