40+ Club: Beating The Winter Bulge

2BLean, congratulations on finishing STS. :drinker: You SHOULD be proud of yourself. As I've said before, I think STS is the best strength training DVD system on the market (yes, better than P90X). Doing it for over six months is quite an accomplishment. So be proud! I hope you enjoy your next rotation and I, too, can't wait to do the undulating program in May! Woo-hoo! This will be so fun to workout with somebody.

Of course, it would be nice if alf would join us. :bigsmile: In all seriousness, though, alf, STS IS a great program. If you've got any questions about it, please ask. It is quite an investment (both in terms of dollars and time), but well worth it in the end. The reason I prefer it to P90X is simply because I feel there is more variety (a different workout each week as opposed to the same workout over and over), and I think it covers the body more comprehensively. It is hard for me to say which one gave me better results (I might better be able to answer that question after this current rotation I am on), but I do think STS is a more thorough program than P90X. And great job with the Zumba!

Cippia, welcome! :flowerforyou: It sounds like you've set a very reasonable goal for yourself. I lost 40 pounds last year (it took me about seven months), and I'm your age, so it can be done. Of course, I didn't attend any Pampered Chef conferences during that time where I know I would have been prone to overeating too! :laugh: But don't worry about that because, as famously put by Scarlett O'Hara, 'tomorrow is another day'. Have fun with Zumba!

Swissmiss, I'm so happy to see you post! I was wondering about you. I hope you had a great birthday. Don't feel down on yourself for eating like you have been for the past week. We have ALL been through that at some stage or another (I had two MONTHS of it recently!) The last 10 pounds are really hard to lose, but don't get discouraged. You are doing something right because you aren't gaining weight. As far as the strength class goes, maybe it isn't working towards losing weight. But I can guarantee you are doing great things for your body by lifting weights. It is so important to do as we age, and I would hate for you to give up the benefits gained from doing it simply because you aren't losing those last few pounds.

I hope both you and singfree (and anybody else back east!) are home safe and sound from that snow storm. Sounds like quite a storm! :noway:

duffy, I hope you enjoy your Superbowl party! I hear you on the commercial thing. This will now be our 13th (!) Superbowl outside of the US (yikes!!), and I really do miss the commercials. I'm just happy that it comes on at a reasonable time over here instead of in the middle of the night (like it did in Europe).

Welcome pcaseyco! I think using an upcoming holiday as motivation towards getting fitter/healthier is a great idea! I know it always helps me to have little goals out there, even now when I'm simply trying to maintain my weight. And it can be little things, like seeing people I've not seen for awhile and wanting to look my best. Or a vacation. So I hope you can keep that goal in mind. Good luck!! And who is the actor? Inquiring minds want to know.

tamarads, congrats on losing a pound. That's great for a week!

RecliningFigure, of course you are welcome to join in. It is disturbing how the body reacts to foods, isn't it? I was mentioning the other day how my recent outburst over Christmas of eating every sweet in sight (and some that were tucked away ) resulted in me getting my first episode of night sweats.....every night while I was eating sweets. When I stopped the sweets, the sweating stopped as well. That's some scary stuff there, to be honest. But I think it is sometimes good to experience that as a reminder that healthy eating really IS a good option. At least it was a good reminder for me. Good job on the running!

TRON!!!! :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: I'm so happy to see you back. I've been worried about you! You were without power for 17 days?!? Was that because of the storms in California? I hope you are okay. I can't even begin to imagine being without power for that long. I'm so happy you are still with us. Please let us know how you are doing. And, also, I've been thinking about your brother. Any news on him?

hisangel, don't be discouraged!! I know...that's easy for somebody to say, isn't it? But like Swissmiss, you are in that boat of trying to lose those last few pounds, and it takes alot of time. There are some key things to think about when trying to lose the last ten pounds because it isn't necessarily just about the diet. I think there are alot of keys to it: making sure what you are eating is as 'clean' as possible; making sure you are ramping up the intensity of your workouts; making sure you are eating enough, etc. And, finally, it is being patient. These are pounds the body doesn't want to lose because the body likes to have that weight buffer. So you really have to convince your body that it is okay to lose the weight because you aren't going to starve it to death. That's why eating a bit more while ramping up the exercise is the absolute best way of losing those last pounds. I know that's how I did it. I took my calories up to maintenance and worked my butt off! And it worked really well for me. So don't feel discouraged. Just try playing around with your diet and calories a bit more. For instance, if you are running for 40 minutes each day at a steady state, start doing intervals with that run on some day. That will shock your body. If you are constantly hungry, try eating a little bit more (but clean calories all the way). Those are some simple suggestions....but don't get down on yourself. You are doing good things for your body simply by working out and eating right, and don't forget that. Studies have shown that losing 10 pounds isn't significant to your health (they are called vanity pounds because it really is for looks that people are losing those last 10 pounds, not for health reasons), and I'd hate to see you give up on the great things you are doing for your health because you are discouraged.

And don't worry about next week too much. As long as you eat right, you won't gain weight. And when you get home, you'll be right on track to hit the workouts again. :flowerforyou:

Four hours until the line dancing starts! :drinker: I'm looking forward to a fun night. I'm having guests for Sunday brunch, which I'm looking forward to as well. So that means two big breakfasts this weekend (Sunday and Superbowl Monday), but I have found healthy options and I LOVE breakfast food. So it is all good in my book. Today was a day off working out, and after yesterday....I needed it. I may take tomorrow off too, and then start the next round of STS on Monday.

Enjoy your weekend.

Welcome mrpintobean This is a great group of people, very kind, always encouraging! Glad you found us!:happy:

Hi all! Writing from my mom's desk in Jackson MS. about to go buy her a new vacuum and visit my sister's and my dad's graves. Saw my brother-in-law qith the new liver last night. He looks great. He developed cataracts from the high doses of steroids after the transplant. He had one fixed on Monday and will have the other fixed next Monday. They are coming out to Texas with their 8 year old daughter at the end of the month to see us. We are excited.

Tron: glad you have power back!
Swiss: hang in there!
Sing and everyone in the northeast: Stay warm and safe.
Mrpintobeam: Welcome. I am from Mississippi but live in the DFW area (live in Denton and work in Dallas). Have great Saturday all!

MrPinto, of course you are welcome.

Sing, the storm completely missed us, it stayed south. My sister-in-law in NC said the kids only went to school for about 1/2 day this week, the weather has been so bad down there. How weird is that? We've had some cold snaps this Winter here in CT, but not too much snow. I hope I didn't jinx us with that!

Sunday morning check in... I am down1.1 pounds from last week

Yeah!

Yesterday was interesting because I could not CONTROL my food choices....I had to make my best guesses as to what I ate.

I was served a chicken salad made with cranberries, cashews and apples It was yummy!. Served on an crossoint(SP???) . So made my sandwich with only half of the bread. I tried to find a match on the food data base...

Anyway...happy to see I am still making progress.

Have a great week everyone!
Julia

Tex,
I know Denton very well. My wiffe lives in Azle, that will be our retirement home. I am in GA until Oct or till I sell the house here, which ever comes first. The sooner I get back to Texas the sooner I can retire to fishing and learning golf.

Good luck to you

:flowerforyou: Julia, be careful with those crossants. I know....I didn't spell it right. They have a lot of calories. And they taste like it..I love them.

:flowerforyou: Thank you alf. I tried to make the picture a bit larger but couldn't. My daughter took it with her phone. All I asked was that she leave my fuzzy slippers out of the pic.

:flowerforyou: Angel, I can imagine how you felt. I always feel bad when I see a deer that has been killed on the highway. My husband just sees dinner.:noway:

mrpinto, just do not use a gulf cart while gulfing. You will get a lot more exercise.

sing, do you have any idea how much snow Williamsport got?

I am doing much better. Think I have my head screwed on right again. I have been very good in my food choices. I did miss Zumba yesterday due to the snow. The class was canceled.

I am thinking of trying to do hot wings in a healthy way. Anton Brown steams his wings before baking them. I am going to try that. Then, I will use fat free yogurt with bleu cheese.
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