WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR APRIL 2015

Did 1-1/4 hr Jillian Michaels Extreme Shed and Shred DVD today. The plan for tomorrow is to go to the deep water class. First I'll take my aluminum to the Humane Society, then maybe stop at Bi-Lo, after the deep water class I need to go get my hair dyed (I have to renew my passport so I want to look decent), then stop at CVS to get a prescription for Vince and one for Loki

After exercising took the mats that we have in front of the litter boxes, shook them out, then ran the hose over them. I wanted them to dry as much as possible. Then put a load of laundry in so that it would get started before we left for the lunch. Then I had my breakfast

katla - I remember when I first started getting tricep definition, I couldn't stand to have something on my arms. Same way now. So that might be what's happening to you. I remember taking a spinning class and I would usualy wear short-sleeved t-shirts. Suddenly I couldn't stand to have something on my arms.

Janet - from a 44 to a 38! Wow! That's something. Glad you got a good measurement.

naiomi - a spin class is using a stationary bike. You can adjust the resistance.

pattilou - welcome and congrats on the retirement. Now you'll wonder where you had the time to work! Trust me, retirement is BUSY

Sharon - so sorry to hear about your brother. That's the pits

Jackie - how true, how true. Thanks for posting that

Went to lunch with the Newcomers. Had a grilled chicken breast, asked them to steam the broccoli (I think it might have been grilled, but at least it didn't have all kinds of sauce or butter on it) and just water to drink. There was A BIT of lettuce and one slice of tomato, I'm not even going to bother to log that, it was so little. The lettuce was a bit wilted which I was surprised at.

Came home and then went to Aldi since Vince needed cereal and milk.

Sylvia - it is so frustrating when things like that happen to your glasses. I've had my share. Lenscrafters (they're usually in all the malls) will usually fix them

Sassy - awesome loss. Have fun with Alex

bren - welcome. Sounds like you have a great plan. It makes us feel so much better to set mini-goals, so I think you're doing the absolute best thing

Chris - wine and chocolate --- does it get any better?? A lot of the Newcomer events are centered around food. I'd guess that the Monday mahjongg that I go to is about the only one that isn't -- and that's not a technical Newcomer activity.

peachstategal - I like kale if it's in something like a soup or whatever. Don't really care for it plain.

Cynthia - it must have been Carol with the communion question.

I have big veins, so am easy to get an IV into. If the person has problems getting one into me, they have REAL problems

terri - have fun at the concerts. Sounds like you have a good plan for your meals. yannijannie is right, we all seem to have some problems with our children. Me? I haven't seen my son in three years, I'm betting that his wedding was the last time I'd ever see him. He calls, but very very seldom. I send him emails and he doesn't bother to respon even with a simple "got it". I just keep telling myself "karma is a b****" "what goes around comes around". To me, the mother of the guy my one daughter is living with "enables" them. Vince hates when I say that, but to me that's what she does. she co-signed for an apartment for them, they skipped out and left her owing thousands of dollars. So what does she do? She cosigns for ANOTHER apartment. Her son has an accident in one of Denise's vehicles and what does her husband do? He buys the son a new truck. Admitted, it was used, but still....

Alison - I'd never heard of the daVinci hysterectomy, either. What's different about that one versus a regular hysterectomy?

Mugwump - welcome!

Carol - we didn't have a thunderstorm last night. I know there are foodie tours in Charlotte -- have you ever taken one?

Janet - wonder why things have changed now and Mexican food contains cilantro and sour cream? Woohoo on those too big clothes. Sure feels good, huh?

Beth - Feel better fast

Michele in NC

Just reading and trying to keep up. Have a great evening.

Just wanted to comment that when you talk about problems with adult children it helps me to not feel so alone. So thank you from the bottom of my heart! Also still not losing weight lately but not gaining either. Hope I can manage to not gain while on vacation next week...any pointers for me? Trying to stick to 1200 and that sounds impossible. Planning on doing lots of walking.

Vicki: Stress has always been my biggest cause of weight gain. Since I started this adventure, I’ve had some stressful times and have not resorted to food. Last summer was hideous for me because DH was having serious health issues and I was freaking out. I drank too much and didn’t sleep enough. It took time for me to understand what was going on, but when I focused on averaging at least 7 hours of good sleep and quit alcohol things started to improve. I wonder if you are getting adequate sleep.

Terri in Milwaukee: Have a great time at the concert.

Yanniejannie: I hope you have a good trip with your DD. As to daughters thinking of things from a practical POV, mine is 35, married, well educated, and a mom of two, yet she makes decisions that baffle me and lack what I consider common sense. I’m proud of her, but frequently worry about her choices.

Mugwump in ME & Beth in Spokane: Welcome!

Beth: I hope the flu goes away and you feel better and more energetic soon.

Michele: You may be right that my improving fitness is making me more sensitive to the feel of shirtsleeves on my arms. I appreciate the insight.



Today I went to the health club with my neighbor. I went to the spin room and rode a spin bike while she took the Zumba class. About half way through her class, an actual spin class joined me. It was so much fun. The teacher is someone I see often at the gym and is very nice. I like her very much. The other women were about my age, and the only thing moving faster than our spinning feet and legs was the conversation.

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


April Goals:
1. Log every bite and swallow.
2. Cardio exercise at least 3 days a week. Work on flexibility and back
strength.
3. Have fun every day.
4. Drink at least three glasses of water daily, preferably more!
5. Eliminate alcohol.
6. Monitor sleep. Try to average 7 or more hours of sleep nightly.

Sharon, will be thinking of you all on Monday. You were a brave, yet desperate woman to ask/demand it.

Vivian, I wish there was audio here. I would love to here you speak Italian. That and French are the two most beautiful languages/

Sylvia, I have lots of days I feel like throwing pots!!!!

Vickie, I assume with the amount of time you have been here on MFP that you know that our database has a lot of the food from Golden Corral on it. But a lot of people may not so this is mainly or their knowledge.

Allison, I would think that it would be the opposite with the breathing tubes. I would think that the larger the tube is, the more chance of nerve damage to your throat. Where is Meg when I need her???

Terri Milwaukee, I hear you on tight clothing. How in the world do those Hollywood people wear those dresses. I don't know how in the world they ever sit. And since so many of those dresses are super mini, how do they keep from exposing themselves?

Janet NC, my brothers were both delivered by Dr Stork! Theirs was a weird story. Mom was having really heavy periods and was scheduled for a hysterectomy. They did the required pregnancy test before the surgery. Positive, that was my brother Paul. So it was rescheduled again and she again had a positive pregnancy test. That was my brother John. So the doctor just had to sit Dad down and tell him to leave Mom alone!!!! The rhythm method apparently didn't work for Mom and Dad.

When I was working at the hospital and the lab had new employees, we called them blood suckers, they would issue a word of mouth search for volunteers. Whoever would volunteer their arms to be experimented on would get a free lab test. I always volunteered. I hated starting IVs. I think I was the worlds worst. My way of getting an IV started would be to ask for some one else to do it and I would do something off of their to do list for their patients. Hey, win/win.

One of my nephews live in girl friend has decided that she needs to lose some weight. So she started today and 'says' she did 250 squats, a 2 minute plank, 50 crunches and then several other exercises. I tried to tell her she was setting herself up for failure on the first day. When she described how she was doing the 2 minute plank she said she broke it up into several seconds at a time. So I don't think she really knows what she is doing. But she says she is going to do this every day until she has lost 100 pounds. She puts up pictures of herself wearing these waist things that she wants to abnormally make herself have a tiny waist. She tightens these things every couple of days. She did do 1 thing right. She joined MFP.

A big storm front just passed us. Lots of lightening and rain but no damage. Charlie finally has his Colonoscopy scheduled for Monday afternoon. I told him that since he pulled his big boy pants up and got it scheduled that I will do the same and get my Mammogram done. Charlie is one of those kind that tries to self diagnose. He is just sure that he must have cancer because he also has lost his sense of taste. And eh can be quite convincing to people. None of his very large family have an above high school diploma and all have low level kobs. So they know he worked in a hospital therefore knows all about medicine. He had this idea what Vax D was and told everyone what it was. Had them all convinced that they inject a medication in the spine, like a vaccine, and it cures the back problems. He is a big talker and has a great command of the English language and can convince you all to buy swamp land in Florida!!! But I do love him

Joyce, Indiana

Ideally I do have a lot of weight to lose but gave myself a goal of 10 pounds as a mini goal . If I could lose 30 more than that I would be over the moon. I always have a weakness for creamy dairy but am trying to limit to skim and occasional yogurt. Very hard to entirely give up cheese so I try to mainly crumble and grate small amounts on salads and main courses. And I need an ounce of chocolate. Otherwise I can give up desserts. When I can make it to the gym I can burn off calories, also I like to bicycle when it is warm. Was hard to make it through the winter. Also I have stress which causes me to lose sleep and thus feel too draggy to get to the gym. But I am going today no matter what! Thanks for the advice about vacation. Will try to stay away from bread products as much as possible. Looking at my food diary the main things are cheese, chocolate, sugar in my tea and the occasional meal out where I have to estimate. In 2 months of MFP I have only gone above 1700 3 times. Will be seeing my nutritionist right after vacation so that is also good motivation!

Good morning ladies! I have been able to go to the gym every other day and do strong lift 5 X 5. This has helped me feel like I am not going to gain too much weight! Since I am on vacation I have been eating things that I normally wouldn't. But, I want to live life "normally" on occasion. I have been trying to be good though. We are heading to York Nebraska today.

Have a great day everyone!

Mary from Minnesota

Hi, everyone...I'm at an Econolodge near Blacksburg just off I81...got in at 11pm. We had downpours, fog, and mist almost all the way. Cloudy and chilly today. On an IPad so not comfortable,lol too used to the pc. Every place DD called on the seemingly endless drive out was full or didn't take pets or couldn't give us 2 nights. It is not as bad here as I anticipated, but by the time we arrived, I would have slept on bale of hay in a barn. She is off at lectures and orientation events for vet school........I have Gemma here on the bed curled up by my legs and I'm drinking my mug of tea. Have a book to read and a dog to walk but only snack type food, no fruit on the hotel breakfast bar, so cereal only and getting hungry already. I suppose I can get a lunch delivered to the room or go wandering up to a drive thru with dog in tow if I can find one. On the other hand,missing a meal won,t kill me.
I had a watershed moment this morning watching DD get ready when it dawned on me that, although I was completely self supporting at her age, my major life choices way back then were not as wise. Kind of startled me. Must remember, help and not enable. Patience to all!
Best to everyone and congrats to all with losses and other victories

Yanniejannie
Near Blacksburg, Va.

cityjaneLondon wrote: »

Viviana - why are you on gluten free? Do you have coeliac disease? For most people without a medical issue the only restriction necessary or desirable is a calorie one. Feeling deprived is a recipe for disaster. :flowerforyou: Any diet that you cannot follow for the rest of your life is not going to work longterm. Increasing exercise to "earn" calories has worked very well for me, even if I moan sometimes to DH about "this poor little old lady who is being tortured" ! ! ! ! ! :laugh:

Ciao.
I am not celiac, but I am intolerant to several stuff, such as wheat, corn, nickel (contained in a lot of food, from spinaches to tomatoes to chocolate to tea), etc.
Moreover, there are a lot of scientific evidences according to which grains and cereals in general are not good for our health, even the integral ones.
You can have a look to Dr. Perlmutter (he wrote Grain Brain, very interesting) and the Wheat Belly web site. Dr Perlmutter is providing a lot of scientific evidences of the impact of gluten and sugar on our body, from brain to backache etc. It is very interesting to follow on Facebook.
The same evidences are share by Dr Berrino, one of the most important Doctors in Italy studying for years the link between food and cancer, and following women with breast tumors analysing the impact of diet on the growth or remission of the disease.
Especially in US you have the GMO problem, especially with corn and wheat. This can have an impact. Luckily we have not this terrible issue in Italy and Eu.
I am no saint: I eat bread or focaccia, but during my free meal once a week.
Ciao.
Viviana

Call me crazy but I love to see other people happy and succeeding.

Good Morning Ladies,

Dia, thinking of you with hopes that work and life will treat you well. It’s ashamed that people who get the flu have to put up with its affects for so long. Wishing you back to full health very soon.

Michele, my passport has a picture during one of the few times that I had dark hair. I was pre-maturely gray and have left it that way most of my life. When I travel, they always do a double take from the picture to me, trying to figure out if it’s the same person. LOL I have to renew it next year and will then get a picture with my totally gray/white hair.

Sylvia, for future reference, any place that sells glasses will repair a screw for you at no charge. It doesn’t matter if you bought your glasses there or not. I always laugh at myself if a screw needs tightening, because I can’t see to do it without my glasses on. I do have just cheap readers in my desk drawer, so out they come.

Barbie, I’m glad you got the dances sorted out for your performance and that none of them are the ones you can’t stand. My DH and I eat pretty much the same things, but he often fixes something in addition to what I’m eating. On occasion I’ll have leftovers and he will fix something different for himself. For a while he was eating so late that we didn’t even eat together, but he has adjusted to eating earlier so he can eat with me. At least he is very supportive in my eating healthy and that’s what’s important. I’m sure Jake supports you as well.

Bkrimpet, I’m sure you’ll do fine on vacation if you just concentrate on healthy eating and portion control. To go off the tracks for a short period of time really doesn’t hurt as much as we think, and any gained pounds are often easier to lose again. Have a wonderful time.

Rori, I agree that a salad spinner is great. I’m in between right now as my last one got to where it wouldn’t spin correctly. I wash my lettuce when I bring it home from the store and let it drain well before I put it in the fridge, because I don’t care for wet lettuce either. I think it’s such a shame that some of you have way bigger “girls” than you want or need and some of us have nowhere near enough. If only we could share the wealth!! I don’t really mind, but my clothes would look a whole lot better if I had a little something left up top.

Naiomi, I’m glad you were able to have a healthy meal at the Brazilian restaurant. I’ve only been to one of those once and they didn’t have a lot of good veggies that I liked. Everything looked like it was full of carbs. The meats were wonderful. Here they are just very pricy so we chose not to eat there.

Katla, I have to hand it to you and all the spinners. I can’t imagine having the breath to chat while doing that strenuous exercise, although it looks like tons of fun.

Lillian, I hope you have a fun day in the city.

Joyce, just a suggestion: When you feel like “throwing pots” maybe you should grab a pillow instead. It’s great that Charlie scheduled his colonoscopy and that you “will” schedule your mammogram. I did chuckle at your description of Charlie and his medical knowledge and explanations. Is/was he in sales?

Mary, I’m happy that you are able to continue your workouts while on vacation. Have a wonderful time.

Yannie, I’m thinking of you while you are on your unplanned trip. I hope all goes well and that you have safe travels.

Terri, glad you enjoyed concert #1. I think it would be a hoot to take a bra to throw. Surely that would embarrass your dad sufficiently. Sure hope your sister gets better so she can enjoy it.

Welcome to any Newbies that I missed. Come often and join in the chat. This thing works!! Please sign your post with what you want to be called. It makes it easier for us to respond to you. Also a location is great, be it specific or general. We are happy to have you join us.

Most of my weight exercises concentrate on upper body because I am so careful with my back. Most of my total exercise routine is on my Cross-Trainer which works on the whole body. What I’m finding interesting is that I seem to be losing girth in my lower body the most. My arms don’t seem to be getting any smaller, just flabbier. I am finding lose skin (with lots of little wrinkles) all over, which is not so attractive, but hopefully time will take care of some of that. Sometimes when I walk past the mirror I do a double take and ask, “who is that small woman?”, yet at other times I look and think how fat I still am. Just an observation. I finally hit another mini-goal today. woo hoo It sure took long enough. 45 pounds down and 35 to go. It's nice to finally be over 1/2 way.

Quote for the day:

You want to know the
difference between a
master and a beginner?
The master has failed
more times than the
beginner has ever tried.
Yoda


Have a wonderful, happy and healthy day, ladies.

words I live by:
Savor. I have to slow down and savor every bite.
and
Opportunity. Each day offers new opportunities for good health and happiness if we just look for them and choose them.

Janet
Myrtle Beach, SC

Good afternoon everyone! :flowerforyou:

Had my delicious left over turkey burger in a wholegrain English muffin for lunch. Lucky me I'm not "intolerant" to anything! :drinker: Except cr***y food that is! :laugh:

Last night I watched a tv programme that showed that either/both a hot or cold bath worked equally well after strenuous exercise. That is interesting as elite athletes seem to favour ice baths these days. I'm glad a hot one is just as effective! ! ! ! :drinker:
Also on the news today was new research showing that underweight people had a higher chance of developing Alzheimers. Not sure what their definition of underweight was, but clearly starving yourself isn't good for you. :laugh: DH was talking over the news item so I'm afraid I swore at him and he was mightily offended and went into a sulk. I had to do a lot of apologising.

I think I have finished the layout of the interior of my book. Changed the font today to something more traditional and redid the margins (again). I have saved it and hope that is the end of it. Now for the cover. :ohwell:

Salmon tonight, done in my smoky, spicy sauce with local purple sprouting broccoli and crushed peas with half fat creme fraiche. Delish!

Love Heather in sunny Hampshire UK, where we have very high pollution levels from smog and Saharan sand! ! ! ! ! :noway:

Spot came home this morning!! I am so relieved! As I've mentioned before, I've been working hard at waking up in the mornings without hitting the snooze alarm and falling back to sleep over and over again. Well, I'm managing that, BUT I can't seem to actually get up and get moving. So, this morning as I was lying in bed relaxed, with the windows open, and listening to the birds sing, I heard a faint meow. I hopped up, ran downstairs, opened the blinds on the back door and saw...the door mat. Heart fell. Then my little black kitty came into sight and seemed very happy to be let in. If cats can look tired, this one did! She went immediately to her food bowl, ate just a little, then headed upstairs and straight to bed. I imagine she will sleep most of the day. I sure wish she could tell me where she's been!

I ate some junk yesterday but walked it off so that I ended up with around 300 calories left when I went to bed. I think I am seeing a correlation in lack of sleep and carb craving. I know that some of you mention weight fluctuations. How often do they occur? I weighed yesterday morning and then this morning and there was 1.5 lbs difference. I know I didn't gain 1.5 lbs overnight and it makes me frustrated. I don't weigh every day; I did it yesterday on a whim. Normally Fridays are my weight logging day but I don't want to log it today since it will show a gain from last week whereas yesterday's weight would have shown a loss. Arrgh!

Do any of you get farmer's market type items delivered (or pick them up on a regular basis)? I've read about them and how folks enjoy getting a variety of fresh vegetables and fruits that are organic and (mostly) local because, not only does it support local farmers, but it is an opportunity to try produce they wouldn't normally buy. I got a Groupon offer for one yesterday and bought it. I am really excited about it. I don't know if I can afford to do it every week, but I'd like to try. This particular group has a selection called "Flying Solo" that is meant for singles and contains smaller amounts of 5-7 different items. I have honestly never cooked turnips in my life, but I guess I'm going to learn how next week. The only way I have ever eaten a turnip was when I was little and my father pulled one out of the ground and cut off slices with his pocket knife while we were still in the garden. If any of you have any suggestions, please share!

Michele - I have never done a foodie tour. I've read about some special ones in Charlotte on occasion but I've never looked to see if they were offered on a regular basis.

Barbie - I learned a great deal from Gretchen Rubin's book. In fact, over the next few days, I will go back and re-read sections that were useful to me so that I can better understand how to implement the suggestions in my own life. It looks like I need to learn to dance! I am terribly uncoordinated so I will more than likely continue to do my own wiggling behind closed doors and hope it counts as dancing.

Rori - Good for you for finding something to do with your hands besides snack! I had a discussion with a friend the other day about how I looked forward to our almost daily FaceTime conversations because they save me from the hour or so in the evening that I am most likely to feel lonely/bored/anxious/etc which is also when I am most likely to eat. For me, it's usually between 8:30-9:30 p.m when it's not quite time for bed, I've done my exercising and meal prep, I'm too tired for housework, and I'm restless.

Do any of you container garden? After payday comes next week, I will be looking for a large shrubby type plant to put in a big pot so that my view from the couch does not include the A/C unit. I wouldn't mind planting a tomato plant and maybe a few herbs, but I've never done those in a pot. Again, suggestions welcomed!

Well, I suppose I ought to get back to work. I planned my week so that today would be an easy day so that I would have time to clean off my desk and I need to get to it. (It's so much easier to plan my week when I'm the only one in the office for the week! )

Hope everyone has a marvelous day!

Carol in NC

Spoke too soon, hotel boiler broke down, no hot water until tonight so I did the very minor at this point wound care with cold. Took Gemmie for a walk but returned due to impending weather, we are under storm warning. I did see food places in the distance, Katla.
Someone asked if any more treatment, not as far as I know, I go back to surgeon for check in two weeks.

Terri.......Green with envy for your concerts.
Barbie......loved the poster
Janet...yAY for your mini goal and all those pounds gone!
Carol.....glad kitty is home safe!
Viviana......light Italian recipes? Yes, please!

I,m bored but this takes forever on the IPad!
Yanniejannie
Ps all my tomato seeds came up this year, maybe a super crop!

Okay, my goal for April is just to log in everything, even the vacation food, just to prove to myself I can keep logging --- and try not to worry about losing a certain number of pounds. Also, to do my best to walk a lot next week. Will keep you posted, thanks! Everybody try and have a great weekend!!!