Over 50 -- March Chat
 

Here we are.

Thanks for the compliment about my willpower, Laurie. It was really just a one-day, lucky fluke. I'm not usually that strong. But, hey, never challenge the good stuff.

Have a good morning, gang. See you soon. :carrot:

Good morning everyone, I think this is a good ideal. I was wondering how long you could continue to post on the other linc. Ours was getting really long (a good thing).

Hope everyone is having a good morning. Make it a good day. We all have that decision to make every morning. How will I spend this day? Today I will make good decisions for my health.

Hope to see eveyone here later on! Freda

Me too, I made it here. Whew!!! After I said it was a good idea (and it IS meowee) I started thinking 'Oh no! What if I can't find them again???' LOL!!

I'm heading out to go buy groceries - my Atkins keeps me busy with the meal-planning and keeping things on hand. Grocery shopping on a Saturday AM is NOT something I consider a fun way to spend the morning, but I didn't go yesterday, so there you go...nobody to blame except for me :D


Hy

Just pulling this up so any lost lambs will be able to find it more easily.

Glad you made it Hy and you too, SlimMe (the lost lamb I found on the old thread mentioned your name).

WOW! I found you, I was getting worried for a moment, but knew I would evenually find you or throw a big :tantrum: in the process. :rofl:

I've done good food wise, made wise choices and have plenty of points left if I want a snack tonight. Have kept my hands busy sewing on my quilt this morning and drinking plenty of water. Will see what the scales have to say on Monday.

Make it a good weekend and I'll check back in later.

~Cheryl

Hi everyone.

LOL not only over 50 but pushing 59 VERY closely! :rofl: I was doing soooooo well and had lost of my weight; then got a huge thyroid tumor, surgery, hypothyroid, etc., and kind of also gave up... and all of a sudden yikes there I was at an all time high weight! We never ever give up though so here I am again at it!!!

Dance

Oh, I just want to say that I'm VERY OK with having lost 7 pounds on Atkins Induction in 30 days. I'm following the program and that is my big accomplishment, IMO :carrot: Maybe to others that's not that impressive of a loss, but I feel it's heading in the right direction towards my ultimate goal of losing 38 lbs.

I wouldn't be comfortable going lower than the allowed 20 g carbs per day - I want to eat the small amount of veggies that contributes to the 20 g total allowed daily just for health reasons.

I'm exercising with my trainer, but I have had to do more stretching and weight-training the past 3 weeks because I injured my heel - so can't do a lot of cardio right now until that heals. (That's not meant to be a pun -heel/heal - but I guess it is - lol!)

Anyway, this is life and stuff happens- my focus is to continue on my program, keep my "contract" with myself and be happy for any weight loss I see as a result of my efforts :D


Hy

Welcome Dance :hug:

I just was diagnosed with a thyroid tumor last week :(

Yea for you to not give in - I like your fighting spirit!!! Glad to have you join us here.


Hy

Found You!
 

Hi, everyone, and a big :welcome2: to Dance4joy. I don't have a thyroid tumor but have nodules and Hashimoto's Disease. Went through the whole biopsy thing about a year ago and am not quite bad enough for meds which, I guess, is good news, though it's certainly not doing much for my metabolism.

Would you believe I am STILL really sick? It's been a whole week now, and I'm really starting to get fed up and bored. I've had to spend a couple afternoons pretty much in bed sleeping and have had many sleepless nights due to sinuses and coughing fits, even with meds. Freda, can you mix up another batch of your hot toddiess, please?

Needless to say I haven't exercised a lick. With vacation only about two weeks away, this isn't good!

I hope you all have good days tomorrow. I'm going to try my best.

Hello Hy... Sorry to hear about your thyroid tumor... are you having surgery soon? Well I have to say mine was not nearly as bad as I expected... I never even had to take pain pills. Mine was huge and appeared to be malignant but the final biopsy during surgery came back benign so they only had to remove half the thyroid instead of all of it.

Marsha, sorry you are sick. As to the meds, I was really happy when they increased my small dose by 50% as I was just exhausted all the time, etc. I would prefer being on the meds to not feeling well all the time!! Hope you can get your metabolism regulated!!!

Dance

(wandering around, scratching head, trying desperately to find her way back to the group! ) Well, here we are! (LOL) I'm still too new and trying to find my way around the endless threads at this site, so moving these posts really threw me for a loop! Glad someone posted a link.

Dance, sorry about the hypothyroid stuff. Been living with it myself for 15 years or so now. Just diagnosed with Insulin Resistance...finally a reason for no weightloss despite all my diet and exercising! Spent the last 2 years fighting that battle and having doctors blame me instead of investigating a cause. Oh well, I'm going to spare you the conversation about my experiences with missed diagnosis's with both my thyroid disease and insulin resistance. ;)

I also quit smoking 4 years ago ( yippee! ) after a 30 year addiction. After quitting, I seemed to spiral downward fairly quickly. Seems everything went haywire. My thyroid went wacky and I ended up going severly hypo again despite medication. I ballooned up to my highest of 198 pounds ( 5'2" ) and it took me all of these years to finally get that straightned out. It's one of those "which came first the chicken or the egg" scenario's, ya know? Mix quitting, thyroid disease and Insulin Resistance, together and what did I get? A big mess! lol

So, here I am, like you, moving forward trying to get everything back into balance. My Hashimoto's is being successfully managed with Levoxyl and Cytomel. My Insulin Resistance is being controlled with low carb
( South Beach ) diet, exercise ( at least 1 hour per day ) and medical supplementation. I've just celebrated my 4 year anniversary choosing to live a smokefree life, and haven't regretted that decision at all. Thankful for all of the above forementioned.

If you don't know already, there are alot of awesome thyroid support forums. Learned most everything I know about my disease from them ( unfortunately not the doctors ) I highly recommend them.

So glad you're biopsy was negative. Years ago I did undergo a needle biopsy. Not fun. Not again. Not enough tissue to come to a conclusion. Still have my thyroid. Changed doctors. lol

Well, here's to our continued success!

Susan

Hi Susan

Wow, what a time you have had! Congratulations on sticking with the stopping smoking!!!

Yah the biopsy was definitely not fun, nor was the surgery. But it was not that bad either! I had an excellent surgeon. Strange... I had a HUGE lump on the side of my neck and no one (including self) had even noticed it. I just attributed the swallowing difficulty to my allergies. I went to this surgeon for another small surgical procedure and he noticed it immediately!! The thing was huge!!!

As to the support forums, to be honest I pretty much stay away from them as I find them all to be so negative and "anti-doctor" -- and while I very much agree that most doctors in this country are FAR behind in diagnosing and treating thyroid disease, I also have a doctor whom I trust a lot. She monitors my meds and it seems to work pretty well for the most part. So while I DID learn most of my facts about hypothyroid via the Internet and try to be responsible myself to do my best for treatment, I also don't want to let what I read online drag me down... and the "support" forums could very easily do that if I let them! Unfortunate but true.

Dance

A great, big, welcoming :hug: for you Dance. Glad to have you with us. Also glad to see everyone finding their way over here. You have to thank Suzanne for the link. I had to beg for help to overcome my technical challenges when I discovered a couple of people were lost.

Have a great day, everybody. Hopefully by Monday everyone will have found us again. Keep on doing the good stuff, gang. :carrot:

Thank you on the congrats! I am proud as punch to be sure!

As far as support forums, I agree Dance, and luckily for you you've found a doctor that you trust and listens to you. But I've also found great success in forums while quitting smoking and such as this new journey...

Unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury of a doctor that listened or trusted and the internet ( along with all of it's flaws ) was a Godsend. (Yes, they can "doctor bash"
especially Endo's ) and I suppose if one believe's everything they read, they could easily get caught up in it all. It can get rather confusing, can't it?

I've learned, as with everything in my life, that balance is key. I learned the hard way, that Doctors aren't God's and I also know that some annonymous person on the other end of the keyboard might be a nut! ( lol ) So in that, I've learned to gather information from the internet ( thank God we can use it as a tool for information, right at our fingertips ) and work along with the doctor as we partnership in my healthcare.

Balance...I no longer believe what all doctors say... nor do I believe all that I read on the internet. We must all take responsibility for our own health, as you and I have done, and continue to do...

Wishing you much success on this journey also!

Susan

Once again, Welcome Dance :)


I just found out about my thyroid last week, so am in the beginning of this journey. I have a nuke med thryoid uptake scan at end of month and then an appointment a few days later with an Endocrinologist that specializes in nuclear medicine and the thyroid. I'll hear what he has to say, but I have my NMD and an MD, both that I really like, so that gives me some support to do what *I* think is best for me.

It was interesting to read your thoughts on some of the online thyroid groups. I did join an online group and was pretty STUNNED at the hostility of just a few members about how others were managing their thyroid issues. Maybe once I get a definite diagnosis (cancer or not cancer) then I'll search out groups, but I don't think this group I joined is very helpful right now. Kind of more like watching a train wreck happen :devil:

Well, this group is great as I'm sure you know. From what I've read, everyone is "coming back" from having lost weight in the past and then because of life events, finds themselves back to square one. For me it was the death of a close friend and another death of a family member and then my husband being diagnosed with cancer last year. My exhaustion led to almost a 40 lb gain in about 6 months...speaking of a train wreck - I was one myself!!

Atkins is my diet of choice and I'm doing it just fine. I've been weighing myself every Monday and Thurs - so far I've lost 7 pounds since I began Feb 01. Maybe not all that impressive but I'm happy. I had to stop my thyroid meds for this upcoming test, so under the circumstances, I'll just be happy if I don't GAIN -lol!!

Best wishes with your diet - which one are you doing?
Hy

Susan, congrats - bigtime - congrats on your quitting smoking 4 years ago. :carrot: That is a HUGE deal.

Oh, and I'm glad you found the path over here to the new thread - I was the same way "Oh NO!!!! Where's my chickies????" :D


Hy

Thanks for all the welcomes! I guess I was fortunate as since I was new I went to the new posts first... and right there was the link over here!!

Very well said, Susan, about the online stuff. When I first found out about my tumor I searched the Internet and I would say that is HOW and where I learned what the symptoms were and amazed at how "classic" mine were! And well said about the hostility and "train wreck." Also most of them say I should not be taking the particular medicine I am on QUITE successfully so far and stuff like don't eat raw cauliflower (which I eat tons of and am not about to stop), etc. :) I am glad you feel you have good medical care.

I was fortunate as I went to a surgeon for a minor breast lump. His office was right in the hospital. Well he took one look at me and said I had a very enlarged thyroid and sent me down for tests. Turns out he is known as THE best thyroid surgeon around so of course he spotted it instantly. And my MD is wonderful and listens to my concerns, so I am fortunate to have her.

In the "support" forums I went to it seemed, as you said, there was a great deal of hostility and resentment about their thyroid problems. I certainly understand about the horrible symptoms... especially the panic attacks; thought I was losing my mind LOL. But I certainly don't consider it unmanageable and I am going to do my best to take it in stride and get the weight back off!! Also, it is sooooooo easy to use it as an excuse LOL. I did gain back over 100 pounds with it... BUT I also got discouraged and stopped really working my butt off as we have to do to stay in shape. :)

You probably already know that 95% of thyroid tumors are NOT cancer; and even if it is, over 95% of them are very curable because it is in a spot that can be removed and treated. Hope yours turns out to be benign though!!

Dance

Good Sunday Morning
 

Hi ladies,

Dance...:welcome3: You have come to the right place and we are a great group of people if I don't say so! All of my friends, and they are my friends; are so supportive. I couldn't do this journey without them.:grouphug:

Hy....7 pounds is great! Slow and steady is the key to kepping the fatty fat gone forever. I know we all wish the :wizard: would just melt it away over night, but we didn't put this weight on over night either. Darn!

Marsha...Sorry to hear you have the bug:( Sounds like what I had. I feel so much better, but I still have coughing attacks while I workout, and not quite up to speed yet. Hope you feel better real soon.:hug:

Linda....Hope your test come out OK. I'll keep you in my prayer that all goes well. Has spring arrived in Nova Scotia? Cold, windy and snowy here. I complain about the cold and then in July I'll be complaining about the hot humid weather.LOL

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday. Check back later if I'm not watching the Academy Awards.

Cheryl

Just thought I'd mention that there are a couple of hypo/hyper-thyroid related threads in the "Dieting with Obstacles" forum. I haven't read them or anything, just noticed them in passing since I'm over there fairly often to post in the Diabetes related thread.

Thanks... I did see them and have been in there a bit.

Actually for me personally I don't believe in dieting (note I am NOT knocking them for others). I just want to do my own plan and have something I can live with. Basically my rule is "If God made it, it is probably safe to eat; if humans screwed around with it and did a bunch of junk to it, be cautious." ;)

Of course that is not hard and fast... I still eat some things (potatoes, etc... and I mostly eat the light sweet potatoes (NOT yams) in limited portions). I don't feel I "need" a diet program as LOL I KNOW that hmmmm... apple or candy bar... hmmmm..... ;)

I like to make big batches of stuff like the crock pot one I just posted in another thread, and put it in freezer cartons for lunches at work, etc. I am THRILLED with that crock pot site that was posted somewhere else and plan to make good use of it!!!

http://saksfamily.no-ip.com/crockpot.html

TONS of good stuff there. My friend just sent me another good recipe which I am going to post over in the recipe section.

Meowee~ thanks for starting the new thread, the other one was getting way to loooong.

Dance~ :welcome2: We're all happy that you found us.

Hy~ are you kidding? 7 lbs lost is fantastic, and to lose some weight when you're also dealing with a thyroid problem is beyond words. I hope:crossed: that the results of your test will be good. I'll say a little prayer for you.:goodluck:

Marsha~ Sorry to hear that you're still not feeling wellhttp://bffc.net/icons2/sick.gif, hope you start feeling better soon.

Susan~ It's great that you've quit smoking. I also quit smoking more than 12 years ago~ it was not easy, and I gained 20 lbs within a year!

Hope everyone is doing OK with their program. I've been really :devil: :devil: with portion control. I'm totally out of control.:( I believe that the very slow weight loss and plateaus are the reasons for my lack of motivation these days.

Goodnight all.

hi
 

:coffee: :coffee: :coffee: :carrot: Good Morning All, Hope everyone had a good weekend. I had a good one and stayed on my diet. Yupee! And it's finally paying off. :carrot: That's me doing the happy dance! I finally lost another pound. Actualy, I think it's more like almost 2 but my scale are the old kind and it's hard to read the numbers.

Dance, Glad you found us. :welcome2: You will find lots of support here. And we look forward to your input.

Hy, I think 7 pounds is awsome! I hope your heel is feeling better and you can resume your arobics soon. How do you like the weight lifting? It's my favorite thing to do. I just feel so strong afterwards!

Marsha, :coffee: I'm sending you a cup of my hot toddy! Hope it makes you feel better.

Susan, I am so impressed that you quit smoking and have stayed smoke free for 4 years. That is a great acomplishment! I agree with you also. We have to take responsibility for our own health. By becoming educated and asking questions. I see so many patients just nod their head when the Dr. talks to them, when they don't have a clue what he said!!!

Cheryl,:hug: I consider us friends too! What is a friend? A person that cares about you and wants the best for you. A person that you can go to tell your troubles and share your joy! That's us!!!!! Hope you're feeling better. I coughed for a month after I got over whatever it is that's going around.

Elyn, Get back in controle girl! I know it's hard to stay on program when you aren't seeing any results. But just remember, you are eating halthier and you're exercising, so just that is good for your body! But the weight loss will come!! I know we all want to see results for all the hard work we do. Patients is a hard thing to come by!

Have a good day, Freda

Just a quick Hello. I'm feeling a bit crummy today. Hopefully I'm not coming down with something nasty.

Hang in there gang. Hopefully I'll be feeling more like myself tomorrow. See you then.

[/QUOTE]
believe that the very slow weight loss and plateaus are the reasons for my lack of motivation these days.

Goodnight all.[/QUOTE]



Elyn, I hear you!! It's such a good feeling to see some reward for your hard work, but I guess you just have to plug along and not let it stop you from achieving your goal.

I'm trying too not to get discouraged and keep my eye on the "prize' instead.

Hang in there, I'm here to support you too :hug:

Freda I too like to lift weights - it's just fun (and trust me, I know how odd that sounds! lol!) Thanks for the encouragement too. My weight loss DID slow down due to this other "stuff" happening, but it helps to talk about it here. And fortunetly, I've continue to lose, just smaller amounts or like last week, just maintained.

meowee Feel better soon!! I'm sorry you haven't been feeling so hot here recently.


My weigh in was today (doing Mondays and Thursday's) Today I had lost 1 pound ...little by little. Of course I wished I could have been able to report more, but I'll take the pound ;)

Good luck and good wishes to all with their programs this week :carrot:


Hy

Just a quickie "Good Morning" to all the lovely chickies (and Reggie). Special welcome to Dance4Joy!

Hope everyone has a great week! Meowee, thank you for starting this new thread. Take care of yourself -- last week, four people in my office were out with the flu, and before that, I was sick for over two weeks.

Congrats to all who lost lbs. this week. You guys are doing GREAT!! Elyn, my portion control flew out the window yesterday, but today it's back to business as usual. I sure hope this week will be a better one for you!!

Laurie

Hi Kids! :twirly: Not much time right now, but I wanted to tell you all how much I've enjoyed reading everyone's updates today! Sounds like lots of great advice & super-positive thoughts, as usual. :love: You guys are all such good influences! :goodvibes I hope everyone is feeling 100% soon.

Yep....Gazelle Room is up and running....and so am I! :tread: I had a slight set-back...and was disappointed when it arrived and the instructional video was a darn VHS tape!!! :dizzy: :stress: Who the heck has VHS player (anymore) in these days of DVD's?! I got online right away and ordered Tony Little's Crosstraining DVD and it's GREAT!!! If any of you have a Gazelle...and you're bored with it :^: ...you might want to order this DVD to give you new life on it! The time with Tony flies by and he has chosen some good music. I've been getting some really good work-outs on it since the Crosstraining DVD came. YAY! :cheer: Now I am waiting for my strength-training for Dummies DVD to get started on that part of my New Me. I have renewed incentive to stick to my eating plan now that I'm in exercise mode. :carrot: MAYBE I'll have the guts to weigh myself in a day or two. :goodscale

Tommorrow starts our "weekend" and the weather will be warm and sunny :sunny:....so we will ride :bike: pur motorcycle practically non-stop for the next couple of days.

Less than 2 weeks 'til my Cayman trip :beach:....I wish I could take Tony & my Gazelle with me!!!

Hi Ladies, and Reggie too!

Just a quick check in to say I'm doing the :dance: :dance: down 2.4 pounds. WHOOOHOOO!! Only 1 more pound to reach my St Patricks goal. I've been in meetings all day today, so I'm tired and want to put my pj's on and relax. I'll come back tomorrow and do personals.

Cheryl

Way to go, Cheryl! You are going to make it for sure! Woooo hooooo

Good job on the 2.4 Cheryl!

Susan

Good Job Cheryl! :cheer: And to all other Losers this week!

I haven't weighed myself for a couple of weeks...but finally got the guts to do it this morning. I was pleasantly surprised with a loss of 2.5 pounds! :goodscale

Gotta get Gazelling! :tread:

Yay Jill... glad you could kiss those 2.5 pounds bye bye!!

Yea for Jill and Cheryl for staying on track!!!

Hy

Hi Everybody, It's a beautiful day here! sun is shining and it's not toooooo cold. Maybe spring is on it's way! I can wish!!!!

I am doing well with the diet. Took my grandson to school this morning and went on to the mall and got my walking in!

congrats to all you that lost weight!!!! Way to go! And you were afraid Jill!!! And Cheryl, you've made all your goals! That is so awsome!

Have a good day all, Freda

Yayy!!! I found you. Hi everyone. Sounds like there is some good weight loss going on. Cannot believe it is March already. I have fallen off the wagon a couple of times, but have dusted myself off, and gotten back up there.

I decided to switch from low carb to the WW flex program for a couple of days while I was traveling for work, and I SWELLED up. I retained water so bad you can't even imagine. My ankles were terribly swollen and painful, I also felt quite sick. I took myself off wheat and preservatives and the water came off, but not fast enough. Trotted myself to the doc who had me make a food list of the things I ate while I was there, and he believes I have a food allergy or sensitivity. Could be several other things too. So am having beaucoup tests this week and eating carefully. Elevating the legs too if the slightest swelling occurs.

But, am back at Curves, and walking the dog. So all in all am experiencing 2 steps forward, one step back......it is still progress!!

Hey Jill. My son's planning on heading down to bike week himself. An avid Harley fan. For the life of me I can't remember what he's got though. Hubby is drooling and saving for his too. Have fun!

Am teetering between 173-174 today, depending on what my scale wants to tell me. My "mini goals" are 2 pounds per week and I seem to be successful in acheiving them. Much easier than looking at the whole 50 pounds!

I continue to do WATP 4 miles each morning. It's about an hours worth before work. As the weather breaks we will be able to get outside and do what we love the most...walking, biking, hiking. That will add another source of exercise and hopefully accelerate my progress.

I'm concerned about the lack of progress on the tape measure though. The scale is consistantly moving, but my waistline isn't. Because of Insulin Resistance, I carry the majority of my weight in the abdomen. Went from a 45 at the highest to a now 41. For that I am grateful. But I have yet to see the measurements change the past 4 weeks, even though the scale has. Anyone else with the same problem?

Well, hang in there all! Doing great! Keep your eye's on the prize! We're gonna do this for sure! :carrot:

Susan

I'm back. Can't say I feel 100%, but definitely better than a day or two ago. It's relatively mild here in Nova Scotia today and the sun keeps popping in and out. I seem to remember that yesterday was absolutely gorgeous.

Glad to hear that everyone is pretty much on track. If we just keep fighting the good fight as best we can, we will succeed. Always remember that a small stumble is not a failure unless you forget to get back up.

Keep smiling, gang, and I'll talk to you later. :carrot:

Newbie
 

Just wanted to say Hello! I've been lurking on this site for a couple of weeks and decided if I expected help I'd better speak up.Have been working hard to lose about 20lbs. before next Spring,when my granddaughter graduates from high school:o .I have lost 5 since the first of the year.I have access to all types of exercise equipment at my workplace,so no real excuses there,well maybe just too lazy some days. No specific diet,belonged to TOPS for several years and did really well there but our chapter had to close.So I know the right way to eat,but don't always follow up.Thanks for your help,you all sound like you really help each other.We all need a kind word once in awhile just to help us get through life.Have a great day.:wave:

:welcome: Bonnie and Donna!! So happy to have you gals join us. We are here to give you and each other all the support and motivation you need to work towards a healthy way of life.

Bonnie...I'm 52, will be 53 in May and I've been following Weight Watchers Flex plan since Jan 4th. I've lost 15 pounds so far and I take each day and each meal as it comes. I try to workout with Richard and the gang five days a week until the snow and ice melt and then I'll be out walking. I have the occasional slip or the little :devil: whispering in my ear, but I brush myself off and get right back on track. I journal everything I eat and the amount of exercise I do each day, plus posting to my friends here. It keeps me accountable for my actions. I have set up mini goals for myself each month and work towards them. I also reward myself for reaching those goals with something besides FOOD. My first mini goal reward for myself was new bras. For St Patricks, I think I'm going in and get my hair colored. My weigh in day is Monday for here, even tho Wednesday is my weigh in for WW. Just pick a day you want to weigh each week and report your success or gains.:D

Bunti....Hey girl, so glad you founds us! I was beginning to wonder if you fell off the face of the earth. Glad to see you are still plugging away with the weight loss.

Linda...So glad to hear you are feeling better. :hug: It's a beautiful day here in North Dakota. Going to take a nice walk later on this afternoon, since most of the snow and ice is melted. :running:

Jill...WHOOOHOO!!! 2.5 pounds. Doing the fatty fat dance:dance: :dance: :dance:

Susan...WTG on working out to your walking tapes.:carrot: :carrot:

Well gals, I have had a pretty busy week so far. I have been in meeting for the past couple of days, so I haven't gotten my exercise in nor my water. On top of that, lunch was at a Chinese Buffet place today. I did pretty good. I had Chicken Broccoli, some mushrooms, pineapple and a little bit of General Tso's Chicken. Now to drink lots and lots of water to wash all the salt out of my system. Dinner will be a salad, since I consider lunch a once in a blue moon splurg!!

I'll try to check back later. Hugs :hug:to all.

Cheryl