WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JULY

Kackie,

To quote, all you do, regardless of whether you are using pc or Mac, is go to the post you want to quote. In the lower right corner of that post see the option that says "quote." You left click on it and it will appear in a posting window just like the one that appears when you click "reply." You will see what is quoted and above the words you will see [ quote ] (without the spaces ahead of the q and behind the e), and at the end of the words you will see [ /quote ] (without the spaces ahead of the / and behind the e).

If you start typing your reply AFTER the [ /quote ], your words will appear outside the blue highlighted background that the website puts behind a quote. You can also quote by simply typing the exact characters I showed WITHOUT the spaces, at the beginning and the end of the words you want in a quote and it will appear as I have described. The brackets are the lower case ones to the right of the "p" key on a standard keyboard, and the slash / can be found as the lowercase character on the ? key.

Hope this makes it easier for someone.

BTW, I did hit the food festival. I had some broccoli beef and some noodles, a decaf coffee, one mini donut, and a small piece of "Grandma's" Cherry Pie--still warm from the oven. I haven't tallied the damages, but I am planning at least 5 miles before the day is over, so it will all even out.

Mai Li is back home. The vet has said she has healed up nicely, but he can't do anything about her mule-ishness!!:laugh: :laugh: :ohwell: I had my neighbor with me when I got her, since we went to the festival together, and she was as good as gold about being placed in the car in the back, instead of "her" seat in the front passenger side. She came home and drank a big drink of water and is now passed out on the cool kitchen floor. The other two are passed out also- one next to me in the chair and on the ottoman.

BFN

Barb

HA! Well, I got PART of it right!?! I intended to quote only the first paragraph, Barb, and then thank you. Obviously, I need to practice this. Can you tell I don't have much going on this Saturday night? DH gets home tomorrow and I am just taking it easy tonight. We had a wonderful thunderstorm and it has cooled off so I might go out for a stroll.

THANKS for trying to help, Barb. I can do lots of creative things with photos and artwork with my computer but I never used it in any kind of business way so there is a lot that I do not know!!

Sorry, everyone, for taking up so much space today! Kackie

msh/Mary - have a great vacation! You're lucky you found that mouse. Our first cat one time brought in a field rabbit. Only it wasn't dead. A few days later there was this terrible smell. Nothing I did would get rid of that smell and we couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Well....a few weeks later Vince was moving the buffet in the dining room and saw the rabbit - dead - behind the buffet. Now we knew where that smell was coming from!

tiarapants/Amanda - do you mix the edamame in with the hummus or have them both separate? Sounds good, I've never had it that way. ouchie about your head!

Welcome Eli William!

Looked at the map of the US regarding the temps. All across the US it was orange (meaning in the 90's), except for the areas that were in red (100's). I don't ever remember seeing the ENTIRE US one color

I tried the recipe calculator yesterday. Cool. Now if we could get some sort of graph/pie chart/something that would tell us what percentage of our calories each day were from carbs/fats/proteins, things would be that much better

One of our cats likes to lay on top of the TiVo. Someone suggested (and this makes sense) that its a lot like the mother, warm, humming noise

Peggy - emotional and boredom eating are my downfalls, too. Welcome!

Erica - welcome! SuzyQ gave me this suggestion, I was (and still am) really bad about sugar. She suggested taking some apple cider vinegar. Sure squelched my desire for sugar. The cravings subsided, I would say in a few weeks. I still have the occasional slip-ups, but no where near as bad as before. You've found the best group there is (and I'm not biased, mind you). My cousin used to live in Torrance!

Did 45 min of yoga today, just can't get there at 7 a.m. so I just got in late. Then I did 1 hr on the Stairmaster today (Fri). Tomorrow, the Y is having some sort of swim meet which translates into "parking will be a nightmare" so I'll just do a yoga DVD at home. Then, the Hallmark Christmas ornaments are coming out so we'll go to the mall for them.

chicklet - awesome post to Erica. Absolutely awesome. Vince will only eat Yoplait Thick and Creamy Key Lime yogurt. Personally, I like most of them, but that's the only one he'll eat. I do like the texture of these thick and creamy yogurts.

innanada - trust me, you'll learn lots and lots. If you're stumped on something, just ask and someone will answer, that's for sure.

mimi - when you put your asparagus in the oven to roast, do you put any oil or something on them? I sometimes find asparagus to be a bit on the "bland" side, but I'm not crazy about adding oil or butter. I've only steamed them. Will roasting them increase the flavor without having to add oil? Have you ever used lemon juice on them? I wonder how that would taste? You know, I never thought of the fact that MFP doesn't track servings of fruits and veggies. That would be helpful. Isn't it just so frustrating when you see something in the store that is "low fat" or "healthy" and then you look at the nutrition label and see that the sugars are so high? When mfgrs take out the fat, they have to replace it with something to keep the flavor, and it's usually sugar or sodium. Lately, I've tried avoiding the fat-free, sugar-free stuff because that only means that it was made in a laboratory and something replaces that flavor. Like Michael Pollen says ""eat food, not too much, mostly plants" You know, "Food Rules" is the only book by Michael Pollan that I haven't read as yet. I've wondered about Food, Inc. Wasn't sure if it was a movie or some special for TV. Now I know it's a documentary. I just may have to order it (and gee...I want free shipping so I guess I'll just have to order some more exercise DVD's....lol. Life sure can be tough!)

2201953 - when my scale gets stuck, what seems to help me is if I decrease the intensity of my exercise (or time). Can't hurt, huh? Also, I have to watch my sodium, especially in the summer. I'm surprised at how high in sodium some things can be. I do think that for some reason the water weight is retained more in summer than winter, at least it does for me. I really don't worry too much about the sugars from fruits. Many times I do go over on the carbs/sugars, but knowing that's from the fruits I don't really have a problem with it. I can easily fall into the trap of eating refined sugar. For me, SuzeQ's suggestion of having apple cider vinegar whenever the urge strikes really helped squelch that desire

BC1 - I'm with you, I don't like artificial sweeteners either. I used to use them all the time in my tea, then one day I decided to use regular sugar. I was really surprised to find that the sugar didn't really sweeten the tea. Then it dawned on me (duhhh....) that the artificial sweeteners are sometimes as much as 600% sweeter than regular sugar. No wonder the regular sugar wasn't sweet to me! Now I actually prefer to have my tea without any sugar (or cream). I did get a free sample of Crystal Light Pure Fitness. The ingredients list rebiania as the sweetener. I think that's stevia. I'll give it a try. What's the worst that can happen? I got three samples, and if I don't like it, I'll donate the other two. I'm not a vegetarian, I'm just not crazy about red meat. I'd rather have chicken, but veggies are my ultimate fav. This is my season...fresh veggies and fruit. The other day I bought a cantaloupe at the food store. It was touted as being local. Boy, am I disappointed. It's so unflavorful

tcac/Amanda - Wow! That was wonderful reading about how your dress for the shower was loose. You're on your way now!

Welcome fancyfit!

Welcome bjbowling. That's just awesome that you quit smoking. From what I understand (I never did smoke), that's one of the hardest things to do. You've come to the right place for inspiration, motivation, and just getting things off your chest.

kackie - I know that at least for me, sometimes it's so hard to tell changes in someone when you see them lots. They are much more pronounced when someone doesn't see you for a long time. Great way to celebrate!

I think you're right...word HAS gotten out about how great this group is.

Barb (weaklink) - good to know that our cat isn't the only animal who loves Pill Pockets and thinks they're a treat. Actually, once the bag is opened, they do tend to dry out so you might as well give them as treats sans pills while the bag is open

Did 45 min of a yoga DVD today (Sat). I saw this nice ornament that I wanted, but when I got to the store I found out it was only available to Hallmark Ornament Club Members. I'm not about to pay $25 just so I can get the one ornament. So I got another one with the year. See, every year we get one that has the year on it. I figure by the time we're married 50 years, I'll be able to decorate my tree with an ornament from every year.

Going to do a Leslie Sansone 5 mile walk tomorrow.

Have a fantastic evening everyone!

Michele

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: Welcome to all new comers! And there are a lot of you!:laugh:

Laura--Congratulations on your new grandson! He is adorable! My older grandson was adopted by a wonderful couple so i am still new at this grandmothering thing. I love it! I get to give the baby back when he cries or needs a diaper change! :laugh:

Mary--That recipe sounds good. I'll have to try it come payday. Have fun on your vacation!

Chiclet--I just this week discovered the Yoplait Thick and Creamy yogurts! You are SO right--they are MUCH better than the others. Unfortunately my family thinks so, too! Now I need to get more.:ohwell:

I have been enjoying the cat stories as I am a cat person. Our current cat, Krispy (yes, my daughter named him after a donut!) thinks that anytimt anyone is in the kitchen they should be getting him a treat! of course we have found out that he LOVES cantaloup and squash among other veggies and fruit. He prefers the water in the tuna can to the tuna and refuses to eat the chunky type of wet cat food. He'll only eat the mushy stuff. (He eats his dry food just fine.) He will only drink running water so he has a little fountain to drink from.
He's an inside cat who wants to be an outside cat--until he actually manages to get out! He doesn't really like it out there and is usually back at the door within 5 minutes wanting to be let back in (unless someone tries chasing him--then it becomes a game!).

I still have lots of posts to catch up on but really wanted to check in AND let you all know that my ticker is (FINALLY) correct again! It's been wrong since I quit smoking in April but the weight is starting to slowly inch down again!:happy:

I hope you all have a great weekend! Be happy and healthy!

To all the newcomers, wow! There are a lot of you. This really is the best site you could come to for encouragement and motivation.

Kackie, those compliments are so sweet to hear aren't they? Good for you for earning them.

Michele, we're on the same page when it comes to what we like to eat and for disliking the added sugar and salt in the so-called diet foods. They're so bogus.

Kathy, fantastic job getting back to your pre-smoking weight. I'm proud of you.

Renny, great approach to lunch. You sound so happy. I'm glad for you.

I've accomplished absolutely nothing today except to catch up with MFP posts (that feels good) and to stay out of the heat. It's way too hot out there. I'll head to church tomorrow. It's new to me and I think I'll like it. I have been hoping to find a place I'll fit into since I got up here (many years ago!) Might just go to the gym after church. I haven't forgotten about signing up for Zumba or Yoga. Need to be more social!

Eastindian - I am also 55/55. Love the idea pf getting back to my old self - even though it will take me back 25 years!
Went to a wedding today and, even though I had cake, stayed under goal!!

Erica q--It has to be the apple cider vinegar. You can get it in the health food store or nutrition section of your grocery.

Barbiecat--Thanks for the update on Rose (LaurelFisher). I was the one who mentioned a few days ago that she seemed to have disappeared. I am glad to know everything it okay.

Kackie--You obviously have figured out how to use the quote function. The last thing I need to explain, apparently, is that once you have quoted something, if you want to eliminate part of the text, just go in and edit it the way you would if you had just typed something. You can highlight what you want to eliminate and right click and choose cut from the menu that appears, or you can put your cursor where you want it to be and backspace to erase the things you don't want to include. Just be sure you don't erase any of the [ quote ] or you will end up with plain old un-highlighted text that doesn't look like a quote.

Welcome to all the newbies. I can't keep up.

I am fading fast, so good night all.

Barb

Good morning all.

Wow, have I got a headache!! I'm not sure if it's from the bump on my 'noggin' or it's just the weather affecting me. As normal I slept really badly too, which never helps.

I'm planning on taking it fairly easy today as far as exercise goes, even though my 'gym' is now set up really well. I've got my dvd player in front of my treadmill, but it can also be switched round so I can use it for my exercise dvds. One wall now has all the charts and posters that came with my various equipment. The only thing that I still want to get is an iced water cooler. Once that's done I will be all set. It would be nice to go to an actual gym sometimes, but I know that I will use my home gym and the equipment I bought is all professional, gym quality.

We will be going over to see my sister for a while this afternoon. The school that her two younger children go to is having a fete and then my sister is having a 'back to her place' afternoon. My dad isn't feeling up to going, the heat is really affecting him. Plus he is convinced that there will be a thunderstorm later today (there probably will) and he is terrified of them. When he was a child he saw his scout master get struck by lightning and has been scared witless about storms ever since (not surprising really).

This evening we are having Bobby, my step-grandson, to stay over. He's ten and is visiting from the States (Ohio) for the summer. I hope he'll be ok, he's never stayed with us overnight before.

All the talk of cats and dogs made me think of a cat that my mum had. It's name was Sussie (such a sweet name, such a vicious cat!) When I used to visit my parents, I used to have to take a cushion with me into the bathroom because the cat would wait outside for me and hiss and attack! It was completely batty! The vet gave my mum some valium to feed to Sussie before visits as she would go ballistic and attack the vet and assistants. The only time the cat was calm and sweet was when you were feeding her. She would purr and wind in and out of your legs whilst you were filling her bowl. As soon as the food was down for her, she would swipe your legs with her claws! Poor cat obviously had deeply rooted psychological problems.

Mum also had a house rabbit. It was HUGE! For some reason bunny was called B*stard. I think that was my mum's weird sense of humour. The rabbit would follow her all around the house and would sit at her feet when she was on the sofa. One time, my mum was wearing loose culottes and she had a habit of sitting with one foot tucked underneath her bottom and the other foot on the floor. Anyway, after a while she stood up to find that the darling bunny had eaten a hole about the size of a side plate in the leg of her culottes! She hadn't even noticed.

It also ate the bottom of her curtains in her bedroom. Come to think of it, maybe THAT was where it got it's name from!

Michelle, I normally put a dollop of hummus on top of the edamame. Yummy!

I've started adding some Oatly oat drink to my morning shake. It's actually quite delicious! I mix it with a probiotic yoghurt drink. All good stuff and it seems to fill me up quite nicely until lunchtime. I really can't face breakfast, so the healthy shake seems to be my best option at present. I'm not sure what I will do next weekend when we are staying in a hotel in York. I'll take some food with me and just go with the flow.

Time to stop typing and start moving!

Have a good Sunday.

Amanda x

good morning all,

Yesterday we finally attacked the killer garage. I mean it was litterally full to the brim with crap. We made a run to the dump getting rid of trash, then we made a run to the charity truck with box after box of donations that had made it out to the garage but no further. Now we are down to the boxes of stuff that need to be looked thru and decisions made and a whole bunch of 'garage sale' items. I will then need to have a garage sale. It felt really good to get a start on such a large project. oh and I was under 150 yet again today. Now if I can just keep it there until Friday!!!

Jackie - the story made me chuckle. Thanks.

Amanda - I hope your head feels better

Erica - yep the best way to avoid triggers is to not have them around. but good for you staying within your goal.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/83045-apple-cider-vinegar-helps-conquer-carb-cravings
this thread will help explain some of the apple cider vinegar

Barbiecat - thanks for the Rose update.

There are so many posts it is hard to keep up. I hope you are all doing well. Hve a great day.

I loved all the cat stories! What a riot and I’m glad I was sitting down. The rabbit story was halarious too.

GutNBut update - I'm averaging 5-7 days a week and I'm up to the higher level marching. I'm doing 30 reps on the marching and pelvic lifts and only 20 reps on the other two. My clothes fit better and I bought rafting shorts in a size 10! The 12s literally fell off in the changing room. I will keep up the every day until mid August when I plan to drop down to 3xs a week.

Rafting update - We are going to buy some of the pictures of our group and adventure today and when we get them, I will upload them. You really can't see us with the helmets and lifejackets, but you will get the idea and you can see the smiles. Our guide hit every rock in the river (it seemed that way) and we all got dunked. DD's dunk was pretty scary, but we are all OK and will do this again next year. I can say that I will not use the same guide again. The other rafts in our group did not loose anyone or hit more than a few rocks. I don't think it was our rowing as hubby and I are both experienced at these kind of things.

I wish I could put the size 10 shorts in bold, but since I can't I've just repeated it. lol Yes, it is a size I have not seen in 16 years.

I over ate but because hubby's cousin was so excited when we stopped by to use the bathroom and get dry clothes on, that he ended up feeding us. He cooked and let's just say that it was not lowcal food and I couldn't hurt his feelings. It was how and what he cooked and not a pig out.

Welcome to all the newbies! Happy Sunday to all.

This post is long enough, so I will end it here and save my horse story that all the cat stories reminded me of for another day.

Jeannie