WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR APRIL 2014

Hello All!

I made a decision that had been bubbling for a while--to NOT let my weight gain in the past year--unprecedented amount for me, but went from very active job to way too sendentary--get any more out of control. Plus, I am trying to use exercise to combat depression. Kind of a Catch-22, as exercise requires a least a shred of motivation, and depression kills motivation.

I live in central NY State, and as most Americans have, had way too long and cold of a winter, so am eagerly "unlocking" myself to welcome Spring! A few minutes of raking leaves off the gardens yesterday felt like heaven! Some snow flurries tomorrow, but I'll try to enjoy some time knitting. Gardening will take over soon enough!

:happy: So happy to find such a cheery group.
:grumble: Y'all will be good for my Eeyore nature!
:flowerforyou: I am keeping a gratitude journal, and was grateful today to get to the gym (despite my resistance), receive my prescription for physical therapy (newly diagnosed arthritis, both knees), and make an appointment to get started learning how I will make the best of this, and have a sweetie who cooked dinner when the mood was down and pain was up.

:bigsmile: I will keep reading your posts so I can get to know you better.

:ohwell: I had a sudden retirement after 25 years of teaching elementary school. That was a year ago, and I am starting to create some order and structure out of the chaos of the past year, and too many household moves in a short time (3 in 5 years). I had a stroke at 46, and deal daily with some of the "brain static" that left me with. That I am even able to be expending energy on fitness is a miracle, and I am grateful again for that.

:bigsmile: My goals for April:
*Gym workouts (weights and elliptical) 2-3 x's/week
*Yoga days opposite gym days, with walking those days, too.
*Continue to build routines for household management, financial management, etc. Keep it simple, and work for progress, not perfection.
* Be open to opportunities to re-discover joy and play.
*Keep charting calories and exercise, employing the "Eat Up" day strategy.
*I hope to lose 1-2 pounds/week. Three weeks left, so maybe 5 pounds for April.
*Garden!!

So sorry to hear you had a stroke at such a young age. We have a friend who also had a stroke in his late 40s. He is completely recovered but says some words still will not come to him quickly when he needs them. It's not noticeable to anyone but him. Happy Spring Mountainsong!
PS I suffer from seasonal depression and know what you mean about exercise being a catch 22. For me, it helps if hubby walks with me.

Hi girls. Yes it's me and yes it's 2 in the morning and I can't sleep.

Not sure what has happened to me but I have totally fallen off the wagon and seem to be so overwhelmed with work that I can't cope and can't get a thing done elsewhere.

I had a panic attack tonight....we went out to dinner and I got home and thought "OMG was today the day Jill and I are going out to brunch?" I had it on my calendar for Next Friday, but the way I have been lately it could easily have been today! But after reading back to last thread, I was relieved to see her say she'd be out of touch from 4/8....on.

Jill: Thank goodness I didn't miss you!!!!! I would have felt horrible. But my mind is like swiss cheese right now (menopause brain?). Looking forward to next Friday....I even got someone to give a test for me

OK, I'll try to go back to bed now. Hugs and high fives to all who need either! Take care, meg from Omaha where it snowed again last night.

Hey Meg, I have a wagon problem too. Still losing slowly (sometimes not losing), but I'm a couple hundred calories above my goal every day, and can't seem to get myself back to that enthusiasm I had. But I'll take the little bits for now.

Stress ate last night after my dog (a Border Collie) was attacked by two German shepherds. He was minding his own business trotting by their house and they escaped through the fence gate the woman had just opened, and went after my dog. My dog has all kinds of physical problems anyway and doesn't need more. (I don't need the extra worry either.) I don't think they bit him, but he's pretty stiff today. The woman had the nerve to say it was my fault because my dog was not on lead. If he had been, it would have been much worse. I often clam up in difficult situations, but I stood there and yelled at her on the sidewalk. Intimidated her enough that she finally gave me her name and telephone number and apologized. Hopefully I won't need to call her.

Have a good Saturday, everybody. :flowerforyou:
Cynthia

Good morning beautiful ladies:flowerforyou:

Gloria I would be furious too:explode: ! I once sent the newspaper to my daughter`s school, I tried my best to get in touch with the principal, even talked to a couple of teachers, had no luck with them, so the next morning the newspaper was at the school office when it opened:bigsmile: . The next time I needed to talk to the principal he was available to me!

Cindy in OK I`m thinking about replacing my oven and cooktop too, only because they are 17 years old, nothing really wrong with them…just depends on how my budget goes! I can`t believe they delivered a table that was off centered , did they think you wouldn`t notice? I can`t wait for you to post pics!!!

Margaret Coffee:drinker: and water:drinker: !!! I can`t believe you have snow, and 7 inches:noway: …yikes!

Sylvia Woo hoo!!! Mama bear at her best!!!! Love, love, love the joke:laugh: !!!

Carol in NC Hope you have a nice visit with your parents and a great visit to the school:flowerforyou: !

Katla I`ll be getting estimates on the wood decking and the plastic decking! I would love to have a patio , I`m going to throw that idea out to the landscape architect and see what he thinks! LOL at the pounds rambling up and down the aisles looking for their person:laugh: !!!

Teral What a gorgeous little bundle you`re holding !!!

Jane Martin Glad you`re finally getting to see the Dr.! Good for you not eating the entire bag of candy:bigsmile: !

Kim in N. CAL You didn`t come across badly!!! I understand you were looking forward to a wonderful dinner and had saved calories for it and then you had 2 oz. of turkey:grumble: ….I would have been starving too!!! Congrats on getting rid of a pound…woo hoo…one less to shed:flowerforyou: !!!

Heather I value good service too, and tip accordingly ! I decided to go ahead with all my projects for the very reason you said…I can`t take it with me when I leave this world, why not enjoy my home while I`m still able to:bigsmile: !!!

Denise from New Zealand Welcome:flowerforyou: ! Hope you`ll pop in often and chat with us!

Jill I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip!!! Take pics of you and Meg!!!

Bonnie in NC Have fun on your bike trip!!!

Beth I do much better with less clutter too!

Michele I use Clinique sunscreen for my body SPF 50, Neutrogena for my face and have Deborah Lipman handcream SPF 25, I carry that in my purse:happy: . Glad your coughing is better:flowerforyou: !!!

Sue from TN Welcome:flowerforyou: !!! Come in often and chat!

Sue in SD The Cantata sounds just beautiful !!!

Renny Have a wonderful weekend:bigsmile: :flowerforyou: !!!

Joyce Sounds like you had a nice trip! The cave sounds really interesting. My 7 yrs. old granddaughter is full of energy too, however I think I wore her out Wednesday when she was here, by the time we met my daughter and son in law for dinner, she was almost falling asleep over her dinner:laugh: !

Mountainsong Welcome:flowerforyou: !!! This is a great group of women, full of encouragement and great ideas!!! I`m so sorry you had a stroke, at such an early age too! I like your goal to keep it simple and work for progress, not perfection:bigsmile: !!!

Kay from NW WA Hope things will be okay for your son:flowerforyou: !!! That has to be so very stressful on the entire family!!! Congrats on being down 3 pounds:bigsmile: !!!

Meg Sending you a hug !!! School will be over soon and you`ll find your motivation again!!!

Amanda I had a day this past week I so didn’t want to get out of bed:yawn: !!! Hope you`ll find some time to relax over the weekend!

Cynthia Hope your fur baby is doing okay:flowerforyou: !!! She let her dogs out and then she blames you:huh: ….good for you not clamming up!!!!

Mindy in UK Welcome:flowerforyou: !!! Hope you`ll come in often!! Your goals for April sounds good!! Logging all your food is key to losing weight!

It`s a beautiful morning here!!! Sun is out and temps are really nice:glasses: !!! I`m going to meet a friend for coffee very soon and some shopping, although since I`m getting ready to do projects, I`ll just window shop:ohwell: !

Have a wonderful Saturday!!! Drink your water:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: and log your food!!!

Hugs,
DeeDee in sunshiny NC:glasses:

Good morning. Finally caught up on mail. Looks to be in the 50's today,not bad.Husband is gone on the Honor Flight to DC ,not home till 10 pm this eve. Can't remember him being gone so long. He did work with his union back in the day & that required some travel. Had one or both girls at home then. Just finished picking up. Doing a bit of laundry,then going to do a few errands.

That is if DD doesn't come looking for me.The girls seem to think Mom can't spend an hour alone:noway: I am a private person who has always appreciated time alone.Simply don't need to have people around every minute of every day.Took years to teach DH
,but our girls "know better":ohwell: & thank The Lord for our small family.We are blessed.

Have read several articles this wk saying it is very important to lose wt slowly,if there is any Hope of keeping the pounds off.
All say the faster you lose,the faster you will regain.They said it's very true,especially for those who lose a good bit of wt.

Good thoughts for those who need them.Have a great day.
My special word is aware,I need to be aware of what I choose to eat,& even more aware of portion size.:grumble: Pat in Ohio

Good morning,

Deedee lemon water, coffee.:drinker: Have fun with your friend.

Kay three pounds down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Prayers for son. Hospitals are a hard place to heal. You are very understanding of his anger.

Cynthia so sorry about your dog being attacked.

Katla hope you were able to get the cleaning done you needed to do.

Plano Teral congratulations on new granddaughter.

Heather hope you had a good trip to Cotswald.

Taking a class today for renewal hours on how to help children with emotional outbursts. I was supposed to take another one on discipline. Unfortunately the instructor was sick, and they had to cancel last minute.

Today I will start getting ready at a reasonable time, so tomorrow I more ready to start the day.

Have a wonderful day!

2014: contentment

Margaret

Gloria in Detroit: It looks like you’re coming to terms with a bad experience and making plans for change. You’re a good mom.:flowerforyou:

Jill in W MA: Enjoy your trip. I hope you’ll be able to touch bases with us along the way. I discovered that I was able to stay in touch quite well on our recent visit to CO. Every hotel where we stayed had good internet access. It helps to have a laptop or tablet that can easily go along. I agree with you about tomatoes. I can’t imagine anyone has missed the window of opportunity to plant them, and people likely have at least couple more months of leeway.:flowerforyou:

Bonnie: 40 miles against a headwind on a bike sure does impress me. Wow!:flowerforyou:

Sylvia: Today’s joke made me feel exceptionally blessed. I call the intelligent, attractive, caring, loving and sensitive men in my life daddy, husband, and son. This came at a good time. I needed to be reminded of my blessings.:flowerforyou:

Beth in WNY: Kids can handle a rigorous monthly challenge but people of “a certain age” need to take things slow and steady. Take on the challenges that appeal to you and stick with us for basic support. Show up and do your best. You won’t be eliminated here.:flowerforyou:

Jane: I hope your doctor appointment leads to health improvements.:flowerforyou:

Sue from TN: Welcome. You can find us again by going to Community and My Topics.:flowerforyou:

Sue in SD: Music is a gift. I can enjoy it, but I’m not able to make it. I sing off key frequently, and on-key occasionally.:ohwell: You are blessed.:flowerforyou:

Renny: Thanks for stopping by.:flowerforyou:

Joyce: The cave you’re talking about sounds absolutely huge and amazing. I’m happy to know it exists. Your youngest DGD sounds like a very smart little girl.:flowerforyou:

Mountainsong: Welcome. Exercise, solar temperature lights and vitamin D3 with calcium citrate are in my depression fighting tool kit, along with this lovely group of women. Stop in often.:flowerforyou:

Kay from NW WA: Good luck to your son. Let us know how it goes. He is right about hospital rooms. They are hellholes; but they are the perfect place to be when we need them. Needing them is the hell part.:ohwell: :flowerforyou:

Meg from Omaha: It sounds like you’ve had a bad time of it lately and are seriously over worked. I hope you’ll be able to get some rest. :flowerforyou:

Amanda: It is nearly 7am in western Oregon, which puts it about 3pm in London if I read the world clock correctly. What time is your day over? I hope you get needed rest.:flowerforyou:

Cynthia: I hope your dog is feeling better. You did a good thing by standing up to the woman with “attack dogs.”:flowerforyou:

Mindy in Berkshire, UK: Welcome.:flowerforyou:

DeeDee: I hope you’ll keep us in the landscape loop. It sounds like a great project.:flowerforyou:



DS is visiting this weekend and he and DH are working on the fishing boat. I love having him here. He has shared that he is in a career transition, which may result in a transfer. I’m struggling to be supportive. I have really enjoyed having him relatively nearby—relative being less than 150 miles away. We don’t get to have coffee in the mornings, but can visit for a couple of days relatively easily. DH is right that I need to think of DS’s well being, but I’m having a bit of a pity party. Nothing is set in stone at this point. He could be transferred or stay in his current location. In the end, I will be supportive of him no matter where he will be living. I’d appreciate prayers for serenity and wisdom on my part, and a good assignment for him.

Katla in overcast 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


April Goals:

1. Log every bite and swallow.
2. Move more: cardio at least 3 days a week and strength training when able.
3. Find a way to have fun at least once every day.
4. Water: Pay attention to water intake and drink frequently during the day.

I managed to lose a pound in Mexico this time around! I usually either gain a couple or stay even. We did our usually major walking (hubby actually likes to walk there, so we go for two long walks every day), but this time we split a few entrees between us and drank very little.

Other than that, the trip was something of a disaster. Hubby had what I was sure was a heart attack -- sudden, severe pain in the upper left quadrant, severe nausea and non-responsive for just under a minute. I called for an ambulance, but when it arrived he said that he was fine and sent them away. He didn't want to go to a Mexican hospital. I spent the next five days being afraid that it would happen again, although he felt fine. I got him to the doctor after we got home (against his will -- had to get our daughter to talk to him), and it turned out not to have been a heart attack after all. That was a relief!

That was three days ago. We've spent the last two with hubby in severe pain, which has been very difficult for me to see. This time he actually agreed to go to the doctor! They thought kidney stones, but have now decided it's a pinched nerve. He's truly suffering, and even taking hydrocodone (he hates pills). I hope it eases up soon.

I'm having a hard time getting back to my treadmill, which is so much more boring than walking around in Mexico, but I'm trying!

I hope that this finds everyone doing well and losing weight. Spring is in the air!

Jane in Colorado

bump

Happy Saturday Ladies! I didn't get to the gym Friday morning we thought we would go this morning, but I was so worn out I slept really late. So I decided I would tackle some house chores today and I have been rolling along.. I also wanted to make sure I caught up on your posts so my action plan is to tackle a chore and read a post and draft a response. So far I've washed the scatter rugs, cleaned one bathroom, packed up some glasses for storage, fixed the SO breakfast and carried out trash.....still a lot to do...

Drkatiebug: I am definitely going to try the steamed kale. I usually boil it too, but recently we tried kale in the salad bags for fresh salad, I put some madarian orange pieces, onions and tomato with it and the SO liked it. I hope he will like it steamed too. Glad you had a positive report from your thyroid test. I felt the same way.

Grandmallie: You really roll along! I don’t think I could keep up.

Gloria in Metro Detroit: Dealing with school systems is the pits.:grumble: By the time my kids got to high school I was not allowed to talk to teachers without the principal and usually the principal would meet me at the door when I had to go there.:blushing: My kids say that I am responsible for helping several teachers and one assistant principal making career changes.

Trin: I am a lot like you and really slacked off for the past several month regaining about 20 pounds. Being a part of this group has really been a lot of help. Welcome!:flowerforyou:

Heather: I am jealous! Sounds like a fantastic trip! No vacations planned here until August! :sad:

DeeDee: Children really think they know it all! My DD will probably say the same thing about the motorcycle class that yours did. My DS will say “OMG What Next! Go For It Mom! Can I borrow your motorcycle when you are not riding?”:laugh:

Joyce: My DS was a lot like your DGD and that is what caused so many problems in school. :mad: He was too far advanced for his grade level and would be bored in short order. The school system had a difficult time dealing with a different kind of student! I have a degree in child psychology and I was pressed at times dealing with him and finally resorted to the same kinds of things that her Mom does. But I fought for him for 12 years of schooling.

Mountainsong: Congratulations on teaching for 25 years. :flowerforyou: I was the first in my family deciding not to be a teacher. I didn’t feel like I liked children enough to exercise tolerance and patience. I too have experienced brain static from intense asthma attacks and intubation for 10+ days each time. I take things one day at a time for the most part and do what I want and what I can.

Cynthia: Sorry to hear about your dog being attacked. :mad: I have a Doberman that I walk 5 days each week (one of my April goals) and I worry about escapee dogs too! Last year we were walking and a Yorkie shot out of a house and jumped on poor Storm and bit him. Storm was on the leash and he didn’t bite him but we were both outdone. I was thankful that he didn’t chew the little dog up! He is a gentle soul. I wanted to punch the owner!

Mindy: Having a trainer is great! Mine made me hurt too but it was really worth it especially since she made me do things I never would have done on my own and I am still doing them.:bigsmile:

LizPlus: Don’t starve yourself! :noway: I thought the same thing, but I finally decided to look for stuff I could eat a lot of when I wanted to, that tasted good to me, and would keep my within my calorie budget. I also know for a fact that I must make sure I get my exercise in at least 5 days each week.

Jane In Colorado: Sorry to hear about your hubby’s pinched nerve. :frown: Hope he heals quickly. I bet the treadmill is not as interesting as walking around Mexico! :flowerforyou:

Hope you all are having a beautiful spring day!

Tere