WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR DECEMBER 2011

Hi all,

I didn't reach my goal of 2kgs for November, but I did make 1.6 kilos. A little diappointing, as I felt I was being very practical with my goal, but at least I was close.

My goal for Christmas (22nd is my weigh in) is to lose one kg...a little more practical this time.

Christmas Day will be a free day for me, so I don't know how things will stand at that end of the month, but not having a gain will do me, considering it's that time of year and there's so much yummy food to enjoy while celebrating. It's a big holiday for us over here (Australia)...we nearly all take off the week between Christmas and New Year and it's our big deal like Thanksgiving is for you in the US. I also have one work Christmas party so that will have to be a free day too...you have to have a life after all.

It's so interesting to read about all of your lives and see that we all have our challenges in life, even though they are all different. It makes me feel that I am no alone. At 54 I am old to be a single parent with 2 teenagers, looking after a job, a house, my finances, my house, my garden, my pets, and whatever else comes up. My children are always having one drama or another as they both have emotional issues, so life is very stressful and busy, and it's hard to face it and deal with it on your own. Sometimes I get lonely too as I don't have a lot of friends and very little support from anyone, and it would be nice to have someone to "bounce it all off" on a bad day, or just to give you a hug and tell you that they care. But I don't have that luxury. But obviously I am not the only one who doesn't find life a breeze, and that brings me back down to earth.

I have to say that I loved the inspirational post about growing older ( can't remember the name of the wise lady who wrote it ) and I wish she would put it in every month, just to remind me how lucky I really am, and to always look at the glass as "half full". I try to go to bed every night now and say the things I am greatful for, and I do come up with a lot, so despite my trials I am probably more fortunate than a lot. I owuld be a lot better off if I didn't worry about absolutley everything, including mostly money and the future. It is so pointless...I can only do my best, and things will be what they will be, despite how much i worry about them.

One very postive that is happenieng in my life is the progress I have made since finding this site! My progress has been slow, but the setup suits me perfectly, and I love the instant support, encouragement, and lack of judgement if we slip up as well. It has become something of a fun "hobby" even though it is more serious than that. I enjoy going on every day and seeing what my friends are up to, and talking to them, and encouraging them along. I have received so much more support on here than any other dieting regime I have ever tried (and I've treid a few), and it encourages me to do well.

And I am proud of myself...been on here six weeks and lost 2.6kgs in total, so now I only have 4.4 kilos to go. I have lost 16.2 kgs (36 lbs) over the past 18 months but have had lots of long plataeu's which have been discouraging...but no plateau on here as yet, so I'm hoping I can finally reach goal here.

All the best everyone for December!!!! Hugs! :flowerforyou:

:laugh: :noway: Michelle brr I like my water bath tub temp.
Itamatgo Beautiful and inspiring. Thanks for the reminder!
:sick: Robin Oww at both ends. Yuck!
:brokenheart: Chiclet Your friend is right, you need some help. Any hope for some respite care? Naughty Boo, time for her to get over it and accept Scout. Bet they were cute with their heads :bigsmile: on your pillow but shame on the little stinkerpots for snoozing after waking you.
Pam Look at you! Going to the gym anyway and stretching a few minutes up to an hour! Well done!
:laugh: Welcome rosebarnalice, your profile pic made me laugh out loud! Awe-inspiring goals.
:happy: AXDee Amen! I cried when I achieved "Oveweight" and left Obese behind forever.
Macmadame Wishing you a totally complete recovery. Sounds like you really know how to work WITH your body.
:bigsmile: Mary msh AMEN! and Thanks for the Bday lists!
:flowerforyou: Welcome Fitnessbarbie. Love your "Lemonade" attitude and conVERY gratulations on quitting smoking! BirdieM good to know you're still with us. Share your wisdom when you can?
:smooched: Barbie We've been working on Alabama Slammin for 3 weeks and I still forget every time. Love JoAnn IS easy but all that arm waving really gets the HR up. Our newest easy one is Somethin in the Water, cute but FAST.
:ohwell: Doobiedoo, ditto. Have a lunch meeting today and have already logged the sandwich. Hope keeping my eyes on that +85 calories over will help me resist the cookies and chips!
:laugh: Welcome CathiAnne. You are so right about fun and Jumping Jacks ain't...
:flowerforyou: Jane your focus is inspiring.
:brokenheart: Cathy, Hope you can find some humor in the DIL situation, even if its dark humor... or something you CAN like about her. Maybe she senses the rest of the family's understandable dislike, but doesn't know how to change, so is pulling your son away in defense.
Kathie glad you're proud of your progress, you deserve to be. You are so right about the support encouragement and lack of jugdement here, these gals are the best. Reading the posts leaves little time for loneliness, we are a chatty bunch.
Kackie "All the things that I felt were so urgent yesterday, don't seem so today" Got that right. So sad for your loss, and your friend. What a shock.

OK now I AM late for work and have to wear a wrinkled shirt, and it's all YOUR fault you wonderful gals!:laugh:

Thank you ALL!

I'm always kind of intrigued that people have goals to lose X weight by Y timeframe. I like goals that are under my control and I found when I was losing that I couldn't control that. I could control the direction the scale was going in and the general rate but that's about it.

That's why my goals tend to be things like: drink 80-100 oz of water a day. :laugh:

The back of my head doesn't hurt today. Tomorrow I have to go to Sacramento and I'm going to be running around so if that doesn't make my head hurt again, I will go for a short run on Sunday.

I've decided that if the front of my face hurts, that's from "allergies" and so it doesn't count, btw. Between the rain and winds, the pollen is kicking up something fierce these days and my eyes are always kind of itchy and it hurts behind my forehead and eyes.

Yesterday was the day my great grandson decide to arrive into this world. He has a lot of blond hair. Mom and baby are doing great home tonight.
Welcome to all the newcomers
Joyce

Hello My Friends:

Welcome to December, already!!!

Thanks, again, Barbie, for getting us here. You are our hero :drinker:

Pam/Joyce - Don't worry, you are not alone being in a funk this time of year, lots of us are. I am trying hard to get myself out of it. I have decided that if my DIL wants to go away with the family for Christmas (even though I haven't seen the son in months as he has been posted away), she is still my DIL and she is still a delightful girl in so many other ways so I need to get over it!! OK, I am over it :laugh:

Amanda - I hope you enjoyed your time with your friends and that they DID notice your "new" you, although, how could they not :huh:

Robin - Hope you are feeling better :flowerforyou:

Michele - Whenever I read your posts, I know why your tag name is "exermom", is sure suits you :laugh:

Lucia - Welcome and loved your post

Chicletgirl - What can we say that we have not ready said. You must have the patience of a saint. I am not sure how you manage to stay sane. Hugs to you :flowerforyou:

Topaz 2986 - Sorry, I missed your birthday, same day as my middle son, Happy Birthday, hope you had a good one :drinker:

AZDee - I sure hear you

MacMadam - You make sure you take care of you first :flowerforyou:

Fitness Barbie - Great Goals and Welcome :flowerforyou:

CathiAnne - Hi and welcome. Congrats on your new grandbaby coming, Sounds like you are going to be so busy soon with all the birthdays and so close to Christmas :noway:

Jane - Hope you are doing well :flowerforyou:

Kathiemcn - Congrats, you are doing so well. This is a great thread for support and it is available anytime you need it, which is great

Kackie - So sorry to hear about your friend's loss

I am off tomorrow to meet my StepMom and my stepsister/bestfriend for a day of shopping, which should be nice. We always have a good time together. I am pretty much finished my Christmas shopping, this is mostly a day for just window shopping and meeting for lunch, but I enjoy t just the same

Well, I better run and get ready to close off for the day at work. Yay, Friday:drinker:

Talk to you soon, Everyone. Have a great day.

Love, Cathy xx

asugar - Welcome! There's plenty of room here. Come back often and let us get to know you!

Joyce - I am jumping up and down for joy for you! Well, not really, I gave up jumping years ago, but I'm really excited. My next grandson should be here on the 12th.

I have also given up on I will lose this much by then. It sets me up to fail, and I don't need that. I set other goals, like log my food, stay within calories, etc.

Have a good - no make that great - weekend!! Mary

Hello there.
I am so grateful to find a group like yours. Recovered now from a fractured ankle and starting this month with 30 minute walks 3 to 4 days a week. My goal is to get that exercise habit back after my long recovery - that has always led me to better eating choices, which leads to weight loss and great attitude.
Can't wait to start! All the best, ladies

I always love when I find you all at the beginning of every month....like a reunion of old friends!! I got through the week of parties (thank you for the good wishes) and adjusted my tracker.... feels go to have a clean fresh week ahead.

Barbie....I love your message about setting goals on things we can control (drinking 8 glasses of water) rather than the number. I very rarely hit number goals and it is so frustrating.
My goals for this week on to stay under my Fat allowance ( I was over that last week) and to do a different exercise everyday.

I hope everyone has a good day!
Sally

Good Morning!

Asugar: Welcome! We are glad to have you and look forward to getting to know you. As far as the Jillian Michaels DVDs, my suggestion is to do them without the weights first, then add very low weights and do what you can, once you get the "moves" learned and in balance. I can tell you that they do help middle aged bodies!

Joyce: Congratulations! Post a picture if you get a chance!

Chiclet: Good to see you again. Take care...you have a lot on your plate!

Mimi: WHERE ARE YOU? Been too long!!!

I made a big pot of lentil chili last night and will take some over to my friend's house today. I know she is not eating much and probably won't for a while, but thought it was something she could eat a bit of here or there. She is mostly vegetarian. I feel so bad for her.

I know a lot of people take a day off of any meat and I think it is a good thing to try to do more often. My LDL cholesterol has been creeping up, and although my HDL is very high, the total is not good. Taking out some red meat and other meat sources of
fat might help. I get retested in 2 months, so we will see. Also, my fasting blood sugar was higher than usual...6.0. :huh: :huh: :huh: I have never had elevated blood sugar so I am worried about that too. (My triglycerides were good). I am in "normal" BMI now, exercise regularly and don't eat much processed foods, use olive oil to cook with and lots of vegetables. Any of you who can offer suggestions, I really would appreciate it! :flowerforyou:

Have a great weekend! Kackie

This is so cool. I love reading the post.... I am 51 almost 52... started the Super Immunity Diet with my mother, brother and sister to help support my mom on her battle with Ovarian Cancer (3C)... so far so good:flowerforyou:

THANKS! I appreciate the advice. You look great so it must work. I can't see your face tho.

Hi everyone. I saw this board and thought I'd give it a try. I joined MFP in September 2011. In about 6-7 weeks I dropped my triglycerides from 235 to 137, cholesterol from 211 to 166, and A1C (diabetes marker) from 5.9 to 5.7. I've lost about 8 pounds so far. May not sound like much to some, but I'm thrilled with my progress.

I'm looking for new friends on MFP who understand that being self-compassionate and having a positive attitude are really what it takes to make long-lasting, healthy changes in our lives. I joined a challenge early on just to become part of a group and I have to leave it. I get so frustrated, hearing these women beat themselves up for not living up to their goals perfectly and for looking forward to "having their butt whooped" during their exercise routine! If they could only hear their self-talk...

Anyway, I'm looking to connect to new people and would welcome any recommendations to other women who share the whole "kinder, gentler" attitude. I'm hoping to hear from some of you.

Beth

itamago - I loved reading your post. thanks

You know, I didn't even realize that the signatures were missing! lol

chicklet - my heart goes out to you.

We're going to the TSO concert today (Sat) in Greenville (SC). First, yoga. Did an hour of a spinning downloadable workout that I had yesterday. Even tho these holidays are somewhat crazy, I'm still trying to get in some exercise. My weight has gone up a bit (it usually does around the holiday time), but I'm trying to have things like veggies in my soup to keep the calories down but yet be satiating. Also, I want to get things out of my freezer.....lol

I met the lady that I'm making the desserts for for her open house and told her that I was making the chocolate cheesecake. She asked if I'd make it in a 9 x 13 pan. I've never done this. My cheesecake calls for you to put it in a pan of water. She said that with the cheesecake in a 9 x 13 pan, I wouldn't need the water, the top wouldn't crack. And it didn't. She also said that I could freeze the cheesecake. I've never done this, so I'm giving it a try.

kackie - that is so sad about your friends. You are a good friend to go over and spend time with Judy.

After spinning yesterday I went into the room that they have designated for stretching. I almost fell over. You should hold a stretch for 20-30 seconds (especially in wintertime) but there wasn't even a clock in that room! I'm going to say something to the CEO. I can't get over it, he's spending all this money on equipment for one branch, and to me another branch needs so much more updating -- like doors on the bathroom stalls and not shower curtains.

auntibk - thanks for the smile. Hope your shirt wasn't TOO wrinkled!

I bought some grape juice for Vince yesterday and while I was bringing it into the house, I tripped and my glasses hit the wall. They were SOOO bent, but we went to the mall last night and they bent them back. They did tell me that the glasses are weaker now and they tried to get me to buy new ones, but I'm not going to right now. I did find 2 stockings that say "Santa, I can explain", one for Bonnie and one for Clyde. Very appropiate for them since they get into everything. Now I need to find someplace where I can get their names monogrammed on them.

Cathi - ouch! Hope your leg heals quickly.

I, too, never set a goal of losing X pounds by a certain date. I'm happy maintaining. I have found, tho, that I need to constantly journal.

joyce - bit congrats!!!!!!

Just got back from an hour of yoga. I'm thinking that maybe my Lenten thing will be to do yoga at least once/week (this is in add'n to going to class)

asugar - happy birthday! Which DVD did you order?

Welcome mabee Just jump right in. You'll get lots of good tips here

Welcome deeders. I don't think I've ever heard of the Super Immunity Diet. Tell us about it. Good luck to your mom

Welcome beth - you've come to the right place, that's for sure

Sort-of skimmed the posts. Now we're off to the TSO concert. Can't wait. It'll only be the 12th time we've seen them in concert.

Hope everyone has a great day.

Michele