Active Folks Over 50 -- #9
 

Good morning! :coffee:

Active Folks Over 50 is a place to talk about fitness and healthy eating information as it relates to weight loss and/or maintenance--and also about any work, fun, hobby, or volunteer activites you're engaged in. In other words, the active part of your life!

Just a few guidelines for this thread:

- Raves about grandkids or ranting about your kids is out of bounds.

- Discussion of your illnesses, conditions, treatments, and medical procedures in general is also out of bounds on this thread. So is whining about old age! ;)

- Positive stories of vacations taken, volunteer work, or achievements at work or elsewhere are highly encouraged! As are recommendations for books, movies, lively discussions of weight related issues, etc.

Join in!
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Here we are, entering the last week of February! :yikes:

And it's leap year... Oh good, an extra day!

Here's an interesting question for you all to contemplate: What's your favorite pop music period? In other words, was it '60s, '70s, etc. And, what were/are your favorite groups?

For me--I guess the 1960s would be first. Beatles, Rolling Stones, and then the "real" rockers like Cream, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, etc. The second period I like was the 1980s. Michael Jackson Thriller, Thompson Twins, Duran Duran, Talking Heads, Prince, etc. (Actually I liked to watch Prince more than I liked his music. ;) )

Jay

Voting for the Sixties
 

I second the sixties: the Beatles, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix. It's great that their music is still played on the oldies stations.

Taking today off to work t$x$s. Hope to alternate walking, gym, walking in between numbers, numbers, numbers.


__________________
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Completed Beck Program-day 42. You’ve met your goal. Congratulations!

:wave:

Hi Pals.
The weekend was once again very very bad, no gym, lots of 5-oz lifts of wine from hand to face. But I've already beaten myself up sufficiently for it, thanks --
Pop music -- well I have never really liked much of anything that became pop. Mostly I like folk music, so I guess my favorite time periods were those in which it was easier to find folk music out there. 60's - 70's and now it seems to be finding its way back. But I didn't really go too much for the real poppy folk. Even the rock stuff I liked was not very popular rock. Like Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention. But wait, let me look at my iTunes -- I know I've got some popular stuff on there -- yes, Bruce Springsteen, Melissa Etheridge, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison. And Weird Al.
But mostly, it's not that popular: John Stewart, Arlo Guthrie, Adrienne Young, The Pogues, some bluegrass stuff...
OH! How about one that I am embarrased to write that I like: Cher!

I like Cher!

By the way, today is meowee's birthday! :bday2you:

Jay

:celebrate: Happy Birthday, Linda!

Thanks . . . :hug:

I like Cher too . . . even more embarrassing . . . I like the Spice Girls and Kiss.

Happy Birthday meowee
 

http://smilies.sofrayt.com/fsc/happy birthday2.gif
Linda

I like some 60's and a lot of 70's stuff. Beatles, Stones, Moody Blues, Three Dog Night, Chicago, Blood Sweat and Tears, Kiss, Jim Croce, Carol King, Joan Baez, Simon and Garfunkel, Paul Simon (alone).

Embarrassed to admit that I also listened to Donny Osmond, Jackson 5, BeeGees.

Now my player is filled with classical and contemporary Christian with a few oldies thrown in for good measure.

EEEEYYYYYYWWW, KISS.....
But it's your birthday so I won't taunt you excessively. :p

Just a quick :wave: Still feeling sick and all I want to do is sleep.

Thanks JO . . . :lol: . . . In all honesty, I think my appreciation (for lack of something better to call it)of KISS comes from my respect for Gene Simmons business acumen. Can't say I respect his methods, but I definitely admire the fact that he is willing to try anything and everything.

Ah--we have a heavy rainstorm coming across right now. Must be the southern end of the front you northern folks have been experiencing.

Did a good workout at the gym today--40 minutes on the treadmill. I even JOGGED off and on. :cb: :cb:

Spinymouse, you gotta make it to the gym, girl! I think you'll feel better if you do... Not that the "point" is to feel better--but you know what I mean.

Doesn't anyone else out there like '80s music?

Jay

Well I went to the gym today and did a class called "classic" which was old-style low impact aerobics and some resistance work. It was also full of old people. I'm not saying that was wrong, nor am I going to define "old" but I felt like I had ended up in a class where they take it a lot easier on the victims, I mean the participants, than they do in the other classes. For that reason I felt like a real wimp. I'm not ready to be THAT much of a wimp. It was an ok workout, and the challenge I have being this overweight, probably equalized with the challenge some of the more elderly people had just from having a lot of years on me. (I'm guessing here. Don't want to get in trouble now..... I know there are people over 70 who are very fit) But I was the only FAT one in the class. I swear there was one woman who had legs about the diameter of my arms. Gosh we are all different, for being the same species! And I know I shouldn't compare. I am trying not to compare in a way that judges anyone. But really, from the class description I did not expect what I got. And the music - sheesh! "Mack the Knife" ?????? and then some 40's swing stuff. I expected someone to bring out the bubble machine.
No, I don't think that's my favorite class.

I'm sure I said something wrong here, so I'll apologize first, edit later.

OK, I'm a KISS fan too. But you have to understand why - I won't go into detail, but when I was in high school, they played a significant role. More Here

Jay - I was so busy in the 80s with kid care, I didn't really listen to much music. We lived in a small town where the only radio station we could get was country and the local favorite was polka music. UGH.

Busy day here - DH and I did our CPR and AED certification class tonight. All set for 2 years :)

Weather is still frightful - and depressing. I'm ready to come join you Jay!

Jo - that class didn't sound very appealing. I think Chi ball would be better. I did my resistance bands workout this morning and my legs are sore. And I only used the green tubes. It is weird - I definitely have more muscle definition than I did before. All of the weight training and resistance band workouts have helped, but I'm not sure I feel "stronger". Then again, maybe my memory is failing regarding what life was really like 60 lbs. ago.

Hope you all have a great Wed.!

I didn't like much of anything about the 80's.
As far as the music, I didn't like all the synthesized stuff that was done then; I prefer real instruments. That said, I do have some gizmos that are capable of distorting the guitar pretty pathetically. They are good for providing amusement.

Today I did 20 minutes of hamster-wheel cardio followed by a half hour personal training session. My trainer is good, and is a nice guy who doesn't bark at me.

Tomorrow is Chi Ball day. Friday I'll do lots of Nautilus machines and other things involving weights and pulleys, then we're back to the blasted weekend again.
I need to get a weekend job.
But I will do better this time. I promise.

:wave:

Still not feeling up to much of anything. Weather is truly weird -- started the day with snow and freezing rain -- now as the sun is going down the temperature is sitting at 11C/52F. :shrug:

Hi again. Hey Linda belated Happy Birthday. I did manage to get to the gym yesterday morning. It was great. I had had a good sleep the night before. Thanks for all your suggestions. And you are all right. It is a slow process that I need to work at. I suffer from post traumatic stress so I have to work at turning off the worry button.
Spiny sorry to hear that the weekends are so tough. Not sure if you have commitments at home but maybe find a walking group or biking if you can. Or a city tour that you can go on. We have an upbeat newpaper that is free here in the city called the Georgia Strait. It is always full of things to do.
Or you could volunteer somewhere. Say the hospital, visit the kids. I know it is hard when it is just easier to stay home but it will help.
This is a long week for some reason. Seems that the rain has returned and we were having such great sunshine.
I am going for an ozone sauna on Friday. Can't wait..
Talk to you later. huggs....Jude

If anyone likes dogs I know the SPCA always needs a hand. They like volunteers to walk the dogs. I used to have great conversations with my dog when we walked. lol...

Hello again everyone. Nice to have you check in, hijude! Those are good ideas. Also, the Humane Societies often need volunteers to pet the cats and give them some people time.

I'm so busy--it will be like this for another month--agh!

Went to the gym. I did seated leg presses (among other things). One set of 12 reps at 75 pounds, the next set at 90, and the final set at 105. Oh yes, I can feel that I worked those legs!

Jay

Spiny - http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/9876/tissuebf32hg2.gif
I think planning your weekends might help. WHATEVER you do - job, exercise, volunteer, sightsee, take a class - just give yourself some structure to your weekends.

That being said, don't discount your sadness and sense of loss. You need to work through those, and bottling them up in hopes that they will go away isn't the answer either.

jude - what is an ozone sauna?

Jay - you are doing GREAT work with those legs! WOW!!!!

Well it is a steam chest with your head sticking out and it mixes ozone with the steam from a container. You can google it. It helps people with arthritis and fibermyalgia etc but it also helps clear up your skin. It is great for your skin. I have scratchy itchy skin that was a menopause symptom and no one can clear it up. So I tried this and it works very well. So I am hoping to do one a week for a few weeks and get rid of it. Would be so nice. No doctor has been able to help me with it. The ozone takes away any stiffness you have in your joints etc. It is one of those me things I am doing for myself.
Later.....Jude

Good Morning . . . :wave:

It's snowing again . . . wonder what will happen over the course of the day today. :shrug: I'm still feeling a bit "under par", but do feel like I will live. No place to go but up and at 'em. :lol:

CD - I love the tissuemouse! Yep, that's me on the weekends - the mouse needs a bottle of wine though.

Seems to me I remember hearing about KISS coming to Cadillac - in 1975 I was at Michigan State U so may have heard about it from someone who was from around there. I had a friend in college who knew Gene Simmons, so maybe it was from her. She actually liked him, too, as I recall. Maybe I would have liked him too if he lost the face paint and kept his tongue in his face. :p

Jude - the ozone sauna sounds great. I don't think we have those around here, but I'd like to try one.

Observation: my "balance" - in quotation marks because I really don't think I have any balance - is even worse without shoes. I just flop around during the balance parts of Chi Ball class in my bare feet but I was trying to do some of the poses with shoes on and it was a lot better. I guess I need to practice with shoes as a baby step.

I never learned any of that "girl" stuff that a lot of girls do when they are young, things that involve grace and cooridination like dance and baton twirling (how's that for a silly activity) and jumping rope and I could never even do stuff like play "tag" without falling down. (That's redundant. Falling... down.) I've got a long way to go to learn any of that balance and coordination stuff now. But I'm trying. (No, I'm not going to start baton twirling. I am using a Chi Ball instead.)

Jude - that sounds really nice. I don't think we have one around here either. Something to look for when we travel :)

Linda - I'm glad you are getting better - even if it is slowly! Hang in there - there is so much creepy crud going around right now - some folk are going from one flu to another.

Spiny - OMG - small world! I started MSU in the fall of 75. I stayed until spring 77 when I transferred to be with DH (BF at the time). What dorm were you in?
And - recommendation - DON'T take up baton twirling. Another one of my mother's ideas to help me be "popular". Not only was she a cheerleader - but a majorette too - UGH! I'm sure my taking up the French horn instead of continuing with baton lessons was a major disappointment for her. We laugh about it now, but when you are a chubby shy kid, walking down the middle of main street in a leotard next to a bunch of skinny little kids just isn't much fun or affirming.

Gotta run - I still haven't gotten my 2nd workout in for the day. Maybe Tae Bo? Hmm...

Wow, CD - we had MSU overlap! I was there from fall of 74 till graduation in spring of 78. Summers included. I was in Mason Hall, and could only hack the mandatory one year of dorm life, till I rented one of those student-ghetto houses with some friends, then I was in Elsworth House Co-op for the last two years. My 2nd home was Lizard's bar.
2nd workout of the day - now that is a concept for me to grow into. I feel virtuous to do one, but apparently it is not enough.
Baton Twirling for Popularity -- HA - what a concept! Or at least an amusing book title.
What was your mother thinking? Could she imagine the long-term rewards? "Hi, I used to be a baton twirler."

Holden Hall for me. BIL was in Holmes. I changed majors 3 times in 2 years. Started pre-vet, but while my grades were fine, I couldn't handle all of the unethical behavior from my classmates. Sabotaging lab results, stealing notes - anything to get ahead. Vet school was harder to get into than med school back then - especially Michigan State.
Changed to a religious studies major - 16 of us on campus. Loved it. But not very marketable, so changed to a religion minor and a social work major. Which is where I stayed until I graduated. It is a long boring saga of how I ended up as a technology coordinator for a school district. Our computer classes back then were running punch cards through a mainframe system - which took a whole building to house.

Oh, and I updated it for you ;)
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/6...suebf32ew2.gif

Hey! I see it's "Michigan reminiscence" here in Active Folks! Sorry, I have never been in Michigan... Although I know a lot about shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. And, I used to work for a banjo player from Michigan. He was from UP though.

Just checking in to :wave: and say hi. Back tomorrow for more excitement on the weight loss front. :p

Jay

Jay - the UP in Michigan is so unique. I'd like to go back to visit again.
CD - now the tissuemouse is perfect. Thanks for giving me something to smile at.
So whereas CD is getting in 2 workouts a day, and I am striving for one, how much do the rest of you do??

Generally I go for a walk in the morning, 30-45 minutes. In the afternoon I go to the gym. I do a cardio machine (or two) for 30-40 minutes and use the weight machines for 15 minutes (different parts of the body each day). This is every day. After four or five days in a row at the gym, I take a day off.

This is my new routine since I rejoined a "real" gym.

Jay

Morning . . . well I guess it's way too early for most of you to even think of calling it morning . . . but I couldn't sleep, so here I am.

March is supposed to be roaring in like the proverbial LION around here and the roaring is going to get louder and louder as the day progresses. Actually I think I prefer the nasty start to the month as long as it really means we will get to see the LAMB later on. :yes:

Celebrating my gym week
 

Good morning meowee - I hope you get a chance to take a nap later today.

I'm celebrating that I finished my third gym day this week doing three sets of each lifting routine (up from two). I do admire those of you who are so consistent sticking to your exercise plan; there are days I have to cajole myself to leave the house.

My major reason for using a gym rather than a home workout is that once there, the atmosphere helps to carry me along to a good workout. Not sure that I could always do that alone at home alone.

__________________
XXXXXXX 7 XXXXXXX 14 XXXXXXX 21 XXXXXXX 28 XXXXXXX 35 XXXXXXX 42
Completed Beck Program-day 42. You’ve met your goal. Congratulations!

Bill - congrats on your workouts. I am the opposite. If I have to leave the house, I am less likely to exercise. I like having everything right at home - no excuses for not doing it. However, it really helps that DH does his routines too. And he will even do Tae Bo or WATP with me :)

Linda - we got the lamb today - thus we will probably have nasty weather into April. Freezing rain predicted again for tomorrow - Monday. :( I don't remember a winter with this much rain. YUCK.

Jay - I admire your ability to get to the gym consistently. You have fallen into a healthy routine. AWESOME!

Jo - I LOVE the UP. DH and I started brainstorming UP hiking locations for summer. Planning a few 3 day weekends for summer really help get us through March :)

Looking forward to the business trip to Chicago on the 12th. And to spring break trip to see Mom in TN on the 29th. On that note, step-father is is in the hospital with pneumonia. He has asthma and emphysema. This isn't good news. So - who knows, my March plans may change dramatically very soon.

NSV for me today. DIL left quite a few clothes here in MI when they moved to CA. She wrote and told me that it was OK to donate them, she really doesn't want them anymore. I went through the pile and tried on some pants and sweaters - WOW, they fit! I have always seen her as this tiny little thing (she is 5' 1") She still weighs about 25 lbs. less than I do, but I'm getting there :D

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend! I need to get cracking and get some exercise done. I'm thinking WATP tonight :)

Hi CountingDown! And Bill--good to see you!

I worked all day. It's day off from gym for me today, so I have "too much sitting-itis." ;)

I'll work all day tomorrow also, but I also have an hour massage scheduled. :broc: :broc: I do what I can...

What are y'all up to this weekend?

Jay

Good Morning, All!
 

Hello, everyone! I tripped on this site yesterday while I was trying to decide.....again....... what kind of eating plan I would begin, i.e., Weight Watchers, South Beach, blah, blah, blah. I finally decided I would do what I know is right - eat less, move more - but, since I found this site anyway, I thought I would try a little support. I believe that [I]nothing is an accident[I] so maybe the reason I found this site is b/c the support would be helpful.

As you'll see from my profile, I'm 59, a grandmother, mother, wife and am incredibly lucky and happy; however, I have an extremely demanding, stressful career. One of the perks, some would argue, of my job is that I eat out a lot and travel a lot...both domestically and internationally. My next trip is to Paris at the end of March so I'm trying to knock off 5-10 pounds before I go.....I would ultimately like to lose 40-50 but the 5-10# is b/c I know that, try as I may, I'll be eating more fattening goods than I usually do here at home. I'll be walking a lot but not sure if my hotel will have eliptical and weights that I usually do here.

Anyway, that's enough.......like I say, just saying hello and glad to find this site and this 50+ group. Thanks, MPD

Good Morning all you active ones . . . :grouphug:

The darned old March Lion is still roaring at Atlantic Canada. :mad: Lot's of very heavy wet snow and high winds.

:welcome: to the group MPD and :wel3fc: too. You are absolutely right, you were definitely meant to find us. The support around here is worth it's weight in gold and, since we are all here (:lol:) the amount of gold is not miniscule, either.

Hope everybody else has better weather than we do. See you later, gang -- keep things moving and shaking just as much as you can. :wave:

:welcome3:
Hi MPD and Welcome!
I think it's a big perk that you travel for your job!
I look forward to getting to know you on this forum.

jo

Hey again MPD! :wave:

How wonderful that you get to travel! Although I'll be that after awhile it can be really tiring...

I hope you're able to work some better food choices into your meals away from home! That's always a challenge, it seems. What do you like to do in Paris? Have you been there before?

I went swimming today... it was really nice for a change. It hasn't been warm enough to swim for a couple of weeks here. (MPD, I live in Fla.) I talked to another woman in the pool who comes nearly every day. She has trouble walking but finds it so much easier in the pool--it's her main exercise.

See you folks tomorrow!

Jay

MPD - :welcome2: You have indeed found a great support site. The folk here at 50+ are AWESOME! Hope you will let us know how you are doing.
Your job sounds fun and exciting!!! I travel some domestically for mine, and I know how challenging it is to eat on-plan while traveling!

Good day for me! Weigh in was kind - and I'm celebrating 30% of me being GONE!

Today was another closet cleaning day. Another group of my 2nd hand purchases got moved in and another bag went in the car for a trip to Goodwill. I really am donating anything that is even a bit too large. I'm not giving myself any excuses to find those 65 lbs. again. They need to stay lost forever ;)

Spiny - I've been thinking of you a lot this weekend! I hope it went better for you :hug:

Linda - I hope you are back to 100 percent soon. You are so right about how valuable everyone here is. This journey would be incredibly difficult without the support I get from everyone here. What a blessing you all are!

Jay - I'm jealous that you got to swim. I DID find an old swimsuit from 10 years ago that fits :D I'm hoping that I can swim when we are in Chicago next week.

I hope you all have a good week!

Laurie

Congratulations LAURIE . . . 30% . . . Wow. :high:

We have :sunny: this morning and now that the wind has stopped the banshee level of howling, it appears we really only got 2 to 3 inches of new snow on the ground. Of course, they are predicting another storm for tomorrow/Wednesday. :(

But . . . today . . . I get to play in the sun getting rid of that bit of snow in the places that count the most and then running a few errands.

Also happy to say that I've strung two good eating days together and am cruising along to adding number three. :yay: In those two days, I've managed to drop almost 4 of the 5 pounds that my ticker mentions that I've gained since the beginning of January. I know it's just the accumulated water bloat, but I'm glad to see it gone anyway. Imagine I'm now working on the actual weight gain of about 6 pounds since the beginning of December. Hey, at least it's still not the 10 I was seeing on Saturday. I'm thankful to be able to celebrate a small victory and pave the way for the bigger ones to come. ;)

Have a great day, gang -- see you later . . . :carrot:

Good job, Linda. I am doing well so far today. I haven't weighed myself in a a couple of days.....need to get up the nerve.:lol: I have lost right at 20% of myself. I am certainly pleased about that.