WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR DECEMBER

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: kc, Jeannie gave you very good advice. I think that every family has at least one member who is hard to get along with. Hang in there. Be sure to eat healthy and exercise. This will help lower your stress level.

jam0525

Just a quick note- congradulations to Mary for getting the diabeties under control and the improved eyesight! Way to go!

It's off to work for me. Will check in later to read all the posts.

Jeannie

pmjsmom

[/quote]

I went to the eye doctor today and got a surprise. I have been getting frustrated, as I am having more trouble seeing. As a diabetic who is not exactly a spring chick any more, this causes me concern. Well, the dr. did his tests, and said, "The numbers seem to be showing that your nearsightedness has improved. In diabetics, this is usually an indication that the blood sugar is under much better control." I was so surprised - what a benefit to my new healthier lifestyle! I have a long way to go yet, but it is exciting to "see" real results like this! So, I ordered new glasses with less correction so that hopefully I will be able to see better. I didn't realize that I could actually improve my vision.

Well, I have rambled on enough. Hope all are doing well. Here's to smart choices!
[/quote]

That's wonderful news! Im so glad your eyesight is improving. Healthy lifestyle changes can really give surprising results!
Kathy (pmjsmom)

pmjsmom

Hi All!
I found this on another thread and thought I'd share it. Sounds like a good way to stay motivated!

<a href='http://www.pfpchallenge.com'><img src='http://d.iis7.pfpchallenge.com/images/newsletter/badge.jpg' border='0' /></a>

Local food banks will receive money for food for every pound lost between now and June 2010.

I pledged 30 pounds, which I think is doable.

Kathy (pmjsmom)

Benson

Hi Ladies

I am finally back. Unfortunately the cold weather followed me home. For the time I was in Edmonton it was between 35-40 below Celcius. (I think at 40 degrees below its the same between C and F) Last Thursday at the Edmonton Airport, it was -59 C with the windchill. Only beat out by 2 degrees by some little place in Russia for being the coldest place on earth. I was a trooper though and went to the curling. It was a wonderful, balanced 10 days of family, curling and shopping. I got home after midnight Monday and my naughty luggage travelled for an additional day and a half without me:grumble: Thankfully the airline just delivered it to my workplace.

Well I am busily trying to work my way through the 9 tidy piles of paperwork my boss stacked up for me. I will catch up on posts later.

Take care all

Heather

PattieG

It's a good day. I joined yesterday after being heavily guilted by my doctor; but at least she directed me to this site. But it is a new day. I tracked my food yesterday and today and stayed on target ::happy: I have 40 lbs to loose and am determined to make a go of it. I walked for 30 minutes in a slight rain; luckily I missed the downpour :laugh: Thanks for the opportunity to check in and get some motivation and inspiration :flowerforyou:

barbiecat

It's a good day. I joined yesterday after being heavily guilted by my doctor; but at least she directed me to this site. But it is a new day. I tracked my food yesterday and today and stayed on target ::happy: I have 40 lbs to loose and am determined to make a go of it. I walked for 30 minutes in a slight rain; luckily I missed the downpour :laugh: Thanks for the opportunity to check in and get some motivation and inspiration :flowerforyou:

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: Hi Pattie, Welcome to MFP and to the greatest thread on the site. These women have changed my life. We check in with each other almost every day and support and encourage each other.

Tracking your food is a great place to start......it keeps you focused and gives you the opportunity to see whether you're getting the right nutrition and helps you make better decisions for the future. Take it one day at a time and take baby steps toward a healthier life. And don't forget to drink a lot of water:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:
Barbie

jam0525

Eava- I also have a hard time drinking enough water. I’ve been adding 1-2 cups of tea everyday now that it’s winter.

Barbie- sounds like your line group had fun and did a good deed all at the same time. I bet the old timers enjoyed it.

Becky- just go by the scale you use all the time or the one at the YMCA if it is kind to you.

BirdieM- I’m sorry you are having such a combination of stressful things going on right now. On the computer virus – do you use Internet Explorer or Firefox? At work they are switching us all over to Firefox as it is suppose to better against viruses than IE. Good luck with everything.

Kathy (pmjsmom) – I pledged 25 pounds.

Heather – Welcome back! If I could I’d send a packet of low fat hot cocoa your way.

Welcome PattieG- I was directed here also. It’s a great site and tracking your food intake is the first step. Ditto on the ladies in this group being great, supportive and lots of fun.

So far today has been a good day. I'm in my calories and stuffed. It got above freezing, so now we have mud instead of snow. My MIL is coming on Monday. She is a great lady, but she is staying twice as long as normal. So, let's see how I feel by New Year's Eve. She taught home economics for over 35 years and is definitely set in her ways about how to cook and where things should go in the kitchen. Last year it took a few months to find everything and put it back where we keep it. I've never let small things like that bother me. My hubby gets more fustrated about it than I do.

Have a nice evening,

Jeannie

RebelRenny

It's a good day. I joined yesterday after being heavily guilted by my doctor; but at least she directed me to this site. But it is a new day.

Welcome Patty! Interesting that you were directed her by your doctor. :flowerforyou: Good for that doctor, I'd say!! And good for you :flowerforyou: to get going.

It is indeed a new day. You will find much encouragement here. :laugh:

Renny

msh0530

Heather - Welcome back! Did your team do well in the curling?

Pattie - Welcome! Plenty of room for one (or twelve) more!!

Kathy - I pledged 50 pounds last week. Now if I could just get the scale to start moving again!

Well, to follow up my eye dr. appointment from yesterday: Today I stopped in at my regular dr's to have my blood drawn for a diabetes check. My A1C (which measures your levels basically over the past few months) was 5.6. That is normal for a non-diabetic person! Granted, I am still taking daily medication, but still! I am pleased with myself. A year ago my level was 7.2 on the same medication, and the dr. was discussing sending me to a specialist. I told him to give me a few months before I would agree to go, and started a healthier lifestyle, and here I am! As I told my son in law today, if I could just get past this plateau I seem to be on and start losing again, I would be a near perfect woman! :laugh:

Got to go log what I ate tonight. Best wishes to all!

katznketo

hi All!

Wow, you are all doing so well and sound so chipper. I am out of my slump. I spent the last 3 days in my room. Two of them were depression and the last was just because I found peace. I did fairly well with food which I am grateful and still went to the Y and did the 'monster' machine.
I decided to no longer be so darned available. It seems to have worked. He came home tonight and helped with dinner and kids. And I'm going to stay unavailable for a while. I'm not a rug to be walked on. I don't know why, but we humans don't always appreciate what comes easy. So I'm not going to be so 'easy' anymore.

Tonight I came home and made two fried berry pies for the kids and yeah, right. I ate them both. I don't know why other than I am crazy with sweets. So what was I thinking? I wasn't. I look back now and know I went in there to make them for myself. Lord, I can't believe what a good liar I am.

That's okay. I am going to pull it together. I had a great treat which I have not had in ions (sp?) and that is that.

Hi to the new gal. Patti, you have a smart doctor.
Mary, great A1C's. I haven't had mine done in a long time. I am off all meds and doing it by diet. So much for this evening. But last time I checked it it was 6.0 and that was before I lost the last 25 pds so it should be pretty good now.

Anyhow bless all of you and thanks so much for listening to my heartache. You don't know how much you're listening ear helped. bless you all with an extra pound! That is loss of an extra pound. kc

barbiecat

:flowerforyou: kc I'm glad to hear that you're out of your slump.....we all fall down, it's just important when you fall down to pick something up......life is series of "opportunities for growth" :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

:flowerforyou: Heather, I've been missing you......glad you are back..... I have been so envious of you getting to see curling. it's not popular in the states......you experienced my greatest fear about flying ----that my luggage would not arrive with me, at least it was on your way home instead of at your vacation destination....glad you survived the cold in Edmonton.

:flowerforyou: Jeannie, your visit from your MIL sounds like an "opportunity for growth"......we'll be here as a sounding board if you need us :bigsmile:

:flowerforyou: Renny, is that a picture of your mom? How is she doing?

:flowerforyou: Mary, that is super news from your doctor. We keep hearing that losing weight is what doctors suggested for everything and it's great to see that it actually makes a difference

hugs to all of you who are dealing with loss and sadness....reaching out to us on this thread is a good way to get back on track......there are a lot of broad shoulders here to help.

Pleasant dreams to all (yes, I know, everybody else is asleep except those of us on the west coast.:laugh:
Barbie

mamacindy81

Good morning everyone;

Yesterday was a "free" day for me calorie wise. We had our little party at our bowling league. Having been out of town I had forgotten about it so I stopped at the WalMart & picked up a veggie tray on my way. There was so much food it was just "Wrong".
Thankfully I don't have many parties to attend so I can choose to eat normally for the most part.

Jeanie: I'm not an exercise at night person and I am impressed by your doing the extra effort to counteract the effects of "those people" at work.

Mary: Great going on getting your Blood Sugar numbers in check. One of my best friends has diabetes and she is constantly having trouble with hers.

Eava: I didn't know about drinking 2 extra glasses of water for every cup of coffee you drink. Gots to have my coffee so I'll be drinking the extra.

KC; I'm so glad we have some really wise people on here. I read your post and was at a loss at what to say. I know that is why being in a group like this is so supportive, if one person can't help then another can. I really like the "baggage" imagery.

Kathy: I tried to go to that link that you posted and it says there is an error in the link itself? What is the name of that challenge?

Please lift up a friend of mine Betsy. She had 5 tumors removed from her bladder last week. Some were malignant. The Dr. is confident he got everything. Betsy has had a daughter die from cancer, a brother and a sister. This past year her mother died and she is struggling. Yet this is one of the most spiritual people I know and is an inspiration to me in her Christian walk.

Birdie: I posted this link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuH1faTC22E
It' a song by Casting Crown's called "The Voice of Truth" for my friend to listen to. It helps put life into perspective when doubt is thrown at us.

My husband ordered an Elliptical machine for us yesterday. We went to ****'s to try it out first. My legs are sore this morning. I hope I like it cause it was more money than I wanted to spend. He wanted something to use that would be easy on his knees but at the same time get the cardio in.

Now to my 2nd cup of coffee and then to get Granny up for the day!

I pray that we all choose wisely today but if we don't may we follow Jeanie's example and do the extra exercise! (Ugh, I'd rather walk away from the table!)

Benson

Morning ladies

Thanks for the welcome back. I had a great time and yes our team did great. They got a bronze medal - making them the 3rd best team in Canada. They ended up in a 3-way tie for 3rd and had to play tie-breakers. The bad part was they had a game at 8:30 and won, another at 1 p.m. won in an extra end and the semi at 6 p.m. and lost but they were worn out having played 21 ends before the semi even started. Great show for them and they will finally realize that they deserve to be playing at that level. Our skip is only 27 and had her baby girl just 10 weeks ago.

I will be having another break from work next week for Christmas and hope to catch up with everyone more then

Stay warm and have a great day.

Heather

pmjsmom

Heather--I'm glad you had such a good time. I'm envious! I wish I had someone here to watch curling with! Oh well.

Welcome, PattieG. This is a really good place to be! And BArbie is right about tracking your food--I know I do so much better when I log my food.

Mary--more good news about your diabetes! Don't worry--that scale will start moving again.

Mamacindy--Try this link:
http://www.pfpchallenge.com/
This one takes you to the home page. It the pound for pound challenge. (You know, the link I first tried didn't work either--and the first one I provided is the one they give for sharing!)

Well, got to start my day. Hope to be back later!

Kathy(pmjsmom)

mamacindy81

Mamacindy--Try this link:
http://www.pfpchallenge.com/

Thanks: That one worked. I pledged 10 lb which is what I have to lose to get to my goal. If I can get 10 more pounds off and maintain that weight I will be happy. I really want to get back down to 130 but I'll set that goal after I lose the 10.

Back to house work!

MacMadame

I look back now and know I went in there to make them for myself.

That's awesome that you can realize that and admit it though. It puts you one step ahead of your food demons!

I don't know how many times people on weight loss sites post that some food is a trigger food for them and then, when people tell them not to have it in their house, they respond that they have to ... for their spouse or their kids...

My response to that is that we don't do our family any favors by keeping this stuff around. For the kids, we're just teaching them poor eating habits that will eventually turn around and bite them and, for the significant other, we're just enabling them.

So, are we really keeping it for them or are we using them as an excuse to have food around we know we shouldn't overeat? For most of us, it's an excuse and realizing that was very liberating to me. Plus, I don't want my kids to follow in dh and my footsteps and have weight problems as an adult. That means I have to show them what healthy eating is and teach them good habits and that means I keep the junk food to a minimum and try to model healthy eating behavior.

I tell them they can eat anything they want out of the house ... they have their own money and can buy any crap they want. But, somehow, when they have to pay for it out of their own pocket and it's not sitting around the house, either they realize they don't really want it that badly or it becomes a special treat and not an every day food.

So my evil plan is working. :laugh:

BirdieM

Thank you all for your prayers and kind words of encouragement. :flowerforyou: They meant a lot to me and helped more than you will know! ! My beloved BIL is resting in peace now, so it is time for me to pick myself up, dust myself off….and start all over again.

I got weighed as usual on Wednesday and stayed the same! That was very good news, as I had a sloppy Monday.:blushing: So I am grateful!:happy:

My treadmill was not damaged from the water in the basement so I exercised today for the first time since Sunday.
So I am back on track and doing well.:bigsmile:

I'm behind on posts and will try to read them but I don’t have time to respond to them individually as I am at work.

But again, thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers and support. Sometimes when you don’t see me….that’s when I’m reading in the background and trying to pull myself up! :frown: :ohwell: The fertilizer in the valley does work, Mary!!:laugh: I love the analogy!:laugh:

Many of you have crosses and I pray for you to have the strength you need to get through. It is a hard time of the year to have tragic things happen, but as someone said, on another thread, the music and lights during this joyful season do help to lift our spirits!:happy:

So may the spirit of the season override any sadness that we may have.... and may we all be good to ourselves by making wise choices….especially the choice to come to this website and share our victories and challenges with each other!

God Bless!
Many hugs!
BirdieM

mamacindy81

so much to do, so little time. Just finished my Christmas Cards.

the weatherman is calling for snow here tomorrow. I'm hoping to get out to the grocery store but who knows. You never know what to believe here, sometimes the weather calls for a blizzard and we don't get any and sometimes not too much and we will get a ton.

I just take it as it comes. As long as the power doesn't go out then we will be okay. I don't like to whine but it is really hard to take care of an invalid when you don't have power! We do have a generator and that helps. I do love to see it snow but I have a little more shopping to do and I would like to not be rushed.

I hope you are all having a good day. I've done pretty good but did eat 2 Hershey's miniatures. my husband bought the darn things and left them laying on the table where I was writing out the cards! But hey, I only ate 2, before it would probably have been 8 - 10!

Now off to follow Jeanie's example and exercise the darn things off!

Cindy

barbiecat

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: Birdie, once again your faith brings you out of the darkness...no one can actually scientifically prove the existence of a higher power but the body of evidence of God's work in the lives of those of us who call upon Him is so great that scientific proof is not required.........I'm glad to hear that you've picked yourself up and are going on and that your treadmill was not damaged:bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

:flowerforyou: about the fertilizer in the valley, someone sent me a card with a picture of a rose growing out of a cow "plop" :bigsmile:

:flowerforyou: MacMadame, thank you for what you said about the food we keep in our houses for our families.....it means a lot from someone with great weight loss success living with a family full of their own demands.

This is the time of year to be even more vigilant about taking life one day at a time and enjoying each and every moment as it comes along.
hugs Barbie

:flowerforyou: cindy, good for you eating only 2 kisses and then returning to sanity.......the girls are here grooming the dogs and brought cookies.....I ate one small one and then got the rest of them out of my sight.:bigsmile: As soon as they leave, I'll be getting on the exercise bike.:bigsmile:

jam0525

On the food around the house – My work walking buddy told me over a year ago a budget tip that she got from her church’s women’s group – buy stuff you want your teenagers to eat and put it in a bowl on the counter where they can’t miss it. Hide what ever you don’t want them to eat. They will eat what is in front of them and not bother looking. I’ve been doing this for a year now and it really works and cut down on our food bill. I fill a bowl with fruit and pre-packaged snack I want them to have and the stuff for their lunches is hidden and lasts through the week.

Today I saw an article on weight loss that basically said the same thing. To keep the fruit and health stuff out and to hide away the other stuff. People in general are more apt to eat what is visible than hunting for stuff. I really think this is true. Cookies that are in the cabinet can be there for weeks and stuff that’s out on the counter disappears.

After that positive speech I have to tell you all about my day. Every 45 minutes to an hour IT was either invited to some departmental pot luck or brought a dish of homemade goodies today. When I left the count was 3 potlucks and 5 plate of cookies. I think I did really well. I only caved to 4 chocolate chip cookies and 1/3 of a cup of a French vanilla latte that was supposes to be low fat. (I really don’t think anything with either the word “French” or “latte” CAN be low fat.

Sorry for such a long post and thanks for all the encouragement in the many posts today. They help all of us either directly or indirectly.

Jeannie

RebelRenny

:flowerforyou: Renny, is that a picture of your mom? How is she doing?

Barbie
[/quote]

Yes, that is a picture of my mom. That was taken last year. My mom is home, but is very tired.

Thanks for asking. And thanks for the support.

Renny

msh0530

:flowerforyou: Renny, is that a picture of your mom? How is she doing?

Barbie

Yes, that is a picture of my mom. That was taken last year. My mom is home, but is very tired.

Thanks for asking. And thanks for the support.

Renny
[/quote]
I had noticed the picture, and like it, because every time I flip through the posts and see her, I remember to say a prayer for her!

Eava57

I had a breakfast meeting this morning a local restaurant. I did order a mushroom omelette and for the first time I ordered the fresh fruit instead of hash browns. I wanted those hash browns!:ohwell: It was a long stressful day so we skipped lunch. I have to admit:drinker: the protein carried me throughout the day. I am trying so hard to maintain but the scale is slowly creeping up. I hope others are doing better through the holidays!

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: Eava, I made myself an ometette like yours the other day. Those mushrooms were so good.:bigsmile: I found that by eating more lean protein in the morning I keep that full feeling longer.

:flowerforyou: Jeannie, I think the word "latte" is what makes it so fattening.:laugh: I stopped at Mcdonald's this morning and got myself a small vanilla iced coffee. I love them. A little less than 200 calories. I don't do this very often. Maybe once a week...on payday.

:flowerforyou: Renny, your mother looks so sweet. Be sure to hug and kiss her a lot.

Carry-in at work today. We are very tight with our time here at work. So, hopefully, I will not have a lot of time to over-eat.

msh0530

I had a breakfast meeting this morning a local restaurant. I did order a mushroom omelette and for the first time I ordered the fresh fruit instead of hash browns. I wanted those hash browns!:ohwell: It was a long stressful day so we skipped lunch. I have to admit:drinker: the protein carried me throughout the day. I am trying so hard to maintain but the scale is slowly creeping up. I hope others are doing better through the holidays!

I love the hashbrowns, but haven't ordered them for a year. My husband is nice and usually gives me a few bites of his so that I don't feel so deprived.

sheilajane

I had a breakfast meeting this morning a local restaurant. I did order a mushroom omelette and for the first time I ordered the fresh fruit instead of hash browns. I wanted those hash browns!:ohwell: It was a long stressful day so we skipped lunch. I have to admit:drinker: the protein carried me throughout the day. I am trying so hard to maintain but the scale is slowly creeping up. I hope others are doing better through the holidays!

I'm trying to stay away from all potatoes......I do love them....ALL of them...any kind.

I didn't lose any weight this week either. I am exactly where I was last Friday. If I can just maintain through the end of the year, I'm sure it will be much easier in January.

BirdieM

Dropping in to say a quick hello. I'm at work, all alone, and someone delivered a Gift Basket of the most decadent candies and cookies!!!!:noway: I was sitting at the desk, where the basket was, and reading the ingredients on all the items! :noway: What the heck's wrong with me!!!:noway: A "slip" starts in your head, so why am I thinking about all these diabolical:devil: treats!! I ran away from the desk and went online to talk to my MFP friends instead!!!
So here I am....10 feet away from a potential disaster.....but 100 miles from my lips!!:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :bigsmile: I will not touch it and instead I will feel very accomplished tomorrow when I think back on this tempting situation!:flowerforyou:

Have a great weekend everyone! I have lots to do, as I didn't do much for Christmas yet. They say we have a snow storm coming on Sunday so I should go out after work and get some things done:ohwell:

BirdieM

pmjsmom

:grumble: Up half a pound this week.:grumble:
:ohwell: I guess it could be worse! My main goal for the holidays is to not gain any weight. I weighed 219 at Thanksgiving so I am still under.
I'm going to watch things better this week. I KNOW I could have made better choices last week.
We are babysitting a couple of dogs for a week. Later we're taking them for a walk. Once I know how they do, maybe I'll walk them by myself. If I have to, I'll walk them separately (they don't like being separated but they are good-sized dogs.)--more exercise for me anyway!:happy:

barbiecat

We are babysitting a couple of dogs for a week. Later we're taking them for a walk. Once I know how they do, maybe I'll walk them by myself. If I have to, I'll walk them separately (they don't like being separated but they are good-sized dogs.)--more exercise for me anyway!:happy:

We have two Standard Poodles (35 and 45 pounds). I walk them together only for a moment in the back yard or from the car to the off leash dog park. Otherwise I walk them separately and feel much safer doing that. It gives me a bit more exercise and a greater sense of safety when we're walking. There are a lot of people who say that people who have dogs get more exercise and lose more weight than people who don't.:bigsmile: :bigsmile: