Fun, Fit & Forty+

Group Name:	Fun, Fit & Forty+
Members:	4
Location:	San Antonio, TX 78209

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Getting fit through healthy eating, exercise, and daily logging. Working to lose 10-30 Pounds!

Last posted:

Monday, October 02, 2017, 3:12 PM

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Members profiles:

These are my motivations for getting to my goal weight (130s):
1) Health
2) Comfortable longevity
3) Stamina & energy
4) Easier and safer for running
5) Sense of accomplishment I get from running
6) Sense of control and self-actualization

I'm already at an "acceptable" weight, but that's the problem. I keep gaining and losing the same 25-40 lbs (within the "healthy" range, according to the charts, but it is not healthy to yo-yo!) It is too easy to just say "I'm ok the way I am." I am at my best when I'm in the 130s, so I want to get there and stay there.

This is my ultimate goal: I am training for a 5K which has not been scheduled yet (in fact, it is probable that the race organizers have not even been born yet!), but it will be March 4, 2062, the first Saturday after I turn 100. All of my marathons, all my workouts, all my good eating habits – all of this is directed toward that one goal – being healthy and in good condition to run this 5K. And I will keep running them until I get an age group medal! :-)I am 52, separated, mother of two adult children. I’m a church organist and I teach piano at a community college and in a community school of music, and I do some accompanying, wedding gigs, etc. I am also a volunteer adult literacy tutor, and have three three-legged cats. (Nine cat legs total).

Before age 42 1/2, I did no exercising whatsoever. I was only slightly overweight – (5’7”, in the upper 160s) -- nothing to be too concerned about, but a question popped into my head all of a sudden – “What kind of 76-year-old do I want to be someday?” -- and for some reason, I pictured a 76-year-old me, running a road race. This was weird, because I knew I couldn’t run 2 blocks. But I realized that the future I was envisioning for myself was not the future I was preparing for. So I bought a pair of running shoes that day, and have been running ever since. I have had good times and bad with this – including several marathons in several states – and a stress fracture, with a period of time spent on crutches and in a wheelchair! I think I have a handle on what I’m doing now, but I am constantly learning new things about what works for me and what doesn’t!

I thought that with all that running, weight loss would come automatically, but that was not the case. It was pretty clear, though, that the running would be a lot easier if I lost 20, or even 30 lbs., so I started reading about what is the best way to fuel (and not overfuel) all this activity.

I joined PT in April 2007, and found that just logging what I ate caused me to lose weight! Even if nobody reads it, I feel accountable, and I am aware of what kinds of foods I’m eating and in what amounts – so it’s a natural check & balance. Logging every day is really important. I quit being active at PeerTrainer a few years ago, but now I'm back -- because so is the weight. Thought I'd give it a try again.

Now that I have read through the Beck Diet Solution more than once, and DONE THE ASSIGNMENTS (that's important!), I finally feel like I have a handle on my relationship with food. Yay for cognitive restructuring!

My next challenge is to apply this to something that is even more of a problem for me: clutter. I am not a "hoarder," but I was not "obese," either -- but just because I'm not extreme in my problems, doesn't mean that I have it all together. I am continuing to do the Beck techniques for my weight, but I'm also turning my attention to the clutter issue. I found "Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding," by Tolin, Frost, and Steketee. They are psychologists who specialize in applying Cognitive Behavior Therapy to Hoarding Disorder. This is the Beck Diet Solution for clutterers. I am also using the book "Discardia: More Life, Less Stuff," by Dinah Sanders, for a lighter approach. I want to change my relationship with "stuff" as positively as I have changed my relationship with food, and I want these changes to be permanent. An interesting thought -- these two challenges are related. Both involve thinking errors that are hard to unlearn. And it's about more than just clutter and calories.

I am a 44 year old Mom of a 6 year old Beautiful Daughter who has enough energy to put the energizer bunny to shame. I thought I would lose the extra weight gained when I was pregnant chasing her around, but...nope...Stress from work killed that. I am also dealing with ADHD which means I fight a lot of impulses...one being food = ( I was a paralegal for 7 1/2 years, but I got frustrated with the hours and the stress (I had my own stress and the stress of the attorneys) and this wasn't working now that I had my daughter, so I left the legal world and hunted for a "simpler" job with less stress and better hours. Took a simpler job and hated it. I lasted a year before the boredom and ethical issues pushed me to my limit. Now I am back in the legal world, with what was supposed to be a simpler position (not mindless, just better hours and less stress). This job can sometimes be really stressful and the hours go nuts, but then it comes down for a bit. The position I have yo-yo's, but I am hoping to keep it on the simpler end and stay within the realm of better hours.

I am 51, married, and have kids, ages 25 & 22. It is just my husband and I at home. I work fulltime from my home office. On the weekends, I love to work in the yard.

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