50+ with 50+ To Lose Group

I've found the group very motivating. Since joining, it's reinvigorated me, the majority of my days have been under again, and the scale seems to be showing that. I'll feel like a real success when I can break the 5 pound yo yo I'm on and maintain my ticker low (I can't bear to reset it to a higher weight, but I do keep logging in, hoping that I can get myself remotivated and start losing again.) I was really slipping in terms of my daily calories, but not in terms of doing my daily logging. I kept that up because I know that's the backbone of MFP. If you don't log in, you'll start kidding yourself that you haven't eaten that much, and before you know it, you're back to your wicked ways. It's like an ex smoker taking one puff, before you know it you're up to a pack a day.

Some suggestions made here that I'm really going to take to heart are drinking more water because I've been drinking some iced tea and Diet Cokes since it got warmer, and I think I need even more water to overcome the diuretic qualities in those drinks. Another problem I seem to have is not pacing my food throughout the day. I'm eating lightly earlier and having a big dinner. I am terrible at getting regular exercise, but I have been doing all my own housework and gardening, so I'm burning as many calories as I can around the house. I also try to take as many steps during the day that I can.

I swore many years ago that I would never go on a diet again, and I don't consider MFP dieting. I have to have total freedom of choice, or I will not stay the course.Since I always eat "regular foods," I don't feel like I'm deprived or worry that I might "go off the wagon" because, theoretically, you can eat an entire piece of chocolate cake.....if you don't want to eat dinner; so, you do have to retrain yourself to enjoy a few bites instead. I've been on MFP since late January, and although MFP keeps resetting my days, I've never had a day that I haven't logged in. I may not have the dramatic weight loss that some programs have, or dropped tons of pounds on prepackaged foods, but instead I've gotten a much better understanding of how important food choices and portions are. So, I do think this "re-education" will give me a much better chance of keeping it off and not packing it back on. I remember the earliest days when I was logging, and how hungry I felt and how hard it was to choose foods, and now it's second nature. When I started, I was skeptical that I could ever lose weight again, and it soon proved me wrong. I am happy with my results, and I'm sure this plateau will fall soon enough, and I'm hoping to lose a minimum of ten more pounds this year. That would put me at thirty for the year, and I think that's a reasonable and healthy goal. Thanks everyone for your help and support.

Hi everyone, I hope you're having a great day! This might be a silly question but thought I'd ask... Do you count the water you drink during a workout/exercise? I've never counted it as I feel I'm replenishing what I'm sweating out. Your thoughts?

Do you count the water you drink during a workout/exercise?

Yes, I do but I also try to drink more on work out days. I want to reliably get 8 glasses in a day before I stop counting water during exercise and set a higher goal.

Keri, you said this in an earlier post:

I calculated due to my weight that I needed 14 cups

Is there a way to calculate what I should be drinking? If so, please where can it be found?
(Not that I would really manage but it would still be interesting)

Keri ...
I just scared myself !! :drinker:
By doing the math like you suggest for my daily water intake, I need to drink 13 cups!!! HOLY COW! I am totally going to be up all night now!! :ohwell:
My goals for August.... to loose another 5#, and exercise more!!! Right now during the week, I ride the stationary bike for 45 minuets a night, and weekends I add walking for at least 30 min around my neighborhood.

I'm finally back. I had myself a bit of a pity party for several days. Where did that get me? Nowhere of course. I still have my health problems, PLUS a few extra pounds. So now I'm giving myself a quick kick in the pants. Here are my goals.

Record every bite
Weigh and measure food
Drink my water
Still not allowed to exercise, so nothing here
Try a new healthy recipe twice a week
Restrict salt to 1500mg

I just realized that I didn't introduce myself ~ how rude!!! LOL go figure ~ once you know me you will come to expect stuff from "left field"
Anyhow, my name is Mary and I joined MFP in June. I will be 58 next month and live in West Valley City (Salt Lake valley), UT. I have lived here with my hubby for 6 years in Oct. I have tried WW several times with limited success, seems the more times I restarted the less I would loose, and the longer it would take!! I have been on a fairly steady weight gain for probably 20 years. I confess I don't eat a lot of vegies, and yes I know I should.... but just don’t like the taste & texture of most of them. I also have never been big on exercise (I just hate to sweat... and I have been very lazy to this point).
With those confessions being out there now, I will say that I have had success with MFP and am thrilled with the results that I have had so far. I am so close to loosing 30# that I just ... want to go to bed right now and have it be tomorrow so I can see if I am there! :happy:
I started walking back in June for 30 min a day, after the first few days (when I thought I was going to die!!) I realized that I could do this! Now if I am too tired after work I will go ride the stationary bike for a while (30-50 min), on the weekends I walk usually in the early morning and ride the bike in the evenings.
I have a beautiful daughter that joined MFP last month and she has a beauty of her own now. I became a Grandmother for the first time 20 months ago. I love my girls with all my heart and am doing this not only for my husband, and myself but also for my girls.
My goals are.... 10% loss, which I did in my first 6 weeks :flowerforyou:
Next goal is another 10%, which will get me well into ONDERLAND by the end of Sept. That is 16 # more that need to GET LOST in 7 weeks time. I CAN DO THIS!!!! :blushing:
So that is me.... I don't think I left anything out ~

Whew...Well, I'm already at 12 glasses of water for today. I just spent three hours pressure washing the deck. Thirsty work, even with water flying everywhere.

I just reviewed my goals for the month I posted earlier on this thread. C25K is off to a rough start.

Walking 4+ times a week - great
Strength training 4 times a week - great
Water - this week, great, so-so before that
My weight loss goal for the month is ahead of plan
C25K - I've gotten through week 1, my knees are very unhappy with my attempts to run. I think I need to lose another 20 pounds before I attempt that again. I can do a sustainable walk at 3.2mph, I'm thinking about adding distance instead of speed.

Welcome to all the newcomers.

KeriA when is your interview???

Goals:
1. To walk 30 minutes, four times a week (Sun., Tue., Thu., Sat.), 500 minutes per month.
2. To workout with resistance bands for 30 minutes, three time a week (Mon., Wed., Fri.), 360 minutes per month.
3. To stay within my diet, 1800+- calories, < 2000mg sodium, < 60g fat, daily.
4. To get off my diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol meds by August 15, 2012.

Monthly Progress:
1. 933 total min of 500 this week. Monthly goal met
2. Resistance Training: 71 minutes this month. I won’t meet this goal this month..
3. Starting fresh today
4. Working on this goal.

I’m back from our two week Alaska/Canada vacation. The good news is that we did a LOT of walking, but the bad news is that I gained 9 pounds, probably a lot of which is water retention (swollen ankles, not enough water available on excursions). I started off real good, fruit for breakfast and salads for lunch, but there were too many good food temptations, which I succumbed to. I ate a LOT of fresh fish, but also a lot of crab. The smoked salmon was one of my main weaknesses starting off with Smoked Salmon Benedict for breakfast, crab/artichoke dip for appetizers). I tried to make wise choices when I could, but I also wanted to enjoy the experience, which I guess I did. I started keeping a list of food so I could enter it when I got back (no or very expensive internet connection) but gave up on that. This was an experience of a lifetime. It could have been worse. Back too it this morning. I guess I have to readjust my settings as I turned 67 while away.

Welcome back from your trip Chuck. I've been meaning to take an Canada/Alaska cruise for ages. I hear it is beautiful coastline. I love seafood, but it does have quite a bit of natural sodium. With all the dining out, I would not be surprised if it was mostly water weight gain. It will be interesting to see what your weight is in a week.

I'm fasting tonight for my lipids bloodwork tomorrow morning, with a vitamin D test and the remainder of my Hep A and Hep B vaccinations thrown in for good measure. Seeing my current cholesterol levels is going to be the real test of my progress.

Keri, I'm interested in your curried stew recipe too.

Here's to another successful week!