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!

Ohhh BUMMER - I'm up 0.8 pounds from the weekend I never went over 1300 calories either - guess it makes a difference what my calories come from and lack of exercise on Sunday. I guess I'll hope it's still water retention from having more carbs than usual ( oh yea and had a small piece of DQ cake yesterday for a co-workers 50th B-Day) and my heavier clothes today - still cold here LOL I was really hoping not to have gained any - no such luck.

hershy - my favorite wine is Yellow Tail Shiraz. Also a local winery here - Wilcox - makes a great balckberry wine. My hubby buys it for my every x-mas.

Once  TTOM quits then the hot flashes start and I wouldn't wish those on anyone! Mine were horrible - I actaully had to give up and start taking hormones they were so bad. I wasn't able to sleep a wink and couldn't function at work - instantly cured by the hormones. Hope to able to get off of them in a year or 2, been on them a little over 2 years now.

WIll check in later. Mowing again tonight maybe that will help burn off the weekend weight. I'm bummed....

bonton: Maybe there's a book in here for you; Mowing off the Pounds sounds like a top seller, don't you think? BTW, is 71 the year you graduated high school? I wondered because that's when I graduated. In Dallas. They exiled me because I was too short and didn't have enough hair. LOL

hershy: I had TTOM until I was 53--ridiculous! I kept putting off the hormones thinking, if I can just get trough this, it will be over soon. Well, it was, but then wrinkles, age spots, and a thicker waist followed close on the heels of menopause. I agree with all those people who say there's no way God's a woman.

I am teaching in New York this week-end, so I'll try all your suggestions: ask for an extra salad, fruit and yogurt for snacks, just taste the tempting stuff, but don't eat it all, etc. But, does anyone have a solution to airport food?

that's weird... i swear i've been having hot flashes for about 3 years now, but i still get ttom. :( hmmmm... it must get worse!

mowing is great for burning calories! hubby always eats more when he mows AND he weighs less in the morning.

i think most airports have some good foods. just check around 1st before buying anything. then try to make the best decision. i'd probably go for some kind of junk & make up for it later. hehe i probably shouldn't even say this, but say for instance you get some chocolate. try to eat it real slow & enjoy it. it's kind of a reward for sitting there. :D then have a salad later.

i know... i know... sorry, i'm just in a junk food mood, i guess...

robbie - Yes 71 is the year I graduated LOL seems like a long time ago. Airport food - I don't fly that often but I usually opt for a turkey sandwich if I can find a deli. Even McDonalds has salads now but don't know how good they are. Are you a teacher?? We seem to have  a lot in common.

snow -LOL it did for me .

I don't allow my hubby to mow because I like burning those calories up and I do enjoy yardwork. If we didn't have chemlawn I probably wouldn't have to mow so often. Darn stuff grows overnight!

Had the grandkids tonight - took them to McDonalds and ended up getting a plain hamburger LOl because we were pressed for time - piano lessons at 6. Not the greatest dinner but ... wasn't in the mood for a salad!

snow and bonton: Turkey sandwich with a dark chocolate chaser it will be! You're the best.

I'm not really a teacher, but I do sometimes teach young (I think they're young; they don't. LOL) lawyers through a national training organization. My full time job is mediator/private judge. I used to be a real judge in Miami, but I retired from that 11 years ago when we moved here. When son # 2 graduates from college, maybe I can cut back on the hours a bit.

I wish I had grandkids. Sounds great, but I didn't marry until age 30 (well, not true, I had a practice husband), so my kids are just now getting out on their own. I keep hoping that when they are independent, the stress will evaporate and the weight drip off naturally. Yeah, right. A girl can always dream, though.

robbie - nice new pic!! - I take it that's your son who must have just graduated from college. Where do you live now? Dallas - Miami -  I was born and raised in the town I still live in LOL! Your job sounds interesting and WOW a judge! And you didn't marry till age 30 ...maybe there's hope my daughter will still meet someone! One of my girls is married the other is not and we keep hoping she will meet someone nice! When she was 20 her boyfriend was killed in a microburst - a tree fell and hit him, he was camping - so for  a long time she wasn't ready to date - they had liked each other since the 6th grade - now she is ready but it's hard to meet ppl as you get older - at least I think so. It does get better after they graduate from college - those years between 18 and about 23 ...they don't turn human till after 23 or 24! LOL One of my gilrs is an x-ray tech and the other is an instructional designer (designs computer teaching training tools).

snow - you poor thing hot flashes for 3 years... I couldn't take them but mine were really bad. When they first started I'd feel like I was going to pass out and I'd have to sit and put my head down! Where do you live?

Haven't weighed in yet - hoping to have lost what I gained over the weekend! Golf league tonight - and I'll be walking ...burning more calories LOL Everyone have a good day!

OK so maybe  mowing off the pounds will work LOL I just weighed in !

yesterday 124.8 today 123.4 WOOOHOOOO scale hasn't said 123 since January! I'll have to see if it sticks, but wow it was great to see that number this morning...amazing how that can just make your day!

bonton: yep, hitting a new "low" (weight) can be a real high. My goal is 124, which is still 10 pounds more than I weighed 11 years ago. I have trended down in the last year, but so very slowly.

I am envious of your two girls, having two sons myself. That's a tough break for your daughter. My older son (yes, the graduate in the picture) has been a hound-dog with girls since I can remember, but his younger brother (21) is very shy. He just now has his first girlfriend, and she had to chase him down herself.

I live in Boulder County, Colorado, in a rural town called Erie. I have also lived in NYC, New Orleans, and Long Beach. But, I think I've settled down this time for good.

I didn't ask: are you a teacher? It must be great to be in a community you like so well with your family so close.

 

Exercise is supposed to help with the hot flashes and night sweats.  It has helped some with me.  They aren't gone, but I am either too tired to wake up with the night sweats or they only show up in the morning now. 

I always wear jackets at work over shirts that I don't mind being seen in and just jump up and take off my jacket when a hot flash hits.  Fortunately, that doesn't happen in the middle of meetings too often.

clharr: There were times when I had to step out of the room because I thought everyone could see me sweating, but it turned out only I knew. I came to regard those times as moments of "personal summer." But I think you're right; exercise did help me.

 

clharr - When my hot flashes first started the only sleep I got was if I wore myself completely out physically - like clean the house, play 18 holes of golf, mow the grass , wash the car all in the same day LOL then I would finally sleep

robbie - I'm a school nurse at an elementary school. I have a very nice job - nice kids and staff and great hours but it occasionally has it's days like every job! Both of my girls live an hour away right near each other - a year ago we moved the single one back from Pittsburgh -so the 2 of them are now only 8 miles apart - there is something to being close to your twin sister! So it's great for the one who is not married to be the favorite Aunt!

My goal is 116 - 118  -I  was 114 when my husband and I got married 9 years ago - would love to get back to that but it seems unlikely! LOL

they don't turn human til they're 23 or 24?!  LOL  i love it! 

i wanted to get down to 124, but hubby won't let me.  he doesn't want to hear people telling him that they're worried about me & that i better stop, etc.  so we settled on 134.  i was hoping for 140 today, but nope...  maybe tomorrow.

i started taking some pill awhile back to help with ttom, but it made my boobs swell!  they hurt so bad that i probably only took it for a week or so & quit.  now i just tell the doc i'm doing fine because i don't want any more meds.  that was horrible.  :(

congrats on the 123!!!

Hi Hershy!  I haven't said hello to you yet, and I'm glad you're here   Regarding TOM,  I am 53 and haven't skipped a month yet.  In fact, they seem to have gotten a little heavier lately even though I'm still on the pill.   But the fat zones on my body have shifted to the "older" locations - upper abdomen especially.  The only time I've had hot flashes is when I had to take prednisone for a bad rash I had on my legs.

I am in a spin class.  When I was tested before the class, they said my max heart rate is 200, and that max does not depend on age.  I find that hard to believe, because I've always read that max heart rate is around 220 minus your age.  I think I've gotten it up to 173, but I can't get my legs going fast enough to keep it there for more than 30 seconds or so.  I tend to think maybe my max is 180 to 185.  I'm sticking with it, though, and I'm doing the elliptical machine during lunch hour 2 other days.  I think total calories burned is more important than whether it comes from carbs or fat.  Calories are calories.  Any deficit you create will ultimately get rid of fat.  When I only have 30 minutes to exercise, I want to burn as many calories as I can.  When I have all day to hike, I don't worry about it.

Bonton, water weight is a cunning thing!  My personal guess is that affects us more as we get older.  If you ate too much salt, there goes that scale.  Also, did you know that a day or two after hard exercise, your muscles retain a lot of water?  Ibuprofen also causes us to retain a lot of water.

robbie - the good thing about airport food is they never give you very big portions.  If they have Starbucks at the airport, get one of the nice healthy sandwiches they sell.  They also have good fruit or veggie plates.  My son is 14.  I had no kids in my 1st marriage, and just the one in my second.  Really got a late start, didn't I.  I've got two step-grandbabies, though.

snowfence, you are doing great!  So close to your goal.  I know, that's when it gets tough.  Hang in there!

Alice

thanks moonduster! and believe me... i will! i think i'm retaining water today from finally going to the gym yesterday, and i'll be retaining tomorrow from the breakfast i had today.

i'm trying to drink lots of water though, hoping to flush out all that sodium. :D

i really want to hit 140 tomorrow! hubby said i need to stop at 134, but i can accidentally go down to 132. hehe

snow - Hope you hit your goal tomorrow! You're doing great!

moonduster - Yea that water weight - I do notice it after a day of heavy lifting and I take arthritis med so that doesn't help either but I need it so...  You're lucky - no hot flashes! I don't know how I'll be when I try to go off the hormones but for now I feel great. 200 sounds high for your max heart rate?? I started eating my lunch in 20 min so I can take a 10 min walk around the school during my lunch - every little bit helps!

I've been lax about drinking my water... need to work on that. Played terrible at my golf league tonight LOL it was cold and rainy.

hershy and longwaytogo - where are you today??

nope.  no suck luck...  i'm up a pound instead.  i didn't eat that much over my allowance, so it's probably stupid sodium.  maybe it'll be gone tomorrow.

this new lifestyle change is so much more fun when you wake up in the morning & weigh less.  :D

i don't take it too hard though.  i'm finally in maintenance/lose mode.  i'd rather lose, but everyone else wants me to maintain.

don't worry, ohio!  :D  you'll get down there.  it just takes time, that's all.  you are eating enough, right?

i was 218 on 9/4!  LOL  never again...  nope...  not me!

 

cool!  :D  so you pretty much know what you're doing then.  yeah, a 3 week vacation can do alot of damage.  LOL  it should come off easy enough though.

i know what you mean.  i hate posting that i have gained.  if it's just a pound or 2, i guess that's ok.  that's usually water weight.

we all go up & down anyway.  :D