WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR NOVEMBER

Hello All,

Marking my spot for November. Busy week, so will probably be "lurking" for a few days.

Since posting earlier today on the October thread, the only excitement around here was an altercation between Bradley and Mai Li, which my little "Yorkshire Terror"--AKA "Bradley the Terrible" incited and escalated.:mad: He nipped Mai Li on her back just below her neck. Not a deep wound, but enough to break the skin. I didn't discover the bite until later, so out came the Neosporin, which is safe to use, since she can't reach the area to lick it off. If it looks questionable tomorrow, I guess we will be making a trip to the vet. It's been a few weeks since anyone had to visit there, so I am sure they are "expecting" us anytime, as it is always something with these three.:ohwell:

Barb

Happy (almost) November.

Just got back from a Halloween party one of DD Suzy’s friends throws every year, with kids, parents, grandparents, and aunties. I especially enjoyed the hayride (pickup truck and trailer filled with hay bales) to a neighborhood where the kids could go trick-or-treating. Lots of fun. Got another of those “I didn’t recognize you” comments. :happy: I’m going to miss those when the size I am is the size people are used to seeing.

Some good food at the party – lots of veggies and salads - and plenty of evil stuff. I ate pretty well but came home hungry! I’ve got a sweet potato in the oven and apples simmering on the stove as we speak. (Thanks, Barbie, for the recipe.)

Thanks, Viv, for the nice compliments. Sticking with MFP is the first New Year’s resolution I’ve ever kept (I started 1/1). I still marvel at it. Several things came together to help me keep the resolution, not the least of which was the support from this group. Another huge factor was eating lots and lots of healthful food. I’m embarrassed by how much I eat. All those people who say it’s all about moderation...they're wrong! :noway:

Robin, your post was one of the things that got me thinking about why losing weight has worked this time. I plain old don’t do well with deprivation. I have a feeling it’s hard for a lot of people. Maybe most people. Our instincts say, “feed me, feed me” when we don’t get enough of the right foods. I love eating lots (and lots!) of fruits and veggies. I hate feeling deprived. I don’t do deprived! Your experience is just more evidence that deprivation doesn’t work.

Am I on target here? I’m assuming this works the same way for most people but maybe I’m assuming too much. This approach works for me but I’d be interested in hearing about other approaches that work for others.

Feeling deprived is exactly what did me in on every previous attempt at losing weight. I’d get myself up for the effort, keep it going on a kind of high, then blam, hit the wall. That’s when I’d go unconscious, start nibbling and keep nibbling. All the weight I’d lost would come back on plus some. Every time, plus some.

I never enjoyed eating fruits or veggies much before I learned how to prepare them. Roasted veggies were a revelation to me! :happy: My mom served fairly healthful foods when I was growing up but the veggies were mostly “fresh frozen.” Now, there’s an oxymoron. :noway: When I started MFP, I cut way, way down on refined sugar and other highly processed foods. The first two days were hard, then it got easier. Eating plenty of healthful stuff was what kept me going. (BTW, I didn't really enjoy fruits or veggies until I got through a couple of days without eating highly processed foods.)

Now, whenever I get off track, I know that if I eliminate highly processed foods (what Michael Pollan calls, “edible food-like substances” :laugh: ) and get plenty of fruits and veggies, it will take just two days of hard effort to get back on track. I figure I can do anything for two days!

Whew! I didn’t expect to be so long-winded. The changes in how I approach eating seem like a miracle to me in one way and, in another way, so normal and so right that it’s hard to believe I haven’t always approached eating this way.

Kackie, we’ve postponed leaving for Tahoe until Tuesday. I’m glad of the extra day. I’m sure I’ll be doing a lot of walking up there. The weather is supposed to be beautiful – sunny but cool. Tahoe has got to be one of the most beautiful spots on earth.

I joined the local gym today and will give it a try tomorrow. Can’t wait!

Jeannie, I hear you about the economy. The recession has hit hard around here where so many people are in construction. Many of them are self-employed and don’t have unemployment benefits to help them get through. We know quite a few people who have lost their homes or are upside down on their mortgages.

I’m glad your daughter’s Soccer team did so well. I know she wanted to be first but second is not shabby at all. It’s wonderful!

Terri, I feel your pain when it comes to snacking. I'm still working on portioning out the snacks in advance (rather than nibbling) so I’m more in charge. And, definitely, I’m with you in avoiding skimpy meals. They set us up to overeat, especially when those tempting snacks are in sight.

Welcome, Irina. You’ll find awesome support here.

Birdie, thanks for the words from Andy Rooney. Made me laugh out loud!

Marlouise, nice to hear from you. I like your pic! I went to tonight’s Halloween party as a witch too – green face and all. Fun!

Barb, thanks (I think) for the horribly tempting recipe. Perfect for Halloween!

Vicki, congrats on a great food day! I like the idea of you eating one mini cupcake to make sure it was good!

Laura, your goals are right-on!

I hope everyone has a good November. Life throws us curves sometimes but we have lots to be thankful for. I’m thankful for this group, for one.

Mmmm. The applesauce is done and calling my name! (The sweet potato is already history.)

One other thing. There is a thread "thoughts and prayers for my daughter" . The little girl has leukemia that has reoccured. I don't know if you want to do this but Clarissa(the mother) requests prayer for her child periodically.
She provided this link to go to. You may sign a guest book to let her know you are thinking of her.
www.caringbridge.org/visit/squigy
Thanks,

flowerforyou: Good evening all! Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Boo and I stayed in this year. Actually Halloween and Fourth of July are the two holidays I don't leave the house. Of course it's because of my baby girl, Boo. I just don't trust leaving her alone, with all the tick or treaters and fireworks. Freaks her out:noway: .

So I popped some popcorn and we watched a scary movie, The Relic, not a new film, but a good one anyway. Boo gave me the eyes so of course I had to share my 100 calorie bag of popcorn with her, so theoretically I didn't eat 100 calories. So I had an apple too and yes, I did have to share that also. The little princess enjoys eating healthy too. :laugh: I recently found out that she loves cantelope! And of course she loves roasted veggies. I just leave the seasoning off of hers. I know, she's spoiled, but she's all I have left so she's worth it!

Mimi:flowerforyou:

You know, I was thinking about the deprivation thing. The other day I had chinese food delivered and I ordered healthy, low cal foods and checked the calories before I ordered them and then at the bottom of the online menu under desserts, I saw BROWNIE. Normally I would not have even looked that far down the menu to avoid temptation, but I realized I can't do that. If I ever have to learn how to eat properly, that means facing foods that I normally would steer clear of. (Like the time I panicked because I was going out to a pizza place on a date). If I deprive myself of these things it is going to come back and bite me in the a*#! I will feel deprived and instead of just eating one I would end up pigging out. So this was what was going through my head when I saw the brownie. So I ordered the damm thing and I ate the whole thing, instead of denying myself it and pigging out on something else fattening or worse dreaming of it and later buying 4 or 5 of them!:sad: And you know what? I ate that one, but I noticed I ate it differently. Normally I would have relished every single bite and licked the wrapper and use my finger to pick up any crumbs left over. But I ate it, SLOWLY, not because I was relishing it, but because I was reading something on the internet and was just taking my time eating it like I would any other food. I didn't lick the wrapper or pick at the crumbs, just threw it away crumbs and all. And the weird thing is it was good, but I didn't see it in my mind as "the most scrumptious, delectable thing I have ever eaten in the past 4 months!" It didnt make me want to go out and get more. I didn't crave more. It was just dessert, something that satisfied me at the moment. That's it! i realized then that this was such a more healthy way of thinking and eating. I ended up eating one, not an entire box of something.
Now my question is to myself, "Was this because I was able to order 1 brownie and avoid pigging out?" or "If I had bought a container of my favorite cookies from the bakery, (because that is the way they are sold) would I be able to stop at 2 or 3 cookies, or would I eat the whole container?" This makes me nervous. Because I'm not sure if I have the will power to stop at 2 or 3 yet.:ohwell: When I can accomplish that, that is when I know I will be okay in my eating habits. The fact that it makes me nervous thinking about it, tells me I'm not there yet. So unitl then, I will order only 1 item desserts and not bring home a package of them to space out throughout the week. Because I don't think I can space them out yet. :noway: When I read about some of the ladies here that cook desserts (sometimes 2 or 3 of them at one sitting) I know I could not do that. Granted they are giving most of it away, but why put myself into that temptation?? They are either much more stronger than I am, or they have been doing this so long now that it doesn't affect them anymore. (Something I hope to achieve). At any rate, that's where I am at this time in my life, during my healthy eating sojourn.

Well I would appreciate any feedback from the women who have conquered this and provide me any words of advice or tips on how to achieve this.

Good night1:yawn:
Chiclet

Happy November to you all.

Another month, and this is the one when I will definitely be meeting my grandtwins! If they don't appear before hand, they are booked for a c-section on November 17th.



Had a great time at the Halloween party yesterday. I've added a photo of some of my crazy family. I was dressed as 'The wicked witch of the Mae West' (in a bright red wig for some reason!) You can see my DD#1 dressed as a giant pumpkin. Bless her - she is really feeling swollen now! DD#2 and her husband were Bonnie and Clyde. They were fabulous.

I kept away from the buffet table and just had one plateful of food - all of it good and all of it delicious. We went trick or treating with the younger children and I even managed to walk in my four inch heels! I was most impressed.

Today I had my swimming lesson, which went well. I'm never going to be a mermaid, but I at least have a little more confidence in the water now and can also float which I never could before.

From there, I grabbed a coffee to go and walked to the hospital for my glaucoma appointment, from which I have just returned. I was pleased not to have to have drops in my eyes this time. I go back next week and will have to have the dreaded things then.

My goals for this month are pretty much the same as last month. I didn't manage to get below the 150 pounds in October, but I did reach my 100+ pounds loss, so I'm claiming it as a victory.

Time to move my body a bit now.

Have a great November ladies. Keep up with the posting.

Hugs. Amanda x

Good Morning ladies,
So good to wake up and read so many posts. I weighed this morning and was down nearly 2 pounds. I have not changed my goals much, just more of the same. Just continue to eat right and exercise as much as possible. This time last year I was about 20 pounds lighter and looked so good. My short term goal is to reach that point again. My long term goal is to keep it off and not gain again so I can lose more. I THINK my attitude has changed so I can do it now. I changed my profile this morning so my weight shows gain but that is just because I had never changed it when I gained. My winter clothes from last year still fit though snug but hopefully by time it gets really cool here they will look nice like they did last year. My daughter has been preaching to me about the moderation thing since I started this cause she says I deny myself too much. I just get in the losing mode and do not want to jinx it. But I have learned to allow some treats and that does work better so that when I reach my goal I wont go crazy. I remember one year I gave up sweets for lent (I dont usually give up anything cause I am not catholic but for some reason decided to try it) I lasted about half way through. We had an event at church where there were sweets galore and I went crazy. that probes that denial does not work. I am trying to stay away from those trigger foods though. Sorry to be so long. Congrats to those who reached Oct goals. Just keep trying for those that didnt. good luck to all on Nov. goals. Another year is almost gone. Oh MY. Have a good day ladies.
Vicki M

I feel like doggy poo.:sick: I can't seem to process anything. It all travels quickly right out the back door. You would think that I would lose some weight when I can't process food but nooooo. I am up a pound this morning.:grumble: I am trying to force myself to drink a lot of water because i know I am dehydrating. and to add insult to injury i am getting TOM lower back cramps:devil: to accompany the servere stomach cramps i am experiencing. I am miserable. :sick: I hate being sick. :mad:

Sorry to whine but I don't have anyone else to complain to. I hope you all have a much better day than I am having. :happy:

I will be back tonight with how I did on Oct goals and the goals for Nov. Just marking my place for now. I am getting my 6 little raised garden patches ready for my fall planting. I fear that again I have more to plant than room to put it in. Then there are the pansies and snapdragons to go in as well and the gym at 3 pm. Checking clock.... 11:30!

See ya tonight.

Oh and Mimi, as you will probably be gone for the week before I get back on here - have a WONDERFUL week! I love the lake Tahoe area too. It's just beautiful!

Faye

I guess I'm in the minority as I never had trouble sticking to a diet and definitely would deprive myself with no problems. My issue, up until now, is that once the diet was over, I would hungry all the damn time. It's really hard to make good choices when you are hungry and it's really hard to stick to a lesser calorie level when your body is trying to get you back up to some enormous weight.

My feeling about the deprivation involved in a healthy lifestyle is that it's nothing other than delayed gratification, which is something all adults do all the time in other areas of their life, so it should be no different in this area.

That said, I am not one of those people who thinks that I have to eat perfectly all the time or I've somehow failed some sort of test. That attitude drives me crazy sometimes... when people post about how horrible they are because they ate a cupcake. It's not realistic to think that you are never going to eat food like that again. My goal is eat healthy 80-90% of the time and to stay within my allowances (carbs, protein, calories, etc.) as much as possible.

Anyway, for my Oct. goals, I think I did pretty well:

Be able to run/walk for an hour without pain by EOM - I was able to do this for 50 min. which is pretty close
Do strength training 3-4x a week, Blog 2x a week minimum - done!
Have fun at my next race and not stress about getting on the podium, my times or anything - done!

For Nov goals, I am going to try to do better about eating on the weekend. My nice routines during the week seem to fall apart when I have less structure. Like I don't have a shake for breakfast and often snack all day instead of eating meals.

Hi to everyone. I enjoyed reading about the different ways each of you handles losing weight. I hear some common themes too.

For me, "no deprivation" has to do with the *amount* I eat. *What* I eat is a different story. I eat lots. But, I don't eat the types of food that I used to eat.

I have a treat, usually chocolate (yum!) almost every day. The big difference is that I usually have just one piece. I take it out of the package, weigh it, then enjoy it.

I don't crave more (and more, and more) because I fill up on delicious (the yum factor is critical), healthful, less calorie-dense food. I can actually keep chocolate in my cabinet now - i've had some there for months. That is a huge change. :happy:

In the bad old days, I indulged myself with junk food . Eating junk food triggered a strong desire for more junk food. Willpower went only so far (sometimes even months). But, when I fell off the wagon, I always went straight for the junk food, which created the desire for more junk food, etc., etc. It was a vicious cycle.

Now, I indulge myself completely - but with healthful stuff. I get to feel good twice: knowing I'm eating healthfully and seeing the results on the scales. :blushing:

The monsters are still lurking out there. I'm careful not to let them in the door most of the time. And, when I do, I don't feed them, so they eventually go away. (Two days is all it takes, much to my amazement.)

Thank you, everyone, for all your support. I couldn't do this without you. I'm close to being slimmer now than I have been in 30 years (and that was only for a few minutes, so make that 35 years!)

bump

Barbie, thanks for starting the November thread! You’re the best!!!:flowerforyou:

Barb it was great hearing from you.:happy: ...and everyone else!:happy: I can’t possibly comment on all the posts :ohwell: but I have read them all and keep you all in my thoughts and prayers!:smooched:

November already!:noway: I did well in October, so I am just going to try to keep the same pace for November.:blushing:

Yesterday, Halloween, I ate some foods I don’t usually eat, but I didn’t overeat. To me, there’s a difference.
I had 2 pieces of pizza, as my dinner and over the course of the day I ate 2 pieces of candy (Almond joys!!) But it was calculated and not out of control. (I also exercised for an hour in the afternoon) The “Trick or Treat” candy is out of the house.:bigsmile: I do not trust myself enough to have such goodies around for those moments I’m NOT so in control. :ohwell: When in doubt (about having foods in the house)...leave it out! :bigsmile: That’s what I say, and it works for me.:happy:

Also, I think there’s a difference between loving to eat and overeating. To me, overeating is when the food is out of control. In other words....you know you should stop....and you can’t. I choose to have a great big salad, because I enjoy having the great big salad. But if I have to have a great big bowl of candy...and I know I shouldn’t...and I don't want to....and I continue to pursue it....then I feel I’m out of control. :noway: Like many of you, I do have a treat when I have the urge, but I keep it very calculated and I don’t allow myself to binge on it.
:embarassed: Once (before MFP) I had a cake in the house and I was slivering it to death! I knew if I didn’t do something, that I would eat the entire thing before the days end! :grumble: So....I threw it in my garbage can and sprinkled Comet/Ajax (detergent) all over it. (Just in case I might change my mind). That’s how out of control my eating was!
Now, I keep in mind that I AM NOT that person anymore...and I DO NOT think like that anymore.:bigsmile:
There’s a dignity that comes with being in control, and I don’t mean a pompous attitude. Before I just felt like an out of control eating machine..:sad: ..so oh well...just stuff my face and feel horrible about it tomorrow. (And probably do the same thing again). It’s a vicious cycle and one does not feel like they have much dignity....so why act dignified???? So sad.
So today I tell myself I am a beautiful child of God that has dignity:happy: and with God’s help I can get control.... and have order in my life and eating. :flowerforyou: It’s a matter of treating myself the way I perceive myself!

Anyways, you all can do it One Day at a Time. :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: As I have said so many times, I just concentrate on today and make healthy choices...or at least controlled choices...today....and the next day I do the same. I exercise and drink lots of water. That’s it.

Today is a solemn day for me. :frown: 25 years ago, today, my first husband died suddenly. :brokenheart: He was a wonderful man and I loved him so much. My 3 daughters are now grown up and the experience showed them that, with faith, you CAN go on.:flowerforyou: I am now happily married to my second husband for almost 18 years. God is good! When someone you love dies...you can move on and have a great life.....but you never forget! May all our loved ones rest in peace.......and may we remember to be grateful for the ones we have in our lives today!

BirdieM:drinker:

Happy November 1st...I do love a fresh month with all of those opportunities to do well...a clean slate, as Barbie says!

I am just marking my spot and saying hello to all...I read posts but must finish packing to leave in the AM. I will be thinking of all of you while away and look forward to getting back in touch in a week. I have packed some healthy things in my suitcase and have my "plan" to do well with these party friends. wish me luck! and I hope the Hurricane down there doesn't mess with our trip!::explode:
Take care, dear ladies! Kackie

Today (Sun) I did one hour of this DVD that I just got "Pilates for the Inflexible". That's me. Inflexible plus. We didn't practice bowl today since we were getting ready for Halloween. I bought this ghost that flies across on this roap, Vince made an arch and attached the ghost to it. Tomorrow I'm going to do a Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones DVD because there is this Halloween store near here and everything is going on sale 50% off tomorrow. They open at 9, and I intend to be there.

We're having a meeting of the gals on the gala (for the Newcomers) committee at my house tomorrow, so I don't think I'll be able to practice bowl. Vince and I might go Wednesday night.

I was PRETTY sort-of good while giving out the Halloween candy tonight. I did have 6 3 Musketeers fun size bars and one Milky Way fun size bar. I really tried to give away as much of the candy as I could. Vince was concerned we wouldn't have enough, but I really don't want to have extras. As it is, we have one bag of 3 Musketeers and some others in a bowl. Actually, I'm probably going to leave a lot of the candy-eating to Vince. Maybe I'll put the bowl in his office. One thing I did while giving out the candy was I made myself a bowl of air-popped popcorn and had that. Then I allowed myself a few candy bars.

oh Mimi, you are so lucky. I love Fuji apples! Congrats on being a great aunt! I really like your grey hair, it looks so distinguished.

Welcome IrenaPA. Where in PA are you? We moved from the Poconos to Kennett Square and then down here to NC three years ago.

Here it is, Monday. Even after all that candy, according to the Wii I only gained .2. That's good.

Our Newcomers group has a "gala" every year. Basically, this is a dinner (buffet) at a country club. I'm on the committee about it and we met at my house today. Well, I first got up early, did 45 min of Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones DVD then went to this Halloween store since everything was going on sale 50% off. I'm thinking that next Oct. I'll have a social for the Newcomers here so I'm getting stocked up. 50% off isn't all that bad. Hit a few other stores, then helped Vince bring in the decorations. While we were having our meeting, he finished bringing in the decorations. This year I bought this ghost that "flies" on a cord so he made this arch and the ghost flew across it. I really didn't want the ladies to see that because I think it's pretty cool and since we're going to have a social here next year.......

Where has the month gone to? I couldn't believe it when I had to click on the link for the next month!

I'm thinking that I'll do a spinning downloadable workout tomorrow and then go to the store to buy some tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil. Tomorrow night the Newcomers are having this "mexican train dominoes". At first, I thought it had something to do with Mexican since there's Mexican in the name and they were serving chili. This time we're supposed to bring an appetizer (which is what the tomatoes, cheese and basil are for) and $3 for the "kitty". I don't know..... I was told it really doesn't have anything to do with Mexican so I'll give it a try. The worst that can happen is that I don't like it and I never return.

I put the big bowl of candy leftovers from yesterday in Vince's office so it's out of my sight!

oh, Birdie, my heart goes out to you.

I just don't know what's going on, I don't seem to have much time for the computer.

Hope everyone has a great evening.

Michele

Wow- 5 days a week in gym! I admire you! :flowerforyou: I can barely make it 2 times. Shame on me! :sad:
Just lazy :happy:
Ladies, do you work? Just asking to get to know more about you all.