WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JANUARY 2016

Miriam - very good article. I liked the weight loss tips that are attached to it as well.
Too high expectations and denying yourself are the biggest traps. For me my daily 600 cals of exercise is a life saver, but not everyone can do that. I didn't start at that level. :noway: I ENJOY my food - that's important and I don't go hungry. Cooking your own delicious food is helpful.
Good luck everyone!
Heather UK

Hi Lori and welcome back! You'll soon be rid of those excess pounds you regained.

Heather wrote: Penny at the Pole - I'm going to be in Longyearbyen on 10th June, Pyramiden and Barentsburg on 11th. I will be in Tromso on the 14th.

NOTED! I know I'll be in Longyearbyen 4 June because I plan to run the Spitsbergen half marathon again. This year I hope to competing against my daughter. She'll beat the stuffing out of me - probably finish in half the time - but that's okay. I'll make sure I don't leave until after the 10th. Chances are good I'll be in Tromsø or out at the island by the 14th, when your ship will probably pass right in front of our house. If so, I'll be sure to wave.
I see you remember how important it is to bring your sunglasses

Katla wrote: Perhaps you and your DH can do separate things together. DSIL and DBIL go to the gym together, but spend their time using different pieces of equipment. It is one big room so they can be together and do their own thing all at once.

This is actually one of the things we discussed. I lift weights and said he could contemplate doing a stint on the treadmill. His employer subsidizes gym membership up to about 225 USD per year and allows two hours of fitness activity per week during paid working hours. (How's that for an employee health promotion policy?) I told him I try to go to the gym Mon-Wed-Fri early in the morning, and suggested we coordinate. That's when he said he was "intuitive" and didn't want to be hemmed in. Still, I think we'll give it an honest go.

Katla, I hear you about being "spoiled" by your riding teacher. What a great benefit! I hope your knee recovers so you can use the advantage to the full.

Katla and DJ - I'm sure we'll have a great time! The kids are on their way even as I write, but they texted to say they'd lost some of their luggage in Oslo. They may have to take a later ferry than planned. Oh, well... (DJ, they live just outside Stockholm, Sweden.)

Michele and others: I always have to count my blessings when I read about your picky eaters. My husband will eat anything I serve him! Heck, our kids have always eaten anything we served them. In my sister's family, they made special meals for the son, who wouldn't eat cheese. That always looked like too much work for me, so we just never let special meals become an option. They at least had to try something new before they refused to eat it. Then if they didn't want to eat it, they could go hungry. From about age 11-12, the kids also took turns being responsible for making dinner on Tuesdays. They are now both excellent cooks. (Our son is the main cook in his family, where mom is a vegetarian. She eats dairy, eggs and fish, though, which makes it easier.)

Hey Tracy - You're in wine country! I have old friends who used to live in the Willamette Valley. The best place on earth, they said.

Speaking of shiny sinks and neat kitchens, a little observation. I try to keep my sink shiny and it really does feel better coming to a clean kitchen in the morning. What I've noticed, however, is that I find it considerably easier maintaining the routine when I'm out at our island place - where I love the kitchen. I designed the house myself and put special effort into creating a kitchen I could live with. This kitchen is almost always clean. In our apartment in Tromsø, the kitchen is totally hopeless and I can never scrape together the dedication I need to clean up. It simply doesn't feel worth the effort.

Now I must get my act together and start helping my husband get the house ready for the invasion.
See you sometime, though I may not get much computer time for the next couple of days.
/Penny, currently not quite at the

I am so HAPPY! I'm bursting!
I sorted my shelves in the wardrobe. Threw masses away. Now it looks deeeeevine!
Penny - I was so enthused and cut to the quick by your comment (♡) that I went back to the sock portion of my big drawer and threw most of it away. Including two bras that I have never worn. They are going go the charity shop.
It feels sooooo gooooood. :drinker:

Expecting a supermarket delivery at any moment. Need it so I can cook the bolognese for dinner tonight. I will have it with green beans.

Love to all, Heather

Morning, afternoon, evening, all. Welcome to all the new ones, we're glad you're here, and not just saying that--new voices always bring new perspective.

The tidying up and pitching stuff tickles me because we downsized from a three-bedroom place twice in the last five years, once to move up to Oregon, and the second time to move from Oregon back to Texas. The first time, we moved three people, and moved everything we chose to keep in two trucks, a pickup truck with a camper shell on it, and my little Ford Escape SUV. The second time, it was just the two of us, and we moved into a 27-foot-long 5th-wheel trailer. That was way harder for some reason.

We had to be completely ruthless with everything we owned, and ended up with much less than a third of what we had in the house. We sold the big furniture with the Oregon house, and kept only three pieces: A photo chest of my mother's, a cherry desk of mine (we took the dinette benches and table out of the trailer, which we stripped all the way to the studs to rehab) and a mattress. All family pictures on the wall went into an album, and so on. It was an education in what you miss when you get rid of it (which was almost nothing). I highly recommend moving a lot to keep your possessions to a minimum. We're still rattling around with a lot of empty space in the ranch house, after two years. We built most of the furniture we have, or bought it at garage sales and rehabbed it. The only exception is the two loveseats. Haven't quite figured out how to build upholstered furniture yet. Maybe this year!

So pleased that I only gained three pounds on the week-long vacation, because I paid zero attention to what I ate, and didn't work out even once. I did have a couple days where I hit 10,000 steps with walks on the beach, etc.

That puts me at 178 pounds at the end of 2015, and I began the year at 210, so I'm fairly happy with that. I gained 11 pounds BACK the last two months of the year, which I'm not happy with, but past is past. Time to start again. I did get a gym membership in December as well, which I'm pleased about, and went a number of times before we headed out for our holiday. As there's no shower in the warehouse, it means I have to go to the gym to shower, and I feel guilty just going for that, so I work out first. Good motivation.

Exploring the local job market, so I touched base with the old friend who runs the local newspaper that I write for, to see if she's in the market for a managing editor. I doubt it, but figured it's worth putting it out there. Motel 6 needs a general manager for this region, Family Dollar is looking for a manager, and the local cellular company is looking for one as well, so I have a number of applications out there. We'll see what happens.

Not sweating it--what happens is what will happen. Funding the repairs on the warehouse is just going to take time--and we got it for such a good price that we can literally pay it off in a year and a half if we throw any money that I make at the mortgage. Then we can decide what to do next. so, taking a breath, had a two-month break from my lifestyle change, and it's back to just making sure that I'm lighter at the end of January than I was at the beginning. One day, one week, one month at a time - we can do this!

Cheers to new beginnings and fresh starts, and to those of you in maintenance mode--we use you for inspiration daily!

Love y'all
Lisa in West Texas (and glad to be home!)

pipcd34 wrote: »

hello peeps -

wowzers there are alotta new peeps here. welcome to you all!!! YOU GOT THIS!! did alot today, went to the gym, took kirby to get his hair cut and colored, then took the kids home, took our 7.5' fake xmas tree to Goodwill and said our goodbye to it, then went to the bike shop to pick up his NEW BIKE!! it was pretty cool, cuz after the bike, new fenders, rack pannier, it still was JUST UNDER 1K!! that is awesome!!!!. my summer bike was over 1k for the bike alone! came home and put his bike lights on and it is awesome!.

night peeps

Yeah!!! Life is getting back to normal for you and Kirby.

All this de-clutter talk..... makes me want to get something done in my own house but ...sigh.... I am off to spend a day working on another room at my mom's house.

Later everyone

Lillian in west Central Saskatchewan

Oh... and don't know if it works for anyone else, but am adding one thing each day...so today is logging, but not restricting what I eat. Tomorrow, working out and logging. Tuesday, working out, logging and staying under 1500 calories... just easing myself back into the groove...

Lisa, West Texas...

Allie - meant to tell you and forgot, I'm really, REALLY proud of you for bracing Tom. I hope he's actually hearing you.

Janetr - I'm the same in public areas, but behind the scenes it's a different story. I'm always straightening drink mats. :blushing: My poor DH 's pens get straightened several times a day and I can hardly bear it that they don't colour co-ordinate with the living room. If people come I want all my blue mugs out on the shelves, so DH knows to start the dishwasher a few hours before. However, he says I leave a mess in the kitchen after cooking, but that's because he is the one responsible for the washing up and tidying. :laugh: He does it very well, but doesn't clean the hob. :sad: Nor does he sharpen knives. :sad: He does do all the trash and compost bin. At the moment he is still painting his bathroom, which is looking beautiful. I have made a gigantic bolognese, which I will freeze in 400 cal portions, so 200 cals for each of us.

Had 3 parcels arrive today - one was 8 new dinner plates - same as the old ones - and two parcels were artificial flowers I bought in an online sale. Snowdrops, mixed white spring flowers and gorgeous purple irises. The irises I won't put out yet as I like to co-ordinate my fake flowers with the seasons, but they are lovely. I try to always have fresh flowers as well, but the fake ones tide me over the gaps.

Tomorrow I am going to do some writing and tidy my jewellery and nail varnish drawer.

Love Heather UK

I am taking the organizing and purging a bit at a time too. Yesterday I went through some very old cookbooks that a friend gave me. I pulled out the recipes I thought I would use, mostly veggie dishes, and put the books in the recycle bin. Then I made a map of my desk drawers so I know where things are. I loose things when they are out of sight, but don't want to label drawers etc. so I figure a map, that I can put under the glass on top of the desk, will help me find things. My desk is a big old business desk with really deep drawers so it is easy to lose things in it. I find Velveeta boxes are just the right depth for drawer dividers. I don't buy it very often, but occasionally make the velveeta and rotel for my girls. Or grilled cheese. I am trying to teach them proper eating habits, so don't do it very often.