300+ Club - 300+ and Getting Fit after 40 #233

This thread is a sub-set of the 300+ thread.

This group is for those dealing with the challenges of having a significant amount of weight to lose and being fit which becomes harder after age 40. If you're an old or new friend and not over 40 and feel this is the place to post, jump right in.

I had a good weekend despite having to work a lot -- did a 5 mile breast cancer walk, and then took the dogs on a walk downtown later in the day.

I'm still on a grading bender, but I'm thinking there will be some daylight soon.

The scale may have inched down a bit this morning, but it's hard to tell on a dial scale. I will keep on keeping on and try to create a bigger calorie deficit.

Heather...five miles PLUS taking the dogs out for another walk. I'm so impressed with you!

I wasn't going to weigh in this morning since TOM is looming and I ate rather late last night, but I went ahead and indulged my curiosity. And I am happy to report that while on vacation, I dropped six of the 11 lbs. I had gained back over the last month.

So this tells me something...having a lot of daily activity helps me burn calories. Since I am a distance degree student, and I work almost entirely from home, I don't get out and move my body a lot. I may exercise, but that's all the activity I get, besides housework, during the day. So I've decided to shoot for adding hours of activity to my days. I have to think about how I'm going to do that. If you have ideas, feel free to share.

I love coming back from vacation. It's a great time to renew and recommit to goals. I'm looking at my next 10% to lose, and I'm thinking I'd like to concentrate on losing just 1% of my body weight. Just three pounds to lose and keep off for a week after that.

I'll be blogging about all of this later today. No more time on the laptop this morning. Got a body to move!

Walrus -- :hug:

Georgia -- a five mile walk and a walk with the dogs and the amazing thing is that it wasn't a big deal!!!! My feet were a little sore after the 5 miles, but I have good shoes, so it wasn't bad at all.

I can't even believe it sometimes -- my fitness level is SO much better than just about any time in my life!

Heather - 5 miles - awesome. So how tired were the pups? Glad to hear things are going well for you.

Georgia - WELCOME HOME. How was sleeping in your own bed? BTW - I did go vote for you - good luck!

I walked to my fitness class tonight - so much nicer than doing cardio in the gym. I hope the weather holds - maybe until April. They mentioned the S word tomorrow night - 75 today.

Hugs to all - hope to see you soon!

Carol -- I love walking outside too! And TO the fitness class! Wow!

The pups were quite tuckered out, but they did not come on the long walk. They got to walk around our downtown and get doted on by passersby. They loved it!!

Carol, I'm about to sleep in my lovely, lovely bed again. Thank you for voting for me! Even I forgot to vote for myself yesterday. (Go here (http://www.sam-e.com/job/profile/382) to vote for me...)

The boys go back to school tomorrow, so we had a very long day full of activity getting ready for it. Laundry, grocery shopping, and finally done cleaning the garage and setting up the gym. I have my new rowing machine in place and I can't wait to use it tomorrow! I set up my old TV that has a DVD player in it and I moved all my exercise DVDs out there. No excuses!

Life has been super busy the past few days.Food has been good and even getting daily exercise. Just dont seem to have alot to say...wish i could bottle this easy time for the hard days.

I'm hanging in there. Yesterday I ate what I thought was way too much food before dinner. I was ready to throw in the towel and just munch all night (and there was a part of me that was feeling sorry for myself and wanted too).

But my new rule is WRITE IT DOWN. So I wrote down all my food and lo and behold I was only a couple hundred calories over what I wanted. I ended the day with maybe a tiny calorie deficit. But disaster averted!!!

way to go heather ...writing it down makes all the difference in the world for me!

Good job Heather. I'm with dgramie writing it ALL down keeps me on track too.

It's truly Fall here. We've had a couple frosts and today the Annual Lady Bug invasion has begun. There are a bazillion of them on the west side of the buildings. None yesterdaybut starting today they are everywhere. We'll have them about a week and they'll all disappear for the Winter.

Definitely a lady bug invasion here too. Too many of any critter is a little creepy...

Lots of lady bugs here too. Kids are loving it! I have been on track. But not posting as I am in the middle of a cleaning spree. And I am afraid if I stop to long I wont finish! Have a great day and hugs!

We have lots of lady bugs in ky also.I also see them in our upstairs bedrooms from time to time during the winter months.
The trees are beautiful here this fall. We had so much rain that the colors are brillant this year. I took the kids on a long walk yesterday and talked about the trees. They are only 3 and dont really remember the leaves falling last year. Its so much fun to see the world thru the eyes of a 3 yr old.
Food is still great and scales are stuck again..oh well they will move someday!!

I'm leaving on my fall retreat in about an hour. It's at June Lake, in California. Three days of learning more about creating balance in my life and rewiring my brain so that my response to stress doesn't lead me to making poor decisions. Like overeating. Or avoiding healthy activities.

I'll be back Sunday night. It's the first time I'm leaving my boys home alone. They're 17 and 12. My parents live nearby. They'll be okay. I'll just miss them terribly until I'm in the middle of a massage and they call me to break up a fight over what kind of toppings they should get on their pizza.

I'll check in when I can.

Ladybugs here too!

Georgia - have a wonderful weekend. I'm proud of you taking time for you.

I thought I was the only one who gets the fall cleaning craze. There's just something about the cooler weather that makes me want to just dump everything out, shake everything off, clear the clutter and crap and get re-organized. My family thinks Im crazy but it feels kinda like a nesting urge, has to be done!

I've had the flu this week, so it kinda put a hold on the above mentioned cleaning but I'm starting to feel better so I think I'll be jumping in this afternoon. I'm in the middle of cleaning out my pantrys and cubbards so I have to get that done, I have no room on my table or counters! Oh, the flu hits at the most inconvenant times:).

I agree with keeping a food log. I have noticed that when I am dilagent about writing what I eat, I lose more. There have been days when I have not written and those are the days I either don't eat enough, or think I'm doing ok and end up with more calories than I should:(. That just leads to frustration when the scale doesn't move.

Well I'm almost at the big 50lbs. lost mark. I haven't weighed this amount in more than 10years! I am about ready to retire some of my clothes, as I can't keep them on my shoulders (shirts just keep sliding off or down in front and I can't be showing off the girls like that:)). I was going to alter all of my clothes as I lose the weight but my daughter said, "WHAT! Are you crazy, just throw them out! You've worked hard to lose it, so buy yourself new clothes!" So sweet:). If I find things on sale, really cheap, like on the 1$ and 3$ rack I'll buy some new things to fit now, other wise I'll be taken in some of my old stuff. When I reach goal, WATCH OUT!!! I'll be sending everything that doesnt fit to freecycle and hitting the stores for ALL new clothes!!!! Can we say shopping spree!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So for now I'm saving up for that new wardrobe:).

Boy, I can tell I'm feeling better:) I'm talking yours ears off! Ok, gotta get more exercise in and eat more now that I'm feeling better. Hope you all have a fab day, I plan to :).

Big Momma...... your doing great! I'll be here to cheer your 50 lbs!

The cleaning bug bit me too. I'm fighting it but I actually scrubbed walls. It's a wonder they didn't fall down.

WW today was a downer and not in a good way. Lost 6 lbs. last week. A lot was water. I was wooshing all day before WI. This week I wasn't and I had a 1.8 lb gain. I wasn't perfectly OP this week but I came close so I'm blaming the gain on my body retaining fluid to replace some of what wooshed last week. Ah well. I'll stay OP and hope I level out next Thursday. :shrug:

I've waited nearly 7 months (since March 27 to be exact) to see my scale shift from the 260's to the 250's. And it has. This has been the hardest 10 pounds to lose so far. It is with renewed excitement I go forward - I've been exercising hard, eating right, drinking my water, getting enough sleep - all was good except the scale. I was starting to think it didn't go below 260 - and it's a balance scale.

These are unchartered waters for me - over 20 years for sure since I've been this weight and probably longer. My body is very comfortable at this weight and I need to convince it otherwise.

Yesterday I did the third cleaning of the closets of things that are too big for me. This time they go to my friend Amanda who was on the Dr Oz show. She will not need them for long - in 30 days she lost 26 lbs but I hope it helps her through the winter.

Hugs to all,
Carol

Wow, I haven't been here in a few days! It's been really busy. I had one day when I really slipped up (first time in a while) but got back on track yesterday.

Tonight we're having dinner with a colleague of my husband's and I have no idea what to expect. Time to come up with a plan...

Morning ladies,

Where the heck did September and October go? I completely fell off the posting wagon these two months. Sorry, gals!

I have barely had time to read at work. A huge project has started that I am supposed to be a lead on and it be my full-time job. Which means full-time plus all the other things I was doing. Lots of meetings and trying to herd cats. Then they sent out a "Ethics Point" which was about an employee's personal blog and updating the blog at work and how that violates using company equipment for personal use. So I thought I better quit posting from work.

When I last left you, I was debating about making the trip to Ohio for a horse show. We had decided to go ahead and go. On the day before, DH's brother had an episode where they thought he might be having more strokes. We talked about maybe not going as we didn't want to be 12 hours away and something big happen. And then we went over to the horse trainers to deliver a gift we had brought back from vacation. Thankfully we did not take Spanky. On the way home, we came around a blind curve and there was a loose horse in the road. It couldn't move fast enough and we couldn't stop fast enough so we hit it. We hit, it went down but then jumped up and took off into the dark and woods. We were both horrified that we had hit a horse. It did $5,200 damage to our big truck. We think we know who the horse belongs to but of course, they denied it. We called all the local vets to let them know in case someone had put in a call about a hurt horse. We're thinking the horse was not seriously hurt. Then a week later, I was driving to work in my Focus and a buck deer came from my left and jumped right into the path of my car. I was doing at least 70 mph. I had no time to do anything but hang on to the steering wheel and hit it. All I saw was brown fur and antlers as it went flying off the front of my car. I don't know how but when I slammed on the brakes, the little car stayed in its lane and came to a stop without me losing control. And there were cars all around me when this happened. That was $4,000 and put us down to just DH's little Ranger truck. Thankfully my car policy has rental coverage. Those two things set us back $2,000 in deductibles. But, thankfully, we walked away from both incidents with no injuries. I was pretty weirded out about it for a few days because of how easily mine could have been a fatality. Thank you, Lord!

The weather has been atrocious pretty much all month; as I know it has been all over unless you live in Arizona! It has been very hard to be motivated to do anything when its been cold, rainy and depressing. We did have a couple of good days at the beginning of the week and it dried out enough that I could ride Spanky two evenings. But we haven't even been able to go to our riding lessons as we haven't had a truck since 10/6. All of which has made me just about cranky.

I've spent a lot of time working on a new blog. Mainly trying to figure out how the heck I get totally committed to better health. Not just something I "think" I want to do. How do I get myself into "do" mode. Been struggling with that for a long time. And I know "when the time is right" I'll commit - but what am I waiting for if this isn't the right time? Which has led me to the recognition of I spend too much time either on the computer or watching stupid TV at night. I think I need that relaxation. But, in truth, exercise would be much better for me physically and mentally. I've pretty much been maintaining my weight which is currently hovering around 269-272.

I've been doing some fall cleaning out too. I've taken some stuff to Goodwill. Last night I went through my cookbooks. I used to think I'd collect cookbooks. But then it bothers me to have stuff that we never use. I have about six Weight Watcher cookbooks that I am going to put on Ebay or Amazon. Plus have others that I am going to see if a friend wants to buy cheap. Purging of things is rather therapudic!

I better get this posted and back to my paperwork. We're off to pick up our truck this morning and then head to the grocery store. Since the sun is shining finally today, there will be outdoor chores done as well.

:wave: to all!

Hi girls! I'm writing from the shadow of the eastern side of Sierra Mountains, at June Lake. I'm at the Double Eagle Resort at my Wired for Joy (http://half-the-woman.blogspot.com/) retreat. OMG!! What an experience!

Yesterday I was feeling so good that I was able to make a good decision about food...I had eaten a rather large breakfast (I was nervous about the seminar and what I was going to learn about myself, what emotions were going to pop up, etc.), so I did a bit of stuffing. By lunch time, I wasn't hungry at all. In fact, I was still full. Normally, I would fuss over missing lunch and worrying about getting hungry later, before dinner, blood sugar dropping and making another stupid choice for dinner. But I stayed in the moment and believed that my needs would truly be met best if I exercised. So I went to my room, changed to my exercise clothes, and then went to the gym where I walked on the treadmill to warm up, then pumped weights, then went on a walk through the woods, a total of an hour of exercise. I still wasn't hungry after all of that, and I was fine with it.

Later I went back to class and did great until the next break, when I found a banana and a cup of tea. That held me until dinner, and I made a wise choice for that, even leaving food on the plate. All in all, a very successful day for me!

So, today I'm about to go for breakfast again. I am hungry, but I'm going to eat a much smaller portion and be alert for the first class today, how to bring home everything we've learned at the seminar and apply it to everyday life.

I like learning this method. I feel very much at peace here, able to evaluate my emotional pain and to work with it as a detached observer, then to find my own solutions. And learning to stop people pleasing is great!

Welcome back, Terri! I missed you!

Carol, Huge CONGRATS on breaking 260. You stuck it out and it paid off,even if it took a long time. :hug:

Terri I thought you had fallen off the face of the Earth. Well you almost did! :eek: Hitting critters is soooo expensive, and very hard on the nerves too. :dizzy: I hate driving after dark this time of year for exactly the reasons that took out both of your vehicles - deer, horses and cows! They all seem to want to cross the road after dark. I'm so glad you and DH are okay.

Our office is going through managenemt cuts this week. Luckily I won't be personally involved but I don't see how the can keep cutting 1st and 2nd level management. Right now they are each doing the work that it took four or five people to do five years ago. It's scary!

I understand how you feel about being upset because you are waiting for the right moment to get back to living a healthy lifestyle.The only thing I can say is the more it's on your mind the sooner you'll make the decision to dive in and try again. (Just think of how far you've come and where you'd be if you didn't keep on trying.)

Stayed OP yesterday. Had to plan ahead 'cause we were having pizza, wings and salad for lunch. I had 1 slice + 2 grilled wings along with the salad then had a light dinner. It's nice to know I can occassionally do this and still remain OP. I don't think the pizza thru me off track which is the one thing I was afraid of. It was good. I enjoyed it, but I didn't/don't feel the desire to go out and get a whole one and scarf it down. ;)

After work I took the 9 yr old car in for inspection. It only needed two small parts so even with an oil change and winterization it cost me less than $200. I LOVE my mechanic!:D

Went to the grocery this morning in between rain showers. It's supposed to clear this afternoon.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Wow, Terri, how awful!! Very lucky, but still!!!! Wow.

I completely understand about the getting ready to commit again. It is so hard to get yourself back on track when you wander off track. What's hard for me is when I get really busy and then go off track and then feel overburdened and like getting back on track is impossible... I'm doing okay so far this school year, in part because I'm realizing my stress levels are lower when I do exercise regularly... but it doesn't always help the eating.

wow alot has been going on here.Its great to see so many posting again.
Heather-way to go on getting right back on track. Its so hard sometimes to get back on track.
Teri_ great to see you and know your ok.Sorry to hear about your accidents but glad your ok. Recommiting is hard. I spend to much time on the computer playing farms and facebook.
geo- have a great retreat and way to go on the food and exercise.
Carol_ I am so happy for you getting into the 250s.You have worked so hard and as always are encouraging everyone around you.
j-ann-great job on the pizza.I know its hard for me to eat pizza and control myself.I have also found that I hold on to water after eating pizza even if I only have one slice..guess its loaded with salt.

I am going to join in with the closet cleaning.I cant wait to pull out my winter clothes tommorow and see what I have.I know i dont have much because I was so hoping to be smaller by this winter. I love having the drawer and closets clean and straight.
Guess I will start christmas shopping next week.I am going to buy a gift a week for my adult kids. I already have finished shopping for my granddaughter. It will be fun to watch her open gifts this year.I am so planning on being right near 200lbs by then.
hugs to anyone I missed.

Don't pass out but I'm back for two days in a row! :lol:

We had sunshine for a while yesterday. I did get outside and get a few things done. I'm done with the trim mowing and ready to put that thing up for the winter. I had to walk the electric fence twice to figure out why it wasn't working and do some repairs. The horse boys were leaning over and eating the pampas grass and pushing on the fence in other places. But they won't be anymore. :D Funny how DH is okay with me being a human tester for the fence but he won't do it. It doesn't hurt; just makes you jump. :rolleyes:

We're getting ready to head to the city for an afternoon birthday party. DH's niece is having it for her dad (the middle brother with the strokes), DH and DH's youngest brother. Their birthdays are all within a month of each other. DH is currently frying chicken and he bought a huge red velvet cake. That's going to be a little tough to navigate. I'll have to make my portions small and remove the skin from the chicken.

I hope rain for today holds off. Right now the sun is shining but who knows by this afternoon. I want to get home and be able to ride horses and get some exercise with the dogs.

Carol - :bravo: for getting into the 250's. Has your friend been on the Oz show yet? I just started watching him. How did she go about doing that? Sorry, I'm sure you've told all this before. How are you doing about the horse ride?

Georgia - You take the most wonderful trips. Hope you've had a great retreat.

I better get this posted. Daisy is currently biting on my robe so she wants me to get up and do something. :wave: to all!

Hi Ladies,
Been MIA for a while but Carol reminded me I need to be here to be successful. Thanks Carol!!
So hear I am, I gained 3 lbs back but hopefully will shed them this week and be on my way down in numbers instead of up.

Carol, congrats on getting outta those 260's! You sure have determination! You were stuck in the 260's for so long, I don't know if I would of lasted as long.

Jim is on vacation the next two weeks and it's going to be hard for me to lose the weight but I've got to because of the health issues so we'll see how it goes.

Don't have time for alot of personals but will try and get back soon. Today is Avon delivery day, so I have lots to sort and bag up.

Have a great Sunday!

Deb! Great to see ya!!

GGG, congo ratz at getting past those stubborn 260s.

Hugs to all.

Tuesday is my upper GI and the last thing I have to do for my pre-certification stuff for WLS.

This past Saturday was stressful. My crazy psycho cat was scratching herself so badly that she was getting crusty and losing hair. UGH. No fleas, just psycho. I thought she might have mange and I was basket case. Hormones must be flying cuz I did a lot of crying. Anyhow, $550 later and all day in the vet ER place, found out she has a blooming staph infection and yeast infection in her ears. She went psycho on the exam table and shredded my thumb on my left hand.. OUCH! They had to sedate her to take blood and check her out. She also has a mass in her mouth they saw that has to be taken out soon. I got out the vet ER at 9:30pm.. ugh. Was there 9 hrs.You know those internet instructions on how to pill a cat? Well, that humor is based on Ratkity. She's a mess. I can't pill her. I have to give her 2 injections a day. I snuck up to her this morning and gave it to her before she knew what was going on. Then she hissed. I tried to get solution in her ears, but I think it ended up on my face. Never a dull moment, eh?

I'm getting over a head cold, but managed to mow the lawn and clean up some stuff around the house. Hard when low on energy.

Hugs to all!
Ratkity

Rat - hugs to both ratkitties.

Debbie - keep posting - helps keep us accountable - hmmm let's see - who told me that???

Terri - she was on the Dr Oz show several weeks ago - you can google it - look at the challenges - she is participating in the 60 day reduce your age by 10 years - she is Amanda. Last night they went to dinner with Dr Oz at Chubby's - no way in the world to eat healthy there - it's actually our breakfast haunt the day after Thanksgiving shopping. Next weekend we head to Kearney to "visit" the horses. Nine and a half pounds and the scale doesn't matter - just my fear. Hey - so nice to see you - was thinking of you while we were working outside digging 8 - yes eight - big trash bags of canna bulbs. Didn't even touch the elephant ears.

Georgia - can't wait to hear about the rest of the weekend. What a great treat to yourself.

Thanks to all for the well wishes on holding on and finally seeing the 250s. Now looking to be able to move the big clunker to 200 instead of 250. I remember the great pride I had moving it from 300 to 250 - can't wait.

Hey Ratkitten, we use Pill Pockets with our three -- they're treats that you can slip a pill into, and ours at least just gobble them down...

Stop! Do not post here! Time for a new volume!