40+Club-Making it Work

tron3002

Boy, being absent for two days and its amazing how many posts there are to read.... Haven't gotten to all of them just yet. Hehe

First of all I'd like to give a warm welcome to all the new members. Like I've said before, this is a great group of people we've got here and I think you will really enjoy it.:flowerforyou:

Alf... If your new picture is any indication of weight/inches lost I'd say Yes you have lost more. Even just comparing your face to the previous photo it is much thinner.

Wendel... My husband is the enemy when it comes to what he can eat verses me... Hehe The man had always had a bowl of candy on his nightstand not to mention the 24 hr mt dew he drinks and until recently he has never had any sort of weight problem. And even now if you look at him you wouldnt consider him over weight. gosh, that would be nice if I were like that.

Catherine1962... I understand your frustration. The same thing happened to me when I joined a gym a few years ago. Actually I was so discouraged I stopped going. Hang in there, you will see results.

As for me, my husband and I went to Yosemite yesterday and hiked all the way to the top of upper Yosemite falls. Talk about a hard hike. 4 hrs up and it is VERY steep and 3 hours back down. But I made it and the most exciting part...... Is I had no problem keeping up with him. Last year I would be so out of breath and needed a break before him that he was constantly pushing me to keep going. This time, there were times when he needed to stop and I didnt!!! I am very proud of myself. If I keep going I think in no time I will be able to hike up half dome and better yet, be the one pushing him on!!!!

Swissmiss

How do you all manage to read all of this thread? I am frustrated that I don't have enough time to do this.:grumble:

:flowerforyou: robin..You have opened my eyes. I also order just the salad at Olive Garden. Well, never again. Too much fat.

WHY IS IT THAT MEN CAN LOSE WEIGHT SO WELL ??? All my husband has to do is give up one of his daily candy bars or a beer and he will start to look like he is anorexic.

Lisabeth

I do my best, that's why I suggested that we simply write "Blogged" and we can go to eachother's blog to see what we are doing????


[quote)How do you all manage to read all of this thread? I am frustrated that I don't have enough time to do this.:grumble:

:flowerforyou: robin..You have opened my eyes. I also order just the salad at Olive Garden. Well, never again. Too much fat.

WHY IS IT THAT MEN CAN LOSE WEIGHT SO WELL ??? All my husband has to do is give up one of his daily candy bars or a beer and he will start to look like he is anorexic.
[/quote]

Lisabeth

THANKS!

Welcome to all who are joining this wonderful little group! We are here to build you up, not tear you down...we encourage, not discourage. As April said, "40 is the new 20"!!!

hoamai, have you considered using exercise bands in lieu of traditional weights while you are away? Many people travel on vacation with them. Actually, there are some who use them exclusively!

lisabeth, I can see that you want to take charge of your life. We all reach that conclusion sooner or later. As a wife and mother, you have a responsibility to those you love...but you need to love yourself also! Recommit yourself to a healthy lifestyle daily. Sugar and processed foods are stumbling blocks in the quest for health and fitness. Notice that I do not emphasize weight...I am a firm believer that through exercise and a clean diet your weight and outlook on life in general will improve greatly. You have taken a step in the right direction, now keep walking!!! We're here for YOU!!!!!

Lisabeth

I over did it again today with my cardio and strength and toning. Now, I have so many calories left over. This is ridiculous. Any suggestions??????????????

hoamai

Good morning - Songfree - I do have the exercise band and I use it for some of the exercises - but find that some type of 'hand weights' (or water bottles!) work better for certain exercises. Like I said, improvising is what works best for me even in terms of estimating calories since a lot of foods I eat are not on the list - just guessing the ingrediants.
Overall this site has really helped to keep me motivated to look at the foods I eat and to keep up with the exercise.
Question - does anyone have stiff, achey knees (especially in the am) - I am guessing it is just some arthritis (at 53 years) - and thought I would have it checked out by a doc once in the US. It isn't a sharp pain, so I don't imagine it is any type of injury. I saw the one post on water exercise in regards to 'bad' knees - and I find the elliptic is better than running.
:glasses:

alf1163

I am so proud of this group!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone is doing great!!! And I love the way that we encourage, motivate, advice and support each other. Keep up the good work!!! This is a long journey, it is hard but it can be done. And it is a lifestyle change. Be consistent, be patient and don't get discouraged. Your hard work will pay off, you will see results. And you will feel so much better about yourself. :flowerforyou:

SunshineLady

Beautiful Morning to All!!!

I just wanted to pop in and say hello and let you know that I found the threat.

Hoamai, I fully understand what you mean about bad knees. I have almost no cartlidge left in both of mine. Water exercise is a definite plus. It is truly one of the few exercises I can do comfortably. As for the eliptical (I hope I spelled that correctly. ) That particular machine is one of the most painful for me. I can't last 3 sec on it. My doc told me to do NON weight bearing exercises. My suggestion would be to try to do non weight bearing exercises until you see your doc. Also, before I'm going to do a lot of walking, or play in th ocean, or any other activity that will require me to be very active, I take ibuprophen ahead of time. I hope this helps.

I love the new threat. I did oops and leave a message for Swiss on the other threat today.

I can't pop on here every day, however, I will check in a few times a week. Everyone keep up the great work.

Bye for Now.... SunshineLady

alf1163

Good morning!!! I did a pretty good workout this morning. I started the push phase of ChaLean Extreme. So I did push circuit one, mostly squats, biceps and triceps, lifting heavy for 6-8reps. I also did extreme abs and burn it off dvd. I am feeling it!!!

I weighed myself this morning. I lost one pound in 4wks. I had my settings to lose .5lb a week so short for one pound but that is ok. I did lose a few inches all over my body, that is great! And if I am measuring correctly, my body fat decreased from 22.8 to 20.8% body fat!! So I am pleased. Slow progress but it is progress. :drinker: I will not weigh in/nor measure until I start the lean phase, about 4 or 5wks from now.

Stiring, I know what you mean by the unfairness of men losing so much faster than us. :grumble: I can understand you feeling frustrated with your husband because you are so driven. It is great though that he wants to count calories. I wish my husband would make that decision. It would be soooo much better for him and easier for me as well to reach my goals. But baby steps with him...I try not to say anything unless he asks me a fitness or nutrition question. The other day he said that he is stuck, has hit a plateau and I told him that the answer to his problem was sitting in front of him, that I would help him but he did not say anything else after that. :grumble: :noway: He has told me that he is amazed by my dedication and he is not willing to work as hard as I do to getting fit and strong. :noway: Well, he is being honest, unfortunately.

Have a wonderful day!!!! :flowerforyou:

StiringWendel

Good morning everybody! I'm going to start my day with some kickboxing which I absolutely love to do. I always feel fired up for the rest of the day. :drinker:

Thanks all for your support about my husband. I was having a really tough day yesterday regarding this because it is beginning to look like my maintenance calories are going to fall more in the 1600 range than the 1700-1800 I had been hoping. And while I'm trying to convince myself 1600 is plenty, I would be lying if I didn't say that I was hoping for more wiggle room than that. And that's with working out every day for at least an hour, and sometimes walking for a couple of hours in the late afternoon/evening. I'm going to give it another 10 days or so for my body to adjust to the new caloric intake, but that's what it is looking like right now.

alf, I'm really am happy my husband is motivated to do something. I think it is just the timing of the situation right now. It is so tempting right now to just go back to eating again, without all the counting and such. And I'm really fighting that urge. So having to count for two people now isn't really helping me get over this feeling of 'I'm so tired of counting calories!' But I know this feeling will pass shortly once I settle into my maintenance routine, and I won't even think about it anymore. So I will stick it out. I just needed to whine a little. :laugh:

tron, great job in Yosemite!! My husband and I are going to visit Yosemite for the first time in two weeks, and I can't wait. You've given me some ideas on what to do! Thanks and congrats on your fitness success!

I didn't watch the third hour of the Biggest Loser last night but heard that Helen won. And Jerry won the at-home prize. I think that was an excellent showing on TV last night that for those of us over 40, weight loss IS still possible.

Have a great day!

alf1163

alf, I'm really am happy my husband is motivated to do something. I think it is just the timing of the situation right now. It is so tempting right now to just go back to eating again, without all the counting and such. And I'm really fighting that urge. So having to count for two people now isn't really helping me get over this feeling of 'I'm so tired of counting calories!' But I know this feeling will pass shortly once I settle into my maintenance routine, and I won't even think about it anymore. So I will stick it out. I just needed to whine a little. :laugh:

Stiring, were you planning on stopping counting calories when you go into maintenance? I would strongly suggest you don't. That is what I did last year and it did not work for me. I ended up gaining 9 lbs. I reached my goal of 125lbs in Sep 08 and then I got too comfortable not wanting to count calories. I thought I had become an expert in estimating portions, calories, etc. Then again it happened during the "bad" months, Oct-Dec. Just a suggestion...:flowerforyou:

tron3002

String... You will love it in Yosemite. I only live an hour away so I visit it quite often. I found a web sight that lists some of the hikes you can do. www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/valleyhikes.htm It doesn't say the difficulty of half dome but on another sight it said the difficulty was extreme. I think I'll take my time on starting that one. After all just going to the top of Yosemite Falls killed my calves. They are still so sore its hard to walk. But well worth it. If you do decide to go up Yosemite falls might I suggest to leave early. There is another amazing lookout that you can see from there that if I had time I would have gone too. We just didn't have the time. As it was we were walking down the last hour at night and there wasn't even a moon out that night so it was dark. Kinda scary when its so steep and there are plenty of drop offs.

kelligirl

:drinker:
Stiring....yay for birthdays!! We celebrate a Birthday Week!! Mine starts on Saturday the 16th, by going to see Guy & Dolls at the Circle Theatre in Grand Rapids (MI) in which my baby sister Noddea (she's 30) has the lead of Miss Aldelaide. I'm soooo excited!

I am doing some upper body. At least 4 or 5 days/weekI do several sets of various exercises w/ 5# hand weights. I've also started doing crunches. I'm seriously considering an Eliptical... that Gazelle thing I have really seems to bother my ankles, although maybe it's just that I'm such a cream-puff!

mkwood10

Hello all :happy: :happy:
I am happy to report that I survived the carpet tear out and installation process! LOL :laugh: :laugh:
The carpet upstairs looks fantastic and the basement looks 1000% better with a carpeted floor!! Furniture is back where it belongs upstairs; nothing's done in the basement - need at least 4 guys to move the pool table back into place and level it. :grumble: Hubby got the stitches taken out of his hand today - Yeah!!
We decided this would be a great time to get rid of stuff we no longer need and/or use, so we still have to sort, clean and replace all of the other stuff. :grumble: So.......... I have awesome new carpet, but I still have lots of work ahead of me before the house is back to "normal" :frown: :frown:
Hard to say when I'll make it back to Curves or even steal time for a walk!!:frown: - It probably won't be this week, but Monday I'm going to Curves no matter what - I REALLY miss working out!!!:sad: :sad:

StiringWendel

alf, thank you for your input. I'm really a bit nervous about maintenance for the very reasons you suggested. So I actually wasn't planning on not counting calories. But I know what I eat most of the time, so actually having to research my food anymore just isn't necessary. I load up my menu alot of times the day before because I know exactly what I'm going to be eating. So it isn't labor intensive.

On top of that, I'd actually researched and planned out exactly what foods I was going to add to my diet and when to stagger this upward trend towards my maintenance goal. So I figured once I got to my goal weight, I'd just plug and play what I'd figured out in addition to what I was doing and I'd be good to go.

But now I'm having to do all the research for my husband. For example, just today he sent me an email saying 'I have these choices for lunch. Which should I choose?', and I'm back to having to research food again, just like I had to do for myself early on in this process. And while it is probably a good thing in the long run (when is learning ever a bad thing?), I was actually really looking forward to just being able to sit back for a little while and not focus on food so much since I knew what I was going to be eating going into maintenance. Now it seems like I'm back on my computer spending more time looking at food again, which is so not what I really want to be doing. My husband's timing in asking for my help couldn't have been worse, but I'm not going to not do this for him because of that. But it is just kind of frustrating because the amount of time I'm spending on this is the same as when I started, and I was hoping for a little change with regard to that. But it's really a minor complaint in the big scheme of things.

tron, thanks again for the info on Yosemite. I don't know how much time we are going to have there because this is truly going to be a whirlwind trip through northern California. But I'm hoping to get out and do at least one hike.

kelligirl, I'm all with you on birthday weeks! My won't start until the day before my birthday because that is the day we drive out of town on our vacation. Yay!! :drinker: An elliptical machine might be a good thing for your knees and hips. Can you work out on a treadmill? I think I've mentioned this before, but I am not a runner. But one of the absolute best workouts I've done is incline/interval training on a treadmill. It is all low impact, but my heart rate soars out the roof when I push the inclines. I love it, and yet find it very easy on my body. Just a suggestion for what it is worth.....though I don't know how that would work with your hips. I have lower back issues, but I had no problem doing this.

mkwood, yay for the renovation work being completed!! Don't you hate it, though, when one chore presents another? But just think, once all the housework is done, it's done for awhile.

robin1964

Hi April,
I used to go to the gym and use their work out equipment until my mom bought me a set of 1,3, and 8lb weights. I used them regularly until I got degenerative arthritis. Since then it hurts my shoulders and elbows. Do you have any suggestions? I am willing to try something else.

alf1163

Robin, are you taking medication for it? I was just reading that certain medications can help with the pain and also prevent further damage. This can help to then improve and maintain joint function. Has your physician given you alternatives? How about exercises just using your own body weight? You could do squats, lunges, core work...I guess push ups are out of the question, correct? This is also called osteoarthritis, which is the most common form of arthritis. I was told I was beginning to develop arthritis in my knees. They do bother me sometimes especially when I do long runs. Take care! :flowerforyou:

hoamai

Sunshine Lady - thanks for the feedback - yes, I should try using some ibuprofin beforehand, though I try to limit my intake of any meds. At this point, I am being careful, but I have to bike to get to work so that does result in some stress on the old knees!
I have switched my work outs to evenings during the past week because my mornings start so early - I think I prefer the mornings - any thoughts on better times for workouts (morning vs evening) - at this point, I plan to switch back to mornings when I can.
Chao - :glasses:

cardigirl

Sunshine Lady - thanks for the feedback - yes, I should try using some ibuprofin beforehand, though I try to limit my intake of any meds. At this point, I am being careful, but I have to bike to get to work so that does result in some stress on the old knees!
I have switched my work outs to evenings during the past week because my mornings start so early - I think I prefer the mornings - any thoughts on better times for workouts (morning vs evening) - at this point, I plan to switch back to mornings when I can.
Chao - :glasses:

I prefer working out in the morning as well, and was told that it's slightly better for you to work out in the morning rather than afternoon or evening, I guess because it gets the blood pumping and you benefit from the workout all day.

However working out whenever one has the time is significantly better than not working out at all. I just happen to like mornings because then it's done and over and out of the way.

aprilvet

Hi April,
I used to go to the gym and use their work out equipment until my mom bought me a set of 1,3, and 8lb weights. I used them regularly until I got degenerative arthritis. Since then it hurts my shoulders and elbows. Do you have any suggestions? I am willing to try something else.

Robin, I second alf's suggestions! You can also try more isometric exercises- where you create resistance with your body, not weights, and hold positions longer. You may want to consult a specialist in this, both in terms of medication and supplements, and in terms of which exercises will help you build muscle and strength but not exacerbate your arthritis.

Have a good night, everyone!!

tron3002

I found a HRM on sale at our sporting goods store. It has all of the information about the watch but doesnt say just exactly where a girl would wear the chest strap. Above or below the.... yea... hehe

singfree

Tron, not speaking from experience, just observing my wife....just under the "girls"!! :blushing:

annaliza

Tron, I got mine a couple of days ago. Yea, they make it so confusing, don't they? I finally just had look up pics on google to figure it out. I put it just under "the girls" under my bra. It worked great and was comfortable. I forgot it was there and I even wore it all day (lol, well, I didn't completely forget as I kept checking the watch part for cals burned all day tee hee).

Hoamai, I hear you there on the mornings. I have to get up at 5am to workout but this past week I seem to be working out in the evenings. I have heard that working out in the morning is better because it helps to burn calories the rest of the day.

I'm just glad to get a workout in when I can. Some days are harder than others, thats for sure. I actually burned 700 cals yesterday and was so proud of myself. I'm not even all that sore today where the past couple of weeks have been excruitiating at times.

TexasMom

Hi Everyone!!! I've missed the group this week. So happy to be back and read all the great posts. Welcome to all the newbies. It's great to see the group growing.

Alf - Your new pic is amazing!!! You look great!!! :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: Congrats on the one pound but even more congrats on the inches. You're going to have a great time in Vegas!!!!!

Singfree - Wow, you've got a lot going on. Your so inspiring with your success here and your commitment to family and music. Way to go!!! :bigsmile:

Erika - way to go at PF Changs. I know you were proud of yourself and felt saw how well you can enjoy eating out without guilt. I know it's hard not to count the pounds but stick with it. figuring out what works for your body doesn't happen over night and your husbands right, that at least you've lost. I hit my first mini goal today, 189.4 pounds. First time I've been under 190 for tooooooo long. It took me 4 weeks and I'm ok with that. One day at a time girl!!! Your awesome and worth it.

tron - I loved ready about your hike. I hope to make it to Yosemite in the next couple of years. But in the meantime I'll settle for the little bit of hiking we have available here in central Texas.

Stiring - Your amazing. Counting your calories and your husbands. Cudos to you girl. I barely have time to do my own. I'm sure your hubby greatly appreciates your help!! My husband started watching what he ate in April when I started this website. He's very active and is a pro-master inline skater but had put on about 15 pounds. Well, it's been a month and yes, he's lost all 15. And trust me he eats, a lot. He has to. His metabolism burns food so fast it's unbelievable, so when he cut out the bad food and ate only healthy for a month it all melted away. His down side is that he battles with high blood pressure and cholesterol. I don't, I just battle the bulge, so I think I'm on the winning side. :bigsmile:

Cardigirl - I prefer morning workouts also but just started breaking my workouts up this week. I'm experimenting to see what works best. I felt like working out 90 minutes was pushing myself to hard I've switched to an hour in the morning and 45 minutes in the evening. I'm not as tired, and I'm working out even longer in total so I'll see how it goes.

I had a great Mother's Day. The family took me to the Oasis. It's a great restaurant (mostly outdoor decks) that overlooks lake Travis. The weather was perfect and the food was great. I love how restaurants are so willing ot accomdate when I ask for an entree to be prepared just a little different. I ordered the tilapia mango salad. I asked for the fish to be broiled instead of fried and the dressing on the side. OMG, it was to die for and no extra calories.

My eldest daughter moved back from college and told me Sunday she needed to hit the track and didn't want to do it alone so we started the Couch to 5K program to see if I can get back to running. We are doing this at night when she gets home from work and it's working out great for both of us. The interval training is only 20 minutes right now so once we've done that, she makes me walk the bleachers while she's running the bleachers. My calves should really be shaping up when we finish this 9 week program. :bigsmile:

Last night was interesting, we went to the track early because my younger daughter had a soccer banquet at 7:00 we had to get to. We ran, showerd and made it to the banquet just in time to get in line for BBQ. :grumble: I was almost ready to get out of line when I saw they had smoked turkey. I got to the food and told the server to give me 4 oz of the turkey, a half cup of the beans, no potatoes and a half cup of the slaw. My daughter laughed and said they didn't know how to measure like that. HA!! yes they did. The meat cutter told her he has to measure like that all the time at the restaurant and applauded me for watching my portions. :laugh: The mom behind me that is also trying to lose weight was so encouraged she did the same thing and then came over to thank me for showing her there's no reason to be embarrassed to ask for portions and eat healthy. :happy: :happy: I told her, heck no I'm not embarrassed, I'm going to look so good when I've lost all this weight the over eaters will be embarrassed that they put so much on their plates. :laugh: :laugh:

Well, I'm getting a new roof put on today, the hail storm we had in March really did number on the house. So I'm off to run errands to get away from all the pounding. I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed Thursday.

cardigirl

Cardigirl - I prefer morning workouts also but just started breaking my workouts up this week. I'm experimenting to see what works best. I felt like working out 90 minutes was pushing myself to hard I've switched to an hour in the morning and 45 minutes in the evening. I'm not as tired, and I'm working out even longer in total so I'll see how it goes.

TexasMom, this is interesting, as sometimes I don't have enough time in the mornings to fit everything in. I'll be interested to see how this works for you. Nice to work out with your daughter...some good bonding time there, I imagine! The track time sounds very good!

And because of your decision to change up your routine, I'm curious as to how much time is a good amount to work out? I see many people on here who do 90 minutes or more on their workout days. I'm good if I get in 60 minutes...how much is too much or overtraining? I see people discuss that as well, and am unfamiliar with that concept. I can understand doing weight training at the gym and then going for a run later in the day, or something like that, just haven't gotten to that point yet, myself.

Some people talk about having an effective and efficient workout, vs working out longer times...it's all quite confusing to me. I'd be interested in everyone's thoughts on this.

tron3002

Singfree and annaliza.... Thank you. I dont understand why they dont have some sort of illustration when it comes to that. I cant wait to use it so I can see exactly how many calories I am burning.

Texasmom... Congratulations on the portion sizes. I actually wouldn't have thought of asking them, I would have just tried to eyeball how much I thought was the right amount. And great for you that your daughter is interested in running with you. It makes it much easier when you have a workout buddy rather than trying to do it yourself. Your gonna be to your goal weight in no time...:happy: :drinker:

Well I haven't exercised in 2 days because of my calves being SO sore, so I'm gonna make sure I do today. Not gonna push in the legs but I'm gonna get in some push ups, sit ups and some core workouts. I'll see how my legs feel tomorrow before I start up on the stair steps and such. I weighed myself yesterday. Still haven't lost anything but then again this past week I haven't exercised as much as I should have.

kelligirl

Hi everyone. It's nice to read everything that is going on with everyone. I have to vent a bit... I'm going downstate with a good friend on Saturday and we're going to see a musical at Circle Theatre. Anyway, she asked what I was wearing. I told her I wasn't sure - that not much fits me. :noway: She got after me, telling me not to be so hard on myself - to be keep in mind, that "we're in our 40's!" I told her that I wasn't being hard on myself, just honest - that I don't have many dress slacks that fit me (yet). I get this "in our 40's" comment from her whenever the subject of clothes or dieting comes up - or when I'm ordering (carefully) when we eat out. I never make a big deal of any of it. Up to now, I've been rather diplomatic with my response, but one of these days.....:explode: How does "being in our 40's" justify weighing too much? It doesn't!!! GRRRR!

singfree

Exactly right, kelligirl! Getting older does not mean that we are doomed to getting fatter. Weight gain is a choice that we make, even though we are mostly unaware of it. The fact is, as we get older, we need to work even HARDER than when we were younger....and we have to work and eat smarter!

TexasMom

Kelligirl - all I can say is I'm in my 40's and I'm going to feel like I'm in my 20's really soon. Feel so sorry for those that choose to be 40 and feel 60.

As soon as she sees your results I've got a feeling a little bit of envy going to kick in. :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

cardigirl

Kelligirl, I guess I thought your friend was responding to you putting yourself down (as in none of my pants fit me because I'm so big) and in her own way was trying to encourage you not to feel so bad about yourself. Anyway, is there a gentle way to tell her that remarks like hers do not help you in your journey to being fitter? And get her on your side to be fit?

Whenever someone tells me they're too big, my immediate response is not "Why yes, yes you are huge!" Heh. I usually do what your friend does, and try to help them feel better. I guess I'm going to have to stop doing that.