Extra Padding: Flaw or Built-In Protection?

Aug21

I’ve been down on myself about weight lately. Then I fell, bruised my hip, and realized—thank goodness I landed on a “padded” spot.

That got me thinking. As women age, our bones thin, become fragile, and breaks from osteoporosis or osteopenia become a real risk. Maybe that “extra padding” isn’t a flaw. Maybe it’s armor.

Think about pregnancy. Weight gain is natural—not just for the baby, but to protect the mother’s body too. It’s the same principle later in life.

So what if the extra padding isn’t something to fight? What if it’s your body’s way of keeping you safe?

What do you think—protection or problem? Change my mind.

Badass at 55: Pass the Olive Oil, Hold the Drama

Jul26

When I first started this blog, the goal was simple: lose weight and get healthy. I was going to hit 40 head-on and become a total badass. And honestly? I think I nailed the badass part.

Fast forward to now—I’ve been hit with the trifecta: pre-diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Between my family history, questionable eating habits, and the side effects of my medications, it’s no surprise my body’s a bit of a mess. But the real kicker? One doctor tells me I’m fine and shouldn’t worry about losing weight—because, you know, bigger things to worry about. Meanwhile, another suggests that dropping some weight would be a smart move. Confusing much? I mean, what am I supposed to prioritize? What’s safe to eat? And let’s not even get into the mixed messages about GLP-1s. Some say I could try them, but with cancer in my bones, that doesn’t feel like the best idea.

So, I met with a dietitian (again) and laid it all out. She broke everything down for me, and honestly? It wasn’t complicated. In fact, it felt too simple—which somehow made me more suspicious. But maybe that’s the point. Maybe it doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective.

Here is the sample plan from what she gave me:

Build your meals around whole grains, lean protein, fruits, and vegetables—then add healthy fats and flavorful spices. Just keep an eye on the salt.

🟩 Food: I’m sticking to a formula that works—whole grains, lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables. I’ll add in healthy fats and use spices to keep things flavorful (while keeping an eye on salt). It’s not complicated, and that’s the beauty of it. Nourishing, not punishing.

🟦 Movement: I’m committing to walking every day. I’m not tracking miles or steps—just time. Starting with 10 minutes and gradually increasing from there. Some days might be more, some less. The important thing is to move my body in a way that feels doable.

🟧 Strength: Since my knees and ankles have their own opinions these days, I’m starting with chair workouts. Once I build up a little more strength, I’ll ease into standing routines. It’s a process, and I’m giving myself the grace to go slow.

🟪 Stretching: This is non-negotiable. If I’m going to keep moving, I’ve got to stay limber. A few minutes a day can make a world of difference in how my body feels and functions.

🟫 Sleep: I’ve started putting my phone away at 9:00 PM to wind down without distractions. I read a little, breathe a little, and aim to have lights out by 11. Rest is just as important as movement.

🟨 Water: Hydration is everything. I’m being intentional about drinking enough water each day, knowing it supports energy, digestion, and overall health.

I’m not focused on losing weight—I’m focused on getting healthy. The real goals? Lowering my cholesterol, balancing my blood sugar, feeling more energized, sleeping better, and simply taking care of my body. And hey, if some weight comes off along the way, that’s just a bonus.

At 55, I’ve let go of the idea that I’ll ever fit back into my clothes from my 20s and 30s—and honestly, I’m okay with that. This is the body I have now, and it deserves care, not criticism. I admire those who seem to stay effortlessly thin or have a lightning-fast metabolism, but let’s be real: everyone has their own struggles. No one gets a free pass through life. This journey is about being the best version of me—not chasing someone else’s highlight reel.

Back on Track!

Sep19

Of course, now that I’ve committed myself to getting my self together and back on track, this means I’ll probably be posting a lot more. Yay! More blog activity! I’m starting all this with baby steps. And again, I’m trying to learn from the past 20 months! I have always had an issue of having this all or nothing type of attitude. Which helps with some things, but doesn’t always work for others. If I’ve learned one thing with me, it doesn’t work with food or exercise. The patterns I have noticed: I decide I’m going to start eating “right” so I go full force, no sugar, no white flour, no processed. I eat meat, vegetables, and fruit. (Wait! am I allowed to have meat…they said that’s bad for you too!) I typically go strong for 2 weeks. Then something happens and I have 1 cheat meal. Which then turns into a cheat day….weekend….week…month…you see how that works. So step one for me is that I’m not going to say I CAN’T have something. I have learned with my personality if I deprive myself of something it’s like a challenge….that little voice inside me says… “oh yea? watch this!” And I reach a point and go overboard. Cue in rummaging the cabinets for butter and powdered sugar to make icing!

Okay, so how does one find that balance to still eat healthy and not totally go off the deep end? Honestly, I am the type of person who needs structure in their lives. I thrive off of it. If I don’t have a plan or roadmap I get lost. Look! Shiney things! So I have to

healthy-diet

decide what I’m going to eat in advance, write it down beforehand and check it off as I do it. I know all the journals are blank and the instructions that I always thought was that you write down what you actually put in your mouth. Well good for you if you have that kind of self-control. Personally, I do not. Therefore I need a whole special set of rules…because well…I’m special…my mother told me that! My rules are to get that new journal and fill in what I’m going to eat the night before or that morning. I’m not going to pretend that I can fill this out the beginning of the week because I know that by Thursday I’m not going to feel like grilled chicken, so I’m going to try to plan the day’s meals as close to that day as possible. The only thing I’m not like that with is breakfast. For some reason, I can have the same exact breakfast every day for a month and it doesn’t bother me. Sometimes the same with lunch. But when it comes to dinner. I don’t know…I get all finicky! Dinner is my problem meal. The first step to solving this is knowing that the problem exists!

Now. I know I’m going to sit down the end of the day (or first thing in the morning…when my schedule allows) and plan out my eating plan for the day. How am I going to decide what I’m going to eat? This is where things get tricky. I would love to say that I’m not a picky eater and I’ll eat about anything. That would be a lie. I’m not crazy about steak unless it’s a tenderloin, I only like chicken cooked a certain way. Not a fan of vegetables, but I do like salad. I LOVE bread and butter. And I love anything in a cream sauce. As you can see I’m predisposed to bad eating habits just based on my likes and dislikes. This means I have to plan and work a little harder. Also with any relationship, there is going to have to be some give and take. I think that sounds fair. th (5)

When planning my meals I’m mostly going for balance. I’m going to be more concerned with the nutritional aspect of what I’m eating rather than the overall calories. Are the calories still going to be a factor…of course, but not to the extent as I have in the past. We are going to go a little off topic here for a minute. A perfect example of why I can’t do the “points” system or calories. Years ago I was on Weight Watchers and I could have 22 points a day. Great! So the way my mind works is how can I maximize the amount of food for the points. I gave up eating real food for junk. I found that I could have 22 meringue cookies for 4 points. Score! So I ate a lot of meringue cookies during that time, and I didn’t lose any weight. Yes, there were weeks I ate nothing but meringue cookies and wine. I was still within my points so…what’s the problem? I did the same thing with calories and the low-fat diet. All I’m going to say is gummy bears and jelly beans. Now you know a little of how my mind works. So no more points and no more calories (really).

I was having a discussion with my son, who seems to have a really good grasp on nutrition and exercise, and he was explaining Macros to me. Okay…. He sent me to this website that IIFYM-How-to-calculate-macros-square explained how all the macro stuff works. In short, my body needs a certain amount of nutrition to function properly. Well, duh, I knew that….I just chose not to listen. So he then sent me to the IIFYM site and said: “start there.” (not I’m not in any way affiliated with or have ever purchased anything from them. You can do a search and use any macros calculator. I’ve actually downloaded an app for my phone to check as well) You put in your information and they calculate how many calories you should eat and what percentage your macros should be. Well okay! We have the beginnings of a roadmap. For those who are going…”I’m not following…what are macros?” Macros are the percentage of Carbs, Fat, and Protein you eat. (in Weigh Watchers defense, this is what the points system is based on along with fiber…I just found a loophole to eat what I want! I need to be held responsible for real numbers!)

Okay so now I know what my macros should be AND how many calories I need. See…you really aren’t going to get away with forgoing the calorie thing. In my opinion, if you are eating the proper percentage of macros and not going off and eating a bunch of high fat and sugar you are going to come in close to your calorie goal. Most of the time! There are always exceptions and that’s why I’m still going to keep an eye on it….I’m just not putting all my focus on calories, but macros. See? Now because I just spent all this time in treatment and I’m taking certain medications I personally need to make sure I’m getting enough vitamin D. So nutrients are another aspect of this little roadmap that I’m going to be keeping an eye on. The whole basis of this is just not about making sure I don’t eat too many calories and I exercise enough. I mean yes this is a fact and plays a role in the whole weight loss plan but, I’m not JUST concerned about losing WEIGHT! I’m working on my overall health. So I need to pay attention to the amounts of nutrients and types of nutrients going into my body. iifym

Nutrition and food is the part I struggle with the most. I have my macros calculator and my daily eating menu. I plan what I’m going to eat prior to putting anything in my mouth. I check off as I consume what is on my list. And then at the end of the day, I enter it all into MyFitnessPal (no don’t work with them either, just the app I use). This will show me where I landed with my macros and nutrition for the day. I look at it and see what I could improve on and then plan for the next day.

Now that I have the food thing figured out. We move on to exercise. Again. I tend to overdo it and go in full force. Again, what I have learned the last 20 months is to listen to your body. Just recently I decided I was going to add a little weight and reps to my upper body workout. Well, I must have done an exercise I haven’t tried since surgery and totally jacked up my shoulder. Yeah…don’t do that! It’s okay to start out slow. It’s okay to not do all the reps and all sets and all the weight at first! Listen to your body! Start out slow. Add slowly. Same thing with cardio. Geeze…work up to that. After surgery, I started walking. Every week I would walk a little longer and a little further. Then I started to add in some running. I would walk and then jog for 30 seconds. I slowly built up and after a year I’m up to running 2 miles without stopping. (not every day though! Haven’t reached that goal yet!) I eventually added weights. Very slowly. I do yoga once a week (should do it more) I stretch, swim, dance, hike and anything else I feel like! The most important thing I’ve found with exercise is to find something you like to do. YOU like to do! If you don’t like it, you won’t do it. balance-rings

I have gone through a thing where I’m exercising 5 days a week and I can’t figure out why I’m not losing weight. Well, the one thing I’ve learned with weight loss and getting healthy is you need ALL components of health. Nutrition is number 1. I don’t care what anyone says if you aren’t putting the right fuel into your body nothing is going to go right. (I could go on about this and disease and a multitude of other topics, but I’ll save it) The second thing is stress management and sleep. I’m going to throw mental health in here..but it could totally be on its own. If you aren’t allowing your body to rest and recover, again it’s not going to help anything. And finally, exercise. Excercise will help with the stress and sleep part (in theory, again…I could take off on a rant here). But you need to strengthen your muscles, bones and keep your body moving. I didn’t mention water so I’ll throw it in here. Drink lots of water!!! I truly believe weight loss and overall health needs all 3 of these to get the results I’m looking for. It is so beyond just losing weight. It’s about overall health and not just a number on the scale.

Whew! There is so much to this! No wonder everyone wants to find a quick fix to health!

Disclaimer: Because we live in the world we live in today, I don’t want anyone to get their feathers ruffled. I am not a doctor or a nutritionist or have any training in any type of health field. I am expressing what I have learned through other professionals and my own experience. These are just my views and am not suggesting anyone follow anything that I have written without the consent of your healthcare professional (doctors, nutritionists etc.) Everything that I have written is my own personal thoughts and experiences. Please consult a doctor or health care professional before you attempt any diet or exercise program.

The next 3 months

Sep18

So I’m looking at the calendar and I’ve got 92 days until my 48th birthday. (GEEZE!) Gosh, that seems old! Well, beats the alternative! My goal was to be in the best shape I could be in when I hit 50. Okay. We’ve got 2 years. I think that’s realistic. As long as my overall goals are realistic! Obviously, some of my original goals have changed a bit. But, I’m thinking at this point I need to get down another 20 lbs. That puts me at 140. Which I think is a reasonable weight for a 50-year-old! I also have this idea that I want to build up my pecs. Now, this would be kind of a new goal. But after my mishap with the weight thing the other day, and current minor injury to the shoulder, I have to do a bit more research on the upper body weight training as it pertains to my current situation. The double mastectomy monkey wrench got thrown in there. But I think with some modifications, and probably a little different route, I can still obtain what I’m going for.

I’m going to concentrate on the cardio, weight training, nutrition and stress management. But most of all the diet. Boy, do I seem to struggle with this aspect of getting healthy. Again, same problem, so many different people telling you different things. It’s no wonder the American population is so overweight! The industry confuses everyone so they don’t know what to do. They seem to keep changing the rules on what’s good and what’s bad. SO….I suppose this is where 2016 is going to play into my favor. I obviously spent a lot of time last year talking to doctors and nutritionists on what is the best thing to eat and what is not. The first thing is to throw away all the weight loss books and forget about all the pills and everything else they say will help. No more listening to “the industry.” Now on the same note, I have to say that I found out that doctors don’t really know anything about nutrition. I mean they know medicine and they are not nutritionists. Which is exactly why there is a whole separate career as a dietician going on! I’ve talked to enough of them over the last year or so and realized they are all saying the same thing. What it all comes down to is Moderation. Do you need to cut out anything from your diet? No, you don’t. Are there things you shouldn’t eat? Well, of course, there are. Like the Cheetos flavored waffles are probably not a good idea. The hard part is I really really like all the bad things!

Now let’s see if I can remember everything I learned!!!!

Let the games begin!

May Update

May21

I guess I’m only going to update once a month these days. I’m kind of slacking, but, in my defense, I’ve been super busy with things. So it’s been kind of crazy. So let’s see what’s gone on the last 2 months!

Business: Geeze. So much work. I pretty much have most everything in place. I’m working on a few other ideas I have. Weddings seem to be taking precedence over everything right now for some reason. I have everything up on WeddingWire and a few other sites. I have all my forms and processes pretty much down. I just have to finish my Wedding Workbook for clients. I think I’m going to include it in full planning and be purchased for any other package. The website is pretty much done. I have to work on the SEO side of it right now. But there is also the Boutique that needs to be added. That’s going to be something I work on for next year I think. I have 2 weddings booked for July at this point and a meeting for one next August. So the wedding side of thing is starting to move along. The next thing I want to tackle is the Funeral portion. and then finally the social. I’ll do corporate events but I don’t know that I’m going to promote it a whole lot. We’ll see how things plan out. So in addition to all this planning stuff, I’m working on my Signing Agent Certification. I have to do a little more research with this. I have some time. The more I think about things the more I think I need to start pushing the boutique a little sooner than later. I have so many ideas on what I want to do and I’m kinda just going for it all. I will have my empire before too long!

Health: Eh. I’ve actually been doing pretty good. Had my lupron shot last month and it was ugly for a few days, but not nearly as bad as before. But I am getting to the gym at least 4 days a week. Pilates and yoga on the weekend and eating half way decent. And then this week hit. OMG, I’ve been down all week. I blame it on the airplane! That’s the only viable explanation. So once I get past this I can get back on track. It’s driving me nuts to not be able to do what I want to do! It started with a sore throat, then the fever blisters, then coughing. So much coughing. Then the left eye got all red, swollen, itchy and burning. Then the other eye got the same way. So my eyes are all leaky and get stuck shut. But what’s funny now is, Pete asked me how I was yesterday and my automatic response was “I’ve felt worse.” As much as I’m not a fan of being sick, I’m just glad I didn’t get this while I was in treatment. Things may have turned out a bit different.

Family: Went to go see the kids for mothers day last weekend. I had a wonderful time. It was nice to just hang out and be included in their lives for a few days. I got to spend time with each of them separately and together. I got to watch my son play hockey. It honestly couldn’t have been more wonderful.

So I know the last time I posted I gave myself some “homework” to do. Which for the most part I did stick to. The only thing I really didn’t stick with was the no sugar thing. That’s really hard. But I’m going to keep trying until it sticks. Not in my nature to give up on things. Well, that’s not entirely true. This is my struggle. I feel like I’m always the one that is reaching out to certain people to check in with them. It’s like I’m forcing to keep some sort of relationship. I think it’s harder when those people are family. I mean it’s obvious that they don’t think or care enough about me to just take 20 seconds to just say hi. So why do I continue? I understand that life gets busy and it’s hard to keep up sometimes. But in this day and age with email, texting and social media, I just don’t buy it. If you want to have someone in your life regardless of the miles between you, you will make an effort. But I think you have to come to the realization at some point that not everyone wants YOU in THEIR life. And as sad as that is to me, I think it’s okay. A friend posted something that made me think: “I don’t care about losing people that don’t want to be in my life anymore. I’ve lost people that mean the world to me and I’m doing just fine”

Because I’m not very good at giving up, I feel the same way about people. I don’t like to give up on them. I always have the idea that maybe they are going through a rough patch and they should know that no matter what I will be there if and when they need me. But another part of me is like, come on, other people don’t do that for me, so why should I do it for them. Life is too short to waste time on people who don’t appreciate you. It’s part of my “I have to please everyone” syndrome. Guess that’s something I need to figure out. You know when I was going through treatment, it was the first time in my life I put myself first above everyone else. Becuase I had to. And it seems that having done that I lost some people along the way. I guess I need to take the rose-colored glasses off and see things (and people) for who they really are. I need to focus on all those people who stuck with me and who I realized truly cared. These are the people I need to give my time and energy to.

So again things for me to work on…

keep exercising!
keep eating lots of fruit and vegetables
stay away from added sugars
once a week journal and blog! (personal and professional) I struggle with this!
Appreciate the right people in your life

Updates and fun things

Apr1

I updated my hair chronicles and I didn’t realize I haven’t posted since the end of January. So Here we are 10 months post chemo, 9 months post surgery and almost 5 months since radiation and treatment ended. Seems like a complete life ago. I still tell people I just moved here because I really don’t remember 2016 at all. And as I sit here in do taxes it’s been a challenge to come to the realization that 2016 did, in fact, happen regardless if I was in it or not.

The end of January I decided I was going to register with the staffing agency to see if I can get warmed up and stop sitting around the house. I was very apprehensive about starting any type of job…with people…because I really didn’t feel like my mind was altogether there quite yet. I spent a lot of time doing word games and mind games on the computer. Brain exercises if you will. But I was convinced the only way to truly exercise my brain and get it back together was to get out there and use it in real world situations. On February 3rd I started a temp job. It was doing HR stuff so basically what I was doing before I left Colorado. So something familiar. That was good. It was nice to talk to people on the phone. I realized when I do interviews now I view them very differently. Every interview that I do I learn something from. Even when interviewing for an intern position. In fact, I think I have learned more from the younger men and women around here than the seasoned ones. It’ has been a good experience for me to get back into the swing of things. Remind me what I like and don’t like if that’s changed. And tested my patience. I have to admit. At first, I had way more patience than I do now. I found myself getting into old mindsets and old habits. For a few days, I was very disappointed in myself because I hadn’t seemed to learn much of anything over the past year. I stopped working out as much. I stopped going to support group. I stopped eating right. I stopped journaling. I stopped listening to my body. And just the other day I did something that I am completely ashamed of which made me stop in my tracks. I had signed up for a Living Art class for current and former cancer patients. It is a 6-week course that is supposed to give you your “me time” and help with the mental journey. The night I was supposed to start, I got held up at work and made the decision to pick work over this class. So there we have it. I had learned absolutely nothing. I went right back to putting a job (a temp job mind you) ahead of my own self and well-being. As I was updating my hair post I started reading some of my old entries and it brought me back down to the reality of it all. This assignment ends this Friday. Although I wish I could just stay there, I think it’s best for me to take a step back and regroup. Take what I’ve learned these last 2 months and really think about things.

So in the midst of all this, I’m trying to get this business started. As I get deeper into it, I’m starting to come up with more idea on how I can truly make this a viable business. Of course, now I want to change the entire look and feel of my website. I decided I don’t like it anymore. It’s just BASIC! So I have to see what I can do. I need new and fresh and it’s kinda clunky and awkward I think. And as much as I LOVE flowers I need to not have them maybe so prominent on my page. So I’m going to do that this weekend while I rest from doing taxes (yes I wait longer than I should)

We did start doing Pilates on Saturday mornings and Yoga on Sunday mornings. Um yeah. So pilates is hard. Yoga is hard. I’m sore for like 3 days afterward. But I’m getting back on track here. With my theme of picking up where I left off a year ago, I’ve got my exercise schedule all figured out. And today is day one with no sugar. For the record, I want to rip eyes out. When I say no sugar I’m talking, besides the obvious of anything with refined sugar in it, but bread and anything that has added sugar in it. Like there is some kick-ass potato salad in the refrigerator right now I would love to get into. But I must be strong. I am only asking myself for 30 days. The month of April. Nothing but vegetables, fruit, meat, legumes, some olive oil and of course spices. So I usually use myfitnesspal. And as much as I love it. And will probably still update it, I got this book to track everything. I’m a tactile person and the act of physically writing down what goes in my mouth and seeing it a certain way on paper works better for me. (Thanks Pam!)

Now the last time I did this I started out for 30 days and ended up going 3 months and lost 30 pounds and felt wonderful. I didn’t feel great the first few weeks, but I had so much more energy. I believe some of my very first posts on this blog were surrounding this program. I’m sure if I went back and read them I would read something to the effect of “I will never do this again as long as I live!” So much drama.

My pledge to myself is for 30 days:

No sugar added into anything. (Vegetables, Fruit, Meat and legumes)
Track everything that goes into my mouth! (don’t be nastiiieee!)
Exercise at least 4 days a week
Journal every day. I need to get my thoughts down and out of my head!
Blog once a week on something here. (I also have to start blogging for my business site)
DO NOT GET ON A SCALE!
Get at least 8 hours of sleep. Easier said than done but this means basically that I need to actually go to bed at a decent hour during the week.

They say it takes something like 21 days to form a habit. I don’t know we’ll see.

Progress

Dec4

My physical therapist told me to start swimming. So I’m back in the pool. I’m up to 14 laps. (25 meter pool) They are slow laps but they are laps. And I stop and stretch a bit or tread water at the end of each one for 30 seconds. But it has felt really good so far. I think my arms/chest like it. I’m hoping it will help my lower back as well. I rotate through strokes…breast, back and free.

As far as running (jog and walking combo)…I’m up to a 16.30 mile and doing about 1.5 miles at this point. (I started at a 20 min mile even. I go for 25 minutes and see how far I get. Once I get to 2 miles in 25 minutes I’ll increase to 30 minutes.

I’m alternating swimming and jogging. The days I jog I do the weights…upper and lower body.

The diet is up and down. I have room for improvement. I do good then go off and pay for it I understand the moderation concept which or the most part is working well…but still makes me feel like crap when I do it.

I’ll get there slowly but surely. Rebuilding from the ground up making sure I have a good solid foundation to start with.

The hardest part is taking everything and applying what I’ve learned over the last year. The biggest thing has been learning to put me first and take care of myself. I have never been one to spend a lot of time on me (post kids) so it’s going to take some practice.

Fa La La La La

Nov29

Oh the holidays. I’ve finally recovered from Thanksgiving. I had my son and his fiance here for a week. So much excitement and so much emotion and so much cooking and cleaning. I took a week off from the gym because I was just exhausted. Had about enough energy to cook thanksgiving and stay up til 9:30-10:00 every day. First day back to the gym today. I somehow managed to not gain any weight over Thanksgiving. So that’s promising.

My scar is healing nicely. I should be able to get in the pool next week. My last physical therapy session is tomorrow. I’ve been doing all the stretching and stuff. But of course the last week I haven’t been working out and boy have I felt it. Things I’ve learned the last 2 weeks.

Aromasin makes me super emotional. It’s really kind of annoying. So I am trying to learn how to manage that. (I bet the answer is going to involve diet and exercise)
I really need to exercise every day. I NEED to stretch and do cardio. It makes me feel better. When I don’t my arms and chest swell. (part of the reason) And I think when I do the cardio it really helps with my emotions. I was doing the elliptical but I find walking/jogging really works better for me. I need to add the yoga and then take some classes. I like to move it…move it. I also started to do strength training. Legs right now. After PT tomorrow I’ll see what they say about how I’m going to do this upper body thing.
My body doesn’t do well with not good food. (the other part that makes my arms and chest swell) So traditional thanksgiving is a bad thing. I only had a little bit of everything which was good, because ugh. I paid for it. So eating whole foods is crucial for my over all physical and mental health. It’s really incredible how it affects me. Salt and sugar are the worst.

So back on track. Went to the gym today. Trying to get all my vegetables back into the lineup today. I made a pot of turkey soup. I’m kind of on that right now.

Starting from the ground up is really hard. I’m not going to lie. I have to come up with something that will keep me motivated. I’m very goal oriented. I must plan!!!!

No going topless for a year!

Nov4

My skin seems to be holding up so Monday will be my very last radiation treatment. It also will be the very end of the treatment trilogy. (Chemo, surgery, radiation). Monday I start on my 10-year stint of meds. whoo hoo. I’m excited. But the radiation nurse gave me this information hand-out of how to take care of the radiation site and what to expect for the next month. In the section for “Skin”, it says that “you should protect the treated area from the sun for at least a year.” I’m glad they told me because I could totally see me walking around without a shirt on everywhere over the next year. Then I just thought about the men with prostate cancer….no junk in the sun….

I also met with the nutritionist. That was good. I’m glad I did that. Of course, the oncology department has their own nutritional team…why wouldn’t they. So we figured out how many calories I should eat in a day. In the 1500 range. She explained the plate method to me. Which is: Divide your plate in half. One-half is non-starchy vegetables. Then divide the other half in half and you have your starchy foods and then protein. And off to the side, you have your fruit. plate

Now I won’t be eating anything out of a can because well…anything canned is bad in my mind so I can’t change that. She said to stay away from any “Diet” or eating plan that tells you to cut out a food group. Unless you have a food allergy or some sort of intolerance to a food or food group….it’s not off limits. Focus your plate on vegetables and then having starches (whole grain) and protein as the sides. Eat whole foods. Eat small meals throughout the day….at least 4. Breakfast, lunch, Dinner, Snack. And you can add a second snack if it keeps you from eating too much. But always have a fruit/vegetable and a protein with each meal. (And never listen to Dr. Oz.) There is no evidence that anything you ingest will change the pH of your body. If you are drinking enough water and eating properly, your body will regulate your pH level. So baking soda, AC Vinegar….all that….unless it just makes you feel better taking it or keeps you from eating more (which is most likely just the water you are drinking fills you up). So YES to potatoes! Yes to whole wheat pasta! Yes to brown rice! And I don’t have to give up chocolate.

So that solves that issue in my life. Add exercise 3-4 times a week and I should be good to go. OH…and do not weigh myself every day. In fact…weigh yourself once a month if you must….but keep track of your progress by doing measurements. I do measurements every week too…but I have to stop worrying about that number. So I’m going to find a dress I want to be able to fit into and put that out and hide the scale!

I feel like I’m starting to get a good base for my new normal. It all goes down on Monday! Did I mention the medication I’m on says it highly recommends that you do not consume alcohol? Well, I don’t think every now and then is going to kill me. But my days of hitting the bottle of wine days are over. Which really isn’t a huge deal, I suppose. I haven’t had much to drink the last 10 months anyway….haven’t been able to. But I had a shot of amaretto in some black coffee the other day that was just fabulous. Normally, I have it in a cup of cappuccino. They didn’t have cappuccino, so I made do. OMG. It was just enough sweet. THAT will end up being my treat when I drink!

Rebuilding!!

Sep28

Went to the gym today. (I know 3 posts in one day…I just thought they should be all different posts rather than one big long one….the average human doesn’t have the attention span to read more than half a page). I usually get on the treadmill and walk. Yawn. Then I go stretch. Then I go home. Today I was prepared to do the same thing. I walked into the locker room to put my stuff in there and look up and this little kid is looking at me confused. Then asks his mom if I was a girl or a boy. The mother reassured him that only girls were allowed in this locker room. So. Yeah. My first reaction was to be very upset and want to cry and leave. Then I’m like…it’s a kid. You see a person with short hair and no boobs it’s kind of a fair question. So as I’m convincing myself to not take it personally and get very self conscience about my appearance (I mean I have just gotten the courage to go without the scarf on my head!) I get upstairs and look at the treadmill, then look at the elliptical machine. The old me used to do the elliptical and a beastly pace. Well today I decided to see how I would fare on that elliptical Machine. I started out slow. Used the one with the arm poles. I never used to use those, but I do them on the bike in therapy so why not. It was feeling pretty good at a slow pace. Started getting into the rhythm of the music and then after 5 minutes stepped it up. Still felt good. So I would do slow and then every 5 minutes do faster for a minute. It felt good to get my heart rate up and start to sweat a little bit. I thought LEVEL UP! So I’m feeling good enough to up the workout. So I do my 30 minutes on there and I’m leaving and then there is THE MACHINE. It’s a beast. I’m like let me just get on real quick to see what it feels like. Well I have a goal.

This bugger takes some coordination and is no joke! So I will do 30 minutes on this in the next few weeks!!!

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Making of a Diva

Reclaiming of the Inner Diva

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