2018 - The Year of " I AM "
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Hello, ladies
I have also been MIA and I can relate Gail, For years I have suffered from depression and any negative change in my life brings it on heavy. I am grateful also Gail for you and everyone on here.
I read the information Snoozie about postmenopausal women and losing weight. I guess I do agree, I will get down to 175 and then I climb back up again. At least, so far I am staying under 180. I just gave up coffee for a week so far because I was having uncomfortable heart palpitations, and the palpitations went away. However, I am not ready to give up my red wine or bread. I have slowed down to almost no intake of rice and potatoes, I have increased the salads without dressings most of the time.
In addition, I hurt my arm so I could not do any planks or wt lifting but after 2 months of physical therapy, I was able to do push-ups against a table. On a good thread, I just started adult tap dancing on Tuesdays. (never took it before, really never took any type of dancing) but I am having fun for now and I seem to be working up a sweat.
I don't want to overwhelm anyone of you with all of my stressful life right now (mostly with my job) now I know why people retire not because they cannot do the work anymore its because you cannot deal with all of the nonsense.
Love to all of you,
Milove1 -
Well done on the tapdancing, Milove! I'm sure I've mentioned before I did adult ballet a few years back and I loved it! Exercise is so much better if it's fun. And it's great that you managed to "cure" your palpitations. And soring out your diet and staying under 180 too! It sounds like you really have things in hand!
I'm with you on the work stress ... I don't tend to talk about mine here, because this is kind of an escape from it! But I'm more than happy to read about other people's. If anything, it would take my mind off my own! So I hope you will post if you want to and not worry about overwhelming people.
Suzy, you are so right about NEAT. I really need to get moving more. My favourite thing is to sit down and do nothing - lol!
Love the baby woodpeckers! Thanks for the advice on garden pests! I hadn't even heard of cutworms! Maybe this vegetable growing thing isn't going to be as simple as I thought. But hopefully I'll get some fun out of it. I've risked planting a few things today (I've been holding off as it has been so cold).
Meanwhile, I finally made the sourdough loaf after feeding my starter for a week or so. I thought it had completely failed - then it came out of the oven and was gorgeous! I'm definitely going to do it again and have a sourdough starter on the go again.
Obviously, I'm talking about anything but my actual weight here, but thankfully, it's not too bad. I do still need to lose some, but at least I'm not gaining. Always a bonus!
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just popping in for a quick sec.. because I saw this ad today... and I started laughing so hard I'm sure I burned off a few hundred calories -
the caption above this picture.... said
"what can you do about neck wrinkles and turkey neck??
i thot omg that has to be the best ad EVER.... i thot it was just hysterical using a sharpei for a wrinkle ad.......
i can't even type it without laughing again.............................
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hahaha...I wish I looked that cute with my wrinkles!!
Thinks are getting better, not so down in the dumps.
Milove, sorry to hear you suffer from depression. I shouldn't really call what i was dealing with as Depression, since there are some that really suffer horribly, and mine was a bit self -induced. But I am seeing a rainbow at the end...
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I absolutely love to dance! It’s such great exercise and so fun! Good for you Milove! We should all make an effort to dance to one upbeat, toe tapping, can’t sit still song this week!
I’m pretty fortunate that I don’t really have many bouts of depression. I think part of the reason for that is that I’m married to an incredibly positive man. He had a car accident when he was 17 and lost the use of his arms (he can use his right just a tiny bit) and he doesn’t let anything stop him. He has no tolerance for self pity...understandably. So his attitude has helped me with my outlook on life. I really feel for people with depression issues. I do hope that it’s getting easier to discuss and get treatment in this day and age though.
Snoozie, if only our wrinkles made us look that cute and cuddly!!
I actually made the time for myself today to go to the gym! It’s a major IPOM moment!!! I also did 18 minutes on the stair climber and climbed 315 feet or 31.5 floors!!! Yay me! I concentrated on strength training and feel really good about it. Now if I can just get my eating back under control. My weight has been creeping back up and I refuse to change my ticker again!!! Ugh!!
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I don’t know if that move is a good idea but that song is a real booty shaker!!!1
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Lol did you watch the whole video? I'm pretty sure I could do it all.....1
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What are you talking about? I always do that at the gym? Is there another way to use the treadmill?2
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haaaaaaaaa Vail!!0
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sorry haven't been in much been a busy week BUT. .I have been reading.. and suzy your comments about dancing and the jokes like the treadmill guy made me think well hell you're sitting on your butt when you get home from work.... so I googled a few videos.. keeping in mind I have very little flexibility or mobility at the moment.. anyway I found a few cute little dancercise type videos... "silver sneakers" type dance routines for exercise.. and tried a few.. I didn't last very long (one is a full hour and no way at this point could I do that one even as mild as it is!) but.. I did 15 min of one and then a short classical stretch routine for relaxation... I like the music they play and i figure its better than nothing right now and hopefully progress to moving the parts more and more - and if it will start to unlock a lot of the muscles and parts that haven't been used in ages... well, its worth a shot. and since I've now come to think that NOT moving is causing a lot of the all over pain ... then at least it wil be easy to track to see if theres improvement... worth a shot anyway!
and maybe one day.. that'll be me on the treadmill !!!!! haaaaaaaaaaaaa2 -
Good for you Snoozie! Any movement is good movement!! I’m trying to mentally talk myself into going for a walk after dinner. I don’t want to do it. I need to do it. I just want to sit on the couch but that’s how I got into this condition!!
I guess I’m going for a walk.2 -
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Excellent idea about getting up and moving, Snoozie & Suzy, instead of just sitting on the couch! I know I am soooo guilty of hardly getting up except to go to bed once I hit the couch.
15 min is an Awesome start!!
Raining cats and dogs here, so I am puttering around trying to get some organization completed in the kitchen.... a pantry full with nothing to cook cause I can't see it.
I hope next week will be better for me. I gained back the four that I lost a while back, which is why I don't log weight loss much... lol it always seem to come creeping back.
Little bit of a funny story.... I had been doing leg presses at work for a few months now, well no more for a while..... I BROKE the cable... Yep , I must be the only one to use it at 150 lbs. It just went SNAP!! while I was doing them , the bottom fell to the floor, I just sat there stunned for a bit, then I grabbed my stuff and got the heck out of there!! I went back a bit later and let the assistant know, since I figured they had me on camera....lol
They are trying to restrict our internet usage again,. which we abide by for a while then we creep back in... so we'll see how long this lasts.
I hope you both have a great week,
G1 -
Gail, that’s hilarious!! I can’t imagine what my reaction would be if I broke the machine! You must have worn it out! Good for you!
OMG! I sat on the couch all darn day!!! It was a rainy yucky day and I had computer work to do. I managed to get the laundry done and make dinner but that’s all. I have less than 900 steps for the entire day!!! I think that’s a first!
I managed to get to the gym twice last week and it felt great! My mom gets out of the rehab place this Thursday! Yay!!! We took them for a tour at an independent living place Saturday. I’m hoping they’ll bite the bullet and get on the waiting list for an apartment. Time will tell.
My eating is still erratic but I’m hoping with mom going home that my schedule will get back to (somewhat) normal. At least I haven’t gained all my weight back, just about three pounds.
Here’s to a successful and motivated week!!!1 -
You'd think these machines would be designed to cope with heavy weights - a bit worrying that it broke! Impressive that you were the one to break it, though, Gail! It looks like you can leg press more than anyone at your workplace!
I'm glad your mom is doing well, Suzy. Good luck with the independent living place. Glad you could get to the gym!
I'm struggling with the whole eating and exercising thing at the moment. I'm only a few pounds over my normal maintenance weight, but it feels like much more. I am finding exercise difficult. In fact, it feels very like when I was much more overweight a few years ago. Everything's a struggle, and it all hurts! I still seem to be recovering from the flu last year. I struggle to get any level of fitness at the best of times, no matter how much work I put in - maybe because of my medication? Or is it just much harder to increase fitness as you get older? - but I'm really, really struggling now!
Anyway, I have taken a tip from Snooozie and decided to some short, fun exercise videos on youtube, instead of worrying too much about getting the "right" sort of exercise. I will try to aim for every day instead of three times a week. Or at least, a little bit on most days! I don't feel fit enough to go back to the gym, which is frustrating, and I don't want any more injuries, so looking at home exercise for now. (While still paying my gym membership - lol!).2 -
Haha…I think I do press heavier than the men…. I like to leave it set at my weight, so they will wonder which guy presses heavier than them …not knowing it’s a woman!
I’ve always been blessed or cursed with large strong thigh muscles. We lived on a farm growing up and I had to feed the chickens. It was a long house, so I had to fill up the wheel barrel extra high to get through quickly…so it was a muscle building experience for sure!
I too am struggling, with the eating especially. I can do great 2/3rds of the day and then I crush it at night. My school reunion is in June and it looks like I won’t be losing anything before then, the way I am heading it will be larger! I am still going to the gym after work and putting in a hour of circuit type training, but at an slower pace. Fingers crossed xxxx it will help the eating even out soon. Lol
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Vail, I do think that it’s harder to achieve the same level of effort/results as we get older but I’m concerned that you feel like you haven’t recovered fully from the flu. Have you had blood work done lately? I don’t know what kind of medication you take but do you also take any kind of supplements? My husband and I have the “do you think these supplements really work” discussion quite often. We don’t know the answer but we’re feeling pretty good so we’ll keep taking them...just in case. Hahaha! That being said, I think the short fun approach sounds perfect. Do what you can, while you can!
Gail, I don’t press very high weight (yet) but I actually saw a young guy move the weight up AFTER he was done to impress his buddies that were working out at the same time. It cracked me up! You have an entire month before your reunion so hang in there! I completely understand your struggle. My daytime eating is totally under control but I completely lose all sense at night. I try to analyze what’s going on in my head but I still go for the bad eating choices. If you come up with a strategy to conquer this phenomenon, let me know! I’ve been thinking that I just need to get to bed earlier...can’t eat while I sleep!1 -
Suzy, I do take some supplements, but not every day ... I also go back and forth over whether they do much good, so I tend to mix them up, taking none most days, and different ones on other days. But you're right, it might be something to look at as all else appears to be failing! I am loads better than I was a few weeks ago, though. I do feel I need to set my mind to losing the weight, and life will be easier. I'm pretty good most of the time ... and I think that's the problem, that I'll be good 90% of the time, but whereas a few years ago the 10% didn't matter, now it's enough to throw the whole thing off!
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Hi Hatters...
Sounds like we are all struggling at the moment - i am frustrated that i keep losing and gaining hte same 5 lbs... i can't break through that "set weight" my body wants to stay at.. i have to figure out what i need to do to lose enough to break that cycle - well that's not completely accurate i KNOW what i have to do... i still firmly believe weight loss is 80% inthe kitchen and only 20% exercise, but like the rest of you i am struggling with doing well for most of the day then going to hell in a handbasket - even my signs aren't helping right now...
i am still improving on the more movement and yes as Vail said, im still just doing fun stuff.. i don't torture myself with stuff i hate right now like the treadmill... the home video silver sneakers episodes are fun, and low impact but i can feel em. I am getting in my lake walks but those are def more mental health walks rather than exercise - but that makes them just as important for my overall health imo.. and it counts and for me the important thing is just making sure every single day i get in something more than the walk... movement wise. But i also need to stop stuffing my face. I think perhaps I've been "winging" my meals too much; not enough planning and so i end up grabbing stuff last minute. So i am going to have to shelve the frustration, make a plan for May and commit to getting what i want. That committment part is what's been missing actually - i realize that as i wrote it. Hmmmm. ok... maybe that's the direction i need to go in.. focus more on committing to getting what i want...
Gail - i admit i kinda loved a female broke the machine.. but scared me reading about it... holy cow! i hope the equipment is well maintained and checked daily by someone if you guys are using it!!
Suzy - how are things going with the decision about independent living for your folks? did you get to take them around to the place? any idea if they may consider it yet?
Vail - i read an article just this morning that was talking about 10 ways to incorportate fitness for us older folks.. and it reinforced that its all about doing things you enjoy that make you move - gardening, hiking, dancing around the house with the tunes cranked, cycling, etc.. Especially if you are not feeling 100% i think its great to focus on bits you can and want to do ... are you still planning the garden ?? one of my friends decided to start one in her backyard this year - i already called dibs on any excess she ends up with lol. If you have any websites or videos for fun exercise stuff (altho i'm liking the dance ish ones its getting a bit boring too lol) please let me know?
Its just a few days away til the start of a new month - maybe we can all figure out for each of us what will kick us out of this current wave of "stuck" to move forward and kickstart things for May ?
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YES , I agree!0
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Vail, that's exactly how I take my vitamins and supplements..... I can't seem to remember to take them regularly , or I am too full to drink a glass of water with them. Guess we never have to worry about overload..
Snoozie, I agree with the 80 % / 20 % That's exactly why I am gaining...all the exercise in the world will not work against my bad eating in the afternoons. I may need to do as Suzy said and go to bed early. : ) I may have to get G-baby and I to cut on some loud music and jump around like a idiot....lol me, not her, for 5 years old , she's got some fierce moves...too fierce!! lol
Suzy , I hope all is working out with finding the parents a better place of living that works for all of you. It's such a hard time in life for all sides. best wishes2 -
Good morning ladies,
Yes, I am right there that is definitely my moves at the gym lol
I am 12 lbs over my last recorded weight, but it still is better than where I was last week.
I had back pain last week so I was taking naprosyn and ibuprofen whatever I could get my hands on but thank God I am a lot better today hope to make it to my dance class Tues.
Everyone have a great week.
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Glad you're better, Milove. It's so miserable being in pain.
Snoozie, yes, I'm still trying to grow veg - I have some radishes coming up, already. Also a lot of weeds (why do the weeds grow so much better?). I have some other things planted, and had the presence of mind to put in some markers to show what's where. It's going to be experimental this year to see what likes growing in my garden and can survive the various predators.1 -
Hi all! Off from work today to get a prevention health screening done this afternoon. They check for Peripheral Arterial Disease, Atrial Fibrillation,Carotid Artery Screening , and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm...along with the regular fasting blood work tests. It is a traveling road show of sorts, they set up in rural areas and check out us old folks(just kidding) ......I'm not old, hubby may be. lol
He's a bit sick today, not sure why, but he is always feeling not great. He never took care of himself in his past years and he's to far gone now to try and change. I can't get him to drink water. He lives on coffee and cokes...literally, no water in its pure form. No doctor visits except for his psoriasis meds....and the occasional severe cold or flu. Guess I'll just have to keep nagging him about it all, since he says I am so good at it...Ha
Milove, sorry to hear you have been having back issues again. Dance class sounds fun! Aren't you enjoying these cool spells!! I know I am. Cause you know it is coming...HOT with a side of HOTTER!! not to mention the H>U>M>D>I>T>Y!!! ugh!!
Vailara, I wish I could set up a mini garden. I would love some fresh cucumbers , tomatoes, squash....mmmm...
We grew some fabulous tomatoes one year when we first got married ; left home one day came back that afternoon and they were almost eaten up by those worms, the whole leafy green stalks!!
Snoozie, the machines are probably not reg. maintained, and we got them from another plant , so no telling their age... I was so stunned to see the bottom foot part just fall to the floor!! would have made a great video. : )
Suzy, Hope things are great with you and yours.
I actually show a drop in weight , but not enough to catch up to my ticker weight loss, maybe three lbs... and I'll be there.
I have moved from the weight room ...(blushing) since I broke my only machine in there that I use... 2 or 3 times a week I have been going to the other workout room with the stair master, elliptical, treadmill, and bike, I do an hour on the treadmill, 15 on the bike, and 3-5 on the other 2 machines....Stairs and elliptical are HARD!! so I think it is a win if I can do 5minutes.... : )
I have been doing better with the sugar demon, and taking sliced lunch meat , cheese, tomatoes, romaine ....and making breadless wraps for lunch...quite tasty in fact...going to try and keep it up at least 3 or 4 days a week.
It helps my pocket book also. I actually had 4 $$ left from last week, imagine that!
Gotta go put on a face to get my tests done.
Have a lovely week everyone!
Shout outs to Susan , Carol, and anyone else I missed!!
G1 -
Good luck with the tests! It's great that you can get those done.
I remember one of the trainers at the gym telling me that the stairmaster was the best machine there. It is definitely hard. I used to go and start off thinking it was easy, as I don't have any problem getting up a flight of stairs. But after a few flights it starts getting really hard! I suppose you are lifting your bodyweight over and over again! I've sometimes gone to the gym and felt I've had a work out just from using the stairmaster.2 -
Good morning ladies,
I am resigning from the tap dancing for now, the back flared up again, and I started having palpitations. Ah
So as hard as it is, I stopped caffeine, no coffee no Lipton tea (I was hooked on it) and for now I have also given up the wine for three days now. Well, I am drinking lots of water, and so far no palpitations.
Gail I wish you well with your prevention health screening.
Good for you Suzy a drop in the weight is always good.
Vailara, I hate doing the stairs-master and yes it is difficult.
Snoozie, I agree to create healthy habits not restrictions. I will be adding my wine back into my intake. I am just taking a break for now just to see what is going on with the palpitations and I also have a doctor visit with my cardiologist next Friday with blood work.2 -
Speaking of stairmasters and what not... Since I live in a 22 storey building I'm thinking perhaps I should try the "KISS" method and give this a go!!
Start climbing, ladies.
Stairs are your new best friend, especially if you’re a postmenopausal woman.
A new study published today by the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) shows that stair climbing not only lowers blood pressure but also builds leg strength.
That’s especially important for postmenopausal women with estrogen deficiencies who are more susceptible to vascular and muscle problems.
It’s important to identify the right form of exercise to achieve the desired benefits without creating additional health problems for older women, suggests NAMS.
High-intensity resistance training, for example, can be effective for reducing age-related loss of muscle strength in postmenopausal women.
The problem is that it can also increase blood pressure in middle-aged adults with prehypertension or hypertension.
This risk can be offset by combining aerobic and resistance training, but that usually means gym memberships and making public appearances in lycra.
Or, as NAMS puts it, ‘real and perceived barriers include lack of time, money, nearby fitness facilities, poor weather, and a sense of embarrassment.”
But the good news is that stair climbing, in contrast, offers the benefits of aerobic and resistance exercise for improving cardiorespiratory fitness and leg muscle strength in postmenopausal women without their having to leave home or pay a fee.
Even better, it offers the additional benefits of fat loss, improved lipid profiles, and reduced risk of osteoporosis.
Before this study, stair climbing had not been evaluated for its effects on blood pressure and arterial stiffness, which is a thickening and stiffening of the artery wall.
The study participants were Korean postmenopausal women who trained four days a week, climbing 192 steps two to five times a day. The results showed that stair climbing led to reductions in arterial stiffness and blood pressure and increases in leg strength in hypertensive postmenopausal women.
“This study demonstrates how simple lifestyle interventions such as stair climbing can be effective in preventing or reducing the negative effects of menopause and age on the vascular system and leg muscles of postmenopausal women with hypertension,” said Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, NAMS executive director.
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Hi all!!
Milove- so sorry to hear you had to give up the tap dancing and the reasons for it!! I can totally relate to the back pain... i have and would pop any muscle rleaxant and/or painkiller i've had in the house too... Hoping you are feeling 100% again soon!
Gail - i can't believe those tests they offered at the prevention health screening - did you get them all done? wowsa girl! Let us know ?
Vail - hows the garden coming??
Suzy - hope all is well in your world - any word on if your parents would consider the assisted living place yet?
I can't hit the lake this morning; the marathon is on and all the streets around me and the lake are closed off and the rain is scheduled to hit later this aft so i'm going to walk to the coffee shop and grab and coffee and then just wander the streeets lol I bought new sneakers finally so might be good to try to break them in...
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Hi everyone! I’ve been reading but not commenting because I’ve been in San Antonio visiting my family for my great nephew’s second birthday! He’s adorable but you couldn’t pay me to be raising a little one now! Whew! He wears me out!
Milove, I’m sorry to hear about your recent issues. Hopefully you’ll be able to get back to the tap dancing one day soon!
Gail, keep us posted!!
I worked up to 25 minutes at level two on the stair master before I went on my trip. It definitely is pretty brutal. My goal is one hour at level three by September. My weight is much higher than I had hoped for by this time. I want to get to my goal weight but I have physical activity goals that I’m more concerned with right now. I need to be ready for the Grand Canyon by the end of September (we’ve sent in our request and we’ll know by middle of May if we get the permit).
My parents are refusing to put down the deposit and get on the waiting list for the independent living community. I’m completely frustrated and trying not to get resentful. Mom has gotten worse since going home. Ugh. I’m just tired of it.
I go back home tomorrow and I’m sure I’ve gained a few pounds. Oh well....I’ll deal with it later.0
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