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!

congrats bonton on the 4.8!  :D  that's pretty cool!  my scale has .2 increments.  i love it!  if i'm 137.8, then i call it 137.  lol

i was cleaning the house today & i see that i have lots of stuff to toss there, too.  it's not just clothes.  :(  oh well...  i gotta just start tossing stuff & let it go!

Hello everyone!

Scale was good to me this morning (lost 1.5 of the two extra lbs, thus confirming my suspicion it was just water...), so I am back on track. Lost 2 kg so far since my last visitors left at the beginning of May (that's 4.4 lbs). A lot of it was bloating (restaurant food here is full of msg and salt) but still. Took me almost a month to repair the damage...

Snow! Have I started a hunt for the useless and redundant in your home too? I would be so glad to have contributed to a better life for you!!! Whenever I throw something in the dustbin I imagine it's an oz of bulk around my middle... Doesn't change much on the scale but it sure makes me feel better inside... LOL

Today is Saturday, so I don't go walking with my friends, because husbands are home and when our lords and masters are around, we dutiful ladies disappear from the face of the earth... Just joking. Hubby went three times to Bangkok this month, and he is due there again next week (talk of saving energy...), so every minute is precious. He usually plays tennis with a friend at the country club, so we have taken the habit of walking there instead of asking the driver to bring us with the car (yes, driver, because we are not allowed to drive here, company policy - no expat does, it's not only our company: too many accidents and too many liabilities...). The club is almost 4 miles from our house, so it's good exercise. This morning it took us just 55 minutes, so we were going at a good clip.

Robbie, I didn't say there was a genetic destiny. I was just hoping that what we are all going through will pass as our raging hormones (!!!) quiet down... It's wishful thinking mainly, no scientific certitude... After all, the hot flashes and uneven moods do pass, so maybe some of the non-sensical weight gain too? One can always dream...

I am planning to do more sorting and tossing today. Good luck on yours, snow, and on the course for you Bonton...

Have a very nice day all.

Helene

yep!  you sure did get me started!  LOL  i need to wait til tuesday though, because i have company thru monday.

they might think i'm weird...  tossing everything!  :D  i hope i can do it though...  i'll probably end up hiding it somewhere...

I love the conversation about clearing out clutter and losing weight. It is a wonderful idea to simplify by streamlining our homes and diets. Junk food really is clutter and though I know you can gain weight eating healthy food (been there, done that) my overeating healthy stuff was usually triggered by something unhealthy.

This morning I was looking for an outfil until I remembered I gave it away because it was too small. I figured I'd never fit it again and now, wonders of wonders, I would. I'm having more trouble getting rid of the larger outfits. I'm putting them aside, figuring I'll just gain the weight back, they are so nice, etc. Tell me that is a bad idea!

About cycles of weight gain and our age, I've read that women tend to gain in their 40s and 50s and stop gaining weight at about 60. So, ladies, if this is true and we manage to take the weight off now, perhaps nature is in our favor and it will stick. We can hope.

I don't know 'how' to divide my calories by %'s. 

What I mean is when I look back at my day's  consumption-or as I am adding it all up-that is usually the way it works out.

I have just started with the protein drinks after my workouts.  I am hoping it will make  a a difference it how cut I look and getting leaner. 

Bonton- that is what it's supposed to help with, while it 'feeds' the muscle tissue, right? 

I'm telling ya, this (working out, eating right) was much more 'cost effective' (time wise) a few years back! Ya gals know what I mean.

I know, with what I've put in lately, I'd be more buff.  I've been more buff. 

So enough complaining-I'm so good at that-and on to other important matters.  Like my ladies here.

How are we are this lovely Saturday morning?  At least it is here in Toronto.  Well, it could be a tad warmer-there I go complaining again.  It seems to come out all the time.

Please, keep coming back-whatever your battle is-it's doable. 

love to all

renee

Good morning everyone!! WOOOOHOOOO my scale said 122.6 this am!! AND I fit back into my capris - amazing what losing 5.4 pounds will do!! yippeee I just hope it sticks LOL sometimes that scale has a mind of it's own! LOL

renee - yes the protein shake is supposed to "feed the muscle" and help with repair, help maintain muscle while losing fat and you're right with amount of time I worked out years ago... I would be buff!!! Takes 2-3x the work now and buff?? doubtful LOL

phox - get rid of the temptation and give those "big" clothes away!!!!

snow - can't wait till school is over - my basement - the collection area - needs cleaned out before I can't get down there

OK off to the golf course... the sun is shining, the wind quit blowing,my capris fit, I'm off work for 3 days, my daughter is on her way home...lots to be happy about!!

Bon

Way to go Bon on the loss. I crossed a weight red line this morning and am back to logging. Why am I still hanging out on this site even thought I am not really interested in losing? Because of these pesky weight gains that can torpedo maintenance and land me right back where I was last year.

Is anyone here doing a planned exercise program with weights, cardio, and stretching, all the important things in the right order and increasing as it gets easier (does it ever get easier?). I’d be interested in hearing how it works in our age group. I do an hour plus of whatever fits my mood and schedule.

Hot flash at 5am and then couldn't get back to sleep GRRR  so here I am and it's only 7am... I wanted to sleep in!

phox - I lift weight 2-3x a week. I hit all the muscle groups .. triceps, biceps, quads, hamstrings, abs, back shoulders .. you get the picture. I just bought the book Weight Lifting For Women .. I'm going to use their lifting routine and see if it gives me better results although most of the exercises I already do but will use their schedule. I was very weak when I first started LOL - for instance for military presses I started out using 5 lb and doing 3 sets of 12(if I could finish!) now I use 12x12 and 15x10 reps 2 times. Can't quite lift the 20's overhead - I have tendonitis in my L elbow so I have to be careful. Reading this book, order does seem to matter so maybe it will help me. I'll let you know ..once I set up my routine I could email it to you so you can see. I just bought Jillian Michaels 30 day shred but haven't done it yet! LOL will let you know about that too. I need to stretch more but just don't take the time to do it. Tried yoga once - did not like it! LOL boring I need to be moving

Need to cut the grass today and plant the flowers in my pots . Got the cemetery done yesterday - my hubby helped so it went a lot faster than when I do it myself. I'm much more of a perfectionist - every weed and stray piece of grass has to be taken out LOL.

Oh yes and I have to brag... I shot an 89 at golf yesterday!!! Was playing with my hubby and my best friend the club champ - beat both of them and had no idea how good I was playing until we added up my score atfter the 18th! LOL Having a cook-out today..my one daughter is home and my stepdaughter, husband and grandkids will be over too. I made low fat sugar Free chocolate eclair dessert - will let you know how it turned out - new recipe!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

Original Post by phox50:

Way to go Bon on the loss. I crossed a weight red line this morning and am back to logging. Why am I still hanging out on this site even thought I am not really interested in losing? Because of these pesky weight gains that can torpedo maintenance and land me right back where I was last year.

Is anyone here doing a planned exercise program with weights, cardio, and stretching, all the important things in the right order and increasing as it gets easier (does it ever get easier?). I’d be interested in hearing how it works in our age group. I do an hour plus of whatever fits my mood and schedule.

Hi there

Yup, I'm exercising about 3-5x weekly.  Lately I have been mixing up my routine as the body get used to what we throw at it fairly quickly.

So I start with about 15 minutes of cardio on the elliptical and then on to my weights.  I alter my lower and upper body schedules.  Everyday I work my abs.  Also, of late, I've been starting my exercises with my abs since I have found by the time I have done all the weights and cardio I have little energy left to do a serious ab routine.

I just tried on and am wearing a pair of shorts I bought about a month ago and they're a tad big!  My weight, as of last count-last week really hasn't budged.  Maybe one pound. So, it seems all the weight training I've been doing is working. I cant' see it for looking at it.  I  mean sometimes I think I notice some definition in my arms and such and then tell myself I'm just imagining it!  I'm so crazy!

I am trying to really get some work done on my calves as genetically my family has shapeless calf muscles.  I'm really trying and I think I am just starting to see a minor difference.  Also I am working on my chest-pecs.  I really like the look-some think it too masculine-when the chest looks 'divided' in two halves-you ladies know what I mean.

Between my cardio and weights I do some stretches to losen up.  It's after all the weights and stuff you do the 'static' stretches where you hold the stretch for a few seconds. Something I learned just a few months back!

There are many websites to help-as well as dvd to get you started, that is if you're at the beginning.  I'm not sure as what you wrote wasnt' all the clear to me.

I do add weights as my reps get easier.  If I can bang off 12 reps without a thought, for me, it's time to up the weight a bit more. 

Start off low.  You don't want to hurt yourself.  AND, when you start off low-there is only one way to go and that is up.  And as far as I'm concerned that is also good for the motivation and ego!

Good luck

keep on keeping on!

Bonton, BIG congrats on the 5+ loss AND the great score!! My husband would love to shoot that low. Ohio, good luck on losing that last half pound.

Oneistoomany, the best way to develop your calves is to take up hiking. Not one woman I hike with has shapeless calves! Even my friend Kathy who broke her right lower leg in February is already recovering the definition in that calf.

Phox, I have started weight training and 30 minutes of elliptical machine 2 to 3 times a week in addition to my weekend hiking. It is already making a big difference.

We had a wonderful hike yesterday to Mt. Jenkins on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The weather cooperated and gave us nice cool temps with no precipitation except for very light snow flurries on top of the peak. You can check out the hike here: http://tomcat-rc.smugmug.com/gallery/5015657_ 3DuYw#P-1-12 Photos by Tom Brown. You can also see Kathy (she'll be 50 in Sept) and her calves, as she is the crazy one wearing shorts. She has lost over 40 pounds in the past year by hiking and changing her eating. We talked to several thru-hikers on the PCT who are going all the way from Mexico to Canada. Now THAT is inspirational!

I'm doing things at home today (including my workout). Tomorrow if the weather allows, I'll hike again up in the sequoias. Hope everyone is having a good weekend and not giving in to those Memorial Day feasts.

Alice

ohio- I'm not a real long hitter - longest drive maybe 180 but usual drive about 150 - BUT I hit straight (most of the time LOL) and I'm real good up close chipping and putting. Used to practice that for hours when I first started and still practice about 1/2 hr before i tee off (if I have the time). I usually only have about 15 putts for 9 holes so it helps you to score. Got to have a good close game if you can't hit long - that's me! Oh and don't feel bad ..when I first started my scores were much higher - like in the high 60's for 9 holes then I got to the 50's and stayed in the 50's for a long time before breaking into the 40's. LOL when we added my score on Sat. I made my hubby add 3x cause I thought it was wrong! I try never to pay attention until I'm done - like I knew I was playing fairly well but had no idea it was that good! My lowest round ever ..86 in the club championship last year and I had no idea it was that low until we were done!

I hope you make your goal!! My number on the scale yesterday was fleeting (but was great to see if only for a day!!)  and will probably NOT be good tomorrow as we picnicked today. I didn't over eat but had more carbs than I usually do so water retention looms... will try to stay off the scale tomorrow!

In a golf tournament tomorrow so I hope I didn't use all my good shots on Saturday! LOL

Hello everyone! Could you feel the earth trembling? It was me doing the Snoopy victory dance!!! This morning I am a full pound lighter!!!!  =) =) =)

Must be all those things I put in the trash yesterday... Emptied half a cupboard. Really old stuff I had not really looked at in a very long time. Posters my kids had in their rooms in Taipei (I left Taipei in 1997...), bits and pieces of wrapping paper, calligraphy exercises all things I just put in cartons when I have to move, without ever bothering to check...

Talk of moving, we may have to move again... We moved to Saigon 3 years ago. Stayed in a house 2 years, then the owner decided he wanted to increase the rent 50% WITHOUT doing anything to justify it. There is a real lack of housing for expats here, and so the landlords think they can get any amount of money for any old shack... We would have forgotten about the fairness of the raise had our generator been working. But it was an old Chinese contraption that was always broken when we needed it. When you know we have almost daily power cuts that last anywhere between 30mn and 5 hours, and that once a month the power is cut from 6:45am to 4:45pm, you understand why a generator in good working order is important. When we mentioned that the generator was part of the rental contract, he finally said he would replace it, but with a smaller one. So small in fact we would have had to choose between the air-con and the lights... So we moved.

The new house is extremely expensive (but we had 1/2 a day to find one as our landlord decided we had to vacate the house immediately...). It's very nice and we love it, but now the flooding is becoming a problem everywhere, so we have had several floods at the end of last year's rainy season. I had about 6 inches of water in my house. We had to put all the furniture on bricks, rip out the wooden floors, raise the whole ground floor some 10 inches... A big mess (by the way, this is ALSO part and parcel of being an expat!!!) . We camped two weeks in our upper floor rooms while the workers camped downstairs. The hardest hit were our two old dogs. One is blind and deaf and she couldn't make sense of all the changes. I had to carry her outside when she needed to go out, and sometimes the garden was so flooded I had to wade through water with my dog in my arms to reach a spot not under water... Never a dull moment!...

This flooding is a recent development, as the Pacific ocean level has risen about 10 inches in the past 15 years (the poles are melting, as you know). And with the increase in population in Saigon, a lot of areas that used to be empty of houses are now completely built over, leaving less space for the tidal waters to expand, especially during the high tides of autumn, that correspond to the heaviest rains of the monsoon. Nowadays, even Cholon is flooded during the new moon and full moon fall tides...

I can take the flooding of the garden. And after the ground floor was raised and tiled, we don't risk to see the house flooded again, or only a tiny bit. The main problem is the access road. Some days, we can't get in or out of our house because the road is under water. We are not alone, but I would rather live without that...

We could take the house of some friends who are moving back to Europe in June. Their house is in a compound that never floods (the only one in the neighbourhood). It is the compound where I go walking every morning. The house is bigger than this one and within walking distance of the shops, and at least three restaurants... So I am sorely tempted, but to move again...

On the other hand, that gives me even more incentives to streamline my household... We are meeting our landlord tomorrow, so we'll also decide tomorrow if we move or not...

Anyway, I am mighty glad to have seen the scale give me new numbers... I had lost quite a lot of weight between November and December (I was 174.5 lbs at my lowest). Then we started having visitors, I traveled to Europe for a month, we had more visitors, and I ballooned again. I am determined to reach 174 lbs again before I start traveling at the end of June (Europe, Canada, Vietnam within 3 months, with a move just after). These constant changes are my doom...

I hope everyone had a very nice weekend.

Helene, in Saigon, where the sky was pure blue this morning; but clouds are gathering already, announcing a big thunderstorm before the end of the day.

Helene - Congrats on the weight loss!!! Maybe there is something to throwing out all that old stuff!! I'll have to get to work LOL Oh your weather just sounds awful and I thought the cold and some rain we had in central PA was bad... Sounds terribly stressful ..no wonder you find it difficult to lose weight. We just take everything for granted here in the good old USA..like electricity etc. I don't know but I'd be tempted to move to where it does not flood - it sounds terrible not being able to get in or out for a day ..that in itself must be depressing. When I get under extreme stress I cannot eat... do you want to borrow my stomach for a while?? LOL If I could just loan it out...I'm a very picky eater, can't eat large meals, don't eat under stress...you get the picture and HOW did I gain this weight??? not really sure LOL

Today I woke up at 6am and couldn't get back to sleep so here I am again. Tomorrow when I go back to work I'll probably be sound asleep when the alarm rings at 6! We picnicked yesterday so today I need to really watch what I eat... didn't over-eat at our lunch time picnic but... by the end of the day I had eaten 3 pieces of the "low fat sugar free " chocolate eclair dessert I made LOL now why did I make that. Dessert is definitely my downfall. I only ate half my hamburger and very small helpings of everything else... but oh yes always room for dessert! I vow to stay off the scale for a day or two .. water weight is here my rings are all tight and hands and feet both feel puffy!

At the back of our property pachysandra  grows along the woods line so I've slowly been weeding and training it to grow down the property line. I weeded about a 10 ft section last year and dug up some and planted it so it will grow down the line ..anyways yesterday as I'm mowing the grass and my husband has out his toy - the weed whacker - I look back and yes.. there he is weed whacking where I planted the pachysandra!! Then when I am mowing out front I find that he has weed whacked the wild flowers I planted along the woods out front!! He cuts everything in sight when he gets that weed whacker in his hands!

Alice - thanks so much for sharing your pics with us! Wow the scenery is beautiful and it looks like a great bunch of ppl! You look wonderful too! That kind of hiking would be fun. Your friend Kathy looks amazing too - 40 pounds is great!

Golfing today in a quota tournament - hope I have some good shots left LOL - will need to make 21 points before I start to make any - you get points from bogie, par, birdie etc. But it won't matter if Idon't,  it's supposed to be very nice sunny and possible 80's - my kind of weather - and it will be great to be outdoors. I'm always thankful to be healthy enough to be out playing!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!!

Bon

bon:

You deserve to 'indulge' a tad every now and then as we all do.  And it sounds like you were still very aware and careful!  Wow you sound so mature!   I'm impressed, as most people  I know are so crazed you'd never know they're fully grown adults-at times!

Whatever the opposite of having a green thumb is what I  have.  I can kill just about any plant.  Y'know the aloe vera plant, which is virtually un killable?  Ya, well, I've been to more of their funerals than I care to admit.

I've a question any one of you may answer.

I've tried to workout on the stair/step climber at the gym.  Well, talk about a hard workout.  And for all that effort the calories burned are almost negligible.   Makes me feel like I'm in real lousy shape-which I know I'm not.   Just wondering if anyone here works out on that machine regularly. 

I get more out of and feel best when I work out elliptical.

Schefl-sounds like you're plate is full-again!

I know it's a holiday down there in the U S of A, (I'm in Toronto, Canada), so to all in the states enjoy the first long weekend of the summer!

oh geez...  i could probably toss almost everything in the basement!  LOL  we never even go down there, so would we really need any of that stuff?

i've been eating alot lately, but that's ok.  i still got a grip.  :D  it's just a big weekend & lots of visiting...  etc

i'm gonna have a job getting rid of these extra pounds again...  i think i broke my own record for eating chocolate yesterday!  :(

hang in there guys!

Wow, it sounds like everyone in this group is finding inspiration.

Bonton: congrats on lowering everything: body fat, weight, and golf scores! Don't suppose you'd like to come to Colorado and apply your perfectionism to my weedy garden?

Helene: You are my new role model for simplification. And, it seems your theory connecting weight loss and junk loss is viable.

phox50: You said, "I'm putting them aside, figuring I'll just gain the weight back, they are so nice, etc. Tell me that is a bad idea!" Yes, that is a bad idea. It's planning to fail. Take those nice clothes to the tailor and have them altered to fit the new slim you. My husband had hip resurfacing about 3 months ago and has lost 20 lbs. with exercise. He inspires me to hit the gym on low motivation days. In fact, yesterday after my "run" (really a slow jog, but I choose to call it running), I was down 1.5 lbs. Put part back on after a drink of water, but still.

one: I agree; if you add in weights, clothes fit better and it helps with bone density. So we won't be those old ladies with the broken hips.

ohio: I have heard many times how important goal setting is. Obviously, you're good at it. Do you write down your goals or share them publically? My boys want to claim my possessions, rather they want to  store their childhood junk with us. I keep threatening to toss it, and then they go crazy. Got any solutions?

moon: Thanks for the pictures. We have a cabin near Rocky Mountain National Park, and hiking there's a joy for us. I agree, also, that hiking gets the calves like nothing else.

snow: chocolate isn't bad if it's dark. Over 60% cocoa has antioxidant properties. Unfortunately for me, my weakness isn't sweets, it's salty stuff.

Going to buy some annuals for my front bed. Have a great Memorial Day all.

Original Post by robbie615:

 My boys want to claim my possessions, rather they want to store their childhood junk with us. I keep threatening to toss it, and then they go crazy. Got any solutions?

Oops, I meant my boys DON'T want to claim my possessions.