WOMEN AGES 50+ for April

grabbit97

I am now 2 lbs more than I weighed in last Monday, almost right back where I started, and I have been sticiking to the calories alotted, 1400.... I upped it thinking that I was not losing on the 1200, Been on this for over a month now, and am almost ready to give up and maybe start jenny craig or nutrisystem....comments?
Natalie

simone55

Hello to everyone. I have just joined the website and wanted to say "hello". It's nice to have a group of 50+ers to share with - this is my first time doing something like this and I hope it helps with the weight loss. While everyone generally can have similar weight loss experiences, each age group has it's own unique set of challenges. I have a set a goal of losing 30 pounds by the end of July, which is a bit ambitious for 17 weeks. I have done it a couple of times before, but it seems every time I reach my goal weight, life hands me a major blow (family death, cancer, etc) and the weight slowly creeps up over a few years while I cope. I am determined this time to not let that happen. We cannot avoid the emotional experiences in our life, and when the next one hits me, I need to find a different way to cope than eating to comfort myself.

I am planning on exercising 6 days a week and tracking my calories and calorie burn. I might also join one of the challenge groups here on the website to make myself accountable to someone other than myself. Good lukc to each of you with your progress towards your goals. I look forward to chatting via this site.

lyn54

Happy Saturday to all!:flowerforyou:

Caharleygirl--Welcome..I am glad my explanation helped you. :flowerforyou:

Glendaus-I love music and that is what we do with our friends when we have a "get together." I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do!:flowerforyou:

Mary -:flowerforyou: Your music festival sounds like a fun project. I was really happy to learn that you did musical therapy...wow!
I know swimming must be relaxing.

Welcome- LovesAuburn:flowerforyou: -My hair is just a little darker than yours...is that what your handle refers to ..or something else..if you don't mind my asking?

Amanda-I really hope you are feeling better. :flowerforyou: I nursed my MIL back to health after an open heart surgery..coughing or nausea ..is NOT good. Take care...those babies are so cute!

Vickim-:flowerforyou: You did great with all your excercise...and it is paying off. If I remember correctly, Barbie says moving is what matters. Keep moving and it will come off. I believe her. She wears a pedometer and that inspired me to go buy one. I have been amazed how it motivates you.

Barbie-We miss you here and be safe.:flowerforyou: I am sure you are checking in on us.. Have fun!:happy:

Sally--Wow! :happy: I am impressed..You go, girl!

Lindaj07-:flowerforyou: glad to see you every time you post. I post every day but I like to read how everyone is doing.

Natalie-Hope you had a nice Anniversary.:flowerforyou: .they are something to celebrate. You have already accomplished a great feat. Quitting smoking is not easy.
Natalie don't despair.:noway:

Olbies(taking liberties with words:bigsmile: ) and Newbies have a good weekend!:flowerforyou:

Welcome-Simone!:flowerforyou:

Caharleygirl

Natalie...don't give up!!! I usually find when the scale isn't moving in the right direction even though I"ve been under on my calories that the culprit is too many refined carbs or sugar, could that be your culprit??? Another big culprit for me is water retention. If I eat too much sodium...I can gain 2 or 3 pounds in A DAY. Could that be your culprit??? The older we get, the more sensitive our bodies get, I think. I personally do much better on a low sugar type diet. I can't do Jenny Craig or Nutisystem cause I'm extremely sensitive to food additives & preservatives so I don't know that much about them. Anyway, don't give up...take time to go over your food journals and see if you see anything that could be a problem and work on changing it...let me know if I can help you in anyway :flowerforyou:

lyn54

Ditto...that is my case too.

grabbit97

Take a look at my diary, what am I doing wrong... I am doing 8 glasses of water a day, peeing constantly... last night we had hors de ourves, I ate celery and some eggplant dip (onions, egg plant, olive oil, olives mixture), grapes (8) no dessert when everyone else was eating key lime pie, .... had a salad for dinner... didn't log that stuff, couldn't find it... anyway... today is a new day...
been biking 30 min a day, doing upper body every other day, (can't go much more, bad knees)...
HELP!!!!
Natalie

lindaj07

I am now 2 lbs more than I weighed in last Monday, almost right back where I started, and I have been sticiking to the calories alotted, 1400.... I upped it thinking that I was not losing on the 1200, Been on this for over a month now, and am almost ready to give up and maybe start jenny craig or nutrisystem....comments?
Natalie

n
I'm sure you've heard this before, Natalie but maybe you should ignore the scales for a week or so and concentrate on
a healthy diet? Please don't give up!
I had a 'senior moment this' afternoon! I started well with my diet then met a friend in town for coffee. She brought me a HUGE
chocolate muffin and I ate it! Completely forgot I should be counting my calories!! I had to do more walking in penance for what wasn't exactly 1000 calories but may as well have been for the amount of guilt I was feeling! :noway: :noway: :laugh:
(Costa Triple Chocolate Muffin!) I held my hands up and recorded it! Now I have to make up for it tomorrow too!:laugh:
Have a great day everyone!

jam0525

It is so windy today we are trapped at home. My SUV kept wanting to go it's own way home coming back from town this morning. Everyone is having allergies and sinus problems. It has been so windy for over a week now. We have one door that keeps blowing open on it's own.

Today I get back to exercising after my colonoscopy on Thursday. Yes, I'm glad I did it and very glad it is over. Thanks for all the prodding on taking care of ourselves.

Have a great day everyone and continued success for the weekend.

Jeannie

kackie

Happy Saturday and so happy to see the new faces! WELCOME, Ladies. Look forward to getting to know more about you here!

My parents arrived last night in time for dinner. I haven't seen them since the holidays since we were in MT so long. They amaze me! We got out into my neglected garden and they helped me clear it out, weed and haul debris! I HOPE that I am still doing that in my 80s!!!!! My garden looks SO much better and I have my tomato plants and peppers ready to go in the ground!

So far I have stayed on course...luckily, my Mom didnt bring a cake or cookies. :noway:

have a great evening, everyone. Better go see what the folks are up to....Take care, kackie

SallyCC

Natalie.... I definitely can relate to how you are feeling as I am sure that many of us on this board can. This is a tough battle that we are doing. I do know that if I don't handle this or give up, I can gain 30 pounds in a blink! You are working really hard and I know how frustrated I get when it feels like I would so hard but don't see the numbers on the scale. I think some people (Donna) have really given some good advice and things to look at. ....like sodium levels (I think this is my new awareness), the processed stuff, and what time of day we are eating...so much to consider. I think the other thing I need to remember is that now, at this age, I need to work harder just to maintain. As much as I don't like it, I know its true. There is a book called Younger Next Year (I think) and the author talks about get a moderate level of exercise for 45 minutes a day 5 or 6 days a week just to keep our bodies from "decaying"....not really what I want to hear but I think there is some merit to that idea. I read some of the posts on this board and it helps me to get moving. I can get so side tracked in doing things for others that I "forget" to take care of myself.

Linda.....good for you for logging in the muffin. I really like tracking my food and sometimes it is very hard to enter in all the tough stuff.

BirdieM

Just dropping in with a quick hello as I am at work.

Welcome to all the newcomers! I have a sister Simone! Don't hear that name a lot! Welcome!

Hang in there to anyone having a tough time of it . If we don't keep plugging along, one day at a time, our hips will express the frustrations we're going through:noway: and then we get frustrated even more!:grumble: If today is good...then GREAT!:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: As far as the scales, what I do is get weighed every Wednesday. Because I track every day.....even triple chocolate muffins then I have something to regroup about.Honesty in what we track is the only way to really be able to step back and regroup in a way that can help us. Maybe it IS sodium or maybe we just ate more that we worked off. :ohwell: Whatever is key....will show up when you analize what you are tracking totally and honestly!
Drinking lots of water helps me too, as well as exercise everyday that I can. I aim for everyday and there's always a day that something comes up that throws me off and the exercising gets thrown to the wayside. If I aim for 3 days....I'll probrably do 2. If I aim for 4....I'll probrably do 3. So by trying to fit exercising in everyday, I do 5 days minimum...sometimes 7!.

Also, it's so easy to eat over life going awry.:sad: :explode: I've had some bad days, emotionally and the first thing I think of doing is grabbing a snack.:noway: I'm trying to train myself to do ANYTHING but eat when I'm upset because once I take that first compulsive bite...I'm opening the door for trouble.:frown:

Got to go! Have a great weekend lovely ladies!! We're all in this thing together....no matter what part of the world we're from!!!:laugh:

BirdieM

Gettinfit2

Hello ladies.

I hope everyone is having great weather and enjoying the day. In my neck of the woods, the sun is bright and warmth is in the air.
I am glad to be at the end of the week. I presented at a conference this morning. I'm glad that is over. It went well.

Natalie, I am having the same problem. For the past two weeks the scale moved only half a pound. I thought I was doing fine with my diet and exercise.. I remind myself that if I am making a lifestyle change, then I have to stay focused on healthy food choices and keep moving. I am certain the pounds will move.


Lorri

Gettinfit2

Hello my friends,

What did you think about the American Idol results? Pretty crazy, huh? Pia was not my favorite but I didn’t expect her to go home so early. (I admit to being an American Idol junkie.)

I am a big AI fan, but did not get to watch the show this week. I have on the DVR and may play it back over the weekend. I am not that impressed with the contestants this year Right now my favorite is Stephano.I was a little surprised to see Pia go home. She was one of the best on the show. I miss Simone.

Lorri

grabbit97

I thank you for your input, I keep logging in here, and writing down my food, diary is viewable, if you care to take a look, i'll leave it public for awhile... I seem to be eating all the proper things, had tuna salad for lunch, on one of those 100 cal whole wheat thomas bagels, lettuce on it, about 16 mini baby carrots, one tablespoon ranch dressing, and on pickle (claussen)...
????? Dinner, we are going to Red robin, I will order burger, with lots of tomatos on top, and lettuce, and get steamed veggies instead of fries... drink water...
Beats me...
Natalie

grabbit97

I thank you for your input, I keep logging in here, and writing down my food, diary is viewable, if you care to take a look, i'll leave it public for awhile... I seem to be eating all the proper things, had tuna salad for lunch, on one of those 100 cal whole wheat thomas bagels, lettuce on it, about 16 mini baby carrots, one tablespoon ranch dressing, and on pickle (claussen)...
????? Dinner, we are going to Red robin, I will order burger, with lots of tomatos on top, and lettuce, and get steamed veggies instead of fries... drink water...
Beats me...
Natalie

SueinIllinois

Hi!!!!! I am 56 years old, and have been a yo-yo dieter, for most of my adult life. I don't know which was harder......taking the weight off or keeping it off. Then came menopause......I really need to get healty, this time, for good. A heart health scare, as well as high blood pressure is my new motivating factors.

I look forward to sharing and supporting everyone here!!

Sue in Illinois

grabbit97

Hello ladies.

I hope everyone is having great weather and enjoying the day. In my neck of the woods, the sun is bright and warmth is in the air.
I am glad to be at the end of the week. I presented at a conference this morning. I'm glad that is over. It went well.

Natalie, I am having the same problem. For the past two weeks the scale moved only half a pound. I thought I was doing fine with my diet and exercise.. I remind myself that if I am making a lifestyle change, then I have to stay focused on healthy food choices and keep moving. I am certain the pounds will move.


Lorri
[/quote

This scale has not moved in the right direction at all in a MONTH, yes it dropped 3 pounds, but now this morning up 2 again.. so now only down 1, weigh in I am going to change to WEDNESDAY, and give myself a chance to lose these 2 lbs, wherever they came from.
Thank you for your input...
Natalie

Grandee47

Hi Everyone! :flowerforyou: After a really cold, nasty, rainy day yesterday, today was such a gift. It was sunny and the breeze was minimal so we were able to enjoy the 55 degree high. We went to our meadow where DH fished and treated the pond, and I explored looking for junk for an artist friend who makes sculptures out of junk. Our property was once a stagecoach stop for three major stagecoach lines in the 1800s. The 1840s era house and barn were arsoned back in the 1980s (we've only owned the property for 6 years), but there's all kinds of treasures to be found early in the spring before all the wildflowers and grasses grow. I found some gate hinges, wagon parts and I don't know what the other things are This year I want to start digging to see what pottery, household goods etc that I can find. It's fun! After we got back to the cabin we hiked in the woods. My new pedometer says I clocked 9548 steps today. That makes up for all the sitting in the car yesterday driving up here.

I am catching up on posts from yesterday and today. Here goes! :bigsmile:

Mimi, I am an Idol junkie too! :happy: I was surprised that Pia left. I didn't feel she'd be in the last three, but, like you, I expected her to be around longer. Do you have a favorite? Mine are all guys this year: Casey, James and jacob. I think it's because they're all quirky. I like free spirits.

Happy Anniversary Natalie! :flowerforyou:

Amanda, take care! I think of you so often. I'm sending hugs, gentle hugs! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Mary, busy lady, you are such a role model for us. You still make sure to find time to swim even when you are so busy doing for others. Hat's off to you! :drinker:

Vicki, you can do it......you WILL do it!

Natalie, I don't know your story, but if I can help in any way, send me a message. I was a WW leader for a few years and my favorite part of the job was working with the members to work out problems, plateaus etc. Just got to your next post and I can really understand your frustration. Linda has a good idea. Put away the scale and eat your plainest favorite foods for a week and see what happens. Also eat the least amount of wheat you can get away with. When I dropped most of my wheat, I dropped weight. I am not allergic to it, just intollerant of it. Might work for you.

Linda :bigsmile: I walked all those steps today (9548) and my pedometer says that = 4.52 miles. I am going to put 2 of those toward my total. Okay with you? Thursday I did 1.5 miles bringing it to 6, then 2 today I'm up to 8. Gee, only 37 to go. I can do it. Weather's getting nice so I'll aim for two walks a day at 1.5 miles each. That'll do it....no prob!

Hi Kackie and Lynn! :happy:

I have been on more than one forum and have had an awfully lot of trouble keeping everyone straight. I have decided that I am going to just post here and hopefully really get to know you all. I am almost to maintenance goal.....5 difficult pounds to go..... and I am really loving the support one finds here. Not only do I need it for getting it off, I need support for keeping it off.

WELCOME NEWBIES! :flowerforyou:

DEE

SallyCC

Welcome Dee
This is a great board....I am relatively new here. Enjoy!

msh0530

Welcome to Simone and Sue!

I am home from the music festival. Didn't know how to log it, so I just put in two hours of walking. I'm sure that I did at least that. Now I have to go bake - my women's group has a bake sale at church tomorrow to raise money for the camp. I'm going to make homemade granola bars, chex mix, and a cream cheese bar with splenda. Got to run!

sceck

Hi Everyone,
I'm at a satisfactory weight, but still working on the belly fat. Haven't done well on breakfasts, haven't done well on the water. Keep trying nonetheless. Everyone has their pitfalls; keep trying!! Don't give up, don't beat yourself up.

Birthday: April 22

vickim26

Good evening ladies,
Natalie I did look over your diary like you asked. I see a couple of things. First let me say I am writing this because you asked for help. No criticism just friendly comments.
I only looked a few days but you did go over calories on a few days. First thing I would do is put your calories at whatever fitness pal says you should. Mine is at 1200. also you may want to try for a week to see if it makes a difference. Cut out all processed foods. Eat lean meat grilled or baked and lots of veggies and a couple servings of fruit a day. try to eat your fruit before 2 pm. if you cut out the processed foods I really think you will see a difference. some people can eat anything as long as they stay in calorie level. I have to cut out certain foods or I dont lose. I also have to exercise every day or I wont lose. also make sure your portion sizes are right. sometimes that is what gets us. if you try this weigh yourself when you start and not again until end of week. If I know I am going to weigh in I try to be good for the whole week. I hope this helps. If not you may need to get your thyroid checked out. You may have an underlying problem.
Have a good evening.
Vicki M

exermom

mimi - hope you had a great lunch. What was their reaction to your weight loss?

Donna - welcome! Glad to have ya join us.

Did a hour of HIIT on the elliptical today (Fri). Tomorrow I'm planning on doing a 30 min toning class and then yoga. Tomorrow night we're supposed to go out with friends of ours to a play. Guess I'd better make some dessert.

I bought this hamburger patty maker today. I also went to a healthy cooking demo where they made this bean burger. Personally, I just thought it needed more spices, but it was quite good. What I'd like to do is make some of those burgers and have them in the freezer to prepare. But...when I got home I couldn't find the recipe! Maddening! Fortunately, I called the place and they had an extra one. So I'll probably go pick it up tomorrow. then I went bowling. Had a bad day. But that's what practice is all about. Oh, before the cooking demo I worked out, then went to Kohl's. I'd bought a tablecloth and just assumed it was the size that was listed on the front of the package. Well, it wasn't so I returned them (there were 2). Surprisingly, they didn't give me any hassle, it's been a while since I purchased them. but I did get a store credit since it would be more than if I'd gotten it put back on my credit card. Something about $10 Kohls cash. So I bought 2 blouses. Not that I needed them, mind you. Then I went to Aldi's and got sugar, stopped at Bed Bath & Beyond for the patty maker. Hope this works! Update: I found the recipe in a section of my pocketbook where I would NEVER have expected it to be.

lovesauburn - welcome! what a lovely pic of you!

Amanda - I'm so sorry for you. Hope you're feeling better real soon. When it rains, it pours, eh?

Welcome simone! Boy, you ARE ambitious.

Natalie - sometimes it just takes a while to see the results of your hard work. Hang in there! Remember, the scale only shows you a number! Go more by how your clothes are fitting rather than a number. The way I think about it is I let the doctor worry about the number, that's what I pay him for! Vicki had some really good ideas. I was amazed to learn how small a portion of spaghetti was, for instance. In looking over your diary, can you try upping your water intake? Also, I know that I need to track my sodium. I was amazed to find out how very high in sodium Olive Garden's apricot chicken was! It didn't taste salty, but it sure had a lot of sodium.

Linda - I'm sure you enjoyed that muffin. Sometimes we just have to give in to those feelings, otherwise we'd go crazy. I know that I would. When I have those cravings, I usually make up for it with the calories in that I have something low cal to offset this. Also, if I have something that is high in carbs, I try to have some protein. You'll be fine; just don't let it happen all the time (and I know you won't)

A big welcome to Sue in Illinois! Tell us more about yourself

I have a meeting to go to for the Y Tuesday. Last month they had some bananas and we were told to take some home. So I'm going to make a banana bread tomorrow and take it with me to the meeting. Hopefully, we can get a few games of bowling in. Then in the evening all the bowlers are going to go to this one lady's house for a small get together. I'm going to buy a cake, since that is the ONLY one I could find with any sort of bowling theme. Going to do some Wii Hula Hoop tomorrow (Sun), then make the bread, while it's cooling hopefully we can go bowling some, then to the get together.

Went to a play with a friend of mine tonight. It's just nice to get out.

Have a great day everyone!

Michele

grabbit97

Good evening ladies,
Natalie I did look over your diary like you asked. I see a couple of things. First let me say I am writing this because you asked for help. No criticism just friendly comments.
I only looked a few days but you did go over calories on a few days. First thing I would do is put your calories at whatever fitness pal says you should. Mine is at 1200. also you may want to try for a week to see if it makes a difference. Cut out all processed foods. Eat lean meat grilled or baked and lots of veggies and a couple servings of fruit a day. try to eat your fruit before 2 pm. if you cut out the processed foods I really think you will see a difference. some people can eat anything as long as they stay in calorie level. I have to cut out certain foods or I dont lose. I also have to exercise every day or I wont lose. also make sure your portion sizes are right. sometimes that is what gets us. if you try this weigh yourself when you start and not again until end of week. If I know I am going to weigh in I try to be good for the whole week. I hope this helps. If not you may need to get your thyroid checked out. You may have an underlying problem.
Have a good evening.
Vicki M

I take Synthroid for thyroid... got that base covered, I am telling you, I have triedc 1200 calories, if you look at diary from Marcy 7 to abotu April 1, I did do just that, nothing happened... I exercise 6x a week, riding bike outside 30 min, (bad knees, can't walk), started upper body strenght training using 5 lb weights (for arms), do the every other day...
Drinking 8 glasses of water...
SO, If I eat the fruist before 2 pm, what do I eat in the evening to satisfy me so I won't be hungry thru the night?
natalie

lindaj07

Linda :bigsmile: I walked all those steps today (9548) and my pedometer says that = 4.52 miles. I am going to put 2 of those toward my total. Okay with you? Thursday I did 1.5 miles bringing it to 6, then 2 today I'm up to 8. Gee, only 37 to go. I can do it. Weather's getting nice so I'll aim for two walks a day at 1.5 miles each. That'll do it....no prob!

Dee! Excellent milage!! You CAN do it, indeed! 3 miles a day is great, if the weather keeps up! Keep walking!
Weather here is great too, so I'm off out, maybe get my swim in, if pool not too busy!

lindaj07

Michele I really DID enjoy the muffin and will manage to make up for it over a week or two if I need to, so not to worry!
Great to know that you are here! :flowerforyou:

wizzywig

Hi everyone, welcome all newcomers.

:glasses: :glasses: The weather is lovely today, in fact it's been sunny since Wednesday, I hope it lasts. Well our new windows are all in place and it makes the whole house look much better (from the outside :bigsmile: )

On Friday we took the dogs out, we were going to go to a place called Brandsby Woods, DD had been there before a few years ago with the RSPCA dogs and took Milo and Tara with her, (This was before Frankie was ours) She followed behind someone else in her car, so wasn't sure exactly where it was, but we thought it should be well signposted as it's a popular place for dog walkers. Could we find it, could we heck!we drove around up hill down dale - it was hot DD was getting stressed the dogs were getting fed up and wanted to get out to have a run I was dying to pee:noway: :noway: it was a nightmare!. We were going to head back home when I saw a sign to Dalby Forest so we headed there instead. It cost £7 to get in, luckily I had a bit of money with me - the main reason we stayed there was that I was almost to bursting point by now, once I'd "been" I said to DD that it was the most expensive pee I had ever had!! :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

We had a really good long walk through the forest and the views were spectacular, Frankie and Tara were exhaused by the time we got home, in fact we all were.

Unfortunately my weight has gone up a few pounds, a combination of sitting in the car stress eating and a box of choccies I got for my birthday which I was not going to open for a few more weeks. They were calling out to me and that little devil on my shoulder was egging me on.

Back to the drawing board!

Hope everyone is well, have a lovely Sunday and congrats to those who have lost/are losing.

Love
Viv xx

marlouise

Hello ladies,

Just a quickie, spent 8 hours yesterday scrubbing my truck from the winter oil spray, and getting the inside cleaned up. Had a good day ate a bowl of beef stew that was not supposed to be on the menu, but no snacks yesterday so I'm hoping for that I faired out even. Off to Smith Falls today to help my sister move, looking forward to a day away from home and some fresh air again. Supposed to rain later in the day, I'm crossing my fingers it will be later in the day.

Hope all is well here, wish everyone a good day, remember be true to yourself!

Marilyn

vickim26

good morning ladies,'
Natalie, it seems you are doing what you should. I am not a doctor just know what works for me. I guess you can just hang in like everyone says or maybe see a nutritionist is that is afforable. Also I noticed on your ticker you only have about 20 pounds to lose. those last few are the hardest to go. I hope you find something that works. I know how frustrating that can be. dont give up.
we slept in and are now off to the gym. promised grandkids they could come help us around yard later. see you later ladies.
vicki M

jam0525

Hello everyone,

To all the newcomers to MFP here are some things that helped me over the last couple of years:
- Always check the website of a restaurant before you go there. If they don't have a website, then ask for nutritional information when you first get there. Beware of what may sound low calorie. The plainer the sounding the dish, the better chance you have of no hidden calories.
-If you are just starting back to exercising after many years of not doing much, be realistic in what you commit to. Yes, 30-45 minutes 5-6 days a week may be best for a healthy heart, but it can be very depressing to set goals then not be able to make them. Start back slowly, be consistent and when your goal becomes too easy, up it.
-Remember what works for me may not work for you. While there are some basics like drinking water, watching the sodium, etc. We are each different and have different needs. I admire some of the stuff the ladies here in this tread do, but I know I could never do it myself. Find what works for you and stick to it. (E.G. whole wheat pasta and brown rice. lol)
-I never ate less than my BMR and lowered my daily calories slowly adjusting every 10 pounds or so.

Good luck and this is a life long journey,

Jeannie