Lynn, moan all you want! This is why we're here.

Have you ever taken ginger capsules? I use them for motion sickness. They work great. I suffer nausea when I have to ride in the back seat of the car, or ride in the rain or fog, or get too hot when I'm traveling, and I can get seasick really easy. I got sick standing on the walkway of our little marina at our local lake. Just the waves moving up and down had me having to leave! Anyway, ginger capsules are an easy way to get the ginger without having to eat cookies (biscuits). I buy mine from Puritan's Pride online, but you might try a health food store and see if they have them available there. I also drink ginger tea for nausea. Again, I got mine from Puritan's Pride (it's an online company that sells vitamins and minerals, and all kinds of snake oil for what ails you.) (I'm not promoting this site, it's just that I buy most of my health stuff from there, but I'm sure there are other companies that have the same kind of stuff if you want to look for them.)

I hope they get you straightened out before your cruise.

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Nita

Happy to see a thread for us "older" ones. I was on Atkins last year and lost 30 lbs. I started back again after Christmas and have not lost a pound or an inch. I don't know if I am eating too much or what! (between 1500 calories to 2000 calories) I am staying at 20 carbs. I do Curves and drink plenty of fluids. I am post menopausal so I don't know what I am doing wrong. Please help this outrageous older woman!!!

Hi, Frannie I'm also post meno and I find my weight loss is on the slow side. Also, it's not uncommon for those last 10 or so pounds to be very difficult to shake. When I was on the push to finally break through and get to goal, I found I needed to forgo or reduce some of the higher fat foods I was eating. Weighing so much less than you used to, you may need fewer total calories than when you first started. Smaller bodies have lower fuel requirements.

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

I still weigh 185 pounds and I am only 5'4'' I hope I can start his weight moving soon. maybe I will try to lower the high fats like butter and oils.

HA! Finally lost three pounds!!!!! I am so excited!!!!!

So nice to hear from people who are over 50. I'm 60 plus and finding it hard to see any progress being made. I lost 30 lbs a year ago when I did adkins but got off and restarted the Jan. 3. I'm so hoping this will work for me, but must admit it seems like it is going to be a very slow road to travel with needing to lose over 100 lbs. I wish I had more energy so could exercise more. Anyhow so nice to read all this messages and hear how everyone is doing it. I'm on the way to pick up son and family from air port but just wanted to say thanks nita for starting this thread.

Sweet P, I'm glad that you are joining us. Yep, it's harder as each year passes, but we need to stick with this, because it's just the healthiest way to go.

Frannie, WTG, girl! It's nice to see others having good success!

I'm still not getting in any exercise; but, my arthritis isn't nagging at me like it was before. My bad days are getting to be fewer and farther between, and I don't have to take so much ibuprofen to keep the pain at bay. So maybe when I'm ready to exercise, I won't have the pain problems like I've had before.

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Nita

The wind is blowing and temps are in the teens but got myself up and out to do some walking this morning. Man, it sure woke me up and made me feel good. Now just need to eat healthy today. We went out for dinner last night and was able to stay on LC and not feel cheated. Love the support here!

I think it's time to bump this thread up and say Hello everyone.

The winter blahs are no fun. At least we've had some sunshine the last few days, although the temps have been in the deep freeze.

These days I think about retirement...a lot. It's still a couple of years down the road, but going on 40 years on the job, it seems like I've been at work forever. One of my incentives for staying in shape is being surrounded day in and day out by very YOUNG people. I don't want to be the dinosaur--in thought or appearance.

My exercise habit gets stronger and more important to me all the time. Although my "stats" don't seem to change much, I continue to see changes in my body. One thing that is very slow to change is perception. Sometimes only a photo will show me a person I can't quite acknowledge as me.

Maintenance is no less demanding than weight loss, as far as commitment goes. I encourage those of you on the journey to simply persist. The whole point is to find a lifestyle that involves more pleasure than deprivation. I'm grateful that Dr. Atkins made that possible for me.

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Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

I think about retirement, too, Barb. In fact, I'm considering early retirement. I don't need this stress, and need some time for other pursuits. It will mean cutting back, but my time is more precious than what money can buy. But even early retirement is still a few years off. At least the mortgage will be paid off by then.

I've read a few articles recently about staving off Alzheimers. Their advice? Keep your mind active, keep your body active, eat more vegetables, and keep your weight down. Sounds like an ad for the low carb lifestyle!

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Nita

I read an article a short while ago that suggested one way to help fight Alzheimer's was to aid the creation of "new pathways" in the brain by doing at least one routine thing every day with the hand you don't ordinarily use, varying the task you choose. For example, assuming you're right handed, brush your teeth using your left hand. Just one to add to your list (although I will admit I forget to do it. Hope it's not already too late, LOL!)

Do you find that adhering to the LC WOE in and of itself seems to help with brain fog? I do. I always feel more energetic and more alert, comparatively, when I'm consistently LC.

Aderyn

Oh, yes! I still sometimes have a touch of fog, but that's usually when I'm tired, or didn't get a good protein meal, or haven't had enough water to drink. And I think that getting away from caffeine has helped considerably. I find that I don't rely on that stimulus anymore, I have it so rarely (well, I do have regular tea, but it's totally different from what's in coffee and sodas.) It's easier to concentrate on reading, on thinking in general.

Another thing that helps is to do a puzzle upside down. That includes jigsaw puzzles, word finds, anagrams, etc. Sometimes looking at them upside down helps you to see the solution more quickly. And it forces you to use the side of your brain that you don't normally use for that task. I always turn my jigsaw puzzle around when I can't seem to find the pieces, and soon I've got an entire section together. It changes your perception. Try drawing something upside down, looking at it right side up. You'll often find that you can draw it more accurately, because you aren't relying on your perception of that object as you expect to see it. It also works with proofreading. Read the document backwards, word by word, and you'll find more errors than if you just read it straight through, because your mind expects certain words or letters to be there, even though they might not be.

If we take care of them, our minds can function well for many, many years. And if we take care of our bodies, then they'll function well, too. I don't want a keen mind and a decrepit body, or a good body and be senile. You see too much of that in nursing homes, and either scenario is just way too sad.

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Nita

I've been reading up on cortisol, the "stress hormone" that's getting a bad rap with people who make stuff like Relacore. It's supposed to be the culprit if you have excess belly fat (which I do, and of course it's the last place I lose.)

I found some information that was helpful:

http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/cortisol.htm

We NEED cortisol, but too much can be a problem, and the best way to control excess cortisol is with de-stressing and diet and exercise. People who secrete more cortisol also generally eat higher carb diets than those who secrete less. Interesting, eh?

And they linked to more information on how to de-stress your life:

http://stress.about.com/od/lowstress...stresslife.htm

(I particularly liked the part about getting rid of clutter. Time to toss stuff out!)

I know that eating right helps with stress, and exercise is supposed to, also. Perhaps more exercise will control the stress, and help get rid of the belly fat. I guess it's time to get really serious and just do it.

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Nita