[Bobbolink]

We are about Fitness and Quality of Life after 50...
We are about Fun and Friendship after 50...
We are the Golden Girls...

There is Value in us
There is Power in us
There is Wisdom in us
And Laughter....
We are a rainbow of unique wonders,
There is love in us.
(poem by Dorothy Holmes)

Tell us a little about your life, family and goals. What keeps you motivated? What is the best thing that's happened to you since you passed the 50 mark? What's the best thing that happened since you passed the 60 mark?
Friends laugh, cry and stand by each other, we'll be that to you!

[Bobbolink]

Smooth Sweet Tea

Rated: Prep Time: 5 MinutesReady In: 3 Hours 20 MinutesSubmitted By: cookincode3Cook Time: 15 MinutesServings: 8

Ingredients:
1 pinch baking soda
2 cups boiling water
6 tea bags You can mix green and black like Freda does)
3/4 cup white sugar (I use Stevia)
6 cups cool water
Sprinkle a pinch of baking soda into a 64-oz., heat proof glass pitcher. Pour in boiling water, add tea bags. Cover and allow to steep for 15 minutes.
Remove the tea bags, discard. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Pour in cool water, then refrigerate until cold.

[retiredone]

I'm alive.

I've been super busy and MIL is still sick. So between baby sitting 400 kilometres away from home and coming back on the weekends I haven't had the energy to post. It's quite stressful to come home and not have a good rest because I go to sit with MIL or just go with DH. Everyone in the family tries to take turns with her and I don't mind doing my part but it's just a bit crazy trying to fit everything in. This too shall pass. I actually had last week at home but spent a lot of time at MIL's place and did quite a bit of baking and things around the house. DH is so worried about his mother that I'm afraid he's getting depressed over the situation. She saw the urologist last week but won't be able to see him again until July 19 unless someone cancels an appointment. Her "good" kidney is not functioning very well now either so that's another worry.

I've gained some weight but not sure about how much. My jeans are tight so that's a sure sign all is not well. Too much stress.

Tonight I gave a seminar lecture on weight loss and fitness to our church group. I had committed to do this months ago before I knew I'd be babysitting and of course before MIL got sick. It went well and we're going to meet again in 22 weeks to see how everyone has done. So just knowing I have to meet again will give me some added incentive to get those last pesky pounds off.

Tomorrow (July 1) is Canada Day so DS and DIL have the day off so I was able to come home for a nice long weekend. DS doesn't teach on Fridays so that's how I got the long weekend. (DS has a 3 week contract to teach an education technology class at Memorial University in St. John's so he won't start his summer vacation until the middle of July.)

I'm trying to catch up with the June thread but I only got to the end of page 9. Will read more tomorrow. I decided to post this in the July thread as it's only an hour and a half away, lol.

Glad to be back posting. Catch you all later, for sure.

[the slim me]

Good Morning girls,

I am doing well. I am wearing my size 6 now and they are fairly comfortable, but the others are so baggy that they look weird. In 2 weeks I will be in my size 4 again and I will weigh in.

Isabella, so glad you're alive! ha! And so glad to hear from you. Life changes and we have to change too. And you're right, this too will end. Just take care of yourself whileyou are taking care of everyone else. That's what we do, isn't it?

Bobbi, that is my sweet tea too, except for the baking soda. Wonder what that does? Maye make it clearer? I don't really drink sweet tea. We were raised on it, but mom's tea was so sweet that it gave you a tooth ache! OOPs, forgot, we sweeten ours with simple sugar. Which is half sugar half water and boiled untill disolved.

Z, I have found that I am streamlining every thing in my life. My home. I packed away a lot of the little things that made dusting so much NOT fun. Much simplier now. My life. I don't go to every event we're invited too. Like you, I would much rather stay home and read or spend the day with close family. Is it age or is it that we finally have matured enough that we don't really care so much what others think?

Lynn, I hope you are not really, seriously thinking about nutrasystem. You will lose that extra weight, you know you will!

Rosie, Way to go! I bet that Dr. was pleasantly surprised. I know the man was a bit of an A-- when you saw him, but I can not tell you how many patients we get that say they are going to be compliant and are not. You are one of the determined ones.

gotta go, be back later,

Freda

[Bobbolink]

Happy July everyone!
Isabella...glad to see you back posting, sorry about your MIL and dealing with a depressed hubby. Hang in there, you're good at losing weight and it'll come off quickly. Just don't let it get out of hand, you're too close to goal. Same with you Lynn...you're so close to your goal and July 4th is still 3 days away.
I'm on my way to the cemetery to water flowers, then back into our large vegetable garden to finish off the weeding. Need to get going right now before it gets too hot.

Freda.....yes, the baking soda makes it crystal clear. Yesterday I made a batch using 2 black tea bags and 4 green tea bags.

[ladyinweighting]

Good Morning, Everyone,

Happy July,

Originally Posted by retiredone

I've gained some weight but not sure about how much. My jeans are tight so that's a sure sign all is not well. Too much stress.

Hi Isabella,

I wish there was something we could do to help. My major problem is ALWAYS when one of my loved ones gets sick. You are dealing with that on top of your new baby-sitting responsibilities.

How much longer will you need to deal with the baby-sitting?

Stay strong,

Lynn

Originally Posted by the slim me

Lynn, I hope you are not really, seriously thinking about nutrasystem. You will lose that extra weight, you know you will! Freda

Hi Freda,

Good for you for getting into smaller size jeans.

Yes, I am serious. I have been trying to lose the same 5 lbs for months. If I am not in the 150’s by July 4th, I order NutraSystem.

Originally Posted by Bobbolink

Happy July everyone!Isabella...glad to see you back posting, sorry about your MIL and dealing with a depressed hubby. Hang in there, you're good at losing weight and it'll come off quickly. Just don't let it get out of hand, you're too close to goal. Same with you Lynn...you're so close to your goal and July 4th is still 3 days away.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

Thanks, Bobbi,

I am 157.2 today. This means I need to lose 1.3 lbs between today and the 4th. AND, I am going out to dinner tonight with my DD & SIL. We are going to a seafood smorgasbord. Wish me luck. My plan is to eat salad with shrimp, broiled fish, and vegetables with fresh fruit for dessert.

[ellabella]

REALLY good to hear from you, Isabella! As you can tell from our posts, everybody was worried about you. Whew! What a full plate you've got, lady! Luckily, the ONE thing that we can always count on in life is that things will change - so hopefully you'll get a chance to rest sometime soon.
Well, I'm in the office for the last time - or at least the last time until next Wednesday. Oh, PT, I am definitely over the top of sixty...turned 64 in April, and am danged MAD that I have to work until I'm 66 to collect my full social security check! (That's assuming the still have Social Security in another 20 months!) Believe me when I say that I have a "countdown chart" that shows how many weeks I have left to work, along with other important dates, one of which was last week when I reached the ten year mark at my job and am now fully vested 100% in my retirement fund, which was a milestone that I definitely wanted to reach, let me tell you! Every time I get really sick of working and think about taking early retirement, I remind myself that cutting out early will end up costing me in the long run...provided I live that long, I mean. It's a bit of a dilemma, actually...my old "what if I get run over by a truck" theorizing. I can't pass my retirement along to anyone else, nor can I assign social security benefits to anyone else. So, what if I work right up to my 66th birthday, and THEN get run over by a truck? I will have wasted a couple of years when I could've been retired and coming and going as I pleased (although on a tighter budget, of course.)
Freda, first of all, I will never see either a size 6 OR a size 4, so reading that had me rushing to look over at your height...whew....sigh of relief. If you were MY height in a size 6 (and aiming for a 4) I would've had a tantrum for sure! (And then gone into a closet and quietly starved myself to death). Nuh-uh. For ME, a size 12 is perfectly acceptable, and maybe a 10 is ideal. I'm usually willing to settle for the 12, since I'm so bad at denying myself over the long term. Inevitably, I will eat that cookie or piece of cake, and can do that in a size 12, but once I'm in a 10 (which I have been, on and off) it's a constant battle, and one that I no longer care to fight, to be honest. But, ASIDE from all that, I'm not sure that my increased desire for my own company is about caring less about what others think, because at the risk of sounding really snotty (and you KNOW I'm not!) I've always been pretty much unconcerned about that. Not COMPLETELY unconcerned, by any means, but definitely not OVERLY concerned. So I don't feel like that's it so much as just a natural desire to slow down, make way for the younger folks to step up to the plate, so to speak, and give in a bit more to what I want to do as opposed to what I think I ought to do. (Except, of course, for the whole business of work now, enjoy the rewards later, or take my time now and make do with less ) And, having said all that, I just gave up my day to myself tomorrow (DH will be at Old Sturbridge Village) by agreeing to take care of the twins and their big sister while my daughter and her husband go out to Connecticut to see her FIL who just had surgery for prostate cancer. I just saw my "me" day fly away on little gossamer wings.... Oh, well.
Hello, and happy Thursday to everyone else! (Good going with the weight loss, Rosey...hello, dear Karen(s), hi Mary, hi Lynn...hope your SIL is doing better, and hi Gayle! (I KNOW I'm missing somebody! Auuurrrgh. Sorry.)

Z

[Karen3]

Good morning all....from the hot humid dreary foggy and dull sunshine state! Weather report is same thru next week. You all will recognize me as the green moldy chick.

Isabella...Glad you are home for a long weekend. Hang in there girl. You need to take time out for a wee bit of me time. Know we are all here for you.

Freda...Know how hard you worked for those size4's...but admit am super jealous!

Rosie...Wow...6lbs on the doc scale with all your company is fantastic!

Bobbie...Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. So is a pinch of salt...no idea why it makes tea clear...hmmmm

Lynn...Ordering Nutrasystem will get you a 1.3lb weight loss of the wallet!

Quiet day here...actually boring day. Did all the weekly chores on Tuesday and just quick trip to town for a few things. Can't believe it is July already.
hugs, karen3

[retiredone]

I feel just like my "old" self today. Just sitting here catching up with my 3FC reading. Just finished reading the June thread. Lots of stuff going on with everyone. I was thinking as I was reading that all the posts would make a wonderful movie. Can you just imagine a movie of the Golden Girls-vignettes of our lives. I know we're all trying to lose or maintain weight but the posts are about our lives as well as weight control. Reading most of June was like a story of our lives.

I should be doing housework, etc but I'm so enjoying doing nothing today. DH wants me to do a bit of work on the computer, paying bills, etc but that's not happening until later on today.

I've signed up on the daily food log in the sticky area. I love logging my food as it really keeps be accountable.

I miss baking. I've been baking at DS's house and I'll be responsible for making their family fat as well as myself. DIL's mother was visiting for a couple of days and she dug right into the sweets and other goodies I had baked. I've got to get another hobby. And while I'm thinking about sweets and goodies I must tell you what my MIL does. She takes 2 low-fat graham crackers and sandwiches them together with a spoonful of low-fat whipped topping and sticks them in the freezer. Tastes like an ice cream sandwich when frozen. It's about 65-70 calories. Spread on a couple of melted chocolate chips and make that about 70-75 calories.

I used this information last night in my presentation. Bobbi, you posted something very similar about needed calories. I thought these explanations were easy to understand without a complicated formula. The levels of fitness and calories needed are only approximations but give a pretty good idea of where you are and how many calories you need.

How to Rank Your Fitness Level

Very low: You spend most of a typical day sitting. You rarely exercise.

Low: You work in an office, but your day includes some walking, bicycling, or stair-climbing. Or you exercise at least 20 to 45 minutes at least once a week.

Average: Your daily routine involves walking or standing most of the day or includes some brisk or uphill walking or some lifting. Or you exercise at least 20 to 45 minutes about three times a week.

High: Your daily routine keeps you moving most of the time or includes some running, heavy lifting, or swimming. Or you exercise at least 20 to 45 minutes every day.

Exceptional: You're unstoppable. You're training daily for an athletic event, or you're a professional dancer or athlete with a strenuous schedule.

Calories Needed Each Day

Calculate your daily calorie intake with the following equation.

Active males can determine the number of calories needed to maintain body weight by multiplying their weight in pounds by 15.

Inactive males should calculate daily caloric intake by multiplying their body weight by 13.

Active females should multiply their weight by 12.

And inactive females should multiply their weight by 10.

Lose one pound per week by creating a calorie deficit of 500 calories daily. For example, if your body requires 2,000 calories to maintain your body weight, you should take in only 1,500 calories per day to lose a steady pound per week. Gain one pound per week by adding an additional 500 calories to your determined daily calorie intake.

[jess1]

Good July, All......
Isabella, so GLAD to see you back again! You made us fret!

PT/Zoe, too bad about your day off; however, you always have fun with those grandbabies! All will be well. And you don't look 64, and I'm glad that you're a normal 10-12. I read about all these itty size 4 people and think they can't be real.

Lynn, how's the SIL? And is your knee fully recovered?

Status quo here. My brother and his family will be here next week from AZ, which means a big family picnic... and Aunty Ann's 95th huge birthday bash is also coming up this month, so I'm anticipating a bit of angst before I can settle down again. I want to be out of that "obese" label range by the end of summer. It won't be a problem if I can get all these party people to just go AWAY!

KarenFL, are you being affected by Hurricane Alex?

Everyone, have a lovely day! Be safe!

[ellabella]

Oh for gawd's sake, Bobbi...I missed YOU! I can hardly believe it. I'm wearing a big "L" for loser on my forehead all day, and I'm not talking about my weight!
Oh, man, PT...all those parties and gatherings? Yikes! Ah, well, it's nice, though. I should only hope that if I live to be 95, there will still be a few folks around who think it's worth celebrating.
Bye for now -

Z

[maryea]

Sounds like you all are doing pretty well. Size 6 is not likely to be in my future either unless I am at death's door...however there was a time when I wore a 5 and it was lose on me! I was pretty skinny until I was about 26, then it gradually creeped up on me. I'll too settle for 12s which i wear now below but without a big tummy...and I think 10s (or possibly 8s!) would be perfect. My problem is that I carry my weight in my upper body and esp around my waist.

I am well over 60 now at age 67, but you know, it's not so bad! I think I like myself more and am able to more comfortably enjoy others as well. I'm still looking forward to doing a lot of things and learning new skills (like yard work! )

Look up everyone, it's a beautiful day no matter what the weather. We are alive, and have a chance to make healthy decisions!

[retiredone]

I'm having a lovely day. I've refused to do anything but the most urgent of tasks (made dinner and cleared away the dishes) and then I decided to paint the plastic lawn chairs. I never paint. Haha, but I did today. They are ancient things that were once white but have turned an ugly shade of gray mildew. I should have tossed them out a few years ago but they are still with us but today they received a coat of green paint. Now, from a distance they look like new chairs. I do believe I've gotten a little sunburned while outside. I'll pay for that tonight as I'll probably scratch the skin off my arms by morning. Must look for the Benadryl cream to have handy for later on. (I have an intolerance to the sun and break out in a hive-like rash. By the end of the summer I'm acclimatized and don't have that reaction.) I made a couple of glasses of lemonade for DH and me and am sitting back enjoying a cool drink. Mine was actually just lemon juice and water, his was the sweetened version.

There will be fireworks later on this evening in honour of Canada Day. As it's a lovely day the evening should be nice as well. But, here in Newfoundland most people don't go far without a sweater handy because the evenings cool down.

Karen3, I just looked at my wrist and thought I was turning into a moldy green chick. Missed the chairs a few times and painted my arm.

Freda, I've put on a few pounds too and my jeans are tight. I'm hoping I'll feel that wonderful lose feeling soon like you have.

Bobbi, DH seems to have brightened up since we've come home. He's been puttering around the house and yard all day long. DS will have to give him a few jobs around the house.

Lynn, I'll be babysitting most of the next 12 months. I love being with the baby, though. It's the sickness that really stresses me out. DH and his mother are close so if she doesn't get well it will be really hard on him and therefore hard on me as well. I'm quite attached to my MIL as well. We've never had a cross word between us.

Zoe, I read all of the June posts and I wish I had at least checked in to let you all know I was still kicking. I'll have the month of August off to do what I wish so that will give me a good break from work.

Donna, those celebrations in our lives always revolve around food. Go and enjoy yourself and just try and have a little piece of whatever is tempting you. Make sure you bring a big green salad, vegetable tray or fruit tray so you'll have something to munch on during the celebration.

DH and I are going to a family BBQ tomorrow evening. There'll be too much food and my SIL is sure to have potato chips put out. I told DH to make sure to take a good serving of green salad if there is one served because I'm not buying any fresh food before we go back on Sunday. I found a few tomatoes and a small bowl of lettuce in the frig today and we ate that with our lunch but other than that I'm trying to keep the fresh food to a minimum because I'll just have to get rid of it or take it with us and who knows what shape it will be in by the time we arrive at DS's.

I'm gone again to soak up my short-lived freedom.

[akrosey49]

Hi everyone.. a very quiet day here for me..my dh dd and grdd went to anch to visit my niece who had back surg yesterday..they wanted me to go but that trip really is hard on me so i opted to stay home and take care of our dogs..been busy going thru closets for garage sale stuff and watching old law and order shows....it seems we are all content with our ages and have learned to like ourselves..just trying to stay healthy.. good for us nothing new to report..hoping you all have a great day (((hugs)))) rosey

[ladyinweighting]

Good morning, Everyone,

It’s a BEAUTIFUL day here in PA.

Up to 158.4 lbs. this morning. I was REALLY careful last night at dinner. I ate salad with 4 shrimp, 1 chicken breast (took the skin off) and a plate of steamed veggies (although I am pretty sure they had butter on them). My guess is that everything had a lot of salt. My fingers are swollen and my rings won’t come off.

Most likely I will be ordering Nutrisystem next week. I plan to stay on NS until I hit 145. Regarding cost – for me, because I live alone, it doesn’t really cost me any more than real food.

Who knows, maybe they have improved it since I was last on it.

Originally Posted by ellabella

Well, I'm in the office for the last time - or at least the last time until next Wednesday. Oh, PT, I am definitely over the top of sixty...turned 64 in April, and am danged MAD that I have to work until I'm 66 to collect my full social security check! (That's assuming the still have Social Security in another 20 months!) Believe me when I say that I have a "countdown chart" that shows how many weeks I have left to work, along with other important dates, one of which was last week when I reached the ten year mark at my job and am now fully vested 100% in my retirement fund, which was a milestone that I definitely wanted to reach, let me tell you! Every time I get really sick of working and think about taking early retirement, I remind myself that cutting out early will end up costing me in the long run...provided I live that long, I mean. It's a bit of a dilemma, actually...my old "what if I get run over by a truck" theorizing. I can't pass my retirement along to anyone else, nor can I assign social security benefits to anyone else. So, what if I work right up to my 66th birthday, and THEN get run over by a truck? I will have wasted a couple of years when I could've been retired and coming and going as I pleased (although on a tighter budget, of course.) Z

Hi Zoe,

I wish you could get out sooner. Being retired is very nice (if a little boring). However, you and your DH do such fun stuff you would probably never get bored.

OK – here’s my idea. I think we should plan to have a GG get-together when you retire. We’ll have a Retirement Party/Reunion Celebration. What do you think?

Originally Posted by Karen3

Lynn...Ordering Nutrasystem will get you a 1.3lb weight loss of the wallet!

Hi Karen,

Eating on one of the diet meal plans actually doesn’t cost any more than groceries when you are only buying for one person. It’s the taste, not the money that is unattractive to me.

Originally Posted by retiredone

And while I'm thinking about sweets and goodies I must tell you what my MIL does. She takes 2 low-fat graham crackers and sandwiches them together with a spoonful of low-fat whipped topping and sticks them in the freezer. Tastes like an ice cream sandwich when frozen. It's about 65-70 calories. Spread on a couple of melted chocolate chips and make that about 70-75 calories.

Hi Isabella,

Glad to hear you are feeling good again. MMMMM – those “ice cream sandwiches” sound REALLY good. I use the sugar-free cool whip – I wonder if I can find any low-carb crackers/cookies? I could use carob chips instead of chocolate. Think I’ll try these tonight.

Happy Canada Day!!!!!

Originally Posted by jess1

Lynn, how's the SIL? And is your knee fully recovered?

Hi Donna,

Not sure how SIL is. Last night at dinner, he ate high/high protein/fat/calories and low/low fiber. He had not eaten all day and ate an amazing amount of food at the smorgasbord. If his health depends on his diet, I think he is in trouble.

My knee is NOT fully recovered, but MUCH better. It still gets stiff more easily than the other one.

Originally Posted by maryea

Sounds like you all are doing pretty well. Size 6 is not likely to be in my future either unless I am at death's door...however there was a time when I wore a 5 and it was lose on me! I was pretty skinny until I was about 26, then it gradually creeped up on me. I'll too settle for 12s which i wear now below but without a big tummy...and I think 10s (or possibly 8s!) would be perfect. My problem is that I carry my weight in my upper body and esp around my waist.

Hi Mary,

I’m with you. VERY happy to be fitting into size 12’s, but would LOVE to lose the tummy and fit into 10’s.

Originally Posted by akrosey49

Hi everyone.. a very quiet day here for me..my dh dd and grdd went to anch to visit my niece who had back surg yesterday..they wanted me to go but that trip really is hard on me so i opted to stay home and take care of our dogs..been busy going thru closets for garage sale stuff and watching old law and order shows....it seems we are all content with our ages and have learned to like ourselves..just trying to stay healthy.. good for us nothing new to report..hoping you all have a great day (((hugs)))) rosey

Hi Rosey,

I’d be more content if there were something good to watch on TV other than old Law and Order shows. I end up going to be early most nights because there is NOTHING to watch – even though I have about 500 channels to choose from!!!!!!