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!

Beth - you look great! And your boobs look amazing too! New bra! Did you cut your hair? That color is fantastic on you.

I feel awesome today. I passed 10% off on my weight loss.  I've been walking 3 miles a day. Weather has been perfect for that. I treated myself to some new breakfast bowls as a reward. They are just Blue Delft replicas but I can pretend they are real. They make my cereal look so inviting. Picture posted. I also went to Ikea and got a new duvet cover for my bed, and slip covers for some pillows in the living room. I'm on a revamp of my surroundings as well as myself and it feels great! I will be undertaking a major kitchen reno soon, new floor, new cabinets and appliances. I'm getting an induction cooktop and a wall oven! Really excited about that. 

I was thinking about cooking and this came to mind. Made me laugh. "The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for 30 years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found." - Calvin Trillin

Alice: No laughing at all: you looked elegant and sounded great. Especially because public speaking is the number one fear for most people. Wowsa, you killed it!   Bex: the "china" is gorgeous, and apparently you are inspired by your new surroundings. 10% is a milestone indeed. I have a wall oven,  love it, but have never tried an induction cooktop. Want to hear about it!     Bonnie: Thanks for the hungry girl site. Enjoy the 120 achievement and the fancy new nails.  I have to keep mine done or I bite and pick at them.   Beth: You are kickin' it with the consistent exercise. You're going to be our next snow. I like the new pic, too.     Snow: It's good that fifty is the new thirty, because now I'm closer to 60 than 50, so I'll just think of it as turning forty--again. ;-D You a grandma again yet?    Joanna: I hope your spirits have picked up. Must be the heat. It's record-breakingly hot here. The temperature for the wedding was 99 at 7:00 p.m.!     Laura: that party pic has you looking mighty thin to me.

The wedding was a big success. It was up at Flagstaff Mountain (which Alice would call a foothill, but Beth would call a mountain) at an outdoor amphitheater.  About 100 friends and family attended from all over the country, but mostly Iowa and Texas, where the groom and bride are from, respectively. I had met with them a few weeks ago  to personalize the ceremony, and--not very modestly--I must say I did a good job. The parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends all came over to tell me how much they enjoyed it because it was tailored to the couple. That made me feel great.  I did do it as a wedding gift to them, but do you think I still need to give a present? I was thinking of decorating the front of a picture album and slipping the ceremony inside. Is that too cheap?

Good morning all,

Rebbex - My "boobs look amazing"?  Oh the wonder of spandex!  LOL  I've got to figure out how to center my little picture on my face better. Anyone know how to do that?

Your house make over sounds wonderful and I like your new bowls. We have similar tastes in stuff. You should see my collection of antique cobalt blue glassware. Got it from my aunt.

Robbie - I love the dress on you! You look stunning. Glad the ceremony was a success. I think decorating the front of a picture album would make a lovely gift. I would not think of that as a "cheap" gift at all but a personalized one.

Everyone - Have a wonderful weekend. I'm trying to find a lost recipe for artichoke dip that a friend gave me. Our church is having a pot luck this Sunday and I want to make it. It was absolutely wonderful. I may have to call my friend and ask for it again.

Blessings,

Beth

 I'm trying to find a lost recipe for artichoke dip that a friend gave me. Our church is having a pot luck this Sunday and I want to make it. It was absolutely wonderful. I may have to call my friend and ask for it again.

Blessings,

Beth

Here's one from a heart healthy book, in case you don't find yours:

Make crostini from 1 baguette French Bread, cut into thirty-six 1/4 " slices. Bake at 400 degrees 5 minutes until light brwon.

Combine 1 c. fat free mayo, 1/2 grated Parmesan cheese, 1/2 c. soft bread crumbs. 1/2 tsp. spicy Worcestershire sauce, 1 14 oz. can artichke hearts (drained, chopped), one 4 oz. can chopped green chilis, 2 cloves garlic (minced) and black pepper to taste.

Spread over crostini slices and bake at 400 until heated through (probably 5 minutes). Can top with sliced cherry tomatoes, if youwant to bother.

 

 

renee here,

I've just been looking through the photo galleries of a few of the gals here.  Wow! We have an amazingly attractive & sexy collection of cutie pies here.  Never mind the cutie pies, down right beautiful!  And all looking fit and healthy. 
I guess we're all doing something right.  The youthfulness I've seen in those photos doesn't come merely from genetics, though G*d know it helps.  Nope, it's through diligence and determination, sweat and perseverance. 

So, be proud one and all, including me, I guess, no-Of course.  The most recent pictures I have are back in March of this year, and since then I've lost over 10 pounds.  I'd like to get a few new ones to see in a photo if my working out is notieable to me!

It's a loverly Saturday afternoon here in T.O.  I was thinking about going down to the 'Caribana' celebrations, and decided against it.  Way too many people, and I don't like crowds-especially as the years pass.  I've been there and done that more times than I can count in my youth going to concerts and all. 

It's a long weekend here in Ontario, Canada.  So it is quite the mania in and around and about the city!  There is a fun element to it.  I just can't do it for long.  And once you're in a crowd of a few thousand people, it is rather difficult to just sneak away.

Hope you all are enjoying your weekends, and once again to all another 24 hours of health and happines and good eating.

robbie You look stunning in the new dress!! Looks very cool and comfortable while being official too. You write beautifully so it doesn't surprise me that you did so well on the ceremony for the bride and groom. Album sounds like a great idea to me!

bex Congrats of the 10% that's a great achievement! And your rewards to yourself sound and look great - the bowls look beautiful!

Queen of the green and mowing LOL - Annika -  I shot an 86 at golf today!!! My lowest score this year!

Going to see Daughtry tonight - I'll let you all know how it was!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!   Bonnie

Robbie - do you know any calligraphers? If you wanted to up the ante on the gift it might cost a few bucks to get the ceremony hand printed in script but it would be a stunning gesture. Maybe it's overkill though. Love the idea of the album. You looked fantastic in your dress. Great hair. Great jewelry too. Get lots of cleavage gawkers? There isn't a shade of eyeshadow in the world that can outdo a rack like that! Sexaaay time, as Borat would say.

Bon - 86!! Are you serious! Anika, you are officially the Queen of the Links. Congrats! Have a blast at Daughtry. Hope you don't lose your hearing. I'm going to Jonny Lang on the 7th but it's in a concert hall so the sound of the wailing blues guitars will be "regulated", thank goodness.

Beth - Love blue glass but I don't have any. It's kitschy and cute, coming back in style now too. You're lucky to have some originals. I am dangerous around glasses and eggs. They always end up on the floor. I think it's because I talk with my hands. Makes my daughter nuts when I'm driving. 

Renee - don't blame you for giving Carribana a miss. I would too. Hope you have a really great long weekend. 

-Bex

hey moon!  that was awesome!  you're famous now!  :D  you didn't even seem nervous or anything.  you did great.  i could never do that.

rebbex, congrats on passing 10%!  that's awesome too!!!  lol  nice quote too  :D  it seems like we always had leftovers...

southern, you are really doing great!  you amaze even me!  :D  i love the new pic.

robbie, i remember how terrified i was to turn 50, and it was nothing.  LOL  maybe 60 will be the same...  or should i say 40.  :D  i think the album would be fine.

one, thanks!  we do all look pretty good, don't we?

 

Sunday morning weigh ins are really starting to annoy me; clearly, when I go out Saturday night (Tom's gift to me for cooking all week), the wine [or (me, too, Bonnie) martinis] really add weight--water I think, but it doesn't show up as water. So, if I have to choose between a lower number and a weekend drink, it's no choice.  It's not even like I'm a big drinker--I fall asleep after two, so I stretch one out for the whole meal. How pathetic is that? So, since the bod's only a vehicle to get me through, I plan to continue just to grit my teeth every Sunday a.m.

Beth: Did you find the recipe? Sharing it with us? Joanna: Has the weekend turned your mood around? I'm sending very good vibes. Renee: I am the exact same. Love festivals, feel overwhelmed by crowds. Do you think it's worse because we're short? Hard to get oriented when you're looking at everyone's chest! Bonnie: How 'bout Queen of the whole world? I mean if Leonardo DiCaprio can be the king . . Mazel Tov on the 86. Bex: I was soooo flat chested until I reached puberty at 18, so I still don't think of myself as "sexaaay" in that way, but thanks for noticing. The jewelry was all of $20, so I'm glad it looked like more. And, I'd go see Jonny Lang if I lived in CA, for sure. Snow: Hope you get to use that packed suitcase soon!

My cauliflower was a hit at the church pot luck. I found the recipe on Allrecipes.com. I used low fat Parmasan instead of the regular.

I also made Artichoke Dip and it was good too. I also substituted low fat cheese and fat free mayonnaise in this recipe which cut way back on the calories. But I've had it made with the fat and it is much creamier with the fat. Still the taste was very good in this low fat version.

I ate pretty much what I wanted at the pot luck and felt a little guilty. But when I got home and logged what I ate and then added up the calories on CC, I was surprised. I did just fine. I love CC. Not only does it keep me in line most of the time but in this case it kept me from unnecessary feelings of guilt! Awesome!

Larry and I are going to tackle our yard tonight for exercise. I would prefer to walk but the yard is pretty bad since all the rain and neglect.

I put some new pics up in my gallery. It's funny how I still think of myself as thin. I was thin when I was young and I guess that's why. But the weight just crept up on me over the years. So now I have had to make myself face reality. Taking pictures really helps. I'm pleased that the weight loss is finally showing. But it still shocks me how big my butt is. But I do still have 30 lbs to go. I'm hoping by Christmas?!

Robbie - I think you are just retaining water after the alcohol. Don't worry about it. Or if you want, skip the Sunday weigh in and drink a ton of water on Sunday and maybe eat some water melon or put lemon in your water. That should take care of the extra fluid you are retaining.

Robbie and Renee - it's funny that you talk about how crowds make you feel being short. I am a head above everyone in most crowds. (I'm 6' tall.) That makes me feel weird. It's only at my dad's family reunions that I feel "normal". Everyone on that side of our family, including the ladies, are tall and when I'm around them, I feel "average". I am very self conscious in crowds where I don't know people and when we lived in PNG, the average woman in that country is only about 5' tall. So I really felt huge living there.

snow - When is that baby actually due? Did you know that the average first time mom goes 10 days past her "due date" if she is not induced? Those babies sure have a way of making us all anxious don't they?

~ Beth

Original Post by southern_midwife:

I put some new pics up in my gallery. It's funny how I still think of myself as thin. I was thin when I was young and I guess that's why. But the weight just crept up on me over the years. So now I have had to make myself face reality. Taking pictures really helps. I'm pleased that the weight loss is finally showing. But it still shocks me how big my butt is. But I do still have 30 lbs to go. I'm hoping by Christmas?!

 

Robbie and Renee - it's funny that you talk about how crowds make you feel being short. I am a head above everyone in most crowds. (I'm 6' tall.) That makes me feel weird. It's only at my dad's family reunions that I feel "normal". Everyone on that side of our family, including the ladies, are tall and when I'm around them, I feel "average". I am very self conscious in crowds where I don't know people and when we lived in PNG, the average woman in that country is only about 5' tall. So I really felt huge living there.

Beth:    First: Thanks for the recipe. I can't wait to try it.

Second, if 20 pounds makes such a dramatic difference--and it does; you look decades younger--imagine what 20 more will do. You will be smokin' hot! Hottest midwife in the state, I'd wager.

Finally, don't we always feel like everyone else is "normal" and we're the odd (wo)man out?  My sister is 5'9" (or 10, I can't tell), and I've always been envious. Maybe for peace of mind I should spend more time on Sunday mornings praying instead of weighing.

Original Post by southern_midwife:

when we lived in PNG, the average woman in that country is only about 5' tall. So I really felt huge living there.

 

~ Beth

P.S. Do you think they need mediators in PNG?

Original Post by robbie615:

Original Post by southern_midwife:

when we lived in PNG, the average woman in that country is only about 5' tall. So I really felt huge living there.

~ Beth

P.S. Do you think they need mediators in PNG?

Are you a mediator? BTW, in reference to your comment in my journal, I haven't heard the term "spitting rain" since I lived in PNG. A neighbor who was from New Zealand introduced me to that term. Where did you learn it?

~ Beth

Are you a mediator? BTW, in reference to your comment in my journal, I haven't heard the term "spitting rain" since I lived in PNG. A neighbor who was from New Zealand introduced me to that term. Where did you learn it?

~ Beth

Yes, I work with a  group of other retired (or, just tired) judges, and that's what we do full time.

I was raised in Texas, but lived in New Orleans, New York, and Miami, besides here. And, we have a great close friend from Australia, so who knows where I picked it up. Probably not New York.

i don't want to use that suitcase yet!  LOL  at least it's packed.  what?!  10 days late?!

oh geez...  she's not due til 8/16.  i'll be dead by then!  :(

so, are you trying to say that it's ok to just relax?!  LOL  i dunno if i can...

Beth- don't think of it as a big butt. Call them "child bearing hips". You've earned the curves. Better than being a stick. Spitting rain is a British term. I should know. I grew up in Drizzle Land  where is spat rain almost every day. Probably why I live in a desert dry climate now.

-Bex

Just looked at a few photos. 

Robbie, you looked beautiful in the dress.  Loved the necklace and wish I had thin ankles like you.  We always want what we don't have and that's one thing I don't have.  I am glad both my girls got their dad's ankles as his were better.  I think the idea of a photo album would be very special to the bride and groom.

Beth, how are you losing all that weight so fast?  I've lost the same but it took me since last May, 2007.  What a remarkable change in the 'rear' view.  It doesn't even look like the same person. 

rebbex;  I laughed outloud at the quote from Calvin Trillin; "the original meal has never been found".  My daughter in Fla. took me to a new Ikea that opened and we loved it.  It was huge.  Wish there was one near me.

After church and a little grocery shopping came right home.  There's a festival to the south and a festival to the north, so I'm staying in and avoiding extra traffic.  One has German food, the other BBQ ribs.  The roads are too busy for biking and the jogging trails are congested with tourist.  I hope the revenue is up for both groups.

I'm working on my last 10#.  Not that I couldn't stand to lose more.  This is just it for me!  I'll still be 'slightly overweight' according to CC, but that's okay.  I'm going to give it my all this month and hope for the best.

Hope everyone has had a great weekend!

OK - Daughtry concert was ...just ok ... he played a lot of new stuff so you didn't know the songs really wasn't that loud - I've been to much worse and the show was 45 min late in starting! My daughter's loved it so it was well worth it! I took my friend who golfs with me - her daughter was there with her niece and daughter - they somehow got to meet him personally and he signed their shirts! They were hanging around the grandstand after the show and were strolling past the stage - he was right there and offered to sign for them! I ate french fries and a sugar waffle at the fair - you just have to get fair french fries - so I won't be getting on the scale for a few days! LOL Could have been worse - being a picky eater helps to not overeat at the fair!

robbie You got to start doing what I do when I go out and have a drink ( I had to laugh because I only ever have 2 at the most - puts me to sleep too! LOL) STAY off the scale!!! I don't usually get on for  2-3 days after going out to eat - alcohol , sodium ... bad for the number so wait it out 2-3 days then get on and see what the damage was if any! RE: being envious of your sister's height - I always say if I could grow 3" I'd love what I weigh! LOL

beth  Great new pics and you are definitely shrinking!!! And I totally agree with robbie - you look younger!! Keep up the great work!

The whole crowd issue - me being a shortie at 5'1" - I hate crowds , makes me feel claustrophobic - I think because everyone is taller and you just feel overwhelmed down where I am! LOL

snowWhen I had my twins I was due Jan 16 and they said I would definitely go early - LOL - their birthday... Jan 26!!! Maybe you should try to relax in the meantime!!

ohio LOL about the ankles because I don't have nice ones either and passed them on to my girls (they call them kankles - knees and ankles combined because there is no definition between the 2 LOL)  - they're always complaining and I say "someone gave them to me I just passed them along! "

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! 89 at golf today so my game seems to be on a roll right now! Queen of mowing will be doing just that tomorrow!

Good Evening Ladies,

 

Straight out question/request:   looking for chicken breast recipes.  I eat chicken just about every night.  Need some new and interesting ways to prepare them.

Bonton:  When you spoke of Daughtry it reminded me of watching the new Rolling Stones movie "Shine a Light".  My son bought it for me from his first paycheque, very nice, yes?  However I would have enjoyed it more had they played more older well known songs.  I was quite disappointed in the movie on the whole.  I'll never tell Kieran this.  These old gray men-they just ain't what they used to be.  At one point in the movie, they were zeroing in on Charlie Watts and he looked as if he had, had enought.  He looked tired and beyond!  As far as snacking at the fair, how does a person NOT? 

I remember eating an artichoke dip at a chicken restaurant up here in Toronto, and absolutely loved it.  I'm going to try it myself. 
I don't know about the rest of you, but I get sick and tired of preparing suppers everyday.  My boyfriend is spending more time here and I have been preparing full meals.  Usually, for the  longest time, Kieran and I would grab a 'whatever' was there and convenient.   Now I made sure my meal was healthy, but I wasn't over the stove or barbeque all the time.  And it seems my guy is there only after I've done the brunt of the work and then he comes and turns over and piece of chicken or hamburger/hotdog, etc.  Sound like I'm griping?  I am!  I would love once,just once for my guy to get up and make me a cuppa tea or coffee.  It's not going to happen, not with this fellow.  He does other fine things, for sure.  It would be so nice-and I've had this with my former fiance-to have a hot cuppa java brought to me in bed.  And this was almost every morning.  Guess can't have everything.

 

OK, Beth, I've been reading about your weight loss and photos and all, and wanted to see for myself.  That is freakin' amazing?  Is that w/ diet & exercise.  It's a huge difference!  And, I am sorry, I don't remember who said it, but I'll say that is one curvacious a$$!  How does your significant other like it?  Keep on keeping one!