calling out to women 50+

I'd like to start this thread specifically for women who are 50 or over.

As a 53 year-old woman, myself, I am finding new challenges, unexpected difficulties and wonderful insights on my path to getting to and maintaining my health, weight and body shape.

What seemed to work for me as little as five years ago doesn't work quite the same anymore. My body doesn't seem to respond to what I consider healthy eating habits and good workout schedules as it even in my middle to late 40s'.

SO, I am would to hear from those out there who are finding themselves in situations. OR NOT, maybe you can enlighten the rest of us as to how you keep your shape, or how you're getting into better shape and a healthier overall lifestyle.

Hopefully this will be the start of something wonderful, educational, funny-offer up jokes anecdotes, whatever!

LET'S GET STARTED!

Paul: Welcome and pull up a chair. No need to sit on the sidelines and read. I, like Alice, have no qualms about a man in the thread. You probably have thoughts and insights that we would never consider. Weight loss and health is the goal with all of us right?

Snow: We will start with the push ups together okay? I haven't done them in a long time. I lifted light weights yesterday. Low weights with high repetition. I am trying to get a baseline before moving up in strength. I am however, (starting today) going to make sure I do some abdominal exercises daily.

Bonnie: No new house projects yet.  10,000 steps huh? Whew! Okay, I'll try. Glad your physical was good. It is so much more important than the weight. We lose sight of that sometimes.

Max went to the doctor. He is now starting on blood pressure medicine. It will probably take a few medicines and dose changes to come up with the right fit for him, but he is very motivated and will get there. I am counting his calories for him and especially his sodium. He can't exercise until his pressures are lower. Hopefully by spring he will be in the gym with me. He was my wake up call. Health is so much more important than size and that stupid mirror.

Helene: So sorry for your cooks sister. I hold all of you in my thoughts and prayers. It seems you have your share of burden right now. We are here for you, express your hurts, frustrations, whatever you need anytime.

Bex: The buried tortoise cracked me up. The innocence of children. That never changes.

Poor Baloo looking for his new kitty. LOL He sounds like a really fun cat.

G is for grapes.

Peg

g is also for garlic, which according to this article:

"Medical studies have shown that garlic - the aromatic seasoning people either love or hate - can lower cholesterol, prevent dangerous blood clots, reduce blood pressure, prevent cancer, and protect against bacterial and fungal infections."

Assuming I have time, I will post a good recipe which has garlic and fennel for Bonnie to try.

awesome, frost!  :D  i think i really CAN do this if i try hard enough.  i'm probably gonna be really, really sore tomorrow.  lol  i keep trying one more time!  i use low weights too.  5 pounders & rarely 8.  i'm trying to switch over to the 8's slowly.  push ups are good for the abs, right?!  man...  i hope so.

oh thank god max has medicine for the bp now!  he should do fine with you there to help him.

yep!  g is for grapes!  ;)  and good fruit!  why is this game so hard for me...  LOL

Paul - well, you pass the cute requirement. just kidding...there is no requirement. LOL. You look sort of British? What's your "feminine side" on a scale of 1 - 100? In the meantime - welcome! You've got guts, man!

Peg- so glad Max got medicine!! and is willing to take it. Welcome to the pushup challenge LOL and you are right there is more to life than what that stupid scale says! I say we throw out the scale and the mirror!!

snow(and Peg if you forgot how LOL) I put it in your journal but I'll put it here in case others want to join in http://hundredpushups.com/

Go here if you need to see correct form - they have boy and girl push-ups in motion!

http://www.exrx.net  EDIT: find search and type in push up then you should find the page Sorry don't know why the link didn't work

Paul - maybe you would like to join in on the push up challenge!

robbie LOL I don't even know what fennel is - some sort of grain I assume LOL You'll have to tell me what it is so i'd know where to look for it in the grocery store

G is for goat cheese

Goat's milk cheese, goats' cheese, goat cheese or chèvre (French for goat) is cheese made from goat milk. In regions where domesticated goats are kept, many kinds of goat's milk cheeses are produced.

Although cow's milk and goat's milk have similar overall fat contents, the higher proportion of medium-chain fatty acids such as caproic, caprylic and capric acidin goat's milk contributes to the characteristic tart flavor of goat's milk cheese.  Goat cheese has greater quantities of potassium, vitamin A, thiamin, niacin and is rich in protein.

Thanks Bonnie for the hundredpushups web site. Your compassion overwhelms me. J/K it actually looks pretty cool and I thank you. I wasn't expecting that many reps though. But lets do it Snow!!!! Lets begin today with week 1.  Maybe while our backs are turned, Bonnie could find us a lovely 6billionsitupsinaday web site. LOL

Peg

G is for my nemesis: Grapefruit. It is a good source of Dietary Fiber and Potassium, and a very good source of Vitamin C. Low glycemic index despite most of the cals coming from sugars. I've hated it (even it's smell) all my life! Gosh I used to get mad when Mom would ruin a good fruit salad with it.

Paul, I sort of laughed at you checking in here (I have NO problem with it) but what exactly DID you expect from a forum titled "calling out to women..."? lol. The CC dating service? OK, now I'll be nice. We have a lot of fun on here that has NOTHING to do our gender then again, many of the issues we discuss have a lot to do with gender. Keep in mind that you may have to suffer through menopause with us!

Snow, there you go inspiring me again! Well, you and Bonnie! I haven't clicked on that link yet but I think I'm going to. My upper body is so weak it's not even funny. I guess it's not too surprising that I really hate push-ups. I couldn't so any last fall either but I worked on it until I was over 10. I'm not quite back to scratch but probably only about 5. Argh! Here we go again!

Robbie, garlic is the one 'good' food I have NO problem getting enough of. I throw it in almost everything!

Peg, I hope the bp medicine works out for Max. It's great that he's so motivated. I'd LOVE to help DH but he hasn't asked so I'll keep my big nose over here on my face.

Bonnie, Congrats on the good checkup and improved cholesterol. That is the most important part of the lifestyle. I sure hope your GS is feeling better soon! I'm impressed that level 2 is going so well. DD is going to try that next time. More snow tonight?

Helene, I'm so sorry to hear of that young woman's plight. I'm glad that there is at least family to take care of the children. Very sad. I've never eaten fennel except the seed as a seasoning. I may have to look into it. Nutition Data says, "25 cals in 1 cup. It is also a good source of Niacin, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Folate, Potassium and Manganese." Are you talking about the root?

I thought I'd done really well yesterday but when I logged the evening I wasn't so happy with it. I was under burn but barely. Grrr. It was my own stupid fault, I stopped at my daughter's apartment after work at my 2nd job and took BK pie for each of us. I hadn't eaten dinner so I thought the 300 cals would fit ok. Missed again! I REALLY wasn't happy with the scale this morning but I remembered I haven't changed the batteries yet. If I won't believe it when it's crazy low, I shouldn't believe it when it's high, right? lol.

Bonnie: fennel is a vegetable that has seeds used to make absinthe liquor (count on me to know about alcohol), and Florence fennel is a mild tasting version. Looks sort of like an onion with the bulb on steroids. Go to the website for a picture. Here's the recipe I promised for roasted chicken with fennel and garlic and eggplant.

Keep on top of those pushups (another web site about the importance of this exercise) and off that scale. Hope GS recovers quickly. And, yeah for that new lower cholesterol: strong, lean, healthy fit girl.

Chris: Keep those A's coming. How nice to have such a supportive husband. Mine also loves that Fava Bean comment from Silence of the Lambs. Also, I vote you keep that goofy scale; it plays right in to your delusions. LOL!

Snow: RE your comment, "why is this game so hard for me?" You can go to Google and plug in foods that start with __, then you will be a champ!

Helene: I will pick that book up; sounds like a good start.  When September 11 happened, I went into a depression, and The Art of Happiness helped me heal. So sorry to hear about Em Sang, but glad she has family support. Karma is indeed a burden, and I have often wondered whether my prior lives were worth it.

Bex: When I had midnight nursing for Chris, I watched Jackie Gleason for the first time. That was such an innocent era. If there has to be snowy travel, at least you had a friend to share with. And, you have given new meaning to the words "early grave." Is the "feminine side" measure scientifically based?

Paul: I am completely in favor of diversity, and you are welcome here, but did it occur to you that most of us are women because this thread is called "calling out to women 50+"? Seriously, it's a great group, and you'd be a fine addition for a fresh perspective. Oops, I just looked up and as I was writing this, Chris said the same thing. Great minds . . .

Alice: You don't whine. What are you talking about, Amazon woman?

Peg: You said, "Health is so much more important than size and that stupid mirror." I agree, but let's keep reminding one another. Glad Max has a solution, even though he has to take meds.

BEB, Carol, Phox, hello. Where are you?

I'm off to finish closet cleaning before charity pickup tomorrow. I know we covered this before, and I think the consensus was toss the "clown pants" (what's the opposite of "outgrown"... "undergrown"?), right?

First, I haven't said BIG CONGRATS to Beth for her weight loss.  You look fab, girlfriend!  I noticed in your photo that your right arm is a little more muscular than your left - are you right-handed?  My arms are the same way, and I am trying to even them out by doing slightly more exercise with my left side.  However, my left leg is stronger than my right, probably because my right knee is the worst one.

Bonnie, great going on your checkup and especially cholesterol.  I need to get mine checked soon.  I heard on NPR today that exercise raises our HDL, which is the good cholesterol.  Yeah, the nurse probably thinks you are slightly nuts for not getting on the scale, because most of their women patients in their 50s probably weigh a lot more than you 

Hey, I can't keep up with the food letter game, but I'm going to get in the z word while I'm thinking of it - zucchini.  I have had some in the fridge for 5 days and need to cook it tonight before it goes bad.

Snow, I am SO tickled you are doing pushups.  And Peg too! Wall pushups will not seem easy if you do a bunch of them.  Then start moving your feet further away from the wall.  Then do pushups against the kitchen counter, then your coffee table or edge of a bathtub as you get stronger.  I could do only 2 or 3 regular floor pushups when I started, now I can do 15 on a good day.  I still have a ways to go but I'm working on it.  Lately my trainer has been making me do pushups on top of an exercise ball.  Ugh!  (See, Robbie, I do whine!)

Chris, I hate grapefruit too.  One of the only fruits/veggies I don't like.  But I do love garlic and I don't care if I smell like it.

Helene, I'm so glad you are back.  Can hardly wait to find out where you are going next!  Your description of the weather in VN made me want to be there.  Lovely!

Carol, we will have to trade some kitty stories.  Our new cat Happy (#6) is going to take a LONG time to integrate into the household.  None of the other cats like him, and it upsets him when they growl and hiss.  Since he just got neutered, I'm sure he still has the tomcat urge to fight.  For now he is living in my son's room.

Where is BEB?  Did she go on vacation?  It's not like her to miss a day.

Alice

Original Post by moonduster:

Chris, I hate grapefruit too.  One of the only fruits/veggies I don't like.  But I do love garlic and I don't care if I smell like it.

It's good fresh squeezed with Vodka and ice and salted rim. You need to start drinking, Alice. ;-)

reb!  LOL  you're gonna scare him away...  :D  the cute test...  what's your feminine side...  i'm ducking so i don't get hit!

bonton, i clicked that link & got a pic of some guy.  hmmm...  he wasn't doing push ups.

frost!  that is sooooo funny!!!  there is a link on that site for 200 sit ups, i think.  LOL  i don't know about keeping up with anyone else, but i should be able to do this if i seriously try.  i can't believe we're doing this!  anyway, maybe we can rename this board to:  WonderWomen 50+  :D

oh wait...  sorry, paul...  ;)

chris, awesome!  hey, you're ahead of me...  i'm gonna do 100 someday.  hopefully within 6 weeks.  that's the program.  i can't believe you're weak, too!  i thought you guys were all so strong!  well, we will be!  yeah, you gotta change them batteries in that scale.  i'm surprised i don't have to yet, with all the weighing i do.

robbie?  are you guys cheating?  google...  geez!  :)  anyway, i love garlic, too.  i use garlic pepper on most things i eat.

moon, i know!  i can't believe i'm actually doing this, but i'm getting more & more excited about getting stronger now.  geez...  i swear i feel stronger already.  mind over matter, i guess.  :D  wow!  even you can only do 15?!  maybe this will be even harder than i thought...

good one, robbie!  LOL  that's the only way i'd ever have grapefruit...

G is for Grapes, and I LOVE grapes.  I don't think there is anyone who doesn't like them.  Some information on grapes:

A study that appeared in the Journal of Nutrition shows that eating fresh grapes may prevent the accumulation of harmful oxidized cholesterol as well as the development of atherosclerotic lesions. Naturally occurring antioxidants in fresh grapes known as polyphenols are believed to be responsible for this beneficial impact.

One polyphenol in particular, called resveratrol, has been shown to help protect against arterial wall damage by “bad” (LDL) cholesterol. Contained in the grape’s skin, resveratrol is found in grapes, grape juice, grape jelly, and wine.

Grapes may also be potent against viruses and tumors because of their high concentration of another polyphenol, tannin. A team of Canadian scientists discovered that grapes eliminated disease-forming viruses in test tubes. Tannin, a virus fighter, seems to be the reason. These tannins are absorbed directly into the intestinal tract where they do the most good.

Grapes also contain high levels of caffeic acid. This acid is a strong cancer fighting substance. Johanna Brandt tells us about her experience with grapes in her book The Grape Cure. She describes how she healed herself with a four-stage program, eating nothing but grapes. She even chewed the seeds.

Everyone take a look at my gallery for kitty pictures!

Feline news:  I am quite relieved to report that Baloo has calmed down and is back to normal.  He is now leaving the kitten alone for as much as 1/2 an hour at a time.  He has also stopped the neck biting.  The breeder told us that is a dominance game and I guess Baloo now feels secure in his position as 'top cat'.  They are so cute now, playing and sleeping together.  The only issue they are now having is that the kitten keeps trying to nurse on Baloo.  Someone needs to explain to him that Baloo is a boy too.

Paul:  You are welcome to join us as far as I am concerned as long as you can put up with the complaints about menopause.  Of course, if you are married, you probably hear complaints about menopause already.  If you don't, you will.  I suspect your complaint was meant more along the lines of "why is there a women over 50 group but nothing for men?".  Of course, I am not sure there are more than 5 men over 50 on the whole site!!  That is probably wrong, but there certainly aren't many and they aren't very talkative.  Women talking more than men?  What a suprise

Pushups:  I can do about 8 girl pushups properly and that is after a year of work on upper body strength.  That is sad, but I couldn't even do one when I started either, so I don't feel too bad.   I will join you on this push-up program too.  I really need to work on upper body strength as well.  Snow: I second the pushups against counters and coffee tables for those who have trouble with doing them on the ground.  That is how I started out.

Peg: I am glad to hear that Max is taking his health seriously.  Why is it so hard to get men to do that?  They act like taking care of themselves is wimpy or something.  My husband is finally decided to be serious about weight, but naturally he can't join this site and log calories.  He is "keeping a running estimate in his head".  We all know how well that works.  At least he is paying a little attention to calories.  It is better than nothing.

Bonton:  Why won't you, of all people, get on the scale at the doctors office?  There is nothing wrong with your weight!  I could see it if you weighed as much as I do and know they should tell you to lose, but you would be complimented.

BEB:  Where are you?  We are getting worried here...

Original Post by clharr:
G is for Grapes, and I LOVE grapes.  I don't think there is anyone who doesn't like them.

Everyone take a look at my gallery for kitty pictures!

Carol, I did look, and they are just beautiful. Makes me reconsider being a dog person. Are they on a pinball machine in the last pic?

I like grapes a lot, especially fermented and bottled.

Everyone:  Here's a cool website that calculates calories burned by gender, time and heart rate.

TO ALL sorry that link to the animated push up did not work but it is on that website - I changed the link to the home page and you can search out the push-up and other exercises if you want - they're all animated so you know how to do them!

Carol Just as I was eating my snack of grapes I read your post LOL I knew there was a good reason to eat them! AND iI have to agree with robbie LOL I like them fermented and bottled!! LOL      I have this thing in my head - you know the numbers game - I don't like to weigh over a certain amount and I am beyond it and then some. I need to get over it... Good for you 8 push-ups! Glad you're joining in!

BEB is having computer issues. She's OK.

Yay! for grapes fermented style!

Here i am, sorry!!, ...boy....nice to be be missed, ihad a huge crash with my computer again.......i wanted to cry...have to restore all the way from the darn beginning, alot of good it is to have a hard copy back up or on another partition when i can't get my screen on, i hit every key for hours trying to get it up, to no avail....finally at about 2am decided to turn it on for one last crack last night and i don't know what combination of keys i banged but it started up and right into a restore...wouldn't give me an option of going back a day or 2 no....had to be from the time moses walked across water!!....so i have been putting all my programs on, thankgod i had a bkup on a memory stick for my 1200 songs AND 500 PICS to put them on one by one would have been "no way" for me....almost there now, but now my music won't play through the windows media player...grrrr....phew...another problem for another day!

Gone for a couple days and the posts...wow....sweet!!

I was so upset for 2 reasons, 1- that you all wouldn't know what happened to me...sorry...see i told you we should exchange numbers or something, i wanted to get back on here to my friends, boy i have missed you guys, i realized 2- just how addicted i am to my computer....the idea of being cut off from the world, my friends, and my bank account, lol....well it was an AWFUL FEELING, i'll tell you.  The power fluctuated when i was trying to fix my webcam and then the whole thing just crashed....anyway

I haven't got the time now to read all the entries but i did get as far as reading that Helene is back...good

Robbie you had posted some recipes the lst few days for thai shrimp etc would you mind posting them again for me so i can save them???  telling me the posts are so i can save them, eggplant, chicken and shrimp??? Here or in my journal..if not to much trouble!!

Chris,Robbie, Helene, Bonny are all up 3lbs, Beth is delivering another baby and snow is buriing gerbals, Peg had an interesting funeral and Max is taking bl.pr. pills, Carol has finally tamed her baboo, AND A FEW OF YOU WANT TO KILL Jillian lol... hows that for skim reading??  Helene love those quilts and especially that pretty blue pot holder..my favorite color is blue....aqau

Sorry i missed all the action....poor Robbie was looking for her space match....me...lol...i will have to read all these entries a little deeper.

Hello Paul, Your welcome here, nice picture of yourself, tell us a little bit??..If you can find room, hehehe

I want you all to know although i couldn't get to you for the last 2 days, You all, every one of you were on my mind constantly, i wanted so much to talk to you and hear your posts, and i couldn't get to you...that was sad....i was counting my calories (in my Head) couldn't get on my computer either for that..wha.  So i will have to be more careful in the future when i am pushing buttons, that it isn't during a power fluct....anyway....i'm so glad i am back.

F is for......xxxx...edit=.........FAD UP!!!!!!!!!  I don't swear...lol....WILL YOU GIVE ME THAT ONE??.....well you know considering what i have gone through the last 24 hours, it's alot of work putting your life back on the computer, like i said i have backups on disk, memory stick but what good are they if you can't get past the blank screen eh???????  There has to be a dvd or cd out there that will wake your system and  take your system back only a couple days..........now my music is screwed up limewire has no files now, like starting from scatch this is the 3rd time i did something since i bought it July 07............oh well....i'm over it..........lol...

Edit:**************************************?? ?????

I have only had 2 hours sleep, my back and shoulder are killing me, so i will rest now, and i will catch up on the intimate details of all your posts tomorrow..........

I sure missed you all, i am SO GLAD TO BE BACK!!, thanks for missing me,  that was sweet, Hi Helene, nice to have you back too!!

Oh you guys were on G G is for gizerbunny...just kidding....guacomoli...facts to follow.

Well i would like to join in on the challenge but my shoulder the way it is....can't....did a really good workout tonight though watching biggest loser..1100 calories burned 2 hours of riding, 45 km, yahoo...!!  dummbells and sit ups....i heard a darn rip again in my shoulder but it IS moving a little better, except for sudden acute pains...??, when i move wrong!

I KNOW THAT I CAN'T BE WITH YOU TODAY, AS I HAVE MISSED TO MUCH, BUT PLEASE GIRLS WATCH """BIGGEST LOSER""" TONIGHT, AT 8PM, AND I WILL HELP YOU KILL JILLIAN OKAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.....MISSED YOU ALL!!  I like Jillian...hehe

Later............a not very tired gizerbunny.....lol..........beb

BEB - babe, you need a MAC. They don't know what a crash is.

Sweety..it's not my laptop, it's the loose nut behind the wheel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!hehehe  Fixed my music location file problem...learn something new everyday.

That Joelle doesn't even look winded after that workout, i wish she had Jillian but today boy was Bob furious eh? woohoo!!

Poor Danny on bigest loser!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is so good!!...can you all please post the link for your recips you posted this last week again, since i don't have them now???  I really liked those 3 of Robbie and i thing Bonny or Carol or Chris had one too right???...Pleasemy laptop eat them!!

Edit: HI girls, i am back exercising tonight with a vengence, yup BL was on earlier and i am going to ride that bike for 90 minutes or 800 calories, there is a snow storm outside and i ordered KFC in for KYle and i only 10 peices though so he'll eat most of them i will have 3....at what 300 calories each theres my days cal. count....did you all watch BL tonight that Joelle should have gone home....don't you just want to kick her butt.

When Bob said he was possessed by Jilllian i almost feel off my bike, never did rest except for eating, but i will sleep good tonight...u know it's actually a little fun having to restore teaches me somethng new everytime....haha

Well if i eat 1200 and burn 1900/day have a-700 deficit i seem to lose more then if i ate 1500 and had burned 2200 -700 deficit , you would think it would be the same but event hough we may be burning the same the bottom line is we are actually eating more of everything, right....

Bonny did you not take your measurements way back when you started your cal. counting??  Everyone is gaining weight....got to be muscle guys..!!..lol..and with Jillian i think she has been doing alot of shoulder lifts dumbbells straight out at the sides try not to lift more then 10lbs though 2lb to start.....and 3x10 each........well back to riding.......

Oh Helene loved those pictures of your home and garden, yard, i can see why it will be difficult to give this up, however switzerland in itself is gorgeous too isn't it??......pump...pumpp.....fit and healthy....healthy and fit

HEALTHY AND FIT...........HEALTHY AND FIT.....LOL

Chris love your picture, and all your pics girls............still have a little reading to do...........tomorrow is G....or did i miss it.........G...hummmm

Hello all!

I am trying to see through tears here, so I hope I don't make too many typos... Just saw Em Hang and we talked about Em Sang, and I could see she didn't want to cry, and neither did I, so we just parted, both unable to talk further. Why am I such a "coeur d'artichaut"? (artichoke heart, a French expression meaning your heart is too tender; food is never far in the French mind...). She cried because I gave her money, while I cried because money seems so absurd, but I guess it's better than nothing... There I go again. Need to wipe, sorry...

Artichoke is a good A word! It's used for purifying the blood in spring time as it is a "choledoque" (activates and helps to purge the gall bladder). Here in Vietnam we drink the tea from the dried shredded fruit for the same purpose (it's sweet and rather nice, not what you would expect from the fresh version).

B would be for blueberries: I like them fresh on plain unsweetened yogurt, with raspberries. We get them fresh the whole year because they are cultivated in Da Lat (together with strawberries and raspberries).

C would be for (Swiss) chard! I like to cook the green part in just a little bit of oil with garlic, and the white "meatier" part as a gratin, with bechamelle (white sauce) and cheese...

D for dandelion! We harvest it when it's very young and tender, right at the beginning of spring, and make it into a salad with slices of hard boiled egg and chips of bacon... It's very rich in minerals and is also a "liver cleanser".  And did you know that the word dandelion comes from dent-de-lion (danh-duh-lee-onh), its French name? It means lion's tooth, because of the leaves shape.

E is for endive. For those who do not know what endive is, it is of the same family as chicory. It is white with some yellow on the edge of leaves. It's rather bitter and I used to hate it as a child. It can be eaten both cooked and raw, but I only like it raw, as a salad with a mustard sauce. It's very high in vitamin C and very low in calories (about 10 for 100g).

Thank you Robbie for the explanations and site about fennel. It's a very common vegetable in France and Italy, and I didn't know it was not so in the US. It's not a root, Chris, it's more like a bunch of celery on steroids (thanks Robbie for the image!!!). It's of the same family as anise, cumin and pimpernel. For the record, it is used to flavour absinth, but is not of the same family as that plant, which is very bitter in taste. Absinth was banned until recently, because its toxicity caused people to become homicidal - Van Gogh cut his own ear to punish himself after attempting to kill his friend Verlaine in an absinth-induced delirium... Now they relented on the ban because we actually know how to remove the toxic substance that makes you go crazy, so do not worry about getting murderous if you like the stuff.

G is for garlic all right, and grapes too (but be careful because grapes have a very high glycemic index, and also make your face look rounder!!! In Italy we call it the "vintage season glow!" LOL).  But since we have to add to this list rather than just approve of it, I'll say Ginger! I like ginger tea, ginger in my food, drinks and garden. It's a potent detoxicant. Old ginger (gold in colour) is stronger. Fresh ginger (white and pink) more fragrant. You can use it when you feel cold, when you have had a heavy meal, or when you have a sore throat as it is also a decongestant, but a word of caution: it's "heaty", so do not use it if you are prone to heartburn. It's also a blood cleanser. I make my ginger tea with 1/4 tsp powdered ginger in a cup of hot water. You can sweeten it with honey if you like, but I prefer shredded licorice root.

It's another gorgeous day. I am so lucky to be able to enjoy the best season before I leave!!! I'll move just before the heat returns...

Thank you all for the support. Thank you Bonnie for the push-ups site. I think I am going to give it a try now that my shoulder is feeling so much better. From a bunch of angry dragons I have graduated to a small nest of geckos. It's not totally over, but such a huge improvement I know it's just matter of time before I get rid of that pesky shoulder pain. I am sorry to hear BEB is still in pain. Maybe that would be a case of making a trip to Vietnam, combined with holidays on the beach!!! LOL During last treatment, a week ago, my chiropractor hit the "motherboard" as he called it. It was sooo painful... And I was sick for two days after that - because of the released toxins - with headache, nausea, upset stomach, drowsiness. Pierre could hardly wake me up in the morning, no matter how much he shook me, and I would go back to sleep if he didn't keep at it, a thing that NEVER happens to me... I was in much pain too, but since Saturday it has cleared and, as I said, there are only geckos left there now... Can't wait to be able to go back to push-ups, weight lifting and maybe even BADMINTON !!!

Welcome Paul. I read once that women's clubs, contrary to men's clubs, are rarely closed to men. It's no use setting that rule, because they never come anyway, mostly because they feel uncomfortable and unprotected. Women that are alone in a men's club usually fare much better. We'll see with you if the rumours men have changed are true!!! And Rebbex, you better behave, because we are many watching you...

Snow, maybe I should wait to be as light as you are before I go into push-ups... Just the thought of my bottom in the middle of my prone body is a challenge in itself... I think I'll start with the wall thinggie!

Have a great day everyone!

Helene in Saigon, who always has to wait so long to hear from her friends...

Helene - I think Paul's feminine side score must be too low to post because I seem to have scared him off, as Snow suggested I would! No biggie. Many people wander (stumble) in here and traipse out the other door never to be seen or heard from again.

Robbie - no science base - just a gut instinct that one has for the presence or lack of testosterone in volume. We could probably all hazard a guess at our "masculine side" on a scale of 1 - 100. Like, how adept are you at changing the oil in your car? Me - zero on that one!!