40+Club-Making it Work

singfree

Happy Tuesday all!

Sorry I didn't post all weekend, as its been pretty busy here. I checked in from time to time to see how y'all are doing. I hope you had a great Memeorial Day weekend.

I did get to ride a total of about 50 miles over the weekend, and I did a few power walks up & down some steep hills. Back to the gym this week as usual. As you know, we are leaving for California on Sunday afternoon. I really feel as though I reached my fitness goals. My weight is fine, but I am still trying to shed those last few lbs of fat. :grumble:

My eating is generally pretty good, though. I'll try to keep it clean until we leave. One good thing...my brother in law in Calif. really watches what he eats, so eating healthy at his house is not a problem.

Have a great day!

Swissmiss

:bigsmile: sing...you were missed. I am glad that you had a good time, however. You rode 50 miles? You must be in pretty good shape. I love it when someone else is eating good also. This makes staying on course so much easier.

I had already walked one mile, had a good breakfast of Special K, fat free milk and one half grapefruit by 7:45 this morning. I am hoping to continue being this good the rest of the day.

singfree

Good morning Swiss! I also had Special K & Vanilla Soy Milk for breakfast. The evenings are the toughest part of the day for me. I tend to go for the junk food and make poor choices at night. The 50 miles on my bike was over the course of the weekend, not in one ride...my butt can't take it, especially on a road bike.

singfree

Alf, I just noticed your Vegas pix...Fabulous!!! :drinker:

Swissmiss

Sing...I noticed that the 50 miles were over the weekend.:laugh: Do you think that I think you are some super man?:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Swissmiss

Alf...I also viewed your pictures. Hey, you look terrific.

singfree

Well, 50 miles gives me around 2200-2500 cals burned. Not bad for an enjoyable form of exercise! Biking burns 700-750 cals per hour. Really, I don't think that my exercise is excessive. I am VERY thankful to be able to do such strenuous things at my age!! Plus, getting sweaty and exhausted is a great feeling (talking about outdoor activities here) :blushing: !!

cardigirl

Morning everyone! Hope you all had good weather and a great holiday.

Mine went well, and I did pretty good calorie-wise. Even with ice cream on Monday. And possible a glass of wine.

I've decided to try something a bit different with my cardio workouts, and would appreciate anyone's thoughts on this experiment. Currently, I'm trying to get a total of 45 minutes in on the stair mill and the AMT machine, which is approx. 500 calories burned. Especially on the AMT, I tend to go the same speed at one level, so what I've decided to try to do is break that up, by working especially hard at a higher level of 1 minute, eventually increasing that to 2 minutes and then cooling down several times during my 32 minutes on there. I think it's called HIIT.

I want to try this, because I've been reading that extended cardio workouts build endurance but don't really burn fat as effectively as shorter bursts of high intensity working out. Not sure if it's true, but I'm going to try to find out for myself.

Other than that, still on track with watching intake and still trying to get to the gym at least 5 days a week.

Here's to an activity-filled summer of increased health to us all! :drinker:

Swissmiss

:laugh: sing:laugh: You always have me laughing.

cardigirl, yes varying your routine would help. I don't know how it works but it's said to. I do this on the stationary bike by watching the clock and really hitting it hard for a time and then taking it slower for a time.

TexasMom

Happy Tuesday Everyone!!!!

Singfree - I echo Swiss's comment - you keep us laughing!!! Don't stop, it adds years to our lives. :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Cardigirl - your on the right track. Interval training/workouts are highly recommended. I'm blessed to have a stationary bike, elliptical and treadmill that have interval programming already on them so I jsut set it and go. Let us know how what changes you see after you've tried the new workout plan for a week or so.

My leg is almost 100% again so I plan to start back to my regular workouts tomorrow. Today I'll do the treadmill walking, the stationary bike and some weight training. Can't wait to finish the laundry so I can get started, I feel so good after my workouts.

Blessings to all,
Nita

tron3002

No ribs yesterday, instead the hubby wanted to go to Yosemite and hike the trails at Mariposa Grove. I brought my HRM and it said I burned 865 calories. I didn't add my food intake because we didn't get home til late and I had a migraine so straight to bed I went. I will take the time to add them in in just a few and report where I stood for the day.

My husband is getting some hours cut at one of his jobs so he told me yesterday that he would like to go to Yosemite once a week to hike the trails to get ready for our hike at the grand canyon. To tell you the truth I am still nervous about that one. I know I will be able to do it just dont want to kill myself in the process.

Sing... Have a terrific time in California. Where abouts are you going? As you can tell I live in northern California close to Yosemite.

tron3002

My food consisted of>>>>
Multigrain cheerios & 2% milk- 343
Turkey Sandwich - 281
2 hot dogs - 480
Chips - 480
Grand Total- 1584

Calories burned 865

= 719

Wow! I thought I ate more than that

singfree

Tron, we will be visiting my brother-in-law in Arleta (San Fernando Valley). Not too much planned, just a trip to the Hearst Castle (overnight at a B & , maybe some wine tasting :drinker: I really want to visit the Reagan Library in Simi Valley as I am a history buff.

alf1163

:flowerforyou: Alf..I don't know how to explain it. I didn't even know that we were to eat our calories burned until about a month ago. Tell me..where do I go here to have my exercise calories calculated? I haven't found that area. I know that I can put in my own estimated calories but I am sure not good at that. I do have a HR monitor but I started to set it up right after my first surgery and was taking pain pills at the time so I think I goofed it. :laugh: I would appreciate any help you can give me with this.:bigsmile:

Swiss, you go to the exercise tab. Then you enter the exercise you did and click on search. It will show you a list of exercises in the database and you can choose the exercise that you did or one that is closest to it. Then it will calculate according to the info MFP has, your height and weight. That is if you don't have a HRM. If you are using one, then click on where it says "enter exercise not on database" or something like that. Then you enter the exercise, the duration in minutes and the calories burned according to your HRM. Those calories will be added to your food diary calories for that day. You can always re-set your HRM with the correct information. I've had to re-set mine a couple of times after losing more weight. You want it to have the most accurate info as possible so it will calculate your calories burned more accurately. I hope this helps. :flowerforyou:

alf1163

Thank you all for all the compliments about my picture. I posted more so if you click on my profile name it will take you to my profile and then click on pictures. I had a wonderful time.

Tron, are your calories set to a minimum of 1200? Then you burned 865 today correct? That would mean that you can eat 2,065 cals. You just ate 1,584? Did I understand it correctly? You might want to eat more veggies and fruit, less processed foods. Please don't take this wrong, ok? And I am not an expert, just my humble opinion. When I first started on here I really thought a calorie was a calorie but now I try to eat more nutritious foods throughout the day, lean meats, high fiber foods, fruits, veggies, low sugar foods, less processed foods. I feel I am eating all day long :noway: because the healthier the foods the lower the calories but they are filled with wonderful nutrients.

Cardigirl, great plan!!! Interval trng is the best!!! You don't have to do it everyday. Maybe once or twice a week. On the other days just do for example a longer less intense workout, etc. And of course do not forget about good old weight training!!

Have a great evening!! Sing, stay away from the wine and pretzels!!! :laugh: :laugh: :flowerforyou:

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: Thanks tron..I realized how to do it after I posted that. I felt so stupid. I was thinking that we had to calculate our own calories burned. I see now that MFP does it for us.

alf1163

This has been a learning experience for me as well. In the beginning I was entering my weight trng sessions where it says weight trng and there it does not calculate calories at all so I was missing out on all the calories I could have consumed. :noway: :noway: And of course, remember, it is an estimate. For better accuracy use your HRM. :flowerforyou:

tron3002

Alf... I do try to eat healthy, I was surprised with the hike to Yosemite that morning and he already had everything ready to go. Very sweet. And I usually eat most of my calories back that I exercised but I was concerned with the choices of food available that I didn't pig out. I wasn't hungry either. I just thought there were more calories in the food I was eating. I wont say that I never eat processed foods because as I explained before, maybe you were gone, my pantry is filled with them. I'm just not replacing them once they are gone. Altho thank you for pointing out that a calorie isn't a calorie. Alot of people including myself wouldn't think of it that way. I have even caught myself saying... I have X amount of calories left this ice cream wont make a difference...

Swissmiss

Guilty. I have been known to do that also...Let's see now..How many calories are in this chocolate bar? Well, I have enough left over today to fit that in.:laugh: :laugh:

roserex

Hi!! I am almost 52 and been with MFP since 5/4. I love this site, can anyone join this thread? By making a response, it will go in my recent topics, but how do I keep it permanently in something so I can come back to this same thread? I have lost 7 1lbs so far and hoping to loose another 3-5 by the next time I weigh. I am trying to not fixate on weighing in so often since I do fluctuate alot. I loved reading all of your comments/goals/etc Everyone seems to be doing pretty good.

tron3002

Welcome roserex... Sure you can join this thread. I always find it by clicking on the Community tab, once that is done loading the bar directly under that click onto My Topics and it should be there.:happy:

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: Welcome roserex. The way to find us is just as tron said. It is real easy to do. You can keep up with us and let us know how you are doing.:flowerforyou:

:flowerforyou: Good morning everyone. I didn't do as good this morning as I did yesterday. I slept in some. Instead of the one mile walk with my dog we just went around the block. Oh well, it was long enough for him to do his "business". I had a healthy breakfast...two poached eggs on lite bread...no added fats. I haven't been working out like I should be. I guess I am discouraged. I didn't even do any housework yesterday. Except for the dishes. I will really try to get to the YMCA today.

alf1163

Tron, please forgive me if I sounded judgemental, I am in no way wanting to do that. I am the same way when my husband cooks or prepares something. And my diet is NOT a 100% perfect. I would not want to be 100% perfect. I eat my ice cream too and sweets and auntie anne's pretzels....:laugh:

Swiss, just try to do the best you can. I know you've had struggles with your health lately, your surgeries...It has got to be hard to get back on track quickly. Take it slow and with time you will feel stronger and ready to challenge yourself more.

Welcome roserex! Kudos for not wanting to weigh in often. The scale is the devil!! :laugh: Try not to weigh more than once a week. Go longer if possible. Just focus on eating well, staying within your calories and exercising. Challenge yourself at every workout if possible.

Off to work, have a wonderful day!!! :flowerforyou:

TexasMom

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!

Roserex - Welcome to the thread. New friends are awesome. :happy: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Happy to see so many confessions of the food indulgences. :laugh: :laugh: We are all human and we keep it real. We are blessed with this life!! Being healthy so that we can enjoy every moment possible is what we are out to achieve. Enjoying our life is the key, so ice cream, candy bars, pretzels, etc are there for our occassional bliss. :bigsmile: :bigsmile: One of my blissful foods was a milkshake. :drinker: Since I've been working out I've been craving fruits so much that I started blending the fruit with ice and a scoop of protein mix to make smoothies. Boy do they taste good!! :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Working out only once today, we have a choir banquet tonight for my 16 year old so I don't have time to fit in the evening cardio. I'll be eating a double portion of salad at the banquet though so no worries. They never have good food at this particular banquet and I've gotten double salad for the last 4 years. :grumble:

I'm going to measure Friday. I've already dropped one pant size so I'm excited to see how that looks on the tape measure.

Hope everyone enjoys their day. Many Blessings,
Nita

cardigirl

Altho thank you for pointing out that a calorie isn't a calorie. Alot of people including myself wouldn't think of it that way. I have even caught myself saying... I have X amount of calories left this ice cream wont make a difference...

You mean we're not supposed to do that? :sad: Darn it, that's how I've been leaving room for wine occasionally! Heh.

tron3002

alf... no worries. I didn't take what you said harshly. In fact when I do need some helpful criticism I would greatly appreciate it. That is why we are all here right. To learn about what works and what doesn't.:happy: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

I didn't get in my exercise yesterday. I had to watch my two daughters puppies and one of them is brand new so if you put her down even for a minute she cry's.:sad: Cant have that with a sleeping husband. I cant wait until she get used to it here then all's I have to worry about is the potty thing:grumble:

cardigirl

oooh puppies! What kind, Tron? I think I'd rather watch puppies than exercise too! They are soooo cute!

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: tron, I agree with you. If I am doing something wrong then I like to have it pointed out. That way I, hopefully, will learn.

:flowerforyou: cardigirl, I also figure in my wine.

:flowerforyou: Nita, I love my smoothies. I make them the same way. I think the extra protein is helping me.

:flowerforyou: roserex. I have been told to stay away from the scales. This is easier said then done. Try taking your measurements and going by that. We could be losing fat and not have the scales show it. Also, if you clothes are fitting looser then that is a good sign.

I went to the YMCA today and got my workout in.:laugh: I also have drank all but two of my glasses of water.:drinker:

tron3002

cardigirl... They are chihuahua's. I have two Dixie who is 4 years and 4 lbs, Moochie who is 3 years and 10 lbs. My eldest daughter has Zippy who is almost a year and 4 lbs and the younger daughter has the baby, Papers who is I think 9 or 10 weeks old and 2 lbs. And no, Moochie isnt fat. I think if he were 8 lbs he would be considered under weight. Just a bigger dog. I have Zippy and Papers til around 3 today. Thank goodness Papers is getting comfortable here. I was able to put her down for about 5 minutes while I weighed myself on my wii fit.

And speaking of weighing myself.................
I am 1 lb lighter!!!!!!! Yea!!! I am so excited... Just had to share

Swissmiss

I love chihuahuas. I think the Legally Blond movies contributed to their popularity. I have a Yorkie who weighs 6 and 3/4 pounds. He did weight just 6 pounds until he broke his leg last October. Then he gained.