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Stage IV MBC Fitness

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Comments

  • Vevs
    Vevs Member Posts: 81
    edited March 2017

    Thank you ladies, I'm back on the yoga twice a week but the cardio is falling behind due to dismal weather and a poorly dog. Back on it next week. I'm going to buy some lighter weights and re start weight training very soon. I'm as weak as a kitten and very frustrated!! On the plus side my hair is growing back and I have eyelashes...yayyyyy

  • GracieM2007
    GracieM2007 Member Posts: 1,255
    edited March 2017

    I won't be getting many steps in today . I feel like I did really good yesterday on the challenge, but tomorrow is my pet scan , so I'm just kind of taking it easy today

  • heidihill
    heidihill Member Posts: 1,858
    edited March 2017

    Good idea to take a rest day, Gracie, and good luck!  Yay for more hair and eyelashes, Vevs!

    Pollen season has started so am being driven indoors again as in a 3K run, yoga and weights at the gym today and a bosu ball workout with kettlebells at home the day before,


  • zarovka
    zarovka Member Posts: 2,959
    edited March 2017

    Gracie - you raise a good point. Exercise is one of many factors that can contribute to false positives in PET scans. There is a thread that discusses how being warm or cold, caffeine, exercise and other factors effect PET scans. It's worth reviewing because the science is strong but no one has ever advised me on the proper protocol for a reliable PET scan. It boils down to no caffeine, no exercise and stay warm for a day before the scan and during the scan.

    I ran 3.5 miles yesterday. The longest in quite some time. Boo yeah. Getting back to normal, whatever that is in this crazy universe I am in.

    Heidi - you rock!

    >Z<

  • iwrite
    iwrite Member Posts: 746
    edited March 2017

    Good morning friends,

    Off to Mexico this morning for 12 days of denial :). Hiking and scuba diving should help me meet the exercise goals. A girlfriend is meeting me there for the first week and then five days alone...ahhhh. Writing...swimming...beach... DH is staying home to work. No doctors!!

    Probably not posting much, but will put up some pictures when I get back. This is my paradise and I feel so fortunate to be well enough to travel alone and see it again. Stay well friends!!

  • zarovka
    zarovka Member Posts: 2,959
    edited March 2017

    Kathryn - I am so happy you are going on this trip! Have a great time. You couldn't do anything better for yourself right now.

    I ran a mile and a half and then walked for a total of 5 miles. I haven't been doing my 12 yoga poses for almost 2 weeks, but that will change today.

    Keep moving everyone and let us know what you are doing (or not).

    >Z<

  • GracieM2007
    GracieM2007 Member Posts: 1,255
    edited March 2017

    Kathryn, that sounds like a little piece of heaven!!!! Have a great time and get tons of rest!!! I would love to do something like that!!!

  • Ronnie3001
    Ronnie3001 Member Posts: 155
    edited March 2017

    Kathryn,

    Have a great time! Safe travels!

    Ronnie

  • mara51506
    mara51506 Member Posts: 6,560
    edited March 2017

    Have a wonderful time Kathryn.

    Stuck to my waliking. 45 to 50 mins of Leslie Sansone, 2 of the 15 minute miles and probably another 15 to 20 of the shorter mini walks.

    Hope everyone else is having a good day. Tomorrow will likely be a rest day as I typically don't exercise on infusion day. Unless I decide to get up early and do it before I go to the cancer centre. We'll see, a rest day won't kill me.

  • zarovka
    zarovka Member Posts: 2,959
    edited March 2017

    Mara - I hope your infusion is uneventful. Sometimes sitting around tied up to an IV can be restful. You can't do housework or exercise. All you can do is rest.

    26 minutes of cardio today. 4 minutes short of my goal of 30 minutes. i did get the 12 pose yoga sequence done for the first time in 13 days. i feel the effect of yoga much more intensely now that i am on drugs. it clears my head, reduces pain. good stuff. need to stay on it.

    >Z<

  • heidihill
    heidihill Member Posts: 1,858
    edited March 2017

    Have a great trip, Kathryn!! I will be following you in 10 days to warmer climes but not really for a vacation. Family business. But who knows, I may get some beach walks in, as in non-concrete ones, if I'm lucky.

    Z, glad the yoga poses are helping. Sometimes yoga can be added as cardio if your heart rate goes up enough. So you probably got your extra 4 minutes there.

    Mara, do I note a morbid sense of humor? I get it. A rest day can seem like giving up, sliding into that slippery slope of inactivity, at least it did for me. Infusion days can be godsent in more ways than one.

    I tracked my heart rate for the first time doing Body Jam. I was surprised I didn't reach my peak rate at any time. Now I'll have to check whether Body Combat does. 

  • Apg
    Apg Member Posts: 112
    edited March 2017

    I have not had much exercise in the past couple weeks. I have done gentle yoga stretching but no actual physical activity. I am up and down all day at work but that isn't the same. I've had some issues with my stomach bothering me so I just haven't made it to the classes I attend. The weekly infusion is making me not feel well for a couple days each week. I hate feeling nauseous each week but I had good results from my scans so I will push through it. I will make exercise a priority this week though! My sciatica has been bothering me too. I have always had this issue. The yoga helps tremendously with it!

  • zarovka
    zarovka Member Posts: 2,959
    edited March 2017

    Apg - Good to hear from you! Getting some yoga in with all that going on is an accomplishment. When I am actively sick with nausea or pain and my workout has collapsed I find that walking is the easiest entry back into the routine. I can walk when I am sick too sick or in pain focus on a yoga class or any other class. Just 20 minutes of walking is a huge difference relative to doing nothing. If you shoot for two 10 minute walks a day each day, that is huge relative to doing nothing ... and you will likely build on that.

    Mara - good luck with your infusion. You have permission to rest and "enjoy" it!

    Heidi - When I can I run for 10-15 minutes before these body weight classes. The heart rate increase carries over into the class and voila ... you get a (mild) cardio workout. It works to elevate your heart rate for 10-15 minutes before you lift weights or do yoga as well ... you get some fat burn instead of no cardio at all.

    >Z<

  • lulubee
    lulubee Member Posts: 903
    edited March 2017

    Hey gals, guess what? Not only did I make it all the way around the block today-- I did it without someone dragging that blasted oxygen tank along!

    Virtual champagne all around!

    I had my fifth Taxol on Monday, and just as my oncologist predicted, that's how many rounds it took to clear up my lungs. I took the oxygen tube off Monday, and haven't needed it since. Lord have mercy, I can breathe! It is a miracle to feel air going all the way down to the bottom of my lungs again. I haven't felt that for so long (I've had some fluid and collapse in my lungs for several years, probably ever since Afinitor).

    However, comma.

    This body, OH EM GEEZERS, this body. There's a price to pay for two months of being acutely ill and stuck to an oxygen tube. My arms have grown batwings and I swear there's jello where my quads use to be. I have work to do!!! And I cannot tarry, because Get This: In SEVEN WEEKS I am accompanying my graduating senior son to baseball nationals halfway across the nation. The schedule there with the daily tournaments is brutal even for a young, healthy parent! We'll be there nine days. THEN: his graduation ceremony is two weeks after we return home... and that is just two days before my daughter is due to have baby #2... and DH and I will our 2 ½ year old granddaughter during the birth and after. Heaven help me.

    But the real killer is that in five months, I have to be in good enough shape to go to Scotland for our son's senior trip (promised long ago and tickets already purchased).

    Scotland, where just being able to get around the block ain't gonna cut it, gals. Did I mention the HIGHLANDS???

    AYAYAYAYAYAYA.

    Gotta get moving. Y'all keep kicking my flabby hiney, okay?

  • mara51506
    mara51506 Member Posts: 6,560
    edited March 2017

    Lulubee, WOO HOO! You got around the block and without the oxygen tank. That is awesome. Keep up the walking. If you can't get out due to weather, Leslie sansone is great, just look her up on youtube. It's basically marching but you move quick so that will increase your cardio thus increasing your overall energy level. Start with the two or three minute walk then work your way up. She also does 5min and 15 minute miles. I don't bother doing more than one mile at a time. I do repeat the other workouts throughout the day up to approx 30 to 40 mins. The knee lifts included have helped me get my belly flatter. I had the steroid belly for a long time after brain rads. Arm wise, simple hand weights are good.

    Having said that, if you already belong to a gym or have other exercise equipment, a few minutes several times a day to start ie 5 or 10 and gradually working upwards is a good option too.

    I have no doubt you will be able to build more stamina for the trip with your son and the trip to Scotland. I always like Leslie Sansone because I found the exercise really improved my energy level quickly and of course it is free.

    Congratulations on everything as well, and again so glad you could ditch the oxygen tank.

    I did approx 50 mins of walking throughout today, the walking vids on youtube with Leslie of course.


  • zarovka
    zarovka Member Posts: 2,959
    edited March 2017

    LuluBee - You have been in my thoughts. I am SO GLAD to hear things turned around on Monday. YooHOOO. It is wonderful to know you are on the mend.

    Mara is the Expert on recovery from severely compromised health through regular consistent exercise, so listen to Mara, above all. I would have thought that what you need to get done in the next few months is next to impossible if I hadn't just watched Mara do it.

    These goals you have are tough but you need to be there for your son. So get to it ... it takes patience and grit but we will be cheering the whole way.

    I know that if I show up for my workout every day and do the best I can, I get better. It surprises me that this is true even though sometimes the best I can do is pretty pathetic. I can struggle to walk for 30 minutes one day and then run for an hour the next.

    Today was one of those days when it was a struggle to walk for 30 minutes. Exhaustion ... from nowhere. But yesterday I ran for 4.5 miles for the first time in a long time. The ups and downs are a mental challenge. It's hard to believe that things will get better when you are having a bad day. But they can. We're here to remind you of this whenever you need it.

    Everyone - keep moving, and tell us about it.

    >Z<

  • Ronnie3001
    Ronnie3001 Member Posts: 155
    edited March 2017

    Lulu I am so happy for you, what a tremendous load off your back! Also, congratulations on your sons graduation and the soon to be birth of your next grandchild. You have quite a bit going on but with some hardwork which I know you can do you will get there.

    Ronnie

  • dghoff
    dghoff Member Posts: 237
    edited March 2017

    Hi Everyone! I'm home from Cozumel and ready to back to the warmth! It's only supposed to be three degrees here tonight and windy to boot. Sure makes it hard to get out and exercise! I have, however, still managed to keep my 8,000 steps per day goal plus a little extra most days. Being in Mexico was great for exercise! I walked or ran almost every day and snorkeled and swam most every day as well. There was one day we did a day trip to the mainland and explored the ruins of Tulum and did a special tour that included zip lines, snorkeling through underground rivers, and rappeling down into a cenote! It was great to be feeling good and active and able to forget about things for awhile. I was worried that having a herceptin/perjeta treatment right before might not be so wise, but I didn't really have any ill effects aside from a little headache on my travel day. Lwrite - I hope your vacation is great as well!

    Way to go Lulu! So glad that you are seeing improvement! When I was first diagnosed, I was really having trouble breathing and could barely do a circuit around the hospital wing. The weird thing was I was getting enough oxygen, but the tumors in my lungs made it feel like I couldn't get enough air. It's the worst feeling, I know. The good thing is that, once I started treatment and got the tumors knocked down, I felt so much better and improved pretty rapidly. It's amazing how just focusing on doing a little bit every day, it does get easier, and you eventually surprise yourself with what you can do. I went from struggling to breathe, to doing canoe trips in the Boundary Water wilderness just six months later.

    And I have to say, I don't know how all you amazing FitBit people manage to get so many darned steps in! Even when I was on vacation and had loads of extra time, I still didn't come out on top of the various challenges. And this week, well, I'm struggling to fit it in with work, but I'm grateful that you all keep me motivated!

  • zarovka
    zarovka Member Posts: 2,959
    edited March 2017

    Welcome back DGHoff. Awesome vacation. Glad to hear I have an edge this week. Who is this Natasha C and how did she get 17,000+ steps ahead of the rest of us ... by Wednesday?!?!?!?

    >Z<

  • heidihill
    heidihill Member Posts: 1,858
    edited March 2017

    YES, WE CAN, lulubee!! Oui on peut, as French Obama fans would say. If you can get around the block without an oygen tank, we can surely keep kicking your hiney. I am so happy for you! And with so many milestones ahead....With your walking and our kicking those highlands will be flatlands.

    DG, sounds like you had an awesome time! Wow, you are some adventure lover. I don't recall seeing any zip lines in Tulum. But that was before zip lines were invented way too many years ago. Rappeling?? As I said, wow.

    Z, thanks for the tip. Body Jam is supposed to be cardio (dance-inspired) and they say it burns up to 530 calories. Obviously I am not making my moves big enough or jumping high enough since I supposedly burned only 250 calories. I do get around 5,000 steps for the hour. 

    Yesterday I had about 6,000 steps in high heels from 3.5 hours of tango. My core hurts from doing so many sentadas, which is not effortless for me, unlike in this vid. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=kqZauz0K1i0

    Today might just be my rest day although I want to see my heart stats for Body Combat which is supposed to burn a lot more calories than Body Jam.

  • dghoff
    dghoff Member Posts: 237
    edited March 2017

    Heidihill- Wow! 6000 steps in heels is amazing! You go girl! The zip lines aren't in Tulum. It was a combined tour where we did the ruins part of the day and the zipline stuff in another area. That would be pretty awesome to fly over the ruins though!

  • zarovka
    zarovka Member Posts: 2,959
    edited March 2017

    Jogged 40 minutes. Got my yoga in. Got my abs in. Good day.

    Hope all is well

    >Z<

  • heidihill
    heidihill Member Posts: 1,858
    edited March 2017

    Z, great day, I would say!

    DG, I was really imagining you zipping like Indiana Jones over the ruins!

    Took it easy myself and still wondering what to do today, other than for some decluttering.

  • Ronnie3001
    Ronnie3001 Member Posts: 155
    edited March 2017

    Z, Sounds like a pretty good day if you ask me!

    HeidiHill, dancing what a great way to get your steps in great job!

    Well I finished my first week back on the job and things went well. I have the support of my company to continue my exercise routine/needs. This week I completed 2 hours of cardio/strengthening, 3 hours of water wellness and 2 hours of stress-less stretching.. I don't currently count my steps but am considering purchasing the Fit Bit to track my activity.

    Great job everyone on this weeks activities...

    Have a great weekend.

    Ronnie

  • zarovka
    zarovka Member Posts: 2,959
    edited March 2017

    I had one of my "work" days today. I have some companies I work with as a board member and/or investor. So I drive 40 minutes, sit in meetings, talk to people. It is not a strenuous thing, one would think. I got through it but by the time I got home and had to coordinate the kids after school activities ... soccer, soccer team party, music lesson, not actually a crazy afternoon ... By 5pm I was almost in tears trying to find the energy to keep going. And of course I was spaced out and barely thinking so ... I ran out of gas dropping my daughter off. I would not have met my step goal if it were not for the 3 mile hike to the gas station.

    Ronnie - I am impressed with your workout, and getting it done on top of a week of work. Please don't compromise your self care (which includes rest as well as exercise) but I do know the benefit of getting and doing what you are good at, having a little non-cancer engagement with the universe. I certainly enjoy it, in moderation.

    Switching to 100mg Ibrance tomorrow. If the only thing that goes away is this damn rash, I will be happy.

    >Z<

  • lulubee
    lulubee Member Posts: 903
    edited March 2017

    THREE MILES TO THE GAS STATION???

    Girlfriend. You have survived one big nasty beast of a day. Wishing you a deep, hot bath with lavender and epsom salts. And a glass of nice champagne.

    And maybe relax tomorrow, whaddyasay?

  • illimae
    illimae Member Posts: 5,743
    edited March 2017

    Hello all,

    I joined the fit bit group (ilona) recently but just came upon this thread. I generally don't like working out but began walking a couple years ago and eating better/cleaner too. I worked hard and lost 40lbs in 2016, I am in the best shape ever then, boom, cancer. I started chemo in January and still try to get around 10,000 steps/day just not on chemo day. I go for 1 or more 20-40 minute walks 5/wk and am just starting on weights again. Next week the DH and I are heading to the mountains to paint our cabin and do some swimming/snorkeling at balmoreah state park (the spring fed pool is my happy place).

    You all are amazing and I am looking forward to continued inspiration :)

  • zarovka
    zarovka Member Posts: 2,959
    edited March 2017

    welcome illiemae. The fact you were in good shape coming into this and that you stay active will improve qol and outcome. Stay with us. Although there are ups and downs are all doing pretty well here.

    Z

  • GracieM2007
    GracieM2007 Member Posts: 1,255
    edited March 2017

    ok, question. I'm loving that I'm getting more exercise, and I'm burning more calories than I'm taking in, which is good, but I'm thinking I'm not getting the calories I need to keep energy levels up. I'm celiac, so I'm limited on food choices, plus I am allergic to milk and soy. Any suggestions for getting something in my diet that would give me comparable carbs to regular pasta? I can eat rice but am sick to death of rice! Any suggestions?

  • zarovka
    zarovka Member Posts: 2,959
    edited March 2017

    As far as celiac disease goes, it's gluten you need to avoid, not carbs. The following grains and other starch-containing foods are naturally gluten-free:

    Rice
    Cassava
    Corn (maize)
    Soy
    Potato
    Tapioca
    Beans
    Sorghum
    Quinoa
    Millet
    Buckwheat groats (also known as kasha)
    Arrowroot
    Amaranth
    Teff
    Flax
    Chia
    Yucca
    Gluten-free oats
    Nut flours

    One of the local Whole Foods just closed and EVERYTHING was half off this week. I happened to stumble in there at just the right time and, $500 later, my pantry is full of almond flour crackers and coconut chips and every kind of gluten free snack you can imagine. I don't want to give you too many bad ideas, because you are doing so well, but some nice organic potato chips that were made with good oil do not have gluten.

    I clocked 23,500 steps today, so far. I do deserve my coffee flavored coconut chips. I do.

    >Z<

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