WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR FEBRUARY 2013

:flowerforyou: Thanks for your encouragement, I am going to have to write down names and towns to get to know you all.
My son's friend has always called me Mama D... so altho I can never ever replace his Mom I am so glad he feels close to me.

I will try to get back on task here, back to movin' and groovin'. Thinking about everybody out East... hope you are all safe.

will be back later ~ Linda in Chicago:glasses:

WOW!!! I only visit you ladies once a week and so can only get through the most recent 2 or 3 pages and as always such great advice and encouragement. Your friendship not only helps the ones you are writing to but also those of us reading the post get a lot out of it as well... so again thanks for all the great post!

Thanks to all who told me to get up and move! I did light exercise last week and I 'do' feel a little energy... not as tired as I have been. Also lost 2.5 lbs as a bonus. So great advice ladies..
Thanks to all who took the time to encourage me!!
Denise


I don't usually write to anyone but here 3 short blurbs;

@ Karlajotj Where did you vacation in Colorado? My family has a condo in Frisco which is close to Keystone, Breckenridge and Copper. We LOVE Colorado!!! Hope you had a great vacation.

@ Barbiecat I am so sorry for Brandy. I hope her mouth heals quickly and she feels better soon!

@ Megblair1 I always enjoy your blogs, always filled with such positive words for so many women. You and your daughter are so kind to babysit 9 kiddos!! That is such an awesome thing you two are doing!

Quick check in before I head to the gym! Woohoo... Finally figured out for the cardio part... I love to watch tv, get lost in a movie or something... but I hate the commercials... my daughter said, "why don't you watch netflix?" So, done. Started watching that new show House of Cards while I'm on the elliptical ( 30-40 min)... I'm totally hooked... but here's the catch. I can only watch the show when I'm at the gym... so I can't wait to go back! haha! Great way to fool myself, huh? Too bad I can't watch it while I'm doing the strength training.... sure I can figure something out! haha

I've read through most of your posts.... so much! so much!

Barbie... so sorry about Brandy's teeth... hope she's doing better. I know all about that teeth cleaning. With my next dog I will incorporate teeth brushing... My little schnauzer started having seizures after her teeth cleaning... that was two years ago and she still has them now. The vet said, that just happens some times... right.

At the moment, I'm glad to have sunshine and no snow... Have bunches of work to do.

Have a happy day everyone! :flowerforyou:

Tammy in Va Beach

Hello, all!

It's been a busy three days at the VA with Dad. Yesterday, our 1 hour appointment turned into 9 hours, as he had some other problems he hadn't mentioned to me and we ended up in the ER department there. I was a bit frustrated, as I had to cancel my afternoon meeting (which they had nicely changed to Friday for me, since we had to be at the VA on Thursday), but my father has to be the priority. My parents did so much for me while I was growing up that I think it's only right that I should take care of them now. Being in the "sandwich generation" is difficult, though, as I'm sure most of your know from your own experiences.

Mary – Great story about the CD player! Thanks for sharing. It took me a while to discover the “random” mode, as well. :blushing:

Meg – I’m sorry you’re having a few “off” weeks. That’s okay, as long as it doesn’t morph into having a few “off” months! Since things are overwhelming right now, why don’t you start with just one? Maybe just trying to get your water in. Then, when things feel a little better, add another component back in. You WILL get back on track! (I have confidence in you). I know that you’ve given the new adoptive parents some great support. I’m always so impressed with your parenting ideas.

Liz – I hope you have a truly relaxing weekend to make up for this past week at work! :flowerforyou:

DeeDee – So glad you’re enjoying your training, despite the weather. Just think what amazing condition you’re going to be in!

Linddavis – I’m sorry about the loss of your son’s friend’s mom. Cancer is such an awful plague. I think that when people of our age pass, it makes us consider our own mortality, and that’s a hard thing to face.

Jackie – I’ll bet you look amazing! You’re right, we all need pampering sometimes, and we usually need to be the one to do it for ourselves. By the way, I really appreciated the time that you took to tell me more about green juicing/smoothies. It was so thoughtful of you! I'm sorry not to have said this sooner.

JB – I’m sorry your scale is being difficult (maybe they’ve all gotten together and gone on strike??), but getting to the track is indeed something to be proud of!

Michele – I love the way that you sneak healthy things into your baking!

Tammy – Great idea to only watch the show while you’re exercising… that’s one good way to get to the gym!

Jane in Colorado

:flowerforyou: This morning was TC10K training clinic week 4 - yay for me. I definitely did not feel like going, after a rotten night sleep and waking up with an irritable bladder, but so glad I went :flowerforyou: 10 more weeks to go and the 10K is April 28th. Go, Renny, Go!!

It is amazing what determination can do. Just putting one foot in front of the other, not feeling like doing it, but doing it. The trainer said that she noticed I was keeping such a good pace. Hah, that was true, as I was too tired to divert into anything other than keeping going, girlfriend :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Renny
Vancouver Island, BC.

Hello ladies!
I am so glad to find some posts that do not include before and after underwear pictures! Can I join you? You are such a supportive group.
I am 51 and live in Hampshire UK and have been using MFP for about 15 months. I hit my target weight at about 7 months, but I like to log my food if I think I am getting complacent. I am now using MFP to log all my exercise because looking at the fitness reports makes me feel good :laugh:
Each week I do a dance session, yoga, swimming, hiking if the weather is OK or treadmill walking/running indoors. I am amazed at myself, I have NEVER been as fit as I am now and I love it. I can run 3.5k (walk run walk run) now so I am aiming at 5k by end of feb and maybe 10k by the summer.
I hope those of you in USA east coast are safe and warm.

Rx

It sounds a bit mad, but I plan to have a glass of water after each trip to the bathroom during the day, keep it flowing ....:laugh:

Hello, Ladies! It’s been a week, so thought I’d get caught up on all your news.

First – welcome to all the new members! Always such an inspiration to hear about your success and challenges. Can’t wait to hear more.

To all in the NE – stay safe and warm.

Cheryl – what a scary story. Glad all are OK.

:happy: Lynn – Kauaiartist – I love Zumba! Go when I can. Am always stumbling about, but always with a smile on my face. It’s an excellent motivator.

Glenda – I have always wanted to go to an opera. Why am I so intimidated by that art form? Guess it will be on my list of to-do’s this year.

:ohwell: Katla – I downloaded a spin instruction from itunes to my ipod. It’s OK, but kind of boring. I actually get a better workout if I just let the playlist dictate my climbs and sprints.

DeeDee – great job on the training! I love that soreness after a good workout.

:happy: June – 13 pounds! Amazing! Keep up the good work. Great to have goals, isn’t it?

Jackie – I applaud your goal to learn Russian. What a task! Keep trying. The habit will find you.

Kim in CA – almost anything can be included into a healthy meal, including beef and pork. Choose cuts and portions wisely. I like both pork and beef tenderloin, and flank steak is a good cut of beef for marinades and such. I learned to cook lighter by checking out cookbooks at the library. I would read them, pick several recipes, then plan my menus. Those we like, I continue to serve.

Barbie – I hate BMI for so many reasons. It’s really not a good measurement. Body fat composition and strength are more my focus. I am by no means a skinny-minnie, and every time I work out hard, the scale jumps. So aggravating, but figure if I eat well, keep exercising, it will pay off eventually.

Mary – I went swimming last week, too. Hadn’t in a while. Felt so good, I decided to make it my Sunday ritual.

Debbie – sleepy afternoons were a HUGE problem for me during that “season and now. Herbal tea seems to be a good solution for me, as well as a walk around the block. I try to avoid caffeine after 10 AM as it aggravates hot flashes, night sweats and sleeplessness.

Michele – you ARE superwoman! Love your suggestions for sneaky veggies. I do it a bit, but the tofu is a great suggestion!

Sasha – it may be too late, but Melatonin supplements will help with sleep. I just get the lowest – 1 mg, and that works for me. Will take 2 if really need it. Take them about 1 hour before you get on. No “fuzzy brain” when you wake up.

Meg – Bless you for helping that couple with their new daughter. What an emotional challenge that must be!

:grumble: Barbara – I have struggled with the “no change on the scale” thing for a while. Just made up my mind to keep at it, believing that someday it will all pay off. Chin up! Do it because it’s the right thing, not because you scale rewards you!

:grumble: Colleen – Sorry to hear that you will have to deal with the joint pain. Does anything help? Swimming? Yoga?

Jane in CO – sorry to hear about your dad. What a challenge.

:happy: Renny – Go girl! That is so awesome!

My sister and a friend and I have decided to do the Bike Tour during the SLC Marathon on April 30. It’s a 26-mile ride through the city on the runner’s course. I only have a mountain bike, so it will be a challenge. Must maintain 15 mph or higher to make the time cut off. YIKES! Guess I’ve got a lot of work to do. Hoping that the ortho doesn’t put the kibosh on it. Arthritis in hip has been BAD. Thank goodness for Aleve. My sis is having a hip replacement on the 21st. This challenge will be her “get back in shape” goal.

Thanks to all for your inspiration. Especially to Renny – your veggie challenges have made me re-think all my meals and snacks. Feels fantastic. Thanks!

And especially grateful for my new yoga instructor. She brings such a great energy to the class each Saturday. At the end, the prior week is wrung out and blown away. So wonderful.

I’ll try to check in mid-week. Excited for my massage on Wednesday. 90-minutes of bliss!

Brussels sprouts AND squash on the menu tonight. YUM!

Hello my dear friends. My shift at the shopping mall was pretty successful, the students did 180 blood pressures. That’s down from the 200-ish my shift usually does, but this mall has been rumored to be “dying’ for a few years. The food court is now closed and the mall is for sale, but there was still a fair amount of traffic. We see the same people every single year…the mall walkers, the coffee “klatches” which are mostly old men who love to tease my students, the same security staff. It’s funny because I remember them and they me, and I remember all their health problems and they just come up to me and start sharing information like Im a good friend or something! It’s exhausting though…4+ hours on my feet. So I had a very nice nap when I got home.:bigsmile:

A couple of very funny things happened at the mall. I have a student who used to be a drill seargent in the army. She noticed a bunch of old men sitting at the tables at the old food court drinking coffee. She wandered over there to talk to them. I’m not sure what she said but pretty soon here she came with all of them in single file behind her to get their blood pressures taken. A Spanish-speaking mom, dad, and 3 year old came over. One of my students is fluent, so she did their blood pressures. As she did them, the little boy was sneaking individual chicklets into her pockets! They ended up being all grubby but it sure was cute!

Barbie: hope Brandy is feeling more like herself now. We line all 4 animals up on Sunday evenings and brush all their teeth…the cats are so much fun…and once during the week we squirt the dog with an anti-plaque mouth rinse. He had most of his teeth removed before we adopted him but his breath is awful.:sick:

LDypsych;welcome. We will be trying spaghetti squash this week too. I had it once years ago and hated it so I hope it’s better this time.

Karla: enjoy your trip!

Michelle: my kids hate tofu, but the rule is you eat what is served, so I too neglect to inform them. Problem is now that DD#2 is doing all the cooking, the secret is out!

DeeDee: I just bought a Taste of Home casserole recipe book. Tons of yummy recipes in there, but it’s a bunch of reprints from previous magazines, so I already had some. But I have several marked to try! I love new recipes too and often try them on guests. It’s pretty chicken of me really…if the meal is bad, I’m not a bad cook…it’s just that the recipe was crappy! LOL

Linda in Chicago: I hear the next winter storm is churning your way!

BarbaraAHMOD: beer and ice cream is quite the combination! Sounds like something I would have…oh wait…I have had that!:laugh:

Denise: great job on your weight loss! WE’LL see how manageable those 9 kids are tomorrow!:happy:

Tammy: you have found some great motivation!

Colleen; maybe it’s the winter, but many of us here have those blahs

Janehadji: boy that did sound like a frustrating day! I’ll try your suggestion…water it is because I have been really bad about that.

Lucy oh be careful on the ice! I hope you feel better tomorrow!

Renny: go Renny go! Keep telling yourself that!

Suebedew; you are a great gma to babysit! I know lots of gmas who love their grandkids but wouldn’t sit for a trip like that.

RX: before and after underwear pictures??? OMG I don’t even want to see myself in my undies! :embarassed: HMMM but maybe I would if I lost weight.. I’ll contemplate that! Welcome!

Rtell: I love that idea!

Glenda: housework???? What’s that???? You are great to be delivering meals to needy people!

BMI: wow that sounds like quite the bike race! You’ll get in shape for sure!

Janie: I’m with you and the gym or even exercising at home for that matter. When you are so exhausted it is incredibly difficult to exercise. I already get up at 4:30 or 5, so I am not getting up any earlier to exercise! Some times I fool myself and say I’ll just do the elliptical gently for 10 minutes. Then when that’s up, I think I can do 5 more so I do, and I end up getting it all in. Could the coldness be from menopause? I have always been hot all the time and now I’m freezing all the time for no reason. Cute haircut by the way

Well I guess I should get busy and get some book work done. I have been working on this same stupid chapter for like 2 weeks because I can’t get motivated. Take care everyone and have a restful evening. Stay warm and safe in the NE! Meg from Omaha where I wish I would get 30” of snow!:drinker:

LdyPsych: I also just bought an EatSmart scale. I’ve only had it less than a week, and like it so far.

janehadji: You’re a good daughter, and I’m sure your dad appreciates you.:flowerforyou:

Renny: I’m glad to hear you’re making progress and getting encouragement from your trainer. It is nice that she’s noticed your efforts. You must be doing something right! :bigsmile:

rtell: Welcome to the group. These are terrific women. There are other posters from the UK, as well as Canada and I think I remember someone from Australia.:flowerforyou:

50ishfoodie: Thanks for the spin review. I think I agree with you about letting the play list encourage climbs and sprints. I’m actually using my husband’s terratrike on a trainer, and I can sprint, but climbing is not feasible.:noway: This is fine by me.:bigsmile:

JNHeff: I hear your pain about the after school meetings and workshops. I had a two-hour commute for the last several years I taught before I retired. It was getting tougher and tougher to deal with. I was going to bed at 8 pm and getting up at 5 am. I hope you’ll soon find a reasonable balance. At this point I still miss the kids and my teaching friends, but not the constant fatigue.


We’re having a quiet day today. :bigsmile: I took the dog for a long walk and our neighbors came by for a visit. We heard all about their Central American vacation. It was quite a different world where they stayed, and more rustic than they’d expected. There was not enough water pressure to shower until mid afternoon and they’d imagined a lush tropical environment, but found it to be arid with lots of cactus, even on the beach. :huh: It all sounded very interesting, but not like something I want to do myself. Have a good weekend! :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Log your food and exercise, and drink your water! :drinker: :bigsmile: :drinker: :bigsmile:

Katla in NW Oregon

This morning was the big clean up after the blizzard in NYC.Shoveled snow at 10pm last night for 30 mins and this am for 2 and a half hours. Burned 1500 cal. Would expect to see a good wt loss next week. Hope everyone was safe.

Hello all! I have been on the go for the last few days so have only skimmed through the last few pages. My older DD is in for the day & evening so I am really just taking a few minutes to check in and log my food.

It seems like it's been a very busy time for everyone so I can only say that I hope you are all having a relaxing weekend or at least a productive one!

tammy - now THAT's a different reason for wanting to go to the gym (to see your show), but, hey, whatever works I say go for it! So sorry your dog is having seizures. Do you give him any meds or is there something special that you need to do?

jane - oh, I hear ya, being the sandwich generation IS difficult. But we'll get thru it with each other. You are a great daughter

Lucy in DE - OUCH!!!! Take care of yourself, girl

Went to yoga today. First I stopped at the Humane Society and gave them our aluminum for their recycling and dropped off some coupons. I don't use the dog food ones, but they sure can. Then I went to the CPR class. I was thinking it would be much more involved, really, I didn't have any idea what to expect since someone new is doing it now. Well, he did have me do the breaths and compressions. Seems they changed hand position -- now you put your hands between the nipples, before it was below the breastbone. But it really didn't take that long, went to one store and got some bras, then a little food shopping. I just found out that I'm supposed to stop at the CVS to get Jessica's syringes and insulin for her cat so that just means that I'll need to leave early for church. Serve at the church, then out to dinner. On the way home Vince said that we'll stop at WalMart since I have a rain check for vitamins. He went there and they're twice the price of my raincheck. I want to return one of the things I bought yesterday. Even tho the price is higher at Bi-Lo, I used a coupon that they doubled so it wound up being cheaper. Plus, I get points towards gasoline. So I got it there. I also need to get some cream cheese for a recipe that I'm probably going to make tomorrow. I do some hula hoop on the Wii tomorrow.

DeeDee - we were talking about Beal's outlet. It's called Beal's in Florida, but up here it's called Burke's Outlet. I think I said Bells, but it's Burke's. They are together.

Went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. After looking at their menu online, I had decided to get the black bean burger but no bun. when I went to input it into my diary, I was surprised to see an entry for the burger without the bun. Same thing for the veggie boat. What this is just celery and carrots. I got that instead of the fries and didn't have the ranch dressing. I did get in 20oz of water. (I approximated that each glass is probably 10 oz)

Rx - welcome! That's great you hit your goal, isn't maintenance so hard? It is for me at least

50ish Foodie - I have downloadable workouts from cardiocoach.com. They aren't technically just for spinning, but he does say things like "we'll be climbing a hill for 2 minutes with a 30 second recovery". I honestly don't find them boring at all. At one time you could listen to a clip on their website, don't know if it's still that way or not. You might want to check it out. How do you cook your brussel sprouts? I got some of the Green Giant ones, but I know that if I made them myself, they would be a lot cheaper. Now I know that I like them, I'm wondering a good way to cook them.

janie - there are days when I have to check in two and three times just to keep up!

Hope everyone has a great evening.

Michele in NC

Hi one and all,

Saturday is almost over and we have had the calm after the storm. Yesterday we received nearly 12 inches of snow (30 cm for those of us who are metric) and today was sunny and beautiful! The world is a lovely place when snow ices everything.

Jane in Colorado: I fully agree about the care of parents. My folks are 88 and 92 and I feel strongly that I want to "give back" after all they have done for me. I am just glad that they live so close by. It is almost like having a second job some days so hang in there - you're doing a great job and your Dad is lucky to have you.

My food was pretty good today. I had to go to a Winter Carnival tonight and I was careful and was able to stay just under my daily intake. I was not looking forward to being tempted by all the stuff I can't eat or don't want to eat but one of my fellow MFP's said to just go with the flow and I tried to make the food secondary and the carnival stuff more fun!

Question: When I exercise at the gym the calories burned on the eliptical and the bikes don't match the calories burned when I put the same minutes into the MFP exercise section? Which is the right one? the exercise machine or MFP?

Have a great night everyone,
Sara in Toronto

:flowerforyou: Hi everyone - sorry I've not been in touch much lately.

:ohwell: I was finding it hard to motivate myself after Christmas anyway, and then of course our lovely dog Tara suffered a stroke and had to be put to sleep the house is so empty without her.

Unfortunately my weight has been creeping up and up and I need to take myself in hand, shake myself and get back on the proverbial waggon!

:flowerforyou: So many new faces, but I'll try and keep up, along with re starting my exercise routine, which has been hit and miss since January.

:flowerforyou: DH and I have started to decorate the dining room, phew there's a lot more work in here than I first thought. It's been a good excuse to have a declutter of the sideboard. I usually take everything out then put it all back in :bigsmile: but this time I thought long and hard about what goes back in it. I'm still not 100% what colour to paint the walls.

:flowerforyou: Work continues to be a challenge, I had my 'year end' meeting with my manager last week, and although I've not done too badly, was told that I will be stretched next year as my objectives were not challenging ones last year. Our new objectives for 2013 need to be stretching and not part of our day job, what on earth does that mean! All the time they are pushing and pushing to join meetings and do all this other stuff, there's not enough time to do our main job I don't want to be taken out of my comfort zone - I like it - I don't want to be a high flyer, just do my job to the best of my ability. That's not good enough apparently. Sorry for the vent! but I get so frustrated.

:flowerforyou: Well I'd better make a start on breakfast, then spend another hour or two undercoating the walls in white before going into town tomorrow to buy some paint. I've got all next week off work, so wish me luck, that at least the walls ceiling and doors get done. DH is then going to take up the wooden floor and put some new flooring in. We hope the planks come up in good conditions as we are going to put them in the back bedroom (what we call the cat room:bigsmile: because the cats spend a lot of time in that room) :bigsmile:

I will try and keep up honest!

Happy Sunday from York UK where there's supposed to be snow later. :frown: Roll on summer! I always have more energy in the summer time

Viv xx