Stage IV MBC Fitness
Comments
-
wow that's a great list Z, thank you! A couple I know I can't stomach but also some I've not tried! Thanks so much! Am kind of excited about amaranth...I've never had that
0 -
Welcome Illimae! Glad to see you on the fitbit group too!
Gracie, I know just what you mean. I struggle to eat enough to maintain my weight, especially now that I exercise so much more. I really avoid grains as my naturopath doesn't really recommend them except maybe two to three times a week.
Every morning, I start with a smoothie with banana, almond butter, a good plant based protein powder, some kind of greens, and a some kind of powdered greens. That gives me a good 300 or so calorie boost for the day, and if I really want to up things, I add some canned coconut milk (not the watery stuff in the refrigerator case, but the real stuff in the cans). Making sure I do that each day really does help.
I will say, however, that when I expressed concern to my naturopath that maybe I wasn't getting enough calories, she said there is a fair bit of evidence that, as long as I'm not hungry, it's not such a bad thing. Mostly you just need to make sure you are getting sufficient protein. Since I started adding the almond butter and protein powder to my smoothies, I always feel like I have enough energy. Of course, we are all different with our food needs, but it works pretty well for me.
Good luck!
DeAnn
0 -
Welcome Illimae, I am also glad to see you.
I managed 60 mins of Leslie Sansone. This time broke up into 4 15 minute sessions. I play them on an mp3 player in the background and that way I can watch TV at the same time. Helps me not be bored. My goal is 60 mins of the walking per day. Eating wise, I do get much more protein than I did, mostly through granola with about 23 or so almonds per day and of course whatever I have for supper added in. Feeling good.
Everyone else is doing well too I can see. Have a good rest of the weekend all.
0 -
DeAnn, haven't ever really done smoothies but I think I'll try them!!! Thank you for the suggestion
0 -
Three blocks today!
Breathing is so beautiful, y'all.
0 -
wow Lulu, that's awesome!!
0 -
Glad to hear your doing better lulubee. Three blocks is amazing.
0 -
The only exercise I got today was to drive quickly over to my daughters friends house. DD2 cut herself with their bagel knife, passed out, got up, passed out again. Everyone was so impressed, they called the ambulance. Turns out DD2 just has my phobia for blood. Fortunately they had her cleaned up and smiling by the time I got there.
LuluBee - nice work. Thanks for letting us know. You are an inspiration! Since I don't have collapsed lung and ascetites I really should run tomorrow.
Keep moving ladies. Let us know your plans, your problems. Everyone is doing so well, it is a pleasure to check on this thread ....
>Z<
0 -
, lulubee, 3-block buster and Z, 3-mile buster!!!Hi, Illimae!
I ran 3K on Saturday with the heart rate tracker on. Running seems to get my heart rate up a lot more than dancing. My average beats per minute was 154 as opposed to 115 for dancing. Today is tango day and maybe some HIIT before Body Jam tonight.
0 -
HIIT before body jam will be an interesting experiment indeed!
Big plans to run today! Will hit the trail as soon as breakfast settles.
Feeling oddly present today. Could dropping my ibrance dose already be working?
Z
0 -
Go Lulu! Three blocks is a great start!
I am cheering you on from here!
Ronnie
0 -
Awesome, Lulu! Three blocks is fantastic! One step at a time becomes many steps!
Z - Goodness! I'm glad your daughter is OK, but how scary for you and her! Hope she heals quickly. That's good news that you are feeling more present with the drop in Ibrance dosage.
This weekend was a good one for me with fitness. It was pretty cold out, so I mostly did a home workout on Saturday but did a 60 minute yoga practice, about 30 minutes of indoor calisthenics/dancing and then about 10 minutes of weight exercise - push ups, gob squats, some arm curls with 5 pound hand weights, & a 90 second plank. And then Sunday was a breakthrough day for me! I ran a little over two full miles on the treadmill without stopping at all or slowing my pace! I know that I should be doing more interval stuff, but I just felt like I needed to hit that benchmark just to prove that I could do it. And then I led a 60 minute yoga practice.
I'm feeling it today, but it's a good "I did something" feel!
-D
0 -
DeAnn, can you share with me what kind of powdered greens and powdered protein powder you use? I would like to try your smoothue
0 -
Yes, DeAnn - that smoothie obviously packs a punch. Congrats on the run. It is so satisfying and mentally uplifting. If I can run 2 miles, who cares if I have cancer, really.
It looks like I jogged 2.5 miles today. My jog is slow but it got my heart rate up to 150 for 30 minutes. Walked another 30 minutes. I really need to do yoga ... I am generally able to run further the next day.
Still feeling better, less spacey, more alert. Crossing my fingers this is the new normal.
Keep moving ladies! How are you doing?
>Z<
0 -
Hi Z! Glad you got your run in today! I had a meeting today so didn't get much exercise in, but hope to catch up a little the rest of the week
0 -
Hello fitness bunch! Checking in after a week off.
Lulu, wow! So good to hear your breathing is better and you are tearing up the pavement on your block. That is great news.
Z-I'm glad your daughter is doing okay. A call from school is not the preferred way to get your heart rate up. The lower Ibrance dose helped reduce the fuzzy brain quite a bit for me. The last week on and the first week off it is noticeable, but not the rest of the time. Great job on the run!
DeAnn- The smoothie sounds really good! I found some protein powder that isn't whey/dairy. I wonder if you are using a similar product. It is filling and it actually tastes decent mixed with iced water. (Needed to do that to avoid sugar filled Mexican pastries for breakfast this week.)
Your work outs are inspiring!!
Hi Gracie and Mara and Heidi!
Thank you to everyone for the bon voyage wishes! It's been a wonderful trip so far. My friend went home today so now I have five days alone...ahhhhh.
I did four dives in Cozumel last week. The day of the boat dive we went to 90 feet the first dive and 40 feet the second. 50 foot coral covered pinnacles rising up from the ledge. Saw a beautiful eagle ray and my favorite blue angel fish. Dove breathing nitrox rather than oxygen and didn't need a nap when I got back to the hotel that night. It has been miraculous. (I have a secret hope that the nitric boosts my blood cells and I get some medicinal value from diving). I'm now in Riviera Maya south of Cancun. Round trip walk to the beach from my room this week is over 2000 steps. They have yoga on the beach and a spa and gym which I'm using. Haven't thought much about cancer this week and I feel stronger. All this energy is either coming from the sun, the blue water, the Mexican food, the daily workouts or the fact that my ibrance break was four weeks:-/. Of course it could also be denial.
When I get into my laptop I will send photos.
Warmest wishes!!! Let's keep moving
0 -
Kathryn, sounds like a wonderful trip! Send us pictures 😊
0 -
Kathryn - Thanks for checking in. Thinking of you floating about in warm waters!
>Z<
0 -
I had a Taxol infusion this morning and then walked a mile and a quarter this evening. Whaaaat? Gotta make good use of that dexamethasone drip, right? I mean, why waste perfectly good steroids?
(I was given 10 mg of IV dex with the first round, and I hated the crash SO much-- probably made worse by my MTHFR-- that I begged my onc to cut the dose. I handle 5 mg a LOT better. Hope y'all never need that handy tip, but there it is.)
Green powders-- Gracie, I'll nominate my favorite, Green Vibrance. Check out the label and reviews on Amazon. I have never found a better one and I really like this company, Vibrant Health. They have been around for a while and they make several high quality nutritional drink powders.
DeAnn, I'd also like to know about your protein powder. Mine has a stunning list of ingredients but it's so chalky. I usually take it like a biggie-sized shot of bad tequila just to get it over with.
Z, I'm so glad for you that the mental fog is lifting, and also wildly envious. It IS maddening. A while back, I found some topical papers I wrote before BC, and I could barely remember embodying that woman who conjured those zippy thoughts and wrote those fine, flowing sentences. Golly, where did SHE go? And then I had three weeks off treatment a while back, and one day I woke up with-- gasp-- my very own brain. The stuff I got done that day! Hey Ma, look at me, using vocabulary! Making sense! Finishing tasks! Remembering my kids' names! Then I went back on treatment and down slid the dimmer switch. Le big sigh.
Ah well.
In honor of all you gals up north-- BRRR!-- virtual hot cocoa all around, made with cream-on-top whole milk, hand-squoozed from a pretty little Welsh cow named Harriet. (Cite that literary reference and you'll get a handful of tiny artisan marshmallows on top!)
0 -
Holy Welsh Cow! I am going to dare to hope that your recovery goes fast. What a long walk.
So the steroids are to prevent a reaction to Taxol... ? Goodness this gets complicated. I have this idea that Abraxane is taxol without the allergic reaction. Is that so?
I am so disappointed that you are no longer on CDK 4/6 inhibitors. The new one (ribociclib) came out and it has been christened Kisqali. I see a half human have beast emerging from the jungle. Maybe the Polynesian name for big foot?
>Z<
0 -
Z, yes on the reason for the steroids. It's a pre-med to prevent reactions, and then I get a little chaser of IV Benadryl (wooooozy times!). I think there's a little liquid Prilosec in the mix, too. The cocktail is tried-and-true, it appears-- no nausea, no reaction.
Long live Kisqali! How on earth are we supposed to pronounce that? I'm hearing kiss-KAH-lee, rhymes with Denali. (But then it took me several months, back in the beginning of all this mess, to learn to say meh-TASS-stuh-sis instead of meta-STAY-sis... so I'm not gonna even try to guess!)
Hopefully, I will be back on a CDK 4/6 inhibitor someday. I really want my own hair back, even if it's just half of it!! (Speaking of, did your scalp stop hurting??)
0 -
I am so inspired by all the activity you can all master while feeling so crappy. I am just starting to pick myself up and still recovering from the awfulness of that heavy brutal chemo. I am just starting to work the neuropathy out of my feet, thank god it's getting better. I'm convinced all of the medicine makes me nauseous. I'm sick of being tired and tired of being sick. I was making such progress then we got like 24 inches of snow and I don't see walking in my near future outside anyway. I walk circles around the downstairs in my house. I am wearing the carpet down and my dogs think I'm crazy, they follow behind me and do the laps with me. I'm trying to do at least ten an hour. From 9 am to 7pm. I have to do something or I'll go crazy. Coloring isn't cutting anymore. I need a lot of movement. Stamina needs rebuilding. This is coming from someone who ran 6 miles at least four times a week at 7.5 min timing per Mile. The day I was diagnosed I ran 4.5 miles and lifted free weights and did a huge work out. Sooooo depressing. You're all such an inspiration, and I will fight on. Have an active and peaceful day ladies. ~M~ When they said blizzard. They weren't kidding. ❄️❄️🌫💨🌨⛄️☃️
0 -
Micmel - Leslie Sansone has workout videos that allow you to walk at home. I had a lot of fun with Nike+ Fitness for quite some time. You can get them on your phone and your TV. Any fitness video is splendid when I am just trying to get back into exercise after one of the many punches in the stomach from cancer treatment. I am so glad that you feel like moving and that you have a dog that appreciates your efforts. I am very encouraged by your post. We'll be comparing reps and weights by summer.
Lulubee - I did something a little weird and switched from 125mg to 100mg of Ibrance in the middle of the 21 day cycle. The 100mg bottle came early and I was going crazy ... so I am third week of ibrance but this will be my fourth day on 100mg of Ibrance. Every symptom from joint pain to scalp pain is dialing down. Not gone, but I am hoping I have some room for improvement from here since this improvement is coming in the 3rd week on Ibrance. Hopeful.
The Ibrance side effects got a lot worse since January. I changed my supplement routine in January. I suspect the new supplements impeded the metabolism of Ibrance so I was getting a higher dose. If that is the case, then dropping to 100mg gets me back to the intended effective dose. Whatever it is, things are moving in the right direction.
It's amazing how well we are doing on this thread, particularly since we have a quite a few people who have really taken a serious hit in one form or another from these treatments.
Please, keep moving however pathetic and however hard it may be. All the evidence suggests its the difference between getting your life back and ... not.
>Z<
0 -
Lulubee, OMG, 1.25 miles!! You go, girl. Those steroids are good stuff. My personal trainer was not happy when I had to stop taking them.
Kathryn, it is all good! Sun, water, food. The break helps as well. Although in my case, even without a drug holiday, my side effects would vanish going into a hot place. My body tells me every winter to go south. Enjoy the solitude!
Z, glad to hear the new dosage is having the desired effect.
Micmel, stay safe in the blizzard. Exercise does help with neuropathy.
Going to salsa tonight, so I better start preparing dinner.
0 -
Lulubee, that is AWESOME. I remember my crazy steroid walking days leading up to brain surgery. So much energy and felt better I went for 2 to 3 walks a day. Sometimes was walking a couple of hours some days to burn off some of the energy. Whatever helped you, I am proud of you. You are working so hard.
Kathryn, glad the trip is going well, I am jealous although I should feel glad I am not in one of the areas getting all the snow. Enjoy yourself.
Micmel, Leslie Sansone vids can be found on youtube. They are the ones I use most. I go for an hour a day. Most days consist of 4 vids called the 1.0 happy mile. They go for fifteen minutes and work to get the HR up. I listen to them on an old android phone and usually watch tv at the same time. I can still hear the beat and march in place and get a few shows watched. Alleviates any boredom. Managed an hour today as well. Appetite has increased a lot too so have to make sure not losing weight. Making sure I stay 170 or so. I am a bigger frame girl so don't need to be skinnier. God forbid I should have to eat more, though I would if I had too LOL.
Z, glad the cobwebs are becoming clear. Love good news.
Heidi, enjoy the dancing.
0 -
Z~ I will look them up and try some videos, I am experiencing the worst cabin fever in history. All this snow and i never looked good in white anyway. Today was some bone pain day for me. Not as many steps as I would have liked. Some days no pain, Others YEEOOOOWWWL that hurts. Crazy disease I hate you. But I'm fighting back. I'm going to Netflix that video Tomorrow and see what I can handle!
Mara51506~ You and Z are on the same wave length I intend to check it out tomorrow. Maybe the dogs will sweat it out with me. I have awalker coon hound named Deeohgee and he howls at any given chance. I call it singing. Although, I don't think the neighbors would agree. Thank you everyone. I enjoy you all so much.
Rest well ladies. ~M~
0 -
Clean up building materials, prepping to paint and a little hike up the mountain today.
0 -
Lulubee! Those steroids are the bomb, aren't they? I always felt my best on Taxol infusion days because of that awesome little bag of decadron. I was sorry to see it go, but glad to be done with the Taxol.
Kathryn, your diving vacation sounds fabulous! I agree that the sun and the sea have medicinal effects on the body. Hey, that should be a part of every treatment plan, don't you think? It's cheaper than one round of Herceptin/Perjeta and probably has greater effects on the body!
For all you smoothie lovers, I use Amazing Grass Green Superfood (chocolate flavor!) and Garden of Life Organic Plant Protein. (I've tried the combined greens and protein Garden of Life stuff as well and I liked it.) Photo below for those of you who are visually oriented like me! This protein powder is the best I've found that doesn't have sugar, whey or soy and that doesn't taste really chalky. A typical smoothie will vary but an example is what I had today:
1 banana, 1 scoop of each of the powders, 1/4 cup frozen Wyman wild blueberries (I buy at Costco), 1 heaping tablespoon of almond butter. About a cup and a half of mixed greens (chard, spinach and kale), sufficient water to blend, and a couple of ice cubes. Sometimes I throw in some broccoli or broccoli sprouts instead of all the mixed greens. When I'm feeling really decadent, I add the coconut milk and some pineapple and use the regular greens powder instead of chocolate flavor. I can pretend I'm having a pina colada.;-)
0 -
well darn! Can't use the grass stuff. I'm allergic to wheat and barley...but I did get some vegan protein powder I can use...am going to start doing smoothies
0 -
Amazing Grass is a good product. Great minds think alike.
>Z<
0
