WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR MAY 2015

Mary: Thanks for the question - I'm kind of in baby steps mode in that one. I had to beat myself up to get consistently above 800 the middle two weeks in April. The last week of the month, April, I did consistently get to 1000 every day by forcing myself to eat in the evenings after dinner.

I know it sounds like I'm nuts--but it goes back to the same black and white thinking I was talking about. When I'm on a diet, I'm dieting. When I'm in fitness mode, I'm running until I fall down. When you look at that goal set, you think I'm keeping my calories down to 1,000, and what I'm actually saying is that I will keep them above 1,000. MFP was a big part of that - it simply wouldn't talk to me until I did.

The discussion with my NP was that, as long as I'm above 1,000, she's OK with it. The terms were that I will keep my protein levels up as shown, and I will keep exercising to keep my heart healthy and active. If you don't get enough protein, and you don't exercise, you can lose muscle mass, as your body starts cannibalizing protein from everywhere to supply its needs. And your heart's a muscle. Thus the other terms. I'm also doubled up on my ordinary supplements to make sure there are no issues with magnesium and potassium that support the heart.

The other biggest risk in very low calorie diets (defined as below 800 calories) is gallstones, and my gall bladder went south two years after my gastric bypass and had to be removed. She was very clear she won't tolerate me dropping below 1,000. I have an appointment with her every 30 days so she can check me end-to-end while I'm doing this.

Edit: Had to add a PS in here: My overall plan is that the 1,000-calorie portion of this process will only last until the end of June. Beginning in July it will ramp up to 1,100, then in October, to about 1,200. I hope to be to goal weight (135-140 pounds) by my birthday next year, April 3. Then, I can begin to add calories until I hit maintenance level... which I'm assuming will be about the 1,400-1,500 calorie mark at highest, according to the amount that I exercise overall. But I genuinely don't know. At some point, I'm going to have to have knee replacements, as well, so that's something I have to think about for the future. I'm hoping weight loss postpones it for a long time.

When I began logging my intake in January, I was eating between 2,100 and 3,000 calories a day, easily. I work at home, and I was eating pretty much all day long, simply grazing on anything and everything. Logging on paper is what made the move to MFP so easy. But it was a shocker, and an eye opener. That's why I'm here.

Hi Ladies!
I haven't checked in for a while. I've got so much going on at work.
I injured my back exercising on April 11. Then, when it was better, I hurt it again in the same place on April 23! Oi! I'm not quite as fit as I think I am! LOL! Back is feeling good this morning so I'm off for a 2 miles walk!

Anyway, I'm making fine progress. In 2 years I've lost 50 pounds. I want to lose it slowly to prevent a gout attack and to make sure I'm retaining the knowledge of how to eat right for life.

To remind myself and show my friends and family how far I've come, I created a side by side of my before and current picture.

Good luck to all!!
Gin from Northridge, CA

Gin: What an awesome transformation! Congratulations on that weight loss and have fun on your walk!

Heather: It looks great to me, and so creative. He's going to love it!

Gin - lookin' gooooooood! :flowerforyou:

Heather UK

Lisa in WTX: I love the inverted pyramid! How did you do that? I knit or crochet dishrags in the summer if I want to fill time and keep my hands busy without filling my mouth. If you want to keep your hands busy and your lap cool I recommend it. I get cotton yarn at Walmart when I want to make dishrags. Losing weight to put off knee replacement surgery as long as possible is VERY sensible. I have heard the surgery has a limited “lifespan” and the replacement parts wear out. I don’t generally trust hearsay but I would definitely ask.

Kim: Everyone needs to make goals that make sense in their life. My fun things are usually simple pleasures that I slip into everyday life, but one big fun thing a week seems nice, too.

Mary from MN: What a great thing to do with your cookies! I hope you get a good offer on your house, soon. I can’t recall if you’ve told us what you plan to do once it is sold.

Cindy in SoMD: I like the term adaptive management. Your loss for April was excellent. Congratulations.

Gin from Northridge CA: WOW! You’ve transformed yourself. Comgratulations!

Heather: I love the cake. Chocolate gold coins will be just right as the finishing touch.



I just got a call from DSIL that I want to share with you. She had a mammogram last week, and was called back in because the doctor was concerned that her results were so different from the last time she had one. They took image after image. The radiologist came to talk to her, and she told him she’d lost a significant amount of weight since the last time she had a mammogram. That explained things for the radiologist and she got a good report. She passed a warning and recommendation to me that I should be sure to tell them I’ve lost weight when I go in for my next mammogram so I don’t have to go through the anxiety of being called back due to changes brought about by weight loss. I am down several bra sizes and a cup size since I started. My back feels so much better because of it. :bigsmile:

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

May 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. Accomplished but here as a reminder.
6. Monitor sleep. Try to average 7 or more hours of sleep nightly.

Back from helping time the race. It went smoothly. Off to a massage shortly. Sunny about 60 here.
Had some of my beef,barley, mushroom soup for lunch.
Someone mentioned ocular headaches with vision loss. I have had several, none for a few years though. Scary. Terrified the first time it occurred.

Gin.....Fabulous change! Looking great!!

Heather.......Lovely cake, he will totally love it!

Mary.....Any chance you might move east???

Yanniejannie

Happy Saturday Everyone ! ! !

I am at work until noon, then I head to DS's double-header baseball game. He decided to be the catcher at last night's game (first time ever), and has sore knees today, so I'm guessing I will need to tape them when I get there. I was hoping to post a picture of him behind the plate, but I still don't know how to do much on my phone. It was pretty busy here at work for a Saturday, so I had to skim through the reading and still get my work done. Sorry if I forgot anyone.

At this time, I don’t intend to sign off on the insurance for my fender-bender. I’m just quite frustrated at all the hoops Allstate expects me to jump through (mostly because they are NOT my insurance company, and as the "victim" I feel like this should be easier, so I'm whiney about it), and I just don’t have the time to take it to one of their Approval Locations. Now I have to set up an account, and e-mail them a picture of the damage. I hope my new phone takes a good picture, because that’s a challenge since the ground is so far away from my hands these days. The estimate for car repairs is around $586, and my doctor bill including meds is $17, so it’s not like I am going to cost them a fortune. I will try hard to get it done this weekend, and I already faxed them a copy of my medical bill.

Sherry - Welcome and hugs for the stresses, challenges, and loss. I hope you find balance and health, and I'm sure we will all cheer you along the way.

Maryanne – My Dad took my Kohls cash to buy my DD a fitbit, and they wouldn’t take it, because it says Electronics are excluded. I hope you have better luck.

Gin – Congratulations, and B e a u t i f u l ! ! ! Keep up the great work.

Heather – the cake is adorable.

Now I better close the books for the day, finish as much more paperwork as possible, and hope I can work the GPS on my phone to get to the baseball game. (Oh, DS and DH team won by one last night).

Hugs for Everyone ! ! !

Terri in Milwaukee

Happy May!

I am just checking in to report on and set my goals for now:

April Goals
BP and BS every day – THIS IS REALLY BECOMING A HABIT!
Log every bite and swallow – NOT AS ACCURATE AS I SHOULD BE, BUT BETTER!
Contact 3 teacher friends each week – KIND OF FAILED ON THIS
Walk 6,000 steps each day – NOT THERE YET, BUT DOING BETTER
No eating after dinner - DITTO
“Let go and let God” – DITTO

MAY GOALS
Focus:
No eating after dinner! (Use a pre-logging strategy to help with this)
Walk 6,000+ steps each day
BP and BS every day
Log every bite and swallow
“Let go and let God”

I love what Cindy said about this being about adaptive management, not about perfection. I have to remember that this is a journey. Most trips are more rewarding when you allow yourself time for unexpected opportunities and experiences.
PS: I don’t remember who was going to use stickers for their goals. That is what I do. I put them on my kitchen calendar. Last month the bigger one was for BP and BS and little one for no eating after dinner. I am flipping it this month since the latter is what I have the most trouble with now. I am using little spring cartoonish butterflies and birds stickers and small smiley faces. Using stickers gives me a picture of what I am doing with my goals .
I’ll check in later for more comments. Have a great day ladies!!!!!

Toni in BEAUTIFUL Tennessee

Hmmm, how do you delete a post once you've created it?

I don't know if you can delete a post altogether, but if you're within an hour of posting you can edit it all the way to empty if you want, or make other changes that you want to make.