WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR AUGUST

Morning ladies! Hubby is up and out the door and the girls have been fed so now its time for me to get out there in the cool of the morning and burn some calories.

Its been stacking up to be an emotional week, so I was thrilled to learn that my daughter is flying in to surprise her grandmother on her 70th birthday the end of this month. :happy: It will be a quick turn around, her actually only being here 48 hours, but it sure made facing this week my heart is elsewhere a lot more enjoyable. Guess the bottom line is I need something to look forward to. We will be taking family portraits, so I am going to do my best to lose at least 5 pounds between now and then. Its almost 3 weeks away. I haven't lost anything since April, so getting the scale moving again is going to mean another 10 day cleanse I'm afraid.

Good morning ladies It sure is going to be a hot one today. It's not 10am yet and it is already 82 degrees:ohwell: Today is going to a challenge for me also, I am taking my grand daughter, the oldest one, to Mikey D's for lunch, her choice and it is going to be hard for me to pick something healthy because I know once I walk in there and smell those fries, I may cave :laugh: That is going to be my biggest thing, I love their fries :grumble: So, wish me luck :laugh:
I'll get back on here later, I am not in much of a typing mood this morning as I didn't get hardly any sleep last night because of waking up several times in a 5 hr time span:explode: I am super tired. :yawn:

:flowerforyou: Good Tuesday Morning,

Beck- Good job on the bp and ridding yourself of some of your meds, :drinker: here's to seeing you get rid of the rest of them!

Pat- every bit of exercise is good , I know that weather sometimes makes it harder and then it's time to pull out the DVD's for exercise

Viv- thanks for the kudo's for out riding my hubby...but in his defense he did have his hip replaced a year ago this month...but I'm sure that before long he will be out biking me:grumble: 10 min of exercise is a great place to start before you know it it will be 20 then 30 and beyond

Donna56- you started to mow the lawn?:noway: I'm not telling my hubby as he is always pointing out to me whenever he sees a woman behind a lawn mower...that is something I just won't do:bigsmile: I can clean the house but doing yard work NOPE The hubby and I manage to get to MickyD's about every other week but we always get a salad with grilled chicken and the Balsamic Vinegriete Dressing, sometimes I just get a side salad and have one of my Nutrisystem Bars .... I too LOVE:bigsmile: the fries there, fresh out of the fat:noway: ...naughty, naughty:ohwell: so the only time I have them anymore is when we are on a vacation and I allow myself to have them once...hope it works for you today

Michele- you continue to amaze me in how many different exercise classes to attend. I'm pretty sure no one else mixes it up the way you do, that's probably why you are a success at this:flowerforyou:

Chicletgirl- So sorry to hear how blue you are, Sometimes when I feel that way a walk is helpful getting out of the house and just walking and enjoying the neightborhood It's hard to be so far away from your Mom and knowing that no one is visiting and you would if you were there, but know that we care for you here:drinker:

AllisonMO- enjoy that vacation:flowerforyou: sounds like fun!

Erica- :flowerforyou: Yeah You, breaking that 200 mark is HUGH and we are all giving you HIGH '5's'

Amanda - you know I never thought of that, that losing a lot of weight the glasses may just need adjusting

SuzyQ- you can do #5 look how much you have done already! I hear you about family pictures though, with the family home for Christmas I am hoping that I will look okay for them.

pbkfit70- one moment of not watching what's going in isn't going to ruin the hard work, it's when you continue to do it day after day...so tomorrow is a new day and you can begin fresh

*****

Yesterday was a pretty good day all around, but for someone that had the day off (my Hubby) he sure was surly last night and he had a nap yesterday...maybe he doesn't get anymore days off if this is how it's going to affect him.

I am finding that anytime I even consider being truly naughty I remember that I have to log it on here and feel compelled to confess to all of you...that seems to be keeping me on the straight and narrow and for that I say Thank you to all of you:flowerforyou:

Did any of you read the topic about yesterday's TODAY show, they highlighted a woman that had used MFP for her weightloss and the amount of people joining after seeing that was incrediable. Here's the link if any of you are interested in seeing her, she has quite the loss so an inspiration as well

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/38625333#38625333

Hope everyone has a good day, drink your water:drinker: and continue the fight against those unwanted pounds.

Laura

Well this is my third attempt to write to you. I tried last night twice and got the response "You can't send a blank reply". Very frustrating!

I wanted to apologize to you all for sending the post that I did yesterday. I never should have done that, but was pretty low and felt like I was hitting rock bottom. Still its no excuse. I am sorry if I made you worry.

Erika, I did start taking my meds and I also had the good cry which made me feel a lot better. Crying purges alot of pent up emotions thankfully. So glad I am a woman and not a man when it comes to our thinking on crying. You were right to tell me what you did as I had done the same for you. Sometimes a person just needs to be told the obvious because they aren't seeing it. Thank you Erica. Also congratulations for hitting the 100's. H ow exciting and wonderful that must be. I can't wait for the day for that to happen to me. This has been a really rough week and I don't know how I will do on the scale this Frdiay at my doctor's appt. I hope I didn't blow all mu hard work this past month.

Donna also commented on my post personally and I thank her for making me see that things are tough everywhere and all we can do is just get back up, brush ourselves off and trudge on. I am sorry for making you worry also, Donna. but thank you for responding as you did. That was very nice of you.

I am talking to my mother's doctor today to find out what is going on and what will happen with her later. She was only supposed to be there 1 night in the emergency room and now has been admitted and going on her 4th day there. It upsets me that this was how bad my mother was an my brother made her stay down there in room like that for 2 weeks! I am going to see if the doctor can possibly change her pain med from morphine, because she is inocherent and I heard the nurses say she is not cooperating with them sometimes. I know it is the morphine. Yesterday I called her in the afternoon, couldn't reach her and had to ask a nurse to go inot her room and pick up the phone for her. He went down there and did it and gave the phone to my mom. She said "How did you manage to get me a cute guy in my room?" I told her he was a nurse and she promptly told him he was hot! After hanging up from her I called hiim back and apologized and he said not to worry, that it was nice to hear that every once in awhile and he would take it whenever and from whoever he could anytime. Even my grey haired, 76 year old mother!

Once again I am sorry if I worried any of you. Please accept my apology.

Chiclet

Good Afternoon Ladies,
Hot, Hot, Hot here in the midwest. It poured this morning but it is starting to get humid again. Whenever it gets like this I think of the movie Throw Mama from the train "The air was moist"

It sounds like everyone is in a funk this morning, I hope the day gets better for everyone. This weeks lesson isCues in your physical environment for eating and exercise. This will be good for me as it talks about designating an eating place and only eat there. that must be why I get hungry when I am in the car. I eat so often when I am on my way to someplace that my body associates eatting to driving.
The lesson also talks about positive cues for exercise. Things like hanging an exercise calender in a visible place. Leave exercise clothes, shoes or equipment in sight or in your car rather then in a closet.
Leave exercise videos on the tv or on a coffee table.
Lots of paperwork today so I will keep this short.
Hoping you all have wonderful days and I will pop in later if I can.

I’m so tickled by how many of you are saying you’ve tried eating more veggies because of me. Me? Wow. The ripple effect from our actions is amazing. I am exercising more now as a result of hearing from all of you who make exercise an important part of their day. I can’t say I’m lovin’ it yet though! That will come. Right?!

Michelle, Kathy, Viv, Barbara, Amanda, Donna and all the rest of you who are including more veggies and fruits – we are all members of the Healthy Eating Club. (What the HEC?) How’s that for a name? (Vegetable legend? Veggie queen? :laugh: Thank you. I mentioned before that a co-worker used to call me Sister Queen. I loved it. How about Sister Veggie Queen? :laugh: :laugh: I’ll have to let Jan know.)

Donna, the toaster oven is a great way to fix veggies. Just crank the heat up, spritz the veggies with olive oil, and cook on a broiler pan ‘til done. (Be careful with asparagus – it only takes maybe 9 minutes and is wonderful when cooked just right but not worth eating when overcooked.)

Laughed about you thinking they sold fleas at the flea market and Bec thinking VFW stood for Veterinarians of Foreign Wars. The other day, I was putting sunscreen on Olivia (which she doesn’t like) and said, “Just a little on your forearms…” She looked at me condescendingly and said, “Grandma. I don’t have FOUR arms.” (I may have told you about this before, in which case put it down to advancing age!)

Viv, when temptation hits, try loading up on veggies and/or fruits that you love. I sound like a broken record but, truly, the urge to nibble on the stuff you don’t want to eat just evaporates. Gritting my teeth never worked for me in the long run. Sure, I might resist that one time but the next time was harder until, finally, I gave in. Eating veggies and fruits makes the temptation disappear – way better than willpower.

Michelle, you sent me to the ‘net to look up “pissaladiere.” Yum. Anything with anchovies is right up my alley. Anchovies are a huge dividing line – you love ‘em or you hate ‘em. But, I’ll bet most people who don’t, do like them in Caesar dressing if they can’t recognize the bits! BTW, you sound like a marvelous cook!

Susan, thinking of you and hoping you get to keep Sophie. She sounds like a sweetheart. I’m happy for you that your daughter will be flying in. That is something to look forward to. 3 weeks is the perfect amount of time for an extra push on losing weight.

I’d like to have a little dog to take walking but we live in the land of dirt, stickers, and rattlesnakes (sounds lovely, huh? It really is) and I don’t have a fence. So, unless I got an indoor dog, it probably would not be a kind thing.

My DD and family have a Lab/Southern Bulldog. She does fine outside with her electronic fence (but prefers in!) She never crosses her “fence”. But I don’t want a dog that big in my little (750 sq ft) place. I have allergy problems with most dogs that shed, so it’s a poodle or similar type for me. Then you have the problem with stickers and burrs – and grooming. Oh yeah, and Barbara reminded me, the coyotes. Aaargh. This may not be the time to get a little dog.

Robin, your progress is nothing short of amazing. Tremendous dedication!

Smwert, good for you for jumping back in. The water’s fine!

Kackie, Victoria is a wonderful place. I’ve seen pictures of Lake Louise that are incredible. You’re getting lots of good advice. I want to go!

Barbie, your tea party sounds like so much fun. My niece and I went to a huge thrift shop when I was visiting her in Reno. We tried on lots of wonderful “vintage” clothes and hats. I say “vintage” in quotes because it’s all very familiar to me! Remember pillbox hats a la Jackie Kennedy?

Good for you for taking your own lunch to the meeting. You give me so many good ideas - and the courage to try them. You definitely have your priorities right – exercise trumps cleaning any old time.

Barbara, you should write books. Your words are so alive. You always make me laugh too – a good way to start the day. I haven’t tried avocado oil. Will put that on my list. You’re right about using real butter. Better for you than the fake stuff (Michael Pollan, who’s smart about these things, makes a good case for eating butter over margarine.) So far, I’m too stingy with my calories but I know you’re right. Congrats on kickin’ butt with Butt ‘n’ Gutt.

Barb, the fair sounds magical. You are right to kick loose and just enjoy (in moderation!) the day.

Erica, good for you for talking to your supervisor. I have fingers crossed on another, year-round job. And hip, hip, hurray for getting under 200. That’s such a big milestone.

Elizabeth, such wonderful news that another baby is on the way. You’ve told us little tidbits here and there about your interactions with your grandkids. You’re the kind of grandma every kid should have.

Laura, congrats on giving your DH more of a workout than he could take. Awesome!

Bec, I love your pluses and minuses. A good way to think. Unfortunately, the one about having less to sag? It doesn’t work that way for me. If I had less *skin*, maybe…

In the past, when I dieted, I gave away the clothes that were too big. Then I’d regain the weight and regret it. This time, I’m getting rid of the clothes and smiling about it. I feel confident I’ll keep the weight off. The difference? I love how I’m eating. I don’t feel deprived. Just the opposite…I feel indulged. I want to eat this way for the rest of my life. Do I ever feel tempted? Oh, absolutely. But eating more of the good stuff (fruits and veggies in particular) gets rid of the temptation. Obliterates it!

Uh oh. I know what you mean about those perky exclamation marks!!!

I did a little reading about stevia vs other artificial sweeteners. Some of the “wholesome foods” stores, like Whole Foods sell only stevia and not Splenda. Dr. Andrew Weil, who’s a natural foods guy, recommends it. In this article, “Stay Healthy The Stevia Way” from the Stevia Cookbook by Ray Sahelian M.D. and Donna Gates , I read: “Could stevia substitution be a good alternative in diabetics? We believe so. Stevia leaves have been used as herbal teas by diabetic patients in Asian countries. No side effects have been observed … after many years of continued consumption (Suttajit, 1993). Furthermore, studies have shown that stevia extract can actually improve blood sugar levels (Alvarez, 1981, Curi, 1986).” Seems like it’s worth a look. I use the SweetLeaf brand in liquid form.

Just read Barb’s post about stevia. Splenda also incorporates maltodextrin, which acts to raise the blood sugar. Good figure.

Woo hoo on the blood pressure. Getting off 2 of the meds is very good news. (There…I didn’t use any exclamation marks! (Oops.))

Pat, a 5-mile walk is awesome! Good for you.

Donna, good for you on the cleaning, the treadmill, the mowing…Wow!

Michelle, I know exactly what you mean when you say you lost some of your desire for those foods when you cut out cookies, etc. Cutting out refined sugar and flour caused me to crave those things much less. When I eat a little, I often find myself wanting more.

Chiclet, I’m glad to hear you’re feeling better. Gosh, I was so concerned. I’m sending hugs. It sounds like the meds are essential. Keep on taking them! There’s not one thing wrong with doing that, and many things right. When you’re feeling low, please call someone or just get out of the house, even if it’s to go sit in a park or at the library. Being around people will help. You might want to talk to your doctor about this too. xxx

MacMadame, your mom sounds like a trooper. I hope she lives many more years. My folks are 84 and 88. I want them to live forever, in good health, of course. (If wishes were horses…) You are doing good things for your calf. It’s bound to respond.

Amanda, losing weight in your face is great. I measured a half inch shorter when I was at the doctor’s the other day. I think I lost weight from my feet – or maybe my head!

Jackie, methinks it is time to move the exercise bike. Smelly fish is not conducive to riding! It’s hard enough when the smells are good!

Oh shoot. I’m missing saying “Hi” to so many of you. I need to respond to the posts more often! I’m thinking of you all. I better get going on cleaning the house. The house cleaners are coming! (Yep, even with my 750 sq ft, I love having someone come to do the vacuuming and get the place really clean. It takes just a couple of hours every other week. The house cleaner also goes to my daughter’s house (400’ away!) on the same day.)

Warm wishes from your (very indulged in so many ways) friend. Thank you for making my life richer.

Right on, Donna. Veggie's for dinner sound like the perfect thing - you'll feel so virtuous, the burger and fries won't even register.

Hello All,

Sorry so many of you had trouble posting...I had that happen some weeks ago and it is very frustrating to watch what you spent time writing just DISappear!

Just got back from another wonderful hike with a friend up here. DH is fishing. It rained on us a bit at the end but no lightning or thunder so we only got wet! We have had a bear hanging around our house and even come onto our deck during the day so we carried our bear spray. They are going to catch and take the bear away because it has gotten too used to humans and is not afraid. I am being much more careful even coming and going around the house as this bear seems to like our place! (I don't leave any food out or garbage anywhere, so don't know why he has decided to hang out here!)

bkrbabes: You gave some good advice to chcletgirl on her Mom. Having been there with your Dad, you certainly understand what she is going through. I am sorry for you both

Ericaq: Congratulations on getting into the 100s! I am happy for you!!

Amanda: Hope you have lost the sub-par feeling as the day wore on...or that you were able to crawl under the covers with that book! Some days are just that way!

SuzyQ: I am glad that your daughter is coming to visit soon. I think we all need something to look forward to...and GOOD luck on those 5 pounds. I need to jump in with you on these next pounds. I have been on a plateau for a bit too

pbkfit70: You should go easy on yourself...a bit of chocolate on a stressful day won't hurt you. I hope that your daughter is doing well

Donna: I hope you enjoyed your lunch with your granddaughter. And a small fry and hamburger every once in a while is not the end of the world

Laura: You are so right about the logging in to MFP keeping us accountable. It has kept me from going on and on once I consume one naughty thing as well! I look forward to reading your link about the Today Show

Alice: Aren't you so glad that you went and visited your Aunt? That is a good reminder to all of us not to take our older relatives for granted.

MacMadame: good to hear from you and I hope that your calf is better soon. You sound like you are doing all the right things

Chickletgirl: Do not ever feel like you need to apologize on this site...we are all here for each other and it is a safe place to vent...we all need to some times. Take care!

Jackie: I am so glad that your Mum is enjoying her days and that you and DH have some time together. Enjoy! You deserve it

Mimi: I am laughing about your Olivia and her "4 Arms"...too, too cute! I have always been a vegie lover but you have inspired me to eat them more often as "Snacks" which do wonders for hunger...and I always ate them raw and find them more filling when roasted. You are the Veggie Queen or Sister Veggie Queen!

Thanks for the suggestions on Victoria, BC etc. I need to get my act together and get some things booked!

I am trying to get my parents to MT when I return the end of the month. (I am here until Sunday..go back home for 10 days and return for most of Sept.) they have never been and are a bit nervous to travel. They are in good health at ages 81 and 82 and say they would like to "BE" here if they didn't have to fly. Can't decide whether to push them or not. I am just telling them that I would love for them to come if they can and that I will book everything for them. We shall see. I am thankful to have them still in good health and hope that they can have many good years left!

Take care, dear ladies. Kackie

:flowerforyou: Hi Ladies

:flowerforyou: Barbie, I also got that message about unable to send a blank reply when I tried to post this morning. I tried about half a dozen times before giving up.

Did my low impact aerobics this morning for 10 mins and also did 10 mins on the cross trainer. Almost forgot about that tucked away in the back room. It makes a bit of a noise on the floorboards and upsets Frankie (he hates noises) so haven’t bothered with it for ages. Now the dogs are away on an evening I will have to use it more often. Could only manage 10 mins though so it shows how unfit I am.

:flowerforyou: Bkrbabe57 Your lesson on Cues in your physical environment for eating and exercise was interesting. Some good ideas there.

:flowerforyou: Chiclet glad you are feeling better. I was sorry to hear you felt so down, tried to reply to you but couldn’t post (just got that annoying message!) and as Robin said - don’t apologize, we are friends and are here for you.

:bigsmile: I have a day off work tomorrow - yes another one - I’m getting a few odd days here and there before Jane goes on her holidays, she’ll be away 2 weeks and I won’t have any time off in that time. It will be tough being on my own for that long, hope we are not too busy.

:yawn: Well it’s nearly 11:00 p.m. so I’ll say goodnight and chat to you all later.

Take care everyone

Viv