Motivation

Dianne remember, as long as you are laughing you are burning calories!  Zumba is tricky the first time around, but the more you go, the better you get at it.  It is meant to be fun and still a great workout! 

As far as the clean eating, in addition to chicken---shrimp, salmon, bison, tuna....

Dianne, sounds like you are doing great just 3 weeks out! See what Vivre said above, I agree with her, it gets easier, and I know she is right too about once it gets easier, move on a bit... it seems like we get "used" to any particular exercise...

Deanna, next time it is NOT RAINING and I walk outside, I am going to take one 3 lb weight and just cary it and see how I do. My husband will be with me, lol, in case I need to have a break from it. (Or there is the tree idea, lol).

PT good for you about the abs. I hope next time it won't be so bad?

I start Yoga again this week! It's an advanced class, and I have not done a down dog in MONTHS. I am going to go to the back and do what I can. I wonder how my muscles will feel being OVER the implants..... Any thoughts on this appreciated....

My update, took Friday off (but did 6 out of 7 days this week...). 45 minutes on eliptical cross trainer Sat. Probably the same Sun as it is raining raining raining again!!!

Spring...

PT LOL LOL LOL!!!!! You are a riot with the "dancing" boobs!!!

OK I will keep in mind what you say. Thx for letting me know it could "hit" at the start of each exercise rotation as well...

What was that rhyme we used to do when we were wishing our boobs were bigger? 

"We must...We must...We must increase our bust!"  That's what came to mind when I read PT's post! 

I found you guys!!! I am sooo happy!!!!

I am inspired to get moving more now. I have actually been pretty good about exercising through chemo and radiation.  I just had to not do it for a little while after each chemo treatment.  Then radiation took its toll on my skin and tried to get me off track again.  I was so proud of myself that even with very damaged skin I tried to run on the treadmill. It took all I had to do it, so if you can picture me with no bra on and holding my left breast because it hurt so bad to touch my skin underneath, that is what I looked like.  My biggest gripe is that I just can't get any more weight to come off now. I have been gaining and losing the same two pounds for three weeks now.  I have tried to eat a little more, as I thought that maybe I wasn't eating enough. That didn't work. So I tried eating less, that didn't work. Now I am at my wits end and am so frustrated I don't know what else is left to try to get the weight to go in the down direction only.  Any suggestions???  I am on WeightWatchers and use the flex point system. It is so easy compared to counting calories that I don't have a problem with the diet at all. I just need some help in breaking through this plateau.  I do have about 40 or 50 pounds I need to lose yet.  I had lost 90 pounds before being diagnosed and then gained about 40 back which I have now taken back off.  I workout 6 days a week for about one hour.  I do 40 min. of cardio and then either weight training or something other than cardio for about 20 min.   Maybe I am working too hard?  I don't know.  If anyone can suggest something I can try to get the scale moving I would appreciate it.

Marian

Marian-way to go! Do not get discouraged and get off track. You have done great to work out through treatments and you do not want to lose sight of that. I remember how irritating moving was during rads. I found the best thing was no bra at all. The underarm area was the worst for me.

As far as weight loss goes, this is what did it for me: First of all, I have never in my life been thin or in is a good a shape as I am now, and I use to be in a dance troupe in college. What I finally realized was that it was not how much I ate ( I have never been a big eater), or how much I exercised (I love sports and have always been active). It was that certain foods were real triggers for me and I needed to totally change my mindset about food. When I stopped worrying about the pounds, and counting calories, the weight came off. All I do not is eat for health. The major culprits for me were dairy and sugar. I eliminated these almost 100%. I still eat chocolate (dark, with little sugar) but I rarely eat dairy. I use organic rice drink on my  cereal. I never use any artificial sweetners or drink sodas and do not eat junk food snacks. I now snack on seeds and nuts and dried or fresh fruit. I replaced soda with mineral water with a splash of OJ or lime juice for flavor. I eat very little bread or pasta. If I have pasta, it is a very small amount, smothered with my homemade tomato sauce. I eat very small portions of meat, and not very often, and I have finally learned how to make fish that is edible. It sounds like a lot of work, but after 2-3 weeks it became easy and now I feel so good that I am eating to live, instead of living to eat. Just remember it is not about a "diet", it is about regaining health and then retaining vitality. You can do it too!

Marian,

You should be so PROUD of yourself!!! It takes a lot to keep going during chemo and rads. I know what you mean about the sore skin. I was still walking during rads, with a cotton T under my bra because my skin was so red!!! Sore!!!

How about trying to gain some muscle? I hear that muscle burns more calories than fat, even just resting, so has the benefit of upping your whole metabolism. 

I am also turning into Vivre and eating for health. It just cuts out a whole slew of foods you just don't eat anymore. I am also on a mission to find organic everything, and I cut out sugar - now use Agave nectar and Stevia. 

Have you heard of the book, "Anti-Cancer, A New Way of Life"? This has GREAT support for both diet and exercise, and is sort of the guide I use, as well as the ladies here!!! $16.35 and it changed my life!

Spring.

Well Ladies

I spent all Sunday in a chlorinated pool environment..surrounded by teenagers in very tight swimsuits who were all swimming very very fast.  I think that I should be given exercise credit because I spent so many hours watching all those people with very high heart rates.  Don't you?  I mean I was in very close proximity because I was timing them.  I really think it should count! lol.

So today I only talked myself into going to the gym because I needed to report in to this board.  So I did it.  30 minutes of elliptical and 30 minutes of weight training.

Welcome to Marian.  Vivre could you come to my house and be my personal chef to keep me on track?

I had a follow up app't. with my onc yesterday, mostly to get an RX for an A/I.  But what I wanted to share here is that my WBC was still extremely low (3.5), which was a shock to me, since I'd finished up chemo in October and had Neulasta throughout.  But I've now read that radiation lowers your WBC, which I hadn't realized, and is one more reason not to expect too much of yourself if you've recently finished rads. A part of my RBC is also off (high RDW), which I've read is the result of rads.  I just thought this might ease your mind if you've been concerned about not feeling motivated to exercise.  Chances are it's not a lack of motivation, but that your blood counts haven't rebounded sufficiently yet.

I'm also hoping Vivre or others will have some tips on getting our WBCs back up where they belong.   Deanna

Thanks for all the great advice. I now have some things in my arsenal to try.  I have been eating smaller at each meal, but not trying the 6 meals a day.  It may be that I am not eating enough food throughout the day.  I have been gaining and losing weight all my life that it is very hard for me to change my mindset about how to do this correctly.  I feel like if I don't count calories or keep up with the points I consume then I am not doing things right. It feels wrong to not think about what to eat, etc. but I can see what you mean about becoming obsessed with it too. I do find myself thinking about what to eat, what I shouldn' eat pretty much all the time.  I have noticed that when I quit eating sugar that I didn't crave it anymore. For the past couple days I have since eaten some sugary things and now find myself wanting more of it.  So I do know that eliminating it would be of benefit.  I don't eat much flour or pasta.  If I do eat any it is usually a small amount and not too frequent.  My biggest things are breads. I have switched from white bread to a whole grain honey wheat bread that is 40 calories per slice.  In the meat dept. I usually eat chicken, but since chemo all meat has pretty much lost its appeal to me.   I am not a big fruit eater, so that is a down fall for me, but I do like a wide variety of vegetables.  I think I will check into the book Spring mentioned. 

I worked out yesterday evening and spent 30 min. on the treadmill.  I do interval walking/running. I  started out for a 2 min warm up at 3.5mph then every minute I go up and down.  My highest mph is 6.0 and that makes me sprint very fast because I have very short legs!  Sunday evening I tried something new. I bought a kettle bell.  Well, let me tell you, I could hardly get out of the bed Monday morning. I had no idea I had so many muscles that could hurt so bad.  This is a very easy routing and feels like you are hardly working out at all.  But the next day you will feel muscles you didn't even know existed.  I finally found something that works the inner thigh very well.  It's been 2 days and my muscles still feel it!   Tonight I think I will do a Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds video. I just love her workouts. They are effective but she doesn't do fancy steps or movements you can't follow along with.  Anyone else like her?

Marian

Spring, way to get in a good workout. It is great to finally see some warm weather. First time today without a coat for me. Yahoo!

Deanna, I never had a WBC, but even though my docs raved about how well I looked after rads, I felt like I was full of poison. I went to a doctor who really helped me with nutrition and got me on some supplements. She also helped me through a liver detox, which is vital to the immune syst. It consisted of a strict diet and taking supplements for several weeks. I also had a colonoscopy a few months later to get that cleaned out. I had this need to really detox all the crap from treatments. However, my thermographys showed my breast was still "hot" after a year. That made me really mad. I cannot believe how long the effects of rads lasts!

Marian, try keeping a food diary. Writing down what you eat keeps you honest. Like several of us have said, counting calories does not work. Some of the high calorie foods are very  good for you, like avocado and olive oil. If you just do not eat any white stuff, sugar in any form, even the "natural" sweeteners, and very little dairy, you will lose weight and develop better eating habits. Shop the perimeters of the grocery store. Prepared food, other than frozen fruits or veggies if it is out of season, are terrible for health and weight gain. Even those boxes of "diet foods" like lean cuisine are bad because they have very little nutritional value and leave you feeling hungry, plus they are tasteless. In fact, do not eat anything labeled diet or low fat. It may have less calories, but it is not healthy food.

I only walked 2 miles today, so I am going to bounce and lift my way through American Idol tonight. I hope the music is good tonight!

Oh, here is another good book: "The Superfoods RX Diet" by Wendy BazilianMD, and Steven Pratt MD.  It is not really a diet book in as much as it is a primer on healthy eating. It does have some good menus and recipes but also great advice on food that promote health and weight loss and the science of metabolism. It talks about how eating healthy will have the  side effect of weight loss. This is what happened for me. I decided to eat as if my life depends on it, because it does, and I lost weight with ease.

Does walking around the house count?  Or do you need non-stop exercise?

Jo Anne

Jo Anne ~ Experts say we need to aim for 10,000 steps a day total.  That includes everything, and I've found that it's very hard to accomplish, even with a 3 mile walk, which is 6,000 steps.  I believe walking anywhere counts towards whatever goal you set for yourself, but you might be surprised at how few steps we actually do when it's not intentional walking or other exercise.  On the other hand, I think Lisa or Vivre (sorry, forgot who) told us that running up and down stairs is great exercise if you do it intentionally.     Deanna

Vivre, I feel I have transitioned to this way of thinking, that you mentioned: "I decided to eat as if my life depends on it, because it does..." I think of food now as little elements of cancer fighters. I reviewed the food section of the Anti-Cancer book again last night to remind myself: which are antiinflamatory, which prevent in insulin reaction, etc. I think of sugar (he sayd, "Cancer feeds on sugar") as a cancer aid.  I have found this to be empowering!  It is true, with different eating and near daily exercise, the weight is back to "pre diagnosis" levels. Just need a bit more to get leaner. I am thinking muscle training will help with this. That's my next thing...

OH a friend told me to also drink lots of water to detox. I drink over 100 oz a day. Take your weight and devide in half. Say you weigh 160, so 80 ounces is your base. Then if you drink 20 ounces of caffinated products, you need to NOT count the caffeine beverages but add more water to account for that.   so 80 + 20 would be 100 oz of water to drink a day. This is to rid body of toxins. I am doing this. Has anyone else heard of this>?????

I just went and had my first colonoscopy scheduled for next month!!! How wonderful to hear the "colon clensing" could be good for the rest of me.  Hoping there is no "c" down there. sigh.

Spring. 

PS Yoga tonight! My first class since BC!!! (8 months ago!!) It is a 90 min class. I am going to aim for the back row and hope for the best. It is not beginners Yoga! 

Spring...yes on the water!  I drink at least 90 ounces every day...especially on days when I've taught two zumba classes.  I just keep my water bottle near me and am constantly drinking.  I think that is one of the reasons I was able to stay so healthy even through chemo.  Other than water I only drink my detox tea, green tea and my natural energy drink!

Also...doing a monthly cleanse is great for your body...people don't realize how "backed up" they can become and how sluggish it makes them feel!

 Not much to update...teaching my daily zumba classes.  Tomorrow I'll have two classes, as I'm teaching the 5th graders as a reward for the PSSA tests. 

Friday I'm having my exchange surgery...so I won't be able to Zumba for a couple weeks...well, I'll still go and do the foot work, but my daughter will be teaching.  So I'll do more walking during that "down" time. 

Make it a great day!