WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JUNE 2014

morning ladies~
well I didnt exercise yesterday or today, having a little bit of tummy troubles so not going to worry about it..
I go into work at 9:30 this morning, and on my second cup of tea, did laundry and will bring soup and mini triscuits for lunch, I know they are alot of sodium ,but will just have the one serving.. trying to get my fruit and veggies in daily.. but have to go shopping this weekend..
Hope all are ok... and I cant wait for vacation!!!

Hi there - I'm a newbie to this thread although I've been with MFP for 520 days. I'm going to be 50 in 13 days :noway: :noway: :noway: so I figured I would say hello :happy: . I've lost just over 60 pounds in my time with MFP and I can honestly say that I am in better shape now (at 49 7/8) than I was in my 20's.

I hope it's OK to join this group with a goal of gaining a little bit of weight. I guess I went overboard with losing and working out and ended up being below where I should. If I can put on 10 pounds or so, I would be OK with that. But, I don't want to give up my exercise. That's what keeps me happy.

Hartland45: Welcome to a great group! We’ve had some great successes among us, and one of those successes is the wonderful sense of community here despite geographical distances.:flowerforyou:

Patceoh: I appreciate the catfish recipe. I definitely needed cayenne. The cornmeal coating is a great idea, too. I’ve never deep fried anything and don’t have a fryer for that so It would have to be done in a cast iron pot. My temperature was probably not high enough, although the fish was neither greasy nor soggy. It was flavorless. This catfish was previously frozen. I wonder if that was part of the flavor problem. Yesterday I used the leftovers in chiles rellenos. That was yummy!:bigsmile:

Patty in Cincinnati: Watch the cooking channel. I can recommend ‘Good Eats’ for basics and Bobby Dean’s, ‘Not My Mama’s Meals’ for lower calorie recipes.:flowerforyou:

SherryHall: Welcome. Where are you from? We have people from all over the place and it is fun knowing where people live. :flowerforyou:

Cynthia: Glad your heart seems better lately. I’m also glad the cardiologist appointment is only a week away. Getting that appointment may help you fine tune your health regime and give you a little peace of mind. I sure hope so.:flowerforyou:

Jfauci: You are welcome here, and are not the only one who has gone a bit too far with weight loss and had to regain a bit. :noway: Some of us are working on losing, and others are here to help ourselves maintain a healthy weight. The support is so helpful.:flowerforyou:



I have a busy day ahead. There is yoga to start the day, a hair trim along the way, and a city committee meeting this evening. I miss my barber!!!!! He moved away to provide his daughter with parental support when her work-a-holic mom can’t spend enough time with her. It was a noble and wonderful thing for him to do, but now we can’t get his fabulous haircuts anymore.:ohwell: :flowerforyou:


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



June Goals:
1. Log every bite and swallow.
2. Cardio exercise at least 3 days a week.
3. Have fun every day.
4. Drink at least two glasses of water daily, preferably more!

Good morning! :flowerforyou:

My niece Jennifer sent a message about Mariah this morning...really good news about the tests coming back clear, YAY!!

"Just a quick update on Mariah: went to Dr. Yesterday and got the info on Mariah's treatment plan. Basically, she will be in treatment for the next year. She starts chemo tomorrow with a 4 day inpatient stay at hospital. The next 20 weeks or so will be the toughest and most intense--especially the second 7 weeks when she will have both radiation and chemo together. We are anxious and Mariah has been such a trooper to take in all that is going to happen to her. She amazes me how strong she is, and I am sure that is due to all the prayers sent up on her behalf. Good news: no other cancerous cells found in the spinal fluid nor the bone marrow and all the MRI and CT scans have come back clear. We are starting treatment at the best possible place. For all of those positives, we are praising God and thanking all of you for your prayers and support. We continue to be humbled on a daily basis by gifts and cards and prayers from even people we haven't met in person. These, my friends, are Gods drops of sunshine in this somewhat rainy path. Our spirits are up and we are ready to face this head on. Thanks everyone for your prayers."

Off to the garden I go, still planting away! :bigsmile: Have a wonderful Tuesday, guzzle that water!. :drinker:

jb in beautiful sunny Portland with flowers everywhere :flowerforyou:

Good Morning to all,

First of all, THANK YOU for the kind words and encouragement. It DOES help and is greatly appreciated.

I agree that it's nice to see so many new faces. Best wishes to all for strength, will and belief that you can do what you put your mind to doing. I've often told myself that losing weight and living a healthy lifestyle is the easiest thing in the world....on paper. Unfortunately, real live often gets in the way and blocks our ability to see the forest through the trees.

I feel like I should clarify my last post a bit. While I do agree, in theory, that knowing what is going in and what is getting burned is key to most success weight loss attempts, right now...under my circumstances, I feel like it's working against me a bit. The years of frustration (since my hysterectomy) are taking a toll. When I see on paper over and over and over and over again that I'm "doing the right things" and yet not losing a pound...only gaining, I've come to the conclusion that I have to do something different. Sooooo that's what I'm working out right now. A fresh, new (or fresh old) way of eating, exercising and living. Leaning toward a "downsized" Mediterranean and altering my exercise to longer time with less intensity (with core and weight training) vs. shorter intense work outs.

Anyhow, started this hours ago and have been put behind with unexpected phone calls, etc.

My best to all. Be back soon.

xo- Gloria in Metro Detroit....where the sun continues to shine

Hello all! My goodness, it is going to take me forever to get to know you all. I can tell you are a great bunch.

I love MFP. My greatest struggles have been counting calories when I am out to eat, or for special occasions. We had a BQQ yesterday and I just ate very little. My doctor told me to lose weight, and that has been the motivation I needed. I need to lose about 20 pounds. Compared to what some of you have lost, that is peanuts. So why is it so difficult?

My goals for June: Get out of the bus two stops early and walk to work (1.5 kilometer), count calories on MFP, get new batteries for the wii fit. (you have inspired me!) I am saving my pennies for a fitbit.

I am Pamala, in The Netherlands.

Wow did I get behind. I went on a cross stitch weekend retreat and got off track. Back on track, I've been out in the garden today and already have almost 5000 steps, and tomatoes. I got the first zucchini last night. It was yummy! One of my friends moved from her large house with a back yard to a condo with no yard, so we are sharing my garden this year. Last year I couldn't eat everything so this year I don't want to waste anything.

I didn't read everything, because I don't have time today, but love and prayers to all who need them. I know that stuff happens and I always pray for my friends and their families.

I've got some errands to run today, so stay safe. Tigress in GA

We had a brieve q%a session on the ACE facebook page. No questions today. Sort of a disappointment. I'm working on listing the definistions in chapter two of Exercise Essentials Manual, then I'll start Chapter three.

Yesterday I OD'd on exercise - not good. I did 30 minutes of Fitness Blender in the morning and then went to my usual Monday evening two hour session. I could hardly lift my legs at the end. I don't think I'll do that again.

Yannie - Hope your exercise routine went well yesterday.

Exermom (real name?) thanks for the thumbs up on my Zumba training. I'm psyched from the training to work with older people from healthy elders to less able. I have to find some sort of niche that I'll enjoy since I want to keep teaching for a long time. I thought people my age and older would be open to an older instructor.

Meg - hope everything was well yesterday. I couldn't find your post.

I've finally established a routine of drinking enough water for the day. The key for me was to have two glasses of water first thing on waking up - before I do anything else. It seems to keep me going.

Jacqueline in NYC.

Kim in Clear Lake, Iowa - just getting back at it as of yesterday. New to this group but not to MFP. Off to a meeting - will comment about what's going on later. Happy Tuesday!

Happy birthday, Anamika!! Hope you have a perfect day. :flowerforyou:

Meg - I think you are absolutely right to allow your DD#1 to have to deal with the consequences of her behavior. She's certainly old enough to understand responsibility and I think she is doing stuff in spite of your upbringing, NOT YOU FAULT!! My former boss had a son like that - even tried to spoil his Dad's wedding by acting like a putz. That was several years ago and now he is the nicest kid and would do anything for his dad. Hang in there, my friend

Rita - Great to hear you back on the board!! Still hoping we can get together with Alison in CT some time this summer. :glasses:
Pamala in the Netherlands - we just got back from 3-4 days in Amsterdam - what a lovely city. Wish we could have spent more time there.

Welcome to all the new ladies!! I'm 67, trying to get to Onederland :laugh: and experience loooooong plateaus. I like the concept shared a few months ago, that plateaus are really practice for maintaining later. I started out a size 30 and am now down to 22-24. It's be a very slow process, but I certainly don't want to go back to those size 30s! MY knees and back would revolt (again). Like many of us, I have a variety of chronic conditions and my biggest challenge related to that is keeping salt around 1,500 mg a day and that is difficult.

I work out 3 times a week, mostly strength-training and cardio. Heather in UK is one of my heroes in terms of strength training and planking!! And Michele (Exermom) is the exercise queen, I think :happy: Barbie is my inspiration for upping my walking - don't know if I can do 20,000 steps a day (no doggies to walk), but hope to average at least 10,000.

Have a great day all!! And drink your water!!! :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

Jill in western Massachusetts

Happy tues.
Thank you all for the well wishes.I love you all!!:drinker: :flowerforyou:
Feel better,just tired.
Made a follow up with the gyn dr and taking it easy today.
Ill go to Violet`s tonite and releive my daughter.
HUgs jane
Welcome new ladies:drinker: :drinker:

Just wanted to post my june goals and check off the ones I've accomplished. ;-)

So here are my June goals:

Post in this thread every day - Doing good
Body Pump-2x's week - YES
Shred and Abs 1x week -YES
Cardio three times a week (Zumba and Kickboxing) - YES
8+ glasses of water daily - Met or exceeded goals for a week and a half
Zumba Training for certificate June 8 - COMPLETED
Catch up to weekly study guides for ACE group fitness instructor certification test - On schedule
Start Zumba mentoring program mid-june
Start researching change to individual weight training - Put on hold
Jacaueline in NYC

Opps the pics didn't post. See this link for my original post w/ pics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1316322-birthday-progress-w-pics

06/10/14

Today is my 52nd birthday. And my 492nd day of daily MFP logging. This has been one helluva year and I want to share it with you.
Many people refer to their weight loss/fitness experience as a “journey”. To me, a journey is traveling from one place to another, with a definite starting point and a pre-determined destination. I prefer to think of this as an adventure. I am traveling through uncharted territories, unaware of the pitfalls I will encounter, nor of the surprises I will find. Hell, I don’t even know where I will be when I complete this adventure. I don’t know where it will take me.

As I mentioned, this is the 492nd day of this adventure, my logging streak began on Monday, February 4, 2013. But the adventure actually started several months earlier. I joined MFP in October 2012 in order to lose weight for my upcoming wedding. My intentions were good but my follow through was lousy. On December 15, 2010, my husband of 10 years and I finally had our church wedding, renewed our vows and had our civil ceremony convalidated by the Catholic Church. When I looked through the pictures, I saw a very happy bride. A very happy, very fat bride. Over the years, I had gained about 100lbs. During those years, my husband never *****ed about my weight; he loved and accepted me just as I was. When I remembered all that we had been through and all the support he showed me over the years, I thought “He deserves more than a fat, unfit, dumpy and dowdy wife. He deserves a wife he can be proud of.” (Little did I know that he has always been proud to call me his wife.) Then I thought “Hell, I deserve to be more than a fat, unfit, dumpy and dowdy woman.” I was 50 years old and tipped the scales at 232lbs. My motivation for change was born. Something lit a fire in me. I wasn’t doing this for him; I was going to do this for ME. Because I am worth it.

I started walking and being more aware of what I was eating. I logged in sporadically. I guess I saw a bit of progress; I was able to walk further and further each week. I was feeling better physically due to the light exercise, but I still wasn’t counting calories. I liked food too much to really consider a diet. But I wanted to change for the better. I logged a day of hypothetical eating – 2700 calories! No wonder I was obese! I had to change my eating habits. On 02/04/13, I started logging my food.

I started eating 1200 calories a day, just like MFP told me to do. I felt so righteous eating Laughing Cow cheese on a dry English muffin for breakfast, a salad for lunch and small portions at dinner. I joined the local gym and was amazed when I was able to walk for 30 minutes straight on the treadmill. I was doing awesome! But I was also hungry, kinda miserable and definitely wanting the good food I was accustomed to.

I started spending my time in the MFP Community. (MFP soon replaced FaceBook as my social media outlet). I started reading in the forums and found “In Place of a Road Map”. That single post changed my life! I learned about TDEE, BMR and a sustainable lifestyle. My weight loss strategy suddenly changed from a temporary diet to a long term way of life – one of eat a little less, move a little more. I also learned about the benefits of strength training, the wonders of C25K and the folly of raspberry ketones and detoxes.

I continued to walk daily. In April 2013, I started waking early and was walking 3 miles most mornings and evenings. By my 51st birthday in June 2013, I weighed 207lbs, a loss of 25lbs in 5 months. By July, I was starting SL5x5 and learned what it felt like to be a bad-*kitten*. I started C25K and in October, I ran my first 5K in 44:01 minutes. By November, I added weekly 6 mile hikes with Cora, my blue heeler pup. On November 8, I weighed 199.8lbs – ONEDERLAND at last! The first six months of 2014 have resulted in another 23lb loss, for a total of 48lbs. I weigh 184.6lbs as of this morning. My body fat % is at 41.3%, down from 56.2%. My BMI is 31.6, down from 38. I have gone from measurements of 49-43-52 to 43-37-42.

I get a thrill out of feeling muscles emerge from under that layer of fat! I even have baby guns!

I still have much more to accomplish. I still want to lose another 20-40lbs more. I have yet to get consistent with my weight training (I’m praying that small spark becomes an unquenchable fire burning in me). I have yet to complete C25K and I can’t run yet (thanks to bone-on-bone knee problems). But I have gained the courage and confidence to post a pic of my booty for all of MFP to see – thanks to two special friends, you know who you are!

I LOVE ZUMBA

Hello! I am the newbie on this page! The weight has hit me really hard! AND it hit mainly the middle...ugh!! I quite smoking 7 months ago..still wanting to smoke badly....grrrrr...so I substitute food for smoking..bad bad...I need to use physical activity in place of smoking...yeah yeah...so hard to get started! I have walked a few time in the last week, from here at work on my 1/2 lunch break...and I have a really bad lower back, so at this time good ol fast paced walking is all I can do...wish me luck..oh..and we just came out of a really cold & frustrating winter, I live in Minnesota...just couldnt be outside much at all..so I also had the bear/hibernation going on...ish

Good Luck! I am a newbie as of today. I gained about 15 pounds in a few months.....quit smoking, was menopause 8 years then had a bleed, long story short, hormone producing tumor on my ovary. Had both removed with tubes. I am 4 weeks post op tomorrow so I can't exercise yet. The tumor caused my belly to swell and I think put the weight on. The huge belly left after surgery but not the weight. Now I am surgically post menopause and even though I have been cutting back on carbs and sugar, I decided yesterday to get strict. I just want to get back in my clothes. We also had a rough winter here in Pa. Wish me luck too!