WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR OCTOBER 2012

Hi Everyone,
Well I’m trying (yet again) to get back on track. We had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend with family.
DH and I are trying to rig something up to keep my leg brace (for arthritis) in place. Hope it works. Maybe we will invent something simple for other people like me that have the same problem and become millionaires with our invention! LOL! :laugh:
Well, it must be time to feed the cats as I have several around my legs and on the computer.
Will check in later, as I still have a lot of posts to finish reading from the last couple of days.

Cathy



October Goals:
* Track my food
* Use the bike pedals at least 5 days a week
* Get to the pool 2-3 days per week
* Cut back on my drinks on the weekend
* lose and keep off 6 pounds (I tend to yo-yo)
* Eat more vegetables

I've finally read pages 9-12? tried to keep a log and just couldn't keep it up to post....so what I remember (and it's not much )

Congrats to those that have lost, it's always a good feeling when you are seeing results from your hard work of logging that food, drinking so much water you feel like you're going to float away and doing some exercise to keep yourself active...NO we don't want to be bed ridden in our older years:drinker:

Wow, congrats to those hubby's that got elks. My hubby hasn't been hunting for several years now, and I know he misses it but maybe next year. This year he's helping those that hunt get all their supplies so they can go...did I mention he's working in the hunting & fishing / gun section of Gander Mountain. So far he's enjoying the job and on his days off he continues to hunt for a full time job.

Meg-so sorry to hear that your daughter is giving you such frustration. All our kids at one time or another cause us to pull the hair but "this too shall pass" as my Mom used to tell me...that and she'll get6 hers. When my #2 Son was such a trial when he was a toddler one day I decided I needed to vent and called my Mom and she laughed when I was pouring out my frustration and her reply was "I always knew that you'd get yours back"...I guess I was a challenge when I was a toddler too:blushing: Frietos I miss eating them.

Robin-one day a caving and having the wine I'm glad you enjoyed it...because it would truly be a crime if you had the wine and then didn't enjoy it...always glad for a new day to start fresh:drinker:

Cathy-I always am amazed when someone invents something that seems so helpful and yet is such a simple idea...May you develop your invention and we can say we knew you when you were just starting out

CSueB- choices...we all have them and all of us here are choosing to improve as we age. Running two 5K's this month is pretty impressive:drinker:

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I've finished one spread sheet today and am off to complete another one then have to start working on the quarterly reports, taxes and monthly reports.

Everyone have a great day,

Laura80111

Linda - I can't think of a way to make the pork, white bean and kale soup lighter. You use low sodium chicken broth, the pork, white beans, kale. I honestly can't think of how it could be made lighter. I had a recipe for this chocolate cake that I thought I've give a try to. I made minimuffins out of the batter. Don't understand it at all, but each and every one of them stuck to the pan. I did make some and used muffin liners. Also, they were very crumbly. Won't use that recipe again. Vince mentioned about the chocolate chip muffins I made. Well, I have two bags in the freezer, if I don't give them to any workers, Vince can have them. I'm trying to make things now that he'll eat if I don't give them away. I'm going to take some of the chocolate muffins to the Y and some to senior bowling tomorrow. I also made this chocolate chip square. Wonder if this recipe will be good in a cookie -- I would think so. Anyway, cut it up and have two bags in the freezer of them. In some ways, I'm glad that the baking will be over. Enough is enough!

Did an hour of a downloadable spinning workout today. Tomorrow I'll do some incline intervals, then we have the Newcomers general meeting and then senior bowling. Vince said that we should plan to leave bowling asap, come home and water the grass. We probably should have done it today, but he's gone to shooting and I suspect it may be more than a one person job. Admitted, only one person can water at a time, but the other person probably needs to be sure that the hay is not disturbed too much

Went to watch DWTS last night after mahjongg. Seems that there was a problem with the DVR and it only recorded the first minute. Grrrrr.... hopefully, they'll replay it tonight.

The guys were here today to finish the seeding, fertilizing, and putting up the fence. They need one more section of fence! Looks like they'll have to come back. You know, in a way I'm getting a bit tired of each worker always telling us how far away from their home we are. Yes, we aren't close to Charlotte (depending on which part of Charlotte, 3/4 to an hour north) but if you want a job, you travel. That's what the job requires.

Vince is in a grumpy mood right now. Seems there are latches on the gates. We have two gates. By law they have to be self latching. I think we need another inspection after the pool is completed. Anyway, Vince is real big on communication. Well, the guys who installed the lock on one of the gates left and didn't say anything. Right after they left, we went out to the gate. It doesn't latch, only will if the gate is shaken, it won't pass inspection. The problem is really that when the fence was installed, the one post wasn't close enough, it's about 3" away from the sidewalk. The guy walked away from the job as if everything was OK, but it wasn't. Vince sent an email to the guy in charge of the pool install, the guy in charge of the workers installing the fence, and the guy who is the pool company rep along with pictures documenting the problem. It can be solved, it would PROBABLY mean that the post (which was cemented into the ground) would have to be taken out and a new post installed.

The guy who is in charge of the pool install said he'd get back to us if the tile guy will be here tomorrow or not. So far, he hasn't called. If he doesn't call in about 1/2 hour, I'll call. Vince is at a shooting range. He finds shooting to be a great stress reliever. He probably won't be home until around 9:30 and then it might be too late to call the guy, so I'll call him. Update: he called. The guy who does the tiling will be here Thurs. along with the pool co. rep (evidentally he used to do tile installs. Also, they got one bad review on Angie's List and I suspect he wants to be here so that he doesn't get another one. We were told that the person who wrote that bad review was basically a b****, that if they'd installed a solid gold pool, it wouldn't have been good enough, one of those types of people)

swissmiss - let us know what the MD finds out. Is it possible that it's a heat rash????? I know at one time I got a rash right where my exercise clothes met my skin. The MD kept insisting it was a food allergy, but it turns out that it was a heat rash. I just made sure that I took a shower asap after exercising.

dynamicwon and scadoody - welcome

Faye - I really enjoyed reading how you do your HIIT. I usually sprint for 30 seconds, then recover at a fast (but not sprinting) pace for 1-1/2 minute. I don't know that our machines record levels -- can this be intensity? Fantastic motivator to exercise!

Meg - I don't think Barbie has any problem at all telling the chef how to make her meal. Actually, in a way, I'm a bit surprised that she isn't in the kitchen telling him how to do it....lol

Robin - just get right back on the "sober" bandwagon. You can do it! One time falling off the wagon won't hurt, just don't let it happen a lot, that's all. You are doing so great!

Off to take a shower and then watch some TV. when the cat's away...the mice will play....lol

Hope everyone has a great evening.

Michele

Good evening ladies! Dh and I had a lovely couple of days in the Finger Lakes region of NYS. We have a niece who lives on Seneca Lake...beautiful home with a fabulous view...but very remote...not sure it is my cup of tea but they love it. We then headed to a beautiful inn and just relaxed....not something we do often or together...very restoring.

Jb - I really enjoy the quotes you share and your original writing...I too AM going to climb that $&*# mountain!

Robin - glad you enjoyed your red wine..in the last 18 months I have reduced my intake of wine so when I do have some I REALLY enjoy it

Meg - good luck with dd#1. The monopoly $ idea sounds like a good option

Sorry that is all I can remember...I am very bad at responding individually but I do read all the posts and love the support, advice and humor.

Question for the vitamix users...I understand the smoothie...but why soup in a blender? Most of the soups I make are kind of chunky...

Have a good evening, hugs and high fives!

Jen

Good Evening Ladies,

Tuesday = volunteer day at work = lots of walking. Which turn out to be a blessing since I ate a lot today. Stay under but only because of the walking.

@Michele-- I agree with you if someone wants a job and you need to travel to it you do. That is what I do.

@jen I have travel to New York City several times and have visited also the Lake George area. Is that near your getaway? Its been so long I can remember all of the area.

@Polly I have had that happen think I am ready to posts something than poof its gone.

@Delana --welcome!

Wishing everyone a good evening.

Liz

Hello Dear Ladies!

JB: You are so talented! And your poem speaks to me...I am a major Gardener so I really appreciate your words. THANK you:-)

Sally: Glad to hear you are feeling like yourself...I am slowly too!

We finally had a cooler day with a bit of sunshine...just what I needed! I actually ran for 22 minutes in a row...out of my usual walk. Felt so good. Still not "there" with my foods, but getting back!

Wishing you all good choices and good results! Take care, kackie

Hello Ladies,

I just found you and so glad I did!

beautiful picture

Good evening.

So glad I discovered 50 calorie corn tortillas! 3 of them with 1 vegan patty yields 3 tacos for under 350 calories! I load up on the lettuce and salsa and only add a smidgen of lowfat shredded cheese. So good!

Barbie,
(and everyone else in this group)
One thing you said... "It's never too late to reinvent yourself."
That's what I want to do. I've been a missionary teacher for 25+ years, but really want to resign from the organization and from the ministry.
Not because I don't want to serve any longer, but because I now have grand children and I want THEM to be my focus. Is that selfish?

Thanks Janie. Sorry it didn't work for you though. It has worked for me in the past, however, this time I got the cortisone injections at the same time. I haven't had that before. I had to miss work today because my knees were so swollen I could hardly walk and my blood sugar was elevated (which was expected):frown: .

I have a question. Has anyone tried using those portable peddle exercisers? I was thinking about getting one to put under my desk at work. I am stuck sitting a lot to work at the computer and I wondered if this would help counter some of the effects of my job. Like the holster hip thing I seem to have acquired. Any input is appreciated.

I have another trip to the doctor tomorrow...yippee:ohwell: Seems like the only places I go anymore is work, doctor, and the gym. What an exciting life I lead:laugh: . I will have to live vicariously though you girls....so keep the good posts coming for me:bigsmile:

Jolene

Good evening ladies.

I was off to the city today with my daughter, soninlaw, and four grandkids, so no exercise unless I count walking around the stores!:happy: I was a little worried about food intake, especially after our big thanksgiving weekend but I think I managed okay. I took along my usual fruit and yogurt for breakfast in the car, I had a salad and chicken breast for lunch at Ikea and a lovely tuna salad at Subway on the way home. That is my NSV for the day!!

Michele - I may be chuckling at naked Wii for awhile! that right there may boost the popularity of the game!!:laugh:

Amanda - Great mother/daughter photo. It is hard to tell which one is the mother?!?!

Meg - I am sorry to hear of your daughter issues. We had a difficult time with one of our daughters and she did end up moving out (But thankfully did NOT end up marrying the guy who was part of the problem!!) It was one of the hardest things I have ever done - to sit and watch her as she packed up and left and yet not be able to help her, because we knew it was not a good choice for her. Over time, and after a lot of prayers, the relationship improved and she eventually moved back home, finished her studies and carried on with life.. I am so glad that I did not say or do things that would have closed that door for her, or us! Today I would consider her a best friend and am so proud of her, the choices she has made and the life she is living. Hang in there...don't give up!

Jane - Oh, how I hear you on the emotional eating and stress! We have a class here that I took a while ago that really deals with the reasons we eat. It made a huge difference just to be aware of it. If I am eating because of stress, the problem is not really solved and I continue to eat!! And night does seem to be the time when defenses are down too, doesn't it!! I have a sign on my fridge that says "Am I hungry? What kind of hunger is it?" (I could really use one on the cupboard door too!!) that makes me stop and think about why I am eating. You know that we are all here for you and struggle with the same things too. Be honest in logging your food, acknowledge the setbacks and the successes and know that today is always a new start. One step at a time, one day at a time.

Faye - I have never tried interval training. Do let me know if it is effective. I have heard lots of people use it.

Kate - The boiling deer head Is hilarious. :laugh: (maybe not so much at the time!) and a bit of a Hallowe'en horror story at the same time. Maybe you could arrange for one every year.

CSueB - I smiled at the 'muscle awarenes'. It sounds so much more manageable than outright pain!:sick:

Robin - Indeed! exactly what you need to do - pick up and start again. It IS a new day and a new start. Keep at it! Wishing success for Sober October

Tdaughtersmom - I have just been thinking about the seasons of life and how some things are ordained for a specific season in life, And changing seasons sometimes demand that we change some things, sometimes good things and things we have loved. I wish you wisdom as you look at changing some activities in your life.

Mary - Welcome here. Set some good achievable goals - like logging your food daily and checking in here - and we look forward to seeing you often!

I finished off my clothing purge - reorganized the closet, packed a 'check in 20 pounds" box, and the rest...many bags full!!!.....were hauled off this weekend by a local charity! Feels good.

Good night all. Morning will be early:yawn:

Glenda

:flowerforyou: Jolene...the peddle exerciser certainly can't hurt. We need whatever will get us into burning calories.

:flowerforyou: Jane, I hear you on having many birthdays in one month. From Nov to Jan I have six. One of them is two days after Christmas and another eight days later.

:flowerforyou: Glenda...It sounds like you are really eating healthy. Very good food choices.


I am having another three day work week. I have struggling to get my vacation days in before the end of the year. Monday is my youngest's birthday and we will be spending it together.

Good Morning Everyone,
Well I hope to get back on track as of today(2 days late) better late than never. I usually weigh in on Mondays but didn’t do it till today…I found 2 of the 4 pounds I had lost last week so hope I can lose them plus a couple of their friends, in the near future! :grumble: My biggest problem is (among a few)I can’t seem to stick with it for more than a few days in a row. My husband works 10 days a month (great retirement job) and of course when he’s home we are not home most days and that doesn’t help (I will have to plan ahead, especially meals) the other issue is, having drinks on the weekend. I have to do some meditation or something to make me realize it’s has to be one or the other (at least for awhile) if I want to get a steady flow of weight off. That’s my whining for now.

Jolene: I have a set of bike pedals (they are electric) In my mind they can’t be much different than using an exercise bike, and as someone said any movement is better than none. I keep mine by my chair and use them while watching TV. I tried to use them while reading but the book just wiggles!

Oh, by the way I tried a" new to me" vegetable this past week...Kale. I used it in a soup and made Kale Chips. The soup was a low GI bean soup, which was a bit bland but the chips were something I would do again, even my fussy, fussy daughter and daughter-in-law both liked them!:bigsmile:

Off to fill my water bottle!

Cathy


October Goals:
* Track my food
* Use the bike pedals at least 5 days a week
* Get to the pool 2-3 days per week
* Cut back on my drinks on the weekend
* lose and keep off 6 pounds (I tend to yo-yo)
* Eat more vegetables

Good morning, everyone! Woke up to fog and drizzle this morning – it’s just beginning to burn off. We’re supposed to have one more day of semi-rain, then cold but clear for the weekend. DH and I went out last night for a walk when he got home – I bundled up, but as it turned out it was fairly pleasant and I was way too hot by the end. Lesson learned – tonight I’ll tough it out in long sleeves and no coat or gloves. We made fondu last night – I had made the baguettes in the pizza oven this weekend and was dying to have fondu. I looked up ways to lighten it up and wound up making it with two cups of shredded ementhaler, the wine, a bit of cornstarch, garlic, splash of pear brandy, and two cups (more or less) of greek yogurt. It came out fabulous! As it turns out, the flavors shone through because I used good cheese but it was lightened up considerably with the yogurt, which is as good as crème freche for cooking with. Anyway, we cut up a bunch of veggies, each had around four small slices of bread and veggies and apples in the dip – it was yummy.

I was in a very hungry mood yesterday. I read a lot about eating TDEEs and all and am interested in adding more calories into my diet (even though I just dialed back my base amount), but I really need to make sure those are “good” calories. I have a “witching hour” which falls mid-afternoon. What are some of the tricks you use to make sure you don’t go crazy in the mid-point between lunch and dinner?

KathyL, sending good thoughts to your friend. I hope she’s able to get a satisfactory treatment for her illness. You’re being a great friend to her.

Laura, hooray for total control of the TV! And how wonderful that you were able to turn that couch time into exercise time. That’s the way to do it!

I will say I’m very glad DH has never been a hunter. He threatened to do it a lot when his son was younger (because his son was very into guns and shooting things), but knowing him as I do I suspected he’d never get motivated enough to actually get his license, and sure enough he never has. I’m not opposed to hunting, but those two would have been a disaster – and I can’t even begin to think what it would have been like to deal with the carcasses!

Faye, it sounds like your husband is quite the prolific hunter – and wants everyone to know it . Good for you on the weight loss and continued exercise. I will vouch for the fact that not only will weights and strength training help your weight loss and overall fitness but it will be super good for your bones and body. Go for it!

CSue, there’s a good group with some posts to read on eating back your calories. Generally you will need to add calories back into your diet because you’re not meant to sustain a reduced calorie diet over a long time, so it’s better to get your body accustomed to eating the calories it’s burning (with a slight dip below that for weight loss). It’s a good section – I think this is the link: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less

Meg, how nice to have a quiet office to work in (although I do that every day). It does help when you don’t have distractions. I’m with you – it’s why I don’t eat salads often, I just get tired of them after a while. And good for you for adding in more exercise!

CathyB, I sure hope you’re able to figure out something with your knee so you can start moving again. Feel free to whine to us about trying to keep your eating (and drinking) on track. As I mentioned elsewhere, we just had to give it up until we could get our calories from food under control. When I gave up things like gummy bears (my weakness), I knew alcohol fell into the same category. Aren’t the kale chips a revelation? So good!

Robin, you know you don’t have to worry about having a glass of wine. You’re on the right track. My main motivation for not drinking these days is simply because the alcohol adds empty calories I can’t afford. DH and I are occasionally enjoying a single glass of wine, but it’s maybe twice a month right now. We’ve become very good at planning our calories for when we know we’re going to binge, and we plan those carefully. No sitting down and suddenly finding us two bottles in for the evening .

Michele, I hope they figure out the fence issue. Having latching gates is super-important and it probably won’t pass inspection without them – we still have children drown in improperly fenced pools every year here. DH even had to rescue his dogs from the neighbor’s pool once because they managed to get in before the fence was up.

Jen, how fabulous to go to the Finger Lakes region! It’s high on my list of must-sees – we’re probably a day’s drive from there and I would love to camp up there sometime. It sounds like a lovely weekend.

Polly, good luck on getting the math. I took a couple of math classes for teachers in college when I was considering getting my teaching license – it’s funny to see people struggling with basic concepts, but it really is important to get so good for you for sticking with it. And yay for hubby making dinner! They can be useful sometimes .

Liz, exercising so you can eat is a good thing too. Don’t feel bad about it – feel productive.

Kackie, hooray for your running!!! I’ve been adding running into my walk, and DH is trying to talk me into running a 5K with him this weekend. I think I just might!

Barbie, I sure hope your husband is able to treat his rotator cuff with PT. DH’s dad has had surgery, and it ended his tennis-playing for good. It’s a tough surgery.

DeeDee – I laughed at your chocolate-covered menagerie! Don’t you love little treats like that?

Cinnamon, yes, beautiful!

LadyBeryl, Yep, you’re going to have to share that secret trove! Those sound delicious.

Jolene, I too suffer from sitting at the computer too long – we’re working on ideas to get up and move around periodically. It’s better to actually move around – for your brain and body. Fortunately my cats remind me of this when they want in, want out, want in, want out, etc. throughout the day.

Glenda, good job on the healthy food choices – and I’m sure you got some exercise in there too. I like your idea of the “Check in 20 lbs” box – but I did a big purge a couple of years ago and will need to start saving for the 20lb moment. DH doesn’t know that’s going to be his gift to me .

Jane, so glad to hear you’re finding distractions to keep you from mindless eating. I drink tea too and it really does help, as does keeping the hands busy. Happy birthday to all your October babies – I have two now, my mom and my granddaughter.

Swissmiss, enjoy your vacation days! Just be sure you don’t do what we all do around here – take them and then wind up doing work anyway. Find something to do!

Liz, I hope you feel better soon!

Cheryl, congratulations on your exercising this week! Wow!

OK, off to my first meeting of the day. I hope everyone has a wonderful day and sees some sun.

Cheers,

M.