age 45-50 group. Anyone interested?

I have looked for twins and poked around other groups without finding a real support group.

I am 48, 5'5", SW 151, CW 134, GW 128

I am the school teaching mother of three in their upper teens, wife of my 3 lbs from goal hubby.

SO...

Anyone interested?

This is the group for me! Can I join too?

 I'm 49 and have kids 24, 21 and 19, all moved out. I've been married for a little over a year to the man of my dreams.  I'm 5'6" and started this diet last Monday at 185, the heaviest I've been since I was pregnant with my last child.  This morning I weighed in at 179.  My goal is 130, a weight I managed to reach 4 years ago, but then got derailed for a lot of reasons.  I'm hoping it won't be too much harder this time since I'm 4 years older, but...  I'm eating 1200 calories a day, have a sedentary job, but am doing cardio 3 times a day - morning, lunch and after work.  No resistance yet - I always gain weight right away when I start resistance training and I get discouraged and give up.  But that'll be next!

I'm excited about doing this with group support - I've always been a loner before and I think that may be why I've had so many failed attempts. I'm going to tune into moral support this time!

Hi Chris - how nice: another newbee :) Your pattern is utterly reckognizable, the activity-thing and the doing-it-on-your-own-thing. So WELCOME!

About logging in and keeping track - it might change later on, but for now I'm spending some time after every meal tagging what I ate, rather time consuming. But interesting, as part of the process.

Just been finishing a sword-sleeve. My daugthers and I are ging to Castle-fest on Friday, and my youngest suddenly just could not go without her sword, properly carried of course. Dressing-up isn't my thing, but in order to fit in, I will carry my fiercely looking dragon on my shoulder (stuffed (the dragon), but don't tell anybody!). My oldest is going with her friends, won't be seeing much of her - we just had one of the moments where that's better for both of us: guess what my new nickname is: you got it: dragonlady.

So now I'll get on with figuring out how my dragon will stop falling off my shoulder, hmmmm - maybe one of those drinks will inspire! :) 

PS. Having almost been sold for the price of 16 camels when I was young, I have a thing about camels, scary animals (bad backpack-holiday in Egypt and yes, great stories) - but the idea of one pulling your crown --- lol

Ok newbie girls! First of all hi Chris ummmmm Superwoman..??!! I started out at just 9 pounds shy of your weight and am now at 129-130 and I AM GETTING READY TO BE BRAVE enough to send a couple of pictures of me taken this past week.....I think i am becoming TOO something because I think I look a little HEAVY (these are the first pix in a few years) but my friends and family tell me I do not look fat or bad. I AM serious. I know i usually joke but I am very self consciense (msp teachers?) of how I look all the time and to see these pictures makes me even more so. I am going to add my 5 cat kids the best I can. I am having a rum and diet coke as we speak and my neighbor is coming up to assist me in this REVEAL. I would just as soon keep the scardy cat picture and leave reality to ALL of your imaginations!! So be nice but please be honest for what you have to work with ok ladies??? Anyway welcome to SUPERWOMAN and in just a bit there will be actual pictures FINALLY of the rambling "CANTLOSE CONNIECAT" for all the world to critique!     Connie

Alright Connie.....Where are the pictures???? HUH????  Too many rum and cokes??? lol :D  Waiting.......waiting.........still waiting!!! hahahaha

Welcome Chris!  I thnk we've all been down the "derailed" path.  It's so much better to have support and people to talk you through the tough times. I love CC!! 

This morning I'm down another pound. I'm not gonna question this spurt of weight loss, I'm just gonna take it as it comes!  But I'm so close to being out tof the 170's now! 174.0 now!!!  I'm just so darn happy! :D

See ya 'all tomorrow!

Hey Connie, unless you have whiskers, your picture isn't up! Don't be shy, we'll love you even if you have three eyes, a broken nose, and no teeth!

Welcome Chris, or should I say SW? Connie does have a flair for the nicknames! You sound like you are off to a good start! 6 lbs is an accomplishment. Have you put in all your info on CC? I ask because 1200 cal with all that cardio(good for you on working out!) seems like it might not be enough enough calories...I don't want to rain on any parades, its just that I spent a month in plateau hades when I wasn't eating enough, so I am extra paranoid about the dreaded starvation mode. I agree completely that working together is more effective, at least it sure has been for me. I have learned so much from everyone on CC, especially this great bunch of ladies!

Tru, I found that the posting became much quicker as time went on. A sword-sleeve!? Wow, not a thing I think I have ever had call to make! Do tell us about Castle-fest! It sounds very middle ages and European! I wear a stuffed parrot (he is actually a"Beanie Baby", remember them?)on my shoulder when I teach about the pirates-safety pins work pretty well, but I have to have firm clothing like a jacket underneath or he just flops over! lol

G'nite, Alylou

Tammy! your post showed up as I was posting too! congrats again, and indeed do be happy!

It seems that my neighbor was afraid.....very afraid....he never showed......ummmm that should tell u all ....he is a computer geek/nerd/person soooooo...damn the pix are not that bad!!!!!! Anyway IF i forgive him I guess it will be tomorrow...um now today...yes, tooooooo many rum and diet cokes at this point but not that it actually stopped me from the pix if I coulda showed them and now I may lose my nerve.....no really the $#%hole was supposed to be here 4 hours ago! Maybe one of you can guide me through it I have never had a picture cd sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo IT is a BIG deal to Conniecat the simpleton....Love u guys and I will show you the pix later I promise!!    Conniecat<notice the angelic emoticon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! < those were for you Aly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just KNEW this forum was the place to be 

Ladies I so much admire you all for getting on those scales, I just hate it and do it only when I'n positively sure things haven't gone worse since the last time... No seriously, I refuse to be confronted with my weight more than once every fourthnight or so, - because it's frustrating - and when I'm frustrated I eat. Baaaad circle... Oh and I can so relate to your feelings about the pictures, but remember that people see YOU, not any odd detail that you might not quite approve of. So I'll bet they're great and I'm looking forward to admiring you. 9 cats? Wauw, sounds cosy 

Castlefest - I'll be dressed as the viking-woman I descend from (being Danish and all), - the dragon is the extra touch, she's a beautiful green animal with purple wings - and she never disagrees with me . 

Tru...5...5..... Please as much as I love my babies don't give me 4 more! LOL I'm slightly upset with my neighbor so I will attempt again to get the pix up myself. It keeps saying there are no photos to view and I have downloaded even the cvs version and now it has all of my cat pictures but none of the pictures from the roll that I had put on the cd?? I would normally say "hey I am not of the computer savy generation" but ahem all of you are that same generation so... I am working on it. Be patient! It really isn't worth giving a second thought to honestly but I said I would have it on here so eventually I will! Wish me luck! Later ladies.   Connie

Hello -

Here I am again. Welcome to Chris, Tru and Lucy. It has taken me a few days to get back to reality from vacation. First, of course, ALL that laundry, and then lots of other things to catch up on. My daughter bought her first car (actually we bought it --with HER money-- while she was away at camp) so I had to take her to do the license/registration stuff. Then she started rehearsals with her school marching band, and I'm the band booster president, so lots to do with that. And, today, just to keep things interesting around here - my son (12 y.o.) is getting braces. I think he is dreading it - and trying to avoid the idea. As I've mentioned ages ago, he has some anxiety issues, so this might not be too good a day around here. Thoughts and prayers welcome.

I have been reading everyone's posts with great interest. I just haven't been writing for awhile. Where are Betsy and Jenny? Anyone know? Betsy must be back from China by now.

Connie - I know you are a beautiful person and we can't wait to see those pics if you can get them to cooperate. I wish I could help with the techie stuff.

Aly - Hope you are relaxing on the dock. Wish I could've driven up to see you while in the midwest. How's your daughter, fully recovered from the wisdom teeth?

Momo - congrats on getting back on the losing track. It is so frustrating to see the scale inch upwards, but then, WOW, suddenly it starts coming down. You are doing so great. You've zoomed past me.

Suz - Happy belated birthday.

Axe - love your new picture. Still dancing? good for you. The only dancing I do is around the house with a mop or vacuum. (or sometimes a horrible latin dance during one of my exercise videos)

Skn - I've lost track - are you back from N'awlins or just going? My husband and I love 'the big easy'. Red beans and rice, po'boys, and those hot and tasty beignets - ahhh, jazz and food - what could be better?

Apologies to anyone I've missed. You are all in my thoughts so often.

And - as promised, and reminded by Aly, one funny vacation story for you: We were at Chicago's Navy Pier (tourist-filled place) eating at the Bubba Gump's restaurant. In case you don't know, the restaurant is based on the Forrest Gump movie. So, our waitress - very young- starts "quizzing" us with trivia from the movie. My parents, who are 77 and  79, have never seen the movie, but as we are preparing to leave, my Dad decides to corner the waitress and start asking her trivia questions about things from his youth in Chicago. Poor thing - there she is dirty dishes in hand, trying to be a good natured soul, and my Dad is asking her "what was the name of the park next to the Pilsen Brewery in Chicago?" When she says "I give up" does he give her the answer? NO! He adds another fact to his trivia question and keeps pursuing it. After the 3rd round of this, and having been abandoned by the rest of the family, I put my hand on Dad's back, propelled him to the door, apologizing to the waitress. I'm sure she's thinking - "what an old codger, who knows the name of some city park that he played at in the 1930s".

OK - my novel is done for today. Sorry for the length of the post. I'll try to write more often and less words now that I'm back in the loop.   BYE!  Sue

Hey everyone! Thanks for the welcome.  Aly, I've wondered about the 1200 calories too, but that's what worked for me last time.  And, I've plugged in the numbers in several different online calculators and they all say 1200 is the ticket. I'm going to stick with my plan for a month and see what happens. Believe me, I'm all for eating more!!! And, although I'm doing cardio 3x a day, I'm only burning about 350 calories through concentrated exercise.  So far, I'm not feeling too drained.

The hardest part for me is the social stuff.  There are a couple of girls I used to go to lunch with at least 2 - 3 times a week.  I've politely told them once a week is my limit now, but it's still soooo tempting to choose a sandwich instead of a salad off the menu, or eat the WHOLE plate of pineapple fried rice instead of just a cup (377 calories in a cup - eek!)  Last night, after church we had a snack night.  I brought fruit, but everyone else brought brownies, fried chicken, crackers and salmon cream cheese (YUM!) and other stuff ridiculously off my diet.  While my husband is gobbling down fried chicken and several brownies and drinking coke, and even the skinny ladies are eating the junk, I'm sticking to 3 little crackers with a tiny dollop of the salmon cream cheese and a cup's worth of fresh fruit. It still put me over my daily calorie intake by almost 200 calories.  (A good reason to plan on 1200 - it gives me a little wiggle room for these kind of events!)  How do you all deal with the depression of seeing others even our age able to eat whatever they want and never gain an ounce, knowing that you will probably NEVER be able to eat another piece of cheesecake in your life?

Hi to all!

I have a charming new hang out for when a rainy day or two hits...little cafe run by a hardworking Finnish family with great coffee and free high speed wireless!

Sue, glad to see you back in the swing of things. Your dad sounds like a hoot...at least from my perspective! Will keep your anxious one in mind today! Yes daughter is recovered, she and her sister are working 16 hours a day for 8 days for the air show in Oshkosh...you say the guy with the jet packs in the news? That was Oshkosh..600,000 people have showed up for the show! they sell pop and ice cream during the day and work security during the night! Oh to be young and full of energy!

Connie, I just uploaded a new, at goal, pict of me...but the system gave me trouble and would not upload a second pict of the cabin I was going to put up...so???? You say you saved your photos on your computer, do you know where? my pictures? when in the gallery-upload then hit the browse if you know the location you should be able to add the file and then hit upload. What happened with my cabin pict is it would not do the final upload...said error contact the system administrator.. thats about as much help as I can give!

Tru, that sounds like fun, tell us what kind of activities you do at the fest, so interesting!

gotta run, place is filling up and I feel guilty keeping a table!Alylou

EDIT: I keep posting just as someone else is...so I was not ignoring you Chris, you weren't there when I started this post! I'm glad you are secure with your #, if several tools tell you the same thing..I trust it too! as for the cheesecake thing, I thought there were somethings like that, that I had seen my last snickers bar, for example, but maintenance is different. with planning you can eat everything, just not all at once! A

My 12 year old son is not a happy camper today. Braces went on, his spirits went down. I'm trying to tell him all the right things and keep up a happy demeanor, but I feel bad for him. I know he'll adapt in a few days or so. He was so sad to have to get rid of all the "no-no" foods (particularly hard candies like Jolly Ranchers and Lemonheads which are his favorites).

Sign me, "SortaSadMom" Sue

Didn't lose a pound today....after the 3 slices of pepperoni pizza last night! hehehe  Thought I'd see a gain, but didn't! So I'm happy with that. Looking forward to tomorrow's weigh in after drinking so much water that I almost peed my pants at the grocery store! I rushed out of there after 20 minutes! lol  Ayone else drink alot of water and have had that happen?

But now-a-days, I can't put off going to the bathroom when the urge hits me! lol 

justamom ~ my son had braces for 2 1/2 yrs and it was hard on him at first too. Having to give up those hard candies were the toughest. Then there was no corn on the cob either and he wasn't happy about having his corn cut off! lol

chris ~ I eat my cheesecake! Just not a big slice and only about everyother month! But when I hit maintain mode, I'm gonna have me a big slice! lol

aly ~ Isn't it nice to find a new hangout spot? I'm always looking for new places!

It's a million degrees here in Europe at the moment, with a humidity that gives everybody "long toes" - one of my favourite Dutch expressions: it means - easily annoyed (so look out, I've got long toes these days, don't step on them...) I hate feeling like that, I'm basically a happy and friendly person  And don't say it's ok to feel pissed off once in a while, even though it's true - it's just that little things don't usually get me worked up and it's such a waste of my energy.

So I'm keeping on eye on the weatherforecast, it's supposed to get better tomorrow - luckily, because I'm planning to enjoy the Castlefest. As I'm not one for dressing up, I'm working on the little things besides of course my she-dragon... bag in the belt and stuff like that. And my favourite little bagback turns out to be too small for water and lunch and stuff - so I'm making a new and bigger one using cut up plasticbags as yarn  Maybe that's what I'll do today, get inside out of the sun, put on and old movie and finish my bag. Maybe my long toes will be relatively safe then.

I had braces and it seriously wasn't much fun, so for our oldest we asked our dentist if it was really needed - he said no, no medical or dentical reasons. Now I'm hoping that the younger one can avoid it too. So my advice, justamom - tell him you know it isn't fun. The worst is when people say - ah it's not that bad or it'll get better soon - cause it is and it won't. It hurts and they're in the way and you get extra work keeping them clean and you can't even have hard cany any more. Poor kid - and poor mom, it is so hard to watch your kid feel bad. Good to know if he's not that communicative: besides the pain in the mouth you get a headache from braces, specially every time they tighten them. It takes 24-48 hours for your mouth to get used to - not having to chew is a relief (soup, egg, only soft bread etc). Good luck.

Cantlose - I'm so sorry about the 9 kats, I wonder where they came from

Alylou - about the hanging out, I love that too! I live in a village nearby a small town in the Netherlands - and there you have it: it's just not part of the culture here. So when go to big cities I tend to end up in a search for good places to hang out.

Ok girls heres the latest story on the pictures! I had a guy on line helping me and he was sooooo sweet and an absolute SAINT with patience...long story short it still didn't work BUT my neighbor has promised to come over this afternoon so I will hopefully have them up sometime this evening! OK? Now next...menopause....I haven't had but one period in 5 years UNTIL this a.m. Yes the curse is back with a vengance! Anyone on here had this happen to them? One more note I am going to get my hair cut today so the pictures you get will be the long hair version and I will try again to get someone to take a picture of the new version later! THEN I will have to have opinions on if I screwed up! LOL Tru- no problem about the 9 CATS cause I feed half the world outside as well! LOL! Hi to everybody else will chat tonight when I get home! Have a fat free day!        ; Connie 

ooooohh, Connie, I FEEL for you!  That hasn't happend to me, but I did have a spotting period a few months ago after two years of freedom.  I didn't think too much of it, but when I mentioned it in passing to a family doctor, she told me to get my hiney to my gynecologist.  Turns out if you do that after being in true menopause, it could be a serious problem.  My gynecologist did a biopsy and took blood tests to confirm I was in menopause, which I am fully.  Happily, nothing was wrong and it was just a fluke, but if you aren't seeing your gynecologist regularly, I hope you make an appointment just to be sure!

Back up a pound this morning, to 180.  I know not to worry about a little fluctuation, but it is still frustrating when I think about all the self-denial and agonizing exercise I've been faithfully doing.  I HATE to exercise.  Everyone says, find something you enjoy.  Well, what if you don't enjoy ANYTHING?  At least, nothing strenuous enough to count?  Exercise literally feels like torture to me.  This morning I could only bring myself to walk once around the track.  I'll go for it again later, but I'm not looking forward to it.  I could fast myself skinny with more pleasure than exercising...  <sigh>

Ahh - menopause, braces and exercises - OH MY (Much worse than lions, tigers and bears).

My braces-boy had a rough first night. Up at 2 Am and 5 AM with pain. I know it will just take time, but my "mom-guilt" is strong and makes me feel that this is somehow "my fault". Thanks for all your kind words and understanding.

Hmm . menopause - my gyn said I was "way too young" but I haven't had a period since last December. I go for a check-up next month, we'll see what she says then. I started having hot flashes at 43 and still have them now, 2 years later. No night sweats though (at least not Y-E-T)

Superwoman Chris - exercise has been tough for me too. I started walking last spring (when it was still cool enough here in AZ to be out doors) and it really became important to me.  I walked the same route each time, trying to increase my distance and lower my time, and something about the routine was calming and also helped my clear my head. Anyway, all that vanished with 100 degree days, and so, with some prompting from a friend I joined a gym. NEVER did I think I would do such a thing. I was SOOO intimidated. But, I do enjoy it now. AND, I am certain it helps make the weight loss easier and more consistent. You mentioned the idea of "strenuous" - you know, I think ANYTHING that gets you moving is beneficial. I wish you luck in finding something that seems at least a little fun.

Aly - love your new picture, you slim/trim gal, you. Awesome! I saw the jet-pack guy you mentioned too. Sounds like OshKosh is the place to be right now.

Connie - waiting to see your pic, too. Sorry for all the techie trouble.

Truus- I feel your pain about the heat. We aren't too humid right now but it is supposed to be 110 or so today in AZ. Hope you and your dragon survive the weather.

Momo - You have been doing so well. I agree with you about the small indulgences (cheesecake, etc). I have a small piece of dessert every Monday with a group of girlfriends; it wouldn't be the same if they ate and I munched on a sugar free popsicle or something like that.

Bye all, Sue

Sue ~ I know about the guilt with the braces. I hope they feel better soon for him. I had braces too and know about the headaches. I had the bridge expander too before the braces. For those who don't know, that's a thing they put in the roof of your mouth and you take a little "key" and you "turn" the expander a little each day. It widens your bridge.

At least now they have different color bands they can put on them and the braces are alot smaller. I had those big ones that took up your whole tooth! lol

menopause.....I surely can't wait!  I'm at the stage where I'm considered premenopausal. Whatever that means! I skip like 2 or 3 months sometimes. But no night sweats or feeling claustrophobic (like my mom did) at night. I'm definitely not one of those women who will get all upset about it. I can't wait for the day for the dr to say I'm there! lol  :D

Well, after today I don't know when I'll be back. Having issues here and may need to take some time away. I'll come back as soon as I can though! Promise!

Ya'all take care! :)

HI

Can I join you guys? I'm pretty new at both this CC and at forums but I could sure use some friends to help me along.

I'm 46. I'm 5'4"and I  weigh 145 and I'd like to weigh 130. I love to eat and I'm really trying hard to eat less because I would really like to be comfortable in my clothes again.

So many people are saying they're eating 1200 calories per day. Let me know how you do it? I'm recording my calories and I always seem to be at or around 2000. Of course, I just started but I'd like to see results to get motivated.

Jan