Over 50s Ladies - Our Special Needs

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  • GrannyMayOz
    GrannyMayOz Posts: 1,050 Member
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    @Ellen Far from a scientific fact, but my mum always says that if you can't sleep just to appreciate that your body is getting rest. It certainly helps your mind to relax rather than start getting frantic and sometimes a resting mind will drift off to sleep again.

    @Kitn and Ellen - thank you for your thoughts. It's never an easy time is it? And hubby is putting his head in the sand as much as possible, which I truly understand. I think that's a universal saying, but just in case it isn't, it just means pretending the event isn't happening. We live in a place where sand is the only 'soil' we have so the saying is very apt for us.
  • sbom1
    sbom1 Posts: 227 Member
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    Sorry May to hear about your in-laws. Tough situation-we'll be facing it soon with my Mom and step-Dad. They were just here visiting us at our beach place and he is deteriorating more and more....
  • jumanajane
    jumanajane Posts: 438 Member
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    @grannymayoz and @wheatlessgirl66 thanks so much for your welcome!

    My tale is quite unusual...back in the depths of time when I was a mere 35 years old I was an egg donor to help a childless couple have the pleasure of being a parent hopefully. Little did I know the long lasting effect it would have on MY body! After the eggs were collected my body decided it didnt want to get back to normal and I effectively went into early menopause.

    Fortunately after about 3 years it had got back to a 'normal' state but not before I had a severe depression and put on about 42lbs. :(
    Added to that my Consultant decided I needed testosterone injections to help my balance. Great! Life was back to a good balance....apart from my huge belly and the 42lbs!lolol. The result of the anti depressant medication and testosterone and comfort eating!

    As I had for most of my life I tried every diet going...lost a few pounds, gained a few more. Then around 2002 I heard about Atkins and tried it and lost 26lbs!! Hurray! At last. My lovely husband did it with me to! We both loved the low carb life style but as with many things we slipped and gradually put the weight back on....along with moving from UK to UAE (does that answer your time question???)
    Its a standard joke here that everyone puts on at least 12lbs when they first move here....just what I needed! I still had my belly too and was resigned to never getting rid of it but moving here gave me bigger hips to go with it!

    Then menopause hit....fortunately I had an easy time...apart from my post menopausal weight redistribution....to my belly! :'( Losing any weight completely stalled. Our last real period of eating low carb was 2010-2012. Then my in laws moved in with us and........
    so, now enough is enough and I need to get back in control. Over the last 2 years I have put on 16lbs and feel awful. The trouble is my body is just not behaving any more! We started low carb about 6 weeks ago and it is sooooooo slow if not static and I am desperately trying to maintain my enthusiasm and willpower. Hubby is doing well as men usually do. SO UNFAIR,lol.

    Its lovely to find someone else who counts in fractions of pound or kilo,lol.
    Now I'm concentrating on keto rather than Atkins and watching my macros which is new to me..especially as I vowed never to count calories again!
    There you have it...an experienced Atkins dieter but novice Keto/Macro dieter.

    Sorry everyone if thats been a long post to read.

    @grannymayoz.....hopefully things are peaceful and calm with your mil and fil.
  • Kitnthecat
    Kitnthecat Posts: 2,057 Member
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    Thank you for sharing your story jumanajane ! Life can be so tough, and it's tough for us to see the effects on our poor old bodies ! This is a very supportive group, so we should all do well here, on our mission to lose weight ....and to sort out everything else too.

    I personally find that it is especially during times of stress that I have mistreated my own body, sometimes unknowingly, just by following conventional wisdom at times, or by trying to "comfort" myself.

    Well, now I have found a new way to comfort myself, and that is by taking charge of my own health by committing to this way of eating. I had been eating low carb for quite a while, but not as low as keto. Since starting to log my food on MFP, I have seen such a difference in my ability to lose weight. It may be coming off slower than when I was younger, but it is coming off and I won't stop until I am at the stage of wanting to maintain my weightloss, whenever that will happen....

    Much luck to you all ! We can do this !
  • wheatlessgirl66
    wheatlessgirl66 Posts: 598 Member
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    @jumangane Your life experiences brought you to this point, and now you're doing the right thing to pay attention to your health and way of eating.

    We've all found that our bodies are not "behaving" anymore--so true! ;) But here we are, and we're working hard to understand how our bodies work and to feed them the things that restore health. It seems crazy that it's taken so many years to really know the truth about what that is.

    Like @Kitnthecat said, much luck to you. Yes, we can do this!

  • GrannyMayOz
    GrannyMayOz Posts: 1,050 Member
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    @sbom1 Thank you. And I’m very sorry that you know what I mean :(

    @jumanajane Oh wow, UAE? How exotic! I read somewhere recently that the Arab countries have more of a weight problem than the usual suspects (USA, UK, Australia…); I had never known that before. I’m so sorry about your egg donating story. What a blow to do such a wonderful thing for others, only to be smacked down :( I can’t imagine having in-laws live with you. I’ve had my mother and my brother in the past and that was nightmare enough. My brother was a sweetie, but if I wanted anything done I had to ask, and I was so timid back then… My mother was a whole other story that life’s too short to bother telling :D Thank you for telling us something about yourself and for sharing here.

    Is everyone here doing Keto, or do we have any Atkins, general LCHF ladies?

    As I already said on my profile page and in the April check-in, I slept badly last night *and* didn’t drink enough water yesterday. Oh boy have I paid for those 2 things with a big weight gain today!!! I hope it doesn’t take too long to rid myself of it again ha ha!
  • wheatlessgirl66
    wheatlessgirl66 Posts: 598 Member
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    @grannymay Oy, those gains hurt, don't they? I still have the 2 lbs I gained after my big drop. :/ Was under calories yesterday, so I hope I'm hungrier today. (Now, isn't that a weird statement coming from my mouth!) I hope you get back into your groove and your body drops the weight soon. It'll happen!

    I always consider myself LCHF but I guess I'm also keto at this point since I'm around 20 carbs. Yesterday I hit almost 30 though--my highest--b/c I ate a whole avocado.
  • ibetty55
    ibetty55 Posts: 48 Member
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    I'm more general LCHF. My carb range is typically around 20-30 but Staying below 50 is my goal.
  • Kitnthecat
    Kitnthecat Posts: 2,057 Member
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    I was low carb eating paleo, but now experimenting with keto and loving it. It's not as hard as I imagined it would be. I thought it would be harder to give up some of the veggies, but I can usually stay below 20 g carbs daily.

    And some potential good news....it looks like I'm in first place to win the "Biggest Loser" thing at work after all, I'll find out tomorrow if I am the winner of $140 Can. I lost 8.23 % of my body weight even though I was anticipating better results and thought I'd blown it. And we'll be starting another work challenge....the bikini / speedo challenge. Ain't no way I'll get into a bikini, but I'm game for the next weight loss challenge...then maybe I'll get into my tankini with the skirt bottom !
  • GrannyMayOz
    GrannyMayOz Posts: 1,050 Member
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    @Ellen I'm down part of that gain but not all of it in time for this morning's result. That's OK, there are certainly worse things in life to worry about. So thrilled about your new vocabulary opportunities around 'not hungry enough' ha ha - isn't that brilliant? I can't help but wonder if I'm more in stall mode this week because I'm eating too little (maybe?), but if I'm not hungry... my body is not stupid and my energy is good...

    @ibetty Thanks for checking in <3

    @Kitn I love keto too. Who would ever have dreamed that of us last year? So exciting about your work challenge, I truly hope you win the prize!!! I miss speedo's - when they're on the right body anyway. Men these days are no joy to look at. I always loved seeing nice muscular legs and butt (who said that???) but they're all hidden under baggy sacks that pass as clothing now.

    My M-i-L has been diagnosed with bladder cancer. She's already had an operation and a 6-week course of something they poured into her bladder once a week, but those haven't worked. My husband and eldest son are going to see her in hospital today while I babysit the girls. I definitely have the cheeriest part of that deal. I hope it's not too miserable for the men though. My M-i-L has advance alzheimers so she's not bothered by any of it, it's just my F-i-L that we're mostly concerned about obviously.

    And I found a hole in the garden yesterday, the exact diameter of that snake we had in the house 3 weeks ago. David has rung the council, and then Parks & Wildlife and they said it could be a frog hole. We certainly have plenty of those in the garden!!! They also said the snake we had indoors was definitely a juvenile. So did it come *out* of that hole, and where are its siblings? David had sealed up every possible hole for any wildlife to come into the garden, which means every hole is sealed for anything to get out as well. So now I'm nervy again about any of us (including the dog) going into the garden, and looking around every corner and under every piece of furniture before I walk around the house. Knowing I just have to be patient and wait for my confidence to slowly return. It was also apparently illegal for David to have killed the snake, but the guy did understand that David had to protect the girls and myself when it wouldn't allow itself to be caught. *Shudder* If I see another on this property we're going to have to sell the house! The P&W guy did recommend some stuff that you put around 'that hole' and I guess doorways etc as well, that repels wildlife from crossing. Have to buy it, read the label and check it can be put where the dog hangs out safely.
  • Teneko
    Teneko Posts: 314 Member
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    @GrannyMayOz
    Snakes...why did it have to be snakes?

    I think I'd have to move, too, if the place I lived was snaky.

    -T.
  • jumanajane
    jumanajane Posts: 438 Member
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    Good afternoon(or morning/evening,lol) all. Hope you are all feeling positive and full of energy.

    @agrannyMayOz UAE is just like anywhere else you see on the TV or go for a holiday....exotic but living here is different. ;) Most people dont have time to enjoy all the bling etc you see on different programs..too busy working or priced out of range. Nice to find Im not the only one whose 'soil' is sand!! lol.
    I'm very happy to say that we dont have a problem here with snakes etc. Very little nasty wildlife to contend with. Loads of stray cats is about as bad as it gets...apart from mosquitos the size of a small bird! I have to say snakes and spiders is one reason I have never ventured as far as OZ! Ugghhh

    There is a huge problem in the Gulf countries with obesity and diabetes. Unfortunately it is traced back to the introduction of 'western' fast food franchises around 30 years ago. Just shows how toxic they can be to a population. Its not helped here by the fact that vitually no one walks anywhere. Its just too hot. For example today is only 28C but yesterday was 34C and the day before 39C. Just too hot to walk outside and its still spring. Another month or so and it will be in the 40+ right through until november. You live in AC, drive in AC to go to an AC'd Mall.

    @kitnthekat....brilliant...there is nothing as motivating as achieving something like that! Bring on the next one..we are all waiting for updates and advice on how you did it!

    @wheatlessgirl66 you are so right..it takes something to jolt us into realising that we need to take responsibilty for our own health and a huge part of that is what we put into our bodies. Sadly so many people just dont get that jolt and suffer needlessly. I have to say that the biggest change for me when I first started Atkins was losing my 'sweet tooth' and the consequence that I also didnt comfort eat....was the comfort needed just my body demanding more sugar????
    I love going shopping and just totally ignoring the cake and sweet section purely because I just feel...nothing! No desire for it at all! Yaaaay.

    Do any of you find that if you go to a Dr for the first time that they look at your size and immediately make the assumption that at your age and size that you must a) be diabetic b) have high cholesterol c) have high blood pressure and/or heart disease?? About 3 years ago I was having chest pain so went to see a Cardiologist who ruled out a heart attack so booked me to have an angiogram and did loads of blood tests. I had the angio and it was fine. he came to see me and said...'I have your results' All normal! I laughed and said you expected them to be all over the place didnt you??? Yes was his answer. Just shows what a long term low carb diet can do for you!!!
  • KarlaYP
    KarlaYP Posts: 4,439 Member
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    I am 47, so not quite over 50, yet, lol! Had a total hysterectomy two years ago. I naively thought there wouldn't be an actual tom anymore, but there is! The pattern I am seeing is every few weeks there will be an increase on the scale and then it will decrease again the next week. I always thought that once the lady parts were gone, the hormonal symptoms would too, but nooooooo such luck! Just thought I would pass that along!
  • RATSMITH69
    RATSMITH69 Posts: 127 Member
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    Hello Everyone,

    Looks like we've gotten some new Lady Friends since I last visited. Welcome aboard to all!

    Yuck with the snakes and the heat and the "big boys" in speedos and the nice ones in big baggies! LOL You ladies always make me smile.

    I'll be out of pocket for a while. Going Tuesday to have a pound of flesh removed (ha! maybe they can take a few pounds from some other places??!). HATE that I went thru seven weeks of torment just to have to do this anyway but I will be so glad to have it over and done.

    Ms. May sorry to hear about your MiL. I will keep your family in my prayers.

    @ Karlottap if you kept your ovaries you kept the hormones that cause the monthlies! From what I hear of menopause I'd rather do monthlies anyday. :#

    I checked in for the April challenge and realized I've lost a few pounds. I've been so absorbed in other things I hadn't noticed. Wouldn't it be great to go on with life and look up to realize you were svelte all of the sudden!! oh well, a girl can dream! I just don't get the "hungry" thing. If I wait until I "feel hungry" I'd be picking myself up off the ground a lot. I notice when my BS drops low enough that I get grouch/irritable and I feel like my skin doesn't fit. But I just don't do hungry.

    Take care everyone!
  • RisiM
    RisiM Posts: 180 Member
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    GrannyMayOz you must know my husbands relative she lives in Waikiki lol.
    So sorry to hear about your in-laws and their health problems.
    My weight has stalled/plateaued ?? Even though I have kept carbs low, will wait patiently for it to shift again, I sometimes think that 1400 cal or so is too low, or is it my age
  • wheatlessgirl66
    wheatlessgirl66 Posts: 598 Member
    edited April 2015
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    @Risi That stalled weight thing is a real frustration. I was so excited that I was down 2 lbs, then it was back the next morning and is still hanging around. I'm bumping my macros and cals up to just over 1400 to see if that helps. But I'm not hungry sometimes, so I still won't hit them. I do think age has a lot to do with it. But most of the time I feel like I don't know what I'm doing.
  • happylifex10
    happylifex10 Posts: 56 Member
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    I'm not a big poster but, I'm with you @RisiM and @wheatlessgirl66 , I am also so frustrated.

    It will be 4 weeks tomorrow with no weight loss..ugghhh. I have decided to up my calories to 1600 (from 1500) and up my exercise (helps that the weather is beautiful) and stay away from the scale for at least 1 week (instead of daily). Also just finished my TOM so hoping next week will be a HUGE loss (always have to have hope, don't we?)

    @GrannyMayOz , hugs to you and your family with regards to your MIL. It is a very difficult time. Strength and hugs to help you get through

    @Kitnthecat - hope you were the Biggest Winner today at work



  • pagangds
    pagangds Posts: 1 Member
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    I am considering doing this - when you set up your percentages on MYP what are you doing - the pie chart? Up to now I have set (tried) for 1200 calories and had carbs 35 / fat 25/ protein 40...what do you guys use for low carb ?
  • Teneko
    Teneko Posts: 314 Member
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    @Karlottap : I had a hysterectomy, but still have my ovaries. Sometimes they work and still kick off the hormones. They sort of...throw off my scale every month or so, too.

    @pagangds : I have mine set at 1300 for calories. I am very tight and on a keto diet, so my numbers may be very different. I have 75% fat, 20% protein, 5% carbs.

    -T.
  • jumanajane
    jumanajane Posts: 438 Member
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    Another sleepless night! Tossing and turning for a couple of hours then get up again so I dont disturb hubby! What amount of magnesium is a good starting point???
    Also I find myself feeling hungry! Not anything I have done on Atkins! Am keeping within my macros more or less. Any one got any suggestions please?