50+ Women for the Month of April

AHealthierSuzyQ

On that cake, is it the large can of pumpkin? Sounds yummy. And are the calories under pumpkin cake on MFP?

This cake is listed on MFP as "Pumpkin Spice Cake" and "Chocolate Pumpkin Cake". For clarification, here is the high fiber, low fat cake recipe:

YIELD/CALORIES
Baked in a 9 x 13 pan = 15 servings @ 154 calories, or 48 mini muffins @ 48 calories each

INGREDIENTS
1 (18.25 ounce) package cake mix
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with Pam.
In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix and canned pumpkin and water. Add cake mix. Stir until well blended. Spread evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool and serve, or store in the refrigerator. This tastes even better the next day. Try devils food, you can't taste the pumpkin!

Benson

Good morning ladies

Thanks to all for your encouragement.

I have that 'good feeling' back and I'm going to tuck it away for when I need it. You know the one that has you proud of any minor accomplishment - instead of the feeling that your are failing and weak.

For me it was a whole day of being concious and living in the moment. I met all my goals but my exercise goal. I was working on the distribution of the candles until 10:30 last night so needless to say I washed up and hit the hay. My good part is that even without exercise calories, I was 29 calories UNDER That's so huge for me and yes I am proud of that little tiny step.:blushing:

I love this group. I feel that because you are doing great, I can do great. I know we will all have days when we feel like poop, but then you just sign on and soon you will feel uplifted and worh the effort. - Kind of inspiring. I don't mean to be mushy, but for a fact, the days I don't communicate with you are the days I don't keep my eye on the prize.

Today I will:
eat my planned food
drink 6 waters
Burn 400 calories exercising

Have a great day

Heather

Grammymax

Anne: I love your quote! How true is that?!
THE BIGGEST SELLER IS COOKBOOKS AND THE SECOND IS DIET BOOKS. HOW NOT TO EAT WHAT YOU'VE JUST LEARNED HOW TO COOK.

Hi all. I'm back from working out and feel so much better. I have a busy day so I'm going to have to be short on my posting.

Barbie: You ARE an inspiration to us. What an accomplishment!

Kathy: You are doing so well by avoiding fried foods! I remember how concerned you were on being able to stay focused. You are doing great! You are an inspiration to me.

Susan: I’m going to make that cake today and then wrap and freeze individual servings. I’ll bet a piece of the cake with fat free whipped topping on would make a great dessert! I’ll have to try it! And no artificial sweetener - Yeah! I can’t handle it because it gives me migraines! Thanks again.

Heather: You inspire me to write down my goals daily. You have great goals and I know you can do it!

Well, off to the shower and then to my busy day.

You are all ‘my MFP’ buddies and I’m glad we can share our ups and downs with each other. Have a great day.

Esther

weaklink109

I AM AWAKE AT 4AM AND HAVE NOT SLEPT AS YET. DON'T KNOW WHY. SO DECIDED TO CHECK THE BOARD.

I found two things that affect my sleep. Eating too many carbs, especially at night, and caffeine even early in the morning. Either of them will make me wake up and be unable to get back to sleep. Even if you are only drinking regular coffee early in the day, it could be affecting your sleep.

weedietoday

Hi ladies. Am just now getting home from a long, long day at work. I've tried to stay on track, just did my food diary and am in pretty good shape. I need to catch up on my water and do a little more on the treadmill, but am ok with my daily plan. So good to scan (have lots of paperwork to do tonight and couldn't spare too much time on the reading) all the posts from the day. It helps so much to read how many people think and feel like you. I'm glad my daughter's doctor suggested this site the other day! I feel supported and know the help is there if needed. Hope all have a good evening - and hope weaklink109 gets to sleep tonight! I've had those nights that sleep just doesn't come and know how it is!

elli

Welcome Weedie! You're off to a great start and this is SUCH a wonderful group of women!

Sorry i haven't been around - my internet isn't working at work - we're having someone come look at it tomorrow.

KATHY!!!!!!!!! 9 pounds?!?!?!? in 3 weeks?????? That's freaking AMAZING!!!!!!!!!:drinker: You GO WWLW!!!!!!!!

Susan - thanks for the receipe! That cake sounds really good! And not TOO decadent (as long as i don't eat the whole thing! lol, i'll freeze some tho i think). I'm going to try it next time i go to the grocery store.

Sorry i didn't respond to everyone - I hafta leave for my book group now. Have a good night everybody. I have to weigh in tomorrow 'cause i didn't on Monday 'cause i was too SCARED:noway:

Anne - the very first time i lost a lot of weight - i was 30 and did it with weight watchers.I think it's a good program! You've already done so great. I was born and raised in NY! I've lived in CO since i was 18 tho - i don't go back too often.....still have family there tho, and in NJ

Grammymax

Oh my goodness....I made the cake with a spice mix and it is soooooo good and moist. My hubby likes it too. I think we've found a hit. Thanks for sharing.
Esther

barbiecat

Hello to all of you hard working focused caring women,:bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
You are with me all the time pointing me in the right direction. Thank you for all you’ve added to my life.

We had pizza for lunch. It was one of the last things left in the freezer from before we changed our eating. It was a basil, mozzarella, tomato pizza and Jake cut up onions, tomatoes, peppers and olives. We split the pizza and the meal came out around 600 calories. Along with my regular oatmeal applesauce banana breakfast, protein shake dinner, WASA cracker and hummus snack, and Kashi cereal and yogurt nighttime snack my day was just over 1300 calories which was great since I walked at the dog park for more than 40 minutes, did a 20 minute yoga routine with my new DVD, and rode the exercise bike for 20 minutes while watching TV.

Anne---your information about cookbooks and diet books being the best sellers is so telling. One of the first things we decided was that we had to give up “recreational eating” as a major pastime. It has really made a difference. Joining Weight Watchers sounds like a great idea. I have two friends who have made huge differences in their weight and their lives thanks to WW.

Jake has lost about 50 pounds since we started this on January 14 and now weighs less than I do. He is the poster boy for his local Isagenix group. He looks absolutely fabulous and is at the point where people look worried when he says he still has a few more pounds to lose to reach his goal.

Kathy---going to the gym is very important. I’m glad you don’t let chatting get in the way of working out.

Susan---that cake recipe sounds great!

Heather

---

I feel mushy about this group, too. I’m so glad you have that good feeling back again. What’s important to me is that I wake up every day thinking that I can do this thing for one more day. I like your thinking about staying in the moment. There’s something of that in the yoga I’m learning. They talk about being mindful which means to me that you’re concentrating on what you’re doing right now. I should be writing my goals down daily. I’ve been doing some pretty good stuff but I realized that I haven’t done any weight training in over a week.

Esther---thank you for the kind words. Your positive attitude is infectious. Thank you for continuing to set such a positive tone.

Weaklink---I agree with you about caffeine---I gave up coffee in January. I was drinking it only in the morning but now with no coffee at all, I sleep better.

Weedie—good to hear from you----I am part of the “idle retired” so I have a lot more time to spend at the computer. You are on the right track with your eating and exercise.

Now it’s bedtime for me
Big hugs to all of you,
Barbie

mnichol

Morning!! Have you tried the cake recipe with applesauce instead of oil? its like the pumpkin switch. Today's weigh in at work, i'm excited. I've had a good week, extra work outs (been trying to work up more of a sweat) and eating smart. Hoping for at least a 1/2 lb. Good day to all!! :drinker:

AHealthierSuzyQ

Busy day today. I'll catch up on everyone when I get home. Just did the weekly weigh and measure thing. I'm down 1 pound and 1 inch in my abdomen since this time last week. Slow progress... but at least its progress. :happy:

dricotta1

Brief check-in,
mnicole--1/2 lb would be great. Every bit is a step in the right direction, plus the new way of living we're learning.

susan-congrats., I think a pound and an inch is great. At our age we want progress to be slow enough for our bodies to adjust as we go, then we incorporate change (skin not so saggy etc.).

Got out a swim suit that I bought on sale last fall when I thought I was going to do water aerobics (didn't work out). I wanted to see what I needed to get for my trip to Saipan. The suit looked great! My tummy was tighter and my legs actually had nice muscle curves. It was a real reward and incentive to keep going. I'm not going to reach my weight goal by the end of May (I seem to have reached one of those frustrating plateaus). But at least I'll now I look better than when I saw them last July.
Good day to all, " keep on keeping on" Diane

dricotta1

Sorry mnichol--I spelled your name wrong!

plantlady99

:flowerforyou: Morning Ladies,

I did so much running around yesterday, plus the gym really washed me right up.

When I hit that mile stone of losing 9 lbs.:bigsmile: I just began to get a little nervous about trying to keep it off. I have not been on my usual schedule. I'm off work this week. I’ve been devoting time with family.

I’m afraid to go on the scale. I do not want to see the fluctuations that I usually see when my life goes off kilter. I know me. So I am not going on the scale until the end of the month. My eating habits are ok at this point. However, I am not eating at the times I need to. I feel I am eating way to much of it at the end of the day and my body does not like it. I get to stuffed trying to get all the calories in.

Today is going to be another busy day. I’m taking my Mom to see her 94 year old sister Agnes. She lives in a wonderful nursing home. Today is my Aunt Anna’s, 3rd year anniversary of her death. (Another sister of my mom's) She was 94 when she passed away. I was working as an Activity Assistant at the nursing home where she lived and took care of her as much as I could. She is very close to my heart. My mom is 84 struggles with diabetes. Her eye site is really failing but she does great with the help of my Dad. Going to see her sister will make her really happy So, I will again not be on the boards to much today either. I no so many of you have lost their precious parents my heart goes out to all of you. ((((HUGS))))):flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:


So, today I ate my breakfast on time and that is a plus, To the gym first. I get all charged up when I see I am working out just as hard as the young girls. I sure hope my old body can keep up, because my mind sure can. Then after the gym, I will have a great salad with some protein and be set for the afternoon visit with my Aunt & Mom, without feeling to hungry by dinner. Not sure what I am going to have. My husband is getting tired of chicken. I know my parents will want me to go out with them but I will have to renege and go home to hubby. Maybe I’ll have them over for baked fish, sounds good?

Sorry for the rant. I just needed to get it out of my system. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed. OK I’m fine now.

Thanks so much all for your encouragement. It means so much to me. What a family of friends.

I glanced at all the comments and it sounds like you all are really doing well. I feel like so many of you. I love this thread so helpful and supportive. We can do this.

Kathy

Grammymax

Got out a swim suit that I bought on sale last fall when I thought I was going to do water aerobics (didn't work out). I wanted to see what I needed to get for my trip to Saipan. The suit looked great! My tummy was tighter and my legs actually had nice muscle curves. It was a real reward and incentive to keep going. I'm not going to reach my weight goal by the end of May (I seem to have reached one of those frustrating plateaus). But at least I'll now I look better than when I saw them last July.
Good day to all, " keep on keeping on" Diane

That is awesome! Good job! I tend to carry my weight in my thighs and hips so even though my tummy gets tighter my thighs are still "jiggly" :laugh: Hard to hide them in a swimming suit!

Grammymax

Good morning all,

I just returned from working out. I'm feeling like this is going reallllll slow but at least my weight is not going up and I get measured on the 1st so that will tell more. I just really wanted to be in a size smaller by then but as of now that isn't happening! :ohwell:

Kathy: I'm glad you have the opportunity to be with your parents and aunt. It is a blessing for you as well as for them. My parents are both gone and I only have one uncle left and he lives too far away to see. Enjoy your time with them. I think it's a good idea to stay away from the scales until the end of the month. This week will be balanced out next week when you get back to your normal schedule! And who knows....you may have done really well and not realize it Stay focused.

Have a great day today.

Esther

barbiecat

I'll post more later but I had to tell you how much I laughed this morning when I was doing the 20 minute energizing yoga before breakfast and had an actual dog under me when I did the downward dog pose. I also got kissed by a dog while doing forward bend and had a dog standing with her paws on my shoulders while doing mountain pose.

Exercising at home is so much fun.:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Barbie

elli

Barbie - oh the visual!!!!!! You have me cracking up:laugh:

Sorry i've been kind of mia everyone - my internet at work crapped out and we JUST got it back today. We had lots of rain and a connection got wet and yada yada yada..............:yawn: Anyway - it's all good now.

I had a good day yesterday, and started out well today. Last week and the weekend were really hard for some reason - partly the rain i guess. I've discovered i'm really a weather driven eater. NOT a good thing! So i put a pound back on:grumble: :explode: . bad me.........hopefully i can stay on track now.

Sorry i haven't had time to read everyone's posts - hopefully i'll get to that as well. Right now working on getting all of our fedex packages out!!!!!!

Happy Wednesday!

weaklink109

I'll post more later but I had to tell you how much I laughed this morning when I was doing the 20 minute energizing yoga before breakfast and had an actual dog under me when I did the downward dog pose. I also got kissed by a dog while doing forward bend and had a dog standing with her paws on my shoulders while doing mountain pose.

Exercising at home is so much fun.:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Barbie

Barbiecat-

I had to laugh when I read the above, as it reminded me of the first time I used the Leslie S(can't spell her last name w/o looking it up) walking video available thru Comcast On Demand. My Shih tzu kept getting in front of me and almost got kicked a few times.

As I waived my arms, he (Pepper) decided I MUST be "playing" so he decided to "help" by jumping up and down like a Mexican jumping bean to try and catch my hands. Mai Li did her part by standing on the sidelines, acting a "cheerleader" by prancing and barking.

Despite their "assistance" I managed to get thru the 1 mile program. I haven't done it since because I usually do my walking outside, but I imagine the next time will be about as nuts as the first.

Plantlady--I can relate to your story about your parents. Mine are both still with me--mom is 93 and dad will be 83 later this year.

They both are able to live independently, but it WAS a big relief for this only child when they finally agreed to sell their big house and move into a senior living community near my home.They use the on site pool daily and attend exercise classes, and my dad is a regular face in the exercise equipment area.

My mom's family are all about 400 miles north of me in Canada, and up until this year, I have taken her once a year to see her 2 remaining sisters, but the car trip is very daunting for her, due to arthritis, which is aggravated by sitting in a car (or anywhere else) for long periods.

I know how fortunate I am at 55 to still have both my parents, and it will be very difficult to lose either of them.

Have a good day all. BTW-- I am down 3 lbs. from where I started about 10 days ago, so that is a good thing. I guess it is making me a believer in the "zig zag" calorie thing that people have been talking about., since I am down despite a little zigging and zagging in the past few days.

elli

Weaklink - congrats! 3 pounds in 10 days is awesome!!!!!!!!

I lost my Ma over 4 years ago - My Dad (he's 91) and his wife live in NY State. He still comes here, to Colorado once or twice a year to visit. He also does all the marketing for our small family business. He's AWESOME and i feel so blessed and lucky to still have him! Kathy - have a good time with the family!

Esther - I'm with you, this is going REALLY slow, plus i gained a pound last week:grumble: It's ok - i deserved it. I had a couple days where it was like "katie bar the doors, i'm eating everything". The good thing is there's not that much "bad" food in my house, or it would have been WORSE!

Anyway - we all just have to keep on keepin on. One foot in front of the other! lol:bigsmile: happy day!

FITFORLIFE1944

HI GIRLS,

WELL I JOINED WEIGHT WATCHERS AND I FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT. WHEN I SEE MYSELF SLIPPING I KNOW I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING FAST. MY POOR COUSIN LOST 100LBS AND GAINED IT ALL BACK IN 6 MONTHS. SHE IS SO MISERABLE AND SAD AND NOW HAS SLEEP APNEA. I SURELY DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN TO ME.I WORKED MUCH TOO HARD TO GET THE WEIGHT OFF. BETWEEN THIS GREAT GROUP AND WW,I CAN'T SEE HOW I CAN GO WRONG. THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE.

ESTHER YOU WILL GET THERE. I HAD TIMES I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT AND LOST 0 POUNDS OR 1/4LB. I JUST KEPT ON GOING AND ALL OF A SUDDEN OFF WOULD COME 3 AND 1/2 LBS. ALSO THE INCHES. I DID NOT MEASURE,I TRIED ON CLOTHES THAT DID NOT FIT AND WHEN FINALLY I GOT INTO SOME OF THEM IT WAS SO GREAT. YOU ALWAYS SEE THE BRIGHT SIDE OF EVERYTHING, THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. SO, I KNOW YOU WILL JUST KEEP ON GOING AND THAT YOU WILL HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF.

WEAKLINK I THINK THE CARBS MIGHT HAVE BEEN MY PROBLEM WITH STAYING AWAKE.I WAS EATING WAY TOO MANY, WAY TOO LATE AT NIGHT. THANKS FOR THE INPUT.

ELLI, WW WAS VERY NICE,I LIKE THE LEADER AND IT SEEMS TO BE A GOOD PROGRAM.SORRY YOU HAD A GAIN, WHEN IS THAT WEATHER GOING TO COOPERATE WITH YOU??

SUSAN, DOWN ANOTHER POUND AND ANOTHER INCH. WHY DO YOU FEEL IT IS GOING SLOWLY? I THINK YOU ARE DOING GREAT.

DIANE, MUST FEEL WONDERFUL TO TRY ON THE SWIM SUIT AND SEE AN IMPROVEMENT. WAY TO GO. ENJOY YOUR SUCCESS.

BARBIE, YOUR YOGA STORY IS A HOOT. COULD PICTURE IT AND LAUGHED OUT LOUD. ALSO, WEAKLINK AND HER DOG. PETS ARE SO FUNNY AND BRING US SO MUCH HAPPINESS.
JAKE IS JUST FABULOUS. 50LBS. WHAT A GUY!!!

HEATHER, KEEP THAT GOOD FEELING. YOU SHOULD BE SO PROUD OF EVERYTHING YOU ARE DOING EACH DAY TO REACH GOAL. GLAD YOU ARE HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

KATHY, I KNOW THAT FEELING OF WORRYING THAT THE WEIGHT WILL RETURN VERY VERY WELL. FOCUS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE EACH MORNING. TRY TO FIND 10 MINUTES TO JUST BE ALONE DURING THE DAY. BREATH AND MEDITATE. SEE YOUR GOAL IN YOUR MIND. GLAD THE GYM CHARGED YOU UP. YOU SEEM TO HAVE A GOOD FOOD PLAN. THE BAKED FISH IS EXCELLENT AS A CHOICE. ENJOY YOUR PARENTS AND AUNT. FAMILY IS EVERYTHING.

WENT FROM 1LB WEIGHTS TO 2LB WEIGHTS FOR THE STRENGTH TRAINING I DO 3 TIMES A WEEK. HOPE I CAN DO IT. MY LEFT ARM IS PRETTY BAD,LOTS OF PAIN FROM ARTHRITIS,BUT I KEEP ON TRYING AND FEEL GOOD ABOUT THAT. WEATHER HERE IN FLORIDA HAS BEEN SO BEAUTIFUL FOR MY WALKS. I DREAD THE HEAT COMING. THEN I HAVE TO GO OUT REALLY EARLY OR IT GETS TOO HOT FOR ME. RIGHT NOW I AM LOVING IT.

WISH EVERYONE PEACE OF MIND AND HAPPY DAYS.
ANNE