Active Folks Over 50 -- #17
 

Hey! :wave: :welcome2:

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.

- Lengthy 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, discussions of weight related issues, etc.

Join in!
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Well, the "rat men" are here, screening off the foundation... Man, you couldn't pay me enough to do their job. It's hot and humid, and they're down there on the ground wrestling 1/4 inch mesh into place and drilling holes into the brickwork. Ye gods. And it's been going on since 8 a.m. Should be interesting to see if it works... I feel sorry for the rats, though. :( Maybe with all the noise, they'll vacate and then not be able to get back in. I hope that's how it goes.

I'm off to the gym now. I missed yesterday because of a work crunch, but NOT TODAY!

Jay

As long as you don't feel so sorry that you try to turn them into house-pets. :D

Hey meowee! I think our cat would love to have some rats as house pets... He is very large and would love the fun. :eek:

Jay

JAY . . . I know we all like to spoil our furry friends . . . BUT.

Nothing new around here -- still pretty cool and overcast again today. Since we missed our normal mall-crawl last Thursday because of my stupid cold, we are definitely doing one today.

Hope everybody else has a great day planned . . . :carrot:

meowee, I think we're talking to ourselves again...

The rat was very noisy last night--probably because it couldn't get out through the wire mesh. I'm hoping it managed to wiggle its way out somewhere and then couldn't get back in. I haven't heard any noise at all tonight... so maybe it's gone to another home. Or, it may have gotten killed in the trap. :( If so, I hope that its next life is a better one!

The man will be back to check the trap this weekend, and I guess we'll find out then.

Jay

Hi everyone. Been off the site for a while. Saw CD pictures and got a great message from her. Feeling pretty hopeless these days but trying hard to pull it togethere. Way to overwhelmed with life. Health is going down the drain from this weight.
I have had rats too. I moved. hahahaha!! Had a pool and they are always near water.

hijude! :hug: Where you been? Glad to see you!

Sorry to hear you're having a rough time. Anything we can do? Stick around!

Florida is the land of water, and there's no getting away from it. Creeks, bays, retention ponds...

Didn't hear much last night... fingers crossed...

Jay

:wave:

As much as I wouldn't want him under my house, I really do hope your buddy the rat found a new, but still earthly, home, JAY.

Glad to have you back JUDE. Do stick around, it really does help.

Well . . . the shopping outing was extremely enjoyable but the lunch that we had first was . . . hmmmm . . . shall we just say it included carrot cake and too many garlic breadsticks. :o Today will be better.

See you later . . . :carrot:

Another gloriously sunny day and I'm going out to play . . . :yay:

Actually ate clean yesterday, too . . . :yes:

Hey meowee! Gosh, was it something I said?? :dunno: Where are all our friends?

The good news: One rat was caught in the trap the exterminator set. A big one. :eek:

The bad news: It's not the only one. I've heard more noises.

I had a big breakfast, really more of a brunch, and I always feel happy when I have a big breakfast. I had a really great workout at the gym yesterday--upper body stuff. For months my right shoulder was so sore that I couldn't use anything but light weights. Now, magically, it's no longer sore. Go figure! I haven't changed anything...

Jay

Good evening!
 

Thanks for the welcome back everyone. I was off to an OA marathon today. Got some good ideas. One was just start eliminating one thing at a time. So there is some positive reinforcement in having success over one binge food. I will just keep going to the meetings. I need some friends with positive attitude. I need to get my attitude a little more positive.
I am just finding it hard to change my ways. The lousier I feel the worse I do. So tomorrow I am going to commit to some exercise whether it be the gym or a walk. The walk might be the best. Or a walk to the gym lol. :D
You know you get yourself in a down mood and it goes from bad to worse. I have to say though that CD's story is sure a success story. There are lots out there and I would like to be one of them. So I am trying a fresh start and look ahead instead of back.
Cheers...Jude:carrot:

It is the pits having rats. I am sure the exterminator will do the job. It just takes a while. I had them in the crawl space of the house I lived in. They used to live next door but he scared them away and they came to my house. The house was pretty old so it was hard to seal up their entry. I used to throw down rat poison but that is only good if nothing else can get in there. It kills them off but they just keep coming back. I live close to the ocean here. They say if you see rats in the daytime you have an epidemic. So what kills the rats?? I think we need more natural predators. Gives me the willies. I live in a strata now and they have a pest guy come once a month. Seems to work as there are none here. We do live right beside a forest too so that is pretty good. I think they had a problem here before I moved in but it is cleared up. Thank goodness.

By the way this is a great thread because it really flows. It is nice to have you all here. Where is CD these days? Does she still drop by?

:wave:

Another sunny, but pretty cool day . . . nothing exciting planned for the day though.

hijude! :wave: I hope your marathon of meetings was good.

I think CD is off on a trip of some kind... usually she checks in about every day, otherwise.

Hello to Spinymouse, flowingair, the slim me, gailr42, and all the others missing in action!

The rats are coming in from under our house, which is essentially open to the outdoors but with an open concrete brick "lattice" around the bottom. Poison is absolutely not the thing to use because they will crawl into the house and die, plus anything else that gets into the poison will die, too--including rabbits, cats, etc. So the first step is to put up an exclusion barrier, which in our case is wire cloth over the brickwork around the bottom of the house. It's a 1/4-inch mesh, which is small enough to exclude mice, too.

Once that is in place, and everything that shouldn't be under the house has been chased out (except the rats, which are inside the floor space), the exterminators set traps. These are like the snap-type mousetraps only much bigger and they work the same. Since nothing else can get under, and the rats can't get out either, eventually they get whacked in the trap. So far one has been killed, and since I didn't hear any noise last night, I think the other one has been also. We'll find out the next time the guy comes to check.

Until we have no more noise in the walls and no more rats in the traps, the company will keep coming back. It's guaranteed for a year.

I think we had a male/female pair looking for a nice, permanent home. So sorry, but can't be here.

Work work work for me today... :book2:

Jay

I am in a much better mood today. It is nice to be connected and this site is good for that. I have looked into the Food Addicts diet and am going to start that today. I am not looking forward to the sugar withdrawal but there is only one way to do it and that is do it. I can feel the headache coming on already lol! If anyone wants the link let me know. Hope you are all having a good Sunday. I am off to grocery shop and now that is work....J

We had Rattus Norvegicus living with us in Seattle. I had forgotten about that. Those guys are really brazen. The landlord poisoned them and let me tell you, they stink to high heaven when the die inside some place where you can't find them.

Right now, we have lizzards. The cats catch them outside, bring them inside and they escape...

I have been very sporadic in posting here. For awhile I "lived" over on the South Beach but I have decided that I need to broaden my horizons more....that's just not for butts, y'know.

JayEll, totally relate. Don't you live in Florida? I thought, I remembered that. Anyhoo, in 2006 we had live rats in our last apartment. I noticed fresh fruit, which I had kept in a bowl on the dining table, with bite marks. I would also hear things in our a/c vents as well. Well, to make a long story short, I persisted with reporting all of this to our landlords, the local health department etc. I took pictures of dead ones that were being killed by a neighbor's cat. I work from home so I was absolutely stressed by all of this. Well, one did end up dying within the ventialition system and it is gross to smell. Unfortunately, once they are poisoned there is nothing the pest control people can do about where they decide to drop and die.

I thought that "traumatic time" (well, it was to me!) was behind us. Then, this past June after a horrific lightning storm that directly hit and fried my computer also ended up bringing in a huge rat into my newly renovated apartment. I was sitting at the dining table readind a diet cookbook waiting for my allergy meds to kick in at 11 pm when it scurried past me. I screamed so loud that i don't know how the next county didn't hear me. I awoke my DH and I told him I couldn't go back to sleep.

What upset me the most is how blase everyone was. I called 911 who gave me the phone number of pest control who left their VM on. My maintenance people came and sealed up what they thought might be points of entry for it although they claimed it came in from the a/c vents. (I have louvered doors which are permanently half open as part of their design on the furnace room). My leasing office manager's response? They are looking for water. (We have been in a state wide drought in GA for the past couple of years).

I am still not happy about how this could be happening in a very upscale part of this city in newly remodeled apartments. I am not happy about how everyone seems to make this seem to be "business as usual". Everything in this apartment is brand new and I am a good housekeeper.

I empathize with you 1000%. I hope you can get rid of these asap. I just hope I never see another one. I won't even put bird feeders on my open porch for fear of attracting the wrong species.

i feel this is no way for a civilized person to live.

That's my soap box for tonight.;)

We are not allowed bird feeder at all. Rats love them. Just got home from grocery shopping. Got my foods for the Food Plan. There is lots to eat just nothing with sugar in it. OMG I will have such a headache tomorrow. I am going to the gym in the am so maybe that will help. And tylenol.

Not that I want to encourage you to take up a new bad habit, hijude, but would it help to have a cup of coffee when you get a headache? That always helps me. Especially if I am having a coffee withdrawal headache.:lol:

Hi folks,

Pamatga, yes, I live in Florida. Sorry to hear about your experience with the rats. Poison is definitely the wrong idea. Also, I don't think a lightning strike would have anything to do with rats--it was probably just coincidence. Maybe it scared the rat and made it come out of its hiding place.

Rats live everywhere, and they were in most places before people were. We have both kinds in Fla., but the kind in my house are Rattus rattus, the "native" ones, not Rattus norvegicus.

I've heard no noise for a couple of nights. I hope the "rat man" comes back today to check the trap. After that, he is supposed to seal up the holes where they have gotten in, then make sure the wire mesh is all in place, and we should be good after that.

How is everyone getting along with the economic uproar? It's affecting my retirement fund, but not much else at the moment.

I've got a chiropractor appointment today--just some "minor adjustments." :lol:

Jay

:wave:

Wowee . . . one of those days where time seems to be moving along at an extraordinary clip -- don't know just what I've done with the day so far, but it's almost 2 pm here.

BTW -- for any of you involved in the current Accountability Thread for October, please have a little glance at the note I've added to the introduction post -- if you change your mind about participating, please delete your post.

Coffee?
 

Well I have quit smoking years ago and quit coffee about 2 years ago. Now I am trying to quit the sugar. This is my first day and it is not easy. I am not hungry just would love something sweet. I have been telling myself that it will be just like the cigarettes one day. I would never pick one up now. Just a matter of time.
I could walk around this office and probably pick up a whole bag of chocolate. It is Halloween but I have to learn to live with this sugar thing.
Eventually I hope. Wish me luck. I have next week off so that will be easier. It is nice to be able to check into the sites during the day. Helps my will power.
Cheers....Jude:coffee2:

Hi Everyone, Sorry that I've been missing. I've been really busy at work and finishing work at night.

Jay I hope your rat problem is resolved soon. Your sure have been through a lot. I'm still struggling- not losing. I'm going to try the weight watcher program again, and see if I start to see a loss. I'm still exercising, but the weight just doesn't want to budge. I've been under a lot of stress and making some poor choices. Tomorrow is a new day.

Have a great day.

Good Morning . . . :wave:

Although that is a bit of a fib -- our glorious weather is taking a vacation today -- it's raining and only supposed to get to about 5 or 6 (low 40s F). Will have to do some serious moving and shaking just to keep warm. :lol:

I'm back - sorry for being out-of-touch so long. I will catch up later.

My step-father took a turn for the worse, and while I was in transit to TN, he passed away. Thus, I have been dealing with family stuff for the last 9 days.

But, I'm back home now (with Internet connection again) and trying to get caught up with things.

Laurie

Sorry for Your Loss
 

Sorry to hear about the loss of your father in law. I am sure this is a trying time for both of you.
I wanted to thank you for your email and your story and pictures. It has helped me turn around and start going in the other direction again.
You are quite the woman and I am glad to have met you.
Thinking of you .....Jude :grouphug:

Laurie, I'm so sorry. :( Glad to have you back with us again.

flowingair, I hear good things about WW--sounds like a good plan to try it again.

hijude, I do wish you luck! And success! :cheer2:

meowee, surely a little rain won't bother you! ;)

The "rat man" came today and removed another dead rat--but we still have some odor under the house, which I hope is going to dissipate now that that one is gone. At least I can sleep at night! Haven't heard any noise in days.

I sent back that electromagnetic device I bought to repel the rats. The company says they'll give me a full refund. I hope so! It would have saved me hundreds of dollars had it worked. Oh well!

I'm going to have to get strict again as well with my food plan. Things have crept up! A little here, a little there--that's what does it. :mad:

Have a good evening!
Jay

Jay - so glad your rodent problem is soon to be a memory. I'm with you on getting back on track. Eating out "southern cooking" every meal for 9 days hasn't helped me much. And exercise was very sporadic.

The amazing thing is - that I really missed working out and eating healthy. The difference a year makes ...

Jude - :o thank you! Your kind words have me teary-eyed! You CAN definitely do this. I'm proud of you for getting back on track. I love that this isn't a race. I think one of the things I have learned as I have gotten older is patience. And perspective. Urgency isn't important - consistency and perseverance are.

Linda - we are getting some of that cold weather too! It is hard to take after 80s in TN. I think I need to find my mittens :yikes:

flowing - WW sounds like a good idea. It IS really hard to eat and exercise right - both at the same time. I have also found that stress keeps me from losing. Adding meditation and yoga help me keep some balance - and even affect the scale - or so it seems.

Gail - I like your coffee suggestion! :lol: I've been drinking too much of it lately. Staying up late talking with my Mom really encouraged my coffee habit! And I loved her flavored coffee pods :D

Pam - LOL good to see you here again!

Have a great evening all!

Good Morning, It's raining here, steady even rain, like it will last all day. i have a computer class for work later, i'm so not looking forward to that. It's for work and they say we're going "live" in November. Right now we have about 2 computers on the floor that will work. Doesn't look good.

Laurie, Sorry to hear about your FIL. I can relate to your missing exercise and eating right. I can go a few days and i really don't feel as good.

Jay, I hope your Rat problem has been taken care of.

Jude, You gave up coffee and smoking and now sugar? if you did that you can do anything!

Flo, Hope things slow down at work soon.

Linda, Looks like we got some of your weather here. You want it back?

Make it a good day, freda

:lol: No I do not want it back . . . this morning is looking a little brighter around here and we are being promised a high of 12/13 (mid 50's) for today.

Other than that . . . SSDD . . . :wave:

Hey everybody! CD, so good to see you posting... That Southern food, yow! I know what you mean...

Hey flowingair, the Pied Piper had realized that he had to raise his rates. I guess it had to do with maintenance on his flute... ;)

I've heard no rats--and the smell under the house seems to be going away. I have to talk more, though, about the holes underneath. I know these guys don't want to go under there, but I'm paying them for that.

Well on the topic of rain--the last two days it's been nice in the mornings, and then the sky opens up all of a sudden in the afternoon! As in, you could paddle a boat down the street. :lol: Some sort of front hanging over us.

Now meowee, I want you to take advantage of that brightness outside! I hope you get some :sunny:

I'm going back on plan today... wish me luck... I've been unable to stay under control lately with food. Could it be... oh I don't know, stress??? :stress:

Jay

:stress:Oh I hear you on the stress. Funny how it seems to excalate the less sugar I eat!:tantrum:
I have just been on the phone with the internet supplier as every time I turn around the connection is lost. Grrr. They are now after 6 months of complaining sending me a new modum.
Today I am going to really try and let go of the food and my control. I will just eat my three meals and a snack and stay out of the candy. :stress:
It would be nice to just move ahead one day and have one victory. This has been my theme all my life with food. Never get in a good day and so one day follows the next of bad days. I am trying to cope with a daughter who has decided to cut herself out of my life so she can continue to practice her own addiction. I miss her something awful. Not helping with the food problem at all. Now I know the solution is not in her but for me to figure out for me. But it makes it so hard.
So I will committ everyday to looking after myself and let God handle the rest. I certainly have done my all whether it be good or bad. So I could use some suggestions on how to release what I don't need and get on with what I do. Seems to be a minute to minute affair today. Why does something like this make me feel like I should eat eat eat when all I want to do is feel better in one area at least.
Now I do not mean this to be a rant about my daughter at all. I could just use some ideas on how to turn off that part of my brain and work on MY solution for me. She will have to find her own solution some day. But I just feel like there is an anchor on my back and I can not get free to be me.
It rhymes......:joker:

Hey Jude... I'm sorry to hear about your daughter. It's really hard to deal with addicts/alcoholics who want to keep on practicing. Do you have your own program? CODA, Al-Anon, something? I hope so... they are only a phone call away.

The closer you come to following your plan, the more successful you can count yourself as being. Notice that I didn't say being perfect! Just come close to it. "Progress, not perfection."

I'm off to run some errands and go to the gym, but I'll be checking in later...

Jay

Hi all - it is good to be back!

I love the "progress, not perfection" quote. It is so very, very true. I'm back OP today - even did a cardio routine after work (which I haven't done since spring. Now that I'm not walking to work at all (dark and cold in the mornings, and I need my car most days), I NEED to get back in the workout groove.

Jude - I find that it is really very hard to turn off that part of the brain, but we must continue to try. Otherwise, it eats us up inside and that stress makes it almost impossible to stay on plan and lose weight. I have found that exercise helps me a lot. It helps me relieve stress, it makes me feel better, it helps me stay OP, and I can even get out some pent-up frustration in a physically acceptable way. Yoga is great because I don't breath well when I am stressed - particularly if it is family related stress.

Linda - glad the weather is better. How is the color there? I noticed our trees are really turning this week. It is absolutely glorious around here!!!

Jay - glad the rat situation is improving - keep them at it until you are sure the little beasties are gone - you ARE paying them a considerable amount and should expect them to do a thorough job!

Freda - we got that rain too. It sure feels like winter is just around the corner :(

Flowing - I love your avatar! It is so peaceful. And - your tenacity on this journey will serve you well. Keep at it - I know you can do this! It is hard to keep a balance when you are so busy at work. Planning ahead helps me when my schedule gets super crazy. If I don't plan, it often isn't pretty.

I cleaned my closet tonight. With the weather changing, and the economy what it is, I figured it was time to put away summer stuff, get out the warm woolies and donate the things that no longer fit. I filled 3 bags :)

And, somehow, I seem to have gotten carried away buying black skirts that were on sale. Over the last 6 months, I squirreled away 5 black skirts - none are alike (different fabrics, styles, and lengths) - but still ...
:yikes: what a clothes horse I have become :o

Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!

Thanks everyone. I do like that progress not perfection. I am working too hard at being perfect and beating myself up. Have had a pretty good day aside for a few jelly beans. I will be glad when Halloween is over. Other than that my food has been OP as well. Did not make it to the gym this morning though I had time. Will go in the morning. Had a hard time sleeping last night.
Long weekend coming up as here in Canada this Monday is Thanksgiving. I also have the week off so plan to get in some gym time and a massage.
Woo Hooo..!!

A massage! Why, I'd rather have a massage than any dessert you can name! Good for you!

See y'all tomorrow--I'm all tired out. :faint:

Jay

Massage anyone?
 

Yes and his name is Andrew. He is about 30 and gives a deep muscle massage. I can hardly wait. He is just a sweetie and yes he is a registered massage therapist. When I meet such nice young men I have to praise the mom that raised them.

It is cold here and need socks for my feet. I did finish off my food for the day. Afraid those jelly beans at work snuck back on the plan. They should be all gone by tomorrow. I have to ask myself why would I cheat on jelly beans?? :nono:
Strange choice. But I am not going to beat myself up. I am on the third day and my food has been OP and just a few extras slipped in.
Tomorrow if I am up early enough I will get to the gym in the morning. :woops:
I have been to Alanon and OA and AA(with the ex) and NA and Naranon. I find alanon and OA help the most. More geared to my problems. It is a long journey. I hoped when the kids got into their 20's that we would just be a happy family. It is hard to watch this but another day and it could all change. I can remember thinking years ago that as soon as I lost weight I would leave my husband. He was a drunk. I never did lose the weight except for the 175lbs of space he took up. :rofl:

So I do not want to keep putting my life on hold till I lose weight. I guess my daughter will just have to catch up when she is ready. I just want to be well myself. No point both of us not being well. :no:

So I am off to bed..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz :yawn: Jude

Hey folks!

Another day of lots of work for me... I'm hoping I can sneak a nap in here for a few minutes and clear my head.

Jude, sounds like you've been through a lot. :hug: "Got sponsor?" ;) (I got sober 22 years ago last month, so I'm familiar with program stuff.) Yes, you've got to do it for you!

CD, you bet I'm going to make sure that those rats are gone... and things dealt with properly. I've paid for a lot of service and I plan to get it.

I don't even own a skirt. Can you believe it? :lol: The last time I wore a skirtlike thing, it was a maid's uniform in a play. :rofl:

meowee, are you out there? :listen:

I've been doing better with eating lately. I have a few pounds that need to get gone again...

Next week we're off to Massachusetts. There might be a few leaves left--I hope so! The only thing I liked about where we lived was the autumn leaves.

See ya!
Jay