40+Club-Making it Work

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  • tron3002
    tron3002 Posts: 440 Member
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    Alf... I keep forgetting to tell you how nice your new picture is. How did you like Las Vegas?
    As for my food, even though I am still under 1200 calories today I dont think I'll post what I ate today. (Oreos for example) and tomorrow we are BBQ'ing ribs, I think. So I will start on Tuesday and you all can tell me what I am doing wrong.

    Swiss... Did you go WAY over on your calories? I'm sure you'll be just fine...:wink:
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
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    :flowerforyou: tron..I can't even say how many calories I ate yesterday. I won't record them...to scared to.:laugh: I know that I will not do any better today with the grilled steak. I also have not been exercising. My husband and I were going to but his kids dropped by. I may cut the grass today. That should help.

    Does anyone here have some advice on getting motivated to exercise and work out when you are doing it all alone. I wish I had a friend to go with me. I would be so much more apt to do it.
  • rusnickering
    rusnickering Posts: 3
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    I just start this last week. It seems that marriage has allowed me to gain weight through lack of daily exercise. When I was single I was almost obsessed with living a healthy life-style. I don't want to be single just to lose weight so that is why I am here. My trouble is just making exercise a habbit again. Any Suggestions?
    Thanks,
    Craig
  • alf1163
    alf1163 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    Tron, are you just eating 1200 cals a day? You might need to eat more. How many calories you usually burn when you workout? I also suggest you vary your workouts. Are you still doing the shred videos? Not sure if it was you. As far as food is concerned, IMO organic is not always better. I don't spend the extra money on it, I just buy regular produce and it is cheaper and still good quality. I understand about having "junk" food in the house for other family members but they don't need it either and it will be easier for you to avoid it all together if it is not there. I know it is hard, trust me, I go through it myself.

    I have always exercised on my own. For some reason I have never been able to find someone who is at the same fitness level or as motivated as I am, including my husband. Sometimes I wish I had a workout partner but I am not going to wait for something that might never come. So, what keeps me motivated? Feeling great about myself, challenging myself, the feeling I get after I finish my workout, maintain what I have accomplished so far, etc etc. If you do exercise videos the instructors motivate you to push harder, if you are at the gym look at everyone else around you working out, sweating, pushing themselves, if you are outdoors running or walking, try to get in tune with your body, enjoy the scenery, listen to music or sing yourself. Push yourself to go a little further or a little faster.

    Rusnickering, welcome!!! How do you make it a habit again? Start by doing things you enjoy, at the most convenient tme for you and start slow. Then increase duration and intensity little by little. Try to vary your workouts when what you are doing is becoming boring. You will be back to your routine in no time. And you are right, most couples gain when they first get together but there has to be a stopping point somewhere. I am glad you have decided this is it. Get your spouse involved in your journey and it will be easier and more fun.

    Have a great day!!! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
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    :flowerforyou: alf..thanks for the advice. It is all good.

    Craig..Welcome. You are a newlywed so you may have a chance at getting your wife to join you.
  • chiro614
    chiro614 Posts: 4
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    I am new to this, and I have posted my food for the day. When you post your exercise, does that alter your caloric intake for the day?
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
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    Yes it does. For instance if you eat 1200 calories and burn 200 calories, then it will show that you consumed 1000 calories leaving you with an extra 200 to eat.

    What I can't figure out is how many calories I am burning. I have no idea and the machine at the gym are not accurate in figuring how many you have burned.
  • TexasMom
    TexasMom Posts: 70
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    Happy Memorial Day Everyone!!! And a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you that have and are serving our country to keep us safe. WE SALUTE YOU!!!!!

    I'm back form the beach and it was a great trip. We only had 28 teenagers to chaperone, 11 guys, 17 girls, so with 4 adults we had it handled well. There weather couldn't have been better and because the kids slept in I got to power walk on the beach each morning. :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

    Welcome to the threads Cheryl, chiro614 and Craig. We are a great bunch full of lots of encouragement and support. We celebrate our victories together and embrace the challenges with an attitude to succeed. :happy:

    Alf - happy to have you back and to hear you had a great time in Vegas. Too bad about the Europe trip though. :cry: I always say "I'll do it when I win the lottery, but you have to buy a ticket to win, so I guess that will never happen. :laugh: :laugh:

    Tron - Alf was right about the calories. Make sure your eating enough and hang in there. One day at a time and sometimes remembering progress can be measured by "no backward movement" :flowerforyou:

    Swissmiss - Alf shared a lot of wisdom for all of us. And remember, you're not in this alone. Like Alf, I've never been able to find someone as committed as me or have the same timing as me to work out. Even my husband and kids that are active and workout don't have the same schedules. My oldest daughter works out with me when she can but it's not a daily basis. I find my motivation in my goals and in how I feel. When I'm eating unhealthy I feel unhealthy. The beach was great because there was no way I would have enjoyed the sun and out doors wayed down with fatty foods. I craved fresh fruits and cold drinks and there are plenty of those in South Padre.

    One thing I will mention to all of the ladies on the thread is to consider your hormones. I know Jillian Michaels released a book not long ago about this which is a bit extreme at times. But the bottom line is that when we get older, escpecially menapausal, we will gain weight or have a very hard time losing it. When I started this journey back to healthville :bigsmile: I've done it slowly. Adding back my supplements a little at a time to make sure I didn't overwhelm my body. I just added my herbal supplements last week that are specific to supporting the femine body during menopause and I dropped 4 pounds in a week. This isn't going to happen to everyone but I know without a doubt that if you don't have your hormones somewhat in balance the whole machine messes up.

    Well, a long post and now time to get to the family bbq. Salmon and ribs with lots of veggies. yummm!!. :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

    Many Blessings to all
    Nita
  • alf1163
    alf1163 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    Yes it does. For instance if you eat 1200 calories and burn 200 calories, then it will show that you consumed 1000 calories leaving you with an extra 200 to eat.

    What I can't figure out is how many calories I am burning. I have no idea and the machine at the gym are not accurate in figuring how many you have burned.

    Swiss, did you mean if you eat 1200 and burn 200, it will show you ate 1200 and earned 200 extra to eat for a total of 1400, right? I have mine set up to lose 1/2 lb a week so my minimum is 1290 cals daily, to that it adds whatever many calories I burn with exercise. For example today I burned 327cals so that added to my 1290 I can consume 1617 cals.

    Do you have a HR monitor? If you don't MFP can calculate (estimate) the calories you burned doing a certain activity. If the activity is not in the database exactly the same you can find something closest to it. There are also other sites where you can calculate calories burned and then enter those in the database. That way you will know how many calories you can consume. Of course it will be an estimate, not 100% accurate, but it gives you a pretty close idea where you should be. I hope this helps. :flowerforyou:
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
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    :flowerforyou: Alf..I don't know how to explain it. I didn't even know that we were to eat our calories burned until about a month ago. Tell me..where do I go here to have my exercise calories calculated? I haven't found that area. I know that I can put in my own estimated calories but I am sure not good at that. I do have a HR monitor but I started to set it up right after my first surgery and was taking pain pills at the time so I think I goofed it. :laugh: I would appreciate any help you can give me with this.:bigsmile:

    :flowerforyou: Nita...please let me now what supplement you are taking. I began to have the most trouble losing when I went through menopause. It there is an herbal supplement that would help, I sure would like to try it.

    I had a grilled steak today. First steak in, oh I don't know how long. I think that I just about stayed within my calories. I was very careful the rest of the day.
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
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    Happy Tuesday all!

    Sorry I didn't post all weekend, as its been pretty busy here. I checked in from time to time to see how y'all are doing. I hope you had a great Memeorial Day weekend.

    I did get to ride a total of about 50 miles over the weekend, and I did a few power walks up & down some steep hills. Back to the gym this week as usual. As you know, we are leaving for California on Sunday afternoon. I really feel as though I reached my fitness goals. My weight is fine, but I am still trying to shed those last few lbs of fat. :grumble:

    My eating is generally pretty good, though. I'll try to keep it clean until we leave. One good thing...my brother in law in Calif. really watches what he eats, so eating healthy at his house is not a problem.

    Have a great day!
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
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    :bigsmile: sing...you were missed. :cry: I am glad that you had a good time, however. You rode 50 miles? You must be in pretty good shape. I love it when someone else is eating good also. This makes staying on course so much easier.

    I had already walked one mile, had a good breakfast of Special K, fat free milk and one half grapefruit by 7:45 this morning. I am hoping to continue being this good the rest of the day.
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
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    Good morning Swiss! I also had Special K & Vanilla Soy Milk for breakfast. The evenings are the toughest part of the day for me. I tend to go for the junk food and make poor choices at night. The 50 miles on my bike was over the course of the weekend, not in one ride...my butt can't take it, especially on a road bike.
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
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    Alf, I just noticed your Vegas pix...Fabulous!!! :drinker:
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
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    Sing...I noticed that the 50 miles were over the weekend.:laugh: Do you think that I think you are some super man?:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
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    Alf...I also viewed your pictures. Hey, you look terrific.
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
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    Well, 50 miles gives me around 2200-2500 cals burned. Not bad for an enjoyable form of exercise! Biking burns 700-750 cals per hour. Really, I don't think that my exercise is excessive. I am VERY thankful to be able to do such strenuous things at my age!! Plus, getting sweaty and exhausted is a great feeling (talking about outdoor activities here) :blushing: !!
  • cardigirl
    cardigirl Posts: 492 Member
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    Morning everyone! Hope you all had good weather and a great holiday.

    Mine went well, and I did pretty good calorie-wise. Even with ice cream on Monday. And possible a glass of wine. :wink:

    I've decided to try something a bit different with my cardio workouts, and would appreciate anyone's thoughts on this experiment. Currently, I'm trying to get a total of 45 minutes in on the stair mill and the AMT machine, which is approx. 500 calories burned. Especially on the AMT, I tend to go the same speed at one level, so what I've decided to try to do is break that up, by working especially hard at a higher level of 1 minute, eventually increasing that to 2 minutes and then cooling down several times during my 32 minutes on there. I think it's called HIIT.

    I want to try this, because I've been reading that extended cardio workouts build endurance but don't really burn fat as effectively as shorter bursts of high intensity working out. Not sure if it's true, but I'm going to try to find out for myself.

    Other than that, still on track with watching intake and still trying to get to the gym at least 5 days a week.

    Here's to an activity-filled summer of increased health to us all! :drinker:
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
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    :laugh: sing:laugh: You always have me laughing.

    cardigirl, yes varying your routine would help. I don't know how it works but it's said to. I do this on the stationary bike by watching the clock and really hitting it hard for a time and then taking it slower for a time.
  • TexasMom
    TexasMom Posts: 70
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    Happy Tuesday Everyone!!!!

    Singfree - I echo Swiss's comment - you keep us laughing!!! Don't stop, it adds years to our lives. :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

    Cardigirl - your on the right track. Interval training/workouts are highly recommended. I'm blessed to have a stationary bike, elliptical and treadmill that have interval programming already on them so I jsut set it and go. Let us know how what changes you see after you've tried the new workout plan for a week or so.

    My leg is almost 100% again so I plan to start back to my regular workouts tomorrow. Today I'll do the treadmill walking, the stationary bike and some weight training. Can't wait to finish the laundry so I can get started, I feel so good after my workouts.

    Blessings to all,
    Nita

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