WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR FEBRUARY 2025

Happy Valentine’s Day to one and all. Yesterday was cozy, relaxing in the hot tub and by the woodstove, lovely. Glued labels to popsicle sticks for the germination experiment, removing one thing from the desktop. ;} Found this activity strangely satisfying. Could I have found my craft? Naaaah :noway:
Rosemarie, Vicki, Kim, Evelyn, Rori, so good to see you pop in!
Tracey my friend T texted me a meme about indecision and squirrels. . . :devil: Cement floors are the worst!
Lisa Brava for the decision not to do the same thing over again and expect different results. Fingers X’d. If the ankle turns out not to be the source of knee pain, another likely culprit is the hip… I’m right there with Egg, she has my RBF Safe travels and have fun!
Cindy in FL, I weigh every morning, but try to pay attention only to the weekly average after Saturday’s weigh in. When I started on MFP I weighed 165. Doesn’t sound bad, does it? But since I’m a bird-boned 4’10” is was! Logging food was a real eye-opener. Gradually took off 20 lbs to 145 where I stuck (for a decade! ). Paying better attention to food quality and moving more, took off another 15 to where I am now (130-135). 15-20 lbs less would be easier on my knees if not healthier for me Remember the scale shows a number that can vary for reasons beyond your control. Your self-knowledge is key. If you need successes to stick with what works, try to make attainable, NSV goals. How many different vegetables and fruits did you eat today? How many minutes of weight bearing activity? Find activities you enjoy, if you are, like me, allergic to “exercise”. And keep coming back here for the wisdom, support and encouragement of these wonderfully wise women.
Welcome @RebeccaMartin2018 Rebecca from TX!
Machka praying you get some rain soon.
Heather I’m stunned by Edie’s insight. Would you remind me how old she is? What you said about best friend’s grief. ((hugs)) for your son.
Carol prayer said for your son. March 18 seems like a long time to wait for that surgery.
Margaret “The side effect of feeling so good and other signs of health outweighs any desire to go back to old habits.” Congratulations! Thanks for the carnations, do they smell as sweet as they look?
Beth great post-op results. Whew!
Rita ((hugs held extra extra long))
Flea thankful your stubborn guy made it home safely. Maybe next time he’ll make a wiser choice. Humpf.
Ginny, what a cutie!
Valentine story. When Joe and I first got together, I was so excited to finally have a sweetheart that I went way overboard. Baked him a chocolate cake. Made him a mushy card. WROTE HIM A POEM. I’ve never seen anyone so uncomfortable in my life. I was so embarrassed. Never did that again. Live and learn.
Later, lighter, lovelies!
Barbara, the Southern Oregon Coastie AHMOD

February focus: OMG room
2025: Chose NOW: to move more than yesterday, fuel better than yesterday, open heart and mind before mouth.

Now, I've lost 3.9 kg (8.6 lbs) since Christmas.


Hi ... I'm Machka

Machka has been my nickname since about 2002. It's a Serbo-Croatian word for cat, specifically female cat. Machak is the word for male cat.

I'm 57 years old and just a bit under 5'6" ... and these days, I'm overweight.

But I was slim and fairly fit up till my mid 40s when I started gaining. I've always been active ... walking, hiking, running, cross-country skiing, weightlifting, cycling ...

Lots and lots of cycling. I was cycling fairly long distances on my own, recreationally, then I got into racing for 3 years ... and then I ventured into the world of ultra-distance cycling and loved it!

I've done audax/randonneuring type of cycling since 2001. Audax/randonneuring cycling consists of non-competitive long-distance bicycle rides from 50 to 1200 km. The challenge of Audax is not in racing, but in pushing your own boundaries and experiencing great personal achievements. https://audax.org.au/ It's an international thing with the headquarters in France. There are Audax/randonneuring organisations in numerous countries around the world.

I peaked in the early to mid 2000s when I completed four 1200 km events plus all the qualifying events.

And I met my husband on one of those events, the Paris-Brest-Paris in France in 2003.

We married in 2008 in Jasper Canada after cycling a century (100 miles).


Then he returned to Australia (he's Australian) and I finished the degree I was working on. Shortly before I finished the degree, one of Australia's largest bushfires came through Victoria and wiped out a lot of the area where he lived and worked, including the place he had set up for us. When I got there in June 2009, we moved into a small, very rustic shack with no power, no running water ... completely off the grid at the back of the orchard property where he worked. Somehow the fire had missed taking it. My first year in Australia was back to pioneer days!

We both ended up getting jobs in bushfire recovery for a while and as things we wrapping up, we decided to take a break. We popped everything into storage and hit the road with our bicycles ... visiting parts of Asia, Europe, North America and Western Australia.

Eventually we ended up in Tasmania where my husband became General Manager of a cherry orchard and I worked for the government while attending university to get my Master's degree.

Just before I turned 48, I was not pleased with what I saw when I looked in the mirror. I felt dumpy and old. So I started exercising more and a couple months later in Feb 2015, I joined MFP where I went on a mission to lose weight. I dropped 25 kg (55 lbs) in that year and both my husband and I became much more active. We even started cycling some of the longer distances Audax Australia had to offer.

Me, in 2016



Then in March 2018, my husband had a workplace accident which resulted in a severe traumatic brain injury. He was in hospital a total of 100 days. Of those, he was in a coma for 3 weeks and Post Traumatic Amnesia for a total of 7 weeks.

He will never fully recover. In addition to the cognitive & memory issues, he suffers from extreme fatigue, loss of taste & smell, double vision, vestibular issues, and increased sensation of pain in most parts of his body. Similar to when a person suffers a stroke, he has weakness and loss of sensation in his limbs, but in his case, it's cross body - left leg and right arm. A year after the accident, he developed Epilepsy directly related to the brain injury. A couple years later, he had a mild heart attack indirectly related to the brain injury.

Our world was turned upside down. In addition to the recovery process, we had to deal with workers compensation who just wanted to get him back to work and legal issues. Fortunately all that ended about 18 months ago.

I did finish my degree and have advanced in my positions at work (I'm a Data Analyst now), but I've also become a carer which is not my natural inclination.


Almost a year ago, we bought a house that is better suited to my husband - we were in a house on quite a steep slope and he was having falls. Our new house is flat and on a fairly flat block. The house is also in a location where cycling and walking is a lot more pleasant. But our move took a long time with renos to the house, and the move itself. I'm still unpacking!

I have been extremely busy for the past 7 years, and my weight was the last thing on my list ... and of course, it went up!


But happily, since Christmas I have been cycling and walking a lot more ... and watching what I eat. And I have been having good results.

My diet leans toward being vegetarian and I've been doing intermittent fasting since before it was a thing because I don't like eating breakfast!


Machka in Oz

Barbara - Edie is 11. I love to listen to her talking. She is endlessly interested in the vagaries of the human mind. At the moment she is going through a typical girl thing of one of her friends not talking to her. Luckily her mum is able to offer advice. I wonder if we'll hear about it when she comes over today.

Love Heather UK xxxxxxxx

Our Valentine's Day yesterday

Went to the Y only to find out that they don’t open on Sat. until 8 so came home and did a walking DVD. Tomorrow I’ll probably do some yoga here.

Allie – you’re doing awesome on your weight loss

Rori and Allie – have you tried those handwarmers? https://www.amazon.com/Hand-Warmers-Rechargeable-Electric-Dual-Sided/dp/B0CDPMVBSS/ref=sr_1_27?crid=2TEOGKKVUQ6QZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6rkcZeYH4jYS These aren’t the exact ones I have, but they’re close.

Barbie – glad you found those tags

valentines day – I said to vince “happy valentines day”, he said to me “happy valentines day”. That was IT. But I did get to go to the Y (like I do every day), WalMart (pretty regular), and Brevard Charities (normal). That was my day. Cloudy.

Drizzly here. I may change from shorts to pants because it’s supposed to get cooler in the evening. As a matter of fact, I’m taking a coverup with me to Daytona. Supposed to rain tomorrow so who knows? Interesting since they usually have good weather for the Daytona. Oh well….

Michele from NC now in (today) drizzly, cool FL

Good morning gals,

Finally caught up with reading. Every morning I’d read current posts and then read prior postings. Well today I’m feeling good to be onto the daily writings. I won’t address personally because I’d be writing all day. I enjoy being a part of all of your lives.

As for me, I am in a good space. My sister had new cancer in her abdomen that was treated with targeted radiation and scans last week appear to show the radiation was successful. She has quality of life and is a 5+ year survivor of stage 4 non small cell lung cancer. Next month will be 3 years since my DH death. I’m okay and I miss him but I really like my life. I’ve changed…. I am happy in my skin. I’m a bit more social and it feels good. I swim every morning at the Y and walk lots everyday with my dog,Ella. Even yesterday I went to a Valentines party and had a good time. It makes me laugh because I’ve always been shy. I was the only one in jeans and a t shirt. Ha

Betsy in NW WA

Lanette -

https://www.smartbmicalculator.com
“BMI = 31

The best you can do is eat healthy food and increase your fitness. This will boost your health, whatever the case. If you lose weight in the process, all the better.
At the age of 69, a weight loss is far less important than it may have been earlier in your life. Keep this in mind when reading the following comments.”

“ Your target weight of 150 pounds

Your weight target is in the right direction but very ambitious. A fast weight loss of 30 pounds kilograms could be the initial phase of a yo-yo effect. It may be safer to try 9 pounds first, stabilize on the level of 170 pounds and then set a new target, if this seems sensible.
By the way, being fat without tobacco is better than being slim due to nicotine. The best advice for smokers is to postpone the weight loss and stop smoking first. To curb a weight gain, the following suggestions may be helpful.
Nutrition

Think over your diet. Eat a variety of foods that you like, optimally including five servings of fruit and/or vegetables a day. Avoid eating too sweet, too fat and too much.
Your current reduction diet

When on this diet, it is important to reduce meals to the optimum extent, but not beyond. Too great a reduction could induce the body to consume less energy and store more of it in fat deposits. Beware of the yo-yo effect. If you want to stop dieting, do it step by step.
Physical activity

Do physical exercise at least for half an hour daily at moderate intensity. Walking or cycling may be better for your joints than jogging.
Some info on my results.

RVRita in Roswell

My roses from Husband. The Irish Cream bottle has a pretty pink mesh scarf.👍🏼😁
Rebecca
Whidbey
Wa