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!

good luck frost!  we're all with you!  :D  i wish you wouldn't feel nervous though.  you won't let us down.  if you get hungry, you should eat.  just hopefully it'll be something healthy & low cal.  them carrots will keep you busy for awhile though!

yeah, i've heard that that's a pretty good walking speed.  i just don't want to run or jog because i'm worried about hurting myself; and if i hurt myself i won't be walking for awhile.  sometimes i walk 40 - 50 minutes, but sometimes i purposely break it up into smaller walks...  just to keep the metabolism boosted up more times during the day.

i worked the night shift for a long time.  it's weird!  when you're a mom everyone still expects you to be up all day even if you were up all night!

i really need to get alot of exercise in & eat right for the next few days (at least) to make up for these last 2 days!

LOL snow - amazing how those calories can add up so quickly, I did ok Saturday but yesterday... chocolate cake with peanutbutter icing ohhh so yummy and 3,500 steps for the day VERY lazy day for me! Sent all the rest of the cake away with the kids... I can't have it here I would have finished it all!Somehow chocolate cake was not a food my Mother had to make me eat! LOL

frost - don't be nervous ...we're all here to support you! Sorry about your dilema with the day shift job, those decisions are hard to make. Me - I never adjusted so when a day shift came open the decision was easy but sounds like you can do that shift so it makes the decision harder.

Everyone have a good day!

this is pretty awesome...  :D  i only gained 2 pounds this weekend.  i thought i would have gained at least 3 & probably 5 the way i ate!

it's so cool that when you get your metabolism up & working how it should be, it actually burns more calories.  :D

i thought i had a rotten week ahead of me, but i guess i just need to do the same as i have been doing.  them 2 pounds should pretty much just fall off.

LOL  yeah, mom always said NO chocolate!  it sure is a favorite of mine though.

Chocolate is a necessary indulgence.  You can get a LOT of satisfaction out of a 50 calorie peice of dark chocolate!

You will knock that 2lbs off and more!

LOL  you are soooooo right!!!  it is...  for me!  i never gave anything up.  i just eat less & count my servings...  well, duh...  and exercise.  chocolate is soooooo...  i don't know!  i lost the word...  but yeah!  LOL  i need it to live!!!

and yes, probably like you...  i try NOW to eat a piece really slow & savor the flavor.  :D  it works!  it really works!!!  you are not having a ton, but you ARE still having your chocolate.

hubby hates it, but i'll be like, going "mmmmm...  mmmmm...  mmmmmm!"  while i'm eating it.  :D  SO i'll usually give him a piece.

get it?!  usually!!!  LOL  not yesterday!!!  he didn't get any!!!

hmmm... my computer was working really slow & being dumb earlier. i thought i was on this page, but i was on page 1! LOL i deleted that message...

Well, somehow I only gained 2 pounds this weekend.  I thought it would be more with all I ate.  One of my daughters got me a box of Godiva dark chocolate and we had lots of good things to eat.  I am still full even now.  I came into work and found someone had a box of chocolates sitting out for everyone to eat and I am not even a little tempted.  I don't even want to think about food for a while.

I hope everyone had a good Mother's Day and didn't gain too much.

OK, I just stumbled onto this thread... looks like it's been in the "works" for a while, but what can I say... I'm a little slow.

I have been saying in the recent past that I just turned 50, but in reality, I'll be 51 in June.... Ugh, I haven't got use to the 50 yet!

Reading all your posts, I feel like I have twin sisters all over the place.  Some one here wrote, "I lose a pound, only to gain it back in a few days!"  That is the story of my life. 

I think I am very active for my age... as a matter of fact, most of my friends don't exercise and I usually exercise daily.  I currently attend a spin class on Tues/ Thurs, a boot camp on Wed/ Fridays, and then usually Jog or attend a Yoga Class on Mondays.  Weekends are kind up up for what ever I feel like doing.  Sometimes I bike, other times I just exercise my dog.  Other than having an office job, I'm pretty active. 

I have been counting calories here at this site religiously since the first of the year... Jan 1'st to be exact.  Since the first of the year, I have lost about 6 lbs.  It all came off in the first month, every since then, I have been yo yoing up and down several pounds.  In my frustration, I had my metabolism professionally checked- I thought mine was as slow as a snail, but found out it was pretty fast, so I started to eat more calories.  When that failed to work, I bought a HRM, I found out that I usually burn any where from 500- 700 calories in my boot camp and spin classes.  I've been pretty annoyed with all this lack of losing weight after all my efforts, until I've recently been distracted by the deep smile lines in my face.  (Honestly, it's like I just noticed them last week)  I'm pretty sure I've turned into my grandmother....over night!  Ugh! 

Glad to see I'm in good company.

Have a great day!

T

clharr - you were brave as was snow. I stayed off the scale at least for today. Will check tomorrow but after our big lunch yesterday and chocolate cake with peanut butter icing LOL I didn't want to know! Heading to the treadmill now! Got to burn those extra calories off

Welcome hershy! Your post made me smile - my girlfriend gets worried about the lines in her face too but me I want rid of this tummy that has appeared! And I actually had been thinking of getting my metabolism checked but then I finally started losing some weight so I bagged the idea - probably no where close to me does it! I also say I have "old lady skin" on my hands! LOL I exercise about 5x a week too ...what would I look like if I didn't???... I started here in Jan also but it took until the last 3 weeks to lose any weight at all. So far I'm down 4 pounds would like to lose 8 more but we'll see I just want my capris to fit! And you're right it's as if we're all twins! and wait till you have to say 54 LOL 51 won't have seemed so bad

Hi Hershey...Welcome

Okay, I made it last night. I ate ate 8:30 PM.  A salad around midnight and at the critical time of 3:30 AM I have fat free yogurt with strawberries, grapes, bananas and a very few walnuts in it. My caloric intake was about 1300 calories. WOOOO HOOOO.  Now to do it again tonight. The yogurt worked like milk at that hour, Bonton...ty ty.  And Snow, I thought of you at midnight while I munched the carrots in my salad.  If I eat everything I am taking to work tonight I will still be a little low on calories for the day but I'm just going to roll with it. I only did one thing wrong last night that I can think of....I didn't drink enough water.

Thank you all.

Hershey: sounds like you're working hard to stay healthy, and don't worry about the smile lines. Everyone looks at least 5 years younger when they smile. So, when I smile, I'm your age, instead of the 55 I will become on June 15.

I gained 1.5 lbs. yesterday, which makes no sense because my husband actually made us a healthy dinner (grilled chicken, grilled fresh corn and green salad with avocado, YUM). OK, I confess, I did chase it down with a lo-fat brownie.

But, you've inspired me to go take a walk on the treadmill and stick to the program, especially you, snow. Were you by any chance a cheerleader in high school?

hi hershy :D you do seem pretty active. keep it up! yeah... we're all getting old together. i have 2 grandkids. we're going to see them saturday.

frost? you made it?! awesome! :D i was really rooting for you. i know how hard it can be when you're hungry at work & there's only junk to eat. that stuff you ate all sounds really good.

i knew you could do it... were you still hungry though? i think that junk food leaves you hungrier. that reminds me, i need to drink more water...

lol no robbie, i wasn't. i just get so excited about this new lifestyle stuff. my computer is acting up today. :( i guess i'll give it a break or something. it's bringing me to wrong pages, & not loading them anyway, etc.

frost - glad you did it! Way to go! The milk thing always works for me so glad it helped you even if it was yogurt. Have you tried Fiber one yogurt - the lime is yummy.

I walked 50 minutes on my treadmill so tomorrow I'll weigh in and see what the weekend damage was.

robbie - it's probably just water weight or something - my weight fluctuates too. Did you have wine? that always makes me retain fluid LOL

And water??? I struggle with that. I was just too cold today all that cold water makes me shiver! We had snow today!!?? is it May???

bonton: It's cold here too. Where do you live? I have a really hard time drinking as much water as I should. No wine yesterday, but plenty after the graduation Friday and Saturday!

frost: keep up the good work!

Hey, Thanks for the warm welcome!  I try to keep up with you all through posting daily!

Have a great evening!

T

robbie - I live in central Pennsylvania - some places had 3" of snow! crazy weather. It's probably the wine... you'll drop that weight before you know it. I love a good glass of wine but it does make me retain fluid for some reason.

3 inches of snow in PA yesterday?!  wow! 

it was pretty cold here.  the family was nagging me to turn up the heat & they never do that.  so i did.  :D  i was cold anyway...

I'm avoiding the scales today.....TTOM.... I think I'm the only woman who is nearly 51 who continues to have a period.  It makes for a very cranky old lady!

Tuesday in my world means "spin class" day.  I purchased a heart monitor so I know that I burned 685 calories today.  The only problem is.... I was working too hard.  One thing that I did learn when I had my resting metabolic rate screening is... you need to work below your anaerobic heart rate... for me that is below 163.  For my work out today I spent 95% of my time at that rate so I only burned 35% fat! ( when you back off and work in your "zone" you actually burn less calories, but a higher percentage of your calories are from fat- does that make sense?)  I need to back off a little bit during class to get my heart rate down, but when you have an instructor barking at you to pick it up, I tend to cave. ( somewhere in my life, I became very competitive.... must have come along from raising two sons) Oh well, I guess it's better than sitting around, reading the paper all day eating bonbons..... wait a minute... that is sounding pretty tempting right now.

Well, hope you all have a great day!  I'm off to work.

PS.... did I read the word wine here?  Does anyone have a favorite?  I personally like the Greg Norman Wines..... anything red.  I just had a sip of a wonderful red wine at the local restaurant the other day... too rich for my blood.. $60.00 a bottle, but it was a Scott Harvey... I believe.  Yummy!  Wine is my weakness! 

T

no hershy, don't worry...  LOL  you are not the only one.  i still get mine too, and i started early too.  you'd think if you started early, you'd be done early; but that's not the case.

i can't believe we're finally going to the gym!  once i get started, i'll probably just go alone if hubby doesn't want to go.