WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR FEBRUARY 2012

Lots of good advice to read through this morning. Thanks, everyone. I'm up and off to join a Meetup group for a 2-3 hour walk. It feels good to get going early.

I browsed through the Amazon info on the book, The Happiness Project. Despite some not-so-nice reviews from people who are unhappy that the author has money (go figure, I'd like some!), I'm planning to buy the book. The mentions from Sarah and Kackie have me convinced I'll find some worthwhile ideas there.

One thing I did that was mentioned in the piece of the book on Amazon was get to bed early. The author makes a good case for the importance of enough sleep. I did wake up feeling good and full of ideas. One of them resulted in a phone call to my niece. She's been looking for something to do part-time from home and I'd like to keep my hand in when it comes to writing. We're going to collaborate on a couple of cookbooks. I'm excited!

Gotta get going...

Mimi SVQ

Checking in earlier today. Just got back from taking my GF to the train station. She is very fragile at the moment with stress of what to do about her mum.

Will visit DBF this afternoon. I'm not taking his brother after all - he called to say something had cropped up and maybe I'd take him later in the week.

Teaching tonight. I have a lot of lace to get done because I have a deadline for a project, so I need to get cracking with it.

Hi Ladies,
Having to speed read today. Both kids are home and it's gorgeous outside. I find myself relating or being inspired by so much I am reading here. A bright spot in my day.

I make a weekly trip to the library or if I have the compulsion, buy something for my Kindle. Will have to look for "The Happiness Project". Sounds like a great read.

I'm reading "Feed Your Brain Lose Your Belly" this week by Larry McCleary MD. So far confirming what I've read about insulin and glucose and it is helping to give me ideas to keep my blood sugar in check.

Have to get back to exercise tomorrow. I went on a long walk Sunday and my ankle has been giving out again..... Healing is so slow with this injury. It was so good to be outside with my arms pumping. Walking feels so good!

Wishing all a great week. Happy connecting, loosing, exercising and pumping iron. -

What a waste of a 4 day weekend. I have been sick since Friday night. Finally have enough energy to stay up for a while. Just some kind of flu temperature headache cough. I will be better soon just bummed it happened over the long weekend. Oh well, at least nothing major. Hope you all had a better weekend. Now to go back and catch up on all the posts. At least I did not eat too much over the weekend which are usually my downfall.
KC

Well, I am fairly new to this program and love it. I will be 56 next month and can identify with the slow metabolism once you reach this wonderful age. I walk at least 5 times a week for at least 50 - 60 minutes, as well as recording what I eat at least during the week. I lost 5 pounds up until 2 weeks ago. My problem is that I keep going over my sugar intake. I require at least 2 cups of coffee a day, unfortunately I like my sugar 1.5 teaspoon a cup (which I have cut back from 2). During the week at work, I will drink one cup with just cream and no sugar, but there again I like my cream! I will cut back on other things, so I can enjoy my coffee. I have lost lots of inches since walking for the last 8 months. I am only 5'1" and carry my weight around my midsection and have struggled with that extra weight since 2000 when I went through menapause. I guess my problem is that I start off strong and start to dwindle after a few months. I need the encouragement and support of others to keep on track. I attend our local weight club TOPS in Dryden, Ontario and even though we only have 8 members, I continue to attend weekly meetings to support and to be supported by my TOPS pals. I have been married for 36 years and have three grown sons and 2 grandchildren. I would love to hear any ideas to help me keep on track ! Thanks Kathy Kirkby

Just stopping in real quick to say hello and wish everyone a great week!

A couple of nice movtivational tips here -

http://crazydazedesigns.blogspot.com/2012/02/much-needed-workout-motivation.html

Geri in England

Hello Everyone,
So good to come here and read the posts. My husband works in a nursing home and he came home with a nasty virus on Saturday...I thought I was in the clear...until today. I am down for the count. Just had to check in and I started reading the posts backwards (latests post first). I saw all this talk of your photo, Virginia and I had to find it!! Beautiful photos.....and they are so motivating! Thanks for posting. There are days when I come on and look at before and after pictures just to help myself stay on track.

I will be back.....feeling flu-ish..... Just want to feel better. I did a weigh in for a challenge this morning and I was way up. I will see what happens in the next few days. Its time to kick this bug and get back on track.

Stay well, everyone~

Good Evening friends...
This was a very lonnnnnnnnnnnng Monday for me from the moment the alarm went off. I rarely hit the snooze button, but today I slapped it 3 times and it just would not go away...:grumble: I think the active weekend caught up to me :ohwell: Bed is already sounding quite inviting.

Tonight I had a consultation with a Health Coach. My company (Michelin) has a wonderful health program called Live Well Choose Well. They provide free Weight Watchers for 6 months, different programs to challenge yourself, and many other wonderful benefits for your health. I am trying to take advantage of more of these and so decided to give the health coach a try. Not sure how helpful it was...she basically read my goals that I had filled out on-line to me and asked how committed I was. It was a 30-minute phone conversation that I probably won't repeat...but at least I gave it a shot.

Tomorrow is WW weigh-in #3, and I am feeling pretty good about it. I should be careful though...don't want to get over confident by any means. With any luck I may get my 5 pound sticker !! The program has helped me be more consistent. Between logging my food hear, and counting my points, it seems to be working.

Looking forward to looking for the books mentioned in other posts. Have a healthy Tuesday everyone!

MEG

Jane, I'm glad your surgery went well. Heal quickly.

KC and Sally, I hope you're feeling better. Hugs.

Kathy, my best advice is to do what I'm doing (again) and focus on lots of fruits and veggies. I learned to roast them at a high temp for not too long. They're delicious. I feel spoiled instead of deprived. It's a lot easier to stay with healthy eating when you're enjoying it.

Suzy's right about getting simple carbs out of your diet. That makes the fruits and veggies taste so good. I'm not perfect at it (dang) but the more I do it, the easier it is to stay on track.

BTW, try Stevia for your coffee. (The brand Truvia is good - and the packets are easy to take with you. I also like True Leaf, which is a liquid that comes in a dropper bottle.) I like Stevia even better than sugar. Honestly.

I walked five and a half miles again today. I'm excited to know I can do it. I really didn't think I could. I'm proud to report that I've actually worn out a pair of running (walking for me) shoes. That's a first!

Mimi SVQ

Hearty welcome to all the newcomers!

After the Y today, I think I'll stop at one food store and stock up on veggies, etc. I know they carry organic peaches (can't get them in NC), and some other things. Gotta think of things that I can take to Daytona with me. I usually don't buy the concession food -- for one thing it really isn't all that good and another is that it's so expensive! Oranges are in season, I want to see if they carry just 6 eggs since we won't be here all that long, probably just two weeks. I brought 6 hard boiled eggs with me, I don't know that I can use up a full dozen eggs.

I went to Target to get cat litter. It's on sale, but if I get 2 containers I get a $5 gift card, so I'll leave the litter down here and take the card home with me

Then I took a step class for 45 minutes. I don't know what it is, but every time I take that class, I sweat so much. It's not real hot here, yet I was dripping. Then I went to Publix and did some healthy food shopping. Spent $70 but got some Health is Wealth Spinach Munchees (haven't had those in a while), Health is Wealth Pizza Munchees (haven't had those either), Seapoint Farms dry roasted edamame, Publix has these small bags of veges, just 2 servings, so I got green beans, cauliflower, snap peas, and asparagus. They didn't have any organic peaches, but hopefully, they'll get some in before we leave. I did get some organic strawberries, oranges, and a few tangerines along with some organic bosc pears. That should last me. Portioned them all out.

Tried on a bathing suit yesterday at WalMart. Usually, I can't find clothes to fit me there, but this fit me. However, even tho it was cheaper than the one I got, I didn't like it as much. So I didn't get it.

jb - that's very interesting how sugar helps you store fat. Makes sense. I always feel so much better when I have veges, but I do like my fruit. If I don't watch it, I can easily go overboard with the fruit

Unfortunately, I had to buy some greek yogurt with the fruit on the bottom. Had one today, to me it was a bit too sweet. But I didn't have anything to put in plain yogurt to make it taste a bit sweet.

Bought some of the containers of egg beaters. I'll probably have eggs tomorrow a.m. Found this small fry pan that's nonstick but it isn't the t-fal stuff. That can be nasty stuff. Got just 6 eggs. Admitted, it was more expensive that way, but in the end it's worth it. I'll probably hard boil them and if needed take them home with me.

jane - so glad your surgery went well.

Welcome newcomers

mimi - you're so right, I've really tried hard to get rid of the simple carbs. We went out to dinner tonight to Denny's. Not bad food, really. You can get decent things. I had a grilled chicken breast, steamed broccoli, and what they call finger dipping veges which are really 3 celery sticks, a few raw baby carrots, 3 cukes. For dessert I had what they refer to as "seasonal fruit", it was banana and grapes. I'm a bit surprised since oranges, tangerines, grapefruit are in season right now. But at least you can get decent food. I had 2 glasses of water to drink. But what I'm trying to get at is the fact that as I went over the menu, I kept thinking to myself "I wouldn't want the bun/bread".

Going to get ready for bed now. Hope everyone has a great evening.

Michele

Good Morning everyone!! I can't believe how much I learn here each day.

Suzy / Mimi - so true about simple carbs. I have been almost carb free for a week and have noticed my afternoon slump and crazy sweet cravings are getting better.

Suzy - You mentioned sodium yesterday and wow are you right. I had added broth because my Dr. said it would help with my headaches after removing all my bread...... oii, never thought of the sodium. Not trying that again.

Jane so happy you are recovering and that the surgery went well.

My husbands birthday is today. He is a GOAL weight so he purged his closet this weekend and I went shopping for him yesterday. New gym bag filled with new size work out clothes and a wallet. He is so proud. It is inspiring and also depressing at the same time. ( Blush)

We have a big family event next weekend. I was so hoping I could shop for some new flattering clothes. I am barely dropping anything. I have one more week until I have to go find something. I refuse to buy a size up.

Off to bake, shop, exercise and drink water. Thank you for all the great ideas. Welcome newcomers.

Tuesday again! Tuesday already. What can I do to make it an interesting day for my students????? :happy:

About weight training: I can’t remember who said “the hardest part is observing the required day or two of rest between sessions” but I have the same feeling! I work hard :explode: and it feels good. The most difficult part is getting over feeling self conscious around the big boys in the gym, especially when I start a new workout or use a new piece of equipment. I just started following the workouts in “The New Rules of Lifting for Women” and amazed myself yesterday by doing squats with a 40 lb barbell on my shoulders – 2 sets of 12!

Jane, pleased to hear your surgery went well. Now, take care of yourself during your recovery! :flowerforyou:

Geri, thanks for the link about motivation.

Meg, Good for you calling the Health Coach. Even if you didn’t get any new ideas or advice you got reassurance that you are on the right track.

Frogmama, J’boy and I love geocaching. As soon as the snow goes (or even before if I find a good site) we’ll be off with the GPS and the hiking boots. Have fun.

Exermom, it sounds like you’re getting settled in Florida. I too sweat like crazy when I do aerobic exercises like running or step classes. I have to wear a headband and carry a towel! :ohwell: I don’t think it’s age, so it must just be the way I’m made.

Kackie, if you decide to make that drive through Southern BC I will certainly have some ideas to share. Our valley (The Creston Valley) is often overlooked, but it’s a lovely place too.

Realpure, my congrats to your husband and happy birthday to him! My DH has quietly slipped on to the bandwagon. :happy: I noticed a while ago that he’s only drinking beer on weekends. Last week he asked me about protocol at the Rec Center gym, so I booked him a session with the trainer. He went to see her last Friday for a fitness assessment and today he’s going to go through a workout routine with her. I am delighted to think I may have a gym partner – or a gym family since J’boy comes in now and then too.

Pam3 I hope you are feeling better, bronchitis can hang around for a dreadfully long time.

Enjoy your day dear ladies. Keep moving and drink all your water!

Hasta pronto,

Nancy

:flowerforyou: Tis Tuesday,

Jane - so glad the surgery went well and hoping the recovery goes quickly:flowerforyou:

Mimi- you said that when you bake your veggies, you do it on a high heat for a short time....how high? how long? I think I have been doing it wrong, lower heat too long:blushing: and hubby doesn't care for them....me I just love veggies anyway I get them

Michele- that is so surprising that the fruit didn't include the oranges or grapefruit which is too bad because it would really be fresh if it was local.

Today was my weigh in and from last week I lost #1, which is what I was hoping for:happy: of course the ticker shows more than the truth because it goes in whole numbers...the truth being 7.6 lost...now I will "fight" to get that .4 to make the ticker tell the truth

I've been trying to sort my clothes to find out what I would like to be wearing come summer and am hoping that the clothes and my weight loss become "one" as I really have some great summer clothes that I had bought in 2010 when I was on this journey and succeeded, the difference this time being I'm not using Nutrisystems but am doing it by cooking all my own foods because this is what reality is. I'm experimenting with a lot of receipes and taking out the sugar and replacing it with stevia and white flour with whole wheat and any receipe that I can find that sounds good I try substituting a "low-fat or no-fat" product if that is available. So far it's been pretty successful and I'm getting a lot of things that I really love and that hubby has no idea that I've changed it, he's the "taste tester" and so far I haven't had to throw away any of my new creations:bigsmile:

The two phone interviews hubby had yesterday were a bust one was offering such a low salary that he said the headaches that he'd have with that job wouldn't be worth it and the other was a contractor job which would be for about 6-12 mo, but if they were to offer that one to him he'd probably take it...but the interviewer didn't sound like it would be a go. Glad his unemployment was extended, next month it will be a year since he was laid off, in the meantime the laundry gets done on Monday's and my floors get done on Friday's before I get home...so there are some advantages to having him home

Well the piles of paper are calling to me so I'd best get to working.

Everyone have a good day, drink the water:drinker: and let's get moving.

Laura

SuzyQ: I am jealous of you planting root veggies right now! I miss my garden when I am away this time of year! I did prepare all of my beds before I left and mulched them very well to keep down the weeds so that I can plant when I return. What are you planting?Take care all! Kackie

I won't plant until the daffodils bloom, which is a week or two away... but I've been getting my beds READY for onions, sweet potatoes, garlic, carrots, beets, broccoli and lettuce. Grape vines and fruit trees should arrive in early March but I won't get a crop out of them for a year or two... The bulk of my veggies won't get planted until the oaks start budding, which is usually late April/early May. I'm so looking forward to fresh from the garden suppers! :flowerforyou: