Staying the Course -- 02-14-2017

[Superbob]

Hello all, and Happy Valentine's Day! -- tomorrow, of course. Thought I would put 14 as my starter date in honor of the occasion. Dinner, candy, flowers, big teddy bear, jammies -- what are the prime gifts for the occasion?

DW and I will go out for a fine dinner -- planning to go very early to avoid waiting in line, if possible.

Let's see -- have an exercise class on Valentine's Day. Should I take a goodie for our instructor? Guess i'm too much of a newbie to do that. If I survive to next Valentine's Day, maybe then. Maybe some roses; she's so fit she probably wouldn't want candy hearts.

Okay this is a short starter. I am taking Honeybunny's word that I am doing something good by keeping this little corner of vr.org going. : )

Monday has been manic as usual but hey I did manage to remember Staying the Course.

Look forward to hearing from y'all.

Again, Happy Valentine's Day!

Hey I believe the Westminster Dog Show may be on the tube tonight. And then the Great Backyard Bird Count comes in a few days. Lots going on. We've got beach weather here most days -- temps in the 70s. Sorry if some of you guys have way too much snow.

Cheers,

Superbob

(And I've got sardines but still haven't thought to peel a can open. Guess they are an acquired taste. : )

 

[Duffey]

Glad you got us started, Bob. Hubby and I just got home from the fitness center. I only got 30 minutes in on an elliptical, but it's exercise!
No plans for going out tomorrow night for Valentine's Day. The restaurants will be packed all day and evening, so we'll do something this week-end. We have a get away to the Peabody in Memphis in two weeks so that's our romantic splurge.
Has anyone played pickleball? Racquetball is my game of choice, but the only courts are at the local college's fitness center. It's hard to find a free court and the prices are high unless you're a student. A few places offer pickleball, but I am a little hesitant to try it. I guess I want someone here to tell me it's great and I should be playing!
I hope everyone has a good week.

 

[MartinF]

From last week, congratulations to HB on going back to work.
Duffey, never heard of pickleball. Will have to consult Google on that one.
Rain has let up here in So Cal so had a mostly dry 6 mile walk on Saturday and only 2.5 miles on Sunday. Worked in the yard most of Sunday afternoon cutting down a tree.
Saw cardiologist today. Reviewed my Echo. Valve is working and sounding good.
Still trying to get consistent on my upper body weight workouts.
Thanks SB for these weekly threads. Helps with motivation.

Martin

 

[Superbob]

Great on the good cardio report, Martin! That's always a biggie. Sounds like you are staying active.

Duffey, I wish I could convince my DW to have a deferred Valentine's dinner out -- I hate one-hour waits at crowded restaurants. To try to avoid that, I guess we will go somewhere ridiculously early time -- 4 or even 330.

And pickleball -- yes, i see signs for it at the rec center and have seen articles about it, but haven't bothered to delve deeply. Not sure my bionic knee or stenotic back would hold up. But maybe I will explore further. In exercise class, I self-modify some of the moves to what I can do, and the instructor encourages that. It is a class for us old folks, after all : )

 

[FredW]

Thanks SB for providing motivation to stay the course. I hurt my back shoveling snow a few days ago. That and icy roads cut down on my trips to workout. The good news is, either my wife-away diet of popcorn, cereal and scotch or something else has worked, for I have lost two pounds in the past four days.

I finally got tired of eating only three things so I made Jambalaya yesterday and I will admit, it was better than my cereal choices. My wife will be home tomorrow. Do you think it is unromantic if I fix leftover Jambalaya with candlelight for a valentine dinner?

We normally do a romantic dinner in the bedroom so we can ... you know .. do romantic after dinner.

 

[FredW]

Glad you got us started, Bob. Hubby and I just got home from the fitness center. I only got 30 minutes in on an elliptical, but it's exercise!
No plans for going out tomorrow night for Valentine's Day. The restaurants will be packed all day and evening, so we'll do something this week-end. We have a get away to the Peabody in Memphis in two weeks so that's our romantic splurge.
Has anyone played pickleball? Racquetball is my game of choice, but the only courts are at the local college's fitness center. It's hard to find a free court and the prices are high unless you're a student. A few places offer pickleball, but I am a little hesitant to try it. I guess I want someone here to tell me it's great and I should be playing!
I hope everyone has a good week.

30 minutes on the elliptical is a good workout. And if you like racketball, you will like pickleball.

IMHO

 

[Paleowoman]

Happy Valentine's Day SB and everyone else. It IS Valentine's Day now here this side of the pond ! DH and I bought a fantastic card the other week for today which we both wrote in last night and gave to ourselves this morning ! It's now sitting on the mantle piece. I don't think we'll be doing anything else special today - every day is special

I just had my can of sardines for brekkie SB, had it followed by puréed kale. Never exactly haute cuisine for breakfast but certainly sets me up with a healthy start. Now enjoying a cuppa while I read through last night's posts on VR.org

 

[jwinter]

Happy Valentine's Day all! It sounds like some fun and romantic ideas above..

We finally have a little reprieve from winter here and are loving the 40 degree temperatures. Not exactly 'beach' weather but still enjoy.

My course this week has been good for the most part. I am exercising using videos daily and getting better each day. Like everything else i will have to change it up to keep motivated.

After a weight loss last week i am up again. Started tapering off the Lasix and my body doesn't seem to want to let go of that water on its own. i maybe lost weight before just going to the bathroom so many times a day! Tapering to continue and feels good to get the heart rate up some. I never have lost much weight exercising but oh does it feel good!

Encouragement to all as we work on our health together and stay the course.

 

[epstns]

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

I've been buried at work, so not here much. Such is life. By the time I get home from the office and fitness center, then have dinner, I don't have much time to check here in the evenings. I try to check early in the AM, but that is about all the time there is.

I have been taking it easy in the fitness center the last few weeks. First I was recuperating from the side effects of yet another medical treatment. Then my GERD flared up, in spite of the meds. Now, last Sunday I, too, hurt my back lifting 5-gallon jugs of filtered water into a shopping cart at the store. I'm going to have to take it easy for a few days to let it settle down now.

As for Valentine's day, we are planning dinner at home. No "poor me" though, as the menu for this evening includes lobster tails. It will be a calm, nice dinner with just the two of us, so no waiting, no crowds, no trouble parking. Just us.

Then on next Sunday we have tickets to see Bizet's Carmen at the Chicago Lyric Opera. We're not season ticket-holders, but when we see that they are presenting something we like, I buy individual tickets. Sometimes it is nice to go downtown and see how "the other half" lives.

Weather here has been unseasonably warm - supposed to be up near 60 over next weekend. Just hoping we don't pay for that later.

Hang in there, everyone, and be well.

Stayin' the Course.

 

[honeybunny]

Happy Valentines Day to all you coupled folks! Just take it easy on the candy hearts.

Unfortunately, the project I was being brought back to work on did not receive funding so I am still on convenience leave. Not sure I was given the whole truth about the situation ( can anyone say alternative facts?) but I continue to feel peaceful about the situation. I've got an interview on Thursday and am cautiously optimistic I'll do well. Any positive energy anyone cares to send my way is appreciated

Being home has made it tougher to eat healthy because there is plenty of food within reach, or a short drive away. My downfall continues to be noshing at night. But I faithfully track my calories using My Firness Pal and most days manage to stay under the 1200 calorie limit I've set to lose a lb./week. The app also provides nutrition totals so I can monitor my carb and sugar intake. I think the app allows more sugar per day than I, a pre-diabetic, should ingest so I try to keep well below the allowable grams.

I'll end this by saying I am continuing to stay the course and that I'm grateful to SB for keeping us on track. Thanks SB!

 

[dornole]

Drinking a protein shake (with frozen berries in it) around 8;30 or 9 has really helped with my post-dinner snacking problem, honeybunny. Sweet, takes time to drink and now a habit and a treat. I wish you lot of luck with the interview!

I'm still staying the course but need a game plan for vacation with my sister starting tomorrow. Any ideas? trying to stay healthy without being a buzzkill. We normally subsist on cheese and Bailey's on these jaunts.

 

[honeybunny]

Thanks, dornole! That's a great idea! I drink protein shakes from time to time but didn't think about having one as a late night snack.

 

[Superbob]

Interesting ideas. My downfall is evening snacking. What kind of protein shakes? Like those sold for the Atkins diet?

For Valentine's DW and I went to a favorite grillhouse and had the Valentine's special: 2 10oz prime ribs, salad, roasted potatoes, and their special dessert -- a brownie surrounded by scoops of ice cream and drizzled with chocolate syrup. YUM! Back to trying to be moderate today, and exercise class tomorrow. Wow, did our instructor ever kick butt in our Valentine's day class -- maybe t cancelled out some of that decadent dessert!

 

[Duffey]

Speaking of snacking, my success or failure in losing weight often seems to hinge on my ability to resist after-dinner snacking. We usually eat dinner early. Last night we needed to leave the house by 6pm to take our grandson to swim club, so we ate at 5pm. Luckily the facility has three pools so we were able to also swim. By the time we headed home, ist was almost 8:30 so snacking was not an issue--it was almost bedtime for us, early bird risers. Most nights I can drink a huge cup of hot tea after dinner, and that satisfies my desire to snack. My other strategy is to grab the dog and go for a walk; just getting out of the house seems to strengthen my resolve not to snack. So far I'm doing well with the weight loss, and I know it's because I'm not eating after dinner. I don't know how long it will last, but for now, I'm on a roll!

 

[FredW]

Well, my wife returned from babysitting grandkids so I'm off the "wife-away" diet. I'm now trying the Donald-Trump diet. This is only available in the US. It is where you watch the news and either loose all your appetite or get so sick, that you throw up.

So far, i have lost 2 Trunp pounds. That is really only one real pound, but if you call me on it, I will accuse you of reporting fake news.

Oh dear, did I just post a politically incorrect post? Sorry, couldn't help myself.

 

[Paleowoman]

Well, my wife returned from babysitting grandkids so I'm off the "wife-away" diet. I'm now trying the Donald-Trump diet. This is only available in the US. It is where you watch the news and either loose all your appetite or get so sick, that you throw up.

So far, i have lost 2 Trunp pounds. That is really only one real pound, but if you call me on it, I will accuse you of reporting fake news.

Oh dear, did I just post a politically incorrect post? Sorry, couldn't help myself.

Fred - I had to laugh when I read your post, and I had to read it to my DH, I don't often read VR posts to him. I have been reading the press with incredulity and wondering how on earth you folks in the US are managing ! It is quite beyond belief what that man says. Wishing you all well !

 

[Agian]

Well, my wife returned from babysitting grandkids so I'm off the "wife-away" diet. I'm now trying the Donald-Trump diet. This is only available in the US. It is where you watch the news and either loose all your appetite or get so sick, that you throw up.

So far, i have lost 2 Trunp pounds. That is really only one real pound, but if you call me on it, I will accuse you of reporting fake news.

Oh dear, did I just post a politically incorrect post? Sorry, couldn't help myself.

Or... You can laugh so much you're not hungry anymore.

 

[Superbob]

Well, my wife returned from babysitting grandkids so I'm off the "wife-away" diet. I'm now trying the Donald-Trump diet. This is only available in the US. It is where you watch the news and either loose all your appetite or get so sick, that you throw up.

So far, i have lost 2 Trunp pounds. That is really only one real pound, but if you call me on it, I will accuse you of reporting fake news.

Oh dear, did I just post a politically incorrect post? Sorry, couldn't help myself.

There are people -- whom I will not name -- on the other side of the political aisle who have a similar effect on the digestive systems of some of us; however, since this is not a political site, I will refrain from naming names. I am not a censor but personally I think this forum works best politics-free and focused on how we try to stay our individual courses. I try to do the same in my blog about senior fitness. Lord knows, there are plenty of places on the Internet to exchange political barbs. That's just my opinion.

 

[Agian]

There shouldn't even be an aisle. I have views that Americans would identify as right wing, but can still laugh at the antics of the various political personalities. Your former Prez is a nice guy, would I vote for him? Nope. Why do folks identify political positions with certain individuals? It's almost cult-like. Most of these politicians are self-serving ***** anyway. Here in Australia, we laugh at all of them.

 

[Duffey]

We just got home from the workout center. I made a pot of minestrone soup early afternoon, so we had that with skillet roasted cauliflower, capers, and pine nuts. Since we started this diet plan, I have eaten a variety of items that I had never tried before. For some reason I thought capers were a type of fish, duh!, so I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered I like them.
I read Eva's recommendation (on the ACT forum) to try hyaluronic acid for joint pain. She swears that it's helped her knee pain, so I ordered some. It's only my second day of taking the capsules, but speaking of losing your appetite, they as big as horse pills and may help surpress mine. I can only hope.
Wishing everyone a great week-end!