WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR FEBRUARY

Not much time (as usual) but today it's because I need an early start because of the icy roads. We got 6 inches here in the Olympia, WA area--not much compared to a lot of you but we don't usually get ANY so, for us, it is a big deal.

I do want to welcome our newcomers. This is a great thread to be a part of.

Also--Michelle, we LOVE beans! There are a lot of different types and some we like better than others. My favorites are black beans and pinto beans. My DD loves kidney beans and navy beans and the guys eat whatever we put in front of them (though Mat doesn't care for black beans). I usually soak them overnight, cook them until they are just tender and then freeze them in 2 cup containers to add to recipes.
I think you should try a few different types. The way they are cooked will impact the texture, too.

Vicki--the same is true of oatmeal, to a point. More liquid=mushier, etc. I do not care for the instant types at all because of the texture but I love the kinds you have to cook.

Mimi--Here is a link to a thread about posting pictures here on the MFP boards:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/104076-posting-pictures-on-the-boards-tutorial

I haven't actually tried it but hopefully it will help you.

Have a wonderful Friday, everyone!

Hello All Greeting from England!

Sorry not to be in touch a death of a close family friend and then my mum having a fall and ending up in the emergency room (following my daughter ending up there the week before) has really been exhausting.

I am a little run down but have told myself I need to take this week to recharge and get back to things proper next week.

Haven't lost any weight for a couple of weeks but there will be plenty of time for that from next week!

Haven't read all the above posts but hope everyone is okay.

Hi Ladies,
:flowerforyou:
I survived the first of our tornado weather last night. It was 51-53 degrees and shot up to 63 last night and then the weather began. We had rain all day yesterday and then torrential rains last night. This morning gray skies and 39...the battle of hot and cold...the changing of the seasons.
I was awake until 1 am for that is when the watch was over. :yawn:

Barbara :flowerforyou: Thanks for missing me. I did go away for about 4 days, last weekend. Had a wonderful outing with DH. He offered to take me to Florida. I decided to wait until later in the Spring. That swarmy voice attacks :grumble: most of at one time or another. It sounds like you are conquering the beast. :flowerforyou: I am so glad for you.

Kathy-:flowerforyou: I would have thought all of Washington state was prone to heavy snow. Thanks for the lesson. I actually looked up Olympia just to "jog" my memory of the location. You have lost 45 lbs..wow!:flowerforyou:

Robin--I was the one who thought you look skinny.. .and I would think you are tall...my family was a short family. My dad is 5'7". My mom is 5'2". I am the tallest one at 5'2". My sisters are 4'11" and 5'.
I married a man who is 6'3". My daugters-in-law are 5'6" and 5'8"...to me that is tall and I always have wished I was. It's inconvenient to be short. My granddaughter is already in a size 6 (4 years old)and according to the "twice the height at 2 years" theory, she will be 5'11". I would not be surprised. Her mother has a sister who is 5'11". All those long legs..besides I needed height bred back into my family.:bigsmile:
I hope you have a wonderful trip to St. Thomas.:flowerforyou: It is certainly something you have to look forward to.

Ikp:flowerforyou: --you have a soul sister in me. Your story is similar to mine. Welcome!:flowerforyou:

Michelle- have a safe trip home!:flowerforyou:

Viv - Good to hear from you.:flowerforyou: I suppose you are more honest than I am. I have been going up and down 2 lbs. I am just going to ignore it until things go the way I want.:bigsmile: I would be changing it every 2 - 3 days. :noway: I decided the ticker wasn't going to get me down.:noway:
Happy Shopping!:flowerforyou:

Barbie :flowerforyou: I have taken a cue from you and added dancing to some of my daily routines. It is great fun!

AnnMarie- Welcome to the forum..and good luck!:flowerforyou: I read about your thyroid :noway: and adrenaline problems...I believe I have gained 2 soul sisters today.:flowerforyou:

Faye- of the Ferrets :bigsmile: you have done well, already, with your weight loss. :flowerforyou: I am looking forward to the day that I can say I have lost 10-20-30 lbs. It will be a great accomplishment.

Mary- I have heard of peanut butter on lots of things...pizza,:noway: with cake etc...but oatmeal is a new one..If the oatmeal was hot...it would melt it, wouldn't it? The crunchy on it sounds good...:drinker:

Hopeful-:flowerforyou: So sorry about your mom and daughter...and the death of a friend.:brokenheart: If you are maintaining through that kind of stress, you are doing wonderful! :flowerforyou: Will be thinking of you.

Doobiedoo- :flowerforyou: Just keep hanging in there!

Sally :flowerforyou: Thanks for answering my question. The Hiltons are all nice hotels. A new hotel is always the best. It sounds like the food choices are good. :drinker: Is that a request by the attendees at this convention or is this standard fare for them?

Amanda:flowerforyou: The washing machine incident reminds me of the one I had when I had the shingles. I walked into the utility and there was water everywhere. :flowerforyou: My husband went and bought a new set and I had to look at the choices on-line. I lost count of the phone calls. I hope yours can be repaired.:flowerforyou:

Izzy :flowerforyou: let us know how it is going?:drinker:

Debra:flowerforyou: - Hope your moving is still working out. Enjoy your walks on the beach.

Joy :flowerforyou: -Barbie had some good advice...she has the voice of success...Good luck!

Mimi-Veggie Queen :flowerforyou: I am anxious to see how your garden will produce. We had an experience with tomatoes one year. We had put them close to our house. They would get these huge green ones on there and then they would disappear.It was driving my DH crazy trying to "catch" whatever was stealing his tomatos. We didn't know what animal was getting them. :noway: One day we saw two squirrels :noway: with one each, going across our drive. We have lived around squirrels all our lives and we had never known they would eat tomatos.:noway: :laugh:

Has anyone heard from Laura?:flowerforyou: I hope she is doing okay. I think of her and hope she is dealing well after the loss of her mother last fall.


I have to get off here and get moving...per Barbie...that is what will work.

Have a good day...
Ps I lurk on here and read everyday and sometimes twice a day. I think I added a winking eye face somewhere...hope it is not somewhere inappropriate..:noway:

Hello all!

I am a first time poster and want to join the group. I have been using MFP since January 21st, so I am still fairly new, but I am a life long yo-yo dieter. And I have done them ALL!

Just wanted to check in and make it official. :-)

Hi, I started on Jan. 23. I kept thinking that maybe I was the oldest person on here. I just keep seeing young people. Would love to get to know you all. Please friend me.

Hello ladies, and new ladies!

Exercises is checked off the to do list, and I am feeling good. Had a co worker visit me today, sure was nice of her. We enjoyed trading stories of our cats, she has four also all with different personalities.

LYNN, Hot and cold mixing for the next season, tornato weather? Oh man, I would not be able to sleep for a week anticipating it's arrival. I am frightened of wind. We have a few major thunderstorms here but nothing of what you might have there, I am up until it is just about over, and if there is wind, seeing how the trees are bending, I'll be up all night.

Anyhoo I must get on with my chores it is past my bed time. I'll catch you all again tomorrow.

Marilyn

:flowerforyou: Hello everyone

Just wanted to say thanks to Lynn and Barbiecat for checking in on me. I am okay, but I am feeling very low.. Things are very tense between my mother and I, and I don't see it getting better. I feel like she is zapping the life out of me. Physically I am aching everywhere, even my wrists. I think it's due to constantly having to lift her feet up onto the bed when she is getting into it. The back of my legs and lower back are in constant pain and I have had to double up on the ibuprophen. (I take 800mg and then an hour later another 800mg) It's the only way I can sleep halfway decently. I am tired all of the time. I feel like I am going to a job I hate everyday except this one is 24 hours a day. One day runs into another and I feel trapped here and know I have no life. I have given up on trying to teach my mom how to have a more positive outlook on life. Nothing works, she stopped writing in her gratitude journal weeks ago and all she does is complain, call me names, and cry all the time. She is wearing me down. I haven't felt this low since my husband left me. (That was a hellacious year.) I used to be so much more positive and was feeling better physically with the steady weight loss, but now I just feel like mush. It hurts for me to even take Boo out for a walk. I look like an orangutan when I walk now. I just hurt all over inside and out.

I did get counseling for mom, but I really don't see it helping her. You know it only helps if you want it and she just likes being miserable and wants people to feel sorry for her. The counselor is suggesting a psych evaluation because she suspects she may be bipolar and has been all her life. It would kind of explain a lot about what my childhood was like with her and how she has treated me and even my husband and child throughout the years. I know it sounds mean but I am hoping that that is what it is because it is treatable with the right meds and the up and down moods will even out....like normal. Something needs to be done because my body is paying the price for her treatment of me. My arms are covered in a rash from my nerves.

I can't afford help because mom makes too much with her pension and social security, yet we are struggling to make ends meet with what she has. I have to rely on volunteers to help, but it doesn't last very long, just a few weeks, once a week, and then the program ends. So it is just me.

One good thing to report however is that I have not gained any weight, I lost 5 lbs last month but I went to a doctor the other day and weighed in beffore my normal weigh in and I just maintained. Not bad but not good either. I am buying giant chocolate bars and devouring them. They make me feel good when I am eating them. They are the only things that make me feel good. I know I can't keep that up without reprecussions but as I said they are the only thing I look forward to now.

So this is why I haven't checked in or written or responded, because I have nothing good to say and I don't want to bring you all down. Life is depressing enough without me adding to all your troubles. I read about the weather that is affecting you all and illnesses and deaths you are going through right now.... what right do I have to bring up this crap to you and make things worse or depressing? So if you don't hear from me, don't worry, I am still here trudging along. But honestly I don't have anything good to say so I would rather just not respond. But thank you for your concern and you don't have to write me as you know the situation I am in and it doesn't look like it is going to change. Please take care and I am so happy for you all losing weight and exercising and making good choices. I am very proud of you all. You are a great group of ladies!

Chiclet:flowerforyou:

Chiclet

Please don't stop posting. Even if what you have to say is negative as Barbiecat says, we have broad shoulders and it would be good for you to unload instead of keeping it all inside. If you wanted you could always rate your post in the greeting :bigsmile: then if someone was feeling a bit down and didn't want to read it they could scroll down to the next post. Plus it would give you something to look forward to and who knows it might help you a little to know you have so many friends wishing you well and trying to suggest things to help you through it.

Please don't think that you have to be bright and breezy with us, it doesn't matter - tell us it straight, we can take it !! I know from your posts you are a glass half full person most of the time, but at the moment your glass is empty. Let us help you start filling your glass again.

I'm sure others will post with more suggestions to help you through. We'll keep nagging you to keep in touch, so you'd better check in often - you can't get away from us :bigsmile:

Thanks for the welcome back. :flowerforyou:

My heart goes out to Chiclet, I remember all too well the stresses of caring for Moma and the toll it took on me physically and emotionally. At that time in my life my something to look forward to was a 30 minute workout, usually walking around the neighborhood . When I felt completely overwhelmed I would go outside and sit with the kitties in my lap for a bit. Those were tough times that would have been much easier if I had you ladies to chat with.

I just made a berry smoothie for breakfast. I am determined this time NOT to let simple carbs creep back into my diet. I've been reading a lot lately about foods that are healthy for your liver. Believe it or not they are the same ones that help us maintain a healthy weight. Imagine that!

:happy: TOP LIVER HEALTHY FOODS :happy:
Garlic and Onions
Cruciferous Vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage)
Whole Grains
Berries
Red Grapes
Lemons
Yogurt
Legumes (beans)
Nuts and Seeds
Soy
Turmeric
Green Tea

:noway: FOODS THAT ARE HARD ON THE LIVER: :noway:
Most Dairy products, including milk, cheese, sour cream, butter and yogurt.
Sugar, including all products containing sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup or dextrose.
Artificial sweeteners.
All preservatives--mostly found in boxed or frozen dinners.
Caffeinated beverages
Alcohol.
Gluten-containing foods such as products made from wheat, barley or rye. MSG is included as a gluten-containing food.
High-fat foods including but not limited to red meat, mayonnaise or dressings including those with fat substitutes.
Products containing yeast.

Today's exercise will be at the end of a grubbing hoe digging up roots that didn't come up when hubby ripped the shrubs out of the foundation beds. Hope to get the rest of my Spring blooming plants up out of the cellar and into the ground in the coming week. :flowerforyou:

Me at about eighteen months old with my first poodle - Mitzi Moo. x