Why are my gears broken?

j916
j916 Member Posts: 141
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Ok....while i was in fighting mode..chemo, surgeries (even tho i have at least two more to go) I was all hyped up about losing weight, getting back to the gym, eating right....but now, i am stalled. I have to motivation to "get it in gear"...in the morning, my brain makes plans, but then after work, my plans have stalled, and my couch becomes my best friend. I can't go before work since i have to be at work at 6:30 am. My eating has become much better, but weight loss....ha ha ha
My next surgery (reconstruction, second one) is in about 7 weeks, and my dr has told me the outcome will be much better if i lose some weight. Now, you would think that would be enough motivation to get my butt in gear....but alas, here i sit...stalled.
Any ideas? Has anyone else experienced this? I am getting really down about this :(

thanks for your help,
Jeanne

Comments

  • chenheart
    chenheart Member Posts: 5,159
    #2
    It occurs to me that if we
    It occurs to me that if we all had our butts in perfect gear, none of us would drink too much, eat too much, smoke ( at all!) put off exercising~ fill in the blanks! It has less to do with cancer, and more with being human! Even without cancer, most, if not all of us know what we should be doing for optimum health, but how good are we at doing it? How many of us promise ourselves we will start our diet "on Monday"...or go to the gym, or at least park far away from the office building so we have to walk? The obesity levels of Americans is at record highs!

    So, 916, don't beat yourself up too severly! The fact that you are posting about your broken gears is a HUGE step in the right direction, and if you just turn your butt a little toward the left, I will give you the swift kick you need to get you motivated! :-)

    BTW, I will be in your neck of the woods on Thursday for 10 days~ my niece had spine surgery and I am going to spell her mom ( my sister) and take over some of the caregiver duties. I was thinking of going today, but with the storms in Sacramento, an themd making their way to Santa Ynez until Thursday, well, I am not motivated to travel! :-)

    Hugs,
    Chen♥
  • roseann4
    roseann4 Member Posts: 992 Member
    #3
    I hear you!
    When I was younger, I loved excersise. Now I love to sit around and veg. That started several years before my diagnosis. Now I am 20 lbs. overweight and have no motivation to get back in shape. I am so desperate to get moving that I made an appt. with a hypnotist to see if that will help. I figure it works for smoking so why not weight loss.

    Do you have a friend or family member who can exercise with you? Mine are over an hour away so that doesn't work for me but it might help you. My sister started walking with people from work and has lost weight. They don't want to let each other down so they go every day unless the weather is too bad.

    Good luck. I'll let you know about the hypnosis. I'm going on the 23rd of Oct.

    Roseann
  • j916
    j916 Member Posts: 141
    #4
    anyone else?
    Thank you so much for replying, you have given me a lot to think about.

    Does anyone else have insight to this?

    thanks,

    Jeanne
  • TraciInLA
    TraciInLA Member Posts: 1,994 Member
    #5
    j916 said:

    anyone else?
    Thank you so much for replying, you have given me a lot to think about.

    Does anyone else have insight to this?

    thanks,

    Jeanne

    Hi, Jeanne -
    I don't know what you like to do for exercise, but I believe religiously that exercise has to be enjoyable, or most people won't do it.

    Some people actually *like* to suffer -- I belong to a women's gym, and I see women come out of some of the classes drowning in sweat, looking like they're about to pass out. Not for me! I discovered my gym's bellydance classes a few years ago, and have been shimmying my way to better abs ever since.

    I would say find *anything* that requires movement that you enjoy -- walking around the neighborhood, folk dance classes at a rec center, playing frisbee with neighborhood kids....if you already belong to a gym, maybe check out a class you've never tried before.

    I just hate to see people assume that exercise=pain and suffering, if that's not what motivates you. I think it's just as important that exercise make you feel good as it is that it help you lose weight.

    Hope that maybe gives you a little inspiration!

    Traci
  • Akiss4me
    Akiss4me Member Posts: 2,188
    #6
    j916 said:

    anyone else?
    Thank you so much for replying, you have given me a lot to think about.

    Does anyone else have insight to this?

    thanks,

    Jeanne

    Hi Jeanne
    Well, I am the only one I know of that gained 7 pounds on a liquid diet in the hospital. I have lost 1/2 pound of that in the 5 days I have been home. Arrggg. I hate exercise!! I now need to lose a total of 15 lbs to be pre diagnosis weight. About the only thing I can find my body allowing me to do is walk. Soooo boring!! I am considering roller skating? Maybe with the cold weather...ice-skating! ♥Pammy
  • j916
    j916 Member Posts: 141
    #7
    Akiss4me said:

    Hi Jeanne
    Well, I am the only one I know of that gained 7 pounds on a liquid diet in the hospital. I have lost 1/2 pound of that in the 5 days I have been home. Arrggg. I hate exercise!! I now need to lose a total of 15 lbs to be pre diagnosis weight. About the only thing I can find my body allowing me to do is walk. Soooo boring!! I am considering roller skating? Maybe with the cold weather...ice-skating! ♥Pammy

    Thank you all for your support!
    I am very overweight, and i know that has stopped me from joining some of my classes at the gym, and also working out.....i also know that i need to GET OVER IT!!! my head knows that the gym is ESPECIALLY good for people like me, and if i could just stop looking at the darn mirrors they have on EVERY SINGLE wall....i could feel like a champion...but when i catch a glimps of myself...i am reminded of what i truly look like among all the others that are there.
    Jeanne
  • Rague
    Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member
    #8
    S.A.D.
    You could be having problems with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). I've had problems with it since we moved to South Dakota. We lived on Whidbey Island (northern Puget Sound) with less winter sun and more cloudy days for 12 years but never had any issues there but here - well it's bad. Actually this year is much worse so far but it's been much worse so far weather wise (last Thur - Sun we broke or shattered record lows and even shattered the record low high on Sun). We've had a fair amount of snolw already though the almost all trees are still green/leafy. Sun had been basically non-existant for over a week. Of course I'm sure that having had my 4th A/C last Wed and looking at surgery next Wed has undoubtably contributed some but I definately recognise the 'symptoms' that don't usually get this bad til Feb. so I've added time with my light box and more Vit. D (with approval of Chemo Dr and surgeon) but it'll take a while for results.

    Just something you might want to look into.

    Susan
  • Akiss4me
    Akiss4me Member Posts: 2,188
    #9
    Rague said:

    S.A.D.
    You could be having problems with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). I've had problems with it since we moved to South Dakota. We lived on Whidbey Island (northern Puget Sound) with less winter sun and more cloudy days for 12 years but never had any issues there but here - well it's bad. Actually this year is much worse so far but it's been much worse so far weather wise (last Thur - Sun we broke or shattered record lows and even shattered the record low high on Sun). We've had a fair amount of snolw already though the almost all trees are still green/leafy. Sun had been basically non-existant for over a week. Of course I'm sure that having had my 4th A/C last Wed and looking at surgery next Wed has undoubtably contributed some but I definately recognise the 'symptoms' that don't usually get this bad til Feb. so I've added time with my light box and more Vit. D (with approval of Chemo Dr and surgeon) but it'll take a while for results.

    Just something you might want to look into.

    Susan

    The light box
    I have heard about the artifical light to mimic the sun before. Where did you find your light box? ♥Pammy
  • Rague
    Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member
    #10
    Akiss4me said:

    The light box
    I have heard about the artifical light to mimic the sun before. Where did you find your light box? ♥Pammy

    Light Box
    VA got my box for me many years ago - it still works great! It's made by Northern Light Technologies in Montreal (could probably find it in a 'google' search). If you can't find it and are interested the address and phone number are on my box.

    A couple of friends have made their own versions of a light box out of 'gro-light' tubes or by using a flourescent light with one 'warm' and one 'cool' tube. To me - the gro-lights seem to work a bit better - I use them in the barn to bring mares in heat earlier in the spring for breeding or to get horses to shed out earlier for show.

    edit added: I just 'googled' it and the addy is www.northernlighttechnologies.com . Mine is the SADelite.

    Susan
  • Victoria1566
    Victoria1566 Member Posts: 23
    #11
    Work Out Energy Shortage
    Yes, I have had this problem for years. As my job and life have gotten more complicated I have stopped working out. Now, since being diagnosed with breast cancer, the situation is worse. I have gained weight since treatment stopped and I have started to beat myself up about it. You know how it is, after you get such life changing news, you vow to fix everything that was wrong with your life. But, the reality is that your life has it's own momentum, and after the doctor's visits diminish old habits quickly reemerge.

    Now, that I have made a quick bow to reality, I can talk about what is working for me...at least it has worked for the past couple of weeks. I have an recumbent exercise bike in my master bedroom in front of the television. The seat is comfortable enough to just sit there and watch TV, so I force myself to sit there during my favorite shows. I try to make working out interesting by sitting goals such as,"I'll ride real hard until the next commercial break." Tonight the season premier of 30Rock will be on, so it will be time for a ride.

    Good Luck with finding something that works for you. :-)

    v.
  • TraciInLA
    TraciInLA Member Posts: 1,994 Member
    #12
    j916 said:

    Thank you all for your support!
    I am very overweight, and i know that has stopped me from joining some of my classes at the gym, and also working out.....i also know that i need to GET OVER IT!!! my head knows that the gym is ESPECIALLY good for people like me, and if i could just stop looking at the darn mirrors they have on EVERY SINGLE wall....i could feel like a champion...but when i catch a glimps of myself...i am reminded of what i truly look like among all the others that are there.
    Jeanne

    You are beautiful!
    Jeanne, I just clicked over to your Expressions page for the first time, and saw your beautiful picture there. YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN, with a smile full of light -- don't you ever look in the mirror and think anything differently.

    Some of those other people in the gym mirrors may be hardbodies in spandex -- but have THEY kicked cancer's ****? I bet not. Don't let any stupid comparing yourself to others ever let you forget how strong and beautiful you are.

    Traci
  • pinkkari09
    pinkkari09 Member Posts: 877
    #13
    Susan
    I live in South Dakota, amazing, where-abouts are you?? I'm definitely looking into the SADalite, it's been horrible here Sioux Falls area. My Dad goes to Mission TX. for the winters and when he leaves I'll really be sad :) This affects my mood, weight, everything....However, I do snow removal for a living in the winter so I do love the $now
    So glad to see another South Dakotan on here,
    Kari

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