Post Chemo Spa & Shape Up

Mizsissy

Try Wasa Swedish rye crackers....rye, sourdough, hearty...I love 'em.  They have lots of fiber and make you feel full and taste good with Olivio, Jam, peanut butter, cheese, or whatever.

And never, never underestimate the power of carrots & celery!! Or apples!

Miz 

Raye99

Puppy - welcome back! We've obviously missed you - could you tell?!? How are you feeling?

MizS - My husband and I want to move into a SLIGHTLY bigger home, but now I don't know! You keep up the good work with your declutterization. Here is a recommendation - "The Departed" - very very good acting (albeit a bit violent). I really enjoyed it.

Allyson - Oh your CT farm(ish) situation sounds delightful! I usually don't use that word, but that is the first word I could think of. Nice, very nice indeed. Post a pic! Yes, Jenny Craig or "JC Center" as they say on the phone while leaving a voicemail, lest your husband know you are doing the Jenny Craig program! It does work; however, it is very expensive. I have 2 lbs more to lose and I  think I am done and will do the rest on my own - i.e., last week my groceries for the week were $84 and that does not include my yogurt and fruits and veggies.

Jasmine - I love your name. Congrats on your weight loss.

Dottie - my are you a busy woman with a ton of responsibility and you always sound so upbeat and happy. You are inspirational. Glad to hear you've been in contact with Carol.

Mary - hang in there girl - you'll lose the weight, the holidays are killers on our girlish figures.

Time to get back to work - had my little Jenny lunch and am sooo very satisfied.

Raye

Raye99

oh, a snack suggestion - I like to get those 100 calorie popcorn bags - especially the Kettle Corn. Very filling.

Raye

Mizsissy

Raye...

Here I am taking another break from all the declutterization.  When we first moved in here, we lost everything.  We had to have a hammer and a screwdriver and special set of tools for each floor. We had about five pairs of scissors that were always all lost at once.  We even lost each other!!! It took about 5 years to find everything.

Help me...can I throw away magazines two decades old that are antique, art, and nature reviews?   Can I throw away a Beseler enlarger that my brother gave me that is very dusty...along with everything else that came in the box (an entire dark room setup)?  

I am throwing away my anthropology notes from graduate school!!!

But have some good news to report; a lot of those boxes down in the storage room are empties!!!  Woohoo!!!!

Miz 

abbadoodles

Puppy, glad to see up up and at 'em!  How goes the battle?

Ladies, you have given me a nice shopping list!  I love pita bread, Pup, and I had forgotten about the Wasa crackers.  Popcorn is good for that "something in my mouth" feeling.  Oh, thank you all.

Miz, you need to frequent the Less is More thread more often. LOL  You are really a case.  Now, there is hope for you.  If I can throw away a pile of old magazines (I love the Brit shelter mags and they are soooo expensive I hate to toss them.), so can you.  I suggest zipping through them once more but give yourself a finite time to do so and that way you will go fast and not end up reading everything over again.  If you MUST, rip out what you need.  Otherwise, donate all to the local library or senior center, etc. 

Good grief.  Notes from grad school.  They really must go. 

The darkroom setup is pretty much worthless now.  Maybe the Smithsonian???

Now, go break down the empty storage boxes and flatten them for the recycling truck.  Go one, girl.  You have your work cut out for you.

Tina

Raye99

MizS, I'd toss most of the magazines, but keep maybe two - they surely have some historical significance for your art.

Obviously, if the enlarger is dusty you are not using it, b-bye to that.

Notes from Grad school - bye.

Keep up the good work!

thomcat

Hi ladies:

I'm sitting here stuffing my mouth with Goldfish as I write this.  I can't believe how I've fallen off the diet and spa wagon since the holidays.  My walking buddy has been sick for the past week so that means no walking except with my dogs.  I don't consider that an aerobic workout because it's stop and go so they can sniff where all the other dogs have been!  My ds was home from school sick today - he says a sore throat - but I don't think he was too sick - so tomorrow I think I'm walking again.

I have a dear friend who just finished chemo last Wed (she's not active on the message board) and she is on a roll with her diet and working out.  I've had a couple of meals with her that included zuchinni pasta with tomato sauce, brown rice pilaf and "green" lemonade.  All the stuff tastes great but I usually find myself STARVING before the next meal.  I'm making lots of smoothies with a protein powder for breakfast so that's a start.

So, I need all you ladies to inspire me to get going!!!!

Cathy

paige-allyson

Wow- there has been a lot of activity here while I was away. Good going on all the dejunking- hope those notes from grad school are in the recycling! Tina- I think you have potential as a life coach/decluttering diva! I have been known to save mags WAY too long, but am getting better about this. BTW- What is "Brit shelter?"

Raye- I do want to post some pics but first need to learn how. Jim's going to help me but we haven't had the time yet. Yesterday it snowed and the chickens were looking extra aesthetically pleasing against the white background- made me more motivated to up my photography and technical skills. Yipes- JC is $84 BEFORE the fruits and vegs! I hope it real tastes good!

Cathy- I've fallen off with the walking too- more due to snow and getting back into work. I've vowed that this will not continue. I am going to exercise a little before I go to the dentist this am and either walk or something else later. Yum- I love the sound of the food you had with your friend! Just based on the food alone I'm sorry she's not my neighbor . I eat the same way - the solution to being hungry is just to eat more along the same lines- it's the magic solution to getting 9+ fruits and vegs per day.

Snack advice... if you hate most fruits and vegs...that's a tough one. My advice is to find some that you like or ways to prepare them that you like. My experience is that people who hate fruits and vegs have often been victims of being made to eat badly prepared ones or the same boring ones over and over again. I don't like certain fruits very much -like bananas and can't eat others- like regular citrus (it's low acid oj for me). Berries are another story- love them- and always have bags of frozen blueberries on hand. Can you find a few that you like? Can you hide some in other foods like smoothies and soups? Non veg snacks that I like are muffins from Trader Joe's- they have a couple of types of little high fiber ones. Also Trader Joe's light popcorn.

 I wish I could stay home and dejunk- you've inspired me- unfortunately I am of to the dentist. Keep up the good work! Allyson

Raye99

Cathy - good to hear from you. You'll get back on track - pull that dog along for the walk. That's what I do when mine starts sniffing the poop of other dogs and everything else he encounters. He's big - so pulling him is a workout in itself. Once I get him going, he's pretty good at staying with me with his haltie on. Your protein smoothies will help curb your appetite, while being nourishing. Nothing wrong with the Goldfish, just not too many! ha - easier said that done, I know. I've been known to eat an entire big bag of Baked Lays or box of Baked Wheat Thins.

Allyson - I didn't mean for my JC comments to be derogatory - it DOES work, but is somewhat expensive. But I had tried everything - running my ass off (well not quite off or even smaller), but running 4 -5.7 miles a day, eating somewhat healthfully (but big bags of "Healthy" baked chips on weekends didn't help); tried Adkins, low fat - never lost weight. Finally, found the answer with JC - lower your calories - I lost 20 lbs and have kept it off with the exception of the sneaky 5 lbs that arrived around the holidsays. Easy enough concept, but can be hard to follow. I found with JC, the weigh in each week motivated me to stay on the program and the program taught me proper portion sizes. So for me it was worth it. Sorry to go on and on. Fruits and veggies are hard for me as well. I'll shut up now.

Ran 2.65 miles last night on the treadmill. Slowly getting back into running.

Raye

Raye99

Allyson, here are some instructions posted by Bay about posting pics. Very easy to follow. PhotoBucket can be located at www.photobucket.com.  I was even able to do it. Let me know if you have any questions - Raye 

1. have 2 windows open-one on photobucket and one here in this thread

2.add your pics to photobucket,

3.then click on the direct link code under the picture you want to post 

4. Come back here to your reply window and click on the little tree next to the smiley face.

5. Paste code in the box that says image URL and then hit insert. Your picture will show up in the body of your reply 

abbadoodles

Allyson, Brit shelter stands for British shelter or house and decorating mags.  Like our House Beautiful, Country Living, etc.  Very pricey mostly because of the importation but so interesting because they're so different.  I am a closet voyeur, love to look into other people's houses.  I'm afraid they interest me more than the actual people.

Raye, thanks for bringing up the smoothies.  I do like them and need to make them more often.  I do like berries enough so maybe should keep some frozen ones on hand for mixing into my yogurt.  Good idea.  BUT, I do need that mouthful of something bread-y to feel as if I've actually eaten something. 

Veggies are great if they are covered with cheese sauce.  LOL Hardly diet material.

I assuem JC stands for Jenny Craig?  How much does that whole deal cost?  If I understand correctly, you have to buy the meals.  Are they different from the Weight Watchers' meals you can buy in the grocery store?

Just got back from the dentist.  Three hours in the chair to start a bridge.  Yuck. 

Tina

MaryGLA

Hi All,

Cathy, I'll walk with you this weekend!

Snack ideas:  I cut up bags of veggies once a week so I can grab one every day.  I use celery, baby carrots and those sugar peas in the pod.  I also have found that eating a dill pickle at night keeps my sweet tooth at bay.  For bready treats- rice cakes are good and very low cal.

Raye, congrats on the run!  You are awesome!

MizS:  Decluttering advice- if you haven't used it/looked at it in the last year, throw it out!  I am married to a packrat, so I know how hard it can be to say goodbye.

Saw my surgeon yesterday for my one-year anniversary.  He had his nurse call his wife's gyno for an appointment for me to see about the ooph.  Now, that's service!  There's new research on this website showing pretty dramatic increases in disease-free survival rates for pre-menopausal women who do oophs with 5 years of Tamoxifen.  (ER+ ONLY)

Went to sports circuit last night with the new trainer.  He is not very dynamic, but he had a great workout for us.  Tonight I will have to run. Raye, I will use your sassy image for inspiration!

Mary

paige-allyson

Raye- You have such an entertaining way of putting things. I can't look at my house now and not think "farmish." Now I will think of your ass not getting smaller  even when you tried, and tried. Obviously Jenny Craig was the ticket. Hope I didn't sound disparaging about it re: the $ part. I'm a bit obsessed with economizing these days so it's easy to get a reaction out of me. I didn't work during treatment (I am always amazed that people can- I was exhausted) and so now we are playing catch-up. Anyhow, good thing we love lentils and black beans around here! Thank you for the photo advice. I will give it a try.

Tina- I am going to check out British Shelter- thanks- I like to check out other people's houses too- and their bookshelves. Must be dentist day today. I was at the periodontist's this morning. Now I have 4 appointments set up with him that I am going to try not to think about.

I followed this up with going and getting my every three months Lupron injection.

Mary - I am very interested in this ooph business. I wonder if it is better than the Lupron. I was deemed as being possibly in menopause (at 47 and still having regular periods?!) even before chemo- based on my blood estradiol levels. My onc has me on the Lupron as "insurance" that ovarian function is really shut down since I am on Femara. Any comments, info, etc. are welcome.

Raye99

Mary - That survival rate news with ladies who ER+ are having oophs is indeed interesting. On the workout front: You are always working out - YOU give me inspiration! I am debating if I should run tonight or do weights.

Tina - yes JC is Jenny Craig. They run specials (i.e., 20 lbs for 20 bucks, 8 weeks for $36), but that does not include your food - about 80-90 bucks per week.

Allyson - Oh, I hope I didn't upset you with the word "farmish", you just said it was like a farm, but not quite a farm...don't get discouraged about the JC - yes, it is expensive, but there are other ways. 1200/1500 or 1800 calories a day - that is what they put you on depending on your weight. The less you weigh, the less calories are included in your "plan." So, watch your calories, keep a journal with calories and food. And YES, the food is very similar to Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, Weight Watcher's Smart Ones.

Here is what I do: eat a Luna bar and yogurt for breakfast, LC for lunch, LC for dinner. Snack size bags of doritos, cheetos, or popcorn for snacks. Fruit - I don't really measure that, it's fruit for the love of Pete or the perfectly round bottom. Also, my husband is a wonderful cook who makes great healty meals. I will have them for dinner as well.

Raye

paige-allyson

Raye- Noooooo. The opposite that's exactly the right way to describe it and it amuses me- I am appropriating your adjective for my own use- imitation is the highest form of flattery . I think I should make more use of the emotions buttons. I'm in a good spot with my eating and dieting so not sweating it re: the Jenny Craig. I do Weight Watchers core -loosely now because I don't care if I lose fast. I started a few months before the BC diagnosis- when I was at 149 - my all time max (except for pregnancy). At dx I was 143. Starting chemo I was 138, finishing chemo I was 136, and today for the first time in years I weighed in at 127.8 . My goal is to get down to 116-120 the bottom of my healthy weight range, and to stay there. I feel like this losing slowly should help me maintain- all I will have to do is eat a little bit more than I do now.

I actually got myself out the door for a 30 minute walk/jog this afternoon- giving myself major points for this! If I am not too tired I am going to try with the pics later. Allyson

Raye99

Allyson - 127.8 is wonderful! Congrats!

Mizsissy

Good Morning Gals...another early one for me!  I've been scurrying around the house, running up and down stairs, cleaning up & out...and today is Reveal Day cause I've got a whole group of artists coming over to draw and I had to set it all up here.   Revamped the entire basement.  Everything is neat, clean, and orderly...I've tried to arrange all the extra furniture down there into something livable.   Got the model's station looking  professional with photographers lights and a bamboo screen behind. We had a lot of extra beds, so it resembles a bedroom furniture store with different settings...actually it kinda looks like a movie set for a pulp fiction novel starring Guy Noir!!! 

Ever since I got going on this, which DH tells me was last Friday, my exercise plan has been on hold, along with my healthy eating plan.  In fact, one night, I stooped so low as to eat a Wendy's cheeseburger and chocolate frosty.  I don't know how this happens, but I gained back all the weight I lost in one meal!!

Allyson, you need to inspire me now.  You came here for inspiration, and now I've fallen off the diet wagon I need to get going again.  We started out with the same weight and now I'm five pounds heavier than you are!!!  Congratulations on that fabulous loss!!!

Cathy, welcome back girl!!!  You've been busy too.  It's time to relax, decompress and focus on YOU.  Go back a few pages (to around January 1) and you can see that we all made some New Year's resolutions.  Well, you can make a list too, it doesn't matter that you're a couple weeks late, and that will get you going!!

Mary, it's so nice to see you...glad you found a surgeon you like, although I have to admit, if I were taking tamo, I might feel better without having to worry about the lining of my uterus. Just make sure you get it checked frequently.  Too bad they can't add a progesterone component to Tamo that would make it shed on schedule.

Raye, thanks for the help with pix.  What happened to your georgeous avator???!!!!

Tina, Raye, everybody, thanx for all the moral support on the decluttering.  I may not have lost weight over the past week, but I think my house lost about a *thousand pounds*!!!  And I feel as light as a feather!! Haven't felt this good since I was dx'd!!

Puppy, you take care of yourself and DO NOT OVERDO...you are recovering from a very serious illness.  

Didn't take notes so I'm sorry if I missed you...but I'll be back to catch up later!

XXXOOO Mizsissy 

paige-allyson

Mizsissy and Raye- Thanks on the weight loss congratulations. 20+ pounds in about a year is pretty good I think. My not so secret "diet secrets" are being revealed on a daily basis in this other thread I started. Raye- I am so close and yet so far . I got a few pics into photo bucket, VERY big step for me. Then I select the direct link thing, come back here to the message box, select the tree and try to paste the url. This is where it falls apart- how do I paste it in there? The various things I tried didn't work. Ditto Mizsissy's question re: the goregeous pic avatar- where'd it go?

Mizsissy- congratulations on the decluttering- FYI there is actually a book called "Put your house on a diet." Sounds like your house has achieved "biggest loser" status.

Mary Welcome back- It is encouraging for me to read all these major workout reports- I'm not quite back up to that level yet but it gives me hope to see that you guys are.

Puppy Hope you're feeling much better.

Tina- I am going to the Less is More thread and spending more time on getting rid of stuff. You and MizS continue to inspire me.

Jasmine, Casey, Cathy good luck with your goals. Hope I didn't miss anyone. Allyson

Raye99

MizS- I am excited about your studio - you must be too, you early bird! oh, YUMMMMM - a Wendy's cheesburger and Frosty - sounds like pure delight. You only did it once, don't sweat it. That is probably just junk food weight and shouldn't stay. We  need to treat ourselves everyone in a while.

Now, wait a minute, you don't think my avatar is gorgeous - my lovely furry sweet beast?

Allyson - Ok you got the pics in Photobucket, that is good. I am going to post a pic now, so I will go step by step:

1. go into photobucket

2. point to the 2nd link under the photo - called "direct link" - the url next to it should highlight and copy, if it does not, right click and copy.

3. now come back here and click on the tree, a little box will come up and you will need paste your url in the top field called "image url."

4. Click insert. It worked. my pic is below. a beer drinking bride. Sometimes I do need to go back and copy and URL again, as it always doesn't catch.

abbadoodles

Hi, allyson,

I am afraid I was not clear about the mags; the name of a mag isn't British Shelter but that is a "type" of magazine.  Some of my favorites are British House and Garden http://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/

The English Home http://www.theenglishhome.co.uk/

and, of course, Country Living (NOT the US edition), which is part shelter mag and part lifestyle.

http://www.countryliving.co.uk/

Also, I think the name of the less is more thread is something like Making Do with Less.  Senile dementia, I guess. 

Tina

paige-allyson

Did this work?

paige-allyson

I guess not let me try again. Thanks for bearing with me on this Raye!

paige-allyson

Anonymous

What a beautiful cat!

I have to tell you, this is one hopping thread that Miz has going here. 

I'm doing okay on the soda...well at least I'm sticking to one a day and still keeping those pounds off that I lost.  Haven't done too well with the walking.  Work just gets in the way.... Dear Lord, why couldn't I be born rich.

It looks like everyone is doing really well with their goals.  I will try to find time to start addressing all of you.  I love this thread.  You ladies are so positive!

paige-allyson

Yay- Thank you Raye. Look everyone, a giant cat! LOL . Now I just need to work on the size of the pics I post! So this is Isabella. We found her as a day old kitten in our garage after returning from my staging tests at Dana Farber. Her mom was not able to care for her properly (or her 2 sibling that did not make it). The mom was feral and I think a 1st timer at having kittens. Jim and I bottle fed her for about 2 months and Wendy the dachshund kept her clean. She has grown up to be an awesome cat, with quirky habits from being raised by humans and 2 dogs.

Anonymous

Allyson, if you uploaded this pic to photobucket, you can click on 'edit' and resize the picture.

paige-allyson

paige-allyson

Please bear with me- Thanks Jasmine- I thought I resized this one but still seems kind of big. This is my farmish house- we just had it painted- a little pink yet to be covered over- it got cold before we could do the last couple of details (like finish the front door).

Tina- thanks for that link - I will check it out!

Raye- thanks for the help- beautiful wedding pic even with the bottle o' beer. Allyson

 I'm going to go do some cleaning decluttering rather than cluttering this whole thread with giant pics.

Raye99

Allyson -

YAY!!! Your big cat is gorgeous - does she eat dogs? jk - she is a beauty. And your house, oh I love it. A New England house for sure. Nothing wrong with a big pic. I posted a pic one that was humongous before I learned to resize.

Jasmine - good job on the soda!

Raye

Mizsissy

Luv your pix, luv your pix, more, more!!!!