Hi Karen,

Hold down the "control" key & tap the "+" key. NOTE: to make print smaller, hold down the "control" key & tap the "-" key.

Lynn

Bobbi - I love your flowers! You have such a way with decorating!

Lynn - I have also heard the same as you...you have to eat to lose. But then I wonder about anorexics? I know they go to extreme, but why doesn't their body go into starvation mode and keep them from getting so thin? Also, I have heard that a woman should never go below 1200 calories. You said you can't lose if you go above 1000, plus you exercise. So what's the story there? I think they are grouping people together and you can't do that because everyone is different. Our bodies work differently because of genetics and our personal lifestyle. I googled "low calories for long life" and got several sites that had basically the same story....the research was done on monkeys and they believe the same would apply to humans. They didn't state a number of calories, how low is low. But then I found another site that did, and it was surprising to me.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newswee...ve-longer.html

They are saying 1800 calories for a man and 1500 - 1700 for a woman. This is not "low calorie" to me....that's a normal weight loss diet. I never tracked my calories until I had my heart surgery and that's when I found that I can't go over 1500 if I want to lose. It does limit you, but it's nowhere near starvation mode. I don't know too many women who are trying to lose who eat that many calories. Maybe we have all screwed up our motabolism by trying so many diets over the years. I lost weight the best on my first diet, when I knew absolutely nothing about dieting, I just ate smaller portions of the same foods I always ate, and I exercised. Since then, I have read so much about so many diet plans that I don't know what works for me anymore.

Morning...Sorry about my last message. I had hit the ctrl button instead of the shift when typing in my email address and shrunk everything and then did it again x2. Knew there was enlarge command but forgot what it was. Feeling extra stupid this morning. k3

My BIL came home from the hospital yesterday, with 3 prescriptions for blood pressure. They wanted him to do a cardiac treadmill stress test but as soon as they increased the incline he said he couldn't do it, so they stopped. He wouldn't do the chemical stress test. They wanted him to do it because his heartbeat is irregular but what can they do? Hopefully he will follow up with a general practitioner and keep his blood pressure down.

I gave him a lot of information I got off the internet about medical assistance. There was one that said if you qualify and you have unusually high medical bills you send them in and they will pay them, or assist in paying them. It's up to him to make the calls necessary to find out if he qualifies.

Don't feel stupid, Karen. I didn't even know those commands existed! I just used ctrl + and you know what? It worked! LOL

love it Bobbi !!! Have a great day, i would love to be hanging out clothes!

working in the yard sounds wonderful... and i dont mean shoveling snow lol..

Hi Carol Sue,

To simplify - count your calories for a couple of weeks and record your exercise. If you are not losing, lower your calories and or increase your exercise.

Lynn

Good Afternoon gg's

It is just so beautiful outside! Sunny and really warm. DH and I went out for awhile and i just wore a sweatshirt and that was too warm. I washed clothes yesterday and changed the bed, but I just might change them again tomorrow and hang the sheet outside. So many posts, as usual. so good to hear everyone's news.

Brenda, Sorry, what part of Alaska do you live in? I have a friend in Wasilla and she always says that tomatoes don't grow well there, and really nothing much without a greenhouse.

Lynn, You're adorable! and I forbid you to call yourself ugly! There! Ok, don't yell at me, just trying to be foreceful.

Rie, It's hard to get use to a new body. We still see ourselfs as big as we were before. And there is going to be a little bit of loose skin after the lose. But, you look wonderful, and are so much healtheir. And there is always plastic surgery to get rid of the excess. If you can't justify the money, think of all the money you are going to save from medical bills that you are not going to have if you had stayed over weight. And almost any insurance will pay for a tummy tuck if you prove that it is causing the skin underneath to chaff and get infected.

Mary, My family lives a long time too. My greatgrandma lived untill 100, and could still read the paper witout glasses. Of course she had to be outside in the bright light, but still....my grandma was 97 when she died, and her mind was sharp as a tack. My mom is another matter. never took care of herself and is not in good health at 80 and has early dementia. but the dementia is from a medical condition, not genetic.

Rosie, it's usually the fat that makes people sick after the operation that your DH had.

Donna, My grandma's favorite saying was "dumb as a door knob". Funny, I hadn't thought much about that, but I still use it.

Bobbi, Bless you for visiting you DMIL, even though I know it takes a lot of effort to be nice to a person that was so not nice. Just proves how strong you are. People with Alheizmers get worse at night, along with people with dementia. Sundowners. I see it all the time in the hospital. You can see there mentation start changing around 8. Yes, the nursing home should not allow her to call in the evening when she is so bad.

Auto, I had a Dr. tell me that he has also read an article about eating less than you need would make you live longer. No one has ever said how much longer, so I don't think it would be worth it, thank you! Starving all the time would be miserable. One reason we don't eat really low calorie is beacause If you don't get enough calories you body used stored calories, and after that they start burning muscle. The heart is a muscle. You really don't want that being used for food. I think eating when you are hungry is a good idea, as long as it's planned and not too much. 3 meals and 2 snacks are what is recomended. Or every 3 hours.

Z, Sounds like you are over working again! Slow down girlie. I'm glad you are enjoying the new work at least. And the weather here is great. I actually saw a woman with flipflops in the hospital yesterday. I spoke to her and said that I knew spring was coming when I saw flip flops.

Time for the kiddies to come, so gotta go, take care, lovely ladies,

Freda

If someone gets in touch with Nancy, tell her she is missed and we wish her well

Today we slept in because there was snow on the ground and we didn't want to go out in it. See, when you're retired you can make executive decisions like that. I have been slowly doing my housework but not very vigorously. I did one load of laundry (still in dryer), made bed, cleaned bathrooms a bit (more to do there) and picked up a bit throughout, did the budgeting and entered some sweeps. Dh just went to the car dealer to get our freebie...Costco sent us a $50 coupon to use on anything in the little store.

Slmn - My grandma that lived to 104, mostly stayed in bed after she reached 100. She was still fine mentally but she was mostly blind..mostly saw shadows from what she said but we visited her once after that and when I got really close she said I looked like my mom (her dd) so she could see a little.
She had worked really hard all her life. Dropped out of school in or after 3rd grade to help on the farm and never went back. She did ok though. When mom served a beef roast, grandma would always cut a big piece of fat off of it and eat it...she loved it. Guess it was good genes or all that work that kept her living. She outlived two of her four children and she couldn't understand that, she said she wanted to die from the time she was in her 70s but it just wasn't to be. Twice the doctors said she would die..once from the flu and once from a brain tumor...with the tumor they said if she didn't die, she'd be off mentally...well she recovered from both illnesses and was fine mentally. Doctors don't know everything.

On the restricted calories..I think going lower than you need to to lose weight is not good. I can lose weight (right now) at 1500 calories. I could lose faster at 1000-1500, but wouldn't enjoy life as much. Below that I think could be detrimental for my health as it might not be easy to get proper nutrition..however now and then I wouldn't worry about. And of course, smaller people can eat less and men can usually eat more. On Medifast I lost quickly as I only took in 800-1000 calories most days. Their food is packed with protein and fiber, yet low carb...don't know how they do it because it is very hard to do that with regular food. But I have to admit it works, I was not hungry and felt great after the first few weeks. So why did I gain back my weight?...because instead of transitioning back I went right back to my regular foods and my bad habit of over-snacking. I got tired of their food and I just cannot make myself do it again. But believe me, it does work!

I wear mostly the same clothes I would/did when I was thin with a few exceptions. Sometimes I'm not comfortable..like in a swim suit but I occasonally wear one..and I can't find dresses I can fit because of my big middle. I rarely wear sleeveless outside the house because of my fat upper arms. I don't wear two pc swim suits any more. That would really be a sight!

Marie - I took HRT pills, not the patch. Not sure they had the patch even when I started with it. I'm almost always warmer than my dh since menopause. Partly it may also be my fat, can't remember exactly when I changed but I know when I was thin I was cold all the time. Now I range from chilling to a hot flash! It's like my thermostat is out of control. However I am much better now. Still hoping I have done the right thing going off the supplements. I had one fairly strong HF this morning, but that was the first one that intense in quite a while now..

Rie - Yes I'm sure we'd feel better about the house if we drove down and we may do that. Depends on what we hear back from the handy man this week.
My dh can fix about anything but I hope he doesn't have to get up in the attic. He's been up there before and it's a pretty tight space and with his leg not quite back to normal it would be hard for him. Praying that a new furnace is not needed..he thinks the worst scenerio though is that it will just require a part replacement of some kind. He's an HVAC man and probably can take care of it. He's helped our son with lots of things in the house already.

ladysheets - Now that you have explained your name makes perfect sense, but I too will forever think of you wrapped in white sheets. Perhaps when your flowers are in bloom you can post some pics. We love to see what's growing in different places.

Well, I really need to get off this computer and back to work. Hope you all have a great day!!
Mary

I know I have said this before but my doctor was adamant about lowering my caloric intake to 900 per day. i have been losing weight this way. I am currently not exercising on a regular basis except for moderate walking. when i lose more weight I will start a more intense exercise regiment and then i can increase to 1100. i bought shoes this week. Hurray! and i bought perfume too. I am rewarding my self for sticking to clean eating.

Lucinda, I am surprised that your doctor told you to eat only 900 calories per day. Doctor's are usually against that because they say you are not getting enough nutrients that way. Of course, you are rather short, so maybe what is good for you would be too few calories for someone else. I could do it, but not every day.

I remember one time at a flea market a man was talking to us and told us he was 78 years old and he didn't really look it. He looked younger....was thin and very spry. He told us that one day he decided to eat a little bit less. When his body got used to that he ate still a little less, and so on until he had lost all his excess weight and didn't even notice that he was eating less because he had done it gradually. Most people jump into a diet with both feet and then they burn out.

Maryea - I haven't worn a swim suit in public since I passed 150 lbs. I am just not comfortable in it. I got out of the habit of wearing shorts because of my psoriasis. It has cleared up pretty good in the past couple years, but now my favorite shorts are too tight and I won't buy new ones. I have a lot of capris and mostly wear them. I don't worry much about people looking at me or what they think because I feel that most people are self centered and are more worried about how THEY look than how I look. I know when I do look at other people I am usually comparing them to myself....wondering if I'm fatter than her etc. LOL Then I see some really big people who wear shorts and tank tops and just don't seem to care what anyone might think. They've got the right idea. If you're comfortable wearing them, then do it!

DH is on a diet. He didn't tell me, but I can tell. He is not finishing his meals...eating smaller portions, and not eating any junk food. This is how he does it. He will never tell me. He just cuts back and all of a sudden I can tell that he's lost 10-15 lbs. It's cute.

My BIL called and said he got a letter from a company directing him to call them. I looked up the company name on the internet and they assist people in applying for medical assistance. Is this a rip off or legit? Is he going to be expected to pay this company for this service? The information I got when I looked up medical assistance this morning gave me the names of government agencies who help you with this. I would hate to see him get involved with someone who is just going to take his money when he doesn't have much to begin with. What do you think?