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!

I just started a weight loss challenge if anyone is interested in joining me.

http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/post/114 228.html

Beth

 

Beth - welcome to the 54 club - same as me, Bex and Carol! Really must ahve been a good year LOL You're doing so well with your weight loss. I wish I could say the same. Last time I weighed I was the same but I can tell I'm up a little - really trying to watch ratios as I never over-eat so calories certainly aren't the issue. Sometimes I don't hink I eat enough ...have to get back on the logging train and stay on! Thinking of you and praying for your safety and all of those in Ike's path.

snow - My pedometer tells miles, calories burned , aerobic calories - you have to walk for 10 min without a break to count as aerobic - forgot to put it back on for golf last night 

Bex - thanks for the well wished - the golf B behaved herself - didn't speak to me but hey that's ok too - I don't need those kind of ppl in my life. The lady that volunteered is pretty fiesty if she needs to be so she said it was ok. Of course they won ( the golf B is a 12 handicap) so she got paid for volunteering ! LOL

Feeling puffy and tired today maybe I'll feel better after we golf

Oh my - read my own post - LOL - I couldn't type yesterday and didn't spell check ! LOL Pouring rain here today but we need the rain. Going to start back at the gym next week. Not getting enough exercise now that I am back to work - and start of school I am trapped at my desk a lot getting paper work caught up. Sure was easier to burn calories in the summer with yard work and golf! Have been logging the past couple days - protein deficient - and maybe a few too many carbs. Will need to do better to keep off what I lost.

Beth - thinking of you and praying for your safety. Please take care the next few days.

Did feel better after golf - I'm not good with sitting all day. Felt so much better in the summer when I was off and in constant motion. LOL

Everyone - have a great day! TGIF

Bon - right on - TGIF for sure! You will golf on the weekend if the rain lets up and then you will burn lots of cals. I am not planning any strenuous exercise this weekend other than lugging 40 boxes of hardwood into my house, which will be equivalent to moving an elephant I'm guessing! Going to Elton John tonight. We are having Indian Summer this weekend. I thought we had seen the last of the warm weather, so awesome! I have  a pedometer that is attached to a waist belt that has a water bottle carrier behind. I only use it when I go out on a long trek but it sure is enlightening to see how much you can burn! The other proof of that is Beth and Snow!

I want to know how come you never see the news story, "Psychic wins lottery!" ??

 

that is really awesome, southern, 170.2!  you are right on the verge of leaving the 170's forever!!!  that's so exciting  :D

bonton, yeah, i was thinking about getting a heart rate monitor, but maybe a pedometer is just fine.  i haven't checked the price on the batteries yet though.  do you use your alot?  you should be losing more weight.  i think that maybe you don't eat enough, too.  that lady is still playing, huh?  lol

rebbex, wow!  that sounds like a lot of work.  i like elton john!  :D  yeah, i don't really need a pedometer, but it would be fun to see how the calories burned compare to the calories the treadmill says.  also, i think cc is too low on calories burned if i am just walking outside.

yeah, really...  how come they don't all win!  the psychics...

Hey everyone,

I was babysitting some of my grandkids today (my son's 5 children) and I took some pictures. When I was looking at them I saw one I took of me holding my youngest granddaughter and it completely shocked me. I look thin - really thin! I know it's just my top half but still I was shocked. So I asked my husband to take some more pictures of me for CC. I just posted them. I still have some pounds to loose in my behind but I'll be wearing that little black dress pretty soon I think.

Snow and Bonton - let me know how you like your pedometer. I haven't used mine much because I always walk the same place. But I've wondered about wearing it more.

Rebbex - sounds like you're getting some real weight lifting in.

Everyone - have a great weekend!

~ Beth (still waiting on babies to come)

Wow, Beth, amazing pictures! You do look so thin. Now you need to get into toning and reducing in the tough spots. Good luck. How is the weather in your area. Thinking of you as I follow Ike on CNN.

Have a great weekend.

Beth  WOW you DO really look thin!! You're doing so well. What do you try to keep your calories at for a day? Congrats on the great loss! It makes you look 20 years younger! Still watching Ike on the news and praying for your safety and that of all the others.

snow and Beth Yesterday I wore my Omron pedometer on my treadmill at home and compared the mileage and calories - mileage was a tad higher on the treadmill - LOL it's probably because I'm 5'1" and don't have long legs so my stride length is shorter - and then calories which were less probably because I think most treadmills are set for someone who weighs 150 and I'm in the 120's somewhere.  Trying to get 10,000 steps a day. Going to download the computer software onto my computer today - it tracks your steps etc so anxious to see that. Most days my calories are around 1200 - 1400(some days 1500) which should be enough and since I'm burning from 300 - 800 calories average I don't understand why I am not losing. Oh well, it is a constant battle to get this last 5 pounds off And oh yea that lady came - didn't speak to me but acted like she never did anything wrong. Called the other lady that was with us that night and told her that I must have been tired from work??? what the heck she was the one screaming and complaining. Anyways I just ignored her

robbie Where have you been??? and others who have been quiet lately? ohio, joanna, moon, frost, one, carol

Everyone have a great dayNot sure what my plans are - depends on the weather - if it clears up, of course I'll be golfing LOL but if not I'm not sure what I'll get in to

southern, i can't get over how great you look!  you deserve it, too!!!  :D  congrats again!  those pics are awesome.

i haven't used the pedometer yet.  i'm still thinking of getting a heart rate monitor instead.  if i use either, i'll only use it when i'm alone anyway.  lol  you know...  the family!

bonton, the calories burned were less on the pedometer or on the treadmill?  lol  i hope the pedometer shows more burned.  but whatever.  it's just something fun to do, compare.  :D  yeah, you should be losing!

tired from work?!  LOL  yep...  just ignore her.

yep!  everyone have a great day!  i know i will  :D  hubby has off today & tomorrow, so i'm sure we'll be doing something.  not sure what yet.

Hope our Texas friends are managing with the hurricane battering the state.  As always it's good to read the posts and catch up.

bonton;  I've enjoyed the update on that one lady.  Glad you're handling her.

I'm giddy with happiness that the weekend is here and I survived my first week alone at the office. Well, I didn't think I'd need to read the book recommended on managing employees since I only have 1.5, but I may.  Time off was allowed without recording it, etc.  I have some suggestions on things, but am waiting till I have more time and everyone is used to me.

Work........I love my job.  I hate that I don't have a better support person to call for help and that I'm left to flounder alone and I was ticked off yesterday about this!!!  I'm amazed that I was referred to another manual and told the question I had was difficult to answer.  That stupid manual is too wordy to make sense to me.

Rushing in the morning has kept me from the computer.  I'm trying to get up a little earlier each day.  Eating and exercise has been bad, but I expected this and probably next week could be the same.  As I get more comfortable I will try to do better.  I have room in my office for a coffee pot and am thinking of using one for tea, for a pick-me-up instead of candy, in the afternoon.

Frozen meals aren't for me.  I don't like them, except on rare occasion.  I'm too tired some nights to cook, but I'm hungry.  Yes, I try to plan ahead but it doesn't always work.  Seems my options are either the deli at the grocery store, or ordering from a restaurant.  I wonder if I can call ahead to Cracker Barrel and have a takeout ready for me?  I had steak and baked potato one night I was tired but that's boring.  So.......in addition to easy and somewhat healthy, I want interesting food at a good price.  What I want is my own food.  Maybe I need to do better on weekends preparing ahead, cutting vegs, cleaning lettuce, etc.  I'm a little suspicious of bagged lettuce.  Isn't it sprayed with something?  I know the baby carrots are sprayed so they don't get slimmey in the bag and when I read that it was enough to turn me off of them forever.

Cooler weather is here and I do like soups, chili, vegtable and bean, so those will be good to fix ahead.

Being older, I assume, accounts for being more tired at night.  Not that I ever had energy after work, in the past. 

I would have loved to take my bike to a park today, but we're having stormy weather this weekend and I'm not complaining since Texas has to endure so much more.

The Elton John concert was out of sight fantastic as was to be expected. He, and the other couple of band members that are originals from 1969, have all "thickened" around the middle. None of them look upset about it, but as I watched them, I could only think of how the good life always shows in the wasitline. Most of them live in LA now and you can see they are enjoying the fruits of their labor. Perhaps a little too much .

I did some math this morning just to review the week and discovered I am eating slightly too much and need to turn up the exercise a bit, probably add some weights for toning. How's that going for you Snow? Have you managed to tone some now that you have your weight down?

I did an analysis for the first 5 days this week and am eating 1429 calories, Fat was 28%, Protein 20%, Carbs 52%. Sodium was at 1890 and fibre 20. All in all not too bad on paper, but I think my deficit daily is only 600 - 800 calories which explains the slow weight loss. That equates to about 1.5 pounds a week (in actuality it's only about 1.2) and I would like to bump it up to 2 pounds if I could. 

Looking at Skinny Minnie Beth has given me the courage to step it up. Wow, girl, you look amazing! Great jeans. You must be getting wolf whistles when you are out walking. Just to confirm, walk by a construction site and see what happens.

Thank heavens for this site. The success, and the determination (BON!!) of others really gives one the strength to go on and not give up. Kudos to everyone who writes on here!

"On the plains of hesitation like the blackened bones of countless millions who, at the dawn of victory lay down to rest, and in resting, died." - Adlai Stevenson

Today I will keep on truckin'. You too!

Good morning all,

Hey it's great to hear from rebbex and ohio again!

Ohio - It's so nice to hear how you love your job. It's such a blessing when we can find pleasure in our work and I can tell from your enthusism that you do love your work. I hope the challenges you face will be just enough to keep it interesting without robbing you of your pleasure. And hang in there on finding the right things to eat. Soups for winter sure does sound nice. yum! It's still too hot for soup here but I look forward to having some with the first good cold front.

rebbex - that concert sounds great! It is fun looking at some of the rock stars from the 60's and 70's isn't it? But I guess we've all gotten a little thicker around the middle. What I think is funny is when you see one of them wearing a hair piece because he's gone bald. Like we can't tell! I'll never get that. I don't think loosing hair makes a man unattractive. I think they should just accept it if it happens.

Your breakdown of nutrition looks pretty good to me. It is hard keeping a 1000 calorie deficit as you get closer to your goal. I've had to accept a smaller deficit myself. But on days when I can get a really good workout it does help. Good luck to you. My weight has dropped off almost exactly in line with the calorie deficit. However, I did discover that I should take the lowest number when looking at two different sources for figuring how many calories I burn with an activity. Every time I accepted a higher number it seemed the weight loss slowed down. I have found the numbers on CC to be pretty accurate. So I just use them most of the time.

Snow - my daughter gave me a heart monitor about a year ago and I loved it. But the battery went dead and haven't been able to use it because I have to send it in to get it working again. I keep procrastinating about doing that. I think you will like one if you get it.

Bonton - that's funny that you figure your stride is smaller and it messes up the miles on your pedometer. I have the oposite problem. With my 35" inseam, I have a long stride and I know it messes up the miles on my pedometer. I think counting steps is probably more accurate anyway. Afterall, it should take everyone about the same amount of energy to move their legs whether short or tall. I haven't tried counting steps. I probably aught to do that.

Phox - thanks for the complement. The weather here is fine. We didn't get any rain or wind. The water in the bay is calm but high. My daughter lives near Houston though. They came through the storm fine and only lost part of their fence and a few limbs. Some neighbors in their neighborhood lost whole trees though. They were working with neighbors to clear a big tree out of the road this morning. My husband has a cousin who lives in Galveston. He evacuated. But we don't know about his house yet.

Ya'll have a great weekend. My Y is closed because of the storm. So I'm going to find something to do at home. Not sure what yet.

~ Beth

yeah, i hope our texas friends are all managing well.  i haven't seen much of the news lately.  hubby is off today & tomorrow & he's not much for watching the news.

it's always good to hear from you, ohio!  it's good to hear that you made it through that first week at the office.  :D  good luck with that manual.  you'll probably have to use your head instead.  bring some carrots & celery to work with you & maybe some cantaloupe & watermelon.  ooops...  i guess you don't eat them baby carrots anymore.  well, they haven't killed me yet & they do keep me busy chewing.  :D  more exercise would probably give you more energy.  it's just that it's so hard to find the time & so hard to get started.

rebbex, that's cool!  i'm glad you enjoyed the concert.  :D  i have toned, but just a little & i mostly just do stretches, squats & crunches.  i need to add the weights & do both more often.  i can really feel the difference, though, even without the weights & just by doing spurts of exercise now & then.

yeah, your analysis looks good!  you could bump up that exercise & still eat the same calories.  that would work good, too.

southern, thanks!  i really think i'm gonna get a heart rate monitor instead of batteries for this pedometer.  i wonder how expensive it was, though.  it was a gift from my daughter awhile back.  hehe  i don't even remember when!  i hardly ever used it, but i was the one who asked for it.

i used to go by the lower numbers, too, but now i go by the higher numbers, like on my treadmill as compared to just plain old walking.  there is a major difference!  i mean, i'd rather walk on the treadmill than outside because it says i burn 700 calories in an hour.  if i just walk, cc says i burn like 300 or so.  i forget, but it's way lower.

i'm not really trying to lose anymore anyway...  just trying to stay under 140 for now.  it's pretty easy, as long as i eat well & keep up my walking.  i was pretty happy to see 137 again today!  of course, i'm gonna pump things up weekdays when i'm home alone!!!  :D

LOL  i could never count my steps!  i'd get all mixed up & have to start over.

Hello everyone,

I would like to join your ....over 50's.  I am over 50....way over, and I need to lose a lot of excess poundage.  and I do need support.  I was told that older females need a solid intake of protein to lose. 

I have the perfect plan to lose and exercise and it looks sooooo good on paper, the flaw is ...me.  If I could just do it consistently every day Iwould be a much healthier and slimmer me.  I am beset with a plethora of aches and pains, some days to the extent that they dictate what I can do and will do and even want to do. 

the perfect exercise plan will include cardio 6 days a week, with stretching every day and wt lifting every other day, three times a week and toning three days a week every other day.  So that is cardio and tone one day and cardio and wt training the next for 6 days a week and the last day for anything you want to do or not do.  60-90 minutes a day The intensity you bring to each minute of exercising will make a big difference in how many calories are burned. Walking (and jogging, running) are the best exercises for reducing belly fat.

Diet what ever you choose to follow, vary the caloric amounts daily to average your total for the week; for instance one day 800, then 1200 then 1000 then 900....high protein and mod fat and carb, with high fiber.   Measure every single crumb for at least a month then you are  better able to gage a portion of something; but every so often measure to check.  We can greatly underestimate a portion of something, especiall if we are in a hurry or it is something we like.....i like.

I brought my cholesterol down from 398 to 146 with diet  and exercising.  My blood sugar is considered to be pre-diabetic at 104 so I watch sweets carefully.  (occasionally I watch them on their way to my mouth, lol)

I have had a bad patch for the last 5 weeks and with the almost stationary stance I took I gained on top of what I had to lose. I weigh the most I ever have in my whole life, i weigh more now than when I was 9 mo pregnant, I weigh enough for severl people(well small ones anyway)  Which fed my depression  and I ate . 

As you can see, I KNOW what to do, it is in the DOING  that I am deficent in.  now I am taking control back and determined to do better.  I will have to restart slowly and take care not to ovr do, but I am committed to improving my quality of life, what there is left of it for me to enjoy.

So I would be so grateful for the support of women, who like me, need to lose and need support.  It is so good to know there are others out there who are having a hard time adjusting to the changes age is bringing.  I used to lose easily with what seems to me now, a minimum of effort.  I would be thin as a lathe if I could expend the effort now and lose with the ease of my youth.  However it is the here and now that I must deal with. ....and here and now I lose fractions of an ounce (where I once could lose pounds) and with the most amazing effort required. 

starblue

Hi Everyone - haven't read all the posts - this is just a quick note to say that golf B sent me a letter!! GRRRR you should have read it anyways I promptly typed back a response which made me feel better but I will not send it. You can't really respond to someone who is over the edge and have it make sense to them. It was upsetting though ...oh well she IS the one with the problem - best response is to ignore her. She said in her letter she wouldn't be back to our league - let's hope not!

Off to a party - don't feel like going - will catch up later

This is just a quick note to say welcome to starblue! I look forward to getting to know you. This is a great group of ladies. I think you will enjoy our forum.

Your plan sounds great.

I would caution you to not eat too little though. You can find a lot of information on this website about that subject. But the bottom line is that eating less than an average of 1200 calories a day can actually cause you to not loose weight. I believe that is why I had so much trouble before coming here.  Especially if you exercise and have much to loose, you probably need a lot more than 1200.

I've consistently lost weight by keeping my deficit just 1000 below my burn meter. And I haven't been hungry most of the time. In the past, when I would work to loose weight, I was always hungry and eventually my efforts failed with the weight coming back plus some more. The difference is amazing. Now that I'm closer to my goal, I've had to accept a smaller deficit in order to not go below 1200 calories a day. But I'm still loosing about 1.8 lbs a week. So, I'm very happy. I know the CC way of doing things is also better preparing me to keep the weight off after I reach my goal.

Good luck to you and again welcome! I think I am speaking for the others when I say that we are all glad to have you join us.

Bonton - I think ignoring golf B is the best thing you can do. I hope she meant what she said and isn't coming back.  Enjoy your party.

~ Beth

I can't manage to respond to everyone, but I have been reading and laughing and being empathetic with you all. I have for some reason been overwhelmed with activity--mostly traveling and work, and it has thrown me off course, mentally and physically. So, when I saw this a.m. that I was up a pound, I figured I had two choices. 1) Denial, which hasn't served me all that well in the past. 2) Get back on the program, which has. I am choosing # 2 and you are therefore stuck with me again.

I did buy some new jeans yesterday--called "Not your Daughters Jeans." Anyone ever heard of them? They're designed to pull in the tummy, and they do. Warning, though, they're kinda pricey--not quite as much as designer jeans  but much more than Levis. Point is, they were a size smaller, even with the pound up. So I have to stay on top of this to make the investment pay off.

My husband has lost about 35 pounds since his hip surgery in February, and has bought himself a bunch of new clothes (He really had to), but I keep dreaming that he's having an affair with a younger woman. Like every night, and I wake up miserable. Can't shake it.  When I broke down and confessed that concern, he said, "What do you want me to do, gain it back?" Hmmmm... Snow, maybe that's why your family isn't as supportive as they could be all the time?

Bonnie: Hang in there with Miss B, and Beth, keep up the great work.  Starblue: Welcome to a great group. Bex: Sounds like you're on a nutritionally sound path to success. Ohio: You're handling that job stress creatively; now use that powerful intellect to figure out how to not let it sabotage your health! Phox: Are you a belly dancing fool now?

Everyone else, I missed you and am glad to be back on the "loser" train!

Hi robbie615, I don't chime in here often. I realized after I joined the group not long ago that you'd all been pretty tight for a while. I enjoy the posts but don't know everybody. But I must say I have a pair of NYDJs (not your daughter's jeans). I was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on a business trip a couple of years ago with my husband. I bought some clothes there at a neat little boutique called Marily's. Since I live in San Diego, the woman in the shop got a big kick out of me on a shopping spree in Tulsa. But I don't shop at home much and loved that little shop and the woman who helped me there. I've also loved wearing those jeans. Luckily, I've now shrunk out of that pair. Guess I'll have to find some more. I'd like to go back to Tulsa! My old pair of NYDJs are black and go with everything.

Barbarriba and starblue- we're glad you joined us! Hang in here and you will get to know us! We love new company in our endeavour to shrink at least in weight LOL but alas some of us have shrunk in height too. Just keep reading and chiming in - you'll be right in the thick of us!

robbie - I know what you mean - the first couple of weeks of work wrecked havoc with my eating plan and weight - up about 2 pounds at least  - have been staying off scale can tell I'm up and don't want to get upset -so I HAVE to try and do better logging and getting on track. My friend got a pair of those jeans - she loves them! I'd like to get a pair but no where around here sells them and I would need to try them on.

staryou said "I have the perfect plan to lose and exercise and it looks sooooo good on paper, the flaw is ...me.  If I could just do it consistently every day Iwould be a much healthier and slimmer me.  I am beset with a plethora of aches and pains, some days to the extent that they dictate what I can do and will do and even want to do. " Boy do I hear you  I ache for about 30 min in the am , can't exercise in the am because it makes me nauseous and then too long on the treadmill and I pay for it with aches in my knees.  So it's so hard to take off those pounds

beth and snow My pedometer is accurate because I programmed in my stride length - it's the treadmill that doesn't give the aaccurate mileage and calories burned. Snow most treadmills are programmed for someone weighing 150 so it would read that you burned more calories than you did because you weigh less than 150. i just try to use the treadmill and elliptical as a rough guide. I think cc calories burned are based on your weight which is more aaccurate.

Bex glad you had a god time at the concert. Your analysis in %'s is a lot like mine although I am trying to keep calories a little lower. I would be happy to be losing .5 a week but that is not happening

ohioWell I don't know if I'm handling the golf B or not after reading her letter - I typed one in response then tore it up. I don't know if you can make sense to those kind of ppl. I sub in an Inter-club league that she belongs to, in her letter she said "in fairness to me I would not expect to see you there next year" what the h??? all of this because I did not agree with her continual complaints about our golf course. She also slammed the local HS golf coach that night saying he was lazy and didn't coach the kids, and I said that at least he had taken the team (because no one would ) and it would be hard to coach a sport that you never played. In her letter she said she was his friend?? did she tell him that he was lazy?? My husband thinks no response is the best approach. There are things I would like to say to her bu she seems so far over the edge I don't know if would make any difference... and to think, I thought she used to be my friend, we used to go to tournaments together - obviously NOT! Glad you like your new job. And I hear you about being tired - in the summer all that yardwork I did never made me as tired as I am some days after work. I think it's the mental fatigue.

To anyone one I missed - I'm sorry - EVERYONE - have a great day

bonton:  Probably, at this point, any more conversation would be like banging your head against a brick wall.

(haha) since she said she would not expect to see you in the Inter-club league next year, I'd be tempted to say with a smile, "oh, does that mean you won't be there"?

robbie: if I wore the NYDJ backwards would they pull in my tush?

snowfence:  cantaloupe and fruit are a good idea.  When I first began losing, fruit satisfied my sweet tooth.  I have a corner, near my computer, not visible to visitors, where I could tuck a little tupperware container.  I guess my mind has been too overwhelmed to give much thought to good choices for office food.

beth:  yes, after being off work so long I really love having a purpose to my life and being productive again.  I really tried to fill my days when I was home but underneath I was feeling pretty useless.

rebbex:  one of my favorite Elton songs on a CD I have is "Candle in the Wind" which makes me sad.

I like reading how you all are staying strong, even if I'm not.  When I read how you all are trying it motivates me.