WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR MARCH 2012

:flowerforyou: Thursday, one day shy of Happy Friday!

Michele- I've not tried to put pumpkin in brownies, but have done the angel food cake with crushed pineapple and that was yummy. Last night hubby said the cupcakes were good, but not very sweet:grumble: I told him it's because they are low in sugar and supposed to be that way...I'm just looking for ways around his sweet tooth:huh:

Amanda- so glad that you are still popping in here even though you have lost the weight:drinker:

Barbie- thank you for checking up on our MIA's, it's always good to know when it's just the busyness of life that has kept them away:flowerforyou:

Cathy- Enjoy that cruise, we will look forward to hearing all about it. When hubby and I went on a cruise (Years ago) I managed to get to the gym a few days and worked out on the equipment, especially when my internal clock was so off and I was up soooo early and I know it really helped keep my weight in check.

jb- hope hubbys first day back to work is all he was hoping for:flowerforyou: , my hubby has been unemployeed for one year this month and I am so looking forward to the day he gets another job:ohwell: . Best of wishes on organizing your life now that he's back to work:flowerforyou:

****

I wish I had taken pictures of my stomach before I started my yogart experiment, I think it is going down, when I look in the mirror early in the morning the silhouette looks smaller:huh: and I'm not holding in the muscles...so maybe it's working...I can hope:ohwell:

So ladies...what do you use for inspiration to keep going on this journey we have embarked on? I find that I am always looking a the topics of success stories with before & after pictures...our own Virginia has posted her photos there and it always inspires me to keep going:flowerforyou: There is NO reason that I can't do this if these others can so can I well that and all the clothes in my closet that are calling out to me "we miss you":sad:

Must get going and attack all this paper work on my desk.

Have a good day, logging, moving that body and drinking the water:drinker:

Laura80111

Hah! :ohwell: I’ve been racking my brains trying to figure out why I’m not loosing weight this month, :grumble: even though I’ working out just as much and eating almost as reasonably well. Got it! I have only been at school about 5 days in March. At school I don’t sit down very often, so it’s six hours on my feet and walking. At home, on holiday, I spend more time on the computer, reading, sitting with DH and doing crossword puzzles, etc. Now that I've identified the problem I should...:laugh:

Thanks to all of you for your comments on my foot surgery & 12-week recovery time. :flowerforyou: I will be able to swim, and when I go to the gym today I’ll give the trainer a heads-up to start work on a new exercise plan for me. I will also have to withdraw from the circuit training class and the spin class, give someone else the space. In the meantime it’s full speed ahead on phase 1 of The New Rules of Lifting for Women, I have 2 workouts to go before I’m done!

Virginia – glad to hear from you! That bicycle accident sounds terrifying. It was brave of you to get back on the towpath again.

Jeannie, It's 1200 calories a day for me too – I’m another shortie. It does get easier and it’s also a good incentive to exercise permission to eat more!

Liselyn, I am going to rule the world from Madagascar, thank-you. I have a no alcohol on school nights rule, which I follow pretty closely. The challenge is when I’m on holiday – “the slight loosening of diet habits” as you so kindly put it.:noway: I am working on a strategy to deal with this. Did the rehearsal go well?

Issyfit – Thanks for the link to the recipe page. I’ll check it out and keep you posted.

Joyce, it’s snowing again here too. Sigh. Big, wet, heavy, depressing :grumble: Wait. Stop. It’s the watershed. It’s the creeks and lakes for a green summer. It’s the water for the orchards and the farms in the valley. It’s the lake levels... It's :grumble: depressing.

Cathy have fun on your cruise! :drinker: Your line about packing up the house “Our kids are about to inherit a lot of “treasures” gave me a flashback to the day my FIL arrived from the other side of the country in a truck loaded to the maximum with “treasures” he could not bear to give away.

JB I’m celebrating with you and your hubby, so glad he’s back to work. Push-ups are the killer exercise in my book. :explode: Lunges come right next on the list.

Salad Sistas – Lunch today is lentils with a variety of veggies, roast chicken breast and a tomato dressing.

Laura, inspiration? I lurk on the MFP success story pages too. The changes I see in the mirror, improved stamina, strength and confidence in my physical ability are inspirations but they are slow changes in a long term commitment. When I am uninspired I just try to fake it “be the change” and “act the way I want to feel” and “turn that frown upside down”.

Hasta pronto,

Nancy

If anyone is interested in the Zaggora Hotpants that I have been using, here is a link to a current Groupon special. This is how I got started with them. I believe in them so much that I am going to purchase the deal and get the full length Hotpants. I LOVE THEM!

http://www.groupon.com/deals/zaggora-hot-pants-greenville?c=all&p=2&dl=d47388

MEG

thanks meg, i saw your post the other day i got the groupon and will be ordering the capri hot pants.....thanks again

Happy Thursday.
Today was nice. Took my son to the dentist and then we did some fun shopping, lunch and a movie. Just about used my calories for the day. Even only eating half of my lunch. I really did enjoy it though. Have a good night!

Good evening all --

I don't have long to catch up, but it has been a fabulous day. My 81 year-old mother is a total inspiration, I got in some very, very intense exercise as well as a 3-hour rehearsal on the crazy recital I'll be performing down here Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, and then we had a super healthy dinner. OK, with beer. Well earned! Tomorrow, keeping up the hour of exercise with the 3 hour rehearsal, and enjoying being down south where there are leaves on the trees, grass on the ground, and flowers everywhere. :flowerforyou:

Keep up the hard work, ladies, and enjoy the smaller sizes!

liselyn

Hello ladies

It's a nice, sunny day here in London and I'm drowning in (to put it crudely) snot! My head feels like it's full of soggy cotton wool. The strange thing is, it's not taking away my appetite at all. In fact, I am actually feeling hungrier than normal. So far I've made all good choices, but can see the possibility of some comfort food when I get home tonight. Not that it will matter too much as I like to think that I can have the occasional bit of 'naughty but nice'. My weight is still below what I wanted it to be, so no harm there either. Also, the only serious exercise I'm doing whilst fending off the germs, is walking... actually stomping! I seem to have more reason to be running up and down the four flights of stairs at the gallery right now too. Plus I've been making sure that I walk to a tube station which is over a mile away rather than the closer one. Actually, thinking about it, I'm not doing too bad considering I feel like saggy pants!

Speaking of pants (and definitely not the saggy ones!) I've been using the zaggora hotpants for ages now and have recently bought a couple of pairs of their capris. Love them!! If anybody from the UK is interested in them, I have a code for 20% off:

To start using our new products and to help a little, use voucher code ‘HOTSTART’ at our checkout at zaggora.com to get 20% off your next purchase.

Every little helps as they say.

Busy at the gallery right now. I just sold an atlas for £4500 - which was a real bonus as I sold it to somebody who just walked in off the street (normally it is by appointment). Just as well we sold that though as the boss was upstairs at the time buying atlas for £20000! There's obviously money about right now.

Anyway, time for me to have a hot blackcurrant drink to soothe my throat, so I will sign off.

Love to all.
Amanda x

Oh if those hotpants help smooth out the sagging skin, I'll most certainly be getting a few pairs. :laugh:

Good freezing-foggy morning, brrrrr, but it's a good day just the same. Will be doing aerobics in a few minutes, that'll warm me up. Day 2 of strength training yesterday, did fine except couldn't do more than 14 push ups from the knee, same as Monday. That's ok, my neck doesn't hurt this morning like it did on Day 1. Every little bit of progress counts. Need to make a chart and keep track. Off to shop a bit this morning, need ankle weights and a few items of clothing. Can't find my regular bra anywhere, the one that's way too big, guess I'll take that as a sign and go buy a new one or two. Sports bras are fine for jumping up and down but not comfy on an hourly basis. Flatten ya like a pancake. :blushing:

Been up since 4:30AM, got hubby off to work. Now I'm feeling a little brain-dead. We'll see if aerobics wakes me up, but I guess I could take a quick nap. :yawn:

Happy Friday, Sistas! Big salad day ahead, right? :bigsmile:

jb

Happy Friday - :happy:

We are on our way "south" for the weekend. The practical reason for the trip is that if we spend 2 consecutive nights in the US we get a bigger tax break when we come home, and we are bringing home the supplies to install in-floor heating in my kitchen and other building supplies for the renovation.

The impractical reason is that it's our 28th wedding anniversary on Saturday and we will go out for dinner to celebrate the event.

I would love a little retail therapy to compensate for three weeks of no weight loss (no surprise, given what I've been eating & drinking during the break) and just as a change of pace from my little town. Unfortunately, DH is focussed on hardware stores and my shopping thrills are probably going to be limited to choosing drawer pulls and door handles for the downstairs kitchen cabinets. :grumble: He does not understand the appeal of "shopping". Not at all.

It was frequent source of friction during our long trip. I would want to wander the market places and gaze at the stuff and the people. DH would say "it's just stuff". I would say, "but it's such cool stuff!" He would say, "you have to carry it" and then divert me to the nearest tomb/temple/pyramid/castle/mosque... As a result most of my souveniers from 12 months of travel are fridge magnets and photographs. Oh, and two carpets, one from Turkey and one from Morocco. He teases me about these whenever possible but I am unrepentant. :laugh:

Meg – Celebrate the success! :flowerforyou:

Liselyn – do we say “break a leg” to a musician? Well done, keeping up the exercise and good eating on the road. What a joy to have a happy day with your mother. What are leaves? Green grass? It sounds like you are enjoying the break from a long Quebec winter too.

Amanda, take care of that cold! :drinker:

JB, do get a chart and keep track of your weight training progress. It’s such a boost to see your progress there in black and white. :happy: With regard to sports bras, I have tried a few brands and the one that works for me is Moving Comfort, Maia style. It’s the only one I’ve found that doesn’t “flatten like a pancake”. It’s got underwire and proper sizing (not just S/M/L). My chest doesn’t look like a shelf and I wear mine all the time because all my regular ones are too big!

Salad Sista’s – yesterday I made WW spinach cakes (I actually like spinach) and added them to my salad lunch with poached salmon and lots of greens. Yum. Today will be a repeat.

See you on the other side,

Nancy

Hi Ladies...
I'm enjoying my day off. Got up with hubby this a.m. which is like sleeping in to me since his alarm doesn't go off until 6:30. Worked the treadmill, and then went shopping. Bought 2 pairs of pants on sale in a size smaller than I have been in. Also bought some cute capri pants and a bright splashy top! Looks very summery! I have spring fever as all of the azaelaes, dogwoods and flowering cherries are blooming here in SC. It is gorgeous when you ride the roads. :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Jeannie...I will have to look in to that cream, as I have tendonitis in my right elbow...and I agree...Bengay Stinks!:ohwell:

JB & Laura...I don't know about the hot pants with saggy skin...but I do know that my legs are smoother and the cellulite is less cellulitey. That makes me happy! When reading the ratings on the website, several people comment on how smooth their skin is. I'm more worried about the cellulite, so haven't really paid attention to what my skin is feeling like.

Dawn...isn't it amazing how in touch with our bodies we become when taking this healthy trail? I too can tell when I wake up in the morning if I ate something that isn't on the healthy list. I feel it in my fingers...they just feel fat.:huh:

Amanda...hope you're feeling better and I hope you get a wonderful commission from your sale! Yikes...

Realpure...interesting correlation between the vitamins and lack of hot flashes. I wonder if you could google the question and find anything.:blushing:

Liselyn...glad you are enjoying our southern weather! I love springtime...even with the dreaded yellow pollen.

Nancy...Congrats on 28 years! Love your posts, they always make me laugh!:laugh:

Virginia...so glad you're back, and so sorry about your accident. Hugs to you!

Cathy...enjoy your cruise...I usually take two weeks off at Christmas time, and it is just so wonderful to truly have time to unwind.:drinker:

Joyce...hope your horse is better!:sick:

FriiGirl...I agree that the success of these ladies is inspiring, and help me know I can do it too.

Issyfit....cograts on your 16 lbs lost...I'll have to check out your recipes!

Guess I best scoot. Planning a bridal shower for my "adopted daughter" and am going to TRY to be artsy and make my own invitations. Wish me luck!

MEG

I am now a confirmed geek. I am making cake pops for my son's Magic the Gathering tournament and I'm going to use different colored sprinkles to make them look like "mana icons" from the game. Though I guess I'm a total geek because I don't know what "mana" means. I just know people will look at them and say "Magic, the Gathering!" :laugh:

Still can't work out but I might start walking at work again next week. We'll see how the weekend goes.
[/quote

Being a geek is a good thing......Magic the Gathering to you!!]

HI~ALL Have a great week-end!!
Sorry to all that have had injuries or sickness.Hope you are all on the mend.
Slow with therapy. 2 steps forward and 1 back.Don`t tolerate simple ex lately.See the surgeon on Tues.
Watching my food intake since I do minimum ex.
Take care
HUGS
jane

Still trying to catch up with everyone. Four pages is a lot of reading. Expecting a bit of gain tomorrow when I weigh in. Ate too much last weekend and when I came back it took me a couple of days to get back on track, but I am back on track. I did log everything so there is no surprise there.
Last weekend was great. My daughter did get her first choice for pediatric medicine at Rush Hospital in Chicago. She was thrilled, she is probably still smiling. I am so happy for her and proud of her, however Chicago is a long way from Charleston SC.
We spent the rest of the weekend in Myrtle Beach had had a nice time. Found out my husband is going to need hernia surgery sometime soon, so he was not able to walk on the beach with me, but I took a couple of long walks. I am amazed at how many people are out there with their headphones on , when the sounds of the beach are so wonderful. I love listening to the waves and the birds.
Hope you have a great weekend.
KC

Today I got the last of my raised garden salad veggies planted. I had bought a some flats of organic lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers at Whole Foods earlier this week. Since I was kind of overloaded at work this week, I put them on my deck until I had time to plant them, but some kind of critter (birds, rats?) ate all the plants right down to the stubs of the stems. About half of them look like they aren't going to make a comeback, and about half of them look as if they will recover.

It'a a constant battle to keep my garden thriving in the face of all the critters in our neighborhood. We have a beautiful pear tree, and I get to eat maybe 3 pears off that tree each year, because something (raccoons?) gets the pears just as they are on the cusp f being ripe enough to eat. Last year , we had gorgeous blueberry bushes which I had sheltered under an anti-bird net, but something ate all the blueberries just before they were perfect for picking. What can I say? Mother Nature seems to be a socialist.

Hi Ladies...

Pam..I ordered my full length Hot Pants today via Groupon... but in a size smaller than my first orderl! Also saw that they will soon introduce a Hotpants Top! Excited! $49 for $110 product which I am so confident with.

Off work tomorrow and planning to shop for jeans in a size smaller...Will confess to feeling very "successful" in the last couple of weeks...which usually leads to a reality check. Down girl...Down Girl!!

More tomorrow!
MEG

Congratulations Meg!! Down a size in jeans is worthy of quite a celebration. Hope you found some nice ones. :flowerforyou: