WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR AUGUST 2012

52 and have a new favorite quote:

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run." ~John Bingham

I don't run fast, I don't run far, today isn't my first day, nor have I been running for 20 years. I have not passed a test or earned a license, don't have a membership card, but I DO run...I am a runner..I really am...{blinking back the tears} WOW!

Hi all. I'm 53 and need to get healthier. I heard about this site from my nurse. I checked it out and have joined. I have been through alot this past year and have put on alot of weight. I really want to take it off, but I get depressed and lazy sometimes. I figured while I was having to do physical therapy and pulmonary therapy (which means working on treadmills and exercise bikes) I may as well lose some weight. I just dont do it well by myself. I am hoping this will be the place that helps me help myself. I am new too all this, so I may be slow at first, but I am determined to become healthier, and back to the person I was a year ago.

Hi everyone,
I turned 57 this year, and just joined mfp about 2 weeks ago. I retired a few years ago after having heel surgery.
I had been doing weight watchers (lost 70 lbs) prior to joining mfp, as I felt I needed a change to kick my butt to lose the last 30-40 lbs.
Looking forwarding to getting to know you all.
Eileen

Hi again, I just can't seem to stay away from here lately! :glasses:

I was sorry to see Barbie's soup disappear today at lunch. :sad: It was verrrry good, I heated it up very hot, added croutons, lots of diced tomato, parmesan, and a bit of Spanish rice leftover from last night. And some water to thin it down. YUM. I'll make it again when I roast pumpkins this fall.

I do struggle a bit with readjusting my self image and accepting the new me after losing almost 70 pounds. 70 pounds!! Well, 68, but it's close to 70. :bigsmile: Anyone else have trouble in this area? I still have to remind myself that it's true, and since I don't like standing in front of a mirror very much, I realize a lot of this is all in my head. :ohwell:

I did some research and found an article about "Phantom Fat": Here's what it said: “People who were formerly overweight often still carry that internal image, perception, with them,” says Elayne Daniels, a psychologist in Canton, Mass., who specializes in body-image issues. “They literally feel as if they’re in a large body still.” Daniels and other experts suspect this may happen because the brain hasn’t “caught up” with the new, leaner body, particularly for people who were obese for many years and then experienced rapid weight loss. “Body image is a lot harder to change than the actual physical body is,” Daniels says."

Here's the whole article. >> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31489881/ns/health-womens_health/t/phantom-fat-can-linger-after-weight-loss/

Anyway, hubby now just informed me that he wants to pack up and go camping up at huckleberry-land tomorrow! So I'll be busy packing early in the morning, and will see you all in a few days.

Be good!

jb

You know, MFP always says things like "in xxx days/weeks/whatever you'll weigh xxx". Only thing is...I've never gotten to the weight it says that I will get to. Well, I'm really not concerned, I feel good, and to me that's what matters most.

Carolyn - many times I think of hot flashes as my own personal tropical vacation

Gail - we bought a robotic cleaner. Actually, we bought it before we got the pool! Vince needed to be sure that it worked before he sent in the warranty card, so he tried it out in the bathtub...lol It went all of about 2 feet! But at least we know it works . I like spinach, too. Wish Vince did. Well, there isn't much he DOES like so that doesn't come as any surprise to me that he doesn't like spinach. We have a man on our senior bowling (actually, this winter he's on my team) who has Parkinsons and Altzheimers. He's such a sweet man. When we had our organizaational meeting yesterday, I brought grapes and carrots with me. He was eating the grapes. I don't care about that. His wife was telling me how he really needs to eat small snacks during the day, he really doesn't so she was thrilled that he was eating the grapes. She's all ready to buy some.

Right now I'm making chocolate chip cookies for the workers and some for Vince. I was planning that after this, I'd go in the pool some, but it's looking very dark outside. Hope the rain holds off long enough. Update: it really rained hard....for about 3 minutes. Now the sun is out. Go figure. You'd think we lived in Florida!!!

Did an hour and a half of Jari Love Extremely Ripped 1000 DVD today. Tomorrow I'll do 1/2 hour of HIIT and 1/2 hour of using the AMT (the stepping feature).

rebeccafrashe - welcome and big congrats on the fantastic weight loss. You're on your way!

bonbon - welcome also. Glad you're here

Lin - I do hope your dad is fine. it's good that he's in the hospital where he can be monitored

katejkelley - what a great NSV

mehrsyvtaft - welcome! Sounds like you have a good handle on things

slowspud - welcome! I know what you mean about the weight not moving. So glad it's starting for you

LzL - welcome!

janlee - we'd LOVE having you!

DMOMofTHREE - welcome and , no, you aren't the only one running to the bathroom. I think of it as extra exercise....lol

meg - what a wonderful Biggest Loser culmination. I especially liked that they served healthy desserts. What did they serve? I remember a few years ago when Vince had the tibial plateau fracture. He couldn't walk, was on the floor. He couldn't get up (he couldn't put any weight on that leg). I was trying to show him how to push himself up on the side and not use that leg when I realized that I could do it because I'd done something very similar in exercise class so my muscles were built up but he'd never done anything like it. What kinds of games do you play at your game night?

Rose - what wonderful weight loss!

Jen - I enjoyed vacuuming the pool. It was neat, in a way, to be able to see how much progress you made. I'm sure this won't happen all the time, it was just so dirty this time.

Micki - have a safe trip! You know, actually it's good to give your body a break from exercise some times. So I wouldn't worry about not getting much exercise while you're driving. Just be sure to get some when you get to OH. Have a great vacation

Shannon - welcome. You'll get that weight off, that's for sure. I can tell how determined you sound

DeeDee - To be honest, I'm really not concerned about when they'll be finished with the pool. Just that it's getting done after all these years, an extra week or two or three isn't a big deal to me.

mwkakisses- welcome! You'll do it..and we'll be there right behind you every step of the way!

Ellen - good for you being in the lead! I, too, would opt to go somewhere where it's warm. Especially in Jan or Feb

Eileen - looking forward to getting to know more about you, too. So log in often.

Sorry if I've left anyone out.

Got up, dressed, exercised, then had a snack, made some chocolate chip cookies for the workers and also for Vince (I froze some so that I don't have to make them again), then Vince and I went in the pool and he tried some more to clean it, got some of the stubborn things up but we don't know how to get the stuff in the deep end. If the raised elevation were finished, we'd stand on top of it and clean from there. However, we can't do that right now. But the water did feel good. I remember FIL and MIL had this webbed floating chair for their pool, it was more of a lounge chair (so your legs were up). The nice thing was that you were somewhat in the water. Unfortunately, I can't find anything like that on the net, everything is one piece. I did find a webbed chair, but it's more like a chair than a lounge chair. Well, when we go to FL I'll look in the pool supply places down there. Started to look at the tile samples they left us. To be honest, I'm having a hard time picturing this. I wish there was some sort of program where you can put in different types of tiles and see how they'd look together. Took a bit of a nap since I didn't get much sleep last night, had a light dinner of a crab cake and then slept a bit more. Now I'm up but hope to be back in bed soon.

Here's hoping everyone has a great evening.

Michele

I'll be 50 in 6 months may I please join you? I need to be around older women who are going through the things I am.

Hi there, I am new too but they do seem to be a lovely bunch and I think it is a great idea to have something for us mature women.

Thank you we women need to stick together. Used to think my aunts and mom were nuts until I because more mature. :ohwell:

Morning everyone,

I think 5am is just too early to get up but I couldn't sleep so here I am.

Thanks for the comments on using the dog harness. I will get another one today and see how it goes walking them together. I'm just wondering how it will go with the one being old and the other wanting to go fast! I basically don't want to be pulled. The young one could pull out of his collar and that always worries me around other dogs. We do have a leash law here but sometimes dogs (including mine) get out. We have a fenced back yard but the young dog will push under in a heart beat if he is left alone. His picture is on my profile page.

I have been careful with my snacking in the evenings. Yesterday I was good and just went & brushed my teeth and got some water.

I haven't heard from my children about the weekend. I do know my son has to work on Sunday. And it turns out that DH probably has to work on Saturday so I guess I'll have to find something to do to amuse myself.

Our 31st anniversary is coming up next week. We usually like to go somewhere for a few days but DH has jury duty the day before. He is hoping to call in and not have to go but neither of us has ever had that to happen before.

Well better get busy. I want to get the refrigerator cleared out before the garbage truck comes by. If I lived close by the grocery store I would only buy daily. But even better if I get my act together and really plan then I won't have things spoiling before I use them up. Does anyone else have this problem?

Have a good day all! Make good choices and drink your water! For me eat more veggies. Here's a link to the fresh tomato basil soup I made yesterday. Very low calorie (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tomato-basil-soup-i/detail.aspx) and very tasty.

Cindy

Good evening everyone! I've been logging my food diary, but haven't had an opportunity to catch up with this thread for a day or so. I'm a high school drama teacher and this was my third full day back with students. I have two Grade 9 classes and one Grade 11. They are high-energy! I'm not quite organized yet with the morning routine at home yet--my daughters are 17 and 15 and we have one bathroom. I need to use the treadmill first thing in the morning or it sort of gets pushed off my to-do list by other demands at the end of the day--and it's easier to let my excuses win after a long day's work.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I am 53. I joke that I'm 'twice the woman" I was when I taught the parents of the students I have right now 25 years ago, and frankly, I am. But my goal is to make it metaphorical only. :happy:

My husband is also obese and I suggested to him that we try a little competition to help us stay motivated. The idea is that we will put a little money aside each month to go toward some sort of holiday or 'away' time, and that whoever 'wins' gets to name the destination. We assumed that he would lose faster because he's a man, and also because he's bigger than I am, so were trying to figure out a fair way to determine a winner. Well, I was horrified to discover that he only weighed three pounds more than I did. When I recovered from that, I told him that it would probably be fair, because he's a man, but I am fatter. Don't know if any of that is true--all I know is that he wants to go on a skiing holiday, while I want to go somewhere warm. It is working for me...and our daughters are enjoying it too--"Let's walk an extra block to the other store, mom--you don't want to go skiing, do you?" We weighed in on Sunday and I was in the lead. So I'm looking forward to this coming Sunday and seeing what's been happening.


Haven't made the apple-squash/pumpkin soup yet--that's my plan for this coming Saturday. Looking forward to it!

Ellen

DH did great yesterday. Clean bill of health. Then he was so hungry and he requested pastrami sandwiches. I bought all the fixin's and made him a couple of great sandwiches. I had one. (way too much sodium so I am up today on the scale).The weather is supposed to be nice for our long weekend. I can't wait to get done with work and enjoy the 3 day weekend to clean up the yard before the rains come and to finish up the doghouse.

Catch you all later,

Robin, Bodi and Ritter.

Oh happy Friday!
This is Monday for me!! I am working the next 6 days in a row! I am really happy with my progress! I started the end of June and I have lost 27 lbs! :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :drinker: :drinker:

This is the longest I have ever stayed with a weight loss program. I don't call this a weight loss program, this is a way of life and a life style change!

I attribute my success to being part of this blog- Thank you Barbie for keeping this blog going and your words of wisdom.:flowerforyou:

Thanks to all the wonderful supportive women on this site. This has been the difference, along with logging my food and exercise. Plus drinking that water.:drinker: :drinker:

I am off to my orthopedic surgeon to check in- he will be so happy with my weight loss!:noway: :noway:

Have a great holiday weekend! Celebrate YOU and all the laboring you have done for your family's, or employers etc!

Lets celebrate us this weekend and what we are doing to make ourselves healthy and happier! :bigsmile:

Blessings, Linda