Feeling Intimidated

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PrincessMermaidAngel
PrincessMermaidAngel Posts: 6 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi, I'm Michele. I am 52 and have struggled with my weight most of my life. I use to love to exercise, but degeneration in my neck and lower spine kind of put a damper of things that I like to do that high impact. I get easily bored working out and unless I sweat profusely feel like I don't see progress. So I am going to retrain myself to think differently. I have made really poor food choices over the last year and a half. Between that and remaining inactive I had a bad blood pressure reading on Friday....173/82. Really freaked me out. I don't like the idea of meds, so I am going radical on my food my choices and hope to get some moderate exercise choices in. I hope to find inspiration in your stories and maybe you will find inspiration in mine.

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  • Just_Ceci
    Just_Ceci Posts: 5,926 Member
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    Hi, Michele

    This is a great group for support and encouragement: Fifty Plus or So Support Group

    You can do this!
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    When I began exercising (lifetime sedentary) my physiotherapist showed me how to modify nearly any exercise to low-impact. That's helped a lot, as long as I don't care that I move differently than everyone else.

    You may also want to try mindful meditation or breathing exercises to see if that can help bring your blood pressure in line. That and lowering your salt intake.

    Lowering salt intake means lots of home cooking. Nearly all processed foods have too much salt.
  • PrincessMermaidAngel
    PrincessMermaidAngel Posts: 6 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Thank you Ceci. I am so adamant about NOT belonging to the pharmaceutical and doctor world of meds, which is stressing me out even more. I will go to the site....kind of laughing...when did I get old enough to belong to the Fifty Plus group! ;):p I guess two and a half years ago....along with my body...lol
  • Debmal77
    Debmal77 Posts: 4,770 Member
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    PrincessMermaidAngel wrote: »
    Hi, I'm Michele. I am 52 and have struggled with my weight most of my life. I use to love to exercise, but degeneration in my neck and lower spine kind of put a damper of things that I like to do that high impact. I get easily bored working out and unless I sweat profusely feel like I don't see progress. So I am going to retrain myself to think differently. I have made really poor food choices over the last year and a half. Between that and remaining inactive I had a bad blood pressure reading on Friday....173/82. Really freaked me out. I don't like the idea of meds, so I am going radical on my food my choices and hope to get some moderate exercise choices in. I hope to find inspiration in your stories and maybe you will find inspiration in mine.

    This is my story also. However, I am 10 years older and have not been overweight all my life. I do Zumba at home and make it low impact because of my neck and back problems. It will make you sweat even if you revise it to low impact. It is also fun. I have a Wii and have Zumba 2 and Zumba Core. With several different dances it is hard to get bored. I am really working on my portion control. It is really hard at times. Calories In Calories Out really does work and once you have the portions under control you will start losing. Logging your food is really important! It will make you accountable. Good luck and welcome to MFP. Add me if you like! :)
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    I can relate to being a little intimidated about this process, and even using MFP, but the important thing is just to get started and you'll be in the swing of things in no time. I'm all for your goal of avoiding meds, but am a little concerned about that phrase "going radical on my food choices". It's easier to sustain changes that we make gradually. Maybe you could elaborate on what you meant.
    I'm 46 and was also becoming concerned about my health and mobility. MFP has been great! I love the food tracking (particularly the ability to enter recipes and get full nutritional breakdowns) and the encouragement. In fact, the food tracking should come in particularly handy to you, since it keeps track of sodium and other things you may need to monitor. Jump right in :)
  • PrincessMermaidAngel
    PrincessMermaidAngel Posts: 6 Member
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    Thank you ignatca....I don't really use alot of salt and it never resides on my table. No excuses, but it is a genetic issue on my paternal side, which should have always made it a red flag for me all these years. I let this creep on me. My own fault. I have a friend who also suggested meditation, which would help me alot with the stress I presently have in my life. Truth be told, about a year and a half ago I moved away from shopping fresh weekly to purchasing convinience and cost....that backfired. So now I have alot of ground to cover.
  • PrincessMermaidAngel
    PrincessMermaidAngel Posts: 6 Member
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    My goodness! What a great support system!! I dont know yet how to manage this site, i.e. add people and such, so please know I am not being rude. :)

    As for the radical, well that really kind of meant this morning I ate 1.5 cups of berries and a few nuts for breakfast and for lunch I had sauteed off some squash and two small baby potatoes and had that for lunch.

    By radical I meant that I know better than to eat what I have been eating....and I needed to change right away. Don't get me wrong, I dont have it in me to go full vegetarian or such, but I do know how to make better food choices.

    If anyone can identify with this, when I start eating anything that is processed, crackers, cookies, taste bud enticing, I don't know how to have just one or two. I LITERALLY crave more.

    Not unlike a smoker, that I was till 1990, I sometimes wonder if I have a all or nothing issue.

    I lost site of portion sizes and of food choices....and now I am "scared" to fail because my stress level and lifestyle often have been eased by "comfort eating".

    Eeeeeck, I sound so horrible....but I really am not. I am glad I found people I can communicate with here. Thanks for welcoming me.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    PrincessMermaidAngel wrote: »
    Thank you ignatca....I don't really use alot of salt and it never resides on my table. No excuses, but it is a genetic issue on my paternal side, which should have always made it a red flag for me all these years. I let this creep on me. My own fault. I have a friend who also suggested meditation, which would help me alot with the stress I presently have in my life. Truth be told, about a year and a half ago I moved away from shopping fresh weekly to purchasing convinience and cost....that backfired. So now I have alot of ground to cover.

    Salt on the table and salt you add to food is just a TINY part of the sodium you consume daily. Take a long look at your sodium readings when tracking your food and adjust accordingly. You could be going over daily without ever adding extra salt to anything.

  • debrakgoogins
    debrakgoogins Posts: 2,033 Member
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    Congratulations on taking the first step. Coming here will help you tremendously! I have major back issues and a permanently dislocated sacral joint so I understand how hard it is to get started with exercise. I highly recommend finding a personal trainer with a background in sports injury rehab or physical therapy. Also, don't go crazy on your food changes. It's hard to sustain and not really necessary. Eat in moderation instead. Use your macros to help you figure out how much proteins, fats (yes, you still need to eat fats) and carbs (yes, you should still eat carbs) you should be eating. You can still eat the foods you like, but probably not as much of it. Use the recipe section of the forum to help you find healthier alternatives for the recipes you already use. You'll find it easier to stick with it for the long haul if you are not completely changing your eating habits overnight.
  • PrincessMermaidAngel
    PrincessMermaidAngel Posts: 6 Member
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    Is the concept macros explained somewhere? And thank you both for your encouraging words. seltzermint, you are correct. hence, the poor food choices I have been making likely have added alot of salt to my diet. :(
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    PrincessMermaidAngel wrote: »
    Is the concept macros explained somewhere? And thank you both for your encouraging words. seltzermint, you are correct. hence, the poor food choices I have been making likely have added alot of salt to my diet. :(

    I always thought my biggest issue was probably sugar, but when I started tracking and saw the sodium numbers, I was shocked! We don't salt our food, I don't even add salt when cooking, but I find it a constant challenge to stay under the sodium limits. It will be a long-term project :)

  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    debrakgoogins wrote: »
    Congratulations on taking the first step. Coming here will help you tremendously! I have major back issues and a permanently dislocated sacral joint so I understand how hard it is to get started with exercise. I highly recommend finding a personal trainer with a background in sports injury rehab or physical therapy. Also, don't go crazy on your food changes. It's hard to sustain and not really necessary. Eat in moderation instead. Use your macros to help you figure out how much proteins, fats (yes, you still need to eat fats) and carbs (yes, you should still eat carbs) you should be eating. You can still eat the foods you like, but probably not as much of it. Use the recipe section of the forum to help you find healthier alternatives for the recipes you already use. You'll find it easier to stick with it for the long haul if you are not completely changing your eating habits overnight.

    Yes, this. I make many of the same dishes I made before, but run them through the database to find out what a reasonable portion should be. I've been adding extra veggies & fruits- extra toppings on a sandwich, a piece of fruit when I want a snack. And I've been trying to use mostly whole grains. I honestly haven't felt the least bit deprived- I even still have my sweet treats. I know the focus for now needs to be on calories (fill out your profile and get your MFP recommendation if you haven't already) and I can tweak the diet as I go along.

  • debrakgoogins
    debrakgoogins Posts: 2,033 Member
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    PrincessMermaidAngel wrote: »
    Is the concept macros explained somewhere? And thank you both for your encouraging words. seltzermint, you are correct. hence, the poor food choices I have been making likely have added alot of salt to my diet. :(

    It's not really explained but there is a ton of information in the forums on it. If you are using a smart phone, the easiest way to see how you are doing on your macros is this: Look at your current food diary, scroll to the very bottom. There will be two links, nutrition and notes. Choose nutrition. You can see what your goal is and where you are at in comparison. You can also click "nutrients" from there and see exactly how much saturated fat, fiber, sugar, sodium, etc. you have eaten that day. You can also change to a weekly breakdown. It's a great tool The goals provided for you are automatically assigned by MFP but later as you start to learn more about the macro breakdown, you will be able to customize yours. My goals are 40% carbs, 30% fat and 30% protein. I believe the standard setting is 50% carbs, 30% fat and 20% protein.

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