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!

Hello All

Scarlett O'Hara here

Another good day for me. My calories are consistently under 1300.  No empty calories. We'll see come Friday how its all panning out. I walked my dogs for 50 minutes but Pork Chop who is 13 (maybe 14) years old starts out walking great and slowly loses speed. Not the best exercise partner but I can't leave her behind. Spike is my large rat terrier. He is 10 (maybe 11) but very athletic. That's my little running partner.

Beth: Loved the story about Larry and Rocky. How cute.

Bonnie: Your stats are awesome. You are Robbie are always so consistent. I admire you both very much.

Great to read your words again Helene.

That's it from my corner of the world.

You are all awesome and I am so happy to have you in my computer.

Peg

Boy i am away for a whole day and the whole world has signed in...lol

Well Helene: Glad to here your exrays were good, i had the same happiness a week ago....good for you and nice that your family is coming for xmas too.

Beth i think if the cold weather was aroung often you would probably adjust but like me WHO WANTS TO..lol....its -7C up here today and there is snow on the ground.  74 ahh i miss summer already..

Chris: i was going to say i'd like to try that recipe too when i just saw where you stored it.

Frost: Hey Scarlett that's a good nickname for you!!....

Well i put up my xmas tree today, and just finished decorating it, my back is killng me so i think i'll leave the tensil to put on till tomorrow.  Rick called me from work so i think we are going xmas shopping together tomorrow, i made him a 50-60's CD for xmas with 32 songs on it, i think he'll like it, i don't know him well enough to think of anything else, and i think it's the thought not the price tag anyway, i don't have to much money fro xmas, so this is something he can play on the way to work and think of me..hehehe.  Smart thinking eh??

I think i have alot to say when i read all your posts, but by the time i get here i forget.....sorry ....anyway have to lie down talk more tomorrow on Tuesday if busy tomorrow......love to all.....

.................BEB

Pumpkin bread pudding for lunch with a big hot mug of coffee! It was fabulous!! LOL Occasionally I actually do enjoy food but it isn't that often cause I am so picky so chris thanks so much for sharing your recipe! I do love regular bread pudding too - it's something I get hungry for - I make mine with lots of custard and a skim of bread - probably  fattening the way I make it - maybe I'll try to slim it down next time.

chris Yeah for you 131.8!!!!

Beth - can I come live with you??!!! 74 degrees WHAT??!! it was 22 degrees when I got up today and we have about 3" on snow BRRRR I could still be playing golf at your house...pretty please....I could give you golf lessons!

BEB - LOL your tree up already and I thought I was bad putting mine up after Thanksgiving. My daughter and grandson already made some xmas cookies!

Peg aka Scarlett - I laughed out loud when I read your dog's name "pork chop" LOL Hey exercise is exercise even if you're not running. My osteoarthritis keeps me from moving real fast -( I used to walk 4mph but not any more, it is too pounding on my knees) but at least I'm moving! Both of my daughters are allergic to cats but Dr said they developed a tolerance to our gray tabby, Francis, but would react if we got another - so no more cats-  and my 1 daughter is also allergic to dogs so no pets for us. My hubby loves dogs but we just can't have one, she's too allergic and so is son-in law

My wt today actually went down another 0.2 -  123.2 today - hope it continues on a downward trend. Not really worried about turkey day as my reflux keeps me from overeating and I get full very quickly. I always send the left-over desserts to hunting camp with hubby - can't have them around LOL

Poor Bonton:  That's alot of alergies going on there!...lol

Boy i don't know what i'd do if i couldn't have my kitties, Angel has been such a pal, why do they give that sad look when you cry....it's like they feel what you feel, i know when i had Bandit if i cried, listening to a sad song or something he would run up jump on my lap and purr at me....Angel when he was about 6 months old ran over to me, but i said i wasn't sad it was just the movie...hehehe....

Yea i have the tree up it is only 4 weeks till xmas, and it is such alot of work, pulling it out of the box, pulling all the 7 feet of branches out, putting it together and into the trunk i use so it doesn't get knocked over by a 4 pawed little friend, then al the decorations, tinsel too which i did do tonight.  Rick is coming tomorrow so i don't think i'll have time.....i have the lights on flash i have those ones that flicker in about 12 different programs...so it is fun to watch it change from sequence to wave to whatever steady on or off, i love it.....i only wish i had a fireplace...so many times in my life i have had homes with a fireplace but not this one.......roastings marshmellows........

Does anyone roast chestnuts at all, for how long in the oven and i remember my deceased brother Wayne had me down one year in London and he i think wrapped them in bacon coating them in sugar and roasted them does this sound firmilar to anyone?????

Helene: I meant to say i am sorry about your dog and her health, i'm sure she wants to be with you and i trust you will know when she is suffering and when it's time, but for now all you can do is just continue giving her all the love you can and maybe the kids coming for a visit will be extra special for them all too, a chance to at least say goodbye one more time eh??

......BEB

Hi Girls!

Yes, BEB, I am trying to keep Tiny till Patrice comes home for Christmas, but I am sometimes asking myself if it's selfish... She doesn't appear to suffer, but she has been mute since she turned deaf 8 years ago, so she doesn't cry. Maybe she feels like crying, who knows? I keep an eye on her, make sure there is always a cushion next to me, and only feed her soft stuff. That's all I can do for now.

I went out walking this morning and kept at it for over one and a half hour. I'll watch my food intake like a hawk... We'll see what the scale tells me next Friday...

Have a nice day every one.

Helene, in Saigon, who has heaps of things to do today.

I know what you man, womans work is never done, i started at all of this at 9:30am tree, decorations, cleaning house and here it is 11:15pm and i am now just finishing everything i had to do, including ice tea, i only had around 600 calories today so my scale will be moving in the am.....BEB

BEB, I laughed at 'only 4 weeks til Christmas'. My DH would have said, "it's still 4 weeks til Christmas!!". We still negotiate all that stuff. I usually win though...LOL. I've always put up the tree on the weekend nearest my birthday (mid-December).  It used to be my birthday present when my ex & I were short on cash. DH would prefer Christmas eve through Epiphany.  (Maybe some day! LOL.)

Amazon is having a promotion where a lot of the boots are 20% off for 2 pairs. I found some of those crazy rainboots marked WAY down that qualified for the 20% and free shipping. I sent a pic to SD1 asking if her little sister would like them. She took a few days to answer (understandable) and said NO for SD2, but SD1 would like them herself. Of course I just checked and that color combination/size isn't available at that price anymore.  Grrr! (Great deal, $65 boots for $14 & change...if you're looking!)

Good morning Gurls:  Thought i'd pop in before it gets to hectic arond here.

Thanks Chris for the recipe and the nut. stats per serving i always wondered what people call a serving when they don't give the grams, thankyou for giving the grams..lol

Well i got all my house decorated, poor Kyle has a cough and a cold, hope i don't get sick, not since the life threatening flu in Feb of 2007 hope my good eating and healthy feeling keep me from getting sick only 4 weeks before xmas..hahaha....lol..Remember when influenza WAS life threatening although there are times i would like to have lived in that time period, having to wash clothes on a rack or churning butter...ah no.....lol

Joke: There were these 2 mice in a cup, 1 mouse drowned the other mouse swam round and round, ...come morning............. it was butter, and he climbed out.

Just a little kitchen humor again.....

hi guys  :D

it's hard keeping up lately.  i'm looking for a job right now because we lost our health insurance, so now we have to pay for it & it's expensive.  i put a bunch of applications in, but i only got 1 call.  i think i know where i'll work, but i need to wait til there's an opening for 1st shift.  i'm not sure though.  i might just apply at more places anyway.  lol  i'm not picky.

i had a great weekend.  135 today!  of course, then we went to the chinese buffet again.  i think i did alot better there than usual.  i should be easily able to get back down to 134 by thanksgiving.  it's 3 more days!  :D  i guess it'll be fruits & veges again later...

we're gonna have a full house again this week.  ang is coming home with her bf tomorrow & then wendy & her family will be here too.  supposedly jamie isn't coming, but i dunno.  she's the type to come driving 12 hours & just pop in!  i sure do miss landon.  he's getting big already & he eats cereal already, too!  i miss them all though.

i hope you all have great thanksgivings!  i'll be reading, but i'm not sure about posting.  it depends on how much free time i have.

if i really, really try...  i could make 134 my new high instead of my low weight by christmas.  :D  it makes sense, since i am mostly at my high & not my goal weight anyway.  lol  and 134 was my goal!

Hello to All,

Sounds like everyone is on track this week. I read the threads and it doesn't sound like anyone is struggling right this minute.  WOOO HOOOO

Chris: Congratulations on your weight. That is too cool. Just takes patience and discipline. How many calories a day do you usually consume?

Snowfence: 134. You continue to amaze me. I swear, you have this stuff down. Good luck with the job hunting and stay off the 3rd shift. LOL...its bad for you. I should know.

Okay Bonnie:  Pork Chop maybe a funny name but Francis isn't exactly traditional. . 123.2. Wow! That is  wonderful. I want to weigh about 125 but I am 5' 7" maybe 5' 6" (as I get older I wonder if I am shrinking...lol). So, I don't know if that would be such a peachy weight for me or not. Depends on if it is muscle or not I suppose.

I can't believe how "on it" Blueyed, Chris and Bonnie are when it comes to Christmas. I am hesitant to begin. Traditionally I bake tons of goodies and mail them to family. I have been so good this week I shudder at the thought. Maybe it is time for a new tradition. Sigh......everyone loves my goodies, though.

I don't have scales that measure in the tenths like so many of you do. Mine is a cheap digital that measure to 0.5. And to be honest I don't know if I trust them.  I can have extreme weight fluctuation on them through the day. Pounds difference. All I know for sure is I can already feel the change in my body. The weight I gained is already leaving. I am still heavier than I was this summer but in 5 short days I feel the difference. I stay borderline hungry most of the time. That bothers me a bit. I don't know if I just need to get used to not being so full or if I need to increase the calories. I have had no sweets. I want to break that addiction. I seem to be a bit of a junkie.

Okay, back to housework!

Peg

Peg - LOL Francis came form the books that my girls loved "Bedtime for Francis" and there were others in the series- and she was a bear not a cat! LOL You are a lot taller than me - I'm only 5"1" thus not satisfied with 123.2 LOL but it is what it is. Although today it was 122.4!! With this cold I have not been eating between meals at all - at least it's good for something and should be telling me something - like I have too many snacks! At 5'7"' I would think you could weigh 135 or more and still look great. Maybe more protein to help the hunger?? When I get hungry I drink skim milk - stabilizes BS and keeps hunger at bay. Also munching on Fiber one honey clusters helps or sometimes I'll have a Motts plus fiber - no sugar. The fiber shuts my stomach up!

Peg: Something that helps me when i get the munchies is gala apples, my 5 calorie kraft jello pudding with 3 tbsps of dream whip the apple is 60-80 calories depending on weight but 80 cal for a medium and the already made puddings 5 cal + 20 cals for 3 tpsps =25 cal pudding it fills me up and how about popcorn low cal low butter.....and of course veggies strips......there's my input...oh by the way my goal is 140 and i am 5'8" use to be 128 and that was size 26-28 for me i want to get to a 28-30 now and not have anything hanging overtop..so let your pants be your guide, you don't want or need to be skinny, just slim and healthy right???...let me know how the munchies is working out..bonton is right too fiber fills you up i sometimes have my bowl of fiber1 honey clusters 12g of fiber, for a snack instead of breakfast....this is a good low cal. high fiber cereal...watch the high sugar cereals this is one of the better one try these hope they help!!

HELP:  Hey i am about to make Chris's pumkin raisin bread does anyone know what temp. and for how long roughly i thought i might freeze some ....will this stuff freeze or not......can i????????...got the answer and instead of double the recipe i will make 2 batches instead so as not to burn edges!!

Oh by the way to save a little time cleaning pans from the oven I use parchment paper it is god to 425* and no sticking, cleaning just throw it away when done!!

Thank You Bonnie, and BEB for the input . I will try both of your suggestions.

Spike, Pork Chop and I just walked for 60 minutes. It felt great. I need to buy a new pair of shoes, drop a few more pounds in respect of my joints, and then back to running.

BEB, I want to be slim and healthy but I feel better on the low side of my BMI. My jeans still fit but I am hanging over the top. LOL how did you know?

Any ideas on why my scales fluxuate so much? I'm trying to go for the Friday weigh in only, but I can't seem to control myself. I weigh in too much (sorta like all of the time).

Peg

Scarlet: I think salt has alot o do with it, try and recall what you are eating or drinking that seems to make it go high and perhaps a pattern can be figured out, we all have different bodies, and burn things differently, for me i lose weight just by cutting calories.....and exercise is the bonus..metabolism is always different for us to...eh and your build is very similar to mine that's how i knew...hehehehe..back to cooking...

BEB maybe you are right. But in the course of a day I can have a 3 or more pound change. I am careful with the salt. I like cottage cheese. Thats about the only thing that makes my intake soar on CC.  I agree the most important thing of all is cutting calories. But I am taking in approx 1300 a day right now. No where left to cut. I want my burn meter to be at least 1000 calories more than my intake. Exercise really helps with that.

No cooking for me until tomorrow or so. Very small group for Thanksgiving. Not much to it.

Thanks for all of your input BEB

Peg

Frost: that's is what i use to do, the 1000 difference, but i found i was starving myself and therefore losing nothing..now that i keep it at 500+...700 deficit i am losing a pound a week and that's great for me..and eating 1200.

BEB you take in about 1200 calories a day?

Wow, you guys are very chatty today.  I am discouraged about my weight (up another 1/2 pound, and I don't think I was over my allotment Sat or Sun). Grrr. I'm looking to Peg and Bonnie for inspiration---both have been through long plateaus and hung in there. I am bone tired after spending the day shopping and cooking for Thanksgiving. If I didn't have Nick (son) to help, I don't know what I'd do. Gotta go. Hello to all I missed, Robbie, feeling a bit fat and tired.

I Robbie suffered a long plateau in the spring trying to lose to quickly as i suspect this may be Scarlets demise now, but since i started dieting again a few weeks ago Oct9th i have been faithfully losing a lb a week, i assure you it takes strength and willpower to avoid all those chocolates and calories i use to like, but i look at the big picture, me in a bikini next summer.....

Peg: I log in at no exercise, so for me 1720 at 166lbs is what is my body burns doing nothing, then i take the 1200 i eat=500 deficit....see.....put a picture of yourself heavy on the fridge....of how you want to look or how you don't want to look,  whichever works....me i took alot of webshots to compare, and i finally am losing some in the neck and face, my weak spot is the belly...no where else a little in the face......then of course i ride my indoor bike on the days i may eat a little more then eactly 1200 so i can get up into the 700 cals deficit..see where i am going with this......try this...alot of people log in with the exercise but i find it screws up the figures...i prefer to add my exercise separately(activity) an only the stuff like biking, walking etc not doing cooking or dishes.....do you have IM Peg to chat or yahoo???

Got to go pull out my 2 batches of Chris's recipe out of the oven,......raisin pumpkin bread...smells wonderful...ummmmmm....but i need the nuitritional values to be accurate...bye for now.................BEB.....Keep me informed PEG??!!

Chris:  It takes like pumpkin pie not stiff like bread is this right Chris???  I was afraid to burn the top or did i not cook long enough...what is the texture suppose to be like?? 

Oh yummy, by the way 1/4 of the pie is about 140g and you said that 209g is 235 cals. am i correct so i can log accurately dear??..sorry to keep bothering you, i just have no way to figure out the amounts???..bad or forgotten math.

BEB - You can put everything you put into your pumpkin bread pudding into the recipe analyzer, tell it how many servings it makes and it will figure out everything else. I got whole wheat raisin bread but the analyzer didn't have that so I used whole wheat bread and then added raisins separately. Sometimes I think i don't lose because I too much of a deficit - it's something to be aware of.  And yes, the bread pudding tastes kind of like pumpkin pie it's sort of custardy. I put a piece of foil lightly over the top when I baked it until about 15 min before it was done to help it not burn on top.

Robbie - I get discouraged sometimes too but if I don't watch and exercise I am afraid of the alternative. I don't weigh what I want to but I'm healthy and fit - I can actually see definition in my arms!! so I try not to think about strictly the numbers. I have been trying hard to only weigh on Sat and or Sunday. I feel better about myself if I don't look at those numbers daily - the fluctuations drive me nuts. You look great just the way you are! Hang in there - maybe we just have to maintain where we're at. Maybe you've lost inches too - I was actually quite surprised when I measured myself and had lost 2.25" - amazing. Don't be hard on yourself - 125 is a healthy weight for 5'2" as mine is for 5"1". I know we'd both like to be on the low end but maybe our bodies just don't want to be there. Snow is definitely the exception as to how much she can eat and still lose weight! When I get really discouraged I think of my friend and her liver disease and tell myself to stop it... I look fine! and so do you

Life is just one damned thing after another.  ~ Elbert Hubbard

It's not true that life is one damn thing after another; it is one damn thing over and over. ~ Edna St. Vincent Millay

LOL Quote from clairlanes journal!