Motivation

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!

HeleneYou write beautifully - I felt like I was there looking at all the beauty! Might have to look up those trees and flowers cause I didn't know what they are LOL. Very glad you joined us on this thread!

I have the day off today - Dr appt - because a month ago my TTOM decided it would come back - ridiculous! - hadn't had that for a year and a half now they want to make sure everything is ok. I was hoping it would be nice today as my flower gardens need a little attention and the grass needs cut ...right now it's rainy outside...I hope it clears up. My hubby bought me a dark pink crabapple tree which he  planted last night - now I want to make a small landscape bed around it so I'll need to get some flowers and shrubs.

For those of you following the saga of my daughters trial with eHarmony LOL date # 3 was a bust LOL She met him for lunch - let's see ...he didn't stand up when she walked in to meet him, he thought the restaurant was expensive and didn't offer to pay for her lunch, she ended up paying for hers,  he said he wasn't hungry ( who goes to lunch not hungry??) and he didn't make any conversation she said it was like pulling teeth LOL NOT... LOL oh well it was worth a laugh but that was all.

frost -could we get this arranged marriage in the works??? LOL Also re: the hearing thing or not paying attention... menopause is probably the culprit makes it hard to concentrate " In early menopause, many women are troubled to find they have difficulty remembering things, experience mental blocks or have trouble concentrating."

phox  We'd love to hear about the countries you've lived in.

star - where are you? Jump right in

one  I myself took antidepressants and went to counseling for a year when I went thru my divorce - not fun - so I feel for you. I never struggled with addiction so not sure what to say there but... One day at a time and we're all here for you.

ohio I actually increased my hip density 4% from weight lifting and cardio!! However it dropped a little after menopause came around taking double calcium now.

snow Your tummy is definitely not big. Start lifting weights to get toned - you know our over 50 skin is just not as elastic as it used to be. I loved someone's comment about crepe paper skin!!

moon Too bad I can't loan out my small appetite, pickiness and complete inability to eat a large meal!! How did I gain this weight??? LOL don't know

 robbi  LOL I would not eat my fries slowly either - if you're going to splurge might as well enjoy it!

To anyone I may have missed or any newcomers have a good day!! If it stays rainy I'll be back LOL

WOW...this thread has gotten so big its hard to know where to begin. Once again to all the new comers WELCOME!!!! Today I shall stand up straight, I shall try to control my eating. Tonight I go back to work and that is where I usually fail. I will feel good about myself and remember to see the goodness and joy in life.

Bonton: I have decided to stay on the night shift. I told them I would go to days if they kept me on the same schedule and pay rate. I don't think they will do that. Thats okay. I have a lot of younger nurses on the night shift and I am pretty much the captain of that night ship. I don't know if mama bear could leave her cubs quite yet. I work 3 on 2 off, 3 on 2 off, 3 on...8 off. Every 3rd week I have a week off. Thats worth a lot to me! I am not sure if we should put my son on eharmony and let them find each other...Sounds too time consuming. I shall get a shot gun and we can wed them the old fashioned way! You make me realize I need to lift more weights. So hard to find the time for everything. Running 75 minutes now. But I don't want weight loss with no muscle mass. Sigh....need to find time for weights.

Due to my work schedule I won't be on as much for the next few days. Everyone stand up straight.

Ohio, I met my husband on the internet.  It was over 10 years ago and it wasn't nearly as popular as it is now, but it can work.  I imagine it is harder now, the number of men are declining at our age, but it certainly beats picking them up at a bar.  I wish you the best of luck!  I am sure there is a good one out there for you.

i'm trying!  lol  it's hard to remember to stand up straight.  i never did that!  but as we all shrink, i guess that would help with our height, huh?  and we do look slimmer when we stand up straight.

3 on 2 off sounds awesome!!!  especially the 8 off!  :D

Who has NOT had this eperience? Yesterday, I got up early to do the stairmaster. I ate carefully: fresh fruit, whole grain bread and salmon in am, feta and spinach pie for lunch, homemade teryaki salmon and green salad for dinner. Got up this a.m. and weighed 1.5 lbs. more than yesterday. THAT to me should be the icon of the post 50 female: doing everything "right" and getting "wrong" results. SO discouraging. And if you're not huge, people are completely unsympathetic, "Oh, you're so tiny, why do you worry?" They don't see the walk-in closet full of beautiful work outfits I can no longer fit into.

Bonton: for what it's worth, I married my good (current) husband at 30, so your daughter is still well in the zone of possibility.

Helene: I lived in Florida for 23 years, and I never had the power to describe the tropics as well as you have.

i know what you mean, robbie.  that sucks...  :(  i swear that scale has a mind of it's own sometimes, but the clothes have to tell the truth!  unless you shrunk 'em.  LOL  i do that sometimes...

OH Robbie, I completely understand what you are saying. You have that day that you were sure was good and then nothing. I do think Moon is right, though. After a day of more moderate exercise, the scales may not reflect it for a day or two.  I am also looking at a closet full of clothes that won't fit. And it's true about people being unsympathetic.  The hard thing for me is to keep off the scale. Daily weigh in plays terrible mind games with me.  Hang tough and you will reach your goal weight. Those clothes will fit again!

Hi there to all you 50+ and fabulous women out there. I'm so glad to finally find this website and find so many of you that are experiencing the same struggles and also successes. I am 53; just 2 months ago I was at my heaviest ever, with no energy and with every pain imaginable. Since then I have chosen to change my lifestyle, started exercising, and eating healthy. So far I have lost 20lbs. and 17+ inches. I have more energy and am enjoying life again. There is hope!!!

Welcome imblksh33p Join right in - we are a great group with sooo many similar struggles. 20 pounds is great!!! All the research shows that if you can even lose 10% of your body weight it is so beneficial to your health.

I know exactly what you're saying robbie! I splurged on dessert 2x over the weekend but exercised plenty and did not go over my calories still had a deficit , drank all my water Monday got on the scale Tuesday ...up 1.2 pounds. It just never makes sense. BUT take heart - it will come back off - it could just be water retention - I lost that and .8 more this week GO figure it really doesn't seem to be related to what i eat. And I'm with frost - those daily weigh-ins play mind games with me I get discouraged if I go up in weight. I seem to stick to my healthier eating plan if I don't weigh so often. Like moon I get on when I feel lighter LOL. Ppl tell me all the time I don't need to lose either and while I'm still in the healthy BMI range (closer to the top) my clothes don't fit either! and that is motivating to lose what I put on. It seems like gravity has pushed it down on to my hips, rear end and tummy cause all of my tops still fit! Maybe I should stand on my head daily??!!

ohio Yea after the bust with date # 3 my daughter thought "what did I put on my survey that got me hooked up with this guy??" LOL I know there's a person out there for you! My husband and I actually were neighbors when we were little - I have  a picture of us playing together when we were about 5 - anyways, my divorce ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me - because I have true love this time around. I hope that you will be as lucky abd blessed as I was and true love will come your way and for my daughter too. My co-worker's 2 children both found their spouses on eHarmony ...so I still have hope for her.

Hello there!

Thank you all for the compliments about my writing. Now you know why everyone presses me to write a book. But I am much too lazy for that. I'd rather just make other people's life nicer in patches! LOL 

What to say? I read the last entries and have to admit that what we all experience is sooo similar it's almost eerie. Bonton, yesterday I was so sure that after weeks of regular exercise and very controlled food intake, I was finally seeing some progress. My weight had crept down a few onces in the past two weeks; in the morning I had fit into a polo-shirt that used to be a bit tight around the middle but that was - O miracle - looking perfect this time; T'ai Ch'i practice made me walk more erect (moon, you are right, slouching is a no-no when your stomach is protruding already...). But...

This morning I woke up with the telltale impression I had puffy eyes. I had had a short night - I never sleep more than 5-6 hours, but last night I went to bed at 2 and got up at 6... - and the scale only confirmed the disaster: I've gained almost 2 lbs... It's very hard to keep motivated when this happens. But thanks to this wonderful group, I pledge I won't just throw away my efforts. I'll keep my chin up, drink my system free of salt, and be careful not to eat anything today that can favor water retention. For that's what it is. Short nights are always followed by an increase in weight for me. And the food I eat the day before is also important.

It's not always easy here: I have a Vietnamese cook who likes to put soy sauce and fish sauce in everything she makes, and both are very high in sodium. I tried to teach her to reduce sodium, but the result was that she stopped using salt altogether, while still adding just as much soy and fish sauce (in her mind I guess it's not related).  I can tell you one thing: even a pasta lover like me can't eat unsalted spaghetti...

That reminds me of the time when a frantic search in my cupboard after I got covered in hives  - I am allergic to large doses of msg - revealed an industrial-sized container of the stuff in my kitchen cupboard... My cook opened huge eyes when I asked her why on earth she was using the thing when I had told her I was allergic to it. Her answer was that this wasn't msg, it was Aji-no-moto (the most common brand of msg here...). =)

At least I managed to convince her that I wanted to eat vegetarian for lunch (when you have money, you eat meat only), so she usually makes a stir-fry of mixed veggies and a salad. The fresh fruit I keep as a mid-afternoon snack. I had noticed the stir-fry was a bit salty yesterday, hence the puffy eyes and extra pounds...

Don't you feel sometimes that as you age you become a very sensitive mechanism that gets upset at the slightest provocation? I do not recall waking up with bags under my eyes because of a few potato chips when I was 20 years younger!...

Oh! And to think so many of you ALSO have a cupboard full of clothes that don't fit! I sometimes feel so foolish to keep them, but on the other hand so many are still new - I bought a whole new wardrobe when I came to Vietnam then proceeded to gain 18 lbs in the first 3 months of my stay grrrrrr - and others I just love. I usually dress very conservatively, things that don't go out of fashion within a century, so it is such a waste to give all this away... Somehow I feel that if I get rid of them, I'll at the same time forgo the hope of ever returning to normality...

Like moon, I had some thoughts: my Mom also got chubby and grew a belly when she went into menopause at 54. She now is 83 and looks like a tiny bird. She probably weighs half of me and she was my height exactly - 5'3" - when young (she has osteoporosis so she is much shorter now). Maybe this is just a phase? I also had a return of my period two months ago, when it is supposed to have stopped two years ago... Maybe our hormones are still sputtering, if feebly so? Any feed back from the older girls?

Have a very nice day everyone!

Helene

P.S: Frost, not checking our weight every day is probably a good idea, as it DOES mess up our mood and self-confidence. Many times I have decided to weigh myself only once a week. But I have to admit I never succeeded...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helene - Since I'm a nurse have to ask you -have you had your thyroid checked? You know it can get sluggish during menopause...underactive thyroid can cause wt gain, water retention, fatigue, dry skin... a lot of what we experience with the aging ...but not a bad idea to get it checked just in case it's the culprit. I've found that I need to keep my sodium down too. And you're right the salt from chips never made me puffy when I was younger! LOL Looking at my logs I need to keep my sodium below 2000 or I get up puffy. Lack of sleep can also cause you to not lose weight. Ck this out

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/10/ 991025075844.htm

http://thyroid.about.com/b/2004/11/18/lack-of -sleep-may-lead-to-excess-weight-study-finds- link-between-hours-of-sleep-and-risk-of-obesi ty.htm

My TTOM returned last month but test at Dr was normal yesterday (NOT fun he did a biopsy) but he concluded it was from taking steroids in Feb before I got the rash from the shingles - Dr originally thought I had a pinched nerve.

And you're right ...I can't bring myself to give away the clothes I can't fit into either. If I did it would be accepting defeat! LOL can't do that

Cooked my hubby his favorite dinner yesterday since I was off work... roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn and I sauteed zucchini for me, french crusty rolls for him only ... OK so i had 1 bite of his - passed on the corn LOL too many carbs. So who knows what the scale will say today - lots of sodium in that meal LOL oh well it sure tasted good. BUT I mowed the grass yesterday so maybe mowing off the pounds will work again!

frost and robbie - Do you live near where the tornado went thru ?... Hope you're OK Hard to imagine a tornado in CO with all those mountains

im...  losing 20 pounds is awesome!  keep it up!  :D

i would like to start weighing myself once a week too.  i'm too scared though.  LOL  if i gain a pound or 2, i'd like to know it, so i can work on it right away.  i can't even keep it down to once a day!

i had too much sodium yesterday too, but that's pretty common for me.  it's subway for today & tomorrow.

i can't get rid of old clothes either.  most of my old clothes are too big though, not too small.  i still have clothes from back in high school!  LOL  i know...  i know...  well, there's not that many that are that old.

i gave my daughter some old clothes recently because i just couldn't toss 'em & she's pregnant.  i hope she finds something in there she likes!  i just don't even want to know though.  alot of them were still new too!  now that they are hers, i guess she has the right to toss them.

Bonton, I don't mind your asking. I am a victim of Hashimoto's virus. My thyroid was partially destroyed and I am now on 100mcg of Eltroxin a day. Doesn't help with the weight I accumulated while I didn't know about the sluggish thyroid, but it did help with the dry skin and the general confusion. Before I knew what was wrong with me, I was scatter-brained, depressed and had no energy. I would just sit and think of all the things I had to do and feel overwhelmed...

But I am again online today for one precise reason: I am reading a book called The Art of Simplicity, by a French author who lives in Japan. I find it very interesting in that she upholds the idea we grow fat and sluggish because of all the energy lost in our over-stuffed homes. I know that the Taoists believe that we are robbed of our ch'i when we live in cluttered homes. Ch'i is our life energy. When you don't have enough energy, or if it becomes stagnant because of the accumulated mess surrounding you, you become weak, confused, and your body, full of toxins, grows fat. Especially around your middle... That's what the Chinese popular belief is.

While reading, I was thinking of all those things in my cupboards, all the flotsam accumulated after 30 years of vagary. Presents we didn't really like but kept "because", souvenirs, shells harvested on long forgotten beaches, things that "still could be useful", books I read years ago but will probably never open again (we have about 3000 books in this house...). Every time I move, I discard some, but the bulk of it remains, and I keep dragging with me all that dead weight...

What if the Chinese were right? What if we 50+ girls had the same problem because we have the same over-stuffed memories and homes? I have decided to start and clear up at least some of the clutter. She has a point, why do I carry all that extra weight behind?

Consider me your guinea pig. If the pounds start falling off, I'll let you know for sure!!!

Helene - sorry , you did mention that before, now I remember because I told you that I also had had Hashimotos  -call it a senior moment - I had forgotten already.  LOL. We do accumulate a lot of "stuff". I moved twice during my divorce - once into a rental and then into my home now which I had built. Both times I threw away old things  and stuff LOL but somehow my basement is full again - I think it grows there on it's own!

snow - clothes from HS - LOL - now that's really keeping things - my daughters yell at me if it's 10 years old but HS... LOL they'd sneak in and throw it away for me! Only thing I have left from HS is my majorette uniform. My hubby bought it for me at our 25th HS reunion - they auctioned them off - not married at the time - but at the time it still fit!!! LOL I'm sure it wouldn't now.

OK so maybe I will write a book "Mowing and golfing off the pounds"! LOL Only up 0.2 from that big meal yesterday - I'm officially down 4.8 pounds! yippeee!!!

Original Post by robbie615:

Who has NOT had this eperience? Yesterday, I got up early to do the stairmaster. I ate carefully: fresh fruit, whole grain bread and salmon in am, feta and spinach pie for lunch, homemade teryaki salmon and green salad for dinner. Got up this a.m. and weighed 1.5 lbs. more than yesterday. THAT to me should be the icon of the post 50 female: doing everything "right" and getting "wrong" results. SO discouraging. And if you're not huge, people are completely unsympathetic, "Oh, you're so tiny, why do you worry?" They don't see the walk-in closet full of beautiful work outfits I can no longer fit into.

Bonton: for what it's worth, I married my good (current) husband at 30, so your daughter is still well in the zone of possibility.

Helene: I lived in Florida for 23 years, and I never had the power to describe the tropics as well as you have.

Robbie,

I so get you about the unsympathetic look from others.  I, too, am not large.  I guess, in fact, many women my age would like to look like me.  AND like yourself I have clothes which no longer fit-and this is just since the fall.

Like I said in one of my other posts I am struggling with an addiction and have got clean and started use several times over.  Initially, I put on 15 pounds.  OK, I needed it, or at least some of it!  Then I put on 10 more  pounds.   So even if I don't 'look' like I need to lose, I know what I can look like and that is what I am trying to obtain.  Yesterday, at the gym, I did a couple machines I don't ususally, and really felt the difference.  I went on the stairmaster and one of the life cycles.  I am a 'elliptical gal' myself.  I've been changing up my workouts also my breaking up my cardio more often w/ my weights.  Anything to see a  differnce in how I look.  I do feel better, no doubt.

About the stairmaster-and this  is so over 50esque.   I couldn't see the panel to read how to use it-as it is a new one.  The trainer who helped me said he put me on a low reading.  I'm telling you there is no way that was a low reading.  So, today I'm taking my glasses with me so I can do it myself.  I think this guy must have got a chuckle seeing me struggle! LoL~

so to all-to another 24!

oneis2many: Man oh man, is the near vision a problem. On the bright side, as we age, we do look worse up close, so I consider it a gift from God that my husband can't see me 1st thing in the morning.

Helene: I love your idea about simplifying. Now if only I had time in my life to throw things out. Whenever I start, I get caught up in memories and end up hanging on to real junk. It's ironic, because I used to be the "tosser" and my husband the pack rat. I hope you're wrong about the genetic destiny theory;   my mom and grandmom  both dramatically rounded out in the middle with advanced age. More likely, it's because they were adherents to the southern cooking (if it ain't fried, it ain't worth eating) diet. That, at least, I can control.

Bonton: Tornadoes north of me, thanks for asking. And, the only thing I have left from high school is a memory of being too short and too flat of hair to make it in Texas (no offense, Ohio, or did I hallucinate that you were in Texas? Looking at your screen name, I'm beginning to doubt myself!). 

Snow, I'd love to have the problem of tossing out too BIG clothes. Good for you.

What kind of scales do you all have that measure ounces? Mine's only to the 1/2 pound. Probably just as well since I obsess enough over the daiily results. Like snow, I can't seem to break that habit.

Heading up to the mountains for the long weekend this afternoon. Hope you all have great holiday in store.

I'm reading the book "The New Rules of Lifting For Women" - I plan to use the workouts suggested. Most of the exercises I already incorporate but will use their schedule and reps/sets.

Here are some of the things regarding meal plans that the book suggests:

• You must eat breakfast
• You must eat a  total of 5 meals and snacks a day
• You must have a post-workout recovery shake (protein shake) on days you lift
• You must have more calories on days you work out than on days you don't (No kidding! LOL)
• Protein needs  roughly 30% of your calories should come from protein. "Protein is to diets what black is to fashion: it makes everyone thinner!"

low: 0.5 grams per pound of body weight  medium: 0.75 grams per pound of body weight     High: 1 gram per pound of body weight  So for me that equates to 61, 92 and 123 which I have been right in the ballpark!

I actually started doing most of this thru trial and error before I bought the book. I do think increasing my protein and eating 5-6x a day has really helped me to start losing. Also cutting carbs to 45-50% instead of  the 50 -60% I was having and distributing my calories through  out the day instead of a big meal at the end of the day.

Anyways - just some points from the book - might help.

Golfing, having a family cook out and yard work this weekend. Hope everyone has a fun and relaxing weekend!