WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR FEBRUARY 2013

:flowerforyou: Better stock up on fruits and veggies!! Get ready for tomorrow, because the new challenge will be posted tonight :drinker: :laugh: :laugh:

Renny
Vancouver Island, BC

Dear Friends - I hope everyone will have a healthy weekend! Yep, eating those fruits and vegetables.

I do have a question for everyone----does anyone have any advice, tips, experiences to share regarding stopping Prilosec? I've taken it for years and my doctor said any time I want to stop it's fine with him. I tried once several years ago and after about a day I was in such horrible pain I started up again and then it took several days for the distress to subside. I've read that it is bounceback from having taken this drug for so long and the pain could continue from 1 month to 3 months after discontinuing use.

Thanks so much!!! I'd like to just take my Vitamin F and forget the Prilosec. :blushing:

Cheers. :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

Lin in Central Iowa

TGIF~Hubby off.Spent the day with him,as he was working Valentines day..Went to a buffet,didn`t eat too bad ,not sure on the calorie count.
Got some walking in too.
Have a good one.
HUGS
jane

Good evening everyone!
I had a fun day substitute teaching First Grade! Such little darlings…. I guess we all feel that way when ours have left that stage behind!

Dixiie – I know you don’t know me yet, but welcome back I love Arizona… the sun is such a good thing. We lived in Chicago for a few years and I was shocked how grey it could be between Jan and Feb… Sunshine if uplifting.

Joy – Do you have long dark days in Norway?

Deb –I’m stuck too, but I know I’m getting stronger and I’m healthier, at least that’s what I keep telling myself…

DeeDee – So sorry to hear about your knees. I always see those gals on Biggest Loser running and wonder, why can’t I do that? It kills my knees! I do the elliptical and rowing instead…. I work up to a slow jog when I’m walking and am hoping as I get stronger I may be able to jog a bit. Good luck!

Amanda – thank you for the preview of granmotherhood! I have one daughter engaged…and the other still in college. I can wait until their time is right, of course, but I’m looking forward to loving on little ones!

Just got back from a delicious dinner at Moe’s… with DH who loves it. I tried to guestimate high on calories, and eat healthy!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Tammy in Va Beach

Hi, all! Will try to catch up. Whew! So many conversations...

Meg – SLC is Salt Lake City, UT. The city is in a valley surrounded by mountains. During the winter, when we get snowstorms, the air near the ground gets cold. That’s normal. But when we get a high pressure system, the warm air high up forms a “cap” and traps all the cold air and pollutants in the valley – that’s why they call it an inversion. :sick: It takes the wind from another front, or enough warmth to melt the snow, to mix the air enough to get rid of the inversion. This year SLC and Logan ,Utah have had the worst air in the country and had several days when outside travel is not recommended for people with respiratory disease. It really is the worst thing about living here. If I drive up the canyon to the ski resorts, the air is clear. So, contemplating a move to Park City eventually just to avoid the bad air.

Sunshine – Brrrrr… that is some cold skiing! I prefer the 30-40 degree bluebird days in UT.

Jane H – enjoy your time in Mexico. Terribly jealous. Awesome to hear about your daughter’s wedding. I will tell my sister and nieces to watch for it. Be sure to send the link!

Welcome, Beth! Read on for something that may apply to you on the weight loss issue. I suggest that you explore some cooking websites and check out some healthy cook books at the library. Try the recipes that look good to you. And, just try making healthier versions of some of the foods you like. Healthy substitutions can make a better version of just about anything. The Lenten fast sounds like a good start, but overall I recommend making big changes slowly. Givis my obsessive brain time to get used to the idea. No hysterectomy for me, but am post-menopausal. Hormones are a *$(!#. Totally mess with your weight and with your head. Exercise is the best deterrent I know.

Nancy – Where do you go curling? Sounds like something I would like. Watch out for that depression. It can quickly become all-consuming.

Diane – welcome. It’s so great to see so many like you and all of these lovelies who are striving for better health. I’ve only been here a short time and am SO inspired!

Petals and Paws – What a terrible blow to lose your love. So glad that you are living the life he would have wished for you. (((HUG)))

Katla – Add “Hips” to that list. Same issue there for me. The pain has been a bit of a struggle these last months. Going to see the orthopedist at the end of the month. Probably looking at another steroid injection for the bursitis… Ugh.

Lisa – one thing I told my dietician is that “I will not do this if I have to live on twigs.” I like food – the taste, the textures, the color… I love to cook. Could not envision a life of cottage cheese, chicken breasts and spinach. So, I started by checking out healthy cookbooks at the library and learned to make healthful substitutions in my own recipes. I learned more about spicing and tried more ethnic dishes because they are often more healthful than American food. You can do it. One step at a time. One recipe at a time. Part of the problem in America is that we have become accustomed to convenience. So making healthy eating convenient and easy is the key.

Moxie – so glad to hear you are using your bike.:happy: I used a 20-year-old Schwinn for years until my DH bought me a new spinning bike for Christmas in 2011. SO good for the knees!

I met with a dietician today. Asked her to review 90-days of records and give me an honest assessment. I was blown away. She said that if I was her patient, she would have me at about 1600 calories – not 1350. But, that I should continue to eat healthy foods and eat a comfortable amount. She also said I need to do more weight lifting – especially since I’m over 50 and lose muscle mass at a much higher rate than a young woman. Suggested that I follow a less-intense version of a p90X routine using the “muscle confusion” philosophy and keep cardio to no more than 3 hours per week for blood sugar control. :happy:

So, I am going to follow her advice, get out my p90X and create a new workout routine this weekend. See how it goes. She also said I shouldn’t obsess about my weight (good luck with that!) and to remember that it's about HEALTH and not THE SCALE. I sometimes forget that. Sometimes it’s hard to ignore my mother’s voice chiding me for not achieving her image of perfection. :grumble: (Yes, issues there.)

So – new focus starting next week. :happy:

Didn’t get any suggestions from my last request, so will try again. Any recommendations for a body weight scale?

Thanks, and may the love of St. Valentine fill your hearts the year ‘round.
Jane in SLC

Dixie - so glad you're back. You were sorely missed.

DebA - the best thing I can say is "at least I'm not gaining". When we are in FL, things will probably be different. I will control what I eat even more closely. The only thing is....I'm trying to have more meatless meals and I don't know if I can do that down there. We do go out to eat lots and not every restaurant serves veggie burgers. Believe it or not, a lot of the fish is deep fried.

DeeDee - wow! You amaze me!

katla - thanks so much for the reminder how important it is to take care of your knees. Even if you don't have pain right now, you've made me see that there are many different ways to burn calories, you don't have to pound your knees. Occasionally I did speed intervals on the treadmill where I'd run for like 30 seconds then walk fast for about a minute (or something thereabouts). It's really better to do this on the elliptical.

Well, off to the deep water class, then take the rest of that red velet cheesecake to Lynette, pick up my audiobooks at the library (I'd forgotten I put 4 on hold, I thought I only had three), pick up sedatives for Bonnie & Clyde before we go and stop at Lowe's for milk for Vince. Why Vince didn't think to order those sedatives sooner, I have no idea. I was up that way the other day, now I need to go up there again.


Glenda - have fun in the mountains.

Amanda - thanks for sharing. I can just picture those twins!

Did an hour of the deep water today. Tomorrow yoga.

Well, hope everyone has a great evening.

Michele in NC

Good evening ladies,

Just back from a terrific meeting with a whole new group of people who share the same interests. Its so refreshing! So I thought I would pop in quickly..

Are there bird impersonators?? Methinks I heard a robin’s song today but it’s much too early! I heard several actually so does this mean spring will be early or the poor wee songsters have been blown off course? Shouldn’t they be called a ‘spring’ of robins rather than a flock?

Well, I think I have done my duty as a mom; scones and gingersnaps baked two days ago, today we have coconut macaroons, oatmeal-raisin cookies and almond biscotti. I am done for a couple of weeks, I think. And down it all goes to the deep freeze and if my son forgets it’s there, it’s not my problem! Right!

Have been still dealing with the chaos in my ‘office’ and am quite proud how good it looks. Now I have to deal with all the cords. Everything comes with its own cords, the camera with its charger and downloader, the phone, the mp3, the kobo….. and it’s all in a tangled pile so I need to figure out what is what and put in a labeled freezer bag. So many gadgets… I wonder what next Christmas will bring?

The bathroom renos continue; the sawing, the pounding, more sawing and the drywall dust once again settles in a fairy cloud over the furniture and floors.

Scary meteorite over Russia, I saw the video and if I saw that thing coming down in my neck of the woods I would probably have heart failure! So many injured, luckily mostly from glass shards!

And what do we think about the mother of eight who died at the age of thirty after a diet of 10 litres of Coke a day (equiv. 24 cans) and a pack of cigarettes a day?? She drank so much Coke that most of her babies were born without enamel on their teeth!! MODERATION, that’s the lesson we should take away.

Well off to bed, its back to work tomorrow
hugs to all,
Kate from Alberta

Good morning everyone! I am so excited today! It seems like I have been on diets all my adult life. I’ve tried them all. The last few years I have found that I have the best luck when I switch them up when I stop losing. For example, I’ll be on Weight Watchers and then after a few weeks, I’ll switch to South Beach, then Slimming World, then Sonoma Diet …. You get the picture. Hubby just goes along with it, but he always notices when I’ve switched diets again. You would think that I would be very slim by now but we travel SO much that it just doesn’t seem to happen.

For those of you that are new, I spend my 50th birthday in a foreign country waiting to hear if my cancer had returned …. The doc was SO SURE that it had, she was telling me that I would need to leave to go back home as soon as the results came back so I could start chemo. She even ventured a guess that it was stage 3 or 4. I was SCARED! My husband was SCARED. We both broke down crying when it came back that it was just an infection, NOT cancer. I decided that’s it! I’m done being unhealthy. This time I want to do it and stick to it and get it right.

When I was back in the US for Christmas, my youngest son who is 27 and I made a bet for weight loss. We weighed and we will weigh again when I go back home at the end of March to go on a cruise. We will go by body percentage. If he wins, I will buy him a tablet. If I win, he has to go to Victoria Secret’s with hubby and I, and buy my anything dad wants. We are both very motivated this time.

I started tracking my weight when I came home from Christmas. The site here says that I joined in Jan 2012 and I did. But I didn’t start getting serious until Jan 2013. I kept my calories right at 1200 calories. I logged every single bite and swallow. I exercised. I went cross country skiing, walking, did strength training, zumba …. In one month I lost 8 lbs! HOORAY!

I was only weighing once a week but the morning I got up to go to Rome I gained 3 lbs. My weight loss was gone. Even being really good, I gained 3 lbs in one week! WHAT!?!?!?!?! I figured that maybe this was a good thing. It was probably just water weight and it would keep me more vigilant for when we were in Rome.

So, 13 days in Rome. I walked over 120 miles!!! Climbed so many flights of stairs (we were on the 4th floor for our hotel which actually means the 5th floor …. Each flight had 28 steps so each time up was 140 stairs). I ate a very healthy breakfast every morning and tried to do my best for lunch and dinner. Normally I would have had gelato every single day …. In 13 days I only had it 3 times (I figured the 120 miles would even it out) …. I never ordered dessert but I must confess that every once in a while I would have a bite or two of hubby’s dessert.

When we came home from Rome I was expecting that I would have lost that 3 lbs that SURELY was just water weight PLUS weight from walking all over Rome. I got on the scale the very next day and I was exactly the same as I was when we left for Rome! STILL up 3 lbs. Let me tell you, I was DEPRESSED. And under orders from hubby to not exercise this week because my feet were covered in blisters. Even the bottoms of my feet were one big blister.

So, Monday morning I started watching shows that I had recorded and watched a Dr. Oz (I know … some of you hate him) with a woman on with a diet book that is coming out in April. She did not go into a whole lot of detail, but the main goal was to change your metabolism. She said so many things that just made so much sense to me. Nothing is strange at all, I don’t have to count calories (but I am counting them here on MFP) I just have to change what/when I eat. She said that she’s had many, many clients that lose 20 lbs in 4 weeks. To me, this just sounded unhealthy! Everyone knows you should only lose 1-2 lbs a week … and they always lie. But I started looking at meals, and counting the calories, and I’m actually eating more than the 1200 I was eating. AND I lost 6 lbs this week!!!!! I’ve NEVER lost 6 lbs in a week.

So, I’m going to see what happens. Maybe my body was retaining fluids from the plane (but it was only a 2 hour plane ride unlike the 13 hours I usually spend on a plane going back to the US), maybe I body was swollen from inflammation from all the walking, and resting has made it go down. I’m just not sure … but I’m eating more and losing more so I’m going to keep trying it. She says after being on the diet for 4 weeks, you have switched your metabolism so it burns faster. It would be SO nice if I had the metabolism of my youth back … so we’ll see.

Wish me luck!

Bump for later, sometime. Anytime! Can't keep up !

Dixie, so glad to see you back! I know you have been in our thoughts and prayers!

Will try to catch up , so chatty!
Have a great weekend!
Hugs, LindaS aka Sundanceb

Good morning ladies.

I'm at work and really want to be out and about instead. Feeling restless. It doesn't help that the weather is much better today. Never mind, I have a good long walk planned with my sister and 7 year old niece tomorrow. Yay - girls on a march!

DH said he will take me to Tiffany's next week as a treat - to buy me something to replace the diamond I lost from my ring the other week. I tell you, that boy knows how to put a grin on my face. The shock is, I said no! To be honest, I don't need anything new. He tried to persuade me by telling me that it was also as a celebration for the new book commission and to say thank you in advance for all the research I have to do for him. Bless him - he knows I don't do it for any other reason than we are partners in every way.

My tummy is grumbling today - I think I'm going to have a cup of hot soup to see me through until lunch time.

Better do some work.

Love to all.
Amanda x