A Step in the Right Direction

Today I start exercising again. The biggest problem that chemo caused is that it ate up most of my muscle mass. That, in addition to gaining fat from the steroids, has made my body unrecognizable. I need to start building muscle again. It's a good thing that I love lifting weights.

At first, I was worried that because of the mastectomy, and reconstructive surgeries, my chest would be too weak. It was a little bit weak, but that's ok. I did 2 sets of 12 reps on each of the following exercises:

Butterfly
Arm extensions (presses)
Leg Press
Leg extensions

I also did some ankle strengthening reps on the Leg Press, and some other arm exercises (curls and rowing). I could tell that I was VERY weak, but I'm so happy to be lifting again!

My chest (fake boobs) looks really weird when I do the arm exercises - because my muscles tense up, and it just looks funny. Oh well.

Also, I hopped (well, not exactly) onto the treadmill. I walked for 1/2 mile - 10 minutes. I know this isn't a big deal, but at least I did something. My foot isn't hurting as much as I thought it would. Maybe if I really stretch it out - and do the ankle exercises first, the walking won't be too bad.

Now, I just have to wait until tomorrow to see how sore I'm going to be. I'll be lifting every other day. I'll try to walk every day.

This is a step in the right direction - I'm feeling better just with the small amount I did today. :-)

Translation...

I thought I'd better spell-check Kris's post, and repost it here. I left her post up, though, because I thought you might want to try to read it. It is interesting, because she has all of the letters that belong in each word, but they are all mixed up. Plus, each time she spells a word, even though the letters are mixed up, it is always the same. Like this: still is always spelled sllit. Weird. Anyway, here is the translation...

Welllllll.....OK, I'm in! I will touch base when I can here....but you probably won't understand me. This is now me. Depressing. It has been over 10 mo. since the accident and I am still having problems..obviously. I will continue working on it. I have figured out that spell check does not solve my brain injury. If I have a half hour to post I will spell it out and hope it will be better. Today I don't. I am still fighting the bronchitis I have had for a month now, and this second antibiotic is NOT working!!!! Another call into my doctor. I read through my goals that were posted last year and still have the same ones...though I was proud of myself for actually sticking to several of the ones I set! I have been....drinking 4 bottles of water a day at least.....trying new foods....watching portion sizes.... and, Hmmm... I can't remember anything else I wrote. Another problem I have, short term memory loss. Dang. Anyway....I am still about what I was last year at this time. I hate it. After the accident I have been unable to exercise. BUT I am going to try to start walking and I have a couple of great DVD workouts that I am going to do...I have to get better first because I have coughing fits! Thanks Kara for starting this and encouraging us all! You're awesome...as usual! :) Good luck and I look forward to all of your posts!

Welllllll.....OK, I'm in! I wlli tuohc baes whne I cna here....btu yu porbabyl wotn undretsadn me. Thsi is nwo me. Deprsseign. It hsa been ovre 10 mo. sinec the accidnte ada I am stlli haevign problesm..obvouisyl. I wlli cnotineu workign on it. I haev figurde otu that splle chekc dse nto solev my brina injruy. If I haev a hafl huor to ptso I wlli splle it otu and hepo it wll be bettre. Todya I dotn. I am sllti fihgtgin teh brnichitsi I haev hda fro a mnoht nwo, adn this secnod anitbiotci is NTO wokrign!!!! Anohtre call inot my dcotor. I rdea thurohg my goals thta were patsde lats yera and stlli haev the saem noes...thuohg I wsa porud of myslfe fro actullay stikcign to sevrela of teh oens I set! I haev been....driknign 4 bottels of wtare a dya at lesat.....tyrign nwe foosd....wthacgin prtoni siezs.... adn , hmmmm I cnta remebmre anythgin else I wroet. Anohtre porblem I haev, shrot trme memroy. Dnag. Anywya....I am stlli abuot whta I wsa lats yera at thsi tiem. I htae it. Aftre teh accidnte I haev been unbael to exrecies. BUT I ma goign to tyr to strat wlkaign adn I haev a cuopel of graet dvd wrok otus thta I am goign to do...I haev to gte bettre frits becaues I haev cuohging ftis! Thkans Kara fro strtaign thsi and encuorgagin us all! Yuor aewsoem...as usaul! :) Good lukc adn I look frowrad to all of yuor psots!

I'm in.

Thanks for getting us going again Kara. I think it was my idea in the first place and then I fizzled. You know, the blog just isn't enough, we have to change habits too. But a blog is a good place for support and goal-setting.

My life has changed a lot in the past six months. I feel like I am able to make myself a higher priority than I have been able to for many years. On November17 I sent of my twin sons (age 19 at the time.) on missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They will be gone for two years. Prior to that day my life was obsessed with my children. It took a lot of work to get them sent off and we spent a lot of time making family memories before they left. I still have two daughters around - one will graduate from college this week - and another who is very busy with high school. So I'm finding more time with myself now!

After my sons left the next project was Christmas. I got that done and gained a few pounds along the way. But January left me with time to actually work on those New Year's Resolutions! I resolved to eat healthily, exercise more consistently, and get current on all of those health checkups I hadn't bothered with.

I work part-time at Brigham Young University, so the first thing I did was check out the gym I have access to for free. FREE is one of my favorite words. Well, I actually paid $20 for a year-round locker and wristband that gives me access to everything. I also bought an extra set of hair and makeup stuff to keep there. It took a while to figure things out and develop a schedule. At first I just snuck in workouts wherever they would fit. I keep learning about more things I can do there and now I go almost every morning. Right now my daughter is extremely busy at high school - from 6:00 when I drop off her carpool for driver's ed, to at least 5:00 when she finishes working on the school play. So I usually spend an hour at the gym, shower and go to work. The pool is available from 6:00 am to 7:15 am, so I have been swimming.

I'm a lousy swimmer. I've watched some people who know what they are doing and I'm starting to figure out the breathing thing. Good thing, huh? I probably won't drown. I can feel it making my back and arms stronger. I also do some weights and the ellyptical (my favorite). I just learned that I can sign up for non-credit exercise classes for a small charge so I'm looking for details on that.

In February Kirby and I went on a cruise to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Awesome! We went to Belize, Costa Maya, and Cozumel. We decided to certify for SCUBA diving as part of that. Well, I needed a doctor's clearance for that because I am over 45, have asthma, and have a relative who has had a heart attack. I knew I was overweight, but thought I was in pretty good health. But I decided to do that resolution and get a full physical and blood tests. I had not had blood tests since I had my last baby, and these were different! I had to fast.

The doctor cleared me for diving. I got the test results back the day before we left on our cruise. He was sorry to give me bad news just before my vacation, but my cholesterol was very high! He gave me three to four months to change with diet and exercise before I have to go on a prescription. I'm now about 2 months into that.

I only had time to google a few things before we left on the cruise. Then I was afraid to eat anything! But cruises have tons of food. I ate salmon a lot and had lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. The first day or so I passed on desserts. I passed on most breads the whole time. But then I calmed down and enjoyed the foods more. I ate plenty of food and got too full sometimes. But most were pretty healthy foods. The day we flew home I didn't eat much. We were very active with diving and hiking Mayan ruins. I also enjoyed the ellyptical that looked out the front of the ship.

I was stunned to find my weight the same as before we left! The next day I was about a pound below! I returned to normal life and started gaining again. So depressing! Most people gain weight on a cruise, but I gained in normal life. It went up a couple of pounds, but now I'm back to my pre-cruise weight.

So I'm trying to eat mostly fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. A lot of oatmeal.

So I'm exercising a lot and eating fairly healthily. But I have only a month or two before I need to have my cholesterol checked again and I want a big difference. No drugs for me! So I have to eat less of those healthy foods and figure out some way to lose weight!

Here are my goals:
1. Exercise five to six days a week.
2. Eat mostly fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
3. Eliminate most animal fats.
4. Increase healthy fish.
5. Continue to learn more about lowering cholesterol.
6. Only eat when I am hungry!
7. Eat smaller portions.

Okay. Enough goals for now.

I hope I can figure out how to post this again. It has been a while.

Cindy

Let's Start Again...

This blog really hasn't worked out the way I had planned. It's now April 19, 2011, and no one has posted anything for a very LONG time. Lots of things have happened since this blog started:

I've finished with all Cancer treatments and surgeries. Still dealing with side effects, though.

I've helped start a Breast Cancer support group. Worked hard helping others.

I've been working for one year. Loved my job, but just lost it.

I've had a surgery on my left heel to correct a heel spur. Didn't work.

I've had a tummy tuck! Very happy with my MUCH flatter stomach - no more dangerous belly fat. But still need some lipo to get the best results.

I've gone 16 months without soda. I never crave soda. Ever.


So, I've been busy. But, I'm still not feeling well. I really do need to start exercising, and work on getting more healthy. Yesterday, as I researched information to post on my cancer support group blog, I found an article that said:

"In one year, women who needed chemotherapy for their breast cancer can see a swapping of muscle for fat that's equivalent to 10 years of normal aging, says Dr. Wendy Demark-Wahnefried of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

In other words, a 45-year-old may find herself with the fatter, weaker body type of a 55-year-old."

This it totally me! Chemo destroyed almost all of my muscle mass, and, thanks to steroids, added FAT. I realized this when I attended a support meeting about strength training, and the trainer told us what chemo does to our bodies. This really made sense, because my weight did not go up or down during chemo, but after I finished chemo, I couldn't fit into my clothes. The fact that I didn't lose weight during chemo was confusing - I hardly ate anything, because I felt so sick. In the first week after each chemo treatment, I would lose 12 to 15 pounds! But, by the time another chemo was scheduled, I had slowly gained all of that back. It just made no sense.

I've had such crappy luck with my heel spurs in the last year, and this makes it very difficult to walk. Yesterday, I read several stories from cancer survivors, and many of them are suffering from post chemo side effects like arthritis, and fibromyalgia. I am very lucky that I don't have to deal with these kinds of things. My biggest problems include fatigue, and heel pain. I think I can overcome these with work.

I'm going to set a few goals here, and I really am going to work hard on these. I'm tired of feeling older than I am. I want to feel good again...

1. Each day I will do some form of exercise. I need to find a different form of aerobic exercise than walking, because of my heel pain. Perhaps biking, or using an elliptical machine?

2. Eat good food. I really need to stay away from sweet things. This is my biggest problem.

3. Watch my serving sizes.

4. Drink lots of water.

In the past, I've found that if I make too many goals, I never meet any of them. I think the goals I've made work well together, and I'll try to keep each of these.

I'm going to track my progress here on this blog. Maybe I'll have company?