40+ Club: Beating The Winter Bulge

Thanks for the encouragement. Boy, I sure agree with you on the metabolism thing when you get older. Of course, a sedentary lifestyle and eating too many and too much of the wrong foods was the major factor but the metabolism thing is definitely a factor.

I didn't lose this week (well, .1kg/.22lbs) but at least I saw a loss in inches so that's not too bad. I really would've liked to have made it below the 90kg mark but it didn't happen this week!

Onwards next week!

Thanks StiringWendel!

I'm feeling a bit better and I might tackle some TurboJam this afternoon!

Good morning everyone!

I got skunked out of our gym last night after an hour. The room is on the 2nd floor of the condo building, and we have to open the windows even in the winter to get a breath of air, and suddenly that Pepe Lepew smell came in the windows! Gag. I had a good Elliptical machine workout, but I still had excess energy, so I went back to my unit and put in the new Walk it Out Wii game, and thought I would do that for a little while. I think I stopped 1 1/2 hours later. Its nuts. All you are doing is walking in place, or I did a lot of dancing in place, but its highly addictive. I'm surprised I can walk today, but I don't feel bad. Tonight I'm going to work out at the office gym for a change of pace. I can definitely feel my core tightening a lot considering this is only my second full week that I've seriously got my act together again.

For those of you who are new here, stick with us even during bad weeks. In the past, when I've had setbacks, I tended not to get back on track for 6 months or a year. Now that I have this group's encouragement, even though I had three bad months in a row, I was still constantly trying to get myself on track, so those months were not as bad as they could have been.

Duffyz your 28" waist is making me nostalgic. I remember back when I was a teenager, and women's jeans were more likely sized by waist rather than dress size, I bought a pair of 28" waist and 28" inseam. (My legs are very short.) I have absolutely no idea what I weighed back then, but remember the 28 by 28 jeans, so it gives me something to work towards. I'm probably around 45" right now, so we'll see how close I can get in a few years! LOL

SWISSMISS-DON'T FEEL SORRY FOR ME MY HUSBAND DOES A WONDERFUL JOB FOR OUR ANNIVERSARY AND VALENTINES DAY,I NEVER FEEL BAD ABOUT IT,IT'S A WONDERFUL DAY.IT MAKES IT A VERY SPECIAL DAY.

Hello all!!! Work's been crazy again, which is why I haven't been in MFP lately.:grumble: After spending the whole day on the computer at work, I just can't bring myself to get on the home computer at night. I keep saying I'm going to buy a laptop so I can have it with me in the living room, but there's too many choices out there.......I'm waiting until the hubby gets home!! He told me to just buy what I want, but I can't bring my self to spend over $500 without him having direct input!!!!:laugh: :laugh: Yeah, I know - that dates me as old, but that's one of the reasons our marriage has survived almost 28 years - we don't do anything major without discussing with the other one first!!

Scale's down not quite a pound, which I can live with because the clothes are definitely fitting looser!!! I've walked around all day today hitching up my favorite khakis........I guess it's time to see if I can fit back in the old ones from lighter days!!!

Welcome all newcomers.............we're a bit of a crazy bunch, but we keep each other motivated, right all????:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Gotta get back to work...........scheduling lots more meetings BEFORE spring break...........what fun!!!!
Marla

String and Alf.... Have you been gaining muscle mass and maybe thats why the scale is up a bit?

Hunibun.... When you first start with WW do you stick with a certain food menu or do you pick and choose as long as you dont go over your points?

Swiss... I just noticed your new pic. You look absolutely terrific!!!

Sing... You must have better weather if your out there hiking. I wish it would warm up here I'm starting to get cabin fever.

As for me, I made my husband a nice brunch. Eggs, sausage, hash browns and toast. And of course I had some too. Now I am going to total up my calories and see how much I have to burn off. I know it hurts your progress when your trying to lose weight by not eating correctly but how much does it hurt if you burn off the necessary calories?

TRON3002-I DIDN'T HAVE A CERTAIN MENU,I JUST MAKE SURE I DON'T GO OVER ON POINTS BUT I EAT ALOT OF VEGGIES AND FRUIT,I JUST STARTED BUT THIS IS MY 2ND TIME WITH IT,IT'S GOING BETTER THIS TIME.I'M DOING IT ONLINE THIS TIME.I DO PLAN MY MEALS FOR THE DAY THE NIGHT BEFORE AND THAT HELPS TO.

Hi singfree...and any other night owls out there! :flowerforyou:

hunibun, thanks for the info on Weight Watchers At Home. This could come in handy for some people I know who are struggling with their weight but far away from home. I'm happy to hear it is working for you this time.

zebras, amazing workout!! Isn't it nice to start feeling the changes?

duffy, I'm hoping getting back outdoors and doing something will help my spirits as well. I think the sudden shift from California weather to winter did me in....plus everything else involved with a move, the holidays, etc. In light of that, I don't think I've been doing too badly. But I certainly could use a little 'lift'. The sun is shining today, though, and that in itself makes a HUGE difference in how I feel. I'm going to try to get my husband out of the house this weekend and on to the running path. We'll see how that goes.

Swissmiss, good job getting back on your program!

mk, I am again amazed at how well you are doing given everything you are going through. And I wouldn't buy a computer without my husband either!! So....I guess I date myself as well. But he wouldn't either. We've been married 20 years, and it works for us too.

tron, I wish my weight gain was from gaining muscle, but it really is from too many Christmas cookies. :laugh: While I've certainly tightenedd it up and such over the past two months, I'm not going to pretend the weight is there from increased fitness. It is there because I ate way more than I should have for about two months. The worst thing is I wasn't even lifting weights at the time, so I know it isn't muscle. Oh, well. :ohwell:

As far as your question about what you eat and losing weight....no, all calories are not equal. But, at the same time, depending on how they are cooked, the breakfast foods you described aren't THAT bad. I mean, everything there has some nutritional value. It isn't as if you ate a dozen donuts which have little nutritional value. So while there may have been more fat than you otherwise would have taken in and such, I wouldn't beat yourself up over that breakfast at all. In fact, I don't think you should concern yourself about it in the least if you've fit it into your calorie allowance for the day. Again, I might say something different if you ate a bag of potato chips, but you didn't.

hisangel, I find that eating a big salad with dinner keeps me feeling really full throughout the evening. It is 'bulk' food (few calories but filling), and that really helps me at night. That being said, though, if you are just starting out lifting weights, you may find yourself hungrier than usual for a little while. Lifting weights really increases my appetite, so be on the look out for that. So you may want to try to find foods that fill you up more (more protein, less carbs) during this time. As singfree said, look for whole food and lots of veggies to help with that. Fiber is probably the best thing for making a person feel full, so pay attention to your fiber intake as well.

singfree, the hike up the mountain sounds great. I've been talking to some friends about climbing up a mountain here in Korea. We were supposed to go in about 10 days, but given that we've edged our way back into winter, I'm not so sure that would be a smart thing right now. I'm hoping to take the hike someday. I love to hike, and I miss it. I hope you are planning on doing some good treks in the Alps in a couple of months!!!

homehealthy, if you don't mind my asking, how do you know you've fallen into starvation mode? Are you more tired than normal? Have you stopped losing weight? I ask this because there is quite a bit of...panic (for lack of a better word)....about starvation mode on this board, and I find most of it to be somewhat unfounded. So I don't want you to be too concerned about slipping into starvation mode if you are going under your calories a couple of times a week and/or are under your calories consistently but only by less than 100 (or so) IF (that's a big IF) you aren't actually experiencing any symptoms of starvation mode (decreased metabolism, increased illness, etc). That being said, if you routinely are going under your calories, try calorie dense food. One of the best post workout snacks out there is....a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain/wheat bread. Go figure. But it is highly recommended because of the breakdown of protein, fat and carbs. And...you can pack in quite a few calories with a good ole PB&J sandwich. So try foods like peanut butter or nuts or avocados if you need food that is higher in calories but still has some beneficial nutritional value. I used to do things like add walnuts (very good for you) to my dinner salads to make up calorie content. Very simple and easy to do. I am far from a creative cook (I mean....FAR from a creative cook :laugh: ) so I do everything I can to keep things simple. Hope that helps and please ask if you have any other questions.

I started my last week of the second cycle of STS. While I feel so strong, I've also been increasingly tired the past couple of days. I remember that I went through this during my last go-around with STS as well. It was at the very end of this muscle building cycle last year that I felt that I might have been overtraining. And I'm going through the exact same thing now. I am looking forward to giving my body a rest next week. In fact, I might take about five days off from working out before I tackle that last cycle. I remember I had about that much time off last year, and it really helped. The good thing is I know that about a week or two into the third cycle, my energy levels went back up....and the weight just started falling off my body without me doing anything about it. I'm hoping that happens again this time.

Off to take a walk while the sun is shining......:drinker:

He told me to just buy what I want, but I can't bring my self to spend over $500 without him having direct input!!!!:laugh: :laugh: Marla

Maria, I think it would be fun to spend $500 without my husbands input or potential bad advice, LOL. I usually do the research and find the best prices and items so he usually turns to me for that anyway. I don't part with $500 easily though but spending money can be fun.

Today I am pleased to report I am feeling more strength and flexibility in my swimming. I swam for 40 minutes and did 30 lengths. 18 lengths is equal to a quarter mile. If I can get to 36 then I am at a half mile, but I don't know if I will be able to. I don't want to add more time because it can make my skin itchy (even with oiling it afterwards) so I will improve as I speed up perhaps. Maybe the number of laps don't matter as much as the consistent time I'm starting to put in and the changes I'm seeing in my body.

I am afraid though that I may see no weight loss this week and even possibly a gain.

Sunny