40+ Club - Fall Fitness Fanatics

Happy Monday Everyone,

I've missed chatting with all and definitely missed your encouragement and support. It's been one crazy summer and I only have time to post because kids are back in school.

Most exciting news.... We now have our first grandchild, Carson James Allen, born July 22 at just 5 lbs 12 oz. His mom and dad are tiny too so now worries. He's perfect, healthy and as sweet as can be. I told my step-daughter, these are the most quiet days so she should enjoy them. He's already sleeping 6-7 hours at night so she's a lucky one.

I mostly maintained my weight over the summer with no time to stick with a routing workout. I just watched my intake and found it fairly easy to do thank to all the great advise you guys have shared.

I'm looking forward to moving forward and dropping the rest of this weight. I'm also looking forward to catching up with all of you.

Have a wonderful Monday!!!!

Good evening all! It's taken me forever to get a chance to check in to MFP today. :grumble: But I'm finally here! :drinker:

cardigirl, welcome back! I love your photo!! You look great. I'm glad you had a good time away, and I'm happy you are back with us. :flowerforyou:

TexasMom...so happy to see you back! I've missed you. Congrats on the new grandbaby. And also congrats on maintaining your weight through what sounds like a busy and hectic summer.

tron, I'm sorry to hear about the migraine. It definitely could be giving up the caffeine...at least in part. Since you only have one cup of coffee a day, I wouldn't worry about the cream and sugar at all. I gave up cream/sugar only because I like my coffee to taste more like coffee ice cream or coffee candy than coffee. :laugh: And I liked my tea (and I have a few cups of that a day as well) about the same (and drank cream in my tea as well since living in England). But for one cup? Not worth it if it causes you pain.

zebras, glad you had a good trip. Regarding the eating habits, I listened to a GREAT podcast today. It was about the 7 habits of nutritionally fit people. I won't go into it all, but one of the things she specifically mentioned is to enjoy yourself when you want to enjoy yourself because it really is just fine to do so as long as you know how to get back on your program. You have proven that you know how to get back on your program, so don't fret about the weekend.

TexMs, I'm happy to hear your brother-in-law is continuing to improve. You are going through so much right now with your family and your son moving away....and you seem to be handling it so well. I am in awe. :flowerforyou:

alf, week three of P90X is going well! I, too, really pushed the workout yesterday...and I managed to do 301 pushups!! All on my toes!!! I am amazed. I know I say that every week, but to go from not being able to do one pushup on my toes in February to this still just boggles my mind. The workout felt absolutely great. Today I did plyo....and, again, I felt like I had a great workout. I'm happy that each week seems to be getting better. Instead of getting bored (as I feared), I'm actually just now beginning to feel like I'm getting into the rhythm of the program. I'm still adding cardio on some days, but on days like yesterday, I didn't actually feel like I needed to do anything else. That's a good thing!

I'm curious how you get on without counting calories. Going back to this podcast I listened to earlier (it really was a good and timely podcast for me to listen to), I realize that I still struggle in a couple of areas--portion size being perhaps the main problem. I have a tendency to slowly increase my portions quite naturally. Until I manage to get that under control, I think I'm going to be in a situation where I need to manage my calories. But now that I recognize that as an issue, I think I'm going to be more conscious of it. And if I get to the point where I feel like I know what a portion is without figuring out the calories or measuring everything, then I will probably try to stop tracking what I eat. With right-sized portions of mostly clean foods, I shouldn't have to worry about calories....or so I've heard.

Thanks, all, for asking about the fires. We are unaffected by them in our part of the city. I can smell the smoke, and see some in the air, but the fires right now are probably about 70 miles from us....so as of now (with the wind blowing in the other direction), we aren't impacted. That being said, my heart goes out to the people in that part of the city and those who are fighting the fires. It is still very hot here, and I can't imagine what those people are experiencing right now.

singfree, I'm glad you took some time off to heal yourself. I have a question for you about Insanity. How long is the rotation? I've heard 60 days, but what I want to know is if it is a four weeks workout/one week rest and then four more weeks/one week rest. That would make it 70 days. I'm curious because I've got alot going on this autumn/winter that is going to impact my workout schedule, and I'm thinking I'm going to have to consolidate my P90X rotation (by cutting off a couple of days during the recovery weeks) to get an Insanity rotation in before I start STS again.....because I want to get my first cycle of STS completed again before my husband and I go to Hawaii for our anniversary in March!! I know....what am I doing planning my workouts for March? :laugh: But with these long rotations/programs, I'm thinking it's better to figure out whether I can fit them all in right now or whether I need to change my game plan, especially since I haven't actually invested in Insanity yet. Any input you have in Insanity is appreciated right now.

Okay...enough from me! Hope everybody has a good evening. It's so great to see so many people back. I've missed you all. :flowerforyou:

MmmMmmMmm grilled sweet potatoes! I love them. Sweet potato is one of the most nutritious foods you can eat, so don't be afraid to have them. They do awesome things for your hair and skin, and they taste so good! I usually slice a large one up, wrap in foil and throw on the grill for about 25 min. That way I have some for a few meals. YUMMY!!!!! :drinker:

Thanks everyone for the nice comments about my new picture. Next time, I'll have one taken closer up.

String... 301 push ups!!! way to go! How many can you do at once?:happy:

Sing... I would have never thought to put rosemary and garlic on a sweet potato. But then again I've only had them on Thanksgiving when my mother makes them with brown sugar and marshmellows on top. I don't think those kind are very healthy.:laugh:

Sing, I bake sweet potatoes too, but smaller ones. It's been so hot lately that throwing them on the grill seemed a better option, so I slice them to get them to cook faster! I'll have to try the seasonings you mentioned. Sounds good!

Another way I like to cook them is to slice them into wedges, toss with a bit of olive oil, and roast them in the oven. I do this a lot in the winter when I make baked chicken. YUM!!!

I agree though, sweet potatoes are so flavorfull that they don't need butter or salt or anything on them!

Texas Mom: Beautiful baby. I think now in Texas it is against the law to text and drive? I could not believe it when I said something to my very responsible daughter after five girls got killed when the driver who was texting swerved into a semi heading the other way, that my very responsible daughter said she did not text "that much" while driving. I told her I would take away the phone or break all her fingers if she ever texted while driving again! I remember when the debate was young drivers listening to rock music while driving... Old me!

I love sweet potatoes too! My mother hates them and never served them when I was growing up (also hated liver which is fine with me. Husband and my father used to get together to eat liver before my husband had his quadruple bypass...)

Yea everyone! I want to get a real bike too! Daughter has one in Austin and rides to campus every day. Austin is very bike friendly, very fitness minded.

We had the trainer push us (more my husband than me) hard last night on cardio, at my request. My husband still equates hard work on the treadmill with a stress test at the cardiologist's office. Trainer is trying to help him work through that. Husband is a psychologist, he should be able to get it!

Whenever I got out to eat, I make it a point to drink lots of water (fills you up). I only eat half of whatever is served. I don't do it, but I have read to ask for the "to go" box as soon as the food comes out and put half of it there right away. My semi-"green" self says I should bring my own plastic container and put half of the food in that before starting to eat. Other trick at a buffet is to only use a small plate. I also do that at home.

Brother-in-law is getting out of the ICU into the transplant step-down unit today! Liver transplant was last Wednesday night. I offered to go to New Orleans this weekend so my sister and and his mother could both be home in Mississippi. His mom said she wanted to "save" me until he is discharged to help get them set up in a temporary apartment in New Orleans close to the hospital. Prayers to all the families who have opted to donate organs and all the people who sign up for organ donation. Never thought my family would be able to get such an incredible gift.

Son is getting settled in San Francisco. Got his desk top packed and shipped out today. Still have a load of clothes to send out.

Thank you all for your support, prayers and encouragement. It helping a great deal with the healthy lifestyle quest but also all the other stuff stuff. TxMs

Hello, all!!! I'm back!

Thanks so much for thinking of me while I was away!:flowerforyou: It took me quite a while to catch up on everything- 2 weeks is a long time to be away!

S0.... FANTASTIC TRIP!!!!!!! I really appreciated all of the advice. I printed out all of the recs to take with me!:laugh: Although Vienna is a great city, and Salzburg and the Wachau are beautiful, I really loved Germany and Switzerland.

Our highlights-- boat ride and cycling along the Danube- boat from Krems to Spitz and cycle back. Was perfect for the younger one.

--Konigsee- took boat trip to St. Bart's church; wish we had been prepared to swim- it was very hot and the lake stunning!

--really, really loved Garmisch-Part. Took cable car to top of Zugspitze. Unbelievably gorgeous!! Kids had a great time playing on the glacier-- snow in August!!! Had a beer (or 2:blushing: ) at the summit.

--the castles- Hopsberg and Belvedere palaces in Vienna; Herrenchiemsee; Neuschwanstein-- WOW

--hiking up to the fortresses in Durnstein and Salzburg

--paddle boat rides on lakes Luzern and Zurich

I could write pages!!!!

As for fitness and diet--- can you translate those words?? My motto was beer and chocolate daily. No problem!!!!:drinker: The chocolate was mainly limited to bites of the kids' treats, but the beer....oh well! Because we tried to stay in more budget hotels, the sleeping wasn't really that great-- too hot or too loud or too bright. Oh well.:grumble: The rooms were clean, if spartan. Stayed in a wonderful hotel in Zurich- my only splurge-- the Ambassador Hotel, across the street from the opera. Since we hiked, walked, cycled most days, I did not bring myself to get up early to run. C'est la vie. Sorry, can't speak German, don't know the correct phrase!

So, now that I'm back to my life, started Insanity yesterday. I think I did pretty well on the fit test. Matched most of the initial reps from the 2 in the DVD. Plyo cardio circuit today- pretty hard but mainly feeling the lack of exercise in the past 2 weeks! My legs were killing me! The worked out with trainer- more weight and core focus as my legs were still shaking!!:laugh: :noway:

Must give a shout-out to texxassipian-- many good thoughts for your BIL's speedy recovery from transplant! So glad to hear he got a liver in time!

April

Welcome back, april! Your trip sounds amazing. As singfree said, please share more! So glad you enjoyed the beer and chocolate as well. No trip to Europe would be complete without enjoying the local cuisine, right? :happy:

Best of luck on Insanity as well. Keep us posted on how you are doing with that.

I figured out how to get through at least half of YogaX without wanting to jump out a window this morning....and that was by totally and completely exhausting myself with 80 minutes of intense cardio intervals before I started it. :laugh: I was too tired to think about how bored I was with the yoga until that first section was almost over! Anyhow, I managed to get through all 90 minutes.

And, alf, I don't even try The Crane. That would put way more pressure on my shoulder joint than I can handle, so the minute Tony says 'You can do Childs Pose'....I do childs pose. At least my shoulder is my excuse and I'm sticking with it. :bigsmile: The program is getting easier for me, though I still struggle on some of the poses. I love the balance section (minus The Crane) and always look forward to that part of the program. I just continue to wish the 'Warrior' phase (as I call the first 45 minutes) was about half as long.

alf, keep us posted on how the whole not counting calories thing goes. I have no doubt you'll do fine because you have the right frame of mind going into this.

I started previewing the DVDs for the recovery week and the next phase of P90X yesterday. I'm cutting my recovery short (I'll start Phase 2 next Wednesday), so I'll probably only be able to do Core Synergistics once (that's the DVD I previewed yesterday). That looks like a good, solid workout, though, and I'm looking forward to doing it.

Still eating clean and all that boring stuff. Hope everybody is having a good day!

April, willkommen :drinker: :drinker: Did you think about us when you were in Garmisch P?? My favorite place in Germany!!! I am so glad you had a wonderful time with your family.

MK, 500 cals is not bad at all!! :drinker: :drinker: And losing inches!! GREAT!! :drinker: :drinker:

Stiring, how come you are not doing the entire recovery week?...I will miss not being on the same schedule as you. But that is ok... I still want to follow it as recommended and see what results I get.

My sweet potato craving was so intense I ended up making oven fried sweet potatoes. Sooooooooo delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yummy!!!! I saved some for tomorrow's lunch. I am going on a run later this evening. It is still hot out there but oh well...(93 degrees when I get out at 7:30pm Yikes :noway: )

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Tron: My son and husband went to District 9, Too weird for me. I like to go to chick flicks (about once every two years...) Miss our neighborhood video store that had great old movies. We always watched them on the installment plan: part one night, par tthe next night. Good for you to leave the oil laden food behind...

April: Welcome back! So glad it was great trip. Thank you for the kind words on my BIL. He is on the transplant step down unit. They did a sonogram today and decided that his arteries to the transplanted liver look great and they took him off of heprin. Brought him a big box of pills to start learning how to manage his meds on his own. His golf course where he is the superintendent had a benefit golf tournament for him today. www.carlspackler.org

Stiring: OK, I admit, I don't eat the leftovers from a restaurant meal. My husband takes them for lunch or son inhaled them when he was home. I went out to lunch today and ate 1 of 2 spinach enchiladas. Husband is eating the other for supper tonight.

Wore a suit today that I could not fit into when I bought it two years ago. Now it is getting too big. Yea!
Need to be more diligent with the exercise. Still seeking the replacement for river aerobics. Take care all!

BUENOS DIAS!!!!! :drinker: Legs/back and abs today for me!!! Done!!! :drinker: Going to work soon. :grumble: My grandbaby is coming in tonight until Sat evening. :drinker: Cant wait to see her. I saw her last in July. :grumble: We are planning to go to Sea World on Sat to splash in the pool. Have a great day!!! :flowerforyou: