40+ Club: Beating The Winter Bulge

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: Good job, stiring...losing some of the weight. Do you think that you will continue to lose the rest of them or stay where you are?

singfree, I tend to have tendonitis all over my body. I have it in one elbow and both knees. It does take a long time for the pain to leave and then I will do something to make it come back. One of my knees is so bad that I have to wear a support.

denimangel

Well this is day 5 for me this time... doing good so far. I'm getting in my exercise... even at work... we played on the Wii today.. after one game of bowling the residents decided that they didn't want to bowl any longer but wanted to watch me play something.. so for 30 minutes I played tennis.. discovered that in that 30 minutes I burned 184 calories! Yay!! I can burn calories at work too!!

I have managed to stay within my caloric intake so far... didn't get my snack in today at work because I had to take a resident to the hospital for lab work and end up there for almost 2.5 hours... but I still didn't over eat at supper even though I felt like I was starving. Amazing how drinking a bottle of water fills you up till supper is ready.

stiring good job on losing some of the weight?
Singfree, I also have tenonitis in my elbow I usually only notice it when I try to do pushups.. but i push thru and then ice my arm if necessary.

Hope everyone else is having or had a good day.

StiringWendel

2BLean, I forgot to mention your photo in my earlier missive! :embarassed: I agree with alf. You certainly don't look like you need to lose more weight! I did Athletic Step for the second time yesterday, and I did much better with it. I was tripping over my step the first time too, but this time did MUCH better and really enjoyed it. And, yes, I'm sure you remember the STS pushups. I even did the Elmo pushups yesterday (for those wondering, that is doing pushups with your arms on a stability ball.....tough stuff because it is so hard to control). I'm not saying I did them well though....but I did them.

Swissmiss, I'm not sure I'm going to lose anymore weight. I'm not going to try to, but if I do....I do. I weighed in at 104.8 this morning, and I think that is really a good weight to me. I'm pretty much back into all of my clothing right now, and that makes me happy. My measurements are still a little up (about 1/2 in the hips and about 1 inch in my waist), but I can live with that. I really want to focus on my overall fitness and finding the balance that was missing in my life much of last year, and I don't think I can do the latter if I'm stressing about the few pounds I gained. I have to remind myself that I'm still over 15 pounds below my initial goal (120) and over 5 pounds down from my 'no kidding this is as low as I can get goal) of 110. So.....I'm pretty happy with where I'm at given everything.

hisangel, you burned that many calories playing Wii tennis?!? I LOVE Wii tennis. Looks like I need to be cranking up that machine this afternoon. On this very gloomy day, a round of make believe tennis sounds like fun. Sounds like you are doing really well right now. Congrats on everything!!

Off to play some tennis......:happy:

kalmf

Hey alf and everyone,

I'm the 53 year old mom of a 17 year old with autism (did I really just say 17!) I can't say we rescued him because he's still autistic and uses that excuse whenever he can, ("but mom - it's the autism, I couldn't help it" - yeh, right) but he's an amazing young man, I have no fear about his future anymore (very different from his childhood when spinning was his greatest accomplishment and speech was a dream on the horizon). I wish you strength and energy and everything good.

I think you were totally justified in eating the junk food! But you can work it out over the week. I wish we got weekly totals on this site. If I screw up on one day, I try and work it off over the next couple of days. If I know I have a challenging situation coming up, I try to get extra workout credits in ahead of time. I love the MFP tally board - it's like a bank account.

Good luck to you

singfree

Good morning!

It's really wonderful that we're seeing so many new faces on this thread! We are a unique bunch here at MFP, because we are more than willing to help our friends reach their goals. I've become very frustrated reading other threads, because there seems to be so much nastiness and back stabbing that I wonder why anyone would subject themselves to it.

What separates us from some of the others is that we will never speak in a negative way to someone. We respect the fact that everyone here has a need, whether it is weightloss, health issues or even something emothionally upsetting. We've reached a point in our lives when we want to move away from negativity. My wish is to surround myself with calming and positive influences. I'm trying to rid myself of life's stresse that I've heaped upon myself over the years. I refuse to carry that baggage any longer!!!

I know that I am getting back into shape again. The muscle definition is showing (slowly) and daily I feel stiff and a bit sore, so I know the muscles are responding to the vigorous workouts. I just need to focus on my diet. It seems that each day I find a way to undo everything I've done. I really should adopt Alf's 80/20 policy. She's a smart lady...why am I not listening?

Today is upper body day. I will do all of the strength stuff at the gym at lunch, then a short Insanity workout after work. This German guy needs to be in shape to tackle those Alps in May!!!!

Have a great day!!

duffyzmom

Hello all - Gee I remember when checking the 40+ thread took a lot less time :laugh: Glad to see we are still growing in number.

Zebras - The plan really stresses 3 meals unless you are an athlete but never defines what an athlete is - I work out at least 6 days a week so maybe I could qualify.

Stiring - I know what you mean about the dairy - I love my low fat cheese and my greek yogurt in a smoothie but have easily switched from cow's milk to soy milk. Dr. Furhman's man complaint is with cow's millk and all the hormones and antibotics used in its production.

Sing - my elbow pain is most likely tendonitis - the pain isn't from lifting but when Chalene has you doing squats you hold the weights at your side. I'm double jointed and so I have a hard time with heavy weights holding the weights in a "soft" joint form. Honestly, it isn't too bad of a problem to have it just shows what a great job running does for strengthening your lower body. Since my husband is now working out at home we have a great sled so I may just switch to doing squats on the machine so that I can lift a little heavier.

I've been doing really well with my food this week. Although my husband and I did stop at a local bar last night for a drink while our son was at his 4H meeting. With the kids schedules we haven't had any alone time since our trip to Vegas so it was nice to have a little adult outing and I was very good just one glass of red wine:drinker:

tamarads

So glad I joined this thread, it is great to see the posts from everyone and to hear all the great stories of work outs and weight loss!

Stiring - I lived in Korea several years back, are you at Osan? It sounds like you've got a good plan for work outs with your WII and such. It is not easy to live overseas so far from home, hang in there!

Thank you to Singfree for all the positive thoughts!

zebras

Good morning friends.

Thank you for all the encouragement. If I didn't have you all, I think I might not have had the incentive to get back on track.

Sing, i agree, this group has been nothing but positive encouragement, and folks who set a good example for others.

alf1163

Good morning! :drinker:

Duffy, what is the name of the program you are following? How do you feel physically after following it for 3 wks? On the elbow question, my left shoulder bothers me a little since starting CX and I remember it did towards the end of my first round. My right knee is also bothering me lately. I am telling my body is just falling apart!!! :noway: :grumble: :laugh: It sucks to get old. :laugh: But I refuse to slow down!!! I have way too much energy!

Karin, my son is 16yrs old and has autism but he seems to be more severe than yours. He will be 17 in May. He is pretty much non verbal. I worry about his future a lot. That is something that can bring me down to tears in a second. But then I pray and try to stay positive. :flowerforyou:

Stiring, 3 meals a day? I could not do it!! :noway: I am so used to eating every 2-3 hrs and I am truly hungry every 2 hrs or so...my stomach growls and everything!! And I just hate the feeling of being very full after I eat a large meal. Even if it is a large healthy salad with lean protein, etc. But we do what works best. Congrats on eating clean for 19 days wow!!! That is phenomenal! You continue to be an inspiration to me.

Sing, what kinds of foods do you eat? You might be already eating clean at least 80% daily. Don't be so hard on yourself, you are doing great!!! I was telling my husband yesterday that what I focus more is clean eating but that I know it does not have to be 100% effort. And he said that he thinks I eat clean 100% of the time. It is nice of him to think that way but I don't. When I want fries and it has been a while and while meaning 2-3 wks not months, I have my fries and get the craving out of the way. Same with ice cream, juicy burger, etc. This system has worked for me and I feel pretty happy about it.

Zumba Report!!!! I had 19 students last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: So much fun!!!!

:flowerforyou:

duffyzmom

ALF: We may be falling apart but at least we'll look great doing it :drinker: The program I'm sort of following is Dr. Fuhrman's Eat for Health. I definitely wouldn't call it a diet it is more about eating to reduce your health risks. Very similar to clean eating the philosophy is to choice the foods that give you the most nutrient to calorie ratio. So lots of fruits and veggies, few servings of whole grains, increased nuts, seeds and beans and limited animal products. How do I feel I really hate to say right now since I'm just easing into the program and decided what parts I want to stick with and which I can't see myself following. Right now I'm just celebrating the increased fruits and veggies in my diet and really can't see myself limited to 4 oz of animal protein 3 or 4 times a week.

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: alf, congrats on having 19 in class last night. That is quite a lot. We had eight and that is more than usual. You have a wonderful reason to stay healthy. You son needs you to be.

My strength instructor joined in the Zumba class last night. I really felt bad because I had missed her class the night before. I promised her that I would be there tonight even if it kills me (and it might).

alf1163

alf1163 - thanks for the advice! I started zumba 2 weeks ago (twice a week) and LOVE it!!!! I sweat so much but am having so much fun dancing that I dont want to take a break!!!!

Yea, i prettyy much eat only chicken and turkey, I love a good steak about once a month:-) I dont think i will ever be a vegetarian like alyssa!

My husband is in the navy, hoping to retire next year. How is life for you after the military?
Jenny

Zumba Love!!!! :flowerforyou: I am glad you enjoy Zumba. It is a great workout! I am not sure if your instructor does some toning exercises but you can alternate your zumba workouts with some strength training 2-3 times a week and you have a great exercise program.

My husband retired about 6yrs ago. It's been nice in the sense that I don't worry about him getting deployed, going TDY, etc. Although I miss that time for myself. :laugh: :laugh: :devil: That sounded evil!! :laugh: The only thing I dont like is that he completely stopped working out and gained a lot of weight. At first his excuse was that he was taking a break from exercise because he had just retired and then there was no excuse just plain laziness. Towards the middle of last year he finally came to his senses and started working out some more and even ran a couple of half marathons with me and other races!!! :drinker: He has slowed down since the Holidays, excuse, the weather but has gained some so he says he is getting back on track...my daughter is on terminal leave after serving 4 yrs in the ARMY. I served 4 yrs as well.

Take care!!! :flowerforyou:

wingslion

I would like to join this club! I am 40+ and having trouble managing my weight. I've been a yo-yo'er for life and I am trying to break that cycle and manage and maintain.

I have always been active, for the last two weeks I've steadily increased my walking pace on the treadmill to a speed of 4.5. I've tried to do this reasonably and slowly as my poor 40+ body aches a little. Now I am having mild pain in my knees. It's more of a dull ache. I take a day between my exercise and now my concern is..should I wait until the pain is completely gone, or just slow my pace and take it a little easier or jump right back in to it.

mkwood10

MK, how is your husband doing? He is coming back by summer time right? He will be here before you know it. :flowerforyou:

Hello everyone.......I'm finally back in the land of the living!!! Thursday morning the head cold from hell hit me, and today's the first day since that I actually feel human!!:laugh: :laugh: Aiming to work out on the way home tonite but will see how I feel by the end of the day.

Welcome all newbies...........this site and this thread have been a great help to me since I joined MFP.

Alf...........the hubby's busy, bored and tired of living in a 3rd world country with technology!! He is due home in 104 days (May 5). I can't wait.......this deployment has been harder so far on me than I thought it would be. Not sure if it was the holidays and the horrible weather we've had here in Kansas or what, but I am totally ready for spring and for him to be home!! I talk to him almost every night (thank goodness for cell phones with free long distance) and play email tag every morning. Helps to have that instant contact, but most days we don't have much to say to each other because not much happens in a 12 hour period!!!

Headed to lunch..........talk to everyone later.

singfree

Ladies, remember the other day when I asked if anyone has seen or used "kettlebells"? Well, at the gym today I devised a way to replicate some of the movements by using a 35 lb barbell plate that has handles cut into it. No, it wasn't exactly the same thing, but I was able to get a sense of the real thing. I tried a few exercises that I remembered reading about and I can tell you that it works great! It works multiple muscle groups simultaneously, so you get a lot more accomplished in a shorter period of time. I am going to invest in a kettlebell for home use. There are some days when I don't have an hour or more to lift weights. I've read that you can get a good workout in 20-30 minutes. More on this later....

denimangel

Today was my "rest day" although I did some walking but not my regular exercise. I can tell you I miss not having worked out this morning. Tomorrow I'll be back on my treadmill, I could feel it in my legs.. and I can see the difference.. I can see the muscle definition in my thighs now. Wow!! This is great!!

Stiring... yeah can you believe 184 calories burned doing Wii Tennis!!! I wish I had one at home!! Oh well maybe tomorrow.
Karin... keep working at it... we are all in this together..

I don't remember who said they had problems with their knees ... sorry... but I have chondromalcia in both knees.. (grade 2) for those who don't know what it is.. basically the ligaments that are attached to the bones in the knee are deterioting and almost not there anymore... gel injections have worked for me thus far. I run on my treadmill most every day... yeah they hurt.. but icing them helps and I keep going. Hope that helps.

alf1163

MK, (((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))) May will be here before you know it. Yes, thank God for technology now. It makes it so much easier for military families to stay in contact. I remember when my husband was in the multinational peacekeeping forces in The Sinai for a year. We would talk on the phone, if we were lucky, once a month and not by much. We communicated by snail mail and I would send him videotapes and cassettes!!! :noway: :laugh:

wingslion, welcome to the group!! :drinker: If this is the first time you experience knee pain you should rest and then start exercising again, increasing intensity little by little and see what happens. If it continues then you should see a doctor to determine what is going on. I have mild arthritis on both of my knees and experience pain when I work out a lot. The doctor said there is nothing that can be done about it and it is up to me if I want to continue exercising and having to deal with the pain. I really dont take any pain medication, etc. I just continue exercising, will not stop due to something I have no control of. I am not in pain constantly. Take care!!

Have a great evening!!! :flowerforyou:

StiringWendel

Hi everybody! :flowerforyou:

karinf....welcome!! I, too, love that MFP keeps me accountable for my food. I think you've got a great plan there in planning ahead for special events and accomodating those days we ALL have where we eat more than we probably should.

singfree, I love what you said about this thread. Like you (my brother ), I refuse to carry the baggage of negativity and stress anymore. And I certainly don't think either of those things are good when it comes to making healthy lifestyle changes or losing weight. And that's why I love the people on this thread SO much. Like alf, I'm a bit surprised to hear you say you think you aren't striking a 80/20 balance in your eating. I know you've repeatedly mentioned the wine and pretzels but, in my opinion, neither of those are actually bad foods. So don't beat yourself up over either. If you were sitting down with a margarita and a bag of Doritos every night, it would be a different story. In other words, I think you ARE choosing healthy alternatives. And thanks for the info on your pseudo-kettlebells. I've always been curious how they work the body differently than standard weights, but I know they do. Let us know what you are seeing/experiencing. Who knows? When we get back to the US, I may have to break down and get some.

duffy, I'm with Dr. Fuhrman in not liking all the crap that goes into dairy products. But I still don't think I could give it up. Do you like the soy milk? I've never tried it. Regarding the six meals day, one of the things I learned over the last year is that the concept of six meals a day was developed by body builders simply because eating that many meals a day was the only way they could take in enough calories to build their muscles in the way they do. It was later turned into a weight loss technique, and I've heard all kinds of statements about why it is positive to eat more meals a day instead of a few meals a day, but most of those statements have been debunked. It IS good to eat every four/five hours or so, if for no other reason that it keeps people from being too hungry for meals and overeating. But, from what I understand, there is really no difference in how a body metabolizes food if a person eats 1 1500 calorie meal a day, 3 500 calorie meals a day, or 5 300 calories a meal a day. I'd be curious why Dr. Fuhrman is adamant about three meals a day because I DO think it is up to each individual on what makes them feel better.

tamarads, yes I'm at Osan. When were you here? I would bet you wouldn't recognize the base anymore since so much building has been done recently to prepare for the arrival of families (since Korea is going from being a remote assignment to a standardized overseas assignment). This is our sixth tour overseas since 1992, so I'm a bit of a pro at this. But I still miss home. :brokenheart: And welcome!!

zebras, good to see you! :flowerforyou:

alf, 19 people!!!! That's amazing. I met the Zumba instructor on base the other night. I'm thinking she's going to see me in a class soon. People are definitely talking Zumba here in Korea. :happy:

wingslion, welcome!! About your knees, you've received some good advise from alf, and I echo it. Give yourself a bit of a break and see how that feels. Perhaps come back a little more slowly and see if that helps. And if the pain persists or gets worse, go and see your doctor.

mk, I'm sorry to hear you weren't feeling well. And I'm sorry to hear you are struggling with this deployment. I have no doubt alot of that has to do with the holidays, and the weather....but you also had very little time to prepare for his departure. For me, I would be like 'What happened?' with my head spinning a little bit from the sudden change still. (I know of what I speak since that's how I still feel about our sudden move to Korea!). Hang in there! I hope you get to feeling better soon. :flowerforyou:

hisangel, I hear you about days off. They are tough on me, and I hate them if I'm not keeping busy otherwise. I keep telling myself 'A break is good for me', but my body loves working out, and I always have so much more energy on days I workout than on days I don't. Go figure. But good for you in taking the day because that will help with that muscle definition!

Swissmiss, good luck in weight class!! I hope it doesn't kill you.

All here is well. I had a great workout this morning....back/triceps followed by a step cardio workout. My eating is still clean. In fact, I'm baking two loaves of whole wheat bread as I type this. I'm so happy to have my bread machine back with me. I missed it while it was on the boat to Korea. And I was dancing in the aisles of the commissary this morning. If you remember, when we first got here, I was completely despondent at the lack of healthy foods here. But it has been slowly changing, and everytime I go to the store, I find something new to eat. This morning, it was my favorite mix for whole wheat pancakes with flax! I had gotten some from Whole Foods in California and was stunned to see it in the commissary. I love these pancakes....and am SO happy to see something like that as an option. So.....life is very good today.

Hope this finds you all well!

singfree

Good morning!

Stiring, isn't it nice that we can become giddy over the "liitle" things in life? Being able to find some of your favorite foods again after missing them for so long is a reason for celebration! I feel exactly the same way. I want to savor those little things, because it's those very things that we will fondly recall again and again. I'm a bread junkie...please save a slice for me?

The pseudo-kettlebell experiment is working out well for me. The diiferent types of lifts and swings really engage a lot of muscles at the same time. Without a doubt, every movement attacks the core to some degree. You can try it yourself with a dumbbell, although it is not nearly as effective.

I haven't given up on P90X or Insanity. They are very good programs. Right now I am exploring all possibilities, which makes the workouts more fun and interesting. Also, my muscles will take longer to adapt to the new exercises which should help with growth and increased strength.

Thanks for your take on my diet. You are right, of course! But in my quest for clean eating, I really should use those things (wine, pretzels, etc...) as a "treat" and not an everyday habit. It then becomes mindless eating and drinking in the evening which adds too many cals and carbs. I need to concentrate on fueling my day with better choices, which in the long run will help me lose those last few lbs of fat and keep my energy levels high.

For what it's worth, here's my 2 cents' worth on the 6 meals per day debate: If you spread your meals throughout the day, your blood sugar should (in theory) be more stable, thus affecting your energy, appetite, mood, etc... Also, if you eat regularly and plan for it, you will tend to stay within your daily allotment. This sounds great, but in real life it is more difficult to maintain. I'd say that everyone is different and should do what is best for YOU. If something is working, why not stick with it? There are so many schools of thought (which seemingly contradict one another), it is difficult to know which theory is the right one. This is too much for my feeble mind to comprehend...........

Have a great day!!!!!

tamarads

Stiring... we were there in 2000-2001, we were able to go as a family too. It was our 3rd overseas assignment. I've heard there was a lot of building going on. We lived in a 2 bedroom, 800 sq ft. and that was spread out between 2 floors. The housing right next to the commissary! OMG, was it small and we had 2 small children. Burger King had just opened and we were there on a regular basis just to get the kids some place to play! Lovely people the Korean folks... Take advantage of the Dragon Hill in Seoul for weekend getaways, Osan can get very small in a hurry!

I too used my bread machine a lot there... I've been told that you can request foods to be ordered through the commissary, you might check that out.

We've been to Turkey, Germany (twice) and Korea.. where else have you been? I will admit that when we left Korea we had been overseas for about 3 years without a trip back to the States, when we landed in Seattle the very first thing I noticed and I will never forget it, was the number of overweight people. It was shocking and very sad. That was 8 years ago and it has only gotten worse for Americans. I am very thankful for finding you all and this site so that I may try and keep better control of my health!

Happy Thursday, everyone!