40+ Club - Summertime Fun

singfree

Stiring, some of the California and Australian wines remind me of the Germans.

Riesling
Gewuertztraminer
Gruener Veltliner

I can smell your Brot baking from here!

PS...how about some Nutella on that bread?

StiringWendel

singfree, when we lived in Germany, we got to know a weingut (the guy who runs a vineyard...I forget the English word right now :laugh: ) pretty well, and he explained to us (over a glass or two of wine) that they stopped growing Gewuertztraminer over there for a long time because of issues with the grape. It is such a lovely wine, and I'm happy they brought it back. In the drier wines at least, I think many California wines are actually a little bit better than many German wines. I still think Germany does better on the sweeter wines though (something about the climate). How did a wine lover like me get to live in two places the produce such superb wine? :drinker:

I'm sitting here enjoying my post-workout snack....peanut butter and raspberry jam on my homemade bread! It's good!

cardigirl

Stiring, some of the California and Australian wines remind me of the Germans.

Riesling
Gewuertztraminer
Gruener Veltliner

I can smell your Brot baking from here!

PS...how about some Nutella on that bread?

MMmMMmmmm I love Gewuertztraminer.

Hope you had a good birthday, Sing and even more celebration for it this weekend.

Stiring there's a great cookbook about making bread from starter dough...Artisian Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and they just released one called Healthy Breads in Five Minutes a Day. I haven't made bread in years but I'm thinking of starting up again. Congrats on bread machine! I love fresh hot bread from the oven! (or machine!) Hope you figure out your maintenance calories soon. I seem to have no trouble keeping the weight on, darn it.

Texassippian, I think your husband and the plant children sound adorable. Heh. Congrats on all the success you're having with the exercise and looser clothing. Yay!!! Your river workouts sound like so much fun! Sorry about the high heat though. Hope it breaks soon for you.

Alf, you did really well at the pizza place! Glad you had a good time with your son!

Annaliza, I'm sorry that your marriage sitch is one wherein it sounds like you do EVERYTHING. Remember that you are a wonderful person and you deserve to be treated with love and respect. I admire you for carrying the family through. And for all the teaching you do! Wow!

---

Since this is reporting day, might as well report that my weight has fluctuated in the wrong direction! :sad: Consarn it! Was doing really well and thought I might even be able to say I was down 24 lbs over all, but no, for some reason (possibly too much to eat, heh) my weight is moving up. Will try to refocus on eating less and more cleanly, as well as exercising a bit more. Maybe next Friday, I'll report a loss.

Have great weekends everyone! :drinker:

tron3002

Happy friday everyone...
Well no progress this week. Still hanging in there steady. I don't understand why it takes me so long to lose any weight on that darn scale. But heck, at least I didn't gain any right.

String... I love homemade bread. I would make a loaf with dinner and trust me it would be gone at dinner:laugh: Of course my kids and husband had their fair share too

Alf... Glad to hear you had a nice time with your son. Time fly's so quickly that if you don't stop and take those little moments before you know it they are grown and too busy.

singfree

Stiring...

Vintner...I just remembered!

alf1163

I just came back from the zumbathon, 2hrs of Zumba!! :noway: I burned 807 calories!! Yikes!! I still have to eat 320cals of those. I think I am done, too close to bedtime. I am going to take a nice shower and rest!!! :laugh: It was so much fun!! PARTY!!!

I did had a nice time with my son, my 16yr old baby!! Some of you know he has autism and MR. He is pretty delayed. He can be very challenging at times. God has given me so much patience to deal with his condition.

Well, gotta go rest. Stiring, reading about your bread machine made me want to toast some bread...which kind of machine did you get?

Have a great evening!! :flowerforyou:

alf1163

Stiring, some of the California and Australian wines remind me of the Germans.

Riesling
Gewuertztraminer
Gruener Veltliner

I can smell your Brot baking from here!

PS...how about some Nutella on that bread?

Mmmmm Riesling, my favorite!! :laugh: :flowerforyou:

tron3002

I sprayed the outside of my house because I saw ants and spiders and what did I find last night?.... The ants are coming into the house now... What the heck? I know that doesn't have anything to do with diet or exercise, I was just merely sharing... :grumble: :mad: :explode:

alf1163

I sprayed the outside of my house because I saw ants and spiders and what did I find last night?.... The ants are coming into the house now... What the heck? I know that doesn't have anything to do with diet or exercise, I was just merely sharing... :grumble: :mad: :explode:

I just consulted with a pest control expert, aka my husband (he does pest control for the ARMY), and he said that spraying is just going to upset the ants but not kill them. What they do when they are sprayed and of course the queen does not die is that they split the colony and they build more colonies and spread out making the situation worse. He said to buy AMDRO or Strike at Walmart, they are granules, and follow the bag instructions. You can put the granules on the ant mound and also sprinkle them around the perimeter of your house. They will eat the granules and die. Hope this helps. :flowerforyou:

tron3002

Wow! Thank you Alf. I really wasn't expecting any kind of solution but I really appreciate it.:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

alf1163

For you it is just $300, I have paypal :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: He even offer to give you his work email if you had anymore questions :flowerforyou:

Texssippian

New picture of cherry tomatoes and a couple of okra from the backyard.

Had a nice "float date" with the hubby last night. Got to the water park at 7:30 pm when it is half price so $5 each to get in. Got on tubes in the lazy river and floated for an hour and a half. Had to pull to the side several times as roudy kids went by but you could find an "empty" spot. By the time the park closed at 9, we were one of the only ones in. Very relaxing!

I have gone up in weight about a pound and a half this week. Looking back on my calories and execise, those look good. Then I looked at my sodium intake. BINGO. Well over RDA almost all week. I need to stop doing the "lite" canned soups. Still too much sodium. I need to cook my own meat (like chicken) for cold cuts. Even the lightest sodium of the cold cuts adds up. Also the fat free salad dressing has a lot of sodium.

So what did I do today? Went to a mexican restaurant for lunch (we eat there because relatively low sodium compared to others) and then went to the movies to see "Up" (sweet, cute movie) and had popcorn! Now I am drinking buckets=o=water... I have had my sodium load for a week today. Have decided to make my own soup bases from recipes from the Mayo Clinic website.
Giant pumpkin babies still growing but cucumbers and green beans fizzled in the heat. Tomatoes are slowing down and the squash is about done. This is the okras happy time. The hotter and dryer the better they like it.

Plan on working out hard tomorrow. Will eat the cherry tomatoes with either basil or rosemary from the backyard and a little balsamic vinegar.

Alf: thank you for sharing about your son. I started out my career working with people with developmental differences. Am now on a steering committee for a project to coordinate services for families with autistic children. My husband is a psychologist who has worked for over 30 years with people with developmental differences and is currently providing intake testing for an agency which provides services for people with MR and /or mental health needs. So we feel for you and your son. Hopefully you are finding good support for him and your family.

Need to go fill up tub-o-water again. Take care all! TxMs

cardigirl

Texassippian, did Up make you cry? I ended up sniffling through a lot of it. LOVED IT!!! Awesome movie.

Wonderful picture of the cherry tomatoes and okra. Makes me wish for a garden, for sure.

Alf "I have paypal" you're hilarious! So nice to help out Tron. Tron, hope you're able to get rid of the ants. They are pesky, for sure.

I know that Friday is reporting day, but I just wanted to give a bit of good news I got yesterday from my trainer. He had me measured again for BF% with the calipers, and to my utter amazement, my BF% is 21.55. :blushing: He was just about jumping all over the place, he was so excited for me. I sure hope the calculations were right. I haven't lost all the weight I want, but gee, it feels good to be lean. I still have a bit of fat on the abdomen I'd like to exorcise, so that's the next goal. I will ask him tomorrow if 21.55% means I'm underfat, because all the charts I can find for a woman my age recommends 25% but I'm feeling great and I don't think I look drawn or sickly, so I'm taking it as a good thing!

Texssippian

Cardigirl: Congrats on the BFP! We get "measured" by our trainer tomorrow. Last time we were supposed to get measured, she took two measurements and stopped. That was when she made us start recording what we have eaten each day. I think I am down 12 to 15 pounds since then, depending on what day I weigh.

Yes "Up" made me cry. I was hoping to lose some of the sodium I had taken in through the tears. Does it work that way? Great movie! Having recently lost several significant family members and family dogs (my little sister's dog died Thursday on her husband's birthday while the husband was just getting out of ICU, ouch!), the movie was very touching and reassuring about life going on and finding new challenges and loves. TxMs

alf1163

Texssipian, thank you for your words of encouragement. Most of the time I stay positive about what the future holds for him but I've had my moments of weakness. I try not to think too much about the time we will have to put him in a group home, that is what gets me, but it is a reality. The #1 reason I want to be healthy and strong is to be able to keep him home with me for as long as I can. My husband is retired ARMY and we just got a referral to see a psychologist outside the military hospital we use. I am waiting for the authorization. My son is having some anxiety issues and some aggression. His developmental pediatrician recommended seeing a psychologist first before attempting any medication. I really don't want to put him under any meds. So let's see what happens. As far as services, he is in a medicaid waiver program, CLASS, which provides attendant care, massage therapy, music therapy and recreational therapy for him. Thank you and your husband for choosing a career that helps people with special needs, you are Angels sent from heaven. :flowerforyou:
And yes, watch out for the sodium. I monitor mine. Since I started eating cleaner I hardly go over 2000mg. It usually averages 1700-1800mg.

Cardigirl, exorcise???? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Congrats on losing body fat!! :drinker: :drinker: I too wonder how much is too little. Last time I checked mine with calipers, not very reliable method, it says I am at about 19%. I think that is pretty low. A couple of coworkers told me that I don't need to lose anymore weight and I don't want to. I asked them if I looked frail and they said no, so that is good. I don't see myself looking sickly either...:laugh:

I went out dancing with my girlfriends last night. :drinker: :drinker: I danced for hours!!!! No telling how many calories I burned!!! :noway: I am resting today.

Have a great Sunday!! :flowerforyou:

tron3002

Alf... Well thank your husband for me. I went outside again to see where they are coming in from but I couldn't find the trail. I'm hoping their not in the walls but I have a funny feeling they are. The little devils are going from room to room. First they started out in my sons room so I sprayed and had him clean but didn't really find a reason they wanted to be there. Then the traveled downstairs to the living room (directly below his room) I cleaned and sprayed everything. Then they went into my room, did the same thing. Now today, the kitchen. Geesh!!! I see what your husband means. I am trying to find the path they are traveling so I can hopefully put down those ant killers that they take the poison to their nest but so far no luck. At least not in the kitchen that is.

So, thats my goal today. Find out where those things are coming from and stop them yet again.:explode:

singfree

Good morning eveyone! Actually, it is almost midnight on Sunday night. I am at work filling in for a Supervisor who is on vacation this week. Night shift really messes up my system. At least I tend to eat much cleaner on this shift. I will have some oatmeal when I get home in the morning, then go to sleep. I tend to graze on better foods throughout the day. No wine, beer or pretzels for the week...call it "forced compliance"!!

It's been a fairly busy weekend, so I need to catch up with you guys. I got a few bike rides in and some walking. Sometimes you need to take a weekend off from weights to allow the body to recuperate fully.

My mission for this week is to buy a new TV and order DirecTV satellite. We have a lousy cable company and I want to enjoy HD TV. We're not big TV watchers, but when I do watch TV I'd like some quality. Now I will have over 200 lousy channels instead of 60 :laugh: !

My thoughts are with all of you!! Have a great evening!!

alf1163

Good night Sing, sweet dreams....:yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :laugh:

Getting ready for a nice run...:drinker: :flowerforyou:

mkwood10

Good morning all........ back from a wonderful long weekend in hot and steamy St. Louis!
We attended a family reunion for my husband's family-his father's side. Ended up only being 10 of us total, but with 2 1/2 year old twin boys.........we were all busy all weekend! I'd certainly forgotten how hard it is to keep track of and keep us with 2 year olds, much less TWO at the same time!!:laugh: :laugh:

Had a great time, walked to the Arch from our hotel the first morning - 3 miles round trip down Market Street, but a hard walk because of the high humidity and climbing temps - it was already over 80 when we started at 7:30am and who knows how humid!! My daughter was going to run the route to the Arch and meet me there (since I was walking) but she couldn't handle the heat/humidity and we missed each other on her return, so she was in a panic that something had happened to me! Nope......Mom was fine, just enjoying the walk :happy: :happy:

Back to Curves today....... ready to burn some calories!!!
Have a great day all!!!

Hoosiermomma

Just checkin' in... Had a great weekend. We celebrated Father's Day a week late since we were traveling back from Cali in shifts starting on Sunday. It's not easy tying down 7 kids (5 of our own + 2 fiancee's) ages between 27 and 15 years, long enough to have a sit down meal but definately worth it! I'm so thankful for my husband's talents with the grill! 12 days??? to the wedding. I would like to lose 2 more lbs. but I don't think that will be my focus. Bride one calls!! GTG! Have a great week all!

Texssippian

Hi Hoosier: Great luck and best wishes for a beautiful wedding. The picture of everyone on your ticker is beautiful!

MK: Glad you had a great time in St Louis.

Sing: Hang in there on the night shift. Yikes! Don't think I could do that.

Went to the trainer tonight. Since starting with her I have lost 15 pounds, 3 1/2 inches off my waist and 3 1/2 inches off my hips. No wonder clothes are fitting differently. The husband on the other hand, has gained some strength but no weight loss or inches. He is now more motivated to get with it and stop cheating and start pushing himself. Yea!

It has been raining and thunderstorming today so they closed the water park early so no river tonight:sad: Good news is the temp is just into the 80's. Saw a hummingbird on the 4:00 (don't open until 7:00) this evening.
Take care everyone! TxMs

singfree

Yep, It's me...burning the midnight oil. Thankfully it's only for 4 nights. I'll be finished for the week on Thursday morning at 7 am, since we have Friday off for the 4th of July.

I finally made those granola bars from Alton Brown (Food Network's "Good Eats"). They are GREAT!!! A really good energy bar with Oatmeal, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, almonds. I used Craisins for the fruit (any dried fruit will do). It also uses brown sugar and honey. Look up the recipe on the Food Network website. He also has a protein bar recipe which I'm going to try next.

Hopefully I won't be too tired to keep exercising. I did a 10 mile bike ride and a 3 mile walk today, no weights. Will do P90X Pushup / Pullup workout tomorrow.

Have a good night....pleasant dreams from your Night Watchman!

annaliza

Good morning everyone!

Just checking it real quick....will make time to go back and read the posts when I get a chance this morning.

I took a break from MFP this weekend. I'm not sure why...maybe it was just taking up too much of my life at the moment...maybe I was just rebellious and tired of logging all my food lol I managed to eat healthy and keep exercising so I feel pretty good about it. My problem is not so much overeating, but undereating and going into starvation mode. I kept at my healthy eating, just decided that I wasn't going to log into the site all weekend.

My husband and I have decided to get a new family dog. I'm really excited because he is going to be my new running partner. We're getting a Doberman, which is my husbands dream dog. I'm more interested in obendience training (I have experience with agility and obedience trials plus a little bit of showing Rotweillers, so Dobermans shouldn't be too much different). We're going to meet the new dog for the first time tomorrow...so unless he's overly aggressive or overly afraid, we'll have a new dog My old walking partner died about a year ago of old age. I still miss her - my little min pin.

Anyways, take care all! I'll be back later!

mkwood10

Good morning everyone!!!

My workout goal was increased by 10 last night at Curves, but I managed to make it! It said I burned 424 calories, but the heart rate machine hated me again and registered an impossibly low pulse the 2nd circuit, so I'm sure I really burned more than that. I know my hair was sweated thru..yuk!

Pounds and inches are still stuck :grumble: :frown: but at least I'm not gaining. :noway: :noway: Seriously thinking about digging the Nordic Track out of the storage room so I can get in a workout on the nights I don't hit Curves - too hot outside to walk in the evening and I'm already up at 5:00am to get ready for work - not willing to walk at 4:00am!!! :laugh: :laugh:

The slow struggle continues.................

StiringWendel

Hey all! Finally have some time for a quick check-in.

mkwood, congrats on the increased fitness level!

annaliza, I understand needing a break sometimes. Saturday was the first morning since January that my first task of the day wasn't to log my food into MFP. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Of course I did later in the day, but I just needed a little mental break from the counting. It was nice for just a couple of meals to just eat without thinking about the numbers. And, like you, I didn't do anything unhealthy. I just let myself eat. And best of luck with the new dog! I hope you all get along well.

singfree, thanks for the update on the Alton Brown granola bars. I made some granola bars this weekend, and they tasted great. But they were really hard to get out of the pan so I ended up with more granola chunks than granola bars. So I'm looking for alternatives. I might try the Alton Brown recipe and see how that goes. Take care working nights this week. That sounds like absolutely no fun whatsoever.

TxMs, I love your profile pic! Oh, how I wish I could have a garden. I keep saying 'some day', and some day I will! I hope your river aerobics are back on!

I'm loving my new bread machine. Alf, I think you asked what I bought. It is a Zojirushi Mini Breadmaker. It was more expensive than most, but I like it because it makes small loaves, is about the size of a piece of paper (so it fits on my countertop without any problem), and had great features. I've made three loaves so far, and all have been good. My favorite was the apple oat bread I made on Saturday. We had it with some Chicken Kebabs and a raspberry mango salad for dinner. It was so yummy.

Speaking of yummy, I bought some almond butter this weekend, and have been putting that into my oatmeal in the mornings with a little agave nectar (like honey but not as sticky). Oh my that makes for a great breakfast. I don't know what it is about the subtle taste difference between peanut butter and almond butter, but I can't wait to eat in the morning now! And this from somebody who, up until about a month ago, didn't like oatmeal. Just goes to show that tastes can change.

My husband is loving all of these changes in our life as well, and they are really beginning to show positively on him. He's lost about seven pounds, and looks so much healthier. He did his military fitness test last week and much to the frustration of a couple of younger people (like 15-20 years younger!) that he tested with, he beat their scores! I'm really happy for him, and he is more determined than I've ever seen him to stay on this course.

Hope you all are having a good day!

alf1163

Hello!!! I was gone all day for some training BORING!!!! :laugh: :laugh:


MK, congrats on increasing your Curves workout!!! Maybe you have hit a plateau, is there anything else you can do in addition to your Curves workout? I understand about the heat. It's been horrible here in San Antonio. Or you might want to play with your calories a bit, zigzagging worked for me once I was stuck and did not want/could not change my workouts.

Stiring, your bread sounds delicious!!! I have been wanting to try the almond butter but it is sooo expensive yikes!!! But I've heard it is tasty. And the agave syrup, I need to look for it. I am glad you enjoy the oatmeal. It is actually my favorite breakfast. I missed it this morning, I had some kashi with blueberries, walnuts and skim milk. I like it but it is not as satisfying. Congrats to your husband!! :drinker:

Annaliza, I understand you completely. I have decided to take a month off from logging in my foods. I dont know this is a such a good idea to do this in July but I do feel I need a break and I also want to test myself. Last time I did this, Oct 08, I ended up pretty much falling off the wagon and started gaining until the end of the year (9lbs total). Now I feel I am more ready to do this and be successful. Actually my main concern is to undereat, not overeat. But I figure some days I will overeat and it might balance out in the end. I will weigh in tomorrow morning and weigh in again when I finish the lean phase, Jul 12 (about 2 wks). And see how I am doing, if I see a significant increase in weight I will start counting calories again. What do you guys think? Suggestions? I will still check in with you guys. I am not leaving MFP. I am just not going to log in my foods nor my workouts (why bother?). I am still measuring my portions like everyone else should and will continue to eat clean as I have been doing. I will also wear my HRM during my workouts, I like to monitor my HR.

Sing, I am going to check out that recipe. It sounds yummy!!!!!

Good night,
Annette :flowerforyou:

singfree

Alf, you can join me as a "social" memeber of MFP!! I haven't seriously logged in my food or exercise in quite a while. Even though I don't do that aspect of MFP, I find that sharing our ups and downs helps to keep me centered. I kinda feel accountable to all of our group...so you help me to stay focused to continue this life-long fitness journey.

This week has been topsy-turvey for me being on night shift. I am too tired to go to the gym after work, so I must improvise with my at-home workouts. At least my eating is clean. I am also eating a lot of protein, which should help to keep the fat off my midsection.

PS- Alf, in reading your post, why not try portion control in lieu of cals in-cals out. I think that you're like me..eating the same things generally and exercising regularly. You've become aware of how food and exercise affects your weight and shape. Just use a common sense approach and you will be fine. And remember, the scale might deceive you...check your measurements more often to gauge your progress.

Good night friends!

alf1163

I can't sleep!!! I need to vent!! This might be long...

Just a little background...I am a Research Associate at the Univ of Tx Hth Science Ctr. I work part time/hourly so my time varies/have no benefits. I dont have a particular role in a new study that we are starting for military members suffering from PTSD. We recently moved into a new bldg because the staff for this project, 5yr long study, has increased and will continue to increase so we need more space. Early this yr we looked at the floor plan of the new bldg and I was given a very nice office with a beautiful view, sharing it with another coworker who has not moved yet until he finishes his current project at the old location. Well, I was all settled in my office, since april. I received a call today, while being away for a training at the Med Ctr, from my boss's right hand guy telling me that I am being moved from my office because it is going to be given to visiting faculty staff. I am telling you I have been offended in the past but this one tops any other offense. I feel disrespected,slapped in the face. My boss's excuse for doing this is that I am part time and don't spend as much time in the office so the space is not being utilized. And how many hrs a visiting faculty staff is going to spend in there?? I am not stupid, I don't suck my thumb...I know he just wants to kiss *kitten* and set up a nice office to Dr. Joe Blow who might be visiting twice every two weeks from somewhere. And who am I going to move out, poor Annette, the old lady with the BS...I work mostly with people who have Masters and PHDs. Other RA's have BS but they are very young fresh out of college and most of them kept their offices with their nice views. And it is not about the office with the nice view, I am not a child who is throwing a tantrum over that, it is about making me feel that I am not important. That has really lowered my self esteem, I've been crying, cannot sleep, and I am mad at myself for feeling this way but I cannot help it. And this is not the first time...it is the third time I get moved around to give my space for a newcomer. My husband tells me I should quit, that I don't need to work. I want to work, I like that extra income so we can go on vacation and also save money :laugh: :laugh: But right now I dont even feel like going tomorrow...they actually need me to move my stuff as soon as possible. New furniture was being delivered today for the faculty staff's office. You know, if they wanted a nice space for your stinking faculty staff they could have put me in a different office from the beginning and I would have been just fine because again this is not about the office with the view...I am thinking maybe this is an opportunity for me to start seriously pursuing my passion, health and fitness, but I have another obstacle there, my husband...most health and fitness jobs are either early in the morning, evenings or weekends. I can hear him complaining already about that...damn if you do and damn if you dont.

Thank you for letting me vent. I hope I can get some sleep now...
Annette :flowerforyou:

StiringWendel

alf, I'm so sorry to hear about that. I would feel exactly the way you do right now. I had a similar situation in a job once, and I felt completely diminished. And it wasn't even about what was being asked, but the 'why' behind what was being asked that got to me.

I, for one, think you should pursue your passion. Life is too short not too. But I also understand how that works in a marriage. Hugs to you! And get some sleep!!

Regarding the calorie counting, I'm considering doing the same thing right now. I love the notion, singfree, that posting here makes you feel somewhat accountable for what you are eating, but you aren't obsessing over the numbers. I think that is such a wonderfully healthy approach.

Have a good night everybody! :flowerforyou:

singfree

Alf, I'm very sorry to hear about this! Don't let it get to you. You are a great person!