Post Chemo Spa & Shape Up

Raye, I hope everything went well for you on Wednesday. Please give us an update when you feel up to it. Tina, welcome to the thread. MizSissy is the motivator here! By the way MizSissy, the picture looks great - hope you are having a good time. We've missed you. Dottie - Your golf probably keeps you more fit than the rest of us!
One question - did anyone lose their eyelashes again? Mine came back strong after I was done with treatment and just recently have really come out again. Mary, I think you finished when I did - did this happen to you?

Hi ladies:

My computer has been in the shop for a couple of days and I've been lost without it!!!!

Raye - how are you doing after surgery? Check in when you can.

Dottie & Carol - glad to see you're checking in.

Mizsissy - hope you are enjoying your vacation

Tina - welcome, we could all use motivation

Mary - I heard on the weather forecast this am that the tropics are unusually quiet....hope they stay that way for your trip.

I vacationed the latter part of July and have been working out sporadically since. I had my chemo port removed last Tuesday so I haven't exercised since. I'm not allowed in the water until next Friday. I guess I'll go to the gym and walk on the treadmill.....BORING. My chest is a little sore but hopefully will subside soon.

Take care everybody and have a good week!!!

Cathy

Just a quick check in to say that I did not go to the sports circuit work out on Monday. In fact, I went out to eat and had cheese enchiladas and a giant frozen margarita!

Hope you all have a great Labor Day weekend!

Mary

Mizsissy,
So nice to have you back!
Your pictures are wonderful as is your french. Thank God for one year of college french at McGill University (and before that all those years of Latin).
Raye,
I hope your surgery went well and you are already feeling better.
Mary,
Glad to hear the new job is going well! I hope you enjoyed your diving adventure.
Howdie Carol! I haven't been to Long Beach Island in a bazillion years but I remember liking it very much. I am glad you had a good time.
Welcome to the new ladies who are fighting the pound.

Now what is up with this weight gain I have had as of late?
Those pounds have not yet come off and I have a pooch!!!

Now granted, my exercising has gone off and my alcohol consumption has gone up but surely hot flashes count for some calorie loss?
My hubbie and I moved his new fishing boat from Cape Charles, Virginia to Morehead City, NC this weekend. We traveled through a portion of the Chesapeake Bay, Intercostal Waterway, Albermarle and Pamlico sounds and had a fabulous time with some very good eats. If you ever find yourselves in Coinjock NC I highly recommend the crab meat stuffed flounder at the Coinjock Marina.

I better get back on the bike this weekend.

Happy happy joy joy

Mizsissy, glad you had such a nice vacation. Your picture is so cute.

Had my expander replacement with implant last Tuesday and the nurse in day surgery has opened a new health joint locally, offering Pilates, etc. I'm going to start with her as soon as my ps says I am okay for it. Cannot wait.

Any of you do Pilates? What are your experiences? It seems that with its focus on strengthening the mid-section, it would be great for our little pooches.

Happy labor day!

Tina

Hello All!!!

Missed my eh em work out buddies.

Traci and Dotti - thanks and welcome!!!! Dotti, I started coming to this thread because of the workout theme, but as I've mentioned before, I've fallen off the wagon, so now come here for the lovely company!

Mz S, you look freakin hot in that pic, lady! Thanks for sharing and congrats on the weight loss. Quebec sounds like a wonderful place. I assume you were in Quebec City? I've been to Montreal several times, but never Quebec City. Sounds wonderful.

Carol - Thanks for the well wishes. I don't want to comment on the eyebrows in fear of jinxing myself. Does that answer your question?

Casey - oh dear, that crab meat stuffed flounder is sending me into a frenzy of hunger!!! Sounds like your trip(s) was fantastic.

Mary - I hope you had a great time in the keys and your dives were spectacular.

Cathy - I know it...walking on the treadmill...zzz. But you've got to start somewhere. That is where I will be next week after this swelling goes away.

Tina - I've done some Pilates - the Denise Austin and the Daisy Fuentes variety - DVD. I've never taken a formal class; however, the DVD's (especially Denise's), really worked my abs and helped tremendously with stretching my arm after my first mast and lymph node removal.

All is well; back to work today. Just have a bit of swelling, which is due to fluid buildup - the surgeon will aspirate tomorrow. This time was much easier...no lymph nodes were removed. I also opted for a bigger prostheses - size 3 instead of 1 - ohh la la. Not big, but big for moi.

Have a wonderful evening ladies. Next week I will begin my shape up.

xoxo
Raye

Mary,

Your silence has me wondering how the sports circuit went.  Are you still with us?

Glad to hear you had such a nice trip.

Raye,

I am glad to hear that you are doing well and ready to start doing the shape up again. 

Tina,

I hope that you are feeling good and ready to start Pilates. Pilates is definitely good for strengthening the core muscles, flattening the pouch and improving posture.  It is easy to cheat and not use the right muscles (you want to use your transverse abdominals plus the other guys- most of us forget we have the transverse) so make sure your instructer keeps a close eye on your technique until you have it dialed in.

Guess what!

Pouch is gone!

I had my butt handed to me when I joined a group ride in Atlantic Beach two weekends ago.  It was a group ride of two, me and a guy who had just come back from the national track championships.  I'm like, "Are there any women on this ride?"  He says, "Usually yes but Audrey hit my back tire, fell and seperated her shoulder."  Off we go.  45 miles into this ride I ask him what he ate for breakfast so that he didn't bonk. "Oh just a bagel." BAGEL!!! I had two pieces of toast, two eggs, orange juice, coffee and two cookies and if I don't eat soon I am going to start gnawing on my own tongue.  For 56 miles he didn't stop and he had slowed down a lot for me. When I finally made it back home I had a big bowel of spagetti and meatballs and half a container of ben and jerry's mint ice cream (now that is some good stuff!) Then I slept for an hour. I woke up and no more belly.

I think I will try and ride again with him this weekend but bring some Gu.  I will never have a belly again if I do this Sunday ride twice a month. Ack!!!!

Take care all!  

Hi Everybody!

I have been so busy at work that I haven't had much time for the internet!  But I'm still here!  I still haven't done the sports circuit.  I was all set to go last week, but then my husband and I decided we needed to buy cute new workout clothes.  (Priorities, right?)  So, then we were going to do it on Monday, but we ended up painting the kitchen instead. (Trying to complete the longest remodel project in history... Tired of washing dishes in the bathroom!) To make this long story longer, we are really, really going to do it tonight!  The cute guy I like to flirt with at the "Y" promised to make us do it with him and his wife tonight!  (Did that sound dirty?)  So, one week after my last post, I say again, "I'll let you know how it went tomorrow if I can still move!"

 I love the pictures you all have posted!  And Myranda, I love knowing your name!  I will try to post a picture at home tonight.  After sports circuit.

As for all that biking, Casey!  Wow!  I am very impressed!

Raye, are you working out again?  Hope you are feeling well.

As far as a private group, I don't necessarily think we need it.  We should not let ourselves be run off by a few bad apples,  but I'll go with the flow.  Whatever you guys want to do.  Some names:  Spa Babes; Die Pretty.  Umm, that's the best I can do.

It's funny, I've been thinking about botox, too.  I am 42, and I don't like the little furrow between my eyebrows. Or, to be more precise, the spot between where my eyebrows used to be.  I was thinking I would talk to my plastic surgeon the next time I go in about what he could do for me.  I was thinking, "If I die in a few years, I'll feel stupid for spending money on that.  But if I live to be 90, which is my plan, then I'll feel stupid for being to afraid to do it!" 

And in case you all need motivation, I was re-reading some of the research on the website.  Exercising the equivalent of three hours of moderately paced walking per week cuts our risk of recurrence by 50 PERCENT!  The article had this whole thing about metabolic hours.  If walking for one hour is one metabolic hour, then swimming laps or running for one hour is 7 metabolic hours, and so on.  The maximum exercise benefit was (if I remember correctly) 15-21 metabolic hours per week.  There was no advantage recurrence-wise for exercising more hours than that, but there was a HUGE disadvantage to exercising less.  So, if you are like me, and you are always wondering what else you can do to cut your recurrence risk, HIT THE GYM!  Or pool, or pavement, or snow!  Whatever works for you.

And now I am going to sports circuit in my cute outfit!

Mary 

Myranda:

I'm trying to get used to the new forum and prefer to stay here.  I'm finally getting back into the swing of my "new normal" and one more place to go seems like a lot but I don't want to let go of my online buddies so I'll go with the flow.  Locally, I'm a member of a support group called "Bosom Buddies".  Right now I can't think of any other names but I'll think about it.

I've been trying to keep up the exercise program.  Since vacation late July, I've been rather sporadic because of having my port removed and school starting.  Now, there's NO excuses so this week I've been to water aerobics, body sculpting and working out in the gym with free weights and on the treadmill.  I can hardly walk after the body sculpting yesterday.  I LOVE the class but the instructor was really tough!!!!

Will check back to see what everyone decides.

Cathy

Raye,

Just noticed the new avatar.  I am going to have to check in daily just to see what you've posted for the day.

Your dog is cute.

Mine is a nincompoop.  I went to a fund raising event last night and he periodically felt the need to drag me across the lawn in order to sniff another dog. He is good around people but he is a putz around other dogs.  I think I need to get back to training him. 

I (gasp) survived (gasp) sports circuit!  (Gasp!)  It was really fun and very exhilarating!  It is so nice to be feeling strong and fit again.  Here's how sports circuit works.  There are about 15 stations with 12 people at each station.  Some of the stations are:  torture by stationary bike, two stations whereby the torture is by squats with weights, torture by jogging in place while punching the air with hand weights, torture by:  THREE different ab work stations, one with a ball, one with some kind of half-ball balance thing, one on a mat; two jogging stations; a jump rope station, a push-up station.  You only stay at each one for about three minutes, and an incredibly fit guy with a microphone is encouraging us the whole time while loud hip hop music plays.  A nice guy took pity on me as I klutzed around on the step aerobic part, and he counted with me until I got the hang of it: Step, down, over, up, around, step...)  I am not known for my grace!  After we had made it around the circle once, I thought "Hey, that wasn't so bad!"  And then I realized we had to go around two more times!  But I made it!  This morning my calves are a little sore, but the rest of me feels ok.  And like you after your bike ride, Casey, I woke up thinking, Wow, my stomach is flatter already! 

New idea for name:  Cancer Vixens.  It's also the name of a really great graphic novel by a cool graphic artist with bc. 

Hey Miranda-  I just noticed that we are both Stage 1, Grade 3 Node-, and ER+PR+Her2-!

Cathy-congrats on your workouts!  Keep it up!

Raye, I love your dog!  We have an old black dog who sleeps all day, and a new yellow puppy who cries at night.  We put her in a crate at night, and last night I got up at 3am when she started barking to let her out, and she woke us up again at 5am.  We let her bark and whine for about 5 minutes, and then my husband went and told her "NO!" and she actually stopped barking!  She is pretty much house trained, but I am afraid to let her loose in the house at night. 

Mary