40+ Club: Beating The Winter Bulge

2BLean

Hello Everyone ~ :flowerforyou:

I just wanted to say hello and I too apologize for being a little absent from here. :blushing: Not trying to be though. I will forsure post more on Friday. :happy:

I am finishing up my 6.5 month rotation of STS this week . . can't believe it! Plus still doing some evening workouts about 4 nights this week. Feeling strong & energized though!

Hope you are all having a great week ~ I will check in again on Friday.

singfree

Good morning!

Another chilly one in PA. We are supposed to get some snow tomorrow night, but they are not sure how much. The worst of the storm is to stay south of us and hit the DC-Baltimore area, just grazing us. I hope that's the case...I'm ready for spring!!!!!!

I am still finding it difficult to get back to clean eating and exercise. Maybe I need hypnosis (just kidding). Oh well, today is a new day to start yet again.

If the snow stays away, we will go to a concert in Reading tomorrow evening. There is an Austrian-born singer giving a concert of classical music, most of which is in German. For part of the program he will be singing the song-cycle "Winterreise", which I know very well (and love). It will be interesting to listen to a real native singing it live. My all-time favorite singer is an Austrian tenor, Fritz Wunderlich. He died tragically many years ago at the age of 35 when he fell down a flight of stairs at his home in Austria.

2BLean, you are doing great with your workouts. What are you going to do after STS?

Duffy, I try to stay away from the high cal drinks from Starbucks. We usually get tea or coffee at the cafe in B & N. I will get regular in the morning and decaf later in the day. I am addicted to their multi-grain bagels!!

Tex, I'm thinking of you and wishing you a safe journey!

Alf, I'm very glad your Zumba class is a big success. Have you been getting a lot of rain lately? I checked the weather and it looks pretty wet down there. That's what is coming our way in the form of snow when it hits the Appalachians.

Stiring, I hope you have time to check in!! We miss you.

Have a great day!

zebras

Good Morning Sing & Friends.

Happy Thursday. Nothing much going on here. Exercise last night consisted of going to the Carter's store and buying three separate baby gifts. Will love to see the two little boys who are due to be born in about a month wearing matching outfits that say "Here Comes Trouble" Never having children of my own, shopping for baby clothes is an exciting adventure!

alf1163

Hello friends!!! Here at work eating my healthy lunch. :laugh: I had 6 students in my new class last night. 2 from the first class and 4 new ones. They said they are coming back. :drinker: Tonight is my big fun class. :drinker: Thank you for your encouragement.

Duffy, I wish my lower body was sore. :laugh: I am still taking it easy with my lower body but I wish I was using heavier weights. I am so afraid of re-injuring myself, especially with my zumba classes doing so well. Shoveling snow, that is a workout!!! :noway:

Sing, how are you my friend? Take it easy, you will be back to your old routine soon. Yes, it has been raining a lot here lately. We even have some road closures due to some flooding. :noway:

Weigh in/check in tomorrow!!!

Have a great rest of the day!! :drinker: :flowerforyou:

Texssippian

Ok yall! Here's to the 80+ fitness club! This was in the Dallas Morning News this morning:

At 80, Lewisville ISD teacher still helps shape minds, futures

09:44 PM CST on Wednesday, February 3, 2010
By WENDY HUNDLEY / The Dallas Morning News
whundley@dallasnews.com
Dale Swall is bucking the trend.

At a time when school districts struggle to retain teachers, he has been a classroom teacher for more than half a century and has no plans to quit anytime soon.

"I'll stay as long as the school will let me," said Swall, a fourth-grade teacher at Hebron Valley Elementary School in Carrollton, where colleagues threw him a surprise party Wednesday to celebrate his 80th birthday.

The lifelong educator began teaching in 1954. He joined the Lewisville school district in 1997 and brings a global perspective to the classroom.

During his career, he's been a school superintendent and principal in Peru, a headmaster in Chile and a principal in Colombia, and has taught in Germany and Hawaii.

Along the way, he's obviously touched the lives of many children. One of his former students came from Austin on Wednesday to thank Swall.

In 1968, when Swall was principal at an elite private school in Cali, Colombia, he created a scholarship program to give students from poor families a chance for a better education.

Pedro "Pete" Pelaez won one of those coveted scholarships. He attended college in the United States and is now a businessman in Austin.

"I was a poor student and didn't know what my future would be," Pelaez said. "He changed my life."

Colleagues say Swall isn't slowing down.

"He's the first person to get to school every day, and he's the last one to leave," said Rochelle Masinelli, another fourth-grade teacher at the school. "He gets up at 4:30 every morning to jog and gets to school by 6:30. He's even at the school on the weekends, doing paperwork."

But, most of all, they say the energetic octogenarian is dedicated to helping students succeed.

"I've learned the most I've ever learned in school from Mr. Swall," said Logan Parker, one of Swall's current fourth-grade students.

"He teaches things slowly, he teaches the basics, and then goes into harder things," the 10-year-old said. "He always listens, and never screams or shouts."

Swall attributes his good health to his daily exercise regimen and a diet high in fruits and vegetables.

"I eat raw broccoli for breakfast and lunch," said Swall, who did jumping jacks and push-ups for his colleagues to demonstrate his fitness.

And what keeps him teaching at a time when most people are enjoying their retirement?

"It sounds trite, but I love working with kids," Swall said. "Helping and working with people is the best thing you can do."


Isn't that great? Taking care of yourself and loving life: it's a wonderful thing!
Going to Mississippi tomorrow to see family. Rainy, nasty and cold here in north Texas. Mom says it is not much better in Ms. Have a great weekend everyone. TxMs

alf1163

That is my role model!!!!! :drinker: :drinker: Texs, take care!!! Have a safe trip!!!!! :flowerforyou:

Just came back from my Zumba class. 34!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :drinker: :drinker: Had some cereal with a banana and almonds yummy!!!! I burned a little over 500 cals!! I gotta go to sleep now, well, shower first. :laugh: :laugh: :noway:

Good night everyone! :yawn: :flowerforyou:

StiringWendel

TxMs, thanks for posting that! What a great story. I hope you have a good trip!! :drinker:

Whew! It has been some week around here. But, finally, I have a little time to check-in...since it is Friday afternoon here. Thanks for asking after me, singfree. :flowerforyou: I've been reading every day....but just no time to post.

So, to my Friday check-in. Not much new. I had a good week eating. This was my recovery week from STS, but I'm not good at 'recovery'. I didn't lift weights, but I did end up doing some seriously kicka** cardio routines. 2BLean will appreciate this (or think I'm nuts :bigsmile: ) since she has the workouts, but this morning I actually did the cardio portion of FIVE of Cathe's new workouts...all strung together in one long (nearly two hour) session. Those workouts were her five hardest too--three HiiT, and the cardio from the two circuit workouts. It was crazy, but I just felt like going this morning....so I did. I still feel good too, so I must not have pushed it too hard. I've been eating more calories this week (intentionally), and I think that, combined with not lifting any weights, just gave me an incredible burst of energy this morning (despite the fact that as up at 5:30am to do this :noway: ). My weight has stayed the same. I'm still up six pounds from before the move, but I'm kind of at a loss where those six pounds are hiding on my body right now. All of my clothes fit like they used to. My measurements are pretty much what they used to be. So.........where is the weight? :huh: But I feel good about where I'm at right now, and plan on sticking with a clean eating diet (minus some planned diversions this weekend and next weekend) through the next STS cycle to see if I can't get back some more muscle definition.

alf, congrats on the class!! That's amazing. I'm glad you are getting students at your second class as well.

singfree, I hope you get a chance to go to the concert. I hope you continue to take care of yourself. It is okay (more than okay actually) to ease back into your lifestyle slowly. Again, you've been through alot these last two weeks, and just thinking about health/eating/fitness is more than many people would be doing right now. So do as Tony Horton says.....keep doing your best and forget the rest right now. :flowerforyou:

2BLean, congrats on finishing STS. It really is an amazing accomplishment. Didn't the six months seem to fly by? I know it did for me. I can't wait to get started with Meso 2 next week. I love the type of lifting done in Meso 2....probably my favorite style of lifting in the series.

zebras, hope you are feeling fully recovered from your accident! Shopping can definitely feel like a workout. The outfits sound really cute!

Tomorrow night is my line dance competition. Wish me luck!! I've learned four dances this week (one of the reasons I've been so busy). I hope I remember which one I'm supposed to be doing when. I've never line danced before. I'm not sure how I got roped into this now, but it has been fun.

I hope everybody has a great Friday and a good weekend. I'm looking forward to Super Bowl Monday here in Korea (the game starts at 8:00am). :drinker: I will get up, do my workout before the game, and then make a healthy brunch of apple pancakes (whole wheat), eggs, fruit salad, etc . Not my usual Super Bowl menu, but I'm looking forward to it nonetheless!

2BLean

Hi Everyone ~ :flowerforyou:

Sing: Thanks! I feel like this last month of the STS program with the additional evening workouts has really pushed me over the hump. I am going to take some measurements this weekend now that I officially finished my 6.5 month rotation and see where I am at. :blushing: My next plan is to do an active recovery week next week and then start up an Endurance type rotation & some good cardio mixed in.

Alf: That is so fantastic about your ever growing Zumba class. My dearest friend in all the world who has struggled so much with weight/eating has recently been doing Zumba with some of her co-workers. She has lost 7LBS! I am so excited for her. She is definitely one of those people that doesn’t exactly look forward to working out … she expressed to me that Zumba doesn’t feel like a workout but then she is sweating and laughing and losing!

Stiring: :laugh: I know exactly what you are talking about and girl, you are a crazy woman! :noway: :laugh: That is so awesome …. WOW. You must have burned about 2 days of calories. Yes, it is an amazing feeling to know that I (as of tomorrow a.m.) will have completed STS. I have to say I am very proud of myself. :drinker: I didn’t doubt I would finish, I just feel proud. This last month and Meso #3 as I was telling Sing has kind of pushed me out of that plateau and I feel stronger than ever. Yahoo! I know I have said it before but THANK YOU ((( HUG )))) again for your strong recommendation and encouragement with STS. Can’t wait to continue on w/ Cathe and do the Undulating rotation w/ ya! :happy:
Good luck at your line dance competition ~ that’s great you have been learning those! I bet you will do great. I think your Super Bowl menu sounds yummy.

Hope you all have a fabulous Friday. :flowerforyou:

Cippia

I need this! I'm 44, a mother of 9, married for 23 plus years, and have 40 lbs. to lose. I've set my goal at 4 lbs./month and just about reached it in Jan, but boy did I overeat these last couple days at a Pampered Chef conference!! Tomorrow starts off with Zumba and back on track. I sure could use the encouragement of folks my age!


oops...I see I had already joined this once before, sorry for the re-introduction! :blushing:

Swissmiss

It is officially Friday. I have never done a check in before. This is not going to be a good one. I have not been here for several days. And, you know what that means. I have not been eating well and have not been to all my exercise classes. :embarassed: I am so discouraged. I only want to lose about 10 more pounds and they are the hardest to lose. I am about to just give up. The strength class that I joined in the hopes of getting the scales to move down has not helped.:mad:

singfree

Good morning!

Swiss, you are a bad girl for not checking in...we get worried when one of our own is lost, even for a day or two!!!! I find that when things (overeating, not exercising) get out of hand, this is the BEST place to be. The great people here help to get you back on track. I know how if feels, I want to get myself together, but I feel helpless to do so.

Stiring, I'm very glad you posted!! Big Bro was getting worried about you. IMHO, if the scale is up and the tale of the tape is good, fuggetaboutit (NYC accent). Just a guess, but I think your hard work is paying off big time. You are lean and muscular (and still very feminie) :blushing: !!! Your body is now operating at a very high level of efficiency. It's something we all are striving for. Your example is inspring to me and I appreciate you so much!! (Brothers can be so mushy, huh?)

Ladies, a silly question: Do men ever do Zumba? There is a class at my local gym which meets twice weekly. What is it like? Remember, I am an uncoordinated 55 yo. I am coordinated when it comes to sports, but dance moves...well, let's just say that it's not very pretty.

Super bowl: We are having a quiet time at home, no big party. We are making sloppy joes and oven roasted french fries, paired with a lovely Michelob Ultra Amber, vintage 2010. My wife doesn't like beer, I'm working on that one. After all, what does one drink in Munich (in 111 days)????

Friday check-in. This week has been downright nasty. I need to snap out of this fog. Like a moth to a flame...that's me to (bad) food. No ambition to exercise. Even when I do go to the gym, my workouts are lethargic at best. The events of the past 2 weeks have really done a number on me. I feel OK, but inside I still have some issues to deal with. With friends here, I'll be just fine.

We're bracing for the snow storm later tonight and tomorrow. We are on the northern fringe of the storm, expecting around 6 inches. Farther south, the DC metro area could get 2 FEET. DC, Balt, Phil, NYC will be a mess this time tomorrow. Good thing it's the weekend. At least it's a good opportunity to get some exercise and fresh air (shoveling snow)!!!!


Have a great weekend! Go Saints-Go Colts (no matter to me, I'm an Eagles fan).

duffyzmom

Friday Check In - Great week for exercise so so week for food. Scale is not moving but it is TOM so not too concerned.

Superbowl party this weekend. Although I'm a Colts fan through and through ( I was in High School when they snuck into Indy in the dead of night) - I really just wanted them to make it to the big game and love Drew Brees. So I just planning on partying partying partying! I wish I could say I'm like Sings wife and don't like beer :laugh: I am making several really healthy options for the party and hopefully will spend more time watching the game and commercials. After 3 years in Canada - we really missed the commercials - you get the games but not the superbowl commercials.

ALF: I'm really feeling CX on the upper body today - it must have been a great workout Wed. as my hubby says if you are sore two days later that is a great sign.

Happy Weekend All - I doubt I'll be on over the weekend but will check in Monday.

alf1163

Good morning!!! :drinker: I did push 3 and ab burner this morning. So ChaLean done for this week!! :drinker: Duffy, I think in a day or two I will be sore. I went heavy this morning on the back exercises. Ouch! All that talk about STS makes me wanna get it. It might be my next lifting program after I'm done with ChaLean. Scale moved up a little bit but still at a good weight for me. My measurements also increased a tiny bit so no worries. I feel great and that is what is important.

Stiring and Swiss, great to hear from you!!! Stiring, those "extra" pounds are all muscle girl!!!! You are doing great! As Sing said you are an inspiration to us all. :flowerforyou:

Swiss, don't stress too much about it, that contributes to weight gain. Just focus and get re-organized and move on. You can do it. Yes, those last 10lbs are the hardest to lose but it can be done. We are here to help you. :flowerforyou:

Sing, go to Zumba!!!! I know you will be very popular with the ladies. :laugh: Yes, men do Zumba but honestly not that many. There is a gentleman in my class on Tuesdays, he goes with his wife. He does really well. I want to say he is in his late 50's. The creator of Zumba is a man, Colombian Beto Perez. If you can go to YouTube and search Zumba Katie Moore. She is an instructor in Hawaii and posts her videos in youtube and there are a lot of guys in her class. I wish I had more men do it, they do watch when we are doing the class in the gym but no one has been brave enough to join except the one I have on Tuesdays. I used to go to a class before I got licensed and the instructor was a guy and there were about 5 guys in there ranging from their 30's to their 50's. One lost over 100lbs doing Zumba. It is a lot of fun.

2BLean, congrats on finishing!!!! :drinker: :drinker: You are also amazing!!!! :flowerforyou: And good for your friend!!! It is true, when you are doing Zumba you dont feel you are exercising but all that sweat tells your something is happening...you are just having so much fun. I love to see the smiles on my students!! It invigorates me!!!!

I am meeting my husband for lunch today at our favorite Korean restaurant. Kimbap here I come!!! :laugh: Then tonight it is girls night out!!! I am going to a concert, a salsa singer from Puerto Rico, so more hip shakin tonight :laugh:

Have a great day!!!! :flowerforyou:

pcaseyco

Hi everyone, guess I should add my name in the mix here since I'm 42. I am currently in Pennsylvania with my job but my permanent residence is in Southern Colorado. I've wasted the last 19 years being overweight and not enjoying the things I've always loved to do like horseback riding, hiking, camping, kayaking, etc. No more!

I made a decision this year to plan a fantastic and much deserved vacation in Vancouver, BC, Canada in August and I intend to loose as much of 90 extra pounds as I possibly can between now and then. I have a chance to meet and greet with my favorite male actor while i'm there which only adds some more incentive to my goals :blushing: . Getting off to a slow start but I have found a fabulous and practical workout plan, bought a treadmill (since outside PA weather is SOOOO lovely with us expecting up to 16" of snow today and tomorrow), and working on a better diet.

zebras

Greetings friends. Its good to see so many people chatting it up on a Friday this early in the morning!

Stiring its good to see you. I look forward to your report on the line dancing. I know you'll do well, and its only important to have fun anyhow.

Sing: You're here, so we know you don't generally worry about the male/female ratio, so you should definitely go try a Zumba class. When my financial situation picks up a little, I want to try it myself.

Nothing too much to report here. No scale right now, my clothes are still a little tight, and hopefully now that I've recovered from "The Zombie Incident" (I hear giggles from Duffyz), I should be able to get back to working out.

Texssippian

Hi all! Down 2 of the 5 pounds I gained over the holidays. Have not been working out much due to the SI joint problem which is resolving. Flying over to Mississippi today to spend the weekend with my family. They are all going crazy over the Saints being in the "big game". It is hard to figure out who to cheer for:

1. My mom grew up in New Orleans
2. My brother-in-law had his liver transplant in August in New Orleans
3. The Saints are Mississippi's "adopted" team
4. Archie Manning was at Ole Miss at the same time as my husband (and used the phone in my husband's dorm room once)
5. My mother taught Payton Manning's grandmother in a quilting class

Not sure what we are eating for the game but it will be fun to watch the game with all the buzz in Mississippi. Take care all! TxMs

tamarads

Morning All! Another pound... slow and steady, right? Found out I love reading on the elliptical which has been great for keeping me going those extra minutes, having a hard time eating all the extra calories though.

Stiring - thought you were probably dancing your heart out thus causing you to be absent! Good luck!

Becky - don't quit! Listing to Sing's great words of advice and come here when you feel that urge to give up! You can do it!!

It is great to see your stories and reports you truly are an inspiration! Take Care!

Happy Friday!

Tammy

RecliningFigure

Can I join in? This is the first time I've seen a thread for 40-somethings. I'm not doing so well this week, not compared to last week. A couple days ago, my husband begged me to get him some easy foods, so I got him some frozen stuff like Stoffer's meat lasangna. Then there was an emergengy at work yesterday which meant that I needed to stay up until 3:30 the night before preparing, and wake up at 6:30 to go deal with the work emergency. By the time I got home at 3:30 p.m., I was beat, and I was just out of the carefully perpared home made foods for myself and I was simply too tired to make anything at that moment. Sitting before me was a hot plate of lasangna. I measured out a single portion and ate it fast. In terms of calories, it wasn't bad because I had plenty to spare and especially since I didn't have time for lunch. Soon after, I felt awful!!! I swear I could see my stomach bloat right before my eyes. Serves me right, it's been years since I've had processed foods like that. But I didn't think it would affect my that badly. I felt this urge to cleanse, and resolved to run despite my lack of sleep. On a positive note. Yesterday is the first time in my life that I was able to run the entire 60 minutes (minus the 4 minute warm up). I real milestone for me. So lesson learned.

zebras

Welcome Reclining. The more the merrier!

Swissmiss

sing, thanks so much for the kind words. I have been afraid to log in all that I have eaten. I am talking French fries at lunch and pizza for dinner. :grumble: Today is going much better. I even have cupcakes with me and am not touching them.


:flowerforyou: Welcome Reclining. This is a wonderful group. They care about everyone and will not let you fall.

:flowerforyou: Tammy, one pound is great. Remember that the slower it comes off the less chance it will return.

Oh sing, there has been one husband in my Zumba class. He came twice with his wife. I thought it was great. He was always a little behind the rest of us but then, he needs to come regularly to learn the steps.