WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JANUARY 2012

Hi everyone and a Happy New Year to you all. I am a 68-year-old widow who lives in a very rural mountain area of Montana. Currently it is very icy out, therefore, I hesitate to go walking. But, I did purchase a recumbent stationary bicycle last year and am working out on it in the mornings along with some 8 lb free weights for my arms.

Don't know if anyone else out there suffers from hypothyroidism, but I do (Hashimoto's thyroiditis). In addition, I had a total hysterectomy at age 27 and ever since then I've felt like a spayed dog! I want to remain self-sufficient and independent up to the end. That is my motivation to get my weight down and remain healthy. I have a large organic vegetable garden that I maintain all summer and enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, snowshoeing, and gardening.

Luckily, I don't have a sweet tooth and I think I eat a healthy diet, but I do have a problem with weight. My German mother was a large, heavy woman and both my brother and sister are overweight. It is very frustrating when one is fighting genetics along with hypothyroidism. It is not always a simple thing of burning more calories than what you take in...

I welcome any suggestions. Good luck to you all.

Hello, I would love to be part of this...I am 55 years old, I joined in October, lost 7 lbs, then gained it back. I wasn't very good about posting all my foods. I take quite a bit of medications for cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. etc. Some of it may be genetic, but I would like to be off these meds. So.....after quite a big of reading, and some soul searching, I am going to try a vegan way of life. There are a lot of cookbooks out there, I've purchased 3 and I came across another last night, several recipes look yummy!!

In 2010, I was walking 3.6 miles 5 days a week and completed a 1/2 marathon last April with a very sore foot. I took an extended break but now am ready to begin again tomorrow with the girls at 5am! Looking forward to it because, along with my friends on MFP, they are a great support system (one of which is my doctor, who got me started on the walking in the first place).

Happy New Year, everyone!

Happy New Year all. :bigsmile:

I didn't meet any of my goals in December and ended the year feeling dissappointed and somewhat depressed (a lot of stuff happening - and I may need to put my dog down in the next few days).

I woke up this morning with a renewed determination to get healthy. One thing I did accomplish in December was to find out that I am going through peri-menopause. It explains a lot! So, like everything else in my life I'm researching the crap out of it and once I know all the whys and wherefores I'll be able to take it in stride and move forward. That's just the way I work.

I ordered a dvd course called "The Myths of Nutrition and Fitness" which I wanted to start today - but apparently finding an unoccupied TV is going to be a challenge until my sons go back to school! (But I love having my oldest home from uni so I'm not complaining).

I stepped on the scale this morning and adjusted my weight on here to show my GAIN over December. I'm not setting weight goals right now - but I measured myself this morning for the first time ever and I think I'm going to concentrate on getting the measurements down - my main goal though is simply to do an activity (walking, treadmill, stationery bike SOMETHING) for 30 mins 7 days a week.

I wish you all a great day - give yourselves a pat on the back from me! :laugh:

Bea

Wow.... we're off and running!! Happy New Year to everyone .... all the new comers....welcome.... this thread has been a huge part of my life for the past 3 months and is so very inspirational when I'm flagging, supportive when I'm down, interesting when I'm bored and really just a wonderful thing to be a part of..... so a huge big thankyou and a hug to Barbie for getting us going every month:bigsmile: :bigsmile:

I love your thoughts Barbara.... "letting go", "people pleasing"..... I can relate to all of that so I too am going to let go of the feeling that I have to respond to all .... this has actually held me back from posting a lot in the past as I get so overwhelmed by all the names and want to reply to everyone but then it is just too hard so I don't post anything even though I always read it.... so a new goal for me is to post more regularly to all my lovely friends here.

I'm having a bit of a slow start to my weight loss efforts ..... like most of us I have great intentions for the new year.... but then one more dinner out, or friends coming to stay (tonight)... a 4 day tropical island holiday coming up in a weeks time (can I just live on fruit and champagne for 4 days??)....

I have made some really positive changes since starting here though.... I am almost able to call myself a runner.... from struggling to run for 30 seconds only a couple of months ago I can now run for 25 minutes without a stop (3.2km).... my goal is to keep this up and to improve how long I can run for and eventually to be able to run 5km.... as I write this I am giving myself a pat on the back!

But for now I need to just watch those calories.... I have succumbed to too many treats this past week.... left over ice cream, mince pies, shortbread my brother made, left over lindt chocolate balls (do these multiply around the house??)....I like the comment someone made about restricting treats to once a week..... I might try to only have treats, including alcohol, on weekends for a while and then working hard during the week should be easier.

Another comment which I connected with was the one about not stewing over things.... that's me.... I am often accused (by DH) of over thinking things.... about my son's not so great girlfriend, about all the things I need to do around the house, all the things I need to do everywhere, friends, etc, etc..... so another goal is to let go of that stuff as well.

Best wishes to everyone for a wonderful 2012..... lets all get fitter and lighter both physically and mentally:drinker: :drinker:

Lisa

I am marking my spot. Just got back from a trip to join my son and his family at a chalet they rented in Vermont. I am afraid to get on the scales. will do it tomorrow. my resolution is to not give up and to forgive myself. I did not gain this weight in a month so it won't go off over night. going to weigh myself and start fresh tomorrow! May this be the best year of our lives!
Smwert

Hi all ~ My healthy lifestyle begins today!

I am over 50! maybe little older ? LOL I lost 20 pounds, thanks to mfp. may I please join you?

welcome...you have already joined by posting here....this is a great group very supportive...good luck:flowerforyou:

Happy New Year!!

So happy to see all the newcomers…Welcome!

Spending some time to regroup tonight and I am really looking forward to getting back to my routine. I haven’t been to the gym much since Thanksgiving so tomorrow will be a good day. I plan to go do some cardio early and then I will come home to work on planning for our winter yoga session. I will start Cycle 1 of the 17 Day Diet and I am also looking forward to that. I’ve done all the grocery shopping and planning so it will feel good to get into it. I did one round that ended Dec.26th (my last cycle was very sloppy). I had my physical on Dec 30 and my doctor (who is wonderful) had printed out my blood work because it was so good!! I love seeing and feeling these positive changes.

I love checking in with this group. I also joined a challenge…I really found that helped me before the holidays.

Looking forward to visiting this board and sharing with you often!

To a great 2012~
Sally

Hi,This sounds like a great group. I am 57. I started MFP in April and have lost 32 pounds. I would like to lose another 9 pounds. I have started exercising and try to do some everyday. I always take my dog Cocoa for a walk. My kids got me an xbox kinnect for Christmas along with the game your shape evolved. I do like to workout at home, I already had a Wii, but they thought I needed the kinnect. I have done a lot of wii Zumba and Wii active. I need to make sure I stay active this year and keep up with my healthier lifestyle.
KC

Happy New Year everyone!

Viv, hugs to you and your mom. Very tender hugs to her. I’ve heard Shingles can be miserable.

SuzyQ and others…I hear you about purging the cupboards. Do you think my mom would mind if I purged hers? Hmm. Probably won’t do that. I really need to purge my mind. I haven’t figured out how to do that yet.

My New Year’s resolution will have to wait until I get back home. I need to minimize the damage while I’m here but I have conceded that I don’t do so well when I’m away from home. I had planned to STAY there for awhile to get back on top of things. Then my dad needed surgery and now I’m in the same place I was in before.

I hate saying that. Aargh. It sounds so weak. I don’t like it. I’m frustrated with myself right now.

Enough grousing. First thing I need to remember is to count my blessings and they are many, including family and friends. You are a big part of the friends part and I’m grateful.

Pam, you think your post was long? Just wait. You have lots of company (from me!) I love that we can choose to read or choose to skim or just skip over whatever we like and/or have time for. That’s a good thing about having so many of us on this thread.

I’ve been reading the posts and exercise is a recurrent thing. That is one of the areas I want to focus on this month.

kazisindahous and everyone else who’s new, welcome. Kaz, you’re smart to get started now. I’ve been complaining about not doing so well with my eating lately but, the fact is, I’m down from 324 at my highest so I started about where you are. (That was pre-MFP). I’m not loving that I’m struggling lately but I am loving having made progress and I need to remember that. It’s an exciting thing to do for yourself.

Barbara, you are amazing with all you’re doing. You’re carving a path worth following. And thanks for the advice about taking little steps. You’re right. Thanks for the inspiration!

I know what you mean about that feeling of having to respond to everyone every time. I just want you all to know that I’m thinking of you even when I’m not responding directly. LOL.

Barbie, as always, thank you for your support and encouragement. You are one of the faithful ones. I appreciate you a lot.

Kackie, love your new pic.

Thinking about my goal for this month…It’s going to be logging rather than exercising or a particular weight loss. Staying conscious and aware make a huge difference for me. Along with what Barbie said, some of that logging will be ahead of time even if just a meal at a time.



Mary

Well - I'm here....I lost 42lbs two years ago on Weight Watchers and going to the gym 6 to 7 times a week....did all kinds of fitness classes - boot camps etc because my knees and back were getting really sore and riddled with arthritis and the doctor told me to lose weight and everything else will fall into place. Well I lost the weight and all the 'boot camp' and impact type of exercises made my knees even worse! I've now been told that continuous use of stairs will make my knees even worse than they are now. Had to make adjustments at work since we don't have an elevator... they had to move me to the main floor. Some days it's even painful just to walk BUT I'm NOT giving up. I liked the way I felt when I was working out constantly and after I lost the weight I was amazed at my confidence level. I really want to feel that again WITHOUT getting so obsessed and going overboard this time. One day at a time - one step at a time. I've never been a part of a BLOG or site like this before and thought maybe I could benefit from online support since most of my family and friends are skinny and just don't understand what it is that we feel and or go through being overweight!

I wish us luck - one and all! 2012 IS going to be my year! :flowerforyou:

genalace - to have to go for 4 days without eating! Boy, I guess after a time you get to the point where it really didn't bother you. Did it?

Yea for me! Well, a little anyway. Vince bought me some dark chocolate M&M's for Christmas. Really, I would have preferred if he'd bought me some fruit. Anyway, I finished them today. Now they aren't staring me in the face. He bought a couple bags of these cherry cordial M&M's, I took those downstairs so he can munch on them while he's watching TV. At least they aren't staring me in the face! So I consider that a pretty good accomplishment for me.

I'm thinking about going to get my bangs trimmed tomorrow. I usually take them something so I'll take a small plate of these ginger cookies that I have in the freezer. Really, they're probably cookied-out, too so that's why I'll take a small plate. Oh, and our neighbor gave us some candies, I'm just going to give them to the hairdresser. We don't need candies, that's for sure. Last thing I need is to have them staring me in the face!

Welcome everyone who is new! I know you'll love it here. Honestly, I feel so much more comfortable here than looking at the other threads where 20-somethings post. Life is just different when you're no longer 20 -- or 30 -- or even 40. It's almost like they just don't know.

jb - I love to cook, too. But I really find it a challenge to make something that is healthy and tastes good, too. Oh, speaking of which, I made this chocolate mousse. Basically, it's silken tofu, a bag of chocolate chips melted, a bit of vanilla. I didn't tell Vince about the tofu because if I had, he wouldn't have eaten it. It was quite good, and not bad in the calorie department. Anyway, Alton Brown was on Dr. Oz. He'd lost something like 50 lbs and he showed a chocolate pie which is basically the exact same thing only in a graham cracker pie shell. Never thought of putting it into a pie shell. I'll try that next time for Vince. Then even I can have a piece of pie. I've usually made a chocolate pudding and put that into the graham cracker pie shell. So I'll try the tofu. Bet he doesn't know the difference....lol
Thanks for sharing your pics with us. You look fantastic!

Rita - it's supposed to be cold so thanks for the suggestion. I'll ask Vince about taking the tree down. That's something we can do in the house.

Harmony - I wish Vince would go thru the papers and get rid of things that need to be shredded. We have a box of papers from my father (who passed away in 2004) that he STILL needs to go thru. Not to mention all of his tax returns. See, I'm not a CPA, Vince is. So he'll know better what needs to be kept and what can be gotten rid of. Me? At this point, I'd just get rid of it all. But there may be some things that you need to keep for all time and I'm not sure exactly what they are.
I get the shiratake noodles in the local supermarket. Actually, one supermarket had them and I requested them at another and they are now carrying them!

Clyde was humping Bonnie again today. Oh, we're sure she's going to have to go back to the vet for a "super spay". The good thing is that she can't get pg, I would never want that. I see too many unwanted kittens at the humane society that unless I was prepared to take care of all the kittens myself, I wouldn't want them brought into the world.

2011 has been the same for me -- some losses, some gains. On the whole, I feel like I've maintained, which is my goal.

Harmony - I'm with you on your goals for 2011, your gains and losses. Sounds great to me! Thanks for your inspiring post

Vince is on this systhesizer music forum. The others on that forum are really into cats. Someone posted that they'd had a horrible new year because they had to put their cat down due to cancer. Vince said "you should see the posts about it!. I responded saying that I still tear up whenever I think about the three cats we had to put down and those three terrible days."

Nancy - shiratake noodles are tofu noodles. A lot like spaghetti (long). There are some people who don't like the somewhat rubbery texture. But on the plus side, they are only 20 calories for 4 oz of the noodles. It comes in an 8oz pkg, so for an entire pkg it's only 40 calories. Two pkgs and you're still under 100 calories and they are ever filling!

You know, I don't know if I can go vegan. I probably could do vegetarian. But I don't know about vegan. For me, that might be just a bit too radical.

Took a yoga class yesterday (Sat) and I really feel so much "looser". Now to just get myself to do it at least once/week more. Well, that's going to be my lenten sacrific. Well, it's not really a sacrifice. I'm thinking about it, getting my mind prepared.

Bea - so sorry about your dog. What's the problem? It might help to share with us. So many of us are dog/cat lovers so we can certainly empathize.

cathy - big big congrats on keeping the weight off. Boy! that sure is a lot of weight you lost. Good for you! I see you said that you've managed to get the weight off. At our age (oh, those horrible words!) it's so hard. Not impossible, just hard. Do you have any tips? Enjoy, your son, DIL and granddaughter!

Lisa - congrats on getting your running time up!

kissy - We love to hear success stories!

Robin - I love that pic of you and your daughter looks so beautiful!

shmogo - have you thought of water aerobics or stationary bicycle? They are practically no impact. The elliptical is little impact, too. You poor dear!

MacMadame - LOL I hear ya about being behind on the posts. If I don't hurry up and post this, then I'll get behind, too. But I lo love when the board is busy.

Hope everyone has a great evening.

Michele

Hi everyone

Lovely to hear from all the newcomers and all your successes and failures. It puts everything into perspective doesn't it.

:huh: I think I've found out what I've done to my groin. In the early hours of this morning I sat up and turned to look at the clock and felt the same pain!! I'm sure that's the problem. Think I might have to move the clock over to my side seeing as I wake every few hours :bigsmile: Still hurts though so not sure what I can do in the meantime.

:flowerforyou: Congrats Robin, Mimi is right, your daughter is beautiful (gets her looks from her mum!)

:ohwell: I went over on my calories yesterday, I did try to plan beforehand, but I think I need more practice in the logging part!!! The trouble is we still have a lot of sweets/crisps/Christmas Cake left over. I did forgo the Christms Cake, but ate the crisps etc. I tried to make up for it by eating some grapes, but by that time it was too late:grumble: :noway: :embarassed:

But that was yesterday, today I will try harder to stick within my calories and to make better choices. Exercise is a bit difficult at the moment, it's taking me all my time to walk - but the doggies don't care, they just like to get out regardless :laugh: I need to keep moving though, I've noticed that even before my "injury" that I'd slowed way down and was spending far too much time on the computer or watching TV. I find it hard to get motivated, especially this time of year when it's dark for most of the day. It's 8am and pitch black outside, we've normally walked the dogs by now, but DD wanted a lie in for a change.

:flowerforyou: Michele I should be more like you and give the goodies away to others. Maybe when I go back to work tomorrow I'll take a few biscuits with me - not sure what DD and DH would say about that though :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Time to take the dogs out - better log my porridge for breakfast before I go.

:flowerforyou: Jane meant to say well done to you for finishing the year on a good note and keeping within your calories, keeping up with a toddler is hard work, but so rewarding.

Must dash

Viv xx

Good morning my friends.

My daughter and I were going to spend the morning at the gym, but she's not feeling too well, so I'm making do with my home gym. As some of you know, it's fully equipped and just as good as going to a pro gym. I've actually got a new rowing machine, but haven't set it up yet.

DH has gone hiking for the day so I'm going to spend the afternoon decluttering my wardrobes ... again. My plan this year is to not buy so many clothes! Now that my weight has stabilised I have no intention of buying clothes in other sizes. I'm a UK 8 (US 4 / 6) - sometimes smaller. It still amazes me that I was a UK 32 less than two years ago.

It's good to see so many posts so early in the year. Keep it up ladies! We can all benefit from shared wisdom and advice.

Time to move.

Love to you all.
Amanda x

Hi Ladies
I'd love to join you all. I'm just dashing out now so will have to catch up on all your posts later, but wanted to 'sign up'! I'm 49, have two daughters aged 16 and 13 (who have just gone off to a football (soccer) match in London on their own for the first time!), and live in Kent, England.
I need to get as fit and healthy as poss for medical reasons and for my own self esteem. I'm down to my pre-Christmas weight, but still have a bit to go to get to my November weight!
I've quit alcohol - my last drink was on Boxing Day, so sticking to that is my goal for 2012!
Please feel free to add me as a friend any of you - I need accountability!
Until later,
Lindsay