40+ Club: Summer Slimmers

zebras

Happy Monday all!

Its hot already here too. T-storms are predicted for later, but right now the sun is out.

Boy, TOM knocked me for a loop last week, and I haven't been to the gym since Tuesday. I even had to call in sick on Thursday to work, I was so exhausted. So, I haven't been on the scale, so I won't depress myself. Will wait till next check in, and get back in the saddle tonight at the gym.

Stiring, so glad to hear you have no lasting effects from your injury. I, too, don't want to repeat the issues my Mom had due to her weight.

Kokomo, welcome back. You can do this. I am also in the phase of re-losing a lot of what I gained back myself. I seem to be working twice as hard to get the same weight off, too. But I feel so much better about myself when I'm trying.

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: zebras, I envy you having a job where you can call in sick because you are exhausted. I could maybe try that but my supervisor would be sure to ask what is wrong with me. Not so much because she is nosy but she is always afraid that she will catch something.

:flowerforyou: stiring, I am so glad that your knee is now alright. Now, do be careful.

It is to be quite hot here also. In the 90s with a heat index of 105. Not sure as to what exercising I will be doing tonight. Deep Water class isn't til tomorrow. I think that my daughter will be missing the classes this week due to band camp. And speaking of my daughter....I am really worried about her. Yes, she rode her bike to the restaurant with us and it was about 2 1/2 miles each way, but she had a hard time. Broke out in a sweat and could hardly move afterwards. Wow, and she is only 17. I am really concerned for her health.

singfree

Good evening!

Back to the heat wave again here in the East. This week promises to be the hottest of the summer. I don't really mind too much, though...at least it's not snow!

Tonight I started doing something that I've not done here in a long time...that is, logging my meals here on MFP. I just want to graphically look at what my daily nutrition is doing. More specifically, I am interested in my % of daily protein that I am taking in. I want to see if increased protein (and decreased) carbs is impacting my shape. I will track it for a little while as I attempt to eat up some of this body fat. It's a balancing act, but I've got to do something. My exercising is good and consistent, but the last 10 lbs of fat is stubborn...the story of my life!

I'm not really denying myself anything but junk food. On the weekends I won't go overboard, but I want to enjoy a few treats (a beer or two). Stay tuned.

Stiring, I'm glad you are on the mend. Take care!

Have a great day!

Swissmiss

sing, Ohio is experiencing the same weather. I didn't exercise at all yesterday...it was just too hot. From all the I have read it is a good idea to up the protein and cut some of the carbs. Just remember that some carbs are good for you. Make them whole grain. I hate having to try to loss the last 10 pounds. So, frustrating.:grumble:

Well, I remembered to bring my lunch to work today. So, I should eat better.

alf1163

Does anyone work a sit-down job? I work in a call center and have to sit down (tied to the phones) for my work day. Does it really flatten your butt doing this type of work?
Just curios, what do all of you do for work? Any stay at home moms or wives? I'm just wondering how all of you find the time and energy to stay with your work outs day after day. You are all such an inspiration. Thank you in advance for any information you provide. I need all the advice, suggestions I can get.

HereIgoagain, I agree with Stiring's response about a sit down job not flattening your glutes. How many breaks are you allowed? Make sure you get up for 5-10 mins every hour if you can. Many years ago I had a part time job at QVC and many of us would answer the calls standing up. It helps with blood flow and just being a little more "active" when at work. You asked about what we do for a living and finding time to exercise. I have two jobs, one sedentary, research job but I get out of my chair every 30 mins or so, the bathroom is down the hall and I drink a lot of water so that helps. LOL My other job is teaching Zumba so that keeps me pretty active. I teach 4 nights a week. I also workout on my own at home, strength trng. I make sure I get up at 5am during the week so I can get my exercises done before getting ready for work. On weekends I either workout around 7am or between breakfast and lunch. I also have a son who is severely autistic/MR so he needs a lot of special attention as well. It helps me a lot if I get organized. It is not always perfect but I make it work somehow.

alf1163

LadyPersia, have a great time in Hilton Head. Say hi to my sister if you can. I hope you can catch one of her Zumba classes.

Swiss, I do have old injuries and fairly new ones that I am dealing with...I just keep going. LOL I dont even want to think how I would feel with the same injuries when I get older...yikes!!! about your boss and calling in sick, I hope you are not telling her why you are calling in sick, that is a private matter. If she is worried about catching "something" just tell her whatever you have is not contagious. That is so inapropriate of hers to ask...

Stiring, glad your knee is doing better. I pretty much have the same short and long terms goals. My parents are doing ok but my mom is having a lot of problems with one of her knees and she hardly exercises, she is walking very slow now. My parents are in their mid 70's. My dad is doing better.

Zebras, Sing, good to hear from you both!!! Kokomo, welcome!!

Have a great day!!! :flowerforyou:

Texssippian

Hi all! Hello from hot, hot, hot, dry, dry, dry north Texas! Temps above 100 during the day, lows in the mid to low 80s. We successfully got our daughter moved into her new apartment in Austin this weekend. Amazing how young men materialize to help when there are cute, in-shape, 20 something girls around. It was a little overcast on Saturday so even though it was in the 100's, it was not too bad.

We did eight laps in the lazy river last night. That is a mile. Considering that water gives you twice the resistance as on land and we did half of the laps against the current, I figure that is probably worth at least 2 to 3 miles in effort. My calves have been tightening on the runs with the current. I did alot of stretching yesterday and was able to do three laps without stopping!

Regarding who does what, I have a full-time 10+ hour a day job plus 2 to 3 hours commute. I have been getting my workouts in during the evening (River Aerobics is from 7:30 to 8:30 in the evenings.) My husband and I generally see our trainer on Mondays from 6 to 7 pm (We have to leave Dallas by 4:15 to make that.) This Friday, I hope to do water polo which will be at 5:30 pm so we will need to leave work by 4 if possible. I work a lot in the evenings and on the weekends from home so I can sneak in the leaving early sometimes. i find I am a lot more productive when I have been exercising on a consistent basis, so for me, it is not so much making the time for working out as it is the ability to have more energy and get more done after working out.

This Saturday is a new Zumba class which means free class on Saturday morning. Swiss, you have inspired me. We brought our daughter's bike back with us since she is now living in a non-bike friendly area. I might ride the bike to the gym for the 8 am Zumba class. Hopefully it will not be too hot yet.

Alf, I am still looking for someone to do Aqua Zumbe up here. Stiring: glad your knee is better. Sing: sorry you have had 12 hour shifts over night. Yikes! Zebras: keep getting to that gym! Tron: glad your brother and sister-in-law are getting settled close to you. Everyone else: keep getting at it. Take care all and stay safe in the heat. TxMs

sdereski

Hi MFP Friends,

Glad to hear all of you are doing so well!

Swiss - nice going to get your daughter to cycle and work out with you. We need to teach our children early that we can be more flexible in our eating if we work out often.
I am a supervisor, and we don't have "sick days". We prefer to call them "Personal Days" so my employees can use them when they feel they need one. They get 7 per year.

sing - I love the heat as well. It's been hot here as well - hot for Northern Ontario. Yesterday it reached 95. Supposed to be like this all week. :happy:

stiring - so glad your knee is feeling better. I can understand your concern. We don't want to be injured or somewhat impaired that prevents us from doing all the things we enjoy to keep us healthy and active.

I read something yesterday that made me chuckle, but also hit home or me "I know I have a good body, it's just covered under a few layers of fat". I thought, that's exactly me!! I know I am fit and strong, but you really can't tell because of my "soft curves".

I worked out yesterday with a trainer. He has developed a 12 wk strength training program for me. I've been doing strength training for a couple of months now, but don't really see any results. He will work out with me all this week, and then I am on my own for the next 5 wks. He will then work with me again for a week, as I start the last 6 weeks of the program. It was good. At least I now have some direction. I need to get those layers of fat off!!!

After my workout I went for an hour bike ride as it was a little too muggy to run. Hope to get my run in tonight, and then walk my grand baby! :happy:

I didn't do too badly eating wise this past weekend. I did have a few more drinks than I normally do (because I don't normally drink). On Saturday, it was hot, but I cycled for almost 2 hours, then had a drink. :happy:
I had a nice breakfast in the morning, which carried me through the day (with 1/2 protien bar when cycling) then had pizza, salad and a glass of wine for dinner.

Sunday was okay - not as good, but still okay.

I am going to keep reminding myself that I need to remove those layers of fat to expose that great body I know is hidden beneath. :laugh:

have a great day all. :flowerforyou:

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: sdereski, I had a trainer make a similar remark to me. She said that I had great muscles under my fat. When I lift I see results rather quickly. I don't lose pounds but I get nice looking arms. You are right...it looks like you ate well this weekend.

:flowerforyou: alf, you don't understand...my supervisor has to be into everyone's business. Especially if it involves health. She will catch whatever is going around. We have wondered what would happen if we had a man working here who got prostrate problems.


:flowerforyou: tex, my water class is tonight at 6. My daughter has to be back at band camp at 6:30. I thought of being dropped off but if others can bike in this heat then so can I. I will ride my bike.:bigsmile:

Oh no...time to return to work.

singfree

Good evening!

Wow, what a hot & steamy day today! Even at midnight it's still around 80 outside. Inside the plant it's probably over 120 (our furnaces are running this week). Thankfully I get to enjoy the AC in my office.

Today was a bit torturous hiking up the mountain. My wife was not thrilled about my exercising in the heat. My concussion episode is still a vivid memory for her. I can take a lot of heat while exercising, but she cannot tolerate it at all. She feels lousy and has a headache from it.

I'm doing pretty well witha higher protein diet. I'm still doing carbs, although not as much as I normally eat. Right now I am at around 30% carbs. It's a bit low, but I'm not bonking from glycogen depletion. I'm a carboholic, so cutting back to 30% is low for me. On the upside, I am not feeling bloated and can see some improvement in my physique. Losing the bloating feeling seems to go hand in hand with that "puffy" feeling.

I am monitoring total calories as well. If I don't eat as many carbs, my total calories for the day tend to get low too. I don't mind having a small deficit in cals, but not too much. My water intake has increased (maybe a function of the heat).

Stay cool y'all!!!

MellowGa

I really need to pump out the next ten days, before I do my cardio blast. I am excited my Socceer Association will be having a sale at ****'s sporting goods so I can save 15% on my weights. WAHOO!

But until then I lift, lift lift!

Robin1117

Good morning!

Wow, so much to catch up on!

Stiring--so glad you are back on track and your knee is better. I'm sure you are soooo happy to be up and running with your routine again. Good luck getting back to "clean" eating.....I find that is so hard to do in the summer. All the farmer's markets. The cheese. Wine on the deck with dinner. Yup. Every day feels like vacation!

Tex--I love hearing about your river aerobics class. What kinds of things do you do? I live on a river and a few days over the past few weeks I have gone down there and walked against current for 20-25 minutes or so with my HRM and it's a solid workout. The other day I actually made a project out of it and was looking for some flat slate rocks to put by our little pond and started hauling them back while walking in the water. I think I burned about 200 calories in a 1/2 hr....not too bad. What kinds of things do you do for the "aerobics" part--do you use weights while you walk or any arm exercises as well? So cool!

Swiss--I love your story about your daughter and making her ride to the restaurant--good for you! kids can get so inactive and you are being such a great role model for her.

sdereski--definitely be patient--the strength training will help soon!! I have been doing this for about 6 months and I don't think I noticed much in the first month or almost 2 months. Then slowly I went down a size in clothing (although weight is similar) and feel so much better. Stiring had been advising me for a year to add this in, and I was so hesitant....I wish I had taken the advice sooner. It's so great you have the help of a trainer!

Alf--you are so inspiring--I was reading the post about your jobs, and your son, and getting those exercises in everyday at 5 am. I have moved to the 5am wakeup since summer started, and need to start exercising by around 6 to get them in before my son wakes up. It has been a slow transition. And you do this everyday...... Great you are maintaining well too.

Things are ok here. Last week I went to Illinois for my father's burial. We had the service last month in CA, but then the burial was in my mom's hometown and with her side of the family. it was so great to see my mom, brothers, and some relatives I haven't seen in 10+ years. I was proud of myself though, as I did get up and say something at the service--something I was not able to do last month. I actually forced myself to do this the same way I have been forcing myself to try new things w/exercise--thinking if I can find the will to do that, why wouldn't I be able to do this? And it was true. Anyway, lots of eating w/relatives, and oh, Midwestern food. WOW. Huge. Fattening. Etc. I probably gained a few lbs but I'm not going to worry about it, now that I'm home and back to routine eating I'm sure it'll settle back by next week.

The summer routine with my son has been different every week. I have been exercising early, early in the morning. I just started "No more Trouble ZOnes", and LOVE it. But after 2x's my whole body ached so I had to take a rest yesterday. I'm gearing up for my 3rd in a few minutes once I finish writing. This week I will take my son to a clay camp. It is about 45-50 min. away and only a 2 hr camp so I have 2 hrs to kill while he is there. Yesterday I walked for about 35 minutes up some hills and around the area, then I was able to sit by a river and read a book--it was so nice! I never get to read fiction during the daytime. That's exactly what I'm going to do today too. Honestly I have had no time to myself this summer and no peace of mind. My son is wonderful but chatters and talks all day, every day and to have a few moments to myself to not hear talking or someone asking for something?? Wow....I am loving it!

Late next week we are headed to Colorado again for vacation. Yay! We did this last summer too, and are going back w/my mom, who of course really needs the vacation. And my brother's family will be there too. I'm a little nervous about eating too much on vacation but I LOVED the gym at the place we are staying and am looking forward to going back there and exercising every day.

Well, I realized the reason I haven't been so good about posting, aside from all the things that have happened over the last few months, is that I'm on the early exercise routine. Early morning before anyone in the house wakes up is where I typically have the quiet time to myself where I typically had the time to post. And lately I have filled in with exercise instead. Hope to be better in the fall....

Have a great day everyone! Robin

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: Robin, if you are exercising instead of posting then go for it. Your life is so full at this time. Sorry to hear of you dad and am glad that you are able to spend time with your mom. You know that life is short...spend as much time with her as you can.

MellowGa, that is great that you can get a discount on your weights.

sing, I am with your wife when it comes to the heat. I can hardly move. And, I didn't exercise at all yesterday due to it.

Well, I am at work already. My supervisor is out today and for the rest of the week. So, I get to play boss.:laugh:

Aries03

Bump

LadyPersia

Good morning! Going to be 110 today. I am no going to run today. I am not able to deal with the heat at all. If I can I will walk. My asthma is having major difficulties below sea level and humid.

Have a great day!!

alf1163

Good morning everyone!!! Upper body workout done!!! Teaching Zumba tonight. Sing, you have inspired me to log in my foods again and it seems that I am under eating. My goal is to eat about 1800 cals and I am eating about 1500-1600. That might be a lot for some women but not for someone who is exercising and just trying to maintain their weight, not lose. Stiring, need your input. Is that correct? Lately, I've bee feeling hungry. I still would like to tighten up my tummy more so I dont know if eating less would help with that. I also do core exercises 3 times a week.

Boss Swiss, be nice to your co-workers. :laugh:

Robin, ((((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))))))) nice to hear from you again! You are doing so well despite all that you have gone through lately. Have a great time in Colorado, enjoy your time with your mom. To answer your question about water aerobics, the water creates the resistance for you so you dont need to use weights in the water. You have to keep your arms in the water. It might seem like an easy workout but it is not. I learned that when I took the Aqua Zumba workshop. You can also do leg lifts, kicks etc in the water to work your lower body. And of course the dancing in the water to get your heart pumping. I need to find a class here to try it out first and then look into teaching it somewhere. Althought I am not so sure I can find the time to do that.

I'd better get ready for work. Have a wonderful day!!! :flowerforyou:

StiringWendel

Hi all!

singfree, be careful in this heat!! Like you, I don't mind doing some stuff in the heat because it doesn't bother me but on days like the next few (where the heat index is supposed to be around 115), I have a tendency to be a bit more cautious. I hope you do the same. :flowerforyou: I think logging your foods for a little while is a really good idea. I try to do it every few months just to see where I'm at. My diet from day to day doesn't change much so I don't feel the need to do it more often than that. But if I change anything up significantly, I like to track the impact that's having for a little while.

alf, I definitely think you need to be eating closer to 1800 calories a day than 1500 calories given your exercise. I think I'd get by on eating something like 1400 if I weren't exercising (and I have a sedentary lifestyle). You are taller than I am, so you would require a bit more than me just to maintain. So, yeah, if I were guessing, I'd say you'd need between 1500-1600 to maintain if you weren't exercising, and probably between 1800-2000 since you are. Regarding tightening up your tummy, undereating isn't necessarily going to help since you would probably just lose weight in all of the other areas of your body where you generally take the weight off first. Our bodies are predisposed to hold on to fat in some places and that will be the absolute last place you will lose that fat. As women get older and our hormones change, one unfortunate effect is that more of our fat goes into our belly region (as we lose estrogen). So......it really sounds to me like you are doing everything right so don't sweat the tummy too much.

Robin, good to see you! I'm glad you are enjoying your new workouts. I love how you used your exercise/workout experience to help you find the strength to speak at your father's burial. I certainly have found that my workouts have empowered me in other aspects of my life as well. As Bob Harper says 'It's not about the pushup'....and he's right. It's about knowing you can do something you never thought you could do. Some quiet time by a river with a good book sounds like paradise to me. Enjoy!

TxMs, good to see you! I bet those river workouts feel good in that heat.

All here is well. I've been working out each day this week for about 45 minutes, and it feels good. I'm ready to get back to some more 'meatier' workouts next week, but I'm really going to try to monitor myself a bit over the next little bit to prevent any re-injury or overtraining issues. My eating is good, so all is well!

zebras

Good morning all! I'm finally feeling less tired, so hopefully tonight I will be back at the gym after a week. Hopefully this was all caused by a missed thyroid pill, or maybe one that wasn't the strength it was supposed to be. I'm very sensitive to changes in it.

Swissmiss

How can all of you be working out in this heat???? I don't want to move. And, I am overeating.:sad:

alf1163

Hello everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just love eating my oatmeal breakfast yum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :laugh: Lower body/abs workout DONE!!! Zumba tonight. I hope the computers at work are working today, server was down yesterday, I left early. Nowadays we cannot do much without technology. :noway:

Stiring, thank you so much for your input!!!! I truly appreciate it and I totally agree. I tend to sweat the tummy issue. It's funny because people think I have this perfect body and I just see all these flaws all the time. I need to come to terms with getting older and that a tight tummy might not be attainable at my age. :ohwell: I do feel great, I am healthy, strong, pretty fit compared to others my age so I shouldnt complain. :laugh:

Swiss, just workout indoors if the heat affects your workouts. I workout at home and at the gym teaching my classes. I dont go out for walks or jogs outdoors anymore due to lack of time but I am also cautious about working out in extreme heat. When I am driving to my class around 6pm I see so many people jogging or running and I wonder how they do it. At that time it is still about 100 degrees here in SA. :noway:

Zebras, good to hear from you. Glad you feel better.

Gotta get ready for work. Have a wonderful Thursday!!!! :flowerforyou:

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: alf, I can't imagine people jogging in this heat !!! My daughter has band camp this week. For some reason this camp aways falls during the hottest week of the summer. The very first day a girl passed out.

I remember you commenting on your belly and I know that as we age fat tends to settle there. But, have you seen some of the pictures of actresses in their 50s wearing bikinis? Maybe they do the liposuction. And of course, they have personal trainers. But, hey, if they can do it then it is a goal to try for. I am not very worried about my abs at this time. I carry my weight in my upper torso. So, I have love handles and back fat.:laugh: Compared to my top my hips don't look too bad. From the pics I have seen of you...you look terrific !!!