How to Thrive When we’re Losing Weight after 50, 60, 70 & 80

Three to 400 years old, we’re spring chickens compared to this thriving Charleston treasure.

Happy Friday Thrivers!

I hope these pearls find you enjoying a peaceful spring day.

A quick aside for our new Thrivers: Welcome! And have you read the Aunt Bea booklet? You’ll find her to your right in the box under my circle bio. Enter your email and she’ll land in your email, but sometimes she prefers spam so you might want to check there too. ♥

Pearl One

While so many of us stress-eat, plenty of us also boredom eat which is why it’s important to infuse our over 50 lives with fun.

And fun is different for everyone.

But first a caveat: I’m the last to blithely say, “Just have a fun life and you’ll lose 80 lbs.” No, that’s not how weight loss works, but as you and I continue to embed solid smart-eating habits, it’s important to add happy habits too into our lives as we go forward.

That said, I’m going back into braces. Yes, I know I’m 57. As a tween I had railroad tracks, but today my teeth are like tiny Leaning Tower of Pisas falling into each other. After my last cleaning my dentist politely said, “you might think about braces.”

So I thought about braces.

I then located an orthodontist I like, at a price I love, and I’ll be in veneers by mid-May. I’ll keep you posted.

Now it’s your turn to tell me about how you’re thriving.

Gems from our Journals

Share your version of braces. Tell me about what excites you most in life. (Magic seems to pour out of our hands when we write about our lives versus merely thinking about our world. The real action happens when we combine the two.)

What is the most fun you’ve ever had?

What do you wish you had more time for?

If money weren’t a thing, what would you do for fun?

What pricey thing – kayak, road bike, camping gear and so forth – has been pushed to the back of your garage, very lonely without you?

If you’re certain that you have little time for, say, kayaking write about how you might create time. List all of the way you could block out windows for fun.

Give at least ten answers. Be silly: Welp, I can kayak at two in the morning and forgo sleep. And then be serious: If I stop lingering over coffee on Saturdays, I could kayak then.

Come up with ten responses and be ready to marvel at what spills forth. (I’d love to hear what’s fun for you, please share in the comments section below.)

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Take a look at the different ways we can bring more fun into our lives.

I have an acquaintance whose husband just went through a harrowing lung transplant and is doing beautifully today. This person learned so much about supporting the transplant patient (her hub) as well as the caregiver (herself), she became a life coach specializing in supporting partners and families going through the transplant journey with their loved one.

I know a woman who trained as a lawyer in her younger years, but gave up lawyering to become a midwife. Similar story but the mom became a doula.

Fun can span the gamut from sliding the kayak into the river and helping to birth babies to getting — oh, I don’t know — braces!! ♥

Pearl Two

Blooming as a Thriver. We’re entering a new era for women over age 50, 60, 70, and 80. Our over 50 lives won’t much mirror our grandma’s or even our mother’s worlds.

We’re living differently.

These days we’re busy. We’re maintaining high expectations for ourselves, doing hard things, and continually growing into the newest chapter of our lives.

We’re committed to a smart eating lifestyle – as best we can in our food-porn culture – by embedding five-star habits into our days (and evenings) because we’ve learned that eating well not only feels good, but also helps a plethora of ailments and diseases. And it sure doesn’t hurt the number on the scale either.

We workout because it feels so satisfying to have sore arm muscles after weight lifting or tired legs after a long bike ride.

We may not have maintained weight loss in decades past, but life is changing and you and I are adapting. Our losing after 50 trek — with the right mind-shifts and habits — can be a reality for us all.

Pass it on. ♥

Pearl Three

In April’s Pearl Three we’re talking: “Let’s live differently!”

Here’s how I’m living differently this weekend: I plan to keep a positive attitude, locate the silver lining when facing problems, and compliment myself at least three times each day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And I’ll write the compliments in my journal.

Today I’m complimenting myself for learning to get along with my little sister. Shelley lives in Tucson and the two of us have had a hard time being sisters. But we’re now going on four years of no serious arguments. We actually both deserve a pat on the back.

I’d love it if you’d share what you’re complimenting about yourself today. ♥

Pearl Four

A reader wrote that she wished she could follow me around for a day to see what I eat and when. Yikes – like – no.

Those who worry that I eat perfectly at every meal, these next sentences are for you.

While I’ve given up evening sugar, I still have fun food with my morning coffee. Today I spotted a leftover snack package of Almond Joys that didn’t make into a care package.

Huh.

Okay maybe I went a little bonkers on the AJs (sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t). I love coconut. And coconut with chocolate and coffee? I’m in. I washed the AJs down with leftover Peeps (no, I won’t say how many I ate – I do have some dignity to maintain – but I can share that they were pink).

I hope you’ll join me in kicking the evening sugar habit. It wasn’t easy initially, but the longer I went the no-sugar route the easier it became. Today when I think about having a handful of peanut M&Ms after dinner, I automatically remember my no-sugar track record and think, no bleeping way am I blowing fourteen months now. The hardest part of going no-sugar in the evenings is over the first two weeks. It really does get easier the longer you work to instill no sugar after dinner.

Back to our smart eating path.

The healthy foods I’m into at the moment:

Hard-boiled eggs. Low in calories, high in protein, and they’re quick to grab on the run too. Ideal little snack.

Greek yogurt, plain flavor. Also low in calories and high in protein. And once you get used to the taste delicious with grapes.

Now is a great time for a Costco run to pick up fresh fruit.

Costco also carries a fantastic bag of frozen veggies called Stir-Fry Vegetable Blend that you’ll find in the refrigerated section of Costco where they keep butter and eggs. I lightly heat a teaspoon or two of olive oil in a skillet and throw two handfuls of the veggies into the oil and heat them up. Then I add brown rice.

After I pour the veggies and rice into a bowl, I add low-salt soy sauce. Yum, and a great way to get your veggies.

What foods are you into these days? ♥

Pearl Five

A dear friend played an active role in planting seeds in honor of our friends in Ukraine. The group had a sign up with a quote I thought you’d love (and it definitely goes with our thriving theme).

They said they would bury us, they didn’t know we were seeds.” ♥

Get sweaty this weekend!! (The endorphins are a feel-amazing cocktail. Let’s get tipsy on endorphins together!)

♥, Wendy

P.s. Are you new to the Inspired Eater? Welcome!! This blog won’t make much sense until you first read the Aunt Bea post (and you’ll find Aunt Bea on this page to the right under my short bio). After you enter your email address, the Aunt Bea article will be sent to your email’s inbox. If it’s not there, you might check the spam folder. And always feel free to email me at Wendy@TheInspiredEater.com and I’ll get Aunt Bea right to you!

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