50+ Women for the Month of April

Such a comfort to get in, log on, and find that everyone on the site has basically the same problems getting in the way of healthier lives. I'm finding that I can't wait to find a quiet minute and sit down to the computer and read how everyone else is doing. I've stayed on track all day and am even on track with the water! Water is not nearly the bad guy I'd made it! Stepping on the scale this morning was a surprise - another 1/2 pound lost! Wednesdays are more stressful for me than usual - lots of meetings at work before beginning the usual busy day. Add to that our current family drama that we have to euthanize our 20-year-old kitty tomorrow evening. She's not doing well and we have made the family decision that, at this point, we are doing her an injustice for our own selfishness. She is part of our family, though, and tomorrow evening will be hard. Thanks for listening, ladies. I look forward to the weekend and taking the time to read all the posts and find out more what I need to do as far as sharing and partaking!

Hello Ladies!

Glad to hear everyone's news. I have been out of town. Unexpected and greatly enjoyed trip to Alaska, for work. I did not eat as well as I should have. Hard to do multiple meals when on the go in a strange place. I do feel ok about it as I did not gain back any weight, I also however did not lose any.

Anne; Let us know how the WW goes I have been tempted to join myself, just am not sure I have the time. To many carbs in the afternoon do ruin my sleep, and I can wake up with a hangover because I ate cake or to many other sweets.

Hello; Weedie. I am sure the ladies here will be a great source of information and support.

Elli; I am betting that you gained muscle!

Diane; So glad to hear you've had swimsuit sucess. I don't want to see my suit, much less myself in it! Way to Go!!

Time for an evening shift. Take care; Alice

Hope you're all having a good night!

Anne - glad you like the weight watchers! We're finally having gorgeous weather!!!!!!! Gosh - that's SO awful that your poor cousin gained back 100 pounds........I'm glad she has you to help her along. That's gotta be SO depressing........NONE of us will do anything even close to that - ok ladies?????

Thank you Alice - for thinking maybe i gained muscle! I suppose its possible! I'll weigh again on Monday and see how it goes. I only want to lose 5 or 6 more pounds and it's just killer slow!!!!!!

Mnichol - hey, 1/4 pound is 1/4 pound! Good deal!!!!!

Hi Weedie - so sorry about your cat......i had my Callie kitty put down this past winter - she was 19 so i know exactly what you're going through. Hang in there - just know it's the best for her.........

Beetle - big congrats on the bathing suit!!!!!

After work today i put some wood stripper on some molding, went to the gym, came home and worked on the wood. I don't know if it'll EVER get done!:noway: This weekend and next we're rewiring the whole old part of the house. Kina scary! Hopefully we'll figure out what we're doing!!!!!!!

OK, gotta go to bed - so tired:yawn: 'night all!

Anne-Good for you joining WW. IF you can make the meeting schedule work for you, I understand they can help a lot. I have a cousin, same age as me to the day, who found out when she was in her 20's that she was diabetic. She has never done insulin a day in her life. She joined them, became religious about working out and has controlled her diabetes with diet and exercise. Ther last time I saw her (about 2 years ago) she had a body that many in their 30's would KILL for.

If your cousin lives close enough, maybe you could get her started in the same WW group you are in, or maybe encourage her to try one convenient to her location.

Another thing WW has is their plan where you do online only and don't attend meetings. I almost did that, until I ran across MFP and decided I could get what I needed here and not have to commit to any memberships, which worked best for me.
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Weedie--So sorry to here about your cat. I once had a Siamese cat who lived to be 22!! And it was very hard to lose her when her time came. More recently, I nursed my beloved Dreyfus, (the first dog, and first Shih tzu I ever had) thru a 5-month battle with cancer, before I had to do what was best for him. Making that decision was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. It helps a little to remember you are doing what's best for your special family member.
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Barbiecat- I can just imagine the 3 ring circus we could have at the doggie park if we got our whole canine gang together. Someday when I feel like driving 200 miles, we'll have to try it!!
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Tonight I came home and took the doggies for about 1.5 miles RT for walking and then we all had dinner. One thing I have noticed about Mai Li is that she always moves faster once we turn around and head toward home, and the closer we get, the quicker she gets. I think it has something to do with dinner :laugh:

Hope it won't cause confusion, but I am revealing my first name to all. It is Barbara, and I usually go by Barb...so I guess maybe we have "Barbiecat" and "Barbiedog"--No that won't work since Barbiecat has two dogs!! Well, we will all have to figure it out as we go

3:45a comes too early, so I am outta here :yawn: .

Barb

WEEDIE,

YOU ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING ABOUT YOUR DEAR LITTLE CAT. YOU SAID IT RIGHT. WE KEEP OUR PETS AS LONG AS WE CAN FOR OUR SELVES BECAUSE WE LOVE THEM AND THE LOVE THEY GIVE US. I TOOK SOME YEARS TO LEARN TO PUT MY ANIMAL'S FEELINGS FIRST. WHEN I FEEL THE QUALITY OF LIFE IS SUCH THAT THEY ARE UNHAPPY AND JUST TOO ILL TO BE GETTING BETTER, I SEND THEM TO THE RAINBOW BRIDGE WHERE THEY WILL WAIT FOR ME. WITH ALL THE DOGS AND CATS I HAVE HAD OVER THE YEARS THEY WILL KNOCK ME DOWN WHEN I GET THERE. MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS WILL BE WITH YOU TODAY. YOU KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR PET.

AS FOR YOUR WEIGHT LOSS, CONGRATS ON THE 1/2 LB. I KNOW IT SEEMS LIKE IT IS NOT MUCH,BUT I LOST BY THE 1/4LB SOMETIMES. IT ALL ADDS UP TO SUCCESS IN THE END.
I STILL CAN NOT DRINK PLAIN WATER. I PUT ONE OUNCE OF JUICE OR DIET SODA OR LIME TO GET IT DOWN. WEIGHT WATCHERS HAS CHANGED ABOUT WATER AND THEY DON'T REQUIRE IT. NOW IT IS LIQUID, PERIOD. DON'T KNOW IF I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THAT. I ALWAYS FEEL PLAIN WATER FLUSHES OUT THE BODY. KEEP GOING AND KNOW WE ARE ALL ON YOUR SIDE.

ANNE

:flowerforyou: Good morning all,

I guess I picked the wrong picture to post. Lol O Well.

I had a nice time with my mom and my Auntie. I’m glad I went. She is getting frail, but she has the greatest attitude. She loves people and if you met her you would know it. She is losing her short term memory and my mom sometimes can’t understand it. It was kinda funny to see my moms face every time my Auntie complemented her on her earrings. My mom just followed my lead and responded as if it was the first time. I just would add more to it. To funny. I know my mom wanted to say, “You just said that Agnes” Thanks all for the support and the comments.

:flowerforyou: Esther, talk about jiggling, at this point I’m doing a lot of it. Lol But, I am confident that all my hard work at the gym will somehow keep me from dripping my flab to the floor. Lol AND don’t worry about the slow process. You are so close to your goal weight you will get there. I AM SURE OF IT. Smile

:flowerforyou: Barbie, your exercise and doggy story was so funny. Your dog under you. As others have said. What a visual lol. On another note I have to say you are the champion of this group. I can always count of Barbie to come in and get the party going. Thanks for all your support. So glad your husband is feeling better and doing great with his weight also. You two must look so cool in your red car with the top down.

:flowerforyou: Dricotta1, Glad you are having results with swimming. That has to be the best exercise for our bodies. Nice to see you and let us know how you are doing.

:flowerforyou: Mnichol a ½ pound is a ½ pound gone. I sure know about losing small amounts. I just did not give up.



:flowerforyou: Elle. You are also so close to your goal weight. I can’t wait to get there. I know this weight thing is going to be a life challenge. You are an inspiration as so many on this thread are.


:flowerforyou: Weaklink109 you have some funny stories about your pets also. On another note!!!! Down three pounds Yea, Yea, What is life without a little “zig zag” Glad to know your name Barb :bigsmile:


:flowerforyou: Anne, my sisters love WW and do very well on it. Great job with the weights also. Boy I can relate with your cousin. I believe I would have gained all my weight back if I did not stay on this site. My heart goes out to her. I agree with you with this GREAT GROUP OF LADIES and WW you can not go wrong. I do try to get quiet time and it does help. My husband has a hearing problem and loves the History Channel with guns a blazing. My only salvation is the wireless head phones he wears. That is what the doctors suggest while watching TV. That way he can hear the little sounds. If he wore his hearing aids they would just amplify everything. So, when he is watching his programs down stairs, in his cave, I don’t have to hear it. Yea. So, it is my quiet time. He will wear his hearing aids outside in the yard to hear the birdies when he reads. Wait a minute, he is sleeping now and it is also quiet. Lol Even Bosco is sleeping. (my beagle)

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: Weedietoday , big (((((((Hugs)))))) to you on this day. Just keep up with this group and you will get past it with all the support you need. :flowerforyou:

:flowerforyou: AliceMS Alaska how great is that. I bet even though you did not eat as well you still had us in the back of your mind. No gain is no gain. Yea.

:flowerforyou: beetle bug, on the bathing suit issue. I want the old fashion ones that go to the knees. Lol Great job staying on track. WE CAN DO THIS!!!!!

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: Shout Out to all the ladies that read but have not time to chat. YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:


I’m off to pay some bills and get to the gym.

Have a great day.

Kathy

WARNING WHINE SESSION FOLLOWS:

Intellectually I know I SHOULD be happy with a steady loss of a pound or an inch a week. But I am so sick and tired of looking in the mirror and seeing this belly staring back at me! I can't help but wonder "Who is that fat woman..." Perhaps unrealistically, each week I weigh in hoping to see that MANY pounds came off at once, and can't seem to help but be disappointed when all that effort doesn't show up more. I don't want to have to wait a year to like the way I look again.

So I trudge onward, planning high fiber, low fat meals, tracking every morsel that goes into my mouth and forcing myself to drink water when I already feel like I am about to float away. :drinker: I put on my tennis shoes and work up a sweat when I'd rather be doing a multitude of other things.... Seems I spend more time exercising than anything else these days.... it would be more fun if I had a live flesh and blood work out partner sweating with me.

And to make matters even more aggravating in this maddeningly slow battle of the bulge, our air conditioner doesn't work. We have been waiting on a part for weeks and it has been HOT this week. Yesterday it got up to 93 and is supposed to get in the high 80's again today. This house has 6 windows facing the West so it heats up quickly. (Hubby plans to get rid of all but one of them asap.)

PTL for fans! We've been sleeping (or trying to sleep) with the windows open - which irritates our springtime allergies - but neither hubby nor I, can rest when we are too hot... So I'm sleep deprived, :yawn: yet have to try to cram all my household chores and exercise in before noon until we get the AC fixed. Hey! Maybe I'll sweat some of this weight off! Anyway, yesterday by the time I got my errands ran and back home, the house was :devil: H-O-T:devil: , and I was afraid to exercise. I got heat stroke once and have had to be careful ever since. So I missed my strength training session. Good news is I DIDN'T get into hubby ice cream to cool down.

Okay. I'm through griping... On a happier note, after weeks of helping hubby every evening, he is finally ready to pour cement for the patio this afternoon, which will give us a shady breezy place to eat alfresco. Saturday he as some guys lined up to help him pour the garage slab, so that will cut down considerably on the amount of dirt we track into the house.

I'm off to exercise and drink water

Good Morning Ladies

I love, love, love this thread!! This is day four of me 'being good' and I credit the positive vibes I get from my mfp pals.


Weedie - I'm sorry for your challenging times. I have a 17 yr old tabby who is doing okay but is showing signs of failing. We know the end is near. It will break our hearts but we'll manage just as you will. Give yourself a hug from me and focus on the great life you gave your Julie cat.

Yesterday I met my goals - except the exercise - still stayed within my cals though.
I finally went to emergency because I can't even sleep with the pain in my arm My tennis 'elbow' pain now radiates from my shoulder to my wrist.:sad:
So here's my story for today
I was up front with the triage nurse about only being there becasue I can't get in to my doc until July 30 and all I really needed was some stomach medicine so I could take anit-inflammatory meds without further stomach trouble - so after a 3.5 hour wait, I was called and the nurse did my vitals etc. - the next thing I knew, in comes the ECG cart - I was thinking oh no my vitals are wacked and I'm having a twister. So after stewing about that for another hour, wondering if I was okay, the Dr. came in and questioned me and again I was completely honest but he was treating me really badly and acting very angry with me for being there! He checked me over and said 'mean' like "you have tennis elbow" I said I know, that's why I'm here!! He stormed out of my cubicle and came back and basically threw a perscription at me and left . I called after him asking about my ECG - he said 'Oh I didn't even look', and kept going!! I know we are lucky to have the medical system we have but boy was I ticked!! Anyway at least I have the medication I need and hopefully will be pain free soon. I know it wasn't an emergency, but if x-rays were required, I would have to go to the hospital anyway.:grumble: So end of a long rant (sorry) I got home at 9 and didn't feel like doing any exercise.

My daughter is off on a trip tomorrow to Duluth with her church. Why is it that my kids are always going places and I'm staying home:laugh:

I'm having a hard time staying off the scale but I will not weigh until Saturday and am hoping to be rewarded for good behaviour!

Today I will
Drink my water - 1/2 done
eat my healthy food
try again to get some exercise - have to go out to do laundry after supper and pack my daughters things - Think that counts??

have a great day!

Heather

Suezzzque - You are a machine!! You exercise so faithfully. Forget the numbers and remember you are being so good to your body. I sure would like to exchange some of your heat for some of our northern cool!! We still have so much snow in our yard I can't even see my gardens.
I hope you get your AC fixed soon.
Just a short side note, I just bot a Dasani essentials water at the corner store - (Yay me no Pop!!) and it was delicious. Medical ingred are Vitamin E and Zinc primarily. Just a thought for some who aren't loving plain water all day long. I have been drinking 2 servings of raspberry or strawberry and it really has helped get the 6 I want to drink in.

Heather

Anne (FFF'44)--Thank you for your kind words. 3 lbs is a start. I was about 45 lbs lighter when I moved to my present location, and I fell off the wagon big time, woke up a while ago and said"yikes!! To be the really best weight for me would mean losing about 120 lbs, so only 117 to go !!

I checked your profile, and you are quite an inspiration--almost 100 lbs. lighter from when you originally started your weight loss for health reasons!! It is too bad we are at opposite ends of the country, as you would be an interesting person to talk to. You can't get much farther away from Florida than Washington state!!

I am new to the group and they are quite an inspirational bunch. Remember you are as old as you feel, so you are most welcome, regardless of how many notches there are in your birthday cake!!

Weedie- I know today is a tough one. I will be thinking of you all day and sending you all the comfort you can take from knowing you are not experiencing your loss alone.

Kathy (Plantlady)--I am glad your visit with your Aunt and your mom went well. One of the things I always look forward to when I get my parents aroung others of their generation is to just listen to them trade stories about things that happened in years past. It is amazing the stories I hear that I never heard before.

Debi(BB'01)--I don't need to go to the farmer's market for a while. I took a veggie tray to work for a potluck--more about that later--and I broung back about 3/4 of it, so it is fortunate that I like grape tomatoes, baby carrots, and broccoli, 'cuz I have enough for several days.

We were in the 80's for a couple of days here in the Pacific Northwest (or north"WET" as we often call it) but now we are back to the mid to high 50's today, but no rain, and a little sunshine.

Suezzzque- Sorry about your AC, It does get hot in Texas, doesn't it? We have one thing in common, I had my hysterectomy last January. So far so good, much better than before.

Good luck w/ your construction project and let us hope that the AC part is just around the corner.

Heather (Benson)--After reading your experience at the hospital, I would suggest you check to see if they have a community relations or ombudsman for patient concerns. That doctor's bedside manner needs to be "operated on." I hope you feel better soon.

Hang in there doing the things you can do.

This morning I had to participate in a "PIG OUT" --er make that Potluck at work. The politically correct among us were unhappy with my use of the former, and more ACCURATE description. I brought the veggie tray mentioned earlier, but there was about every kind of calorie you could imagine.

There was fruit--strawberries dipped in chocolate IS still fruit, right?:laugh: There were grilled vegetables, also raspberries. AND...there was also chocolate cake, cookies, more cookies, not to mention potato casserole, mac n cheese, enchiladas; spaghetti and meat sauce; little smokies (sausage) in BBQ sauce, dinner rolls, and more.

This was my "zig zag" day so I did have some chocolate cake, but I also had lots of my veggies, a little of some of the Enchilada, one bite of spaghetti because the sauce was the strangest I ever tasted. A little mac n cheese, since it was made by one of my team members and given a big buildup (good, but not enough cheese in my opinion).

I also drank lots of water with my meal, and since I was under my calories by about 600 yesterday, my little foray into the grazing world shouldn't be too damaging. We will find out on Saturday, my next weigh in date.

During our gathering, we were talking about crazy things our animals have done, and I recalled a story from my childhood:

In my younger days, I was a cat person, and I had a Siamese who was a real character, and very good at getting herself into trouble. She like to play in the bathtub with her favorite toy, so one day, when my mother got out of the tub and forgot to pull the drain plug, "Samantha"(She was named for a certain witch on a certain 60's sitcom--hey I was 10 when I named her--give me a break!:laugh: ) along with her toy, hopped in the tub, expecting to slide around on the warm surface.

Surprise!! **She landed in about 6 inches of water and bolted out of the tub like a ballistic missle!! She was VERY careful, thereafter about hopping in the tub.

This same cat pulled a disappearing act one day. We could hear her but couldn't see her. Finally, I figured out she was IN the fireplace--looked up the chimney and there were two blue eyes looking at me from the shelf above the damper. I extricated her from her perch, found her, not surprisingly, to be filthy and decided a bath was in order.

I was 11 at the time, and home alone. Somehow, I did get her in the tub and more or less washed. About this time, mom arrived home and we were trying to decide the best way to dry off a very vocal and unhappy feline. My mother recalled reading an article that said cats felt more secure in a dark place and if you had to dry one off, you should take the hose from the hair dryer and blow air into the pillow case. (It was the 60's, so no blow dryers. I actually still HAVE the GE bonnet style hair dryer as an unused relic of the past).

Foolishly optimistic, we found an old pillow case, slipped a reluctant kitty inside, placed the hose in the open end and closed it, and turned the hair dryer on low. At this point, you might say, "the kitty hit the fan!!" She popped out of the opposite end of the pillow slip like a chorus girl exploding out of a bachelor party cake!! :noway:

Needless to say, this was NOT part of what was outlined in the magazine article my mom read. However, the article was right about ONE thing--by the time we caught her, she had run around the house so much she was pretty much dry!!!! She also NEVER went near the fireplace again!!:laugh: :laugh:

Hey Everybody, It's me Pearl and I'mmmmm Baaaaccck!!! Just stopping in for a quick second to make my presence known. I want to say thanks to the lovely ladies who checked on me when I sort of fell by the wayside and disappeared for time. All was not lost while I was gone. I managed to keep on track with the battle of the bulge and have dropped another 6.5 pounds...wooo hooo!!! When I have a little more time ( not tonight) I'll have to bring my ticker up to date. Now that it's warm I've been getting out and walking with a group of friends and we even get together to exercise. OMG can you believe it...I actually look forward to walking and exercising now. I feel like something is wrong if I don't get it in, LOL. Maybe it's the company I'm keeping while doing it....um, heck yes, it's the company I'm keeping. There's power in numbers, LOL Anyway...just wanted to come by and say hey to you all and let you know the girl is back in town! Have a great evening and I'll be back soon.

Hugs To You All,

Pearl

hi everyone - Weedie - hope you're doing ok........you're in my thoughts

I had a really good day - started with a 20 minute jog with the dogs - it's nice enough in the mornings now! After work i glopped more wood, went to the gym - did elliptical, bike and legs. Then when i came home i stripped the wood, then the dogs and went for an hour long walk. We checked on one wild asparagus patch and even got to pick a little! We saw a coyote and a pair of pheasants! Very fun!!!!!!

I ate all but about 200 of my exercise calories today and it feels like i ate WAY too much. I guess i'll keep trying it tho. These last 5 pounds are SO hard to lose!!!!!! The other times i've done it i know i've eaten way less - but maybe if i do it this way they'll stay off forever.

Welcome back Pearl and congrats on the 6.5 pounds! That's AWESOME!

For all of you who have trouble with water - have you tried Sport Tea? it's a cold brew, ginseng tea - no caffeine - it's REALLY good and i count it as a quart of water every day.

Happy Thursday night!

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

I read everything but my brain is too fried to write tonight.:laugh:

All is well

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hope all is well with all of you. Keep up the good work. :bigsmile:

Barbie :bigsmile: :drinker:

Talk about not putting two and two together.

Sometimes, I just don't think.

I was reading weaklinks funny story about her cat and the hair dryer and so quickly had to find a funny cat pic. Then this morning I read weedies terribly hard day yesterday. Boy I was not thinking.

Please forgive me


Kathy

'morning everyone

Diane - I hope there will be peace for you in the scattering of your Dad's ashes.

Weedie - hope today is a better day. It seems like too many of us are having to deal with the loss of our beloved pets right now. I had an appointment for the vet to come see my old (27) horse this afternoon and when i got up this morning he was gone:brokenheart: Oh it's just so hard..........WHY did i get her out here sooner???????????

Thank God my best friend works here with me and today just so happens that her husband came to work with her. They'll help me get through this.

Thank you all for listening - i'll check back in soon.

elli