WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR AUGUST

Just checking in to finally enter my food for dinner and here it is 1:25 am... I got a wild idea to weed a large flower bed after dark tonight and just finished and got cleaned up. Thank goodness for outside lighting. Weird I know but with the temperature around here lately, it made sense to me! :bigsmile:

I need to get to bed so I'll be brief. Really brief actually, as I don't recall who said what when I was on here earlier. It really great we have so many people on this thread but does make it hard to keep up! :noway:

A few thoughts are

Tcac - glad the wedding is all planned out and noone is stressing. The cookie idea sounds like fun. BTW - I am on the east coast in north Florida and I know BC1 is in Florida too. I know there are others too. I don't look to see where people are from very often.

Mimi - I didn't know you had taken bp meds and are now off them. That is just terrific! Cheers to you. :drinker: That is one of many reasons I am losing the weight - staying off as many meds as possible. My bp is now normal and hopefully will get better as I lose more.

Brkbabe - I hope I got your "name" right. I had a friend in IL who spun wool and had a loom. It looked really interesting. What do you make?

Michele - Tomorrow I get my hair colored too but it sounds like you have more fun than I do while there. Butterscotch spice cookies sound yummy.

I'm about to fall off my chair here, so I'll say goodnight to you all.

Faye

Michelle,
Do you use the pineapple in heavy syrup or can you use unsweetened? I take it you have to use the liquid in the can. Was wondering what you used.
Chiclet

...Our friend from Australia arrives in less than 48 hours, so I want to give his bedroom and bathroom a good airing. It will be extremely strange to have someone else living in our house for a month. Note to self - remember to wear clothes at all times!....
Amanda x

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

BTW, my comments in regard to housework are:
1) "When I am on my deathbed, I seriously doubt that I will express regret at not spending more time housecleaning."
2) from a sign in my kitchen " I clean house every other day--this is NOT the other day!" :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Something tells me when I have to get up in about 4 hours, I won't be laughing. Unfortunately, I am still not asleep and I had planned to leave here about 10 a.m. At this rate, my junket might get put off until Friday.....

Barb

Just wanted to post this pic of DD#2's wedding as it's her tenth anniversary today. It was such an amazingly happy day and my daughter was serene and beautiful (as always) every moment of it. The guy on the left was Simon, their best man. He was an absolute star and sadly passed away the day before my other daughter got married. We all miss him, he was seriously handicapped all his life but had the most amazing personality and the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known.

So I raise a glass (imaginary!) to Mr & Mrs von Slack on their anniversary and a second glass to Simon - the best of best men.

Amanda x

Good morning all. I have GOT to stop drinking water so late in the day. I am still sleepy this morning after getting up 4, count 'em, 4 times in the night. Aaagh.
I have an appointment this morning. Talk to you more later.
xx

Just wanted to post this pic of DD#2's wedding as it's her tenth anniversary today. It was such an amazingly happy day and my daughter was serene and beautiful (as always) every moment of it. The guy on the left was Simon, their best man. He was an absolute star and sadly passed away the day before my other daughter got married. We all miss him, he was seriously handicapped all his life but had the most amazing personality and the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known.

So I raise a glass (imaginary!) to Mr & Mrs von Slack on their anniversary and a second glass to Simon - the best of best men.

Amanda x

A touching tribute! Very beautiful couple...and a man...who sounds like he WAS the BEST!:flowerforyou:
God Bless
BirdieM

:flowerforyou: Happy Thursday,

RedHairedChilli - What a good attitude

Amanda - it's amazing when we realize how important our exercise is and when we miss we really do feel like our day is out of wack

Lianne - so glad you are able to access MFP from your ipod, isn't technology wonderful? Hope your prep time before your November knee surgery is all that you need it to be.

Mimi- if you didn't post a long one I think we would wonder if you weren't feeling well:sick: We are always glad to hear from you

Mimi & BirdieM - But aren't you glad you do get your water in:drinker: Maybe a 15 min nap is in order I always look at the more I run to the bathroom the more of me(that I don't want around) is being flushed away

Kackie- I understand what you say when you talk about how busy you are with all the things that keep you from a regular routine, it seems to happen every summer when visiting family and friends as well as those side trips Keep being active and it will all work out.

Jackie- so sorry to hear about your "duck egg blue" laundry. It reminds me of a time when #1 son was about 2 1/2 and I washed and dried a blue crayon,:grumble: I had blue bits of wax in all kinds of clothes and no amount of washing or bleaching would get it out...boy did I learn my lesson abut double checking the clothes before they go into the wash

Linda- the wedding plans continue to look like they are running smoothly and that you are on top of all of it, good job:flowerforyou:

Bec- I loved your 4 point :grumble: and :happy: give me a moment to pause and think not sure what I'd come up with....

lambocj- Welcome this is a great place to get encouragement :flowerforyou:

kathy(pmj'smom) - the country fair sounded like fun, as far as I know we don't have anything like that here, although we do have a weekly flea market that's pretty good.

Barbie - everytime you post your ticker inspires me:drinker: thank you for being a success at this new life style.

Michele- glad that that birthday party worked out for you and thanks for the receipe , i love angel food cake and pineapple so I will give that one a try.

Amanda- it was soo good to read about how your weight loss and changes in eating and exercise has changed how many medications you are taking I'm sure that the doctor will be very pleased and will keep my fingers crossed that next year he will see clear to take away the last of you bp meds. :drinker: :drinker: in honor of your daughter's anniversary and :drinker: another for Simon:drinker: :drinker:

Barb -:laugh: :laugh: loved your housework comments....dido for me

Debieanne- lucky you getting to have a 4 yr old to keep you on your toes, I do so love when my GS comes over, i always feel like i get in extra exercise on those times

laniv- congrats on the loss of inches and three pounds is nothing to sneeze at:flowerforyou:



******

Yesterday I started experiencing my Miniere's (inner ear out of wack) so was feeling a bit dizzy late yesterday afternoon and evening. The commute home was very slow do to the heavy rains so by the time I got home Hubby said we were going out to dinner to Red Robin I had a grilled blackened salmon lettuce wrap which was very good, but according to their web site still too many calories even though I took off one of the salmon patties. When we got home I went to bed with my medication and now today it's still there but I couldn't afford to take time off work because of how much work there is to do, if I can just make it to the weekend then I can sit still on saturday and hopfully it will pass, the dizzies some times make me nauseaous but I fight that as much as I can.

It was hard not getting in my exercise, but being dizzy I probably wouldn't have been as effecive anyway.

Hope everyone has a good day, this is looking to be a good month for all of us....I'm sure

Laura

PS no I'm not competing with Mimi for longest post...just seems to happen over the course of a morning when you go back and read what everyone is doing that it gets a bit long winded:noway:

Good Morning Ladies,
I am really enjoying reading everyone's posts. This is really the group I have been looking for.
Last night I looked over the loom, untangled strings, and put everything back in order. It looks like I am missing a few things but since I only spent $65.00 on it I can see that I didn't get a bad deal.
I will need to retake a class to get reaquanted with my new toy. I haven't woven in 20 years but am planning on making throws and table linens for a start. I have so many hobbies I really didn't need another but.... it does keep me out of trouble, usually.
In October of 1997 I joined a university study group . It was an 18 month study on weight loss. For 25 weeks we would gather on Mondays for a weigh in, they handed out that weeks topic, discussed any challenges everyone had and how we handeled it or how we could have handled it. This was the best for me. I lost 70 pounds and kept it off for 2 years. Anyway I have dusted off my old folder and an going to read one topic per week .
I can actually skip the first couple of weeks as I am already logging in my food and exercises (that was week one).
Week 2 was motivation. It is an interesting exercise on what motivates you and how to stay motivated.
Week 3 is about healthy food choices. Low fat (no more the 33 grams per day or 20% of daily calories) and high fiber (20 to 30 grams per day) This site track all that so I only need to check that to make sure I am keeping on track. So...
I am starting with week 4 which is physical activity I have read the 100 ways exercise will enrich my life,so I'm ready!!!!
who know maybe the dog will get to get walked daily. to that end I have decided to "walk" to my hometown. I mapquested it and it is 1642 miles away. I will keep track of how far I walk daily and see how long it takes me to get there.
As for my camping week end on the 14th. The girls are great, everyone is supportive and helpful but it is tough to not "taste" the food that is available because everyone is bringing up their signature dishes. one girl always bring taco salad, another brings up tuna salad, another brings up salmon and crab dips and so on and so forth. fruits and veggies are good but it will be a test of willpower. I am in Minnesota the land of hot dishes and comfort foods so the carbs are high.
Well I have rambled enough, I hope you all have a wonderful day and thanks for sharing.
Peggy

Hi Everyone....
I had surgery on my eyes yesterday to take off some of the skin above my eyelashes....now I will be able to see!! especially at night!! I have to lay around and not do to much and I keep getting hungry!! I am trying to stay with eating healthy....yogurt, fruit, peanut butter with wheat bread!

I got on the scale yesterday morning and lost 2 lbs after starting this last week!! than I got on this morning and was plus 5 lbs!!!! I almost fainted!!! A friend of mine who is a nurse said it is because of all the fluids they put in me for the surgery....hopefully I will lose it quickly!! :grumble:

I am going to try and put my glasses on tonight and quilt...that will keep me from eating!! I am making a quilt for a wedding present in November!

Well it is time to put ice on my lids again....have a great afternoon everyone!

Hello Everyone.

Thank you for the many positive comments on the newsfeed about my recent losses. I have decided it is time to share with all of you what I have been doing to get the scale moving. I told Barbiecat about this when we met, but she agreed, I should wait until a little more time passed before putting it out in the open.

As of today, I have lost 12 lbs. since July 19th!!! This morning, when I weighed myself, I have reached what I weighed on the morning of my wedding day in August 1990!!:noway: :drinker: :drinker: This was a number I never thought I would see on my scale unless I was hanging on the towel bar!!!!:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Okay, so now you are all dying to know (or maybe you already do, if you have seen my posts on another thread), so here it is....

I am in my 18th day of using the HCG diet plan. You have probably seen threads about it. There are many who think it is the worst, most dangerous thing they ever heard, but there are many others, including medical professionals, who think it is the best kept secret for taking weight off quickly and keeping it off. I am not going to spend a lot of time explaining the science. There is plenty of info available on the internet with a google search if you are interested.

The program is based on the work of an English doctor who had a clinic in Italy. The manuscript that explains the basic plan is called "Pounds and Inches" and is available free to download from several internet locations. Kevin Trudeau wrote a book "The Weight Loss Cure They Don't Want You to Know About" in which he adds cleansing and other steps to the original plan. All the added things are a bit overwhelming, and I didn't want to spend a month "cleansing" before starting on the weight loss phase, so Iike many others, I am following the original plan.

After an initial period of starting to take the HCG and then eating as much of ANYTHING you want for two to three days--the fatter the better:noway: :laugh: you begin the VLCD (very low calorie diet) portion of the plan, which can last up to 43 days, depending upon how much you have to lose and whether you want to go to the maximum amount of time advised. The reason for the "loading days" is so your body will have some fat reserves to draw on during the first few days of the low calorie phase, which helps you avoid feeling hungry and weak during the first few days.

When I first heard about this, my first thought was, "Well, duh--500 calories a day, of COURSE you are losing, but you will faint dead away from hunger!" I did a lot of reading and researching online, and learned a lot from another MFP member who started the process in June.

The most important point is that this diet is designed to reset your hypothalamus so that your body will work the way a thin person's does--no more gaining 2 lbs. from LOOKING at a picture of a cake!!:drinker: The HCG causes your body to lose stored FAT, rather than muscle tissue, as you would just reducing calories. There are clinics offering this plan with their own twists, and a big pricetag, but homeopathic HCG is available, product that is made in the US under strict standards is available, and many have had success following the plan without a clinic being involved.

I was sick and tired of being "stuck" and I wanted my losing process to get moving again, particularly since I have that family gathering (wedding) at the end of September, so I ordered up some sub lingual HCG (some people do injections, but as far as I am concerned, needles belong in a sewing machine or in a sewing box--not stuck in my body by me!!!)

The weekend of July 18th and 19th was "hog heaven." Saturday morning at Starbucks--a 410 calorie slice of lemon pound cake (they call it pound cake because that is what you will gain if you eat a slice:laugh: :laugh: ), and a full fat mocha (unfortunately forgot to say DECAF, so I didn't get to bed until 1p on Sunday afternoon!!:ohwell: ) Saturday night, A giant hamburger from my favorite riverside venue on Saturday night, along with french fries and a Lynchburg lemonade. When I added up the damages, I had eaten three times the calories I would have normally eaten and consumed about three times the normal amount of fat.:huh: :noway: :laugh:

But I was not done yet--still had to eat my way through Sunday!! In the morning, I met a friend at a new (to us) restaurant for breakfast. I had fried potatoes and a huge omelette with toast. By this time the caffeine was wearing off from the Saturday mocha, so I went home, took a nap, and then I went out for dinner to Olive Garden and had a huge plate of Eggplant Parmigiana, which is served with a side of spaghetti:laugh: I enjoyed every bite of everything I had, but couldn't help feeling strange about eating that much at once--just didn't seem right.

Monday, the 19th, I started the VLCD. The first few days, I was a little lethargic and headachey--normal reaction to getting rid of all the toxins in our bodies from the processed foods we usually eat. I have eliminated a lot of them, but there are still some. By the 4th day, my headaches were gone and I was waking up feeling fine. Never woke up really hungry.

Below are some excerpts of a post I put on an HCG thread that I have been participating in, that will bring things up to the present time:

"Day 18 and have lost 12 lbs. As of this morning, I weigh what I did the day I got married in August of 1990!! A weight I haven't seen since then. I still have at least another 50 lbs. to be at an ideal weight for my height, but at least the scale is finally moving again. :drinker: :drinker: Women usually lose less than men on this program--and every other one, it seems:ohwell: but an average of .6666 lbs. per day means I can expect to be down between 25 and 30 lbs. from where I started by the end of August. That is still much more than I could expect on a "normal" diet plan, so I 'll take it......

After the first week, I find the VLCD...not that difficult to follow. I confess to not being spot on with everything. I had a problem with binging on grissini late in the evening. Now that they are gone, that is no longer a problem. Regular melba toast, or Ak Mak crackers don't have that effect on me. I compared the nutritional values and ingredients of Ak Mak with melba toast, and there isn't much difference, BUT, Ak Mak's don't have any artificial ingredients and all the melba's I could find did.

I also don't adhere to the don't eat after 6p rule, because on my schedule, I don't usually eat lunch until around 2 in the afternoon. I am not usually hungry right away when I get up, so waiting to eat is not a big deal. In the event I am hungry earlier, I will eat 1/2 a portion of the fruit that is allowed. I have also found I do better if I only have the cracker/toast component with my 1st meal and don't have any in the evening. It seems to keep me from wanting to nibble late in the evening....

I am not weak or shaky as one would expect on a VLCD, so I feel like the HCG is having a positive effect. I can't relate personal experience about female hormone changes as I had a full hysterectomy early in 2009. I have continued to take a .5mg dosage of Estrogen since starting HCG. No changes I can see since starting it. By combining my foods carefully, I am able to get 60-70 grams of protein each day.

I also changed my food diary to monitor potassium instead of sodium. I figured sodium is taking care of itself because of the clean foods I am eating. Potassium is important to monitor on a VLCD to avoid any possible issues with heart function. I am taking a potassium supplement, in addition to a multi-vitamin and a resveratrol (anti-oxidant) supplement (since I am over 50), as well as my calcium, magnesium and zinc, and vitamin D. I did stop taking Vitamin E during this program as I read the fat in it can affect the success of the diet.

So, that is where things are. I am not quite halfway through my 1st course, and plan to carry on. I am even confident enough in what I am doing that I plan to visit our county fair--a giant foodfest--on Sunday with some friends. I plan to bring my own food and when my friends want to sit down and pig out, I plan to excuse myself and go find a quiet bench somewhere far away from the smell of curly fries and yakisoba noodles!!!

Good luck to everyone, and to the lurkers and skeptics, I can only say, I was hesitant, but decided there was only one way to find out if would work. For me, the proof is in the results."

So ladies, that is my "confession"--no doubt not everyone is going to be as enthusiastic about this as I am, but I am not concerned about losing quickly under these conditions. After a year of MFP, I know how important is is to stay on track and log foods, and so with maintenance under control, once the weight is gone, I feel it is gone for good. After you go off the VLCD, you can eat as much as you want of anything, BUT no starches or sugars. After a few weeks of that, you SLOWLY add starch and sugar back in, and monitor your weight closely to see what triggers you to gain. If, at any time, you hit 2 lbs. up from your lowest weight, you take immediate action to correct it.

Sorry for the long post, but this is what I have been up to. If I carry on at this rate, I should be down 40 lbs. from when I started, and only be about 30 lbs. away from my goal by the time I have to go to that wedding. That will make me down about 65 lbs. since I last saw my aunt, who saw me at 30 lbs. down, and down about 95 lbs. since everyone else saw me. I don't want to take anything away from the attention focused on the newlyweds, but I have a feeling the bride isn't going to be the only one that people look at twice:blushing:

BTW, I ended up postponing my trip to visit my friend until tomorrow, so that gave me time to stay home and write this book.,

Barb

Amanda:flowerforyou:

Thank you so much for the gut and butt exercises! I will print them out and start using them. Can't wait!! :bigsmile:

I'm not too worried about natural sugars from fruit. The refined kind is a different story. I feel the same way about fat. If it comes from an avocado or salmon or some other good source, I'm not too worried about going over. I don't go crazy either though. I think I could eat a whole avocado easy, and once in a great while do!

Ditto. I try to keep my sweets to the natural kind like fruit and have learned the value of MUFAs as a daily part of my diet. So many things I used to season or saute in butter, I now enjoy using EVOO. I often substitute an avocado or nuts for a portion of meat when I'm dining alone. In case you don't know: MUFAs are an acronym for a “monounsaturated fatty acids” — a class of healthy fats found in foods like nuts and seeds, avocados olives and dark chocolate.

Now I'm off to walk the "girls." I've caught hubby playing with Sophie almost every day so I'm hoping when the lost ad runs out he'll give me the green light to keep her. Until then I'm trying (oh so unsuccessfully) to not get too attached.

chiclet - I use the pineapple in its own juice. I don't think I could stand in heavy syrup! Yup, you use the liquid in the can. It's really easy to make, just dump the angel food cake mix and the canned pineapple, mix like the directions on the box, bake and you're done. And not bad on calories, either. It's light yet filling.

My attitude toward housecleaning? "I'll be dead and buried and the dirt will still be here". That's my motto

Amanda - what a beautiful daughter (and sil) you have! Those flowers that they had are so pretty, nice compliment to the lovely gowns. I've done work in the school district with handicapped kids, and every time I'm just so amazed at them. Nothing keeps them down. I worked with one boy and one day I just thought to myself "dd, you don't know how lucky you are to be able to color within the lines".

laniv - I've had the experience that the weight slows but the body gets smaller. My weight has been around the same for the past couple of years, yet lately I fit into 6 and sometimes 4 shorts/pants.

Well, today was the last session with the personal trainer. Now they do have this schedule where you pay $40 and can attend 10 classes. I might do that, just for variety.

WARNING RANT BELOW
If you don't want to read, just skip this

Friends of ours are going to be moving, so we are going to be giving them a little "going away" party. At first I offered to have it at my house (we have the backs and the seats of our dining room chairs cushioned, and the living room and downstairs have Flexsteel furniture since Vince has back problems). I was thinking.....when I moved I really didn't want "stuff" that I had to store, so they probably don't either. I suggested that we take them for dinner/buffet on this cruise around Lake Norman. Everyone except one gal (the one who's btdy we went to yesterday) was agreeable to the buffet, she was concerned about the cost (the lunch is less expensive). Now the food you get on the lunch cruise to me isn't all that much. Really, if they wanted to, they could have afforded this. Last night her hubby took her out to dinner. Admitted, it was Appleby's but that probably set them back $20-30. Then he had that ice cream cake which I know cost around $30 because I got one for Vince for father's day. The cost of the buffet is about $35/person. I looked at the menu for the lunch. They do have a turkey sandwich which I'll probably get. However, it comes on a croissant so I'll ask for that to be omitted, also the pickle, the cookies, and the chips. They don't have any vegetables that I can substitute for the chips. No fruit for dessert. I only hope that I get a decent amount of turkey. They did say that you can get a house salad, but the gal wasn't sure exactly sure what went into the salad. Now this is the gal who is on the heavy side, yet she's told me not to bring anything to her house "because Bob (her dh) and I are on Weight Watchers" (I've even told her what it was I was bringing, I even figured out the WW points for her). Then she makes a banana cream pie! I brought a basket of fruit and I'm really surprised how many pieces of the fruit were gone. Back to this cruise -- on the buffet there is a grilled chicken and another salmon. To me, that would be so much better. But she's constantly complaining about money, yet she is constantly asking people to her house and not to bring food, which means she has to buy, and, honestly, I don't always like what she likes. She complains that she's overweight, yet you should see what she orders when we go out! I'm writing this here so that I don't say something to her. Now we are to go to this lunch cruise. I understand about finances. But if money is really tight, you just don't go out as much (she seems to always be going out to eat). To me, it's just so frustrating when someone complains about their weight but doesn't do anything about it. she is worried about finances, but when we went to her house yesterday, she showed us these new recliners that she'd gotten.

I know her hubby has heart problems (he just recently thought he was having a heart attack while trimming the bushes). Honestly, I think it would be in their best interest to move to an apt. so her hubby doesn't have to worry about yardwork or repairs. But that's not for me to say. Right now they own a house, but in about 3 years she has never been in her upstairs. A first floor apartment all on one floor to me would be ideal.

mimi - I've been eating veges today, and I was under calories yet I feel so full. Thank you. Just would like ideas for different veges. I've portioned out cauliflower, broccoli, I have carrots.

SuzyQ - wouldn't surprise me if your hubby is getting attached but just not letting you see it.

Tomorrow - spinning

Have a great evening everyone, and thanks for letting me get that off my chest (small as it may be)

Michele