40+Club-Making it Work

StiringWendel

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.

cardigirl, there really is no quick, easy answer to this. Even those responsible for making exercise recommendations--and who study it for a living--can't seem to agree on how much a person should workout in terms of time. You'll see official recommendations from 30 minutes 3-4 days a week, to 60 minutes 5-6 days a week. I have not studied this, but I think some of the variations come from what the intent behind working out is for those doing the studies, etc.

So there are few rules when it comes to this. I happen to think the absolute best answer to 'how much should I workout' is 'whatever works best for you'. If that means you have 30 minutes a day, workout those 30 minutes a day. You just have to make whatever time you invest into working out works for you.

I usually workout between 45-90 minutes a day (with the average being 60 minutes) because this is a habit I got in years ago working out with DVDs. Generally speaking, that is the length of the DVDs the instructor I workout with the most (Cathe Friedrich--and I've been using her DVDs now for over 10 years) makes, so that's how long I workout. And I've always managed to work my schedule to allow for that (I'm very fortunate in that regard).

But I also know that I probably could get as effective of a workout for less time if I pushed the intensity a bit, which goes to your second paragraph up there. So I will give you an example. During a steady state step aerobic workout, my heart rate stays between 130-140 most of the time, and I burn about 300 calories in an hour. However, if I do a bootcamp/drill style workout, my heart rate will fluctuate between 120 and 150 (or more), and I can burn a similar amount of calories in less than 45 minutes. The second workout is a more effective use of time in terms of calorie burn (and there are other benefits to doing that type of workout which I won't go into), but that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with doing the 60 minute workout either. I enjoy different things on different days, and, for me, it is important for me to actually like the workouts I'm doing, so I vary my routine (especially with cardio) quite a bit. Days I want to push it, I do drills. Other days, if I'm not all there, a steady state is just better for me.

As far as overtraining goes, there again, there are no hard and fast rules. One of the things Jillian Michaels has brought up which I found interesting is that if you workout intensely more than 2 hours straight, the body produces more of the stress hormone cortisol, which can actually lead to putting on more weight (especially on the belly). So I think that is a good guideline to follow, and it actually makes sense that the body would respond to intense workouts with a stress hormone.

There are distinct signs of overtraining, though. One is fatigue in the legs (like you are walking through heavy mud all the time, not muscle soreness caused by the exercise itself). Another is having a higher resting heart rate, but are unable to raise your heart rate during your workouts. Another sign of overtraining is an increase in things like colds. Those are just a few examples. I did double workouts for a number of years, and never had any issues with overtraining.

But there are a couple of things to watch out for, especially if you are doing any strength training. Don't workout the same body part two days in a row. That's really important. Your muscles need time to recover. So if you workout biceps today (as an example), the next earliest day you'd want to work them out would be Saturday. Another thing to watch out for is to make sure you are varying your cardio routines (for instance, one day the elliptical, the next day the treadmill, the next day a kickboxing class) to prevent overuse injuries and to make sure your body doesn't adjust to whatever workout you are doing. The body can adapt to a workout in about two weeks, so you want to make sure you change things up as much as possible.

Hope that didn't muddy the waters further for you!!

Good to see you back, TexasMom. Thanks for your kind words. :flowerforyou:

kelligirl, that's kind of interesting what your friend said to you because I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about this change in lifestyle I'm going through. She is a few years older than me and has, quite honestly, served as a huge inspiration to me even though we now live thousands of miles apart. But she is a very clean eater, and in spending about a year living near each other, she put enough thoughts into my head that it is really her example I'm following in trying to clean up my diet.

Anyhow, we were talking on the phone the other day about this, and I told her that one of the reasons I feel it is so important for me to take charge of my health/nutrition/fitness right now is BECAUSE I'm in my 40s. It makes me sad that the attitude that being unhealthy or overweight or unfit is expected at this age is so pervasive (and it is). For me, it became paramount to make the change because it was when I hit 40 that I finally began to feel the ill effects of the lifestyle I was living, and I had the ability TO change it still. I certainly wouldn't want to kick this can down the road for another 10-20 years and then have some illnesses/diseases that I might not be able to change.

So enjoy your night out, but maybe if she ever makes a remark like that again, you can calmly look at her and say 'And that's exactly why I'm trying to create a new lifestyle for me'. It might get her thinking about her own situation. Just a suggestion!

Sorry this is so long. :blushing: Hope everybody is enjoying their day.

robin1964

Alf, I am on medication, without it I seriously can not move my arms because of the pain.
My daughter has rubber bands for pilates so I will try those, and you are certainly right no push ups.
Thanks for your suggestions I will try them.

hoamai

The comments and info on workout timing and efficiency was on my mind too - useful information. I workout at least 40 minutes 5 x a week with one day "rest" - and I do try to switch things around on a regular basis (also because it is just boring doing the same thing every day). I've thought about taking some tennis classes this summer - I haven't played for years - and am looking forward to getting out the badminton set in the back yard when back home.
In terms of age and fitness - I think it is even more important to stay in shape the older you are - I see people my age (in 50s) who have no energy, but working out & eating healthy really makes me feel energetic and able to keep up with my hectic life. There is a woman in one of the circuit training classes I take at the "y" who is probably in her mid to late 70s - and she keeps up and looks great!
Chao :glasses:

singfree

Happy Friday all! For those who are new to this club, Friday is our reporting day. Just tell us how you've been doing with diet & exercise (and anything else) during the past week.

This past week has been good and bad for me. I really try to eat well, but I always end up having some cheat treats here and there. I also need to curb having red wine and a few pretzels in the evening. So, until the end of the month (when I go to Calif.), I will up my protein and lower my carbs a bit. I will substitute the wine/ pretzels with a protein smoothie and some almonds in the evening.

My workouts are going well. Strength training 5 days per week. My cardio is mostly biking. I'm trying to do 100 miles per week, depending on the weather.

Alf, have a great time in LV!!!! Win big so we can all go to Garmisch to celebrate!!! :drinker:

eriny

goodmorning to all here :flowerforyou:

annaliza

Good Morning Everyone!

StiringWendel, WOW! Thanks so much for the information. I've read your post a couple of times already and will probably read it some more. Your answer to cardigirl's question enlightened me. Thanks for the question, Cardigirl and for the answer StiringWendel. I think I've experienced some muscle fatigue.

Kelligirl, youre right. Why should I settle for less just because I'm in my 40's? When did 40 become old? Don't listen to her - she's just using that as a justification.

Singfree, I read your question to Banks...thanks so much! I've learned a lot through listening to you and your experience.

Texasmom, I am so jealous!! I wish I could get my daughters into working out with me. One lives to far away, but I have one still living at home while she's in college. She's overweight and needs to get healthy but no matter what I say or do, she won't get off the couch! It's frustrating. My little ones try to copy me and it's really cute. Maybe that's where I went wrong with the older ones. When I was young, I didn't think much about nutrition and exercise (I was young and had a great metabolism). Now it's a big concern of mine and my little ones are benefiting from it.

I've been doing great with my workouts this week. I've ran twice this week so far and am going to try to run again today and sunday. I've done my strength training, which is about 5-6 days a week. My eating has been good though I am wondering if I need to up my calorie intake. I've been eating healthy but my weightloss has been really slow. I wore a HRM for an entire day and burned 3000 cals just working and chasing the kids...not to mention the 700 cals I burned that day working out. (and that doesnt count my sleep cals). So, average sleep cals 600, would equal 3600 cals just on a normal day, plus 700 cals working out (that happened to be one of my running days). 4300 cals. I ate 2000 cals (1200+700=1900 of what MFP gave me and I went 100 cals over -which I usually don't do, but I took in an extra protien shake that day). Am I doing what I'm supposed to be doing to lose weight? I'm 5'4", 187 pds, 41 yrs old. I thought I had a sedentary lifestyle, but I guess living in the mountains, at a work place with tons of stairs (I never take the elevator) and having 2 kids in diapers - maybe my lifestyle is lightly active rather than the sedentary that I set up on my account? Not to mention, since I started working out, I find myself moving every chance I get.

Sorry to unload this on you guys :blushing: Singfree's and StiringWendels recent posts got me wondering.

StiringWendel

annaliza, that's really a high calorie burn for a day. I would definitely say you don't lead a sedentary life. I've not worn my HRM for an entire day, but I did wear it for about 7 hours yesterday, including my workouts. And in that 7 hour period of time, I burned only about 800 calories, so I would estimate my average daily burn to be somewhere in the mid 2000s at most (to compensate for the time I'm sleeping, where I would obviously burn less) if relying on my HRM.

That being said, I'm actually not sure how much I trust the HRM to accurately assess what my body is burning when I'm not in an aerobic state. My resting heart rate is relatively low (between 40-50 beats per minute), and I do believe it is based on heart rate that the HRM is assessing how many calories are burned. In other words, it can't possibly take into account things like metabolism or body composition, which have alot to do with how many calories the body burns (for instance, if you are more muscular, chances are you are burning more calories at rest than somebody who isn't muscular).

My recommendation to you is to play with your calories a bit. If you feel like you are eating plenty, you may actually want to decrease your calories some to see if your body responds because, again, there is no guarantee that your HRM is actually totally accurate. But if you feel like you aren't eating enough (you are tired all the time, having difficulty completing your workouts, feel weak and light headed, etc), then you might want to up your calories. But listen to your body first because I know I have found that my body pretty much tells me exactly what it needs if I'm willing to listen to it. I just have to remind myself that the cravings for carrot cake are coming from my emotions and NOT my body :happy: when I'm doing that!!

I'm holding steady at 109.7 this week. Body measurements are pretty much the same (down a little in my waist but not much). I upped my calories to 1500 last Saturday. I'm going to increase them another 100 a day (to 1600) starting tomorrow and see how my body responds to that. I'm hoping that holding the weight steady this week at 1500 calories isn't a sign that 1500 is where I need to be sitting to maintain. I don't think it is because I was able to lose weight so easily eating 1400. So I'm going to keep increasing (slowly) until I start gaining weight right now.

Had a great week working out. One more week in the second cycle of STS and then I move on to heavy weights. Yay! :drinker: Today I'm going to do a combination of step aerobics and lower body conditioning for about 80 minutes.

Hope everybody has a good weekend. :flowerforyou:

TexasMom

Happy Friday Everyone!!

Alf - have a great time in Vegas!!! You've worked hard for your success so don't feel guilty about having fun. :drinker: :drinker: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Singfree - you've done great considering the schedule you've had these past couple of weeks. Way to go!!! Most of the smoke from Mexico is out of here so I'm hoping to get back on the bike next week. I can't wait!!

Annaliza - Thanks for the encouragement. We've gotta love those daughters on the good days and the bad. :laugh: :laugh: Both of mine have always been in athletics (basketball, soccer, volleyball, track) which helps but my older one did get very heavy from 4th - 7th grade. My divorce did number on her and she ballooned. I wish I could take credit for her weight loss success but it was all God. She came home from church one Sunday and told me she wasn't honoring God with her body and that was that. She stopped eating the junk, dropped the weight over a 2 year span and by her sophmore year of high school I wanted to hide her in a closet. :noway: :noway: Now at almost 20 she mostly makes good food choices and loves to workout. This morning she splurged and got a tall latte from Starbucks and a cinnamon bagel w/butter from Einsteins. :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

My week has been really good and changing up my workouts has made a big difference. I'm now sure I'm the kind of person that needs to breakup the excercise into 2 daily sessions. I was just pushing to hard for a solid 90 minutes. Now I'm actually working out about 50 minutes in the morning and 50 in the evening and I feel so much better. So much more energy!!!! I love it. And my 16 year old told me this morning that I'm really looking thinner. :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

I came across an article I thought I'd share with everyone. Some of you already know all of these things but some don't and it's got a great suggestion for tracking actual calorie burn based on your personal style and size. Don't let the title fool you, it's not just for runners. :happy: :happy: http://www.active.com/nutrition/Articles/Maintain-Your-Lean_-Mean-Racing-Machine.htm

If you don't make it to the threads this weekend I wish all of you a wonderful and blessed weekend.

Many Many Blessings,
Nita

phetzgetfit

hi robin,

don't know if it would work for everyone but i had terrible trouble with a shoulder (two years of therapy and only minor improvement) and arthritis in my knees and hands until i discovered bikram yoga (done in a very heated room). I'm pretty much pain free now. good luck.

annaliza

StiringWendel, thanks for the advice! You are so wise.

I have been getting a little dizzy during my workouts but it's usually when I stand up or sit up too fast. It's kind of scarey to play with your calories, thats for sure! Especially since I haven't been doing too bad with losing weight, but I just feel that I could do better. I know that 1200 cals make me hungry - I find myself working out so that I have more cals to eat. I think that is counter productive though - kind of like using food as a reward for exercising.

Texasmom - mmmmnnnn, sounds delicious! I haven't had Starbucks in forever (or a cinnamon bagel, either)!

phetzgetfit

ooops, forgot to post weight: 157 this morning. kept the pound i finally lost last week off and that's good news. Had a particularly challenging week with unexpected houseguest, lots of drama, and lots of unhealthy food around me all of a sudden. I managed to stay on my own program and the houseguest has moved on. whew.

Hoosiermomma

Friday is posting day? I will try to keep up to date. So many sucesses Congratulations!:flowerforyou: I will add my own. We had our mid-way weigh in for the Biggest Loser Club at the Health Center and I have lost over 5% of of my body weight! I have been taking measurements and have lost 2 inches in my waist and the same on my hips!:happy:

The question of the day, do you like working out in front of the mirror? I like watching the other people, but not myself. I usually choose the treadmill without the mirror. It was good in kickboxing to watch my form but I didn't particularly care for the red faced woman i was looking at. Oh, well she's not gonna stop me!

Big events this weekend, Jr Sr banqet at our place tonight and then Double engagement party Saturday night. Time to make lots of food of which I plan to enjoy small portions!

Have a great Weekend All!

tron3002

Well I didn't work out as much this week and I'm pretty disappointed in myself but I have been so busy with other things along with the Yosemite hike killing my legs that I just didn't find the time. I'm gonna get back on track starting today and hopefully I will have some progress to report next week. I have to start walking on my treadmill on the steepest incline. Not so much for weight loss but I was informed yesterday that on my husbands vacation in July he wants to hike down to the bottom of the grand canyon. And of course when you go down you have to go back up right... I definitely need to work on my endurance going up those step hills.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and congratulations on all of your successes you had this last week.

mzaccardi

Good afternoon everyone, I hope everyone is having a great day. Personally I've had the week from down under! I've been working 12 hour days all week and looking very forward to 5:00 today! I only worked out 3 days instead of my usual every day and eating has been anything I can eat in the car, which means nothing healthy. Now for the good news: my doctor finally took me off the Tamoxifin. Yeah!!!! I did a little victory dance over the toilet as I flushed the offending pills down into oblivion:laugh: I am going out tonight to celebrate with my hubby. Tomorrow starts a new day!

2BLean

Happy Friday Everyone!

It's been a pretty good week. As I mentioned (many pages back I think) I started my second round of ChaLEAN Xtreme. So this week finished up the BURN Phase which is the first 4 week phase. Will start PUSH next week. Loving it again and happy with the few inches that seem to be staying off. Worked out 6 days. I may weigh myself tomorrow a.m. and see how I've done.

Hope everyone has a great weekend ~ thanks for the great thread! I enjoy everyone's advice and words of encouragement. It really helps. I don't have workout buddies or anyone in my household that works out so sometimes a lonely process, thanks for being here! :flowerforyou:

mkwood10

Good afternoon everyone, I hope everyone is having a great day. Personally I've had the week from down under! I've been working 12 hour days all week and looking very forward to 5:00 today! I only worked out 3 days instead of my usual every day and eating has been anything I can eat in the car, which means nothing healthy. Now for the good news: my doctor finally took me off the Tamoxifin. Yeah!!!! I did a little victory dance over the toilet as I flushed the offending pills down into oblivion:laugh: I am going out tonight to celebrate with my hubby. Tomorrow starts a new day!

Mzacardi,
Congrats on flushing the Tamoxifin!!!:bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
Don't stress over this week; just start fresh. Enjoy an evening celebrating, then start begin serious again tomorrow. You deserve to celebrate:drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

Texssippian

Hello all and happy Friday! I weighed on Wednesday and am down 10 pounds from where I started. 7 pounds since finding MFP. I planned to work out every day this week but missed yesterday. We came home Wednesday night to a warm upstairs. The ac unit was out. (We're north of Dallas and Fort Worth.) Slept downstairs sharing the sofa bed with the dogs. Hubby slept in the guest room but we did not want the dogs to think it was ok to be in there. Repair man was supposed to come at 3:00 yesterday. Did not show up until 6:30! Did fix the unit in 30 minutes for $150. But it took a couple of hours for the upstairs where the treadmill and bike are to cool down. Did spend the time waiting by sorting through MOUNTAINS of old bills and household paperwork. More cerebral than aerobic but equally satisfying. After my dad died in November, no one else in the family had the heart to go through his papers, so I did it. I vowed to myself to do a better job with our papers but yesterday was the first day I felt I could tackle it.

In our picture for our 25th anniversary last September, both of us look rather portly. I told my husband the other day that we would take another picture this September and we would both look better! I am tracking his calories too because we have to turn them in to our trainer each week. I think he is not telling me everything he is eating so I am going to start adding things that I notice have "disappeared" to his food journal! The 100 calorie Hostess cupcakes are vanishing into thin air!

Mzaccardi: Congratulations on being able to give the toilet a good dose of Tamoxifin. Way to go!

Congratulations to all the successes! And tomorrow starts a whole new day!

cardigirl

Well, if this is reporting day, I didn't do my best this week. Missed a work out day today due to some work drama...but will be back at the gym tomorrow.

Also fell down on the food intake tonight, but felt I needed the martini. Going back to the straight and narrow this weekend and hopefully will stay there for the next few weeks.

Weight is holding steady...so hope to see another downward trend in the next couple of weeks.

Good job to everyone...sounds like you all are doing quite well! Yay!

tron3002

My husband decided last night that he too wants to start counting calories so I made him a profile, not that he'll use it just to see what his calorie intake should be. I almost fell to the floor when it came up with 2090 calories!!!! Shoot all's he has to do is give up a candy bar once a week and he'll drop 20 pounds.
I guess if I want to keep up with him on this trip to the Grand Canyon in July I'm gonna have to train my butt off...

tron3002

I was just wondering... Should I change my starting weight to where I was before starting my diet or leave it from when I started MFP? I actually did lose 23 lbs. Which would you chose if you were me? I'm just debating cuz I feel like I'm not giving myself the full credit for all the hard work I did before I found this sight.

alf1163

Hi!!! I have not eaten well at all today!!! :laugh: But the good thing is that I don't remember when it was the last time I "splurged" this way on the "wrong" foods. We celebrated my son's 16th birthday today at Peter Piper Pizza. That is his favorite food. So lots of pizza, cake and ice cream. Oh well...:laugh: I did workout this morning, ChaLean's burn intervals. I am planning on running tomorrow and doing push 3 in the morning.

Then on Monday my husband and I are going to Vegas for 4 days. Oh brother :noway: :noway: I really don't know how I am going to resist temptations at the buffets and all the drinking...any suggestions? I told my husband that we really did not have to eat at the buffets and we did not have to drink to have a good time and all I got was a dirty look and a "oh, now you are going to start with that now?" :grumble:

Tron, if I were you I would add all the weight I have lost on my ticker. Congrats!!!! :drinker:

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend!!!! :flowerforyou:

Texssippian

Tron, I agree that you should include all your weight loss!

Alf, I have started using a little salad plate at a buffet. If they don't have one, I try to fill up most of the plate with salad greens and then little dabs of the other stuff. I also ask for sparkling water with lemon or lime instead of a drink. (I NEVER have a real drink at a work function.) If you want a drink, ask for a wine spritzer with sparkling water in it. Have fun and enjoy the time!

We are taking our kids (20 and 24) over Labor Day weekend to see some cousins their ages who are all in Chicago. We realized at my sister's funeral in September and my dad's funeral in November that these kids had not seen each other in 10 years. My brother in law and nephew are coming too. We will have 5 "adults" in their 50s and early 60's" and 10 "kids" in their 20's. I don't plan on going crazy on food but it is a family time to celebrate each other. We are really looking forward to it.

My husband got on the exercise bike this morning after I got on the treadmill after we got back home from doing weights at the gym...

Swissmiss

tron...I think that I would begin with my very beginning weight. The number will look so impressive. I know what you mean about husbands. Mine can lose weight just by not thinking of food. So frustrating when we are trying so hard.

alf...I have found that if I spurge occasionally that I do better. I however, really over-did it last night at a company reunion.

Tex...I love using a small plate. It looks like I am eating so much more.:happy:

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: Good morning everyone. I have a busy day planned....cleaning the house, yard, laundry, etc. I will also be here more the next couple of weeks. So you can expect to be hearing from me. I am one pound away from my first goal. I will then go for another five pounds. Depending on how I look and feel, I may go on a maintenance plan at that time.

StiringWendel

tron, I echo everybody else in thinking you should give yourself credit for all of the weight you've lost. You've done great!

Swissmiss, I look forward to hearing from you more often. Isn't your surgery this week? If so, please take care of yourself.

I kind of had a bad food day yesterday, but not too bad. We had a day-long event that had me eating out both lunch and dinner. My major 'oops' was wine with dinner, but I couldn't resist. At least I managed to skip the dessert. But this morning.....I was down 1.3 pounds. Go figure. I actually am not trying to lose weight, but there you go. I'm sure it will find me again. I'm having 16 people to dinner tonight (ack!!), so I'm not so sure how good today is going to be either.

alf, my husband and I are going away next weekend as well. We're driving, so we have a little easier time managing food than I suspect you will since I imagine you're probably flying up to Las Vegas. But what I've decided is that I'll really manage what I eat for breakfast and lunch (probably buying food for our lunches from a grocery story and such), but then I'll enjoy the dinner meals (within reason, of course, but not as restrictive as I am during my non-vacation life). I figure that's a decent compromise. For me, no doubt, the biggest temptation is going to be wine....and I don't really plan on avoiding it :drinker:

alf1163

Good morning!!! Long workout today. I did ChaLean push circuit 3 this morning and then went outdoors for a nice walk/run intervals for a little over 6 miles. The weather is just perfect today.

Thank you for your suggestions. I will definitely watch my portions at the buffets by using the salad plates and eating little bits of what I want to try. I KNOW I can do this!!! We are planning on walking everywhere so that will be my exercise. Maybe some pushups and core work in the hotel at times. I am looking forward to the break and spending time with hubby without the kids, dogs, house, etc etc. I will miss you guys. My husband will be happy that I will be away from my laptop. Yesterday he told me that it was excessive. He is soooooo jealous of MFP :noway: :laugh: Oh well...I don't nag him when he is in front of the tv for hrs at a time...:noway: Ok, enough of that...:laugh:

I hope everyone has a pleasant Sunday and the start of the new week. I am off soon to get my eyebrows done and a manicure/pedicure. Packed already...I will "see" you guys on Friday or so...Take care!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Annette :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: Good morning stiring. Yep, I have more surgery tomorrow. I have been having trouble finding time to check in here with all of you since I went back to work. I get done with my eight hour day and then come home to a messy house which becomes like another job. It is even harder to get to the gym. I was going there rather regularly with my husband but then he injured himself at work and hasn't been able to lift weights.
I did really bad on Friday night when the company that my husband used to work for had a reunion. But I will go on.
:flowerforyou: alf...I hope you have a wonderful time away with your husband. I think that you know what you need to do to continue eating healthy. You will do fine.

tron3002

I added my starting weight so my ticker reflects what I have lost, and unfortunately what I gained back before finding this sight. But I measured myself today. I always measure around my waist where my belly button is, and even though the scale hasn't budged (which is discouraging) I did lose a 1/2 inch... That gets me excited to keep going. I know I should be proud of myself for the amount of weight I have lost already ( went from a 39 inch waist down to 34 1/2) but I want my belly gone so bad that all's I see is one huge gut and not the improvements. I really need to work on the mental part I guess.

Alf... Have fun in Vegas. Dont worry too much about your calories because with all the walking I'm sure if you were to gain anything it wouldnt be very much. Just relax and enjoy the time with your husband. Life is too short.

Swiss... Hope everything goes smoothly with your surgery and you have a speedy recovery....

To everyone else, Have a great day!!!!

Swissmiss

tron...I measured myself yesterday. I lost one inch. Guess where....my bust.:laugh:

angele

hi. i am over 40 too. its hard for me to lose also . in 2 months i've lost approx. 10 lbs. wish it would leave faster and stay off. to say i don't get hungry at night would b a lie. i do . i go to the gym try to not eat over 1500 cal. a day . i get sooo discouraged. but keep trying. is there a key to this that some of us not getting ?