WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR NOVEMBER 2015

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  • mikesmom1983
    mikesmom1983 Posts: 582 Member
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    9zg7oseim2ye.jpg
    Today's walk
    Chris in MA
  • susb
    susb Posts: 90 Member
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    Thanks Janet, yes, I would like to join the group. My name is Susan. I try to be helpful because I have been there and I want to share the mindset I had to have in order to accomplish a goal I thought would be near impossible.

    I didn't mean to come across like I giving some sort of testimonial but hey, whatever works, right!

    Cheri, don't get discouraged. I would suggest, one huge thing that I forgot to mention. We all know about exercise but we still have to make huge efforts to move throughout the day. We have to continue to move throughout the day: Cleaning, washing a car, walking, instead of parking close, Cooking great healthy foods ahead of time and cleaning up after. We can do outdoor activities like gardening or raking. It doesn't sound like fun but we can accomplish three things: we burn more calories throughout the day, we take our mind off food and we end up feeling accomplished in what we've achieved.

    I don't know if I did this post correctly but I am trying!

    Susan

  • csofled
    csofled Posts: 3,022 Member
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    Cheri - I would guess that something is going wrong with your maths. :) I say that because I found I was making a big miscalculation on portion size with boxed microwave popcorn. Cereal is another one where you have to weigh carefully. It is very, very easy to underestimate how much we are eating. Everything has to be weighed and measured. And carefully logged. No exceptions. No guesswork. No cheat days. No, "Oh once won't hurt". No, "I deserve a treat." No, "I've had a hard day, so I'll make an exception." No, "I'll just eat it to be sociable and they've gone to so much trouble."
    You can do it. :flowerforyou:
    Is your diary open? Is everything on there?

    Love Heather UK

    My diary is open to friends. For the most part I measure and weigh. I was trying not to be very OCD about things because it has gotten me in places I haven't wanted to go but perhaps I must buckle down and head in that direction.

    Cheri
  • csofled
    csofled Posts: 3,022 Member
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    susb wrote: »
    Thanks Janet, yes, I would like to join the group. My name is Susan. I try to be helpful because I have been there and I want to share the mindset I had to have in order to accomplish a goal I thought would be near impossible.

    I didn't mean to come across like I giving some sort of testimonial but hey, whatever works, right!

    Cheri, don't get discouraged. I would suggest, one huge thing that I forgot to mention. We all know about exercise but we still have to make huge efforts to move throughout the day. We have to continue to move throughout the day: Cleaning, washing a car, walking, instead of parking close, Cooking great healthy foods ahead of time and cleaning up after. We can do outdoor activities like gardening or raking. It doesn't sound like fun but we can accomplish three things: we burn more calories throughout the day, we take our mind off food and we end up feeling accomplished in what we've achieved.

    I don't know if I did this post correctly but I am trying!

    Susan

    The moving throughout the day is correct. I don't work outside the home at this time and find myself thinking of ways to keep moving: taking laundry upstairs after each load, ironing one shirt and walking to MB closet to put away instead of at end of all shirts, taking dog for 2 short walks (outside of my 3 mile purposeful fitness walking), walking up and down stairs during commercials on tv, having a planned household chore for each morning and each afternoon...it takes effort or else I would be on the couch all day engaging in my passion of reading and crocheting.

    This time around (dieting) I made sure to do only those things (eating and exercising) that I could sustain going forward into seniorhood. Nothing over the top commitment wise as in the past that has been my downfall. Going full force and then messing up and then ultimately giving up. I want to engage in fitness and eating patterns that I know are sustainable. I think I am doing that as I have stayed longer on this path than ever before. Perhaps I can pull the reins in a little tighter as I have been successful thus far in staying the path.

    Your words are very helpful to me!

    Cheri
  • cityjaneLondon
    cityjaneLondon Posts: 12,330 Member
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    Cheri - <3
  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,152 Member
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    Susan-great advice!

    Cheri- ditto on what Heather said. My suggestion is to lift heavier weights and build muscle. You can increase your weights by a pound at a time it doesn't have to be 5 to 10 pounds. But every increase make your muscles stronger and burn more calories during your workout. I like doing compound lifts. I do Stronglifts 5x5. I also started kettle bell swings. I find that I need to change up my exercise and really follow closely as clean of eating as I can.

    Mary from Minnesota
  • pebble221
    pebble221 Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi all-
    I'm new to this as well. I've tracked my food on the app, but have never gone on the message boards. It's been lovely to read all the support on this thread. I'm 50, and weigh 185. (Up until early this year I hovered around 173, but gained 12 since April due to a lot of stress eating, and I suspect the dreaded metabolism change.)

    Anyway, I'm trying to do this differently, by losing weight gradually, which is a big change for me. I'm very black and white about eating/exercising. I'm either on it 100% or off it 100%. I'm going to try for 80% success, which I'm told still yields good results.

    With that in mind, my November goals are:

    10,000 steps 5 out of 7 days
    1500 calories a day
    Tracking all food consumed every day
    Meditation breathing 5 minutes a day
    Being nicer to myself
    Feel my feelings, instead of eating them
    Weigh less than at the beginning of December than I did at the beginning of November

    Again, I'm hoping for an 80% success rate on the everyday stuff. That's still a passing grade!

    Thanks for any insights you may have.

    Z in NY :)
  • barbiecat
    barbiecat Posts: 16,972 Member
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    Do not let the holidays define my actions. Holidays are more in the moment then re-creating the past. I will not give in to baking my childhood

    This is a goal that Becca posted and I thought it was so wonderful that I wanted to post it again to remind myself and to share with others. :)<3
  • pipcd34
    pipcd34 Posts: 16,675 Member
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    .
  • bwcetc
    bwcetc Posts: 2,776 Member
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    Susan (susb)... Great advice! Thanks for sharing.

    SRR65... You replied to the whole group. If you want to reply privately to someone, using mail/message seems to be the only way to do so.

    Margaret ... Good advice about watching prescriptions. I've run into this before with my older son who has been on multiple medications over the years. A watchful eye is imperative!

    Cheri... I thought I didn't have to watch so closely with measuring and weighing after I lost some weight... Thought it was being obsessive and, frankly, my family made fun of me. Well now I'm having to re-lose 20 of the 72+ pounds that I thought I had lost forever when I was weighing and measuring. So you know what I'm back at ... Weighing and measuring. It's what works for me. And Heather is right ... The math works.

    Beth in WNY





  • margaretturk
    margaretturk Posts: 5,084 Member
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    Susan I agree with you about the moving.

    Chris thank you for sharing the picture from your walk.

    :heart: Margaret
  • pipcd34
    pipcd34 Posts: 16,675 Member
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  • cityjaneLondon
    cityjaneLondon Posts: 12,330 Member
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    Beth - <3
  • csofled
    csofled Posts: 3,022 Member
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    pebble221 wrote: »
    Anyway, I'm trying to do this differently, by losing weight gradually, which is a big change for me. I'm very black and white about eating/exercising. I'm either on it 100% or off it 100%. I'm going to try for 80% success, which I'm told still yields good results.
    Again, I'm hoping for an 80% success rate on the everyday stuff. That's still a passing grade!
    Thanks for any insights you may have.
    Z in NY :)

    I was always the exact same way- either all in or all out, very black and white, if I "messed up" somewhere along the line I would scrap the whole thing. It wasn't until this time around that I dropped that attitude and eased up on my OCD attitude regarding weight loss and fitness. I found that I needed to be forgiving of myself and regard this as a lifestyle journey one that would take me into old age. The 80% rule is a good suggestion one I am going to adopt to help with the all-or-none attitude.

    Prime example: I was unable to get in my daily walk for several days this past month due to the death of my FIL and the traveling involved. In the past I would have thrown myself a pity party and called the whole thing off. Not this time. I was able to pick right back up and consider it a new re-beginning with the daily walk. I win for me.

    We can and will do this!

    Cheri sunny NE Ohio
  • pipcd34
    pipcd34 Posts: 16,675 Member
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    wy5zq2jyv41h.jpeg
  • barbiecat
    barbiecat Posts: 16,972 Member
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    :)Pip, I've seen your photos on Facebook, but wanted to say again how great you and your hubby look and how impressed I am with his run.
  • cityjaneLondon
    cityjaneLondon Posts: 12,330 Member
    edited November 2015
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    Pip - great photos! What a terrific achievement! :flowerforyou: Inspirational!

    Heather UK
  • susb
    susb Posts: 90 Member
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    Great points, Heather and Mary. Don't be too hard on yourself Cherie, if any of this would be easy, everyone could achieve their goals with ease, it's not; it has to be a change of lifestyle.

    I don't think or feel it is OCD to write down your intake. That is how I achieved my goals. We acquire valuable knowledge when we measure and take note of what we eat. It blew my mind to imagine how many calories I was carelessly taking in when I had no real knowledge of every single thing I popped it to my mouth!

    We can easily be ingesting 1,800 calories when trying to lose weight while thinking we're taking in 1,400 and that's why a plateau lasts longer than it should. It's not really a plateau; we may be eating enough to maintain our present weight.

    I used a simple dumbbell routine and I did squats and conditioning routines, along with Pilates. Like Mary said: the weights produce muscle which burns off more calories throughout the day, plus, the fact that we're over 50, it's important for our bones!

    The most important thing to do is to write down everything you put into your mouth. Measure it out!

    I suggest it is best to first get your intake down on paper. I did not add exercise for six weeks until I set that pattern first. I lost weight because I created a healthy, doable, eating deficit. After that fact, I slowly incorporated exercise but I stuck to it once I added it to my lifestyle change.

    It can be overwhelming for most to attempt to get their eating patterns down while incorporating exercising at first.

    Once you begin to eat correctly, you realize how often, throughout the day, food is shoved into your face. Magazines, commercials, etc. No wonder so many of us are overweight! Food, in America, is a constant topic of conversation. Are we going to do Italian tonight?

    We derive pleasure from it because we have so many various outlets to eat out, cook or pick up anything we like, any day of the week.

    It's not our fault; we have to see it for what is, we simply need great fuel for our bodies, and we must adjust our intake in order to reach and maintain our goals.

    It is simple math like Heather stated. The most important thing is getting a healthy pattern of eating down so that we can get the most bang for our bucks each and everyday.

    Quality foods most of the time!

    Susan


  • bjkidfun
    bjkidfun Posts: 377 Member
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    :(
  • linder4866
    linder4866 Posts: 11,136 Member
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    <3