40+ Club - Fall Fitness Fanatics

sunnysmile

Stress discussion .... I am thinking about how to handle it as several of us are either stress eating, cookie enjoying (which is okay if we count it), facing difficult family situations, getting over being ill, PMSing (I am ending my period soon thank goodness), or just generally enjoying too much food.

So Exercise is #1 stress reducer. #2, chatting with you guys. #3 I am starting to think is the supplements I am taking, #4 remembering that I am trying to make taking care of me a top priority ... just remembering that helps refocus priorities and helps with stress (ironically ... the rest doesn't matter as much when I realize that I have to take top billing in my own life).

Today I achieved my personal best in the pool ... 40 laps (half freestyle, half breast stroke), I had to push myself the final 10 but kept saying to myself this is for me, for me, for me. So I am proud of myself today!

I want to know if anyone else is finding help in their battle for food, stress, cravings, energy from their supplements. I am really believing that these DNA-customized supplements are helping me achieve higher levels, feel less hungry, have less cravings, and in general feel more satisfied. SATISFIED is the word I have been looking for ... when I don't have the hunger and the cravings I am satisfied ... not a feeling I am that used to. I am not suggesting we all need these particular supplements, but I think the extra nutrition in them is making a big difference in how I am feeling and coping with hunger. (Dr. Oz suggested the same thing the other day on his show, plus our need for water too).

Any thoughts?

Have a marvelous Wednesday everyone.

mkwood10

Hello everyone.... I am starting to feel better so I plan on working out tomorrow. But now I have my Step dad (more dad) to worry about. He had a minor stroke that left him confused for a little while about a year and a half ago. Well the other day he was getting confused again saying things like he talked to his mom a couple of days ago (she died over 25 years ago) as well as other things so my mom took him to the VA in Reno. At first they thought he was fine because he didn't "act" confused so my mom had to ask him a couple of questions in front of them so they'd see what was going on. They did a CAT scan and an MRI and they said it didn't look like he had anymore strokes and now today they are going to do a spinal to see if he has an infection and have him talk to a psychiatrist to see if he has post traumatic stress syndrome. Yesterday he thought he was back in Vietnam but remembered my mom but today he doesn't even remember her. He know he knows her but doesn't remember her name. Its so strange that he is getting so confused so quickly.

Tron......I'm absolutely no medical expert, but it sounds like your stepdad may be experiencing dementia or beginning stages of Alzheimers. I hope that's not the case!!! Keep pushing for answers - don't let the doctors at VA brush off his sypmtoms. I know they're short handed at all VA centers, so you have to be proactive and keep asking questions or they'll end up skipping over your stepdad to treat someone else with more 'urgent" symptoms.!! Our VA healthcare system is totally overloaded these days; I'm so glad we live right next to an Army post and my husband can use the healthcare there instead of having to go to VA.

You're in my thoughts............hang in there!!!

StiringWendel

sunny, congrats on the great pool work. I found out last night that there is an big indoor pool at the base we are moving to, and I'm thinking about trying to take up some water sports. I've never been big on being in the water, but as I get older, I also am aware that it is a great form of exercise that is relatively easy on the body.

singfree, I've been thinking about the issue of cravings all morning. sunny, I didn't do anything about my cravings, but they did fall away for a long period of time, and I think it was because I was eating so clean. And that's how I know my cravings right now are totally related to stress/emotion and have nothing to do with what I'm putting into my body because nothing else in my life has changed minus the fact that I'm going to be moving to a different country here soon. I totally agree with you, sunny, that working out, chatting here, etc are great stress reducers, and they do help me.

My problem right now is that, after some of these longer, tougher days, I actually want a 'reward'. I know better than to reward myself with food, but that's what I want right now. My mind isn't still enough to enjoy a long bath or to sit and read a good book. Those are things I've rewarded myself with this past year. But, right now, because of the stress/time factor, I want a faster, more accessible and more tangible reward, and I'm turning to food. And, to be blunt, I makes me feel better when I do it, which has, in turn, created the cravings again and so on.

I'm beginning to think I might do myself some favors right now by understanding that this is an unusual time for me (it isn't every day you pick up and move half the world away) and to allow myself certain easy and tangible food rewards....but with control (which isn't what happened over the past few days). I know there is absolutely nothing wrong with building in a 100-200 calorie allowance for chocolate per day. I've just not done it since I took off the weight, but I think I might give it a try for a little while. Just now, I had my lunch and my cravings just hit the roof. I could feel myself gravitating to the freezer where I'm storing some of those cookies I recently baked. But I thought to myself 'After dinner, I'll have a piece of chocolate' and that very quickly turned off the feeling of 'I need a sweet NOW!' So, singfree, I'm actually going to give in to the cravings a bit and enjoy a certain amount of sweets per day that I control knowing that I'm doing it to get me through this phase in my life better. After this past weekend, I have no doubt this is going to work a whole lot better for me than trying to ignore these cravings because that just resulted in some serious impulse eating. I'll let you know how it goes!

Had a great workout this morning. :drinker: Now I'm off to get shots.

alf1163

Hello everyone!! I am so hungry right now. I had an oral biopsy early this afternoon and I am still numb. I had a protein shake for dinner, it was delicious but not very satisfying. :grumble: I might have some oatmeal later on and some decaf. My husband said I should have gotten some ice cream, yeah right!! I would have eaten it all. :laugh:

Tron, (((((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))))))) Hang in there. :flowerforyou:

Mk, my daughter lives in Ft Hood, she is still in the ARMY but she is getting out in Jan. I live in San Antonio so we are about 2.5 hr drive from each other. Unfortunately she is getting a divorce so she is coming back to San Antonio and might live with us until she gets her own place with my grandbaby. In a way I am happy she will be nearby but I am also feeling the stress of having her here. My daughter is not very easy to get along with...and I normally lose control of my good eating habits around her. :noway: Maybe with her needing to lose weight I might help her more than me losing control, will see.

All this talk about Holidays, stress, cravings, oh yeah!!!!!!!! We are going to need each other during this time. We can do it!!! What helps me the most is to plan ahead and also think about where I am now and how I struggled to get to where I am. I don't want to let that go. Should we start a new thread/challenge for the Holidays to at least maintain? This way others can join, the more the merrier. What do you think? Stiring, Sing, do you want to start it? It would be more motivational than a challenge to lose weight. There is a Holiday thread but it is to lose weight by Christmas.

I am resting the next three days due to my biopsy. I ran 6 miles this morning. It was hot and humid, high temp today 92 degrees. :noway: But it felt great. I registered myself and my husband for a half marathon on the 24th and my husband registered both of us for a 10K on 31 Oct. We also have the Rock & Roll half marathon on Nov 15. We have become runners now at our age! :noway: :laugh: My knees only hurt when I run with my husband at a slower pace. I cannot remember the name of that condition. I read it is more common in women. So these next two runs I am running them at my pace, I already warned my husband. :laugh:

Have a great evening! I have to go lie down. :flowerforyou:

singfree

Good morning!

Ah, the best laid plans...I fully intended to exercise yesterday after work. Our carpenter, who is still at our house (he will finish tomorrow), needed my help with a few things. So exercise time went out the window. I had choir rehearsal at Church and visited my Mom before that.

I REALLY need to get this stress eating under control. I am literally shoveling junk food into my mouth and I can't seem to help myself. Alf, that's a good idea about a Holiday challenge. Why don't you choose the topic and post it later? You always seem to have the magic touch with new threads. Mine whither and die from neglect. :yawn:

Alf, I'm sorry about your daughter's pending divorce. This could be part of her problem with weight. I'm sure this whole thing is a mixed blessing for you. Hang in there, it will all work out fine. Bringing an adult child back into the fold can be trying. It can also be a great opportunity to get your daughter on board with exercise and good nutrition. And Gramma can spoil her Little Angel and teach her that healthy eating can be fun, too! When we have our Grandson over for a visit, he only gets healthy meals and snacks. It doesn't bother him a bit that his food is actually healthy. So if you can reach your Granddaughter early enough, you can have a positive influence on her eating that just might carry throughout her life!

Boy, the weather around here is crazy! Alf is sweltering and I am freezing! Tonight in the higher elevations there will be snow, 1-3 inches!! This is VERY early for us. Normally we are lucky to get a bit of snow for Christmas, but never this early. Next week will warm up to the mid 60s. I guess my bike will stay put until Spring.

Stiring, you are right about "planning" your sweet treats. At work there is so much candy and just lying around, that I just grab and go, not thinking about the consequences until it is too late. This is my mission: Plan all meals, snacks and exercise from right now until the New Year. If I can remain focused, it WILL get done.

Alf, I was thinking about your running. If you run slower, you will tend to land harder because you are not taking a long stride and you probably are not landing on the balls of your feet. When I run at a fast pace, I tend to "glide" across the ground rather than hit hard as in some plyo moves. Let me know how it goes, and if you notice the same thing.

PS-I wish I could blame my bad eating on PMS...you ladies have all the luck!! (just kidding, don't hit me)!!!

StiringWendel

Morning! :flowerforyou:

alf, I was thinking about you yesterday knowing you were having that biopsy done. That doesn't sound like any fun. When will you get the results?

I'm also sorry to hear your daughter is going through a divorce. I'm sure that, combined with a job change and a move, is probably make life pretty stressful for her right now. I hope everything works out well for her and your granddaughter. No doubt it will be nice having them live closer to you. But, hopefully, her stress won't create any stress for you and take your focus off the wonderful and healthy things you are doing for yourself.

And I'm all for a Christmas support thread, but I'm with singfree....you need to start it!! I wouldn't even know how to start a thread, to be honest. :laugh:

singfree, we've been having some weird weather here as well. It rained all day yesterday. :noway: That's pretty unusual for LA. I enjoyed it because I love the rain. But there were so many accidents on the road because many people here just don't understand the dynamics of driving on wet roads. I don't like that part of the rain here in SoCal. :grumble:

I did MUCH better yesterday with my eating. I had 1 1/2 cookies after dinner, kept it within a reasonable calorie allowance, and that was enough for me. Tonight, my aim is for one cookie. Having a plan really helps me. We'll see how it goes as the weekend approaches because that is usually when I want to lose complete control of myself, but, today, I feel much better than I did yesterday about food and back on track with my eating.

I survived my shots yesterday, but they left both arms in some serious pain. I couldn't lift my right arm last night at all. But it feels a little better today, so I'm going to do some cardio to see if that loosens it up more, and then I'll try YogaX. I'm not sure my arms are going to support that today, but I'll give it a try. At least I don't have a fever!

I hope everybody has a great day!

cardigirl

LOL at Sing and wishing he had PMS to blame. Heh. Buddy, you're cruisin'! (for a bruisin' as my mom used to say.):laugh:

Sorry I've not been around for a bit. Busy at work and at home, and my weight shows it. Stress just keeps that weight tightly glued to my tummy! (and hips and thighs, sigh) For some reason the cold weather is just zapping my motivation levels. I find myself having to drag myself to the gym these days. I haven't given up, but I don't feel the same excitement about working out as I used to. Maybe I need to really change things up?

Alf, you are such an inspiration, all the running and the Zumba that you do. I'm really sorry to hear about your daughter's divorce. Hopefully it won't be too messy and stressful. Mine is creeping along at a snail's pace for some reason, which is not fun. And we're headed into the holiday season, so it's kind of adding to the stress that is already there.

Stiring, good luck with the move to Korea! Wow, you've certainly gotten to see the world! I'm glad that this is a good move for your husband's career. Awesome.

Texassippian, what can I say? I love your posts. You and your husband sound like a really fun couple! Loved the advice you gave about how resistant people are to change, so when you try to change your behavior, they try to put you back in the same slot you've been in for them. So true. My MIL is very good at judging people based on how "big" or "little" they are, and ALWAYS has something to say about whatever you choose to eat. It took me years to turn off her voice in my head.

Just wanted to stop in and let y'all know that I'm around. I read every day, but don't always have time to write a post...think about you all, and truly, this thread keeps me going when I really want to give up. Not going to give up, and you people are a big part of that!

Catch y'all later!

zebras

Sing, I'm hitting you with a wet noodle from afar for that comment. LOL

I will support any new thread anyone from this fine group starts. I too am a thread killer. In fact I joined a topic of a bunch of us known thread killers, and its got quite a large following.

Cardi, glad to have you stop buy and say hi. We'll still think of you even when you can't post.

alf1163

Good morning! Thank you for your kind words. I know my daughter is been going through so much stress and that is the reason I don't tell her much about her weight gain. I think once she is here and settles she will be much better.

I am staying home today because my face is swollen. I am not in pain, thank God. The results should be in early next week. I have a follow up appt on the 30th. They gave me percocet and Motrin 800. I only took one percocet last night but I dont think I need it today. I will continue taking the motrin. They gave me a lot of anesthesia yesterday so I did not feel pain but it was very uncomfortable.

I started a new thread! :drinker: It is under motivation and support. The title is Beat the Holiday Blues Challenge. Please post there. I hope we get a lot of members.

Have a great day!!!! :flowerforyou:

zebras

alf, we''ll be there, thanks for starting it for us!

singfree

Good morning! I hope that we are not abandoning this thread. That would be disappointing.

I had to work night shift last night so I'm going to be finished for the week at 6 am.

This week has been a disaster food wise. I still am having trouble staying away from sweets.

I don't think that I've gained much weight or have gotten larger. I just can't let all of my good work go to waste (or waist)!!

Sorry, I'm a bit tired and my brain is scrambled. I'll check in later.


Have a great day!

zebras

Good morning friends.

Sing, we are definitely not giving up this thread. I too am having major trouble with sweets. Stress eating is still a problem for me. My husband has decided to have an operation, so my nerves are whacked out. The doctor is back in his office today, so today we might get an idea whether this operation is going to be really soon or down the road. Since its not an emergency, we're going to be at the doctor's whim.

I hope everyone has a good Friday and good weekend!

StiringWendel

singfree, I'm not abandoning this thread. It's my home. :flowerforyou: In fact, I haven't had a chance to check-in on the Holiday thread yet, but I will try to get to that later today because I like the idea of a holiday-specific thread as well. But this is where I feel like I can chat about anything.

Things are beginning to go crazy around here. I can't believe I have less than 2 weeks in my house. :noway: Of course, my husband has an inspection going on at work over the next two weeks, so he let me know that he won't be home until after 7:00pm every night (he leaves for work at 5:00am). I already knew I'd be handling all of the movers by myself (not something I'm looking forward to at all), but the reality that I am going to be handling virtually everything by myself--including all of the preparation for the move--really hit me last night. I just keep thinking 'In a month this will all be over'....except the moving in part on the other side, of course. That won't come until late December.

Oh, well. Enough of my whining. I'm doing much better with my food selections right now, though I have been outrageously hungry. I'm wondering if the 'shock' aspect of this last phase of P90X has anything to do with that. But I limited my sweet intake yesterday and just feel better knowing I'm still in control. Tonight we have a formal dinner, so who knows what I'll be eating for dinner. But I've learned to manage these situations pretty well and usually end up eating less than I would at home.

I weighed in the same today as I have the past couple of weeks (97.5), which is good given all I ate last weekend. I just feel a bit puffy right now. I'm going to finish my third week of the final phase of P90X today, and maybe add on an Insanity cardio workout. And then I've got to get cracking on preparing for this move. The first set of movers will be here on Tuesday (we have three sets of movers for this move--one for stuff going into storage since we can't take everything to Korea; one for stuff they fly over to Korea which is about 500 pounds of essentials like bedding, towels, etc that we'll get around Thanksgiving; and one for our main household goods which are due to arrive a few days after Christmas), so I've got to start sorting stuff out. Not my favorite task. :frown:

zebras, I'm sorry to hear about your husband's surgery. My husband has had two surgeries this year (neither one an emergency), and I totally understand about the stress of it. What I ended up doing was feeding him everything I wanted to eat! :laugh: He gained weight, and I didn't, but simply preparing the foods made me feel better. It was a win-win situation...except for his weight, of course.

Hope everybody has a great day and enjoys their weekend.

alf1163

I am not leaving this thread either. How can I??? :noway: :smooched:

I took my puppy to get spayed this morning. I will be calling soon to check on her. I am nervous about it.

Well, all my snacking this past week paid up...yes up 3 lbs from last week 126, actually one pound over my goal which is 125lbs. No biggie but I cannot let my guard down. So, today I've been doing great and I will continue controlling myself this week. Then again I have not been able to exercise as much as I do due to my surgery plus I've been feeling stressed out. This weekend will be challenging because my son is going to camp and my husband and I will be going out. My goal is to control myself as much as possible. I feel positive about it.

I am at work so I'd better get off before I get in trouble. :laugh: :flowerforyou:

tron3002

Sing.... Do you think there is an "indulging" season just like there is a flu season???:laugh: I know I have been craving chocolate cake like crazy for the last week. I am not normally a sweets person, I usually crave the salty snacks. But for some reason all's I can think of is chocolate cake. I even slept all day because of the flu and woke up thinking of the stuff....:noway:

Alf... I am so happy with all that you've accomplished. Just wished we lived closer I would join your zumba class.

String..... Getting excited about the move? Does the military pay to get your belongings there also?

Zebra.... Hope your husband recovers quickly from his surgery.

As for my step dad, he was released from the hospital yesterday. They said he has post traumatic stress but I dont truly trust the Reno VA. Last year two different hospitals diagnosed him with having strokes and the Reno people said they didn't see it. Of course looking at his records today they do but at the time when they needed help...... No.

zebras

Tron, thanks. Also, I crave chocolate cake a lot. Anything chocolate. B-day coming up, so my boss buys me chocolate cake. If you are what you eat, I have become a giant bowl of hot fudge, with a little salad on the side LOL.

Alf, give your puppy a hug for me, and tell her you are sorry you "fixed" what wasn't broke. We got our kitties as grown ups, so we didn't have to do that deed ourselves.

singfree

Good morning!

Yay! I'm glad that we are going to stick together on this thread. We've been together like a family for a long time. I'd like to keep it that way.

Alf, sending your pets to the vet for surgery can be difficult. I really hate doing it, but it's far better this way. Take your "baby" to Petsmart for a treat!!

Tron, I'm not sure what it is, but there sure seems to be an "indulging" season. This is something we all have to work through. Does anyone have a suggestion as to what we can eat or snack that is fairly healthy and is also satisfying?

Zebras, best wishes on your husband's surgery. I LOVE chocolate too. I just need to set limits on my sweets, that will help a lot.

Stiring, try to relax a bit during this stressful move. You're an old pro at this after so many moves. Your weight is fine, so there is minimal damage from your indulgences. You are at a good point in your fitness that your body can more easily process a bit of junk food. Actually, mixing it up a bit is like "muscle confusion" when you exercise. I think even with clean eating we can fall into a rut. An occasional "falling off the wagon" is not necessarily a bad thing. We all need to remember that word...OCCASIONAL. It's too easy to make it a habit. That's where we get into trouble.

Best wishes to all for a wonderful weekend!

alf1163

My puppy is doing better today. She wants to run around and play but I put an e-collar on her. She hates it. I felt bad for doing it but it is the right thing to do. My other two dogs are rescues so they were fixed at the shelters.

Zebras, best wishes for your husband. I hope everything goes well. :flowerforyou:

Sing, are you taking about healthy sweet snacks or snacks in general? I am loving these days low fat cottage cheese with any type of berries mixed in or pineapple and some chopped almonds. Very healthy and sooooo satisfying. Also the same with plain low fat greek or regular yogurt. I also like a piece of fruit with a string cheese. Oh, freeze bananas and then put them in a food processor to make banana ice cream. Sprinkle cinnamon on it and enjoy, soooooo delicious!!!! If you bake use substitutes such as egg whites for whole eggs, whole wheat flour, agave nectar. I also cut in half the amount of sugar the recipe calls for. Agave nectar is extremely sweet so no need for much.

Gotta go get ready to take my son to camp. I had no time to workout this morning, had to take care of puppy. But I want to do something this afternoon before my husband and I go out tonight. We are doing a ghost haunt tour and then might go dancing afterwards in downtown.

Have a great day!!! :flowerforyou:

singfree

Good morning!

Just a quick check in before Church. I hope everyone is doing well.

Alf, I was talking about "junk" treats that I've been eating lately. If I could stick to healthy treats, all would be well!

Have a great day!

Swissmiss

Good morning to all. I have been absent for so long and I feel to guilty. I have come to realize that I need all of you to keep me accountable. I just need to fight more for the computer or else use the one I have a work and hope that I don't get caught doing so.

I have really missed all the helpful advice that you give. Especially singfree's. I have upped my exercise. I am now doing three hours a week of Zumba plus two hours of strength training. I am hoping that this will jump start me to begin losing again. My eating has been rather bad, though. While my husband was off of work with his surgery he did most of the cooking and he follows recipes to the letter. This means that if a recipe calls for heavy cream and butter, etc, that he will use them. He is now back to work and we are now eating in restaurants more often. I guess I can't win. When I am eating well I have found that I am eating the same things over and over again. I have found some low calorie items that I love but they have started to become boring. I need to find some new foods to eat.

:flowerforyou: alf, I am sure that in a couple of days your puppy will be fine. They tend to heal quickly and you are doing her good to have had this done. It has been one year (as of Friday) that my dog got hit by a truck and had surgery to fix his broken leg. You can not tell that it ever happened now.