40+ Club: Fall Fitness Fanatics

Happy Holidays! Congrats to all of those goal achievers out there!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone! I am now day 13 post final round of Chemo and starting to feel human again. Like the last few rounds this one really zapped me. Luckily, I should be really feeling great by Christmas Day.

My New Year's Resolutions will be based on trying to get my strength back and getting back to eating clean. Of course, my weight is lower than it was when I first got married but I feel like I have lost so much lean muscle mass that my goal will be to try and get some of that back and eas back into running. Unfortunately, right now I have a lot of peripheal nueropathy in my right foot which doesn't make me the best for running so I'm just going to play it by ear.

Happy Holidays, Stay safe if you will be dealing with cold and snow or I guess from the news today rain and floods.

duffy, so good to see you. Glad to hear you are continuing to recover from your last treatment. I remember your goal going into treatment was to be cancer free for Christmas....and here you are! You amaze me. I love that you New Year's resolution is going to focus on your health. You've been an incredible inspiration to me this year, and, again, I thank you so much for sharing your journey on your blog. :flowerforyou:

TxMs, I've missed you!!! You've certainly been traveling alot over the past few months, haven't you? I'm happy you will be surrounded by family for the holidays. Have fun and enjoy the gumbo!

kadetr, don't worry about the few pounds!!! Seriously. I've learned quite a lesson about 'set-point' over the past year or so. I simply couldn't maintain my lowest weight and live the life I want to live. By gaining back about ten pounds, I'm able to maintain while enjoying--within reason--some of life's less healthy food pleasures. My New Year's Resolution for 2010 was to find balance in my life, and it took me about nine months to figure it out when it comes to food and weight. I was forcing my body to be unnaturally thin. Now, I'm still thin (I can still get into some size 0's), but I also feel like I can live. I no longer fear social functions and such like I used to because I was always worried that one meal would throw me off my 'plan'. Now I have all of the confidence in the world that I'll make the healthiest choices possible, and if healthy isn't an option, that I'll eat within reason AND my body will be able to deal with it. You are doing spectacularly well because, honestly, you've been maintaining for quite a few months now and to gain just a few pounds......that's nothing!!! Celebrate and enjoy it. You are doing really great. I hope you enjoy your Christmas!! :flowerforyou:

singfree, Barnes and Noble is one of my favorite places too!! In fact, I was in one just yesterday. I'm thinking of going back tomorrow. I'm addicted. :blushing: Our holiday food tradition is eggs benedict. I have no idea where that one came from, but I grew up eating it. I'm sure it has nothing to do with my family's heritage and everything to do with what my mother enjoyed eating! And that's okay with me. I introduced my husband to the tradition and, for him, it just isn't Christmas unless we make eggs benedict for Christmas. And after a breakfast like that, we tend to eat pretty light the rest of the day which keeps me out of the kitchen for the bulk of Christmas. I like that.

Got in a good Insanity workout this morning and will probably do some yoga later. I'm hoping to get in a good workout tomorrow as well. My eating has been getting better throughout the week instead of worse, which is good. But I'm going to make a cheesecake for my husband and I today. It's just a small cheesecake--big enough for four slices--so that's good. It is a rare treat for us, and my husband specifically requested it recently. It's Christmas so.....why not? It's a Hot Buttered Rum cheesecake.

I'll try to check-in tomorrow!!! Enjoy your day.

Ok, now for a more serious post...enjoyed reading most posts. Sorry, has been gone so many days. Been quite busy...I, too, have not been a good girl lately, tons of food, especially sweets around...but oh well, it is not new...Sing, would love to join you in the eating healthy effort this week but I dont think it will happen, maybe next week...for sure after the 1st of the year. :laugh:

I went to see the Dr on Monday. He requested another MRI with an injection to see the area better and while they are at it they will inject me with steroids to see if that helps with the pain etc...yikes!!!!! Just the thought of it hurts more... :noway: That MRI is scheduled on Jan 10. Surprisingly he said I can continue doing what I am doing, Zumba and all!!! :noway: I thought he would ask me to rest, etc...so I am still teaching Zumba!!! Yes, it hurts, especially after and throughout the day but it is nothing new now...he said that if he were to do MRIs to 100 people a good percentage of them will show a labrum tear. Wow!!!!!

If I am not able to log in before Christmas I want to wish all of you a blessed Christmas with your loved ones!!!!

Stiring, I love your new picture, lovely!!!!!

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Merry Christmas Everybody!!

Friday check-in....could have been a better week....could have been a worse week. I'm holding my own. I'm happy right now that I made the point of getting up early this morning to get a workout in. I know my eating today isn't going to be great, so at least I'm holding up on one end of the deal. I'm planning on doing short resistance training workout in a couple of minutes (already did the cardio) and then spending the rest of the day with my husband.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Merry Christmas everyone!

End of a very enjoyable day with the my wonderful family. Actually didn't eat too much for dinner, but did drink a glass of ChocoWine while watching the A-Team, then had pumpkin pie while watching The Easy A. Both good movies, even though totally different kinds of movies. I'm not much of a wine drinker, but ChocoWine's not bad. It's a burgundy saturated with deep, dark chocolate flavor. Now tolerating MythBusters..........my husband is hooked on it; but it's better than when he goes on a History Channel marathon!!! :laugh:

Yawn............time to head to bed..............it's been a long, long day!.

Hello everyone!!! I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!!! I spent the entire day at home in my pj's, that was sooooo nice!!!! I think we are taking my son to Sea World tonight for the Holiday shows. Just to get out of the house...

Marla, great to hear from you. Your husband tv shows taste sounds like mine...he also likes those. He is not a sports guy...thank God because I am not either....glad you had a great Christmas.

Zippy, great to hear from you!!!!

Take care!!!! :flowerforyou:

Good Morning!

We, too, enjoyed a quiet and pleasant Christmas here in the DC area. Despite much hand-wringing by the TV meterologists and many predictions to the contrary, we, too, escaped the snow. It made me sad to see all of the salt trucks and snow removal trucks out yesterday, prepared for a blizzard that never came. These people could have been home with their families instead of sitting on dry roads. But there was nothing I could do about it. It is pretty windy and chilly this morning, but that's supposed to change later this week when we get up close to 50 degrees!

I got some decent workouts in this weekend and already did a good cardio this morning. I'm planning on doing an upper body workout later today.....as well as take all of the Christmas stuff down. That will be a workout in itself! My eating this weekend wasn't great, but it also could have been a whole lot worse. Like singfree, I feel a bit sluggish and bloated right now, but I'm hoping that passes in a day or two. I'm not one who really celebrates the New Year, so next weekend shouldn't be much of a problem IF I can keep myself focused on good eating. Here's hoping I can!

Hope you all enjoyed your holiday!

Hi All! Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Day. Had our friends over Christmas Eve for gumbo. Just our foursome for Christmas Day. Now that the kids are in their 20s, it is more about spending time together versus getting the latest toy, thank goodness! Rainy on Christmas Eve and in the 30's on Christmas Day. Yesterday, it was 23 degrees when we got up. Supposed to get warmer as the week goes on.

We went to an exhibit on Maya culture at the Kimbell in Fort Worth yesterday. Very interesting. The Kimbell always has great special exhibits.

Getting ready for the second wave of Christmas: My nephew and mother are flying over from Mississippi on Wednesday. I am at work today, but it is very quiet. Please keep my boss in your prayers: She has been supporting and taking care of her elderly mom who is in Pittsburgh. She has spent a good part of December up in Pittsburgh with her mom who was in and out of the hospital, placed in a nursing home and then moved to a hospice facility. Her mom died on Christmas Day. With all the nasty weather, the rest of her family may not be able to get there for the funeral. I am so sorry for the family.

All the more reason to enjoy the time you have with family friends and try to get yourself in the best, most healthy shape possible. Take care all! TxMs

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I was thinking of you guys, but could not get to it. It was a bear at work-worked allot of extra time. Thurs night I even had to log back in and work from 6-10-yuck..had to input my year end review...fun, fun.

Well, I did have cookies last week...not as many as last year, but after eating them-I did not feel as well....like that sluggish, blah feeling. Gees....why do that...because it is the season. :noway:

Well, my inlaws came down Christmas afternoon and then got in a panic about the blizzard, so they left yesterday morning(originally they were going to leave this morning). Well, my husband was furious with them. The older one gets the more nervous one becomes and one worries more.....just a fact of life. Fun, fun.
I wish the wind from the blizzard would chill......brrrrrr. My office was open-was shocked, but I am off this week. We still have 2 birthday parties(1 is my son), and New Years left. I am trying to get some projects finished up this week too. On Thurs my dau and I plan to to go to Yankee Candle and then to festival of lights in Springfield MA.

Hope everyone has a restful week..:bigsmile:

Am I that person you're planning on visiting, singfree! :bigsmile: I'm looking forward to it!!!!

I'm running a little late today and trying to get my workouts in before some lunch plans. It didn't help that I couldn't get myself out of bed this morning. :blushing: I rarely sleep past when my husband leaves at 5:15am, but not this morning. :ohwell: At least I've got my cardio in, and I'll go do lower body in a minute. And then I have to run out the door.

kadetr, congrats on the new bread machine!! I make all kinds of things in my bread machine including bread rolls and pizza crust. The calories ARE higher than in store-bought bread, but I also make my slices very thin, so I can get the calories down to about 110 calories a slice. I happily accept the calories given that my bread doesn't have the outrageous amounts of sodium and preservatives that so many store-bought brands have. If you need some lower calorie recipes, let me know because most of my wheat bread recipes have lower calories per slice than 200. I love my bread machine!!

TxMs, hope you enjoy your second wave of Christmas!! That sounds like fun. I'm so sorry to hear about your boss. I hope things are clearing out up there to allow more family come in to support her. She is in my thoughts and prayers.

zebras, so good to see you!! Hope you enjoyed your day off!!

pepper, sorry to hear your week last week got so crazy....but it's great you are off this week. Enjoy!!

singfree, I don't know what parents think about some of the things that they teach their children. I am a very cynical person, though, and I often wonder if manners will be a thing of the past in the not-so-distant future. If people can get by without manners (and it has been proven over and over again they can with certain sports and entertainment stars who often get rewarded for 'bad' behavior....and who unfortunately have a large influence on many younger people who are parents), then it is actually hard to argue to some why manners and decency are important. It makes me so sad because they ARE important. Who wants to live in a world full of unpleasant people? I don't. I love that you're giving your grandson another view. No doubt he'll remember that as he grows older.

Well, off to do my next workout. I hope you all enjoy your day!

Hello all - Happy Holidays to all!

I have maintained (been within 2 lbs) all month....so I am happy with that. I did not expect to loose any but I am very happy with the no big gain.

My son (with lots of help from my husband) gave me new workout stuff - shirt, sweatshirt, gym bag, headband - all from the lance armstrong foundation (and pink). I have already worn it all to the gym! This is the first year that I was not offended that I received workout wear....

Didn't work out today...but the tree, trimmings and all the decorations came down - and then the house cleaning...so that counted as my workout ...right??

We are having the neighborhood NYE party at our house.....so I better get back to more cleaning!

Keep safe all those who are driving/traveling!!

alf, don't do anything drastic!!! You've been maintaining your weight SO well over the past year, despite your injuries. After the holidays, when your eating has settled a bit, you will probably start feeling like yourself again in a couple of weeks. If you don't and need to shave off a couple of pounds (I can't imagine it's any more than that) then only cut a few hundred calories a day out of your diet. You are so thin right now that any more than that might do more damage than good. You are amazing, and don't forget that!!!

cef, congrats on maintaining your weight through all of this. I got workout stuff for Christmas too (including a kettlebell). My husband made a point when giving it to me to let me know he gave it to me because I asked for it....not because he thought I needed it. :laugh: The funny thing is I never would have thought to be offended by it because working out is my hobby (and drug) of choice, but once I read that, I realized how those kinds of gifts could be interpreted. Glad you've turned that corner too!!

singfree, this is a tough time of year for motivation. Our weather has turned around though, and it feels like spring here. We're supposed to be close to 60 degrees this week (which should make for a great trip into DC to see you on Friday!!!!). That is really helping me right now because I'm thinking that I'm not going to be able to hide under big baggy clothes forever. I know we'll be back into winter before long, but, right now, I'm finding my motivation in the sunshine.

All here is well. Most of the Christmas food is out of the house now, and I feel like getting back on track with my eating. I got up and did a good Turbo Fire workout this morning (I really like these workouts, btw). I'm going to do some endurance resistance training in a little while....and then I may give that kettlebell a few swings. I picked up Bob Harper's kettlebell workout this past weekend, and I might give a little bit of that a try to see how well I handle the kettlebell. I want to start out slowly with it because of my shoulder and back issues...but I really want to give it a go since kettlebells seem to work the core so well.

Hope you all have a great day!