Let's Post our Daily Exercise

Alexa how wonderful that you have inspired your daughter. That recipe looks yummy Badger. Aurora a pedicure and massage sounds perfect to me. Congrats on the good doc visit Odie. Mary you and M are in my prayers.

Did Sh'bam this morning, didn't bother going to the gym this evening trying to rest up, just went to Target and stocked up on all things cold and flu, I have this dry cough that is driving me insane, wakes me up in the middle of the night and I can't seem to go back to sleep.

Aurora, massage definitely counts as exercise! Ruth, the WWW should publish a photobook of its walking adventures. I think it's a conceptual work of art.

Put in about 11,000 steps and an hour bike ride to and from my scan appointment. Yay, results are still looking good!

Saw this article on protective effect of exercise: http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-hormone-released-after-exercise-may-fight-breast-cancer-and-enhance-chemotherapy-1421704086 .

I've always wondered if brown fat had anything to do with it. Since irisin stimulates the activity and mass of brown fat, it probably does. And according to this article, muscle contractions through exercise and shivering drive irisin production. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140211-shivering-cold-exercise-brown-fat-white-fat-irisin-metabolism-weight-loss/

I know for a fact that I have quite a bit of brown fat as it is metabolically active on scans. So unless there is some other way to create brown fat, I must be releasing irisin during exercise. Let's all go make irisin!

5 miles on Air Assault bike, 23 minutes.

Heidihill.....so the best of both worlds would by my run in the HAIL earlier this week. Also interesting about exercise possibly enhancing the working of chemotherapy. I still think that cycling saved my life.

Very little exercise yesterday unless you count running from parking garage to Opera House and then up all the stairs to the gallery where I have my subscription. Marvelous performance of Tosca, and this time, I thought she deserved her fate.

Lots going on. Back on the exercise wagon today. Noticing and loving the longer, brighter days. - Claire

Welcome, Mama! The first place I'd start is by reading this handout on getting back into exercise after b/c surgery and node removal: http://www.stepup-speakout.org/Handout%20doc%20for... If you use a personal trainer or take a yoga or other fitness class, here's info for the instructor as well: http://www.stepup-speakout.org/Trainer%20doc%20for...

Talk to your PS about any restrictions you might be under, but once you're cleared, then as the handouts linked above advise, start slowly. I had T/E for several months, and was able to do most exercises I wanted, but you need to be careful. For instance, if you use an elliptical, rest your hands on the arm handles, rather than actively pulling them back and forth. If you do yoga, avoid poses like downward dog that put a lot of stress on the arms and shoulders. If you lift weights, start out with ridiculously low weights - like a pound - and very low reps. Watch out for soreness, swelling, or a feeling of heaviness anywhere as those may be signs of lymphedema. If you feel any of those things, back off. The handouts give great guidance on this.

Walking is a great way to get back into exercise. At this point it doesn't matter how much you do, as long as you're reasonably consistent. Start with 10 minutes most days, with a goal of working your way up to 30 minutes. It doesn't have to be all at once - when you hit the mall, park in the furthest lot away from the entrance - there's 5 minutes of extra walking right there! Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Take a 10 minute walk at lunch. If you have a dog, take the dog for longer walks. Incorporate those habits on a regular basis, and you'll get your 30 minutes a day! From there you may be able to move on to more strenuous exercise, but give yourself enough time. Don't try to do too much too soon - listen to your body and give it a chance to heal and recover from the trauma of surgery and having the T/E there.

If you've been reading the posts here, you can tell this is a great group and very supportive. So glad you decided to join us!

Welcome, Mama!! I certainly understand your anxiety and worry!! This is a wonderful thread and NatsFan had great advice and information! Each day will get better and and walking certainly is a great place to start and it helps with anxiety! I also had a double mastectomy, and once my drains were removed, I started walking😃

Went to the gym this morning, elyptical, bike and weight machines!!!

Welcome Mama! Along with the other great advice, I will add mine. When you are cleared to do arm things, a nice way to start slowly is to get some exercise DVDs and just do the motions, no weights at all. And then add the very smallest weights (like 1 pound or even cans of soup) and very slowly work back up to where you want to be. You should have no lower body restrictions, so you can walk, do abs, leg workouts like crazy (again exercise DVDs focusing on the abs, lower body etc. worked really well for me.....in fact, I must have never done much lower body stuff at all before because I lost a pants size when I was too afraid to do much arms!). I think getting into an exercise routine is a major key in regaining your strength both physically and emotionally.

Today's workout plan is treadmill, elliptical and weights.

Welcome Mama! Just curious, where in PA are you?

Badger, that salad recipe sounds DELISH!

Martha

Welcome Mama. Agree with everyone that walking is a great way to start. I was walking right after surgery up to tolerance. I have slowly progressed to running 5k events and participating in a strenuous bootcamp.

Claire, you are a better woman than me running in hail. Ouch!

Went to bootcamp tonight which included lots of barbell exercises.

Good night all.

Edited to add congrats to Heidihill on the clear scan .

Nothing formal today - up and down the stairs a lot, light walking with the dogs outside and lots of laundry!

Got my steps in and stuck to my calorie goal

Good on keeping good HeidiHill and interesting article. Welcome Mama and Aurora keep at it!

I'm off to PS this am for a tweak although not being put to sleep. DH is driving me, so off I go. Hoping to run tomorrow or Sunday.

Well Mary, you are right and this is the first time I've been awake during my appointment with him. We chatted away with some lounge jazz playing in the background. I call my PS by his first name (John) and he is lovely-close to us in knowing what my DH went through, who was with me today. The nipple is now a shape much closer to my own(right), as is the entire breast shape and making the circular skin that makes up the areola smaller. I wear the crown of being the smallest breast he has ever made, also making it one of the most difficult for this perfectionist. I'm feeling ok, now off to our boys school for a meet up about A levels-college prep for uni that starts next year.

TGIF!!! Walked and did a hill in Mangattan Beach!! Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Thanks all for being such toke models for me!! When I want to eat everything in sight I come here to see the voices!!