WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JUNE

Good morning, everyone. Now that I've found you again, I can't stay away, though my posts will have to be short. This is my weekend to pack, clean, and otherwise prepare for being away for 2 months in Nova Scotia.

It's so nice to read the newsy notes from all of you. There are so many new folks it will take me a while to figure out who everyone is, and it's nice to see some of the "old" guys, too - Suezzque and barbiecat especially. Thank you to everyone who gave me a welcome and a condolence.

Today is just another day for me, since I lost my Dad 16 years ago. I was closer to him than to my Mom, but I tried to be a dutiful daughter to her. Nevertheless, there's a lot of guilt for not having done more. The comfort is that now she's lying at peace next to Daddy, whom she missed terribly during her declining years.

I've had mostly good days this week and have been exercising and staying within my goal. I want to lose about 10 more pounds and get into a size 10 - I'm in a 12 now - hopefully by my one year anniversary in myfitnesspal, which will be in October.

Time to work out and walk!

Karen

Assuming theses are yellow crook neck squash, they are great made into a casserole but that adds lots of extra calories. My favorite way of making them is to slice them thinly and stir fry them in a bit of extra virgin olive oil with some onion, salt and pepper. Yum! If you have some zucchini and or bell peppers to mix in with them it makes a very colorful and delicious addition to most any meat. They are also good in the same combination on the grill. Just spray a piece of foil with nonstick spray, sprinkle with salt and pepper and seal them up. Love the easy clean up.

You may all wish you hadn't encouraged me in the writing department as now I'll feel free to do that here more. As for piddling in the garden, its funny how differently we all talk depending on where we are from. In the South when we just want to do nothing in particular, but be mildly productive, we piddle at something. And when we go shopping for no real reason we call it prowling.

That is also my favorite way to eat the squash, but I like to add garlic too. Sometimes I saute them, add spaghetti sauce, and eat them over pasta with a little cheese on top.

I know what piddle means, and have heard the word used both ways around here. I usually "putter" around though. However, prowling in terms of shopping is a new one on me.

Have a great Sunday, all!

Both my father and my husband's father are gone now. We have a boy and girl and they are excellent in remembering things like father's day, etc. I expect they will both call later. I consider myself lucky. They already sent a card and gift card at a local store.

Have a good day

I went back and scanned through all the posts since the last time I read them.

On living wills - my parents have them too. My Dad has been hospitalized twice since coming to live with us. The hospital sends some one to counsel me and I have to sign statements stating that I will not contest the living will instructions. So, there is still a lot of stress involved for me even though the decisions were already made by my parents years ago. The hospitals make you relive everything. It is really heart breaking as it happens at a stressful time anyway when they are being admitted. But, be glad that you did them.

LInda - I feel your pain about how your Dad treats you. He probably suffers from depression that has never been treated. I don't go to church as often as I should even though I have faith (DS has been thrown out of every church in our area because he still can't sit still). Anyway getting to the point, my cousin who is very active in the workings of the Catholic Church in our home town always tells me that I am going to heaven because of my actions, the way I live my life and taking care of my parents even though my brother was the favorite. He won't do anything to help out and sent them here to me instead. So, know in your heart that you are a good person and worth a lot.

Well, DS is not sitting still again, and I better go see what is banging. Apologies offered for not doing individual replies at all this week.

Jeannie

Hi there...

I just recently joined myfitnesspal and was surprised to see the nickname I wanted already taken... so I signed on as BarbieCat1. I didn't mean to usurp anyone else's identity, as I've been posting for years on a couple social networks as "plain" old BC, so hope you don't mind if I join you as BC1. If I used another nickname, I'd probably suffer an identity crisis.

So.... why am I here at mfp? Recently, a bit frustrated that recent attempts to shed a few pounds wasn't working, I decided to keep an honest, no nibble unrecorded dietary journal for a week. At the end of that period, adding everything up, I was horrified! I had no idea how much I was consuming in a day, much less the week. Well, any mystery as to why just trying to be good wasn't working just vanished. I'd been fooling myself, or disconnecting, or something. I'm usually a pretty smart cookie, so I was amazed at how delusional I was about something so important to my well being.

That's over... I know that I need to count calories... fad diets, highly restrictive eating plans, etc wouldn't work for me. I need to keep conscious track of what I eat and how often I get in exercise, as that helps me make good choices. I downloaded the mfp iPhone app, and found the link to this website, looked around and realized it was just what I needed. I just joined a few days ago, am religiously keeping up with my diary and wow... having some success already.

I can't wait to read through this thread and the one preceding it, as I have a feeling there'll be wonderful kernels of inspiration and information.

Good Evening everyone .....
Quick jump in after "piddling around" getting Mum to bed!! ...:noway: too much info maybe!!
Great day today ....just squeaked in with calories.I needed the cleaning calories to mop up the wine and cornettos I was forced to consume!! The scales were still good today ...I did manage some arm exercises in the hot tub last night ...wasn't sure what day to put them in, yesterday or today ...so I didn't log them and I think all the washing and scurrying around today adds up to an hour of light cleaning!!.
We had a family BBQ and worked out the best way to get the wheelchair outside. Mum enjoyed seeing the grandchildren (mine) and hers( grandson).:happy: She warms to any young man who pays her attention!! ..I do like to think that she knows who everyone is though.
So now ...everyones gone ,mum's in bed and we can relax ...phew.!
With zero calories left I'm trying hard not to nibble something naughty. :sad:
I do hope you all enjoyed your weekend ...a new week beckons...let's make it a good one shall we!!
Bye for now
Jackie

Happy Sunday...

I just called my 2nd ex to wish him a Happy Fathers Day. He's the Dad of my younger son ( the one who lives in Mexico), and of course step-dad of the older three kids. Because they were only 8,7 and 5 when we were married, they have had no trouble in identifying with him as a Dad figure. Their Father lived far away from us and they were very young when he left us for "greener pastures". :huh: Unfortunately, he ( their bio Dad ) passed away suddenly when he was only 52, just as he and the kids began to connect again. They were all adults by then. The following year, step-dad and I divorced, but he has remained "Dad", and is a big part of their lives :bigsmile: He and I have remained good buddies and I count him as probably my dearest friend. We say that we make better friends than Mr and Mrs.

My father passed away 25 years ago at 70. It was totally unexpected, and I think that was why I began to think of my own mortality as I got close to that age. I loved my Dad and still miss him. He was really funny and sweet.

Kackie: Glad you had fun in NC. I really love the Southern states. My daughter and her family have lived in Charlotte since 1997 when he was "head hunted" from Calgary. My grandson has dual citizenship, since he was born in NC. I spend at least a month there every year. This year it will be December.

Jackie: You always make me laugh. Stay away from the naughty food.

Robin: I'm so impressed with the amount of exercise you fit into every day. You and Mimi keep me going:bigsmile:

Mimi: Thanks for knowing what to say to make things seem better

To everyone else, have a lovely Sunday and rest up for the week ahead:noway:

Ainslieglen

:bigsmile: Seriously thinking of going vegetarian, given the cholesterol verdict. DH and I are in discussion how to go about this. We grew up on what we consider the "normal" food groups. Anyone else on here a vegetarian or vegan? :bigsmile: My body is just making too much cholesterol without any help from meat, dairy and eggs, yet I will have to be realistic in my nutritional decision making. I like fruits and vegetables, I love chickpeas, kidney beans, etc. as well as nuts and seeds. I also enjoy grains. So I think I can get all my nutrition from those foods without the ones from animals.

:drinker: Anyway. give me your thoughts. :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

:bigsmile: Rode my bike to my girlfriend's house yesterday afternoon - 1.5 hours. Yay. And did a lot of housework beforehand.

:bigsmile: Today is writing and reading time. Just wrote a very long email to my old high school friend back in the Netherlands. We remain in touch, though not always regularly. Writing is time consuming. The email took me 2 hours. :bigsmile: Does brain work burn calories?:bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Rebel

I have been a vegetarian for over a year now. My oldest daughter and her family are also vegetarians as well as our youngest daughter Melissa.
My dad and husband still eat meat so I must cook 2 different meals most days.
When I decided to go completely vegetarian I was on 4 BP a day and still they could not control it. I had major complications in both of my pregnancies and almost died both times. After that my BP has been problematic. Anyways, after 1 month of no meat I went to doctor because I was dizzy and low and behold my BP was too low so they started taking me off meads. Now over a year later I am only on one med. and hope if I lose these last 37 pounds I will be off that as well. My cholesterol is falling as well and my doctor wants me to come back at the end of this summer for one last blood test. It was slightly elevated and Dr. had me watch cheese and everything white. So will see what happens with that.
I love how much better I feel on this diet. I do not miss meat and enjoy cooking alot. If you want to try this let me know I can send you on sites and there are a plethora if recipes. One thing I read and have done is take my favorite meat recipes and subsitute portabella mushrooms for the meat.
Good luck on searching this out. I am not dedicated enough to go vegan. I like cheese and eat an egg 5 times a week for protein.
linda

Hello All,

Just on here to post my dinner-Fillet Mignon no less!! Still at my parents' place. Have stayed under calories, but haven't had dessert yet.:blushing: Strawberries and Greek yogurt (for me) chocolate cake and ice cream for the others.

My neighbor and friend Joel is here with me. He is the son my dad never had, and dad is the dad that Joel never had. Neither will admit it, but they get along famously, so I invited him to dinner today. Best present I could have brought my dad (though he did like the steak) He and Joel have been discussing and fiddling with Joel's Iphone ever dinner was over. :bigsmile:

They are calling for dessert ....

Just got on here to say "Welcome Barbiecat1" Glad you found us. I must confess to doing a double take when I saw a post from BC1, so I read her profile and sent her an invite to check us out. You know what I always say..

No, not, "You can't eat if your laughing" though I DO say that!!!:laugh:

"You can't have too many Barbara's!"

So long for now.


Barb

[/quote]

I have been a vegetarian for over a year now. My oldest daughter and her family are also vegetarians as well as our youngest daughter Melissa.

linda
[/quote]

Thanks Linda. I thought about the mushrooms as meat substitutes. Went and got some more veggies today as well as seeds, red kidney beans and some nuts. It will be interesting to figure out some recipes.

I know mimi eats a lot of veggies and her cholesterol went down. Mine is hereditary and I have tried to battle it with diet alone before and it did not work. But no harm in trying again.

Good for you to cook 2 different meals. # 2 son is coming back and him and DH will be BBQ'ng for sure. I got to be prepared with plenty of fruit and veggies.

ttyl
Rebel

Hello All,

I am home now from my afternoon and evening with my dad (and mom), and just for the record, I did NOT participate in the annual "Naked Bike Ride":huh: :noway: in Portland, Oregon last night!!!:laugh: :laugh: Think I am kidding? Well here is a link to the "bare facts"::laugh:
http://bikeportland.org/2010/06/20/an-estimated-13000-take-part-in-portlands-naked-bike-ride/

Good grief, just watching the news and a tornado touched down in Billings MT!! Last time they had a tornado was in 1958. They actually had video of this one. This weather is truly messed up. The first day of summer is tomorrow and it has been so cool around here that for the last two days my mom stored the cake I purchased for today's dinner OUTside on the patio, to keep COOL. Sad fact is, it worked quite well. A high of 62 F today. Don't know why I bothered to buy any summer clothes. When I wear them I freeze to death!!:grumble: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: It is hard to keep a straight face when discussing "global warming" :noway: under these circumstances.:laugh: :laugh:

Linda/tcac--
I concur with others who commented on the abuse you experienced from your family. Consider yourself hugged. I can't even imagine how it would feel to receive that kind of treatment from one's own family, and that remark that was made about you regaining weight after the wedding makes me want to give someone a swift kick. Just rise above it, and when you have to buy all new SMALLER clothes because of your success, I hope you will make sure THAT person hears about it.:bigsmile:

ainslieglen--
I am tardy in commenting on your post of a few days ago where you described the decisions you made about taking care of the rest of your life so as to not burden your family. You made some excellent points, and I applaud you for facing things head on. The "head in the sand" approach is NOT conducive to planning, but I run into it regularly when discussing the need for life insurance. People seem to think if they don't buy any they will never "need" it!!! :huh: Sadly, you are just as dead, regardless of whether or not you planned for it. The difference, as you know, is the planning that was done beforehand.

Alice--
I am glad you found your Yorkie. I would like to believe that she has learned her lesson, but only time will tell:ohwell: At least you got some exercise out of the deal.

Robin/rj--
Glad you are sounding more like your old self and that the sad/bad days are behind you. When you get finished with all those old records, you could always come down here and start on mine. I have enough stuff in my house that you probably could work here until you were ready to retire!!!:laugh: :laugh: Sorry Bodi wiped out your apple tree. Maybe he was a logger in a former life??:noway: :ohwell:

Laura--
Congrats on the size 8 capris!!

Rebel--
Regarding your cholesterol situation. Have you checked out the benefits of fish oil? It is known to help lower triglycerides, and there is lots of information available on google from good reliable medical sites about the benefits of taking fish oil. One book I can personally recommend is written by Dr. Barry Sears, (who happens to be the author of "The Zone Diet--which might also be an option to look at, if the thought of being a vegetarian just doesn't sound doable for you). The book title is "The Omega Rx Zone: The Miracle of the New High-Dose Fish Oil"

It is available in paperback and hardcover at bookstores and online. Here is a link to the google books site, which has some preview pages:

http://books.google.com/books?id=yJYSBoZNjXsC&dq=fish+oil+barry+sears&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=MgYfTLeJEcuKnQeUhJnnAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=12&ved=0CFUQ6AEwCw#v=onepage&q&f=false

You can also find it on amazon and preview it there. I have taken pharmaceutical grade fish oil for years, and have seen the positive effects it has on both my parents, who have been taking it since Summer of 2005, as a result of having a doctor friend recommend that book.

Also, you mentioned taking Vitamin D and Calcium, but in order to get the most out of the calcium, magnesium and zinc also need to be taken. You can get more info on this from the internet. Here is one excerpt that explains it better than I can:

"Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc are considered to be the three musketeers of bone health! When you think of calcium you probably think of 'bones', well calcium is not just for the formation of healthy bones and teeth. It is also important in maintaining a regular heartbeat, muscular contraction, stabilizing systemic Ph, and is necessary for the proper transmission of nerve impulses. And since minerals are not found in nature, or the body as single stand alone items it is imperative that they be taken with other synergistic minerals like magnesium and zinc to ensure their proper utilization internally. Keeping this in mind, calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body, and is best taken with magnesium to aid in its absorption. Magnesium is an essential part of this trio in that it is the 'yin' to calcium's 'yang'. Calcium is an important part of muscles being able to contract, but magnesium is the component that helps the muscle to then relax. So you see one needs the other! Magnesium also offers the added benefit of protecting against calcification of soft tissue, and protects the arterial linings thereby guarding against cardiovascular disease.

When you add zinc to the equation, it is valuable because it is the sort of 'glue' that holds the rest of the process together. It is required for protein synthesis and collagen formation, the infrastructure or base material that makes our bones and other connective tissues work as they do. Zinc also has an added beneficial effect on the immune system, it is added to many products as a primary ingredient in cold a flu nutraceuticals, which help us fight off the winter chills. Zinc also aids in maintaining blood sugar levels, digesting food, resisting viral infections and also helps wounds to heal properly. Zinc pulls it all together by helping the body to prevent the loss of minerals from bones which aids in the prevention of osteoporosis and other bone related disorders."

Cathy/caminogirl--
Congrats on dropping below 220.:drinker: :drinker: I remember that feeling..only thing better is having the first number of your weight be a "ONE" instead of a "two"--and you will get there sooner than you think!!:flowerforyou:

Faye/anotheryr--
Thank you for the eggplant recipe..I plan to try it soon.. LOVE eggplant, but try to have it some way other than my favorite Italian restaurant's "Eggplant Parmesan" which is a trainwreck of fat (due to excessive cheese, and sodium because it is from a restaurant:frown: )

Viv--
I googled Michael McIntyre and found several videos are available on Youtube. I only had time to watch the one about the invention of the kilt, and it made me a believer. He is VERY funny, and I plan to check out the additional material ASAP. If anyone is wondering why Viv and her family are still laughing, check out this link for a taste:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YQIA_FEe3o

tiarapants--
WTG on the jacket. Nothing like finding a bargain to brighten your day.:flowerforyou:

Allison--
How wonderful that you are maintaining your weight while on vacation. My only regret is that you didn't have room in your suitcase for me!! You are in a part of the world that I would love to go back to again.

I am running on empty, so no more answering posts for me

Just heard something interesting on the news about the results of people reducing their sodium intake. You may be aware that most salt has iodine in it, because that is something we need to have a certain amount of for good health, so now their is a new problem--people, particularly women of child-bearing age, are coming up deficient in iodine, which can lead to issues with brain development in babies born to iodine-deficient women.

One last thing. I found the most WONDERFUL stainless steel water bottle. It holds 24 oz and has a screw on stopper with a built in straw mechanism that is really easy to drink from. I got it at Grocery Outlet for $4.99, instead of the $22 that the mfg tag indicated. Liked it so much I went back and bought 2 more, 1 as a gift for someone. I have been using the bottle for 3 days and have found it very easy to increase my water consumption from about 8 to at least 12 and up to 15 glasses per day.:drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

I have to get up WAY too early so I can go to a meeting on Monday morning, so gotta go.

Barb

Good Afternoon ladies - :glasses: :glasses: Gosh it's hot today, I'm not complaining though - who knows how long it will last

:flowerforyou: My daughter is a vegetarian and has been since she was 11yrs old. It's funny how even from a very young age she was against eating animals. I remember when she was about 3 yrs old we were walking past a butchers shop in town with my mum and auntie and she was horrified that hanging up on big hooks was half a pig carcass. Sounds horrific to me too now to be honest, but it was the thing back then - Anyway we stopped off at a cafe for a cuppa and a sandwich I bought her a ham sandwich and she said in a loud voice "this isn't pig is it" I must confess I lied :embarassed: :embarassed: and said "No it's ham" :embarassed: :embarassed: From then on it was hard to get her to eat meat, chicken or fish. In the end I thought she obviously knows her own mind (and I was sick of wasting food because she wouldn't eat it) and started buying her meat free and Quorn products.

:flowerforyou: Barb I think there's a naked bike ride in York next month. It will be ok if the weather is like it is today :laugh: but if the weather is cold we might see some blue bits - I SAID BITS :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

:flowerforyou: Went shopping earlier this morning, but couldn't find any bargains in the charity shop :frown: went to the £1 shop and bought some cleaning products and also bought a birthday card for No 1 son Paul. He's my only son, but I've always called him No 1 Son.:laugh:

:flowerforyou: Weight still sticking at 10 stone 7lb. I am feeling quite determined today to cut back on snacking and up the exercise to give myself a kick start. So, with that in mind, I'll get some housework done and get some washing on the line while the sun is shining.

Take Care everyone :flowerforyou:

Viv
PS Thanks Barb for reminding me to drink my water, read your post about your new flask and went to fill my water bottle and drink
PPS Welcome Barbiecat1 and LHNichol

Just a quick hello from the French Alps. We have had a week of practically non stop rain and then woke yesterday to a light covering of snow. It's hard to believe that we ran in shorts and t-shirts last Sunday and it was really hot. We have been lucky though as we are on the other side of the Alps to that terrible flooding which cost so many poor people their lives.
I haven't been quite so good this last week - something to do with comfort eating because of the miserable weather :blushing: . I will try and get back on track.

Hope you are all doing well

:flowerforyou: Hi! Stopping to read posts and get back into the habit of logging my meals. We have had company every weekend of the summer so far. That is good though, because we live in the middle of nowhere and we don't get company as a general rule. Several of the kids have been home and we have had some friends stop in as well. It's always good to have the opportunity to be hospitable. A good thing for the kids to learn. I found a water bottle that I like and so am getting back into the habit of drinking my 8 glasses of water too. Welcome to each new fitness pal! Have a good day!:flowerforyou:

Happy Monday to all!:flowerforyou:

Welcome to all the newbies in the group!:happy: I hope you treat this new journey as …just that…. A new journey! When I started last August I named my profile “A New Day” and I should have named it “A New Life”! :flowerforyou: Awareness is key, as has been mentioned. I track all the time, even….and especially on…. bad days.:grumble: Exercising, and for me it’s the treadmill, is like brushing my teeth…..I do it as often as I can, which for the most part is everyday! :bigsmile: I always say, do you question if you should brush your teeth or take a shower every day? :huh: Well healthy eating AND EXERCISE.. has become just as important! It’s simply part of my daily routine! I finally came to realize that as long as I was doing diets…well…they have a beginning and ending! Not this time! I take it one day at a time, try to make healthy choices in my eating, keep the junk food out of my house, drink lots of water, exercise, track what I’m eating and “Let Go…and Let God”.:bigsmile: I feel like a new person!:happy: I actually don’t mind going shopping for clothes now because I have so many choices! I now can call the “”Trying” room (where you try on clothes)….by it’s rightful name and NOT the CRYING room as I used to!!!:laugh:

It’s really quite simple…..As you track, you find out those foods that are horribly high in fats, calories, salt etc and then you get to make a decision. Is this food worth keeping me in a place that I hate? If no, you choose something else. Then little by little you weed out the “naughty” foods :devil: and start making better choices! :drinker: :drinker: If you screw up, you say …..oops…:ohwell: and get back to making better choices the next time.:flowerforyou: NO ONE IS PERFECT but we can all be winners in the long run when we get the long term monkey off our back and live for today!!! Most of us have one foot in yesterday and one foot in tomorrow and we’re “piddling” on today!:noway: :laugh: Today is it!! :happy: Make it a good one! And before you know it….all the todays turn into a week…then a month….then a year….and voila…you have a new you! :flowerforyou: And all you ever did was concentrate on today!

I don’t mean to preach, but I can’t believe I’ve lost 50 lbs by doing just that!:blushing: Also, because I like to go out and eat and have a drink….I still do it…..just with healthier choices. :happy: If you give up a lifestyle you enjoy to be a diet martyr ….you’ll cave in.:noway: But when you’re enjoying life:bigsmile: …and you’re on a winning streak….there’s nothing to change!

This past weekend I’ve been cleaning my daughter’s new house. Very busy!!! I made sure she had fruit, yogurt, almonds etc. in her house. Saturday I let myself get real busy, forgot to eat and was ravishing. My daughter had gone to Subways and got a small sub with turkey. I ate it and then figured…:noway: OMG I must have killed my calories.:noway: BUT, when I figured in the rest of the day…all the exercise….etc..I was UNDER my calories for the day. :bigsmile: This is where tracking is so important. Sometime the “bottom line” is bad…..but on the otherhand….sometimes it’s better than you think! So track, track track!


Just a mention about abusive behavior. I like what Terrie said about part of the problem being ignorance. Some people have no idea how hurtful they can be.:huh: I’m so sorry for any one who has ever been abused in ANY way.:smooched: Each one of us is an unrepeatable gift….and we should treat ourselves that way.:flowerforyou: Dr. Victor Frankle (probably not spelling his name correctly) had a great outlook. When he was in a prison camp during WWII, and they had stripped him of his clothes and took his watch…he maintained that what they COULDN’T take from him….is his choice in HOW he would react to it all! So powerful….and so true!:flowerforyou:

Oh well….got to go! Working today, but tomorrow back to daughter’s house to clean and paint!


Have a great day!:happy:

BirdieM