WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JULY

Well, I don't quite have everything done for the trip tomorrow, but I'm close, and too tired to continue, so I'm calling it a day. I will probably get on just long enough in the morning to read anything you all post overnight, as that is pretty much my habit when I get out of bed, but won't have time to post.
My plans? My husband, my 5 year old grandson, and I are going to camp for 7 nights near Taos, NM and see the sights around there. Then we will move to Mueller State Park, west of Colorado Springs, CO, for 4 more nights. The Enchanted Circle of NM and the Springs area of CO are two of our favorite vacation spots. We will be joined in NM by 2 daughters, 2 nieces, and their families. Colorado will just be the three of us, and we plan to take the grandson to the North Pole while we are near Pikes Peak. We haven't actually been to Mueller before, so I am looking forward to a new favorite.
You probably won't hear from me again until about the 23rd, but know that I am out there, having a great time, and occasionally thinking of you! Here's to smart choices!

Barbie-

Your story about the "missing" cat, the food dish and the spoon reminds me of when we had my Siamese cat, Samantha, AKA "molecatcher extraordinaire":bigsmile: She like to hide out in the house, and it was a big house, so there were lots of nooks and crannies. After I wandered the house calling her to no avail, my mom got smart and simply went in the kitchen and ran the can opener. Result: The "Incredible Re-appearing Cat" arrived in the kitchen in record time!!!:laugh: :laugh:

Mary,

Your trip sounds ambitious, but fun. We will look forward to hearing all about it when you get back.

Newbies,

Welcome. :flowerforyou: We are always available to offer support, a laugh, answer a question. Chiclet, you are very courageous to share your story with us. You have made great progress.:drinker: :drinker:

It is late, and I have an appointment at 9am to take two of my three pesky little doggies in for a vet checkup. Mai Li appears to be doing better, as far as her back pain is concerned, and I HOPE Bradley will show a weight gain, as I have been just about standing on my head to get him to eat. Pepper doesn't need a checkup, but he will come along for moral support, and because he is a big wussie who doesn't like to stay home alone!!:noway: :laugh: :laugh:

Have a good weekend all.

Barb

I’ve just spent the past 2 hours trying to catch up with the posts. We ARE prolific posters. (Or, as Barb correctly says, gabby! :laugh: ) I have missed you so much but have to give up on responding personally to each of you.

I would like to say “Welcome” to all the newcomers. You have come to an amazing place for motivation and reinforcement of new attitudes and habits related to eating and exercising. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

I spent the first day back from Nevada babysitting my two granddaughters then had my two grandsons overnight and all day. They are whippersnappers and then some. The boys and I went swimming today. Matthew (9 years old) laughed at how my legs “waved” around in the water.

It was an opportunity to teach him about not laughing at people because you might hurt their feelings. That’s another way of saying Grandma almost cried! :sad: Little monster. I don’t like the saggy skin (paying for plastic surgery may be reason enough for going back to work, 'though probably not) but I’m proud to have lost the weight.

***

Chicletgirl, I got a lap band 9 years ago. I wouldn’t do it again. If someone has what it takes to eat healthfully, she has what it takes to lose weight with OR without the lap band. The lap band flat out won't work if you can't get your eating in line.

I weighed 324 when I got the lap band, lost 80 lbs, then crept back up to 300. (I thought I’d kept off more but, when I checked the records, it was only 24 lbs.) I still have it but don't have the band filled anymore, so don't have any restriction.

I like to eat plenty of volume. I didn't put two and two together before I got the band (there's that screening thing again) but, now that I know I like to eat lots of food, I know that, for me, the lap band (or any other weight loss surgery) doesn’t make sense. :noway: For the first time in my life (and I’ve “succeeded” with many diets, only to regain all the weight plus some each time) I’m loving what I’m eating and never feel hungry or as if I were on a diet. The bonus is that I’m losing weight doing it. :happy:

Another bonus is that I’m much more cheerful and rarely get down in the dumps anymore. That used to be a regular occurrence. Quite often, the few times I have found myself feeling blue, I've realized I haven't eaten veggies that day. Kind of weird, but true.

I eat lots of veggies and fruits. Up until last January, I thought I didn’t like them! That's when I started roasting fresh veggies in a hot oven. Usually at 475 for 15 minutes (less for asparagus, which is a fave of mine). They’re also fabulous grilled on a barbecue. They’re a whole different animal…well…veggie...than steamed veggies and way different from anything that starts out frozen or canned.

My dad was a staunch supported of the Clean Plate club. When I think back to when I was a kid and the many times I sat at the dinner table trying to choke down cold (because it took me so long to eat them), previously frozen, peas, I have an idea of why I didn't like vegetables! Covering them with catsup helped a little but not enough. And the dog wouldn't eat them!

It’s funny, I eat pretty close to the recommended daily servings of fruits and veggies, but so many people don’t. We often think “portion control.” But, how often do we think about whether we’ve eaten ENOUGH fruits and veggies? If our kids focused on getting ENOUGH fruits and veggies (before they chowed down on fast food), we'd have a lot fewer overweight and unhappy kids.

Tracking what I eat in MFP has been a revelation to me. I’m much more aware of nutrition and how exercise affects the number of calories we can eat. However, the one thing it doesn’t track is how many fruits and veggies we’re eating. I aim for 3-4 servings of fruit and 4-5 servings of veggies. Truly, that’s within the recommended amount! When you eat the veggies, especially when you eat them BEFORE you eat anything else, it’s amazing how your willpower increases!

Can you tell you’ve touched a chord with me? I’m so happy for this new way of eating and for all the supportive people in this group.

***

Laura, welcome to baby Eli! Babies are awesome! So sweet. Being a grandma is awesome too (most of the time!!)

***

Mary, I know you’re on vacation now, but your story about the cat bringing in the mouse reminded me of when I had maybe 30 people in my church singles group sitting in a circle in my family room when, in through the pet door and into the center of the circle, marches my cat, proudly carrying a poor little mouse. Still living. Eeek!

***

Barbara, there seems to be a lot of that going around (an extra pound or two…or so), I’m glad you’re back on track. Having veggies handy will help a lot.

***

Jackie, my prayers for your dad. Thanks for the poem. I’m still laughing!

***

Robin, I love thinking of you out in the sunshine on skates! You are so dedicated when it comes to exercise and what you eat. You inspire me.

***

Good night to all my friends. I've missed you a lot. I'm glad to be back and reading your posts. Thank you for helping me stay on track. :flowerforyou:

I need some encouragement. The scale has been stuck for the last month. I've read all the posts about eating and I really feel I am eating healthier than ever. I have upped my exercise, drink my water, but the scale doesn't want to move. Any suggestions? I have lost 12 lbs since March, but the last few weeks nothing is happening. I have 20 - 30 more pounds to go, but may just be happy I'm not as big as I was. My family is all going to be home this next week which will mean lots of cooking, eating out, and snacks around - I wish things had been going better so I would have more stamina going into this coming week and a half! I'm really afraid I will gain back what I have lost!
How do you get less sugars? If I eat my fruits, I am always over. I also struggle getting all of my potassium. Suggestions?

:bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: Eli William joined us yesterday at 4:58pm MST weighing in at 7.4 and 19 1/4" long. I was put in charge of getting the computer set up to Skype my son in to the birth and it took us 3 hrs working over the phone with me going everywhere possible to get it to hook up...finally did with 45 min left before Eli was born. He was supposed to be born in a water birth...he was born bath tub! Really cool birth.

More later...I have to get to work.

Laura

There are more pictures on my profile!

Congradulations! Glad to hear all went well.

Jeannie

Welcome, Fancy!

I went to Jekyll Island yesterday and walked for an hour. The temp was extremely HOT, but I walked in the edge of the surf and felt wonderful.:happy:

:flowerforyou: after my detour from my familiar eating yesterday, it was such a joy to open my food diary this morning to a blank page and know that regardless of yesterday's trek into bread and cheese land, I could return to the familiar today:bigsmile:
:flowerforyou:

Good one Barbie. I liked the blank page today. :flowerforyou:

Rebel

I am a newbie to this site. I have read the posts and it is amazing how motivating all of you are. I am 53 years old. I quit smoking 14 months ago. Today my goal is to eat healthier, exercise at least 3 times per week, and continue losing weight.

2201953 (Maxine), it’s funny how definitions of healthy eating vary. You might want to open up your food log and ask for suggestions. I don’t expect this is you…but….there was one gal (a young one too) on MFP who hadn’t lost weight in several months and was complaining about it because she was “eating so healthily.” Ohmigosh. I looked at her food log and all I saw was soda, fried food, cheese, candy etc. Nary a veggie or a fruit. No kidding. I don’t know how she got the idea that as healthy. This was an extreme case…the most extreme one I know of…but the point works. So many people on here have such good ideas and ways of eating. I’ve learned a lot from them.

BC1, congrats on the weight loss. It’s always nice to “see” it even though you know it’s happening. I’m right with you on the sugar thing. Even a little bit sets up the craving. I get mad about the “diet” foods that are actually high in sugar and perpetuate the craving for more, more, more. The food industry isn’t mad though. They’re happy as clams.

Great link, btw. Very interesting reading. I also recommend a good and very simple book about food: Food Rules – An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan. It’s about $7 on Amazon. You can read it in a couple of hours. I love some of the rules. And they’re easy to remember and you’ll get a laugh out of some of them. Here are a few:

"Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food." (Think yogurt in a tube!)

"Don't eat anything that won't eventually rot...As a rule, things like Twinkies that never go bad aren't food."

“Avoid food products that contain ingredients a third-grader can’t pronounce,”

"Don't buy food where you buy your gasoline. In the U.S., 20% of food is eaten in the car."

"Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk."

An amazing documentary video you can also get on Amazon ($10) is Food Inc. I’ve heard several people say (and it’s true for me too) that seeing it changed the way they think about food. It’s objective, informative, entertaining (in parts), and pretty much incredible. Well worth watching.

EastIndian, happy birthday! You’re giving yourself the BEST birthday present by getting the old you back.

Erica, eating in a healthy way has lifted my mood a lot. It may not be a “cure,” but it can be a support. I’ve been depressed too and spent many hours talking to counselors. I thought Prozac was great (those were the old days) until it turned out I was allergic to it and all SSRI’s (fever and rash – real allergies). My moods evened out after menopause (the one consolation – a big one – about getting older) so I figure hormones were a big culprit. I still tended to be down though. Since I started eating in a healthy way, my moods have been much better. I’m starting to consider myself an “up” person. That’s a never-before-in-my-life-and-I’m-62 kind of thing! I hope you’ll have a similar experience.

Welcome to all the new folks. I think word has gotten out that this is the best thread on MFP. Maybe anywhere. But, then, I’m prejudiced!

:flowerforyou: A very good evening ......I hope you're having a great Weekend so far.

We've had a little sunshine, a lot of wind and a little rain. no wall to wall sunshine!!

:grumble: The scales were the same this morning ....again. Looking again on the bright side ..I haven't gained. Something's got to give soon ...surely. I have duly logged everything down ...even to the one chocolate I pinched from the fridge!!

I managed to gain some calories from a bit of gardening. DH did the main hedge trimming and I went along with the shears to tidy it up and to show him the bits he missed!! :laugh: We have a small secluded garden ...the reason why we bought the bungalow.... but the shrubbery has a tendency to take over. It's at least six foot thick to the boundary fences and a real hideaway for all the birds etc.
:happy: I think we won back a foot of space today! We found some of the garden lights that tried so hard to glimmer through the undergrowth and two footballs the grandkids had given up on.

My Dad's comfortable today .... still a weakness in both legs and still having tests. He is not a good patient, I think!! The nursing staff will have their work cut out!! #2 son who lives in the south of England will be able to visit him Monday ...we're tied up here with mum and will have to find repite care if we need to go down.:grumble: Again sister and brother are not in the country .

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: A big hello to all the "Newbies" ....welcome to this great site. Support from such great ladies ......much better than all the clubs.
Mind you I think you only get out of it what you put in ...so Log and post...log and post!!

It's cheerio from me now. Pills to push and a very confused mum to settle in her bed! :yawn: Each day is like groundhog day!!

Take care and have a good Sunday
Jackie

PS
My hubby and I were having one of those conversation's last night I told him;
"I don't want to be kept alive by a machine and fluids" .
Do you know what he did
Got up off of his seat, unplugged my computer and took my glass of wine off of me!!!!
__________________

Amanda,

Tell your hubby that on your next birthday, you want the diamonds on the collar of the new doggie that you are going to pick out as your birthday present. One of the best things I did for myself, while married, was insist it was time for a pet. I no longer have the husband (for reasons unrelated to pets), but I now have three little pesties :noway: that I wouldn't be without. Though I admit, there are times I wonder what I got myself into!!:laugh:

This morning, for instance, made me wonder. It was time for Mai Li and Bradley to go back to the vet for a checkup. Mai Li has been acting much happier and didn't seem to have any trouble moving around, which means her back is not giving her as much trouble, so I foolishly thought that getting her to agree to be picked up and placed in the car would not be a problem this time. So much for thinkin'.:ohwell: She did her usual, sit down next to the car with her backside underneath the floorboard so I can't get hold of her. I still have all my fingers and both arms because I have learned that if she does this, it is NOT a good idea to try and ignore the obvious and pick her up anyway!!!:noway:

Fortunately, "momma" has her number--she lives for doggie treats. So I removed the other two from the car and put them back in the house, as THEY live for doggie treats too!!:laugh: Then I put her favorite chicken flavored "pill pocket" (sans pill) on the front seat. As soon as her nose began working overtime and she stretched toward the seat, I grabbed her and she was in the car before she knew what happened.!!:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: Then I went back to the house and got the other two, and away we went.

Unfortunately, her shenanigans made us late to the appointment, so she ended up being left as a "drop off" case, and will spend a few hours at the clinic while they work her in amongst the other patients. Bradley has gained about a quarter of a pound, so he is doing ok, and didn't have to stay for further examination. Pepper, who just came along for the ride, distinguished himself by taking a wiz inside the clinic office--not 5 minutes after he had "gone" outside.:frown:

While I was at the clinic, there was a sweet little guy about the size of Pepper laying in his momma's arms in a blankie. He had been attacked by a coyote, and they almost lost him. He had been in the clinic for a few days and was now going home. He looked so forlorn, shaved in several places, stitches. Poor baby. I really felt for him and his human family.

To those with parents who cry "wolf." I have the opposite problem. They tend to not tell me things that I should know sooner rather than later. A couple of lectures later and they are getting better at it. My mom is the worst. When she took that fall in December, it was as she was getting ready for us to go to a Christmas party. Neither she or my dad said a word about it. I picked them up, and when we arrived and she went to get out of the car, she seemed to be having trouble getting out of the seat. When I asked if she was alright, only THEN did I find out about the fall!! She insisted she was going to be okay, but by the end of the night, she could barely walk to the car, and in the end, it took about two months to recover, and about 4 doctor visits in the process.

I came home this morning from the vets and got on the phone to try and find a blueberry pie.:huh: I definitely DON'T need one!!:noway: :bigsmile: However, the son of a friend of mine is having his 16th birthday on Monday, and he informed us last night, he doesn't want birthday cake--he wants a blueberry pie. It took a few calls, but I found one. I have never baked a pie in my life, and this isn't the time to start, so thanks to Fred Meyer's bakery, we have it covered.

I probably should not do it, but there is an "International Food Festival" today in my town, and I never miss a chance to broaden my cultural horizons. I am going to see if I can accomplish with without broadening my "posterior horizons":laugh: :laugh: :laugh: I am going to call it "lunch."

BFN

Barb

EDIT: While I was busy writing the above novella, more posts came underneath Mimi's, so

Amanda, take care of that bump on the head, and in future, keep your head ABOVE the table--it's safer!!:flowerforyou:

Also, I forgot earlier Kackie, you asked:

ANYONE have a way to copy and paste for our newbies? I can't seem to get the hang of that???

Assuming you are using a windows based pc, to copy, place your curser one end of the words you want to copy, and holding it down, slide to the other end, and the words you want to copy will be highlighted. Then using your RIGHT mouse button, with the cursor on top of some portion of the highlighted material, click once. A menu will come up and one of the options is "copy." Using the LEFT mouse button, click on the word "copy." Now you are ready to past the copied material where you want it. Go to that point and click your left mouse button, so the cursor will be blinking in the spot where the material will be placed. Now right click again, and once again the menu will appear. This time using the left mouse button, choose "paste" and the material you have copied will be placed. This works in word processing programs as well as posts on the web.

Now if it turns out what you were really asking was how to show quotes in a post, let me know and I will post some instructions for that next time.

Kackie making your food diary public doesn't change any of your alert settings. go to settings on the food tab and scroll down to the sharing setting. by making it public, when people click on your profile one of the options they have is to view your diary.

Jackie: Your husband is a Quick Wit!!! I am still laughing!!!

Weaklink: I use a MAC so the copy paste isn't the same. I tried the instructions that I googled to do it, but still didn't work. For copy /pasting quotes on this site to post, I would like to know...I'm sure someone has mentioned it before but I guess I didn't pay enough attention.

Barbiecat: Thanks for putting the Gut N Butt out for the newbies. I do think they are great little simple exercises that anyone can do.

Big Thunderstorm heading our way. I love a good storm after a hot day. Take care, all! Kackie

Oh no. I just got invited to a bonfire tonight. I k now there will be drinking and I have just start afresh Thursday with following my diet and cutting out alcohol. I suppose I could just drink diet coke in a glass and no one would be the wiser.

I feel like staying home so I won't be tempted. Then I wil just feel worse for missing the fun.

I have almost no willpower!!!!!

smwert