40+ Club: Spring Fitness Challenge

alf1163

Good morning my friends!!!! I did Cathe's video this morning (butts and guts) (Stiring, let me know when you want it back)...bright and early. Just ate my yummy oatmeal, actually this time is steel cut oats and I am adding a tbsp of flaxseed, whole. Yummy!!!!!! Have tons of things to do today...confession time, remember when I said I had been bingeing (correct spelling?) on dry cereal? well, have not done that in a while, over a month or so...but I have replaced it with nuts especially roasted peanuts, not good!!!!! HELP!!!!! I did not weigh in this morning, I feel good, clothes are fitting well, so I dont want to be dissapointed by the scale and with the nuts binge, forget it!!!! :noway: :laugh:

Tex, the weather is fantastic isnt it? I am loving it!! I am going to have to pay more attention to the bluebonnets, they are so pretty. Where do you get the frozen bread dough? Is it healthier than the bread sold in stores, even the "healthy" ones? That is too funny about your neighbors...:laugh: bad girl!!!! I love doing planks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of my favorite abs exercises. I can hold it pretty long. They are tough but so effective.

JPrice, bumpity bump to you too!!!! :laugh: Introduce yourself!!!! C'mon and join us.

Niknik, most foods at fast food places are very high in calories and very high in sodium!!!!!!!!!!!! It is horrendous!!! I try to stay away from them as much as I can. It is a real eye opener when you look up the calorie information, thank God most restaurants list them now so it is easier to choose what is best. But as Tex said, even in fine restaurants the sodium and calories are very high...as long as we dont eat out often that is fine. Regarding loose skin, unfortunately the older we get the less collagen the skin has and will tend to sag...I have some in my lower abs but it is not noticeable when I am standing straight. I think muscle building might be able to help to some point...

And speaking of skin, has anyone with stretch marks tried something that worked? Mine are old, from childbirth (second child), they are white now and with my tanned skin they are noticeable at least to me. Thank God they are only on my lower abs, under bellybutton, but when I wear the bikinis they are noticeable. Would like to make them less visible, repair some of that damage. I bought strivectin but not sure if it is working. I have also tried bio oil, didnt work...I've heard Retin A is good for that but it has to be prescribed.

Sing????????????????????????????????????

Have a great Friday!!!!! :flowerforyou:

Robin1117

Hi Everyone! Happy Friday!

Tex--I'm so wishing I could see what you are seeing right now. The spring blooming sounds incredible! And I just opened up that website to check it out. We have a few signs of spring but definitely they are more subtle ones. Here goes: 1 saw 1 bluebird. Lots of Red Winged Blackbirds and Robins. 3 Raccoons hung out in a tree outside of my kitchen all day long last week (not sure of the motivation there, but it was a first for me to see). Snowdrops blooming. A few daffodil and lilies popping out from under the snow. And that would be it. Even though it's still 20 degrees and a sheath of while is on the ground, I know spring is in the air!

Alf--so glad you are doing well!! I'm sure your nut binging will not be a problem. When I binge it's usually on something like that too....it's not hard to eat a ton of calories because the serving size is so small unfortunately.

Niknik--ok, so I'm a little biased on this subject because I never eat fast food--but yes, run away from those fast! Cooking things for yourself, even if they are comparable to what you are eating out, are going to be so much better for you because you won't have all the sodium and questionable "fillings" fast food places put in the food. It's great though--learning how high in calories something is really makes you learn about making choices. I always actually enjoy logging in my splurge dinners because I can really think about it--oh wow, so that Pecan Pie was 500 calories...was it worth it or not? And if it is, I may order it again...maybe not every week but sometime in the future, but if it wasn't, I can make a better choice. I find Cooking Light is a good magazine for simple and quick ideas on lightening good foods but not eliminating them. Great job on the exercising! And, I'm on maintenance but still think the tummy is an issue--I have been doing planks and exercises to try to tone it up a bit and think they are working. And bread when you make it really depends--I would say from 105 calories up to 150, but there are some that are higher. I try to stay in the 130 range and limit it to just a slice a day, or 2 at the very most.

Now that it's spring, or at least about to be spring, does anyone have any plans for mixing up the exercise routine a bit? Just looking for a little inspiration. In a few weeks we will be able to get out in the woods again--I'm so psyched about that---the beginning of mushroom and wild leek (ramp) foraging. I'm not sure if I can use these hikes/rambles to replace any exercise because I'm not sure my heart rate will be up high enough with all the stops and starts...but I may wear my HRM and test it on the first day out and see because this will be the first year I will have time to more of this during the week since my son is finally in school for longer than 2 1/2 hrs!

Anyway, enjoyed reading everyone's posts this week--have a great weekend! Robin

JPriceGA

alf1163 - Thanks for the note and invitation to join! I've been looking for an active thread to become involved with. I can use some friends and ongoing support :-) I'm happy to be supportive as well.

I haven't had a chance to go back and read up on the thread yet.

I'm 48 and have been off and on MFP for a while. I think I have the site's slowest record for losing weight, but generally since 2007 I've slowly been loosing - some before coming to MFP, most since then. During that time I've taught myself to swim and I jog very slowly. You can see my "track record" in my signature file. I want to finish a sprint triathalon this year, so I've started cycle(spin) classes at the gym. I've only been in 5 classes over the past two weeks, but I'm really enjoying them. It took me a while to build up practicing on the bikes when no one was in there to get up to an hour on my own.

This time last year, I hit my lowest wt since my highest adult weight. I stayed there most of the spring, gained a bit then hit that weight again in July, but between an injury in October and January I gained back everything I lost in 2010 - which really was disheartening! But I'm back on track (I'd stopped logging food and with no exercise didn't realize I'd gained so much!) - and have made the committment to myself to log on every day for 180 days and track all my food. So I'm somewhere around 65 days of consistent logging in and am back within 3 or 4 lbs of my lowest. I really want to break through that barrier and continue to the second half of my wt loss goal. This hanging just above half-way has gotten really old!

My doc wanted me to loose 40 lbs between October and May... It's not looking like that's going to happen... but I don't want to check in with her at this wt - I really want to be down. So, I'm working on it! I sure would love to find that magical combination of exercise/eating right that would keep me at a steady loosing pace!

Right now my plan is 1200 net calories a day. I use a hrm when I exercise now. I have a 5 mile minimum walk/run goal each week and a 5 hour minimum total exercise time goal each week. I've hit those goals every week but one (I barely missed the time goal one week) since January.

So that's where I am... I really want to be a successful looser instead of a short, fat, grey-haired lady ;-)

StiringWendel

JPriceGA, what a great post! Welcome!! I think it is wonderful that you've stuck with your plans through the ups and downs. We all have those, and the real key is to get back on track when you can. And it sounds like you've done exactly that! I think your fitness goals are very reasonable. 40 pounds between October and May would be an incredible achievement (I think that's about a 1lb a week average if I'm not counting wrong). I wouldn't beat yourself up if you don't achieve that because that means having nearly perfect weeks every week....and who has that? It really looks to me like you are doing everything right.

niknik, I can only agree with everybody else when it comes to fast food. Just avoid it. If it is the only option, then it's the only option. But it rarely is the ONLY option. There is just so much bad stuff in it, it really isn't worth it for your health (and that has nothing to do with weight loss at all....just for your health alone it is worth avoiding). I haven't eaten fast food in years and don't miss it a bit. Regarding the loose skin, as alf indicated, we just have less collagen in our skin as we age. Now some people will lose that 'sag' or loose skin over time, regardless of age. But that has to do with genetics, how quickly the weight was gained, etc. You can try various lotions and such, but, at the end of the day, it probably is something that will either go away on its own or something that you're going to live with. I got quite a bit of saggy skin when I lost my weight, but, thankfully, much of it has gone away now....so there is hope!

alf, I've never tried to do anything about my stretch marks. I've had them since I hit puberty :blushing: , and I'm so used to them, I forget they are there! I know....I'm no help at all. Regarding the nut addiction, I don't think it is too much of a problem as long as they are dry roasted and not covered in salt. Yes, the calories are high (and there are nuts out there with more nutritional value than the peanut), but they aren't unhealthy at all (again, as long as they aren't roasted in oil/covered in salt). I don't know if this means you are going way over on your calories, which is another issue. But if you are eating them post-Zumba (as you indicated earlier), I think it is a great post-workout snack. Of course, I've become addicted to nuts in the past year or so, so maybe I'm not the one to be giving advice on this.

Robin, my husband and I have tossed around the idea of training for a half-marathon now that the weather is nicer, but I'm not sure we're going to get a chance to do that (he travels nearly every week right now, so it is tough). But I definitely plan on getting outside more, even if it is just for walks. I'm not a big outdoor exercisers (because that means working out in front of people, and I don't like that too much ), so my workout routine varies from season to season only in what body parts I like to target. Right now, I'm trying to work on my arms with P90X so I look good in my tank tops this summer. I will also start trying to focus more on my legs, but they only lean out with the cleanest of diets so exercise isn't really the key there. Wish I could provide more inspiration. I can always recommend more DVDs. :laugh:

TxMs, my husband has turned into a complete couch potato since we moved to DC, but he can still do things strength-wise (and I consider a plank a strengh move) that I can't. Frustrates me to no end.....so you're not alone. He's always been able to handle planks better than me. :grumble: I want to move to Texas!!! They're calling for snow on Sunday. :sad: Oh, well. The flowers are beginning to come out and there are buds on the trees so spring is really just around the corner.

Friday check-in for me.....it has been a good week. It was a recovery week from P90X and I focused more on cardio, which was good. I felt I was losing some of my cardio capacity, but a few Insanity workouts and I feel right back where I was. My clothes are fitting better. My eating has been clean. So all is well here.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

JPriceGA

StiringWendel - thanks for your kind words. I see you're one of the BeachBody folks! Good luck with those workouts - I tried Hip Hop Abs, but it gave me back problems, then slim in 6, but at the time I wasn't strong enough to get through Ramp It Up... I probably could now. It's been quite a while since I've used DVDs - I work from home so having the people interaction at the gym is helpful for staying sane.

niknik43

Welcome JPrice! This is the best group evah!

Weigh in day...the scale said an even 223 so that means I'm down another 1.6 this week. Yeeeeehaw! All in all, it's been a pretty good week. There were a couple of days when I simply let myself get too hungry (plus PMS) and then I made a bad choice for a meal. I stayed within my calorie range but didn't feel good about what I ate. So, all in all, I'm happy with a 1.6 pound loss. The jiggle-lier fat is peculiar to me. I'm exercising (yes, I'm doing lots of ab and core work and even tried the plank but I have to cheat and do it on my knees...someday I'll be able to do it the "real" way... ) and eating right and I guess I was thinking the fat would just firm up. I know I'm firming up underneath, tho, because I can feel it. I'm feeling impatient and excited because, for the first time during my journey (and in my life), I can really see a visible difference.

Stiring and Robin: I know fast food is my enemy but I thought I was making good choices at Burger King by eating a chicken tendergrill. It has only 410 calories (without mayo) and I figured that because it was grilled and a chicken breast that it would be good for me. What the HECK are they injecting it with to make the sodium content 1,100?!!!!!! And WHY?!!!!!! :noway: Lesson learned. What a strange metamorphosis...4 months ago I wouldn't have given a fleeting thought as to the sodium content. I like being more aware. It feels good.

Here's to everyone having a warm, wonderful weekend! :drinker:

KimKelly65

Hi Everyone!

NikNik- WTG! Congrats on your weight loss. Sodium is in everything and I am having trouble keeping my diet within the 2500 allowance. I do eat out at least twice a week, but try to find places that have real chicken breast sandwiches (corner cafe) or salad with dressing on the side and grilled chicken or fish baked or broiled. Its not easy finding healthy choices, but with the long hours I work its hard to have to come home and cook at 6:30, make lunches for the kids, get my things ready for work the next day, and get in bed by 9:30. I need to find a healthy balance...but alas Im a work in progress. :happy:

Texas - Sounds absolutely beautiful in Texas. Calling for snow here in Ohio, not alot but some. :grumble: So ready for warmer weather. In my yoga workout routine I do planks...they aren't easy but they are great for your core strength.

I had a good week food wise (except my sodium was high two days)...its weigh in this morning...Im procrastinating. Will post results later!

Everyone have a great weekend. Enjoy the warm weather down south and try and stay warm up north!

Okay so I weighed in...down 0.5 lbs. YAY!! :happy: Total lost = 21 lbs.
Goal next week = Sodium under 2500 daily!!

Victorious_One

Hi there, everyone!

LadyPersia & Tex--you all are inspiring me to try some planting this year. We live in a condo, so it's not like we have a yard, but we do have a little strip out in front that could use some colorful attention. I've also seen commercials for growing your own vegetables upside down on your porch or in your house. I may try that.

Alf--Did I miss it? How did your PT eval of your hip go?

KimKelly--congrats on your mini marathon and your weight loss! WTG!

---

Anyone know of the best kind of bike to get? My hubby is inspired to get us some bikes to ride this spring/summer. He is 300 lbs+, so we need something sturdy for him. I'm hoping to use my bike to do the Tour de Pink fundraiser for the Young Survival Coalition: http://www.ysctourdepink.org/site/TR/TourdePink/TourdePink-EastCoast?fr_id=1170&pg=entry. It's only 61 miles :noway: , I'm sure I can do it.

StiringWendel

Victorious_One, I'm hoping singfree pops in sometime (I miss you, singfree!) because he probably could answer your question about bikes. He is an avid rider. How's that water drinking going? I hope you're doing well.

KimKelly, congratulations on your weight loss this week!

niknik, the problem with fast food is really what they put into the food (like the sodium). They do that for preservation and taste purposes. The problem with most fast food is that it is actually prepared (not cooked, but seasoned and such) in some big plant and then shipped throughout the country to ensure a consistent taste at every restaurant you may stop at from Fairbanks Alaska to Miami Florida. While that's a great selling point for the chains (consistency), it isn't really great for health.

That being said, if you want to eat at the restaurants, it's okay every once in awhile as long as you're making the best choices possible. The thing with sodium is that it IS a transient mineral, so it will leave your body at some time (it's better if you drink alot of water and such). It is bad for you if you have high blood pressure, but aside from that, it isn't a deal stopper in weight loss since it is transient. But it can also frustrate a person because, obviously, it can make you retain more water than you need to be retaining. For me, my problem with fast food really comes from the many preservatives (including sodium) in the food, the oils used, etc. I also like to watch my sodium levels because of concerns about high blood presssure (which I don't have, but I also don't want). I've read a few books on the subject ('Fast Food Nation' and 'The End to Overeating' are some great books) and have stayed away from fast food since. Of course, 'Super Size Me' is another one that is good.

niknik, is the 'jiggle-lier fat' actually fat or is it loose skin? The way you described it earlier, I thought it was skin, not fat. If it is skin, like some of us mentioned yesterday, it may be hard to do much about. Based on your incredible weight loss so far, I suspect that's what it is and not fat. Don't be frustrated by it! Instead, celebrate it because it IS a GREAT sign of the changes you are making in your body. Congrats on your weight loss this week!!

LadyPersia

Good monring from very cold NEPA 18 degrees.

I have pots all over my kitchen with seed screaming to get in the ground...not.....

Alf- I love bread machines...so much easier to control what goes in.

Sing...Hope all is well...

Zebras and Robin welcome back

Texssip Send some bread my way....Glad Lady Bird did such a awesome thing. I have lots of family in Texas. They always send pictures in the bonnets

Jprice Welcome... My doc told me I need to lose more weight also. We can do it!

Stiring..warm weather please:)

Ready to kick it up a notch. Share your warmth.

Have an awesome weekend

niknik43

Texssip: I've never been to TX but I've heard it's beautiful this time of year. My husband travels for work down there and ends up in El Paso quite a bit. He calls me to make me jealous because it will be 83 degrees down there and we're still wearing our winter clothes! His family hails from Childress, TX, and mine is from Tyler. My great aunt (Mildred) used to own the Shamburger Rose Gardens. We have lots of pictures but, alas, I've never seen it with my own eyes.

KimKelly: I'm right there with you on the sodium. I've been really paying attention to my daily totals and one day I had an almost perfect day...except for the sodium. That was when I investigated what I ate that day and realized that my favorite little chicken sandwich was so dang high! I do love salt, tho...:ohwell:

Stiring: Golly, yes, I watched Super Size Me a few years ago. It was definitely an eye opener. I see what you're saying about injecting all their food so it's consistent throughout the world. But, dang, can't we just leave the chicken breast alone?! Isn't it pretty near perfect how it is?! Oh well. Regarding my body transformation: I have to say first that I have NEVER EVER lost this much weight before. I've tried many, many times and lost 5 or 7 or 12 pounds but then I quit and gained it back plus some. So this body stuff is all new to me. It is like skin but it's fat, too. It just feels more jiggly than it used to. I'm thinking that it's because I'm getting firmer in my muscle tissue and so that's "hardening" up and my fat/skin is just kind of "hanging" off of it now. I don't know. I can see places on my abdomen where it's more ripply and hollowing out. It doesn't look very nice but I can tell you in all honesty that I get EXCITED when I see the change because...well...it's a CHANGE. I KNOW that things are happening. :bigsmile:

Side note about the sodium: I stopped eating my BK Tendergrill sandwiches 3 days ago. Yesterday I was down 1.6 for the week and today I'm down another 1.4. I've been peeing like a mad woman the last two days so I know it's water weight. I just thought it was very interesting that NOT eating that sodium every day made such a difference. I'm convinced.

Victorious_One

Happy Sunday, everyone! If anyone knows about bikes, please chime in. I'm really trying to get us all off the couch.:bigsmile:

Stiring, my water intake is a bit better. Lemon juice and making it ice cold helps a lot. I also make sure I drink as much as possible with my two fist-fulls of vitamins every day. I do about 20 oz of water a day now. It's hard for me not to feel water-logged because I drink 72 oz in protein shake per day, plus all the fluid from my IV. I don't count it as liquid because it has a lot of coffee in it. Weight Watchers says that counting coffee toward your 8 oz of fluid is OK, but I dunno. I'd like to get it at least 4 glasses of pure water per day with drinking the shakes.

Today, I'm going to walk with the dog. We took a short trek down the street to grab some doggie doo bags (about a 10 min walk), and it was very refreshing in the freezing cold. The sun is out, so once it warms up a bit we'll go out for longer. I also hope to get some calories burned by doing some housework around here. It's starting to look a bit unloved. We're not going to church today, as my hubby has a cold and I'm sure the congregation appreciates him keeping his germs to himself. :laugh:

Have a great day, everyone!

altushe

Happy Sunday!

Well, finally some good news on the health front. The iron pills seem to be working as my latest blood tests show that my red blood cell counts, etc. have stabilized and some of the other blood tests have improved. As a result…no more edema!! I am "knocking on wood" as I write, but it's been a whole week now (8 days to be exact!) where I have been able to wear normal shoes, boots, etc. and the water bloat from my legs, ankles and feet is gone. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Only bad news is that the blood loss likely comes from some internal bleeding which seems to have stopped or subsided but they need to find the source, so I am having an endoscopy next week. Hopefully nothing serious.

Well, it pays off that I kept up the good eating/exercise through all of this where in my "past life" may not have done so. It's not like me to take credit (and certainly not "publicly") for achievements, but I feel like it's challenging during maintenance to find non-scale achievements to feel good about.

Sunday weigh-in was a bit alarming both this week and last as I dropped below my low maintenance weight (probably as a result of the edema-related water loss) and am a little too skinny. Although I have not really changed my eating at all. Just a tad worried since they are still testing and hoping this isn't a sign that there is a bigger problem. Will have to up my calories a bit this week and see how things go. Still haven't gotten comfortable with maintenance so every time I increase calories I get nervous that lots of pounds will suddenly appear. How long will this take to be a normal lifestyle?

It is definitely still winter here and while the birds are chirping and the calendar thinks it's spring, 28 degrees does not make spring in my book! I am so done with this cold!

Welcome to all the new members!

Victorious, on the bikes, it really depends on what you are planning to use for. We have lots of bike paths in NYC and ride quite a bit. I have a Specialized (which I love and had for a number of years - even after 15+ years with only a couple of tune-ups it's still awesome). I bought my husband a new bike last year for his birthday - a Canon - and he LOVES it. It was recommended at our local bicycle store where all the guys are very knowledgeable about bicycles and avid riders. He is a tough critic so I highly recommend it. Let me know if you are interested in the model number (it was not cheap though). My daughter has a women's XS bicycle (she's 12 but almost as tall a me). Have to check the bike room downstairs, but pretty sure her's is a TREK. Let me know if you need more information or suggest going to a bicycle store with your husband and trying some out. Any good bike store will let you take the models for a ride before you have to buy anything.

Has anyone heard from Sing? It is so not him not to post for so long. Just hope all is ok.

niknik, for m e, the jiggly fat was extra skin (mostly stomach and boobs!) and took a LONG time to go away, but's it's finally gone. I think it takes a while for your body to adjust and for your brain to know this is not just another weight loss roller coaster ride!

Stiring and Robin, hope you're well and I will send you each an email soon!

Working on planning my daughter's birthday party and a surprise 50th for my husband. Between that and a BIG presentation at work, will be a busy week. Will take any maintenance/calorie advice.

Have a good week!!

Jujubie

This 40+ thread seems so friendly and encouraging. I'm looking to expand my support system and would like to join in this group if I may. I have been on myfitnesspal for about two months and am happy with the results so far.

I am privileged to see a personal trainer every week and though I eat well, I have obviously been eating too much and MFP is helping me understand that. Comments on my page really help keep me focused and I like to reciprocate too.

JPriceGA

Welcome JPrice! This is the best group evah!

Weigh in day...the scale said an even 223 so that means I'm down another 1.6 this week. Yeeeeehaw! All in all, it's been a pretty good week.

Congratulations on your weight loss!! Good for you!

Thanks for the welcome - I need the support! :-)

JPriceGA

LadyPersia - Thanks for the welcome! Looks like you've got some serious running going on! With you running over 100 miles a month, I'd think you'd make your doctor happy!

I saw you want to run a marathon - have you run a half yet?

I added up my exercise for the year this week - and I've run 60 miles since January - so I'm eating your dust!

JPriceGA

Regarding the fast food & sodium discussion - I've pretty much stopped going to fast food places all together. I seem to be very sodium sensitive, so I have my goal set at 1500/day.

When I was a young pup I was a McDonald's manager, I was a stockholder for a long time. Now I never darken the door... "Supersize Me" was an amazing source of information, and watching that guy balloon up was scary. I just watched The Informer about ADM "Supermarket to the World" - which was based on a true story and talked about similar corporate control of the world food market. Scary stuff!

I just finished my best exercise week this year - over 8 hours of exercise time.

niknik43

I just finished my best exercise week this year - over 8 hours of exercise time.

Wow...that is impressive! I love how you're working your way up to a marathon. I'd love to run in a marathon (or 1/2) someday. Right now, running is simply too painful because my knees are a little upset at me for being so overweight for so long. Someday, tho. It's one of those long term goals to run in one...just because I can (when I can).

niknik43

This 40+ thread seems so friendly and encouraging. I'm looking to expand my support system and would like to join in this group if I may. I have been on myfitnesspal for about two months and am happy with the results so far.

I have to say that this is the best group I've been in. Everyone checks in almost daily and offers so much support. I've been on other sites (CCC) where it seems the main objective was to tear each other down and point out how nutritionally ignorant, weak, and/or lazy, and other people were. It wasn't for me...

So...welcome! If it's encouragement, positive comments, and support you're looking for, you've found the right place! Good luck to you on your journey!

Jujubie

So...welcome! If it's encouragement, positive comments, and support you're looking for, you've found the right place! Good luck to you on your journey!

Thank you niknik43! Looking forward to giving out as much if not more than what I get.

Thank you JPriceGA for also inviting me to be your friend.

I like this site more and more!