WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR DECEMBER 2012

Hello all,

I am delighted to be able to settle down on the couch and spend a Sunday morning with you! :drinker: It has taken me two cups of coffee to get caught up.

The staff party/Christmas Murder Mystery went perfectly last night.:flowerforyou: One of the guests commented that we spent four hours together and didn’t talk about work! That’s pretty good for a staff party. I made some great food & included lots of raw veggies and healthy options. I did indulge in a few Christmas cookies after everyone was gone and I could relax – and they tasted great!

Back on the plan today – my biggest challenge now is to avoid the treats that begin showing up on the staffroom table this time of year. My strategy so far has been to walk in and chat, but not sit down. :noway: I eat my apple standing up - to sit down would be too close to the home-made fudge or other treats!

I put the scale in the cupboard when cleaning up for the party. I like to put away the more personal things when I’m having a party, so the toothbrushes etc. were also out of sight. Must get it back out, though. It’s my mechanical (or is that digital?) conscience.

Wessecg – sorry to hear you’ve been having a tough time at work. Congratulations on the “exactly 160” :flowerforyou:

Deb – fitting in exercise is always a challenge. Your idea of trying to fit things in between classes sounds like a good one. I go straight to the gym after work, I don’t schedule anything else unless I absolutely have to. That way it’s just part of the routine weekday.

DeeDee, glad to hear your thyroid test results are good. A big salad with left over steak on top sounds delish! I hope your Sunday got better and the internet stopped acting up on you.

Polly, what grade do you teach? Sorting out two step equations sounds like the kind of thing I do with grade 7’s.

M, I vote for dinner at the restaurant. A special meal is about the people we’re with, not where we’re eaing, right? Congratulations on the exercise & food routine, it sounds like you are doing it right! I love entertaining too, and it’s the same thing, I don’t tend to eat or drink much until the guests are gone. Then I have to watch myself because I de-compress with leftovers. Last night it was the gingerbread cookies that called my name, but I didn’t go too crazy.


Lila, how was Jingle Down Main? It sounds like a really fun event.

Gail, how’s the clutter looking? I hope you got things back to “streamlined” before you got too bothered by it.

Kathy L. Did you get the Christmas jobs done? I plan to have everything wrapped and ready for shipping tomorrow too but if my DS does not get back to me with her sons' addresses the nephews might have to wait for theirs!

JB, Ah yes, the re-set ticker. :grumble: I have fought that battle too.

About bowling – could a person say that curling is kind of like bowling on ice? The 90 year olds are all better than I am, :noway: so I know how Lin feels. I keep going though, because it’s fun.

Glenda, the food at your MIL’s lodge sounds fantastic, I want to try it! Here’s to quiet moments, spicy tea :drinker: and Christmas lights.

June – Super, duper, special congratulations on making the 60 lb mark. :happy: You have worked hard and you’ll make it through Christmas because you know how it’s done.

Kate, I would worry too if my bus driver had to use a map. Sheesh!

Off to get ready for DH's choir's annual Christmas music concert. He'll be up there singing his heart out and I'll be in the audience thinking how lucky I am to be married to such a sweet guy.

Hasta pronto,

Nancy

December goals:
1: New Rules of Lifting 3x a week while I am at home.
2: 30-60 minutes of exercise every day when I am at the parent's place for the holiday. Get DD to workout with me.
3: Up at 6:15 every weekday, check into the quiet place inside me when life gets frantic.
4: Make a food plan for parties and special events.

Regarding the many posts on this forum - I have been on and off it for the last 3 years. Sometimes there are many posts and sometimes not. I love reading them and have long determined I can't respond to everyone individually. Yet I love it when people do and I see my name!! So, kudos to those who do respond to individuals; and to those who don't: guilt trips get us nowhere, so let it go. Guilt is likely one of the reasons why we gain weight!

Rebel

I'm fairly new, and have not responded to everyone because I often can't think of anything to say. I'll respond when I can, and hope that I don't offend others by not responding to everything.

Well, we got about a foot of snow here today so far, so my exercise has been shoveling the drive, over and over again. It's still coming down pretty heavily. Besides the exercise, the other advantage is that my husband (is that what a DH is?) decided to eat at home today instead of braving the roads to go to the all-you-can-eat buffet. So my motivation will not be challenged and I might be able to lose another pound this week. Another party on Friday, but now that I am logging every bite of food (almost), I find myself really making much better choices. I am so glad I found this site!
Pat

A bit of a set back - temporary hopefully- and my own fault for bad food choice. Had finally started losing again with my plan in place- yesterday on a whim bought one of those "fast and ready" pepperoni Little Cesar pizzas and promptly ate 3 pieces. I just wanted that taste in my mouth! Since the serving size is one slice - what was I thinking?! While I didn't go over my calories for the day- def went over sodium, fats etc and there's left overs to eat my wight went up by 3+ lbs. I'm sure its the sodium intake so will wait a couple of days before I get really concerned but a lesson.

I've added a goal of getting my daughter to start using my fitness pal. She gained the Freshman 10, then the sophomore 10 and then the... you get it. She graduated in the fall and started her first post college job and I think she is around too many food and drink bad choices and feels she must participate and she really needs to get started on a healthier path.

I live in Minnesota. Although most winters are usually snowy and cold, last winter unusually warm and dry. We had a brown Christmas and my kids who came home from out of state were very disappointed. Now this year, we will have plenty of snow and they are going sailing in the Caribbean :laugh: I just ordered them a bunch of books from Amazon for their Christmas presents, and I had a lot of fun browsing through all the sailing and snorkeling books. I sure wish I was going with them!

Hello Ladies, I hope everyone sleeps well tonight! I hope I sleep well tonight.

Re: dog talk...Thanks Linda! I am really thinking it might be time to get a new pup. I just have to wait for summer so I will have time off to train it! ( I'm a school teacher). Maybe. Your reasons are the same reasons we were thinking about getting a new one. This dog has just been sooooooo wonderful. I am afraid to get another dog and not have it turn out. I am very conflicted! Thanks for your input. :ohwell:

I have GOT to weigh in tomorrow. I haven't weighed in a month so I have NO idea if I am up or down. I am glad to be on a thread that has so much activity. I know it's a lot, but this is very inspriational.

Took a cue from someone here and while talking to my sister on the phone this afternoon I paced around the house. We hadn't talked in quite a while and before I knew it 75 minutes were gone and as we had a nice visit I also got in a bit of exercise.

Also can't recall who said they did push ups using the grab bars in the handicapped bathroom stall at work, but I have been following your lead. On Friday I was able to 10-15 per trip. Thanks! They add up over the course of the day.

Last night was DH's staff Christmas party, combined with a 'bon voyage' theme for a young man in their group that is going to Marine Corps boot camp. DH started with this company in August so I hadn't really met anyone prior. It was a lovely evening and I felt immediately at home. There was lots of laughter and kindness. We plan to have something at our house for the group in the spring.

My mammogram went fine and I don't have to go back for a year. I've felt a bit tender, but can't determine if it is from the procedure or the push ups.

Well, have to get things set for the coming week. Hope you have a great night!

Gail

cinflo - welcome and congrats on the great loss.

Nancy - do you have access to a gym? Water exercises are great and very little to no impact.

suebdew - that's wonderful that you didn't have the sunday but gave it away after just one little bite. Isn't it amazing how our tastes change? We're supposed to go to the Newcomers holiday party. I just know that the people who are supposed to bring the desserts are going to bring things like cakes, brownies, and cookies. I'm going to take an orange and a pear with me, just in case there isn't anything else. I've really gotten to where those things don't entice me at all, they actually turn me off.

DeeDee - the Wii said that I'm up 2# today, too. But I know why, I made those snickerdoodles yesterday and HAD to have some of the dough. I made butterscotch spice cookies to take to my hairdresser. I'm going Monday and I usually take them something. AhhHaa...someone else that I can give some of those Dove candies to! And that I did. I only have two more bags left. Vince usually gets me a bag for my stocking and I asked him this a.m. not to get them for me. I do have these miniwhisks on my wish list at Amazon, but he is trying not to get the inexpensive items so that the kids can get those for me. Hey, I can use a new egg clicer, I'll mention that to him. They aren't real expensive, but I don't have it on my wish list. So sorry you had such a bad start to your day. ell, the positive is that it can only get better.....

After making those cookies, I also made brownies for Christmas Eve and just now put them in the freezer. How I wish I had a larger freezer!!!

Did 15 minutes of jump rope, then 30 min of hula hoop on the Wii, then another 15 min of jump rope. Figure I need to burn extra calories since we're going to have that party tonight. Tomorrow I'll do some yoga and then take the extremepump class.

Welcome to everyone new, too many to mention

Meg - glad you liked the pumpkin spice recipe. It is easy and tasty (and low cal, too), isn't it?

I need to get boxes for Christmas items that I've bought. Why don't I have the ambition to do it? Mayabe that should be tomorrow's task. Oh, that's right, I've taken the butter out to soften so I can make chocolate chip cookies for Christmas tomorrow. After the cookies are made, I really need to push myself to do it. Then, hopefully, Vince will help start with the wrapping. It worked quite well last year, both of us wrapped and got it all done in one day. I really don't like putting things off until the last minute, he works well under pressure, I cave under pressure. But I really need to get the boxes out. Wish me luck for tomorrow that I don't find something else that needs to be done.

I had a hot chocolate with one of the coffee mate things in it (only something like 20 calories) and a scoop of protein powder before we left for the holiday party. That really helps to keep me filled up. I didn't have the orange or the pear that I brought with me but just had a York peppermint patty for dessert. I'm just not much of a dessert person any more. That is, unless it's fruit!!!

katla - I don't think anyone is offended if you don't respond to them individually. I know that I don't respond to every person, sometimes I get interrupted and then start reading a completely different post. You're just fine in my book

This friday is the open house for a friend and then Sat. we're supposed to go to a dinner/dance at another friend's Moose lodge. Is anyone a member of a Moose lodget? Is there smoking in them?

Oh no, I' thinking right now that I'll give the soup kitchen the remainder of the seafood salad. I need to get the remainder of the donations together and print out the list of every item that I've donated during the year. That takes a while. See...I'm already thinking of something else to do instead of finding those boxes.

housefgirl - hope your daughter joined MFP. Hey, my daughter is on it, she asked me a while ago if I'd heard of it! Someone at her work mentioned it to her.

barbie - I write "Page xxx" in a document in the notepad. when I post, I post everything but that. This way I know that I left off at page xxx right after my post (did I make any sense to you?) I'm sort-of getting to where empty calories don't appeal to me. Desserts (except for fruit) don't appeal to me, neither does pizza or pasta. I'm trying, I really am.

Jen - tell us more about that kitten!

Linda Sundance - hope you feel better fast!

Here's hoping everyone has a great evening.

Michele

Just marking my spot so I can find the thread tomorrow. Been away for a week of vacation. Back to cold and snow and freezing rain forecast for overnight.

Morning to all!

It's a dreary, foggy (Froggy) Monday here and I must say it is fitting weather for my mood. I allowed myself to have a pity party towards the end of the week and had a few black smiley days...First holiday party I attended and I admit to not caring about the food intake. While I did not gorge myself I sure did eat way too many carbs and calories. To top it off no exercise for three days... Sooooo yesterday I spent the day in the kitchen cooking and preparing food for the week so I will be ready. I am pretty sure I got bored with the meals last week and had no back ups which contributed to my lah-dee-dah attitude. Today I have black bean soup for lunch and a turkey italian sausage pepper dinner. I made my pumpkin custards with Truvia and they were ok. Not sure if I used enough and/or the right type. I did my kettlebell routine-there is a you tube beginner workout for 33 mins-yesterday and my Zumba ab routine.... Thanks for letting me vent. I know we all have these spells so I plan to move forward!

Welcome to all the new ladies! Yes this thread is large, but it is also very inspiring and motivating! Just knowing so many of us are living the same daily struggles validates my feelings. I love to read and share in each others victories!!!!

My Monday message- Love and accept yourself; give to others but remember to take care of YOU!!!

Carolyn

Good morning, everyone! It sounds like the weekend was a mixed bag with some illnesses and grumpy people, but I hope the holiday spirit is presiding over all!

Euchre was a hit – the food was terrific although I rarely eat much of it, and DH and I even managed to get everything prepared and the house cleaned and still sneak in a walk before the party so we felt we had some wiggle room with the calories lol :laugh:. We made candy-cane martinis for the cocktail of the evening – equal parts vanilla vodka, crème de cocoa and half-part peppermint schnapps. They were absolutely delicious – I haven’t drank hard alcohol in forever but had one to try it out. It’s a nice way to loosen up the guests lol. My pumpkin cheesecake was delicious, and while the chocolate/caramel/macadamia nut tart looked pretty and was good, the caramel was too hard. The recipe called for cooking the caramel again after mixing in the cream and butter – I won’t do that next time. Anyway, cards were fun, everyone seemed in a festive mood, and BIL was only mildly annoying. At midnight we stopped to sing happy birthday to my sister (and made her cry a little), and the party broke up shortly after.

I had a lot of dishes to do in the morning (I quit using disposable stuff some time back, trying to be a little green), but I just took it a sink-ful at a time and got them done early. Then DH and I went to pick up my sister and BIL to take them wine tasting, and that was kind of the beginning and end of the day – DH and BIL together = disaster. They seemed bent on partying like it’s 1999. We went to the winery – that was so-so but a little festive. Then we went to a sports bar to watch some football and get a bite to eat. I had part of an order of fried mushrooms – not too good, but I was also the DD so just had water. We wound up staying there all afternoon, then met their daughters at a Mexican restaurant for dinner – more bad food choices, and the other “adults” were in fine form ahem. DH was especially charming. I just took everyone home after dinner and put him to bed with a football game. And to pay me back for my hard work and kindness over the weekend, the scale was up THREE POUNDS this morning. Grrr. Oh, well, water and healthy eating again.

We have fog here today too. Actually it’s been foggy and dreary all weekend. However, my house is cozy and decorated and clean (yay for having a party!) so I’m going to stay in and enjoy it. I have yoga on tap for today – didn’t do it first thing because my extension cord was “borrowed” over the weekend, but I’ll put that back together and get after it for lunch, and I’ll do my squats for the squat-a-thon, then I’ll make a yummy soup for tonight. We were supposed to go to Longwood but I think we’re going to scrap that (see generally, dreary weather).

I hope everyone has a wonderful day – I’m taking today at its word and using it as a new week beginning.

Cheers,

M.

Good Monday Morning,

The weather has turned cold and wet....but we missed the ice storm yesterday, thank goodness....so it is still green here in SWO.
I have been out of town, and upon returning, can barely catch up with all the activity here....

I think that resetting my food and body health goals allows me to reset other goals for work and life.....let me know if you think these two activities are strongly related....when you feel successful in one area, it is easier to get the confidence to tackle life...:bigsmile:

There are a great deal of women in this "room" who stay on track and are focused on enjoying every moment of every day, and I love the inspiration....and although I don't knit, I understand the desire to remain productive and engaged, even during the relaxing hours. When I finish the marking and the writing, I hope to sit and hand sew new drapes and new table clothes...yes, hand sew.:laugh:

I need to check in on my December goals, and rework them to fit my other new commitments...so staying flexible and accomplishing what I can is better than giving up...and this is the group that creates commitment. :flowerforyou:
so :drinker: , love reading about your lives and your day by day ideas and strategies!

My plan is to eat clean all the way up to Christmas morning....I will have a rich breakfast ( I am preparing it for others), and yet try to avoid too many rich carbs; since I am not a great admirer of turkey dinners, will eat that very moderately. So with that settled, I will enjoy the social outings without worrying about the food; I always use a protein drink before hand...so a salad is enough to heep me on track at a restaurant.

Life is going to be mentally challenging from here to the 20th..:grumble: finish marking journals, exams and a major paper..so good luck to everyone, hope we all make it through to the holidays!

It's a cold but sunny :glasses: Monday,

Only a few minutes and then i need to get moving on to the piles.

Weekend was busy with plenty of cooking and now we are ready for another week. Exercise didn't happen like I'd have wanted or planned but being on my feet in the kitchen has to count for something:blushing:

To those of you that have had holiday parties, lunches, dinners I'm impressed with the will power and discipline:drinker: Hoping I can be as good. I did some tasting of my candy and so far it doesn't call to me ... that and it's in the frig in the garage ...so out of sight out of mind

This will be the week that we change over our accounting program here at work so I may not be on here very much but will try to keep up with the reading.

Have a good day. Let's keep up our drinking (of water :drinker: ), logging that food and let's keep moving.

Laura80111

I am also new to the site.... 52 years young. I truly enjoyed the remarks about not expecting recognition. I have finally realized I am the only one who will pat myself on the back for all the hard work... It seems like when you are excited about your goals and accomplishments.... there are people who get more moody and unsupportive. Dont understand it...but really careless at this point.

My goals for December are to continue with exercising five times a week for 40 minutes and ride my bike outdoors two days a week. And definitely keep on track with the food. Thanks for letting me comment.