WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR FEBRUARY 2014

Vicki - you are doing so well. You are so right, nothing replaces self discipline though surgery can be a life saver - literally. I got the tokens on line from Amazon, though they are British made. I put friendship gifts in the search box. They each come in a little net bag!
I heard today that the host has cancelled the posh meal as the restaurant has musaak. This is because I used to be phobic about it so I feel a bit bad as I am much better now! She has booked a French one instead so I hope I don't feel too guilty.:embarassed:

Meg, Alison, Sandy, Carol, Patty and all the others who work sooooo hard, I really take my hat off to you. I couldn't do what you do. To be on this journey of weightloss with all that stress is something!:flowerforyou: You should be proud of yourselves.:drinker:

I have spent most of the day getting to grips with my new phone.:sad: I am improving, but by no means expert. It makes strange noises and I don't know what they are!:sad: One of the best things I did was download a notebook. Still can't decide on the ringtone. I think I fancy an old style phone, but could go for Glenn Miller! No one has rung me yet! We have absolutely terrible reception here in the countryside so you can't have a conversation anyway without going outside! ! ! ! !:laugh: Most people know to call me on the landline. I have yet to decide what functions to switch off to save the battery and what apps to delete. I need my son! ! ! :sad:
Had delicious Tandoori Monkfish tonight. Big yum! I have to be careful with calories on Tuesdays because I only do yoga at the village hall. I love it and the company of all the older women is great. I think the oldest is 78.

Some birthday books I ordered for DGS arrived today. I'm a bit ahead as his birthday isn't until May , , , ,! Also some tiny chocolate piglets for Easter. Delightful. Mostly saddlebacks and one pink one. Sweet! How wondeful to live vicariously!

Love to all. Hope I sleep better tonight. I woke up at 4.00 last night agitated about my phone!:ohwell: Did get back to sleep eventually with my visualizations.

Heather in damp Hampshire UK

Edit to add my good wishes for Jane. Get better soon. You are a gem.:flowerforyou:

LucyT4dieting - I haven't seen anyone else mention it - and it may not apply to your daughter but I feel it important enough to bring up. Controlling boyfriends/partners who discourage their sweetie from relationships with parents, other relatives, friends (thus isolating them) and are generally very controlling are frequently abusive. I used to work in the area of rape crisis/domestic violence years ago and know the research shows such controlling to be a critical red flag. Hoping it's not the case for your daughter. If you have any inking it could be (and abuse can be physical, mental, and/or emotional), letting your daughter know you love her and are always there for her and would take her in at no notice is about the best you can do until she is ready. Again, really hoping this isn't what is happening.

Joyce - Really love the sisters poem!! I believe that our friends are the family we have chosen for ourselves - I just add them into my total family

Meg - Great to hear from you!! Glad you are back :flowerforyou: See you in April!!

Michele - Thought of you during the 500 when we heard about the tornado warnings and rain. Glad you and DH were OK. The recipes you have been posting on Facebook look pretty darned amazing!!

Katla - thanks for the encouragement. I am not letting the scale get to me even though this plateau is the longest I have ever experienced. It will change when it changes.

Grandmallie and Kevrit - soon the weather will FINALLY get better (and it will stop snowing :grumble: ), and we can plan on getting together!!! I'm thinking end of April, early May as a possibility. You two have the tighter schedules - I mainly have Y class and a few doctor appointments scattered in the spring. Looking forward to meeting you both in person!!

Thanks all for the kind words about DH - we have been together for over 44 years now and I think he's a keeper!! He does have his moments, though. He has zero patience for waiting in line - MFP would not print any of the words he mumbles under his breath:laugh: I think he hits most of the 7 words you can't say on television

Take care all my Vitamin F sisters and drink that water!! :drinker: :drinker:

Jill in western MA

Hi all,

I went to a walk-in center last night to have my elbow checked out. They weren’t very helpful, but gave me a script to get an X-ray. I plan to stop and get one on the way home from work tonight. I can move it without pain, but it is VERY tender to touch.:frown:

I’ve been doing better with diet and exercise, but still have four pounds to go to get back to maintenance weight. I know I shouldn’t complain about such a small thing, but I am disappointed in myself that I am so weak. :embarassed: I just have to be patient and not get discouraged because I know it takes time to lose those last few pounds. I feel so encouraged when I read about all of your progress.

To Jill, who wrote…..
“LucyT4dieting - I haven't seen anyone else mention it - and it may not apply to your daughter but I feel it important enough to bring up. Controlling boyfriends/partners who discourage their sweetie from relationships with parents, other relatives, friends (thus isolating them) and are generally very controlling are frequently abusive. I used to work in the area of rape crisis/domestic violence years ago and know the research shows such controlling to be a critical red flag. Hoping it's not the case for your daughter. If you have any inking it could be (and abuse can be physical, mental, and/or emotional), letting your daughter know you love her and are always there for her and would take her in at no notice is about the best you can do until she is ready. Again, really hoping this isn't what is happening.”

I have had many discussions with my daughter in the past as I thought from the beginning of this relationship that she was in an abusive situation because of his controlling nature. She adamantly denies this, so there really isn’t anything I can do. She insists that it’s just his insecurities, but physical or emotional, I still think it’s dangerous. When she left him last spring and moved, I was so relieved. She was moving to the same development where her brother lived, and I was so happy they would be there for each other. I really thought this would be a new start for her and her children. Turns out, she became so depressed that he was worried about her. He told me she wasn’t even able to function enough to take care of the kids. He says that now that the boyfriend is back, she is back to herself again. I am totally powerless over this situation. I do believe that everything happens for a reason, and I am hoping for the best. I know that things can change in a NY minute…..I was in a bad marriage (another story) for 31 years before I had the courage to get out. Who knew that I would find the love of my life at 55 years old? Thanks so much for your concern. I really appreciate it. I want to have a relationship with my daughter, and I know from past experience that this has been a sticking point between us. I don’t want to push so hard that our relationship is destroyed. I pray every day that things will improve.



Previous and Current Goals:

Consistent logging (Could be better)
Drink at least 9 glasses of water a day (40%)
Find an exercise class I enjoy (NOT YET-STILL LOOKING!!!)
RUNNING OUTDOORS (Not in THIS weather!)
LOWER SODIUM FOODS (Not lately!)
STOP OBSESSING ABOUT FOOD (Hmmmmm…..)


Congrats to all on their success, and (((hugs))) to all who are struggling.


Hugs,
Lucy in DE. :ohwell:

Happy Tuesday evening all. Nothing much exciting to report here except for a Benny Beagle adventure. I went upstairs to scoop the cat box, and what do you know? The entire lid is gone. I asked DD#2, I asked DH, no one could figure out where it could be. I am the pooper scooper, so if someone moved it, it would have been me and I definitely did not. So we began looking around the upstairs and found the lid in the guest room. Benny likes to eat cat litter (BLEH) and apparently he stuck his head inside the box to get a snack. Instead of pulling his head straight out, he must have lifted it up and ended up wearing the litter box lid like a necklace. We almost died laughing at the thought of him running around the house like crazy, trying to escape his new accessory! Maybe that will teach him to stay out!

Gail, so when you work 4 days a week will you take all those Mondays off?

Barbie: you look fabulous. Thank you so much for sharing…it’s inspirational!!! Plus you look so much happier! So sorry to hear of your friend’s death.

Joyce: what a lovely piece you shared! Thank you

Michele: grapefruit! Yum! I have a dilemma about it though. Now that I take lipitor (generic) it says not to eat grapefruit. Does that mean NEVER or just not at the same time? I’m going to have to find out because I do love some grapefruit!

Moeggep: I had a hard time figuring out my eating plan with work too. Office days aren’t bad, but my classes are usually from 12-3 or so and I can’t eat at 11! Plus when I do clinical with the students, heavens only knows when I will have a chance to eat. Not a good plan for anyone. Good luck finding what works for you.

DeeDee; nice to see your smiling face!

Alison: as one of my friends says “Keep your head up, buttercup!” It will all come together for you.

Sylvia: good luck with the kids and the ex! Thanks for sharing your pictures you and the dog look grand!

Vicki: so nice of you to help your friend. Sounds like she has a lot on her plate!

Jane: get to feeling better soon!

Cynthia: those chocolate easter goodies will be gone from your body in no time!

Heather: I enjoyed reading about your new phone. I refuse to get a new one. I have an OLD motorola flip phone that no longer
has its back and so the battery randomly falls out. But I love it and it works just fine. My students all laugh at me and take turns texting me to see how long it takes me to respond!

Tartanlass: welcome aboard. You can do this. Pick one tiny little thing to change and just work on that one little thing until you are successsful. Then you can add more. Don’t make it overwhelming. I have lost 32 pounds (much less than most here) and I find that it is the little, seemingly insignificant changes that make the biggest difference.

Margaret: great daily goals!

Jill: nice to be back! I’m looking forward to connecting with you in April!

Lucy: your new (to me anyway) picture looks great! I am with Jill. So glad you are keeping a close eye on DD.

Well I’m off for the night. Take care everyone. Meg from chilly Omaha, where it will be 0 in the morning!

Patty - well, one good thing about being so busy -- you don't have time to eat!!!! I know, that means less time to prepare healthful snacks. But I try to look on the bright side of things. Happy birthday to your daughter and SIL. Have fun

Did 1-1/4 hrs of the Gin Miller Seriously Strong DVD today. So glad I got those clips for the ends of the bars, they're SOOO much easier to use. Tomorrow I'm planning that I'll do one of the downloadable DVD's that I have for spinning. Then I'm going to see this lady down here. She lives 6 months in NC and the other 6 months down here.

Vince doesn't mind my going since he will get to go to lunch at "Dogs R Us". I have no desire whatsoever for it. So he can go

After exercise today I went to Aldi, needed some more veges and a few other things. Then Vince and I went to Ace Hardware. We needed to get one of the screens rescreened, he also needed a replacement exhaust fan for one of the bathrooms. I always thought that that fan was just quiter than the other one, but the fact was that it wasn't working. He also put up a new towel holder. Got some other things at Ace, too.

Alison - how are you doing on the sleep? You do so much for everyone. Sleep is so important. I find that when I get a good amount of sleep, I will usually see the scale go down.

Slyvia - thanks for the chuckle, imagining you running around after Bruno! Oh, I do so hope things work out for your son

Vicki - happy early birthday! Let us know what your daughter finds out(I'm sure you will)

Jane - wise decision to take care of you. Hope you feel better

Cynthia - don't beat yourself up. You had those chocolates, now it's over and done with

Heather - Vince keeps telling me that I need to take a course in how to operate my phone. I know there are so many more things it can do

tartanlass - welcome!

barbie - thanks for the quotes. I especially like the one by Confuscious

yanniejannie - when we were in PA and my neighbor had a baby, I couldn't decide between two outfits to give them, so I bought both of them! I know what you mean about it being so hard buying for a baby, there are just too many cute choices. Hope your dh feels better fast. You are smart to sleep in another room.

Lucy in DE - I totally understand. I am feeling like Denise is in an abusive relationship. I know it was verbally abusive before we moved to NC. I know the helpless feeling a mother has. She, too, was in total denial, too. Still is. But you know something, I think deep down inside she knows. She just won't admit it.

barbie - so sorry about your friend.

meg - thanks for sharing benny beagle's adventure. Animals bring us such joy and put so much laughter in our lives. I may have a new phone, but I rarely check voice mail. One time someone called me inviting me to an outing Saturday. I had to ask "which Saturday"

Michele from NC now in FL

Hello Friends,
You all got me thinking about how many Mondays I have left to work. I would like to stay at least 2 more years in my present job, then reassess. I’m fortunate that I work from a home office when I am not out of town. I used to commute to an office daily and remember just how much energy was expended getting up, getting ready and getting there. The downside to a home office is sometimes the lines are blurred, and nights and weekends turn into ‘catch up’ times for what should be part of my regular work week.

Joyce: Love the sisters sentiment. Thank you for your steady presence and support from afar.

Sylvia: I so hope your DGD enjoys Girl Scouts. (Full disclosure here, I work for the national office of Girl Scouts.)

Rita: Losing inches with all you’ve got going on….Bravo!!!

Michele: Grapefruit is one my favorite fruits. Have a big fresh one for me.

Patty: You sound super busy with your jobs. Hope you get your Sundays back.

DeeDee: Can’t wait to see your new boots.

Barbie: Love your line dance outfit. Where did you get those beautiful jeans? Oh, it breaks my heart thinking about Brandi worrying about Sasha. Condolences on the loss of your friend.

Vicki: Happy birthday week to you. You are so kind to help your friend with paperwork.

Jane: Rest up and get well soon.
Heather: Hope you drift off into a deep peaceful sleep tonight with no ringtones, even if Glenn Miller, to disturb you.

Tartanlass: Welcome and keep coming back. This is a safe place to discharge some of your frustration. We’ve been there.

Margaret: Contentment … what a nice word to contemplate and sit with.

Jill: Feel your pain about the plateau. Sometimes I get on the scale and mutter the same things your husband does while standing in line. But, this too shall pass.

Lucy: Hope your elbow x-ray shows no breaks or chips and it heals quickly.

Allie: Get the massage! It is therapeutic on so many levels, including increasing blood circulation which helps with weight loss. And, you deserve a little pampering.

Sandy: I feel lazy after reading about all the exercise you have doing.

Meg: Benny is a riot.

Stay well,
Rori in the frigid Colorado Foothills

Goals for February:
Two days a week, consume fewer than 35 carbs days” every week.
90 minutes of strength training per week
Organize the master closet.
Get the tax workbook done and sent to accountant.
Chiropractic adjustment and massage.
My word for 2014 = Release

Sylvia: I looked at your pictures and you look great. Blue is a wonderful choice for you. Good luck to your grandchildren with their visit. I hope your son is right about the situation. He seems to have a fair minded and generous spirit.:flowerforyou:

Vicki: Congratulations on the loss!:flowerforyou:

Cynthia: We all indulge sometimes. I try to pay for my indulgences by doing cardio exercises. I feel less guilty and burn away as many of the “naughty” calories as I can.

Heather: Letting your son teach you the ins and outs of your new phone is a great idea. :bigsmile: I hope you can make it happen. He’ll feel so good about helping mom and you’ll have someone help you decide what apps you want to keep. My son helped me figure out my first smart phone. It was great.:flowerforyou:

Tartanlass: Welcome. Barbie gave you the best possible advice. I’ll add that you need to take things one day at a time. Every day is a new day, and you can start fresh and try again. Measure your portions and log every bite. Drink more water. I'm forever vowing to drink more water and I'm doing a bit better at it. It really does help.:flowerforyou:

Yanniejannie: Taking care of yourself to keep from getting sick is very smart, and necessary. Sleeping in DD’s room is smart.:flowerforyou:

Alison: Have your massage sooner rather than later. Then have another when you reach your goal weight.:bigsmile:

Barbie: I am so sorry for the loss of your friend and neighbor. I’m sure her husband will appreciate your visit.:flowerforyou:

Sandy in PolarVortex ON: What a place to be. Stay warm and dry. Summer will come, eventually.:flowerforyou:

Meg: I’m happy to see you posting more often again. I missed you. Perhaps Benny Beagle’s mission is to make people laugh. I couldn’t remember the name of the comedian who wrote a book called Laughter is the Best Medicine so I looked him up. He was Norman Cousins. He was right that laughter can work wonders for a person’s health.:flowerforyou:



We just returned home from seeing The Hobbit 2. It isn’t finished, more story to come. I enjoyed parts of this one, but I liked part 1 better. I did when reading the book, too. That was a LONG time ago. (44 years):noway: :glasses:

Katla in beautiful NW Oregon

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas A. Edison


February goals:

1. Log every bite and swallow.
2. Move more: cardio at least 3 days a week and strength training as soon as I am able.
3. Water: According to an article I saw on facebook, drinking water at certain times maximizes its effectiveness for the body. I’ll work toward following these guidelines:
* 2 glasses of water after waking up - helps activate internal organs
* 1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal - helps digestion
* 1 glass of water before taking a bath - helps lower blood pressure
* 1 glass of water before going to bed - avoids stroke or heart attack

Joyce - I don't do twitter, either. Really, sometimes I just wouldn't have time for it. Hope the doc helps you.

Well, off to spinning and then to see my friend.

Have a great day everyone. Guess the next time I check in we'll be on the next part.

Michele from NC now in FL

Good morning beautiful ladies:flowerforyou:

Barbie So sorry to hear about your friend ! Glad Brandy and Sasha are back together !

Sylvia You look smashing darling:smokin: !!! I think Molly looks very regal and Bruno, well he is just a cutie !!!! Hope things workout well for your son and grandchildren!!!

Katla I find I often enjoy the book more than the movie too !

Meg Benny Beagle :laugh: , he is such a character ! Glad you`re back:flowerforyou: !

Patty Congrats on your raise:bigsmile: !!!! Glad you didn`t throw in the towel, I`ve been there a few times myself:embarassed: .

Rori I work from home sometimes too:happy: , I seem to get more done from home, only because I don`t have people flowing in my office to "chat" all the time. I have also said a few choice words to the dreaded scale:embarassed: ! Here lately it has been pretty nice to me:bigsmile: . I`m still trying to get the 8 pounds off that somehow found their way back to me

Vicki Happy Birthday a little early:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: !!!

Have a great day ladies! Drink your water:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: and log your food!!!

Hugs,
DeeDee in NC:glasses:

Molly~ you had me in stitches about the litterbox candydish~ thanks for the laugh:laugh:

Good morning ladies!

Ooooofffff I have been soooooooo frustrated with my phone! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
My poor DH! He has to put up with me! All he says is "ring the shop up " which is sensible, but I am still grappling with it. Then I read in the help centre that it helps to turn it right off and on again - so I have just done that and lo it's miles better! I still need to find out ehat 250mgs wifi looks like per month, but Vodaphone website is down, so . ........... swearing under breath. I then downloaded their app, couldn't get it to work so uninstalled it. Grrrrr:explode:
But at least it's working better and I have found the widgets to easily turn off wifi and bluetooth and data to save battery as it was chomping through it. Think I might sleep tonight! I am still in my jammies at 2.35pm and haven't done my strength training, though I did the gymming.
Good news is that half a pound has gone, so I only have the other half to go to get back to my lowest weight so far. Yeah!:drinker:

Jill - my DH hates queues as well. Before online check in we used to have to get to the airport soooo early! Now it's easier.

Lucy - hugs for you and best wishes for your DD. Unfortunately we can't do it for them.

Barbie - :flowerforyou: sorry to hear your friend died, but what an amazing survival - 30 years!

Alison - so glad to hear you are having a treat! I used to have a huge credit card bill with no possibility of paying it off. Then an aged aunt died and left me just enough money to pay it off.:happy:

Sylvia - looking good! Amazing weight loss!

Katla - DH was a student of Tolkien at Oxford. He studied Anglo Saxon as part of his English degree. Hence DH'S novels, which are set in the 9th century.:happy:

Well, I feel mighty relieved that my phone is working properly now. Might even get washed and dressed!:laugh:

Love from Heather in sunny Hampshire UK

Beth - just seen your post. Big hugs to you. Horrible to have to worry about the children.:brokenheart:

Meg – oh Benny! Grapefruit? Ewww but I juice it every morning. DD describes it as it tastes like earwax lol I had a Motorola flip phone too and I loved it but unfortunately it stopped working so I had to get a smartphone. :ohwell:

Rockey2 & Tartanlass – welcome! Come back often and post as we love to get to know you. Tell us about yourself.

Michelle – sounds like you are having a good time in FL…how’s the weather there? How does the Y there compare to yours?

Rori – oh to work at home, I would love it. I can definitely see how the lines would blur, it would be a balancing act!

Sylvia – I’ve never had a dog but desperately would love to rescue one. I can’t do that right now because of living in an apartment with 2 senior cats that would not appreciate it. Your furbabies are so gorgeous. Have fun at story day!

Katla – I can NOT wait until spring & summer. I’ve had enough of this cold weather.

Heather – my kids help me with my smartphone too. I had my DD download music so that I could take it with me walking and listen to music. I also listen to it on the bike as I haven’t figured out how to download audio books onto my tablet….one day soon!! Congrats on that ½ lb!! woohooo

Joyce – I hope your back is feeling (&DD’s) better very soon. I can’t imagine the pain. Living with knee pain is bad enough. I hope the dr helps.

Allison- congrats on buying the voucher for the massage. I’ve been trying to tell DD that getting her glasses online is so much cheaper than some eyeglass places. Of course she knows best :noway:

Beth – I’m so sorry about your sons health issues. You & your family are in my thoughts and prayers. I really don’t want to keep that Polar Vortex!! Please don’t make me :laugh:

Boss is out on the road today so I have the office all to myself :bigsmile: I am going to try and add extra steps in while he's gone. DD came home last night checked her email and went straight to bed. I guess she's all tuckered out after working 11 hours. Oh to be 25 again. :laugh:
Today is cardio day so I did my 20 min mini workout this morning and will head to the gym after work to hop on the bike. Maybe I'll do some walking on the track too...see how I feel after the bike. This week has been great for food. I made a large lasagna and divided it up into containers. I'm having the same thing for breakfast, lunch, dinner & snacks all week long. I love it, not thinking, limit temptation in the kitchen...:happy:
Back to work, have a great day all and don't forget to smile (it makes everyone wonder what you're up to :laugh: )

Sandy in frigid ON

Hi Ladies,

So I took the advice, did lots of exercise yesterday,(had over 2500 calories avaliable) then went to my party and ate! Logged it all (not until this am as I got home at midnight) and was left with a calorie or two left over! Granted it was still an over 1500 cal dinner...

But what was cool was usually I would have had 2 cocktails, extra appetizers, 2 glasses of wine.... you can see the trend there - this time 1 cocktail I was done, tasted 2 appetizers, ate 1/2 of the soup only 1 glass of wine, part of the entree in a doggie bag.... So proud of myself and not feeling deprived at all...

BUT this morning I feel awful, bloated, full, like all my body wants to do is make gross body sounds.. Ok wow I am learning something! It doesn't help that it is pouring rain so can't do my normal 45+ minute walk; but it will be a low food day today.. while my system finds it's way...

If this is the new me, it will make it easier to make good choices as this is an awful feeling.