2023: Envision where you want to be: Focus on health, energy, vitality!
Options
Replies
-
Oh, the shower is April 16. Planning is going well.1
-
Thanks Suzy.. its a little weird feeling to be honest... (a good one but weird lol).. for 10 years i have been on a specific journey focused on losing weight, and while its still part of it, my journey seems to have jogged to the left (or right) a bit more towards healthier eating habits. I can't honestly say it had anything to do with the T2 meds; it was more since that terrible gut issue that hit me, I discovered had to eat a lot more veggies and drink a lot more water just to keep the innards going so to speak.. that gut thing scared me so much i really started pushing a lot more veggie and fruit and less crap.. frankly the T2 never occurred to me.. thank god when i was at my endo (who looks after my diabetes and thyroid) and i was going over how i was feeling while she was looking at my last test results, i mentioned i was still having the nausea a few time a week and woofing in the morning.. it has become less frequent sometimes only once a week or so and i just put it down to still part of the gut stuff. But im glad i mentioned it as she immediately said it could be the metformin.. with the drastic weight loss and loss of body fat along with, it weirdly helped lower my blood sugars. I've been on metformin for years so it never occurred to me.. but anyway thats why she wanted me to go without it for the 2 weeks and test a lot.. i guess i'm just not used to doctors actually considering taking AWAY meds .. it seems they put us on it and then just leave us there most times... then she checked the thyroid tests and they seem to be holding as well.. so i am to drop that one as well...
anyway i promise to stop yapping on about it after this.... its just weird... remember when we all started here... we made small baby steps changes to our old ways..i still remember i used to take my coffee with 2 creams and 3 sugars.. and i went to 1.5 cream and 2.5 sugar LOL... i think it took me about 6 months til I got to one cream and one sugar which is where i stayed.... and just the thought now of 2 creams and 3 sugars in a coffee makes me gag NOW LOL.. and that's kinda what i've been doing over the past six months or so... my plate is mostly veggies and a little protein for dinner; breakfast and lunches are usually a sandwich and fruit or eggs or oatmeal or whatever.. but now its almost habit to load up with veg .. thank god for frozen as i just toss a little of everything in one pot or the micro as i'm still really lazy... i do still peel carrots all by myself tho... ha!!
ok i'm really done.
So.. im so happy you enjoyed the murder mystery.. and the kiddie play sounds awesome!! i love that she was enthralled and so smart to keep it short and at the attention span appropriate for little ones! That's so cool you are building memories with her she will have forever!! April 16.. thats about 3 weeks away which sounds like a lot but when you're the one planning it you know it's gonna fly by! I know it will be awesome and your daughter will love it..
are you prepared to be grandma to 2 LOL... I say that jokingly .. my friend went to her daughters yesterday to babysit her 2 grandsons.. one is 6 and the other about a year and a half so the parents could go to a wedding and stay over... i texted her this afternoon to see how it went and she said it was great she had a good time .. but was some glad to be home to the quiet and for a nap LOLOL..
I got a note from Gail (Time2loseweight) on my profile yesterday... she said she can't find the group anymore so i sent her the link in a msg so if you're reading this Gail.. hi hi hi lol
Vail i meant to ask how often does that gardening group get together?? i keep telling myself to get out and get my tomatos and carrots started here at home... but the other part of me says its too early yet...
0 -
I’m not sure I’m ready for two little bundles of endless energy. Luckily, the newborn will just lie there for a bit and then ease me into it as he gets more mobile. Lol.
More power to you two on the gardening. It’s just not my thing. It’s criminal how badly I kill green things.
Hi Gail, if you’re reading this!!!0 -
Hi Gail! How are you doing? I hope you managed to find us again! I think it's more difficult to find threads with the new system.
The murder mystery and theatre trip sound fun. It's great that it was such an ideal first theatre trip for a little one! It's such a magical experience.
My garden group meets once a month. I think it's a bit above my level though. I'm still at a very basic level after all these years, and when I've got into gardening I've tended to go for growing veg so am still quite clueless about the rest of it. I'm always killing plants too, Suzy! I'm really bad at it, but I do have a garden and think it would be nice to make something of it. I avoid it in the summer due to hay fever, so I'm thinking I could look at hypoallergenic planting, if that's a thing. When I say I have a garden, it's probably what you would call a small yard, just a little patch of lawn and some borders. But that's good because I don't think I could be bothered with the work of a bigger garden.1 -
So….yesterday was pretty humbling. We have friends visiting this coming weekend. They’re a bit younger than us. We’re planning to go hiking one day and winery hopping the next. I thought we should do a trial run of the (very aggressive) hike my husband wants to take them on. I haven’t been routinely hiking in probably three years. It’s an eight mile hike with a 1600 foot elevation gain in four miles. Way too ambitious for my first hike in a very long time. I made it about halfway up the mountain and said, “nope!” I was thoroughly exhausted and had to stop so many times on the uphill climb that it was ridiculous. Needless to say, I will not be doing that hike this weekend. Either we’ll pick an easier hike or they’ll go without me. I’m embarrassed but motivated to get back in hiking shape.
Snoozie, you had asked awhile ago about my foot. It’s still an issue. Still feels like I have a rock in my shoe but I found some good insoles for my hiking shoes that made it bearable yesterday.
I’m loving my Ninja cooker! I made salmon the other night and it was so good! I still haven’t made veggies so that’s next.
0 -
I'm thinking maybe the friends might be secretly relieved if you chose a less challenging hike? Maybe somewhere with particularly nice views or something else interesting. Just thinking if I was visiting people, it's more about the social thing, having a chat and catching up rather than a particular physical challenge. I went to visit a friend the other day and we always go for a country walk together, but this time I've been having these hip problems so she had planned two walks of different lengths and asked me which I would like to do. I thought that was very kind of her! (I chose the shorter one, lol! Just because I didn't want to be hobbling half way round). So if you were worried that they might want the harder hike, you could have an easier one planned and give them the choice?
Glad you're enjoying the Ninja! Mine is fantastic for salmon or anything like that. Some things it seems to cook very quickly so you have to watch you don't over cook. It's great for crisping things (like salmon skin). I am cooking whole meals in there, putting things in at different times. I even have done "fried" all day breakfasts as a treat, putting in the sausage first, then adding bacon, mushrooms, tomatos, baked beans and a "fried" egg. (And a frozen hash brown if I'm feeling that way). The only thing I've found is that I can't put in fresh spinach as it just blows around: I just wilt that separately (or sometimes put it under the beans or egg!). I bought a couple of little oven dishes from the Ninja store, that I can put different things in, and also the half basket.
I wish it would broil properly though (I would call it grilling, but I think the correct term is broiling). My old mains gas cooker was great for that and there are dishes like particularly Welsh rarebit or toasted cheese that I can't seem to reproduce in the Ninja. It's a bit of a shame as I particularly chose that Ninja because you can have heat from above as well below, but maybe any electric cooker would be the same and it really needs the actual flames from a gas cooker.
I am still doing the garden, as it seem like there is a huge amount of work in that small space. Still digging things out. There's some woody thing which I can't identify which has spread with runners and sprouts stems everywhere, so I am trying to get that out. Some days I am counting that as my exercise for the day.
Oh, talking of exercise, I have an achievement to share! I have a pullup bar in the door frame, and have been using it every few days just for a minute or so. There is no way I have ever been able to do a pullup, so obviously not doing that but I thought I could do hangs, etc. that are part of pullup progression. So jumping myself up then trying to slow the descent as much as possible. Anyway, the other day I jumped up and managed to stay up with bent arms for about 5 seconds! (Not in a "correct" bent hang position but still!)
2 -
Vail that's totally AWESOME! OMG.. i could honestly never do that.. not now.. not before.. i am TOTALLY impressed!! Major congrats - seriously that's huge!! Well done you! LOL ON counting the root dig and shrubs as exercise.. i guess it is!! Sounds like some serious arm work .. i think those pullups you've been doing are paying off in more ways than one!
Suzy I'm with Vail on perhaps choosing something a little more scenic and less tough.. in that your guests will prolly appreciate it too.. last summer my 2 cousins who are very fit and do a lot of walking.. one is like 3 years older than me.. they took me on a hike thru a trail that was crazy.. i made it like 5 minutes in.. and there was this big incline with only roots and stuff to hold onto.. i said im sorry guys.. i'm going back you go ahead.. i felt terribly guilty but there was no way i could do it.. of course they turned back and were so kind about it but i still felt awful... more than humbled i was embarrassed even tho they couldnt have been nicer... I'm sorry about your foot i was really hoping it had gotten better -im glad you were able to find insoles at least... how about the hand?? has that fully recovered after the surgery?
I know the shower isnt far off now.. hope you're not getting too stressed over the planning.. so glad you're loving your ninja!
I've been doing relatively well sticking to better eating since i was able to ditch the meds.. but there is this weird side of me that says hey i can eat anything now... i've had a few binges on crap so i'm really trying to put on the brake on that, and making myself still test it because if i see the numbers are high - that's like a slap across the face for me.. which is good because i really need to NOT screw this up
We havce a gorgeous week of weather coming up .. it's been a long winter and next week its supposed to get up to 15C (around 60F ?) with sunshine and I can't wait.. i'm still doing 2-3 shifts with the RC every week... we've been extended until the end of May so a few more weeks at least... we never know til the last minute whether its gonna be extended each time so it's always a waiting game..
I definitely have to get out walking more and consistently doing it... and not let myself just stroll along.. i did go to pickleball last week which was nice but holy moly i felt it the next few days .. i can't believe last summer i was playing almost every day! Hopefully i'll get back to that if i pace myself and build up..
Righto.. time for beddy bye lol...
0 -
Vail, digging in the garden definitely counts as physical exercise! Are you kidding me? That’s hard work. I have never had much upper body strength and even less now. Good for you for trying the pull up bar. Baby steps, my friend!
Snoozie, you are not going to screw this up. You have worked way too hard to get off those meds. You will do great!
The baby shower is this Sunday. I think I’m prepared. I’m taking a lot of stuff over tomorrow so I don’t have to transport everything on the day. I made a balloon arch today. That was a first and way more time consuming than I anticipated. Lol.
We ended up hiking a trail that I’ve done recently and it wasn’t too bad. It’s a more moderate incline so it was good. It was a good weekend but the weather on Saturday changed our plans. It was like a blustery winter day for us. Brrrrr.
I can’t remember if I told y’all that my grandson is scheduled to arrive on May 12…unless he has other plans. Lol. I’ve got two projects to complete before that but they’re coming together nicely.
I’m going to start walking two mornings a week with one of the women that I’ve met through the Woman’s Club. We’re starting on Monday.
Have a great weekend!1 -
Oh suzy how cool on the balloon arch.. i don't have a creative bone in my body so i totally admire anyone who does... im sure everyone will have a great time
yay on the easier hike... sorry about the weather tho... we have had an amazing gift here for the past 7 days... like a week of total summer with the temps in the 80's and sunshine every single day... i have been out walking a lot just to feel the sun on my face and i even dug out a pair of shorts to wear! We're back to reality on monday which means cold again lol.. but ya know what? this was such a beautiful week and you can really tell everyone is loving it.. ditching work and school and even smiling at each other ha!
noooooo you didn't give us an actual due date for your grandson.. oh wow thats less than a month away!
assuming of course he sticks to the doc's timetable lol.. how exciting!
yay on the walking... and that you have hooked up with someone from the women's club you joined.. i like walking with one other person as it keeps my pace up.. but i have dsicovered i don't like walking with a big group as there are times i want to go faster and/or slower... or sit on a bench for a few hahaha..
Vail - i'm still floored that you are able to do a pull up.. seriously... i passed a set of monkey bars at a park the other day and thought of you.. i ALMOST went under it to see if i could even hang for a second from the bars let alone pull myself up.. but i was afraid i'd screw up my shoulder so i didnt lol
im kinda dreading having to get my garden ready next month cause i am suddenly remembering having to rake and dig up the whole thing and turn it over, then add the triple mix soil and do it all over again... just the thought of all that physical labour is scaring me lol0 -
holy hell.. i got on the scales today.. i;ve been doing a little stress eating the past few weeks... i thought it was only bits and pieces here and there but the scale this morning told me otherwise.. yikes! think i'll consider it a wake up call tho to get back on track for both the weight but more importantly, eating well so i won't have to go back on any meds... im actually out of junk at the moment anyway... so maybe that's a sign its a good time to give myself a shake and get back to healthy eating!
Vail - i was walking thru the park the other day and saw they set up this outdoor fitness station with a couple of things and a board showing how to use them.. well didnt they have pull up bars!! and i tried one.... i literally could not get my feet off the ground so i am now even MORE impressed than i already was about what you accomplished!!1 -
It’s amazing how quickly just a little bite here and small snack there can add up. What great timing though…no junk in the house is a great starting point! You have the best motivation in staying off the meds. You can do this!
I walked this morning with my club friend! It was so nice to chat with a friend and exercise. The Environment committee was at the park working on the club’s pollinator garden. So we ran into four other women I know now. I’m starting to feel like a member of our little community! I love it! We only walked two miles but it’s a much needed start!
The shower went really well yesterday. It was small but fun. My daughter is completely ready for the little one now. It’s amazing all the gadgets they have for babies these days. Now I’ve got to get ready for our trip to Asheville, North Carolina for our 40th anniversary. We’re going for three days then camping for two nights on the way home. I have to go through all our camping gear and see what we need. It’s been ages since we camped. We’ll do some hiking as well.
1 -
Oh Suzy that's awesome you have found a group you not only enjoy, but is helping you feel part of the community too!! yay!! Two miles is great... i was finding that since i am so out of practice and have lost my endurance, that i can't walk as long anymore without my hips and legs hurting like heck.. so i split it up during the lovely week of nice weather we had.. i did 2 walks a day of 30 min each rather than try to do the one hour and it seemed to be better.... near the end i added 10 min so i managed 2 40 min ones the last day .. then the snow came back lol... im hoping it was mother natures last blast to say goodbye to winter once and for all!
YAY on the shower... lol @ the gadgets.. im guessing they have come a long way since the days of washing cloth diapers by hand!!! and thank god for that!! im so glad the shower went so well too
omg 40 year anniversary??? holy cow thats quite an accomplishment these days... when is the trip??? im afraid my idea of camping these days is someone putting a chocolate on my hotel pillow LOL.. but i know you guys love it so im very happy for you!!0 -
Lol, chocolate on your pillow! We’re going this weekend for three nights in a hotel then followed by two nights in a tent. I put up the tent today and made sure our “luxury” air mattress will fit and stay inflated. Lol. We haven’t camped in so long that I’m having to go through all our stuff to try and remember how to do this.
Great idea on splitting up the walking. I can NOT believe that you got snow! It’s April!!
Didn’t one of you tell me about Leslie Sansone videos online? Someone else recently recommended her routines to me. I guess I’m going to have to check it out. I have not been doing the yoga and stretching that I need to be doing and I can really tell. My body feels so stiff. Something else to work on.0 -
Suzy the Leslie sansone videos are "walking" videos... you basically march on the spot or walk up and down that sort of thing.. i used them during the pandemic when we were in lock down... i much prefer to do my walking outdoors when i can but they are only walk at home ones..
The one i need to get back to are those stretching and strength toning videos i used to really like and i forgot about them til i read your post.. the host is Lauren and she's not at all annoying to listen to lol.. and she gives alternatives for things if you have a prob area like my shoulder, or your foot etc.. i quite like her and i desperately need to stretch more so thanks for jogging my memory..
this is her youtube channel if you're interested.. there's about 30 different videos from 10-30 min on different things
https://www.youtube.com/c/SeniorShapeFitness
hahah on the tent and air mattress... considering how much trouble i have getting up off the floor, i'm thinking i'll stick to my hotel room for now ha. but i hope you guys have a great time.. when do u go?0 -
I’ll check out the stretching videos again. I remember looking at them and then just forgot. I prefer to walk outside but was told that Leslie Sansone has some walking at home videos that are short so if I don’t have an hour or more I could at least do that. We’ll see how I do. Lol.
Our air mattress is one of those that sits kind of high, so at least we won’t be on the ground trying to roll out of bed. I was worried it would be too tall for our tent but I think it’s going to work out. There won’t be any room left for much else though. Lol. We’ll be at an actual campsite with electricity and water and can park our car right outside the tent. So we’re not roughing it too badly. We leave this weekend.
1 -
have a great trip!1
-
Just catching up! Sorry I have been missing in action. I have been unwell for the past week or two. Have a wonderful trip, Suzy! It's years since I've camped and don't think I could do it again. Although having a good mattress would make a huge difference I'm sure! I'm glad the baby shower went well. It's not long now, so exciting!
I did Leslie Sansome right at the beginning of my weight loss "journey" as they call it. I think they would be too low level for you, Suzy, but at the time I was morbidly obese and it was very hot weather, and so it was ideal for me: low impact and just had to literally plod on with it. Also great for if you're stuck indoors as Snoozie said.
I am gradually recovering so my exercise has just been very gentle walking round my garden. I've just been listening to music on Spotify to get a rhythm going and walking round in circles. So frustrating that I think I will have lost all the strength I've built up, but I don't feel well enough for heavier exercise yet. Oh, Snoozie, I didn't actually do a pull-up, just a negative chin-up (I find chin-up position easier, I don't get anywhere with pull-up position). By negative, I mean starting at the top and lowering down, rather than pulling up. The progress is just that instead of falling straight down, I can hang there with my arms bent for a while. So nowhere near a pull-up, but still a lot farther than I've ever been with that sort of exercise.
On the plus side, I've lost some weight with this virus. Not enough to be worried about, just due to lack of appetite when I wasn't well, I think, plus mainly water weight. I'm hoping the appetite doesn't come back with a vengeance, as I would like to use this a kick start to losing a bit more weight! I have been tending to hover just above the healthy weight mark, and it would be lovely to lose a bit more and not keep waking up overweight again, lol. I had been just above (BMI 25 plus) for the last few months, and this little bit of weight loss has dropped me just below.0 -
Vail, I’m so sorry you haven’t been feeling well. It’s depressing to me how long it takes to recover and get our strength back as we get older. Don’t overdo it. Give yourself time to recuperate.
I sometimes try to sit slowly instead of just plopping down on a chair. It’s good for your leg muscles. The other day I was trying to lower myself slowly and my knee just laughed and laughed! Lol. Good thing it was a sturdy chair or else I would have ended up on the ground. There’s no way I could do the reverse pull up. I think I’m more impressed than if you had done a pull up!
I am SO not ready for this trip! I’m going to be busy tomorrow trying to pack and find all our camping gear. Why do I leave everything to the last minute?0 -
Suzy said There’s no way I could do the reverse pull up. I think I’m more impressed than if you had done a pull up!
im totally with her Vail. omg no way could i do the reverse either so major kudos to you! im so sorry you have been ill i hope you are on the mend and your recovery goes as quickly as possible.... i know it may seem like u lost a bit of strength but you were building a solid foundation before u got sick, so once you're fully better and can start increasing the walking by 2-3 min etc you'll find it comes back i am sure! just remember anytime we are sick.. our bodies take a huge hit... so even when it may seem like we are better, im convinced it still takes a while for our poor bodies to heal.. so dont worry about anything right now except full recovery and think of the garden stroll just like like a stepping stone...
LOL Suzy.. im sure by the time youre ready to leave you'll be ready!! i really hope you have a wonderful anniversary trip and happy anniversary to both of you!!0 -
I hope it's all going well, Suzy, and that you're having a wonderful time! Yes, why do we leave everything to last the minute, ha ha! I think it's because, for me, anyway, I'm not sure I'd trust myself if I'd packed to early so would have to check everything again. It's probably actually more efficient to do it all last minute. Plus you have a deadline so work better. I think you'll be in the hotel tonight? Happy Anniversary!
I am now feeling a lot better and have started my usual strength exercises again, including the chin-up exercises. I should have listened to you both as I now have sore chest and shoulder muscles, lol. You can't jump straight back in after a break at our age.
This is one of the videos I've watched for pull ups
https://youtu.be/x3NPAxiMRPw
I don't expect I will ever do a full one (although I do have a dream that I will one day!), but my thinking was that if this is a good all body exercise, then working towards it is also a very good exercise. The exercise she does lying on the floor, for instance, I find suprisingly hard. As I said, I can only do the negatives in chin-up position (palms facing towards you), which involves the biceps a lot more. I suspect I'm relying on a little bit of bicep strength and the rest of my body won't catch up enough, but still. I kind of enjoy the exercise. It feels kind of bad-*kitten*.
Oh, that's so funny. I wrote what must be a bad word and it has been censored into kitten. It's not really a bad word here in the UK. I just experimented to see if I could write the UK word and it accepted it, lol!1
