Cat's Exercise Diary

I have been talking about exercise a lot in the Undiagnosed Club lately and figured it might need its own thread, so here we go. This first post might be particularly long and rambling, apologies in advance.

I'll start with a recap of how I got to where I am today. I used to work out regularly before I became ill, but I never really enjoyed it. I wanted to lose a few lbs, I wanted to look better, etc. It was all for superficial reasons and not for health reasons at all. I honestly hated going to the gym! I enjoyed things like going kayaking, but just plain working out in a gym? Hard work, not fun, boring! :boring: If I didn't feel like going to the gym that day, I'd skip it. I really had no concept of how important my health was or that I should make more of an effort to be healthy. I was shallow and unwise.

So, October 2009 rolls around and my life changes forever - I got so sick and never really recovered. Flare up after flare up and nobody could tell me what was wrong. I had so many tests and went into pretty significant medical debt. I lost a lot of weight - about 20 lbs, going from 136 (at 5'8") down to about 115. Exercise really didn't even factor into my thoughts at that time. I was very weak and was really struggling. I recall a time where I had to have my hubby carry laundry up and down the stairs for me and I was so weak and light-headed that I nearly passed out while folding the laundry. It was a really dark time. I didn't want to feel useless so I still insisted on doing the laundry, but really I couldn't even do it by myself without a lot of help.

October 2010 and my GI decides that enough is enough, he'd rather give me some relief from all the tests and the flares and try to put me into remission, even though I still didn't have a proper diagnosis (it's presumed that I probably have some form of IBD, but nothing is official). We already knew that I respond well to prednisone, so my GI put me on Entocort. I responded well to that too, and after about 7 months of being on it, I was officially in remission. Woo hoo!

But, as I was entering remission, I had been having some pain in my right hip. I went to my GP and it was diagnosed as arthritis. My GP felt like I was a good candidate for physical therapy as the arthritis was mild, so off to PT I went.

At my first PT appointment, my physical therapist assessed me. She was very thorough - I figured she would just want to look at the bad hip, but she looked at my whole body. She determined that my good hip was very weak, about as weak as the bad hip was. Also my knees were very weak, my ankles, and so on. I knew that I had lost muscle mass from being so ill, and I had also lost muscle mass from being on steroids for 7 months (corticosteroids apparently have the opposite effect as anabolic steroids; they rob muscle mass rather than build it up). But I didn't realize how far gone I really was. I was super weak, had almost no muscle mass at all and struggled to do even the simple exercises my physical therapist gave me to do. It was shocking and humiliating!

But it also drove me to action. I decided that day that I was going to start going back to the gym. Any physical exertion during the worst of my illness would just make my body get even more upset with me, but I was hoping that in remission I could get away with a bit of exercise. Fortunately I was right - my body responded wonderfully. I started working out 2 days a week, lifting very light weights. I knew I needed muscle mass so lifting weights seemed like the way to go. And it was, I felt very good doing it - sometimes I'd get pain from doing the abdominals machine, but other than that I felt great.

As I eased my way into a better and more stable incarnation of remission, I heard my body begging me for 2 things - food, and exercise! I hadn't really had either in a long time. So I gave it those things, and I felt great. I felt so strong, healthy and happy like I never had in the gym before. Suddenly the gym became a place I really wanted to go! I enjoyed working out, I felt like I was actively fighting to reclaim my health. I didn't feel like a sick person in the gym. For the first time in a long time, I could forget for a little while that I had an illness at all. And that was absolutely the best feeling in the world!

I pretty quickly moved up to lifting weights 3x per week and gradually increased the amount of weight I was lifting. I did that for about a year, 3x per week lifting weights. But I wondered if I might be doing myself some sort of harm by only really doing one type of exercise, so more recently I tried incorporating some cardio.

May I just say here that I hated cardio at first? I've never liked cardio, but getting back into the gym after being ill for so long, I really liked lifting weights - not so for cardio! I had to force myself to do it at first. I tried jogging, but with the hip arthritis it is not possible for me to jog for very long at all. I can jog for about 1/2 mile before the pain sets in - that's only about 5 or 6 minutes of jogging. If I push myself to keep going, the pain only gets worse and worse. On a couple of ocassions, I pushed myself to run one mile. Because really, I'm trying to get healthy, at a bare minimum I should be able to run one lousy mile! But it is not so. I was in pain for about 4 days the last time I ran a mile, it is just not worth it.

So I sought out other forms of cardio. I started riding the stationary bike in the gym. Since I hadn't really done any cardio, I could not ride for more than a few minutes without being completely winded! Just like with weights, I had to start small and slowly and build myself up. At first it was just, can I keep pedaling? And then I increased the resistance a little bit. Now I'm at the point where I can do a 30 minute hill program and I can keep pedaling the whole time. I sweat like crazy and sometimes I still feel like I hate cardio, but I'm keeping up with it! I'm looking forward to spring so that I can ride my real bike outside. I'm planning ride routes already.

So that pretty much brings me up to where I am today. I currently do a 6 day workout schedule - I do weights one day, cardio the next, weights, cardio, weights, then a rest day. Then start the whole thing over again. Sometimes I do yoga on my rest day, and I usually walk my dog on the weekends too, so I'm doing something active pretty much every single day. I feel great, I have muscles again, and I'm still in remission.

I personally see remission, specifically staying in remission, as a multi-pronged effort. I need to take my meds and supplements, I need to eat as healthily as I can, I need to get enough sleep, I need to stay hydrated, I need to keep my stress levels as low as I can, and of course I need to work out as often as I can! I know that all of those components contribute to me fighting my illness, but honestly, working out is the only one where I actively feel like I'm really fighting. I push myself, and with every rep or every time I don't give up, it feels like I'm punching IBD in the face. I feel like I'm actively beating this thing one workout at a time. I know I'll never truly beat it and that it can always come back - and really, that only makes me want to work harder. I have endless motivation, and as long as I am able to I will never stop fighting.

Okay, so that was wayyyy too long, but that's the story so far! I'm going to use this thread hopefully in a similar way to David's holistic treatment diary - I'll log what I've been up to in the gym and how I'm feeling and so on. Input is welcomed, questions are fine, threadjacking is okay too.

So, today! The arthritis has been giving me a little bit of trouble lately. It acts up more when the weather is bad (rain/snow/severe cold) so I'm hoping it's just due to the funky Wisconsin winter weather. I forgot to mention in my initial post that I also have really bad GERD. This means that I have to plan ahead for my workouts. I cannot have anything in my stomach except for water and antacids for at least 2 hours before I go to work out. Literally, I once drank some Gatorade before working out, and I became so nauseous that I could not continue. So I drink water for awhile beforehand, and then within 30 mins of going to the gym, I take a Zantac and a handful of Tums. That usually gets me through although I'm often fairly nauseous or refluxing by the end of my workout.

So, today I'm headed to the big gym in the evening. I should specify that there is a little gym in the basement of my workplace, and a big gym that I pay money to belong to. The little gym is free and convenient, but doesn't have a lot of machines. It is usually empty so I can crank my music and do my thing without anybody in my way and I never have to wait for a machine to open up. The big gym usually has a lot of people in it but it also has a ton of machines with a lot more variety than the little gym does. So I like both for different reasons.

Anyway, I'm going to the big gym to do weights in a couple of hours which means no more food for me until much later this evening. In the big gym, I usually do about 15 mins on the elliptical to warm up. Then I do every weight machine I can. There are a few I skip - the ones where something is pressing on the stomach area, I just can't do those, too uncomfortable. And there are 3 different abdominals machines, and I cannot do all 3 in one day or I'll either get super nauseous or be in some abdominal pain. I usually go for one abdominals machine, 2 if I'm feeling really good. But all the arms & legs machines I do - I aim for 12 to 15 reps of the heaviest weight I can lift. Once I'm done with all the machines, I immediately stretch while my muscles are still warm. I seem to get a better result from that than from stretching before working out. After stretching, I'll walk for about 10 mins on the treadmill at a leisurely pace to cool down. So that's the plan for tonight!

2-14-13. I hit the big gym yesterday and it went mostly as planned. It was super busy there though and I always save the abdominals machine(s) for last. That way, if I'm already feeling nauseous or having any sort of abdo pain, I can just skip it. I was going to do one abdo machine, but there was a line for my favorite one! So I skipped it altogether. Not ideal, but I was not going to wait in line for one machine.

Tonight I'm going to ride the exercise bike in my home. I'm planning on at least 30 mins but I'm wondering if I might push myself and go longer than that. I'll definitely do a hill program. I'm also planning on doing some crunches to make up for yesterday's lack of abs workout. I still have a little bit of belly flab left over from that 7 months of being on Entocort - when I regained my weight, it seemed to all go to my tummy area, how uncute. It's really stubborn but so am I!

In other news, it's snowing, which is making my arthritis achey for the 10 millionth time this winter (may be a slight exaggeration). It's not too bad though, only slightly achey today. It's definitely been worse. Hopefully it will be okay when I ride the bike tonight too.

I've just read through this!
Interesting what you say about corticosteroids doing the opposite of anabolic steroids! I have never thought about it before, and I have joined the gym while being on them! I take my last dose today though, so maybe I'll feel more of an improvement once I'm off them.
Do you ever do free weights? There are only two weight machines I like using at my gym so I have been thinking about doing free weights but I don't know what to do with them!

It's great your enjoying exercising so much and that it's helping you maintain good health.

I haven't been able to do any real exercise in years because I have so much trouble keeping weight on. But I do walk my dog everyday, which is as much for enjoyment (and for the dog!) as for keeping a certain level of fitness. I think exercise, outdoor exercise especially, is good for the mind as well.

I noticed the same thing about corticosteroids. I have no muscle left after taking them, and things like lifting shopping bags, standing up from sitting, etc. are actually quite difficult! I had assumed it was just from being underweight (I've always been a weakling!) until I read it was a side effect.

Your routine does sound quite exhausting though! Remember it's useful to keep some extra weight on in case of flare ups when you may not be able to eat as much.

Hope you continue to enjoy being healthy!

LMV: I didn't know you are on steroids - it's very good then that you're going to the gym regulary now too. Here's an article with a lot of confusing medical words (I did not read the whole thing myself!) with lots more info on corticosteroids and muscle wasting:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2911625/

As for free weights, I really haven't done them myself. I prefer the weight machines. The little gym I go to has no free weights and there are 8 weight machines. The big gym I belong to has a ton of weight machines (at least 20 although I haven't actually counted) and also there are free weights there but I've never felt the desire to try them. I honestly wouldn't really know what to do with them either - is there a trainer in your gym that you could ask about this? Hopefully they can show you some exercises to do with the free weights. If not, maybe try looking for some videos online about what exercises to do with free weights?

UnXmas, I like walking with my dog too - due to our conflicting work schedules, my hubby walks her during the week and I walk her on weekends. As for my weight, no worries there. Thanks to Entocort, I regained all the weight I had lost and then some. I was up to about 140 lbs (a little bit chubby for me) by the time I finished with Entocort. Then I got some stubborn hemorrhoids and my GI tried me on steroid suppositories for those, so I gained about another 6 lbs and was at my heaviest ever at 146! I managed to lose that extra bit of flab and I'm at about 135 now which is a very healthy weight for me, and I've kept my weight steady right around there for over a year now. Although my workout routine is fairly intense, I like to eat too so my weight has been steady. I certainly have converted some flab into muscle but no worries about me wasting away, I like brownies and cookies and ice cream way too much for that.

So, my update for today 2-15-13 - I realized yesterday that not all stationary bikes are created equal! (This should have been obvious, in hindsight.) There is an exercise bike in the little gym that I often use, I do a 30 minute hill program on it and I usually end up going a little over 4 miles in that time. I also have an exercise bike at home, nothing fancy at all, just something I picked up used on craigslist for like $25. But I think my bike at home is actually better for me because it has one feature that the bike in the gym does not have. When I select the 30 minute hill program on my bike at home, it tells me if I'm "on pace" "too slow" or "too fast". Sometimes I have to pedal really hard to stay "on pace"! And the bike in the gym doesn't have anything like that, so I am probably pedaling too slowly when I'm using that one. I did something like 5.5 miles in a 30 minute hill program on my bike at home last night, so significantly more than the 4ish miles I do on the bike in the gym. Very interesting! I felt much more tired and sweaty after doing the bike at home too, so pushing myself to constantly stay "on pace" seems to be giving me a much better workout than just pedaling at my own pace in the gym. I think I'm going to be riding at home more often than I ride in the gym now!

It's kind of a shame though because when I go to the gym, I'm all business. I know I'm there to do one job and that's to get fit. I put on my workout clothes and it's like putting on a work uniform and I get in a particular mindset that now is the time to work. And when I work out at home, there are pets and TV and distractions galore and I just can't get myself properly in that frame of mind that I need to be in. I put on my workout clothes and then I think, oh I should really start a load of laundry before I work out. I should really put my dishes in the dishwasher. I should let the dog out and check my facebook and call my mother. Too many distractions! I'm the kind of person who needs to go to the gym, to get away from the rest of my life.

Anyway. I'm going to the big gym tonight to lift weights. My hubby usually goes with me to the big gym but he has to work late. I kind of like going by myself. When hubby is there, I feel like I need to constantly gauge, is he nearing the end of his workout? Should I go slower or faster to keep pace with him? Is he done, does he want to stretch? When I'm by myself, I can just do my thing and concentrate on me and not worry about anything else, so it is nice. I like that hubby is trying to get into shape too (he just recently started coming to the gym with me, he was literally getting jealous of how toned I'm getting!) but it is an added little bit of stress/distraction to have him come along. I like to do my own thing - the less people in the gym with me, the better.

I normally prefer to get away from all the distractions by going to the gym myself, and do better joining classes rather than working out by myself. The instructor and other participants provide inspiration, and also place myself "front and center" where I can't whoose out in the middle of the class without everyone else noticing. The "embarrassment" factor keeps me going.

I don't know about your gym, but at ours, "spinning" classes are held on standard stationary bikes, but there are also recumbents bikes there, where you sit back, more like in a chair, rather than on a standard bicycle saddle. I would think the recumbent bikes would be, well, easier on the butt.

What I don't like about either type of bike at the gym is that you can't "clip in". some of the bikes have "clip less pedals" or straps, but they're not the same thing. No matter how much you try to tighten the straps, they don't replicate the same effect. Most stationary bikes just don't provide a very good workout for the front of your upper legs or abs.

Sounds like you're doing great!

Ya noy, both the bike at the little gym and the bike in my home are the recumbent style. The bike in my home, I pretty much specifically chose it for the price and because it has a really cushy seat. It came "as is" and was pretty beat up, but my hubby fixed it up for me as best as he could, so it's in decent shape now. The electronic display and fan both work, although the heart rate monitor doesn't (one of the sensors on the handlebars is missing). All the cat hair from the previous owners is gone (replaced by hair from my cat, ha ha). But yeah, it is about as easy on the booty as a bike seat can be.

At the big gym, they have like 4 different types/styles of exercise bike. I have yet to try each type! There's not an elliptical in the little gym or at home though, so when I'm at the big gym I tend to gravitate towards the elliptical rather than the bikes.

I definitely agree that most exercise bikes don't do a thing for the abs/core. When I ride my actual bike outside, I get such a good core workout! There's so much balance and steering that just don't happen with a stationary bike. As for "clipping in", I'm not really sure what you mean. Like those loops on the pedals that go around your feet?

As for classes, the little gym has none and I don't think the big gym has any either! I belong to Planet Fitness (aka the big gym), which is a chain based around being really affordable but also kind of bare bones. So there aren't any classes that I've seen, there's no pool, etc. Mostly just treadmills, bikes, etc and weight machines and that's about it. It's in my price range ($10 per month!) and I don't need anything fancy so I'm just fine with it. I've never been big on fitness classes myself, I know I'm not going to sneak out halfway through my workout so no worries there. I'm a huge introvert too and I do better generally by myself rather than being in a group (that's true of most things in my life, not just exercise).

Cat-a-Tonic said:

LMV: I didn't know you are on steroids - it's very good then that you're going to the gym regulary now too. Here's an article with a lot of confusing medical words (I did not read the whole thing myself!) with lots more info on corticosteroids and muscle wasting:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2911625/

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Lol that article is completely beyond me! It seems to be more focussed on why steroids cause muscle wasting than actually treating or preventing it?

Those loops that go around your feet are what is commonly referred to as "clipless pedals".

If you've ever watched competitive cycling, those cyclists are not using pedals. The more expensive bikes do not come equipped with any pedals. Instead of pedals, they use "clips." Or "pedal clips".

The bike pedal clips correspond with "cleats" attached to the bottom of specialized cycle shoes. To "clip in" you stamp your foot down, which secures the cleat on your shoe to the clip on the bike. To "clip out" you have to twist your foot.

You can not just lift your foot off the pedal once it is clipped on. So if you don't twist your foot first, or don't do it properly, you will fall over. Most people fall over a LOT while getting used to clips, I did! But they make a world of difference in your ride.

With clips, you exert as much energy in your upstroke, as in the downstroke, because it adds all the strength and power provided by the muscles in the front of your upper leg, while also engaging the muscles in your abs, virtually doubling the overall effectiveness of your workout. It also enables you to ride much faster, and climb steep hills without overly taxing the muscles on the back of your leg.

By utilizing more large muscle groups, you can also ride longer distances, for longer periods of time without becoming exhausted. By clipping in with my road bike, I can ride 20 miles in an hour or less. On my old commuter/winter bike with standard pedals, 5 miles is a challenge.

There are different types of clip pedals. I use "frogs" . This is what a frog clip pedal looks like: http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.frogfaqs

There are some gyms that have stationary bike with clip pedals. My old gym did, but my current gym doesn't.


I belong to a women's only gym now. The instructors are just members, who receive free membership in return for leading classes. They're not professionals and most aren't that good, but there's notable exceptions. When I belonged to a coed gym, I didn't feel comfortable without makeup and a coordinating outfit. Now, I just throw on shorts and a T, and run out the door. We all have our own comfort levels.

UnXmas, I couldn't find any articles about preventing corticosteroid muscle wasting, other than things that generally said stuff like, "Keep working out while on corticosteroids to minimize the effect of muscle wasting." Yeah, I couldn't really follow the article either, but it was definitely the most comprehensive one I could find about corticosteroids & muscle wasting!

Ya noy, thanks for that info, I have never heard of this clipping-in thing before! I like riding my bike but definitely not competitively or anything like that, just for fun and exercise. Still, I live in a VERY bike-friendly city and I could probably find clip pedals and shoes at any number of shops here. I'm intrigued, I'm going to look into clips and see if I can find some for a decent price.

Cat-a-Tonic said:

Ya noy, thanks for that info, I have never heard of this clipping-in thing before! I like riding my bike but definitely not competitively or anything like that, just for fun and exercise. Still, I live in a VERY bike-friendly city and I could probably find clip pedals and shoes at any number of shops here. I'm intrigued, I'm going to look into clips and see if I can find some for a decent price.

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We lived in Wisconsin before moving to Chicagoland. My best friend lives just outside Madison--Sun Prairie. We visit all the time. In fact, we usually ride our bikes there. There are bike trails that go from our house here, clear up to Madison, across to Milwaukee and back to Chicago. Very bike friendly city.

Our favorite trail in Wisconsin is the Elroy-Sparta, which is one the oldest "rails to trails" bike trail in the country, and one of the most popular, with really cool, long spooky old train tunnels. The longest tinnel is almost a mile, and you literally can't see the light at the end. If you haven't ridden the trail there yet, it's well worth the trip.

If you visit a Trek bike shop there in Madison, you'll see that the higher end bikes don't come with pedals. Clip pedals are transferred from onr bike to the next. They're not cheap, but Madison also has lots of great rummage sales.:ysmile:

Even if you never ride competitively, clips are well worth it, enabling you to ride longer, further, and faster, with far more ease-- while also exercising more large muscle groups.

Madison certainly does have excellent garage sales! I am thrifty almost to a fault and I go garage sale-ing almost every weekend in the summer. That's a very good idea about keeping an eye open for clips at garage sales - I'll look on craigslist and at local thrift stores too. There's a Trek shop close to my work so I'll have a meander around there sometime too. I haven't been on that trail you mentioned - mostly I just ride around the city, as there are so many excellent bike paths here. There's a bike path just up the block from my house that goes all the way downtown so I can ride to the farmer's market easily and avoid riding in traffic (and the Monona Terrace bike elevator is cool! ).

Cyclists from all over the country visit Sparta-Elroy, just to ride that trail. It's 32 miles, and you do have to bing flashlights or headlights and walk your bike through the tunnels, which are pitch black. You can leave your vehicle at the cycling shops in Sparta, and they will drive you and bike to Elroy and drop you off at the beginning of the trail, so you can then ride the trail back to your car. There are some pretty cool hotels, such as an old train caboose converted into a hotel room, and a free campground (and you can pick up a map with the locations of all the many porti potties along the way).

With a decent bike, it's an easy ride. I ride my road bike with clips on the trails, but my husband uses "clips" on his mountain bike as well. Once you get used to them, regular pedals become tedious. We ride hundreds of miles, for days on end. We do what cyclists call "credit card camping" meaning that at the end of the day, you find a hotel, and hand them your credit card.

I bought my bike, shoes and clips all at different rummage sales. They still weren't cheap, but I got a very good deal. I rummage sale almost every weekend in the summer too--often in the Madison area with my best friend who lives there. We belong to a co-op in Madison, that we buy our stone ground flour and organic veggies from.

Yes, the bike elevator there is pretty cool! Madison is one of the most bike friendly cities in the entire nation :ysmile:

edit:

You'll never see higher end bikes or clips parked at any of the University campuses bike racks there though--too easy to steal. I don't ever leave my road bike at a rack, or even in my garage, not even with a dozen locks. Even if you have any components on your bike that say "Dura Ace" on them, they will be stolen. For shopping and commuting, you're best off with a Schwinn from the 70s.

Most cyclists use SPD clips, which are far cheaper (and less steal-able) than Frogs. Frogs are mainly for mountain bikes anyway.

That's crazy, what a small world. We've probably been to some of the same garage sales. You come up from the Chicago (suburbs?) area a lot of weekends? That's a long drive! The hubby and I sometimes go down to the Schaumburg area to do some shopping - we take the back roads to avoid tolls and that probably takes us at least 2.5 hours each way (it seems to take only slightly less on the toll roads, like 2 hours 15 min).

Okay, so, my update today 2-16-13. Today is a rest day although I wish it weren't. Stress is piling up too high for a Saturday! My hubby lost his phone and he has to work soon so I might have to go try to retrace his steps and look for the stupid thing. Also my parents AND a friend both decided they're coming to town today and I have to try to juggle everyone or someone is going to get miffed at me. It's also really cold here and I've been coughing all morning, so I'm trying to explain to the dog that maybe we'll go for a walk later. Yuck, just a bunch of little stuff is piling up on me already and it's not even 10 AM yet. So I kind of want to exercise just for some stress relief. But I worked out hard the last 5 days in a row and I really need a rest day too. Blah. Wish I could actually rest on my rest day though!

Cat-a-Tonic said:

That's crazy, what a small world. We've probably been to some of the same garage sales. You come up from the Chicago (suburbs?) area a lot of weekends? That's a long drive! The hubby and I sometimes go down to the Schaumburg area to do some shopping - we take the back roads to avoid tolls and that probably takes us at least 2.5 hours each way (it seems to take only slightly less on the toll roads, like 2 hours 15 min).

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My friend's daughter bought a hotel last year, so our visits are half to visit my friend, and the other half to do bookwork for the hotel, and we get a nice hotel suite in return.

In the summer, we ride our bikes to Madison! You take the Prairie Path to Elgin, and then hop onto the Fox River Trail that takes you clear up to Wisconsin, followed by the Badger State Trail and Glacial Drumline. Most of the dedicated bike paths along the way are even paved, and the scenery's amazing!

We often don't have time for the ride home. So instead, we take the Van Gelder bus line, which is only $14 and for an additional $10, transport our bikes in the underneath storage compartment. Works out cheaper than the cost of gas and tolls that way.

If you run across us at rummage sales, you'll recognize me because I'll be the one walking around, while firmly holding onto my bike! When out and about, it never leaves my hands, too steal-able. I even walk it inside Starbucks, and rather than complaining, the employees will come around the counter to check it out. It's so thin and light weight, it looks like a toy, but when riding long distance, every ounce matters.

Shopping in Schaumburg is great, and Gurney Mills is even better. Oh, and the outlet mall at Gurney Mills is 2 miles long, so with return trek back, you get the exercise benefit of a 4 mile walk. :ysmile:

I have a bum hip too, it's been bothering me this winter for some unknown reason. Anyhow, I find the spin bikes at the gym really bother it, (they bother my knees too), but if I spin on my own bike on my trainer that has been fitted to me and has proper crank length for me, it doesn't hurt at all.

On Monday i think I'll join the new YMCA and get back into exercising at a gym. A new and very nice one opened about a mile from my place last year. Been joking for awhile that I should join the Y since they reportedly have an excellent sauna room. Sounds a bit odd to say that being a guy. Should be nice and warm though, which is a welcome thought about right now.

I've been going to gyms off and on for the past few years. Working out during that time was never easy. I was also tired going in to lift due to the MC and even more tired leaving. During that time I would work out with an exercise trainer. I needed the motivation counseling. I probably could have saved some money buying a tape recorder, with a recording of "Come on! You can do it! One more lift to feel the burnnnn." Can't complain about the results though. The hired trainers were money well spent I believe. I've gotten myself into good shape, more so than i thought possible.

Here of late I've been feeling half way decent to the gut. Seems what ever I'm doing I'm doing right. With that I should be able to workout well on my own. It is kind of an odd feeling I'm going through at the moment. At times, with the better behaving gut, I'm bouncing off the walls with energy - for me at least. Other times I'm back to the fatigued feeling. The good energy though, if it stays around, which i hope it does, should lead possibly to more time exercising. I was thinking I might have to expand outside of just lifting, and possibly into rock climbing as they have a wall there, or possibly swimming. We'll see, time will tell! Should be fun.

Quick update 2-18-13: I lifted weights yesterday and felt good. I find that if I take a Zantac and about 8 Tums before lifting, the reflux stays fairly quiet (I don't get close to the point of vomiting anyway). Then I had a massage yesterday evening. I don't get them very often because I can't afford them regularly, but I really enjoy them when I do get to have one. We have a friend who is a massage therapist and he makes house calls and gives us a good rate, so I didn't even have to leave home. Sometimes though I feel awful the day(s) after a massage, I get such soreness. My last massage was like that, my neck is "a mess" according to my massage therapist and he worked on it a lot last time. As a result I could not move it much for days afterwards, it was too stiff & sore! This time though I feel really good, no soreness at all. (My neck was still proclaimed to be a mess, though.) I really wasn't sure how today would go, especially given how bad I felt after my last massage, but I'm feeling great so I plan on riding the exercise bike at home tonight. Lifting in the big gym again tomorrow, bike Wednesday, lifting in the little gym Thurs, rest day Friday. That's my plan for the week! Hopefully all will go as planned!

Beach, you can totally do it! I hope that good energy sticks around. I find that no matter how I feel, if I push myself to work out, I usually end up feeling energized by the end of my workout. Maybe it's just the happy endorphins or whatever (I do get physically fatigued when I'm feeling depressed) but it is working for me. Please keep me posted on how you're doing, and I hope you stick with it!

AlliRuns, I saw your other thread about how you've just started running again - good for you! Can I ask, how is your bad hip doing after your run? I find that running is the one thing I just can't do - even if I push through the pain, I end up being in bad pain for days afterwards. So I hope you're not in pain like that! Well done with the run and I hope you continue feeling well enough to keep running!

Ya noy, wow, you are a hardcore cyclist! I get exhausted just riding a few miles around the city, even with the best bike in the world I couldn't imagine riding from the Chicago area to here! That must take ages! Speaking of ages, it's been forever since I've been to that outlet mall in Gurnee Mills. We prefer Schaumburg because the mall there is HUGE plus there's that cool Legoland and Ikea, and also this Japanese grocery store that the hubby and I really like (Mitsuwa). I don't think I'll be riding my bike there anytime soon though!

Another quickie update: It's supposed to rain/snow here later today. I woke up with my hip feeling fine, but it started aching a little while ago so I know the bad weather is on its way. I'm still planning on riding the bike tonight though. It seems like the worse the weather is, the worse my hip is, so I'm hoping for not too much precipitation. Things are tolerable right now, just a bit achey.

Thanks Cat! Hope your workouts continue to go well. I'm getting off to a bad start with joining the Y this week! I was reminded that there is a decent chance I'll be leaving town for a few months in the near future. So the Y can wait till spring, but have been lightly exercising with workouts in the home gym of late, along with hitting tennis balls. I miss the gym. It's not the same as working out with others. It is to easy to get distracted.

Cat-a-Tonic said:

Beach, you can totally do it! I hope that good energy sticks around. I find that no matter how I feel, if I push myself to work out, I usually end up feeling energized by the end of my workout. Maybe it's just the happy endorphins or whatever (I do get physically fatigued when I'm feeling depressed) but it is working for me. Please keep me posted on how you're doing, and I hope you stick with it!

AlliRuns, I saw your other thread about how you've just started running again - good for you! Can I ask, how is your bad hip doing after your run? I find that running is the one thing I just can't do - even if I push through the pain, I end up being in bad pain for days afterwards. So I hope you're not in pain like that! Well done with the run and I hope you continue feeling well enough to keep running!

Ya noy, wow, you are a hardcore cyclist! I get exhausted just riding a few miles around the city, even with the best bike in the world I couldn't imagine riding from the Chicago area to here! That must take ages! Speaking of ages, it's been forever since I've been to that outlet mall in Gurnee Mills. We prefer Schaumburg because the mall there is HUGE plus there's that cool Legoland and Ikea, and also this Japanese grocery store that the hubby and I really like (Mitsuwa). I don't think I'll be riding my bike there anytime soon though!

Another quickie update: It's supposed to rain/snow here later today. I woke up with my hip feeling fine, but it started aching a little while ago so I know the bad weather is on its way. I'm still planning on riding the bike tonight though. It seems like the worse the weather is, the worse my hip is, so I'm hoping for not too much precipitation. Things are tolerable right now, just a bit achey.

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Cat,

My hip bothered me on the run because it was cold, but running didn't seem to make it worse than normal. I find movements that are unnatural, I,e, riding an improperly fit bike, to be worse

Beach, I'm not sure how the Y works - if you joined your local one, would you still be able to go to a Y in the city you might be living in for a few months (assuming there is one there too)? I belong to Planet Fitness and they have 2 types of membership. I have the $10/month membership which means I can only go to my local PF. If I paid $20 per month then I could go to any PF location. I'm poor and don't plan on travelling much so the $10 membership is just fine with me, but if I did have to travel for work or whatever then I would probably upgrade my membership. Anyway, just a thought. Whatever ends up happening with your situation, I hope that you can find ways to work out!

Alli, my hip is bothered by cold too, but it is also bothered by walking & jogging (jogging much moreso than walking). When I have to walk my dog in cold weather, that just does me in. When I first started having hip pains, before it was diagnosed as arthritis, it was so bad at times that I would limp and I was starting to think about needing a cane. Then I got it diagnosed and went through physical therapy and it's much better than it was, but cold & bad weather and walking/jogging are still triggers for my hip pain. Anyway, I'm glad to hear that running didn't make your hip any worse! And hopefully springtime will be here soon and we can get away from this cold yucky weather.

Speaking of my hip, the rain is here now and I am quite achey. Not fun! I'm still going to try the bike tonight, I have to at least try. If it's bad though I won't push it and will maybe try some yoga instead. I don't want to have to do that, when I can't do something I feel like such a failure, I hate when my health holds me back. So I'm going to give it my best shot on the bike. Wish me luck!

Cat -that's a good question, and don't know. What crossed my mind is possibly signing up at the local Y now and then placing my membership on hold, if i should leave. I know of others that have done this. Then again I was thinking I'll just keep it simple, wait till I return to town and join then. Decisions, decision! I'll get something worked out, as it is nice to sometimes find myself of late with more energy than I know what to do with. This doesn't happen much! My IBD has made me a good planner over the years, having a good idea of how much energy I have to spend for what can be accomplish for the day.

Hope the bike ride goes well! I'm in another Big 10 (14) city down south of you, in Champaign at the moment. It's windy and cold here. My evening walk will not be happening.

Beach, are you in remission? It wasn't until I got fully into remission that I started having enough energy to work out regularly. Up until that point, I was similar to how you described - I would sometimes have a really good day where I had a decent amount of energy, but I could never count on it reliably happening. I've been in remission for close to 2 years now and I've been working out regularly for close to 2 years as well. I still have bad days, but remission seems to mean that I can push through on bad days and still get in a decent workout and feel okay afterwards. If I weren't in remission, though, I doubt I'd be able to work out as often as I do now. A bad day in remission is still better than a good day when not in remission, it seems, at least for me it is.

Cat - Oh, my health situation improved greatly when I began avoiding grains. It's all relative, but my energy levels increased, and the gut felt better when i did that. I could be ill, but the grain free diet was a nice energy boost from what I had been experiencing before.

It wasn't long after beginning the diet that I signed up with a personal trainer. I was always tired when I worked out. Overall, I'm greatly surprised at what i was able to accomplish at the gym the past few years. I didn't expect this. My gym goals were modest, gain 10lbs of muscle and be a happy camper. My trainer would jokingly disagree, and would point to some large muscled professional black weight lifters saying he was going to make me look like that! Well, I'm not nearly as big as those guys, but he pushed me enough that I'm close to 50lbs heavier. We never did workout in the sun, so didn't develop the dark tan either.

Since the middle of January I've been heading toward remission. Like you, I'm not well all the time, but being well and decently energetic frequently happens now. It has me thinking more about future projects, which is nice. Overall, I suspect I have a good long ways to go with my recovery.

What helped you with going into remission?

As for remission, I'm kind of an anomaly I think. I'm still technically undiagnosed (I seem to have some form of IBD, likely either Crohn's or MC, but officially undiagnosed). I went through test after test with no result, but I tried pred at one point and it worked wonderfully for me. So at one point my GI could see that all the tests were wearing on me (and on my checkbook) so we decided to change course. No more tests, we were going to try to get me into remission instead as he felt I probably do have IBD and was comfortable treating me with one of the milder treatments. He put me on a long run of Entocort (it ended up being about 7 months total) and that got me into remission. Now I'm just on Asacol for maintenance of remission.

So, I'm officially in remission but also undiagnosed. I know I'm very lucky because most of the people in the Undiagnosed Club are really struggling and are not anywhere close to remission. But yeah, it was really just steroids that got me here, and I'm keeping myself in remission with mainly meds & exercise. I also try to make sure I get enough sleep, keep my stress levels as low as I reasonably can, take psyllium and other supplements daily, etc. I haven't really tried any special diets except for BRAT, low-res, and the "if it hurts, don't eat it" diet.

Like you said, it's a long journey to remission. I feel like it's not a black & white thing, but a lot of gradients. I'm in a good, stable remission now. When I was on Entocort, I was averaging 1 or 2 bad days per week. Now I only usually have bad days if I eat something I shouldn't or don't get enough sleep, etc. I guess technically I probably was in remission when I was on Entocort, but I didn't feel like it. I feel good nowadays. I know I'll never be 100% like how I was before I became ill, but I'm pretty close to 99% on a really good day and I'm definitely happy with that!

I'm a big fan of the "if it hurts, don't eat it" diet

Cat, it's not that bad. If we leave in the morning, we're usually in Sun Prairie by early evening, sooner if we hook up with a cycling club or team along the way. Riding in team formation, increases the sustainable speed of the entire team by a good 5 mph+, by benefiting from the reduced wind reduction of all the riders in front of you, which is also why cyclists ride so close together. Positions are rotated frequently so everyone receives equal benefit.

We frequently meet retirees, cycling their way across the country, usually on recumbents. Recumbents are designed more efficiently, enabling the rider to sit back, relax, and leisurely pedal at speeds of 30mph+. The number of retirees who cycle coast-to-coast might surprise you.

Mitsuwa? Isn't that in Arlington Heights? We've shopped there, but there's also an Oriental Supermarket in Schaumburg, right on Golf Road, past the Best Buy, in the plaza with the "Babies R Us". That's where all the Asians shop. It's cheaper, and, well, not pretty, but very authentic, if you know what I mean. Yeah, we love the Ikea, it's even fun just to walk around and look at all the different vignettes.

Ya noy said:

Cat, it's not that bad. If we leave in the morning, we're usually in Sun Prairie by early evening, sooner if we hook up with a cycling club or team along the way. Riding in team formation, increases the sustainable speed of the entire team by a good 5 mph+, by benefiting from the reduced wind reduction of all the riders in front of you, which is also why cyclists ride so close together. Positions are rotated frequently so everyone receives equal benefit.

We frequently meet retirees, cycling their way across the country, usually on recumbents. Recumbents are designed more efficiently, enabling the rider to sit back, relax, and leisurely pedal at speeds of 30mph+. The number of retirees who cycle coast-to-coast might surprise you.

Mitsuwa? Isn't that in Arlington Heights? We've shopped there, but there's also an Oriental Supermarket in Schaumburg, right on Golf Road, past the Best Buy, in the plaza with the "Babies R Us". That's where all the Asians shop. It's cheaper, and, well, not pretty, but very authentic, if you know what I mean. Yeah, we love the Ikea, it's even fun just to walk around and look at all the different vignettes.

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I used to work with a Chinese fellow that lives on the mainland. Over the years we've kept in touch through e-mail. It would make me chuckle a bit in that my friend really seemed to enjoy shopping at Ikea! I figured he probably was making a point to me of shopping there due to being a western based company. But I have the opinion from what the friend mentions that Ikea is popular in China, good pricing, nice designs, etc.

My brother in law goes on similar long bicycle rides. He probably doesn't ride in the Chicago area often. He lives in St. Louis, but know he has been known to travel with friends around the mid-west from time to time to participate in different events.

Last year I was invited by another relative to go on a shorter bike ride with him. It would be along a scenic route, with a total length of around 20 miles for the round trip. Sounded exciting! I even bought a nice comfortable big cushy seated bike with the idea that I'd make the trip at one point. Never felt comfortable health wise to make the trip though. it's one thing to push through pain and fatigue, but the grumpy gut has its limits. Prolonged exercise can be ruff on my gut. Anyway, with the way things are going of late, with improved health, the new bike might be dusted off and used for the scenic trip this year.

Update 2-19-13: I rode the stationary bike in my house for about 35 or 40 mins yesterday, slightly longer than I usually do. I managed to do a fairly strenuous hill program and did over 7 miles, which might be a new record for me. And I felt good! Usually cardio just kills me, I huff and I puff and I feel like death but I push myself through it. I didn't have to push myself like that yesterday - I still sweated like crazy, and huffed and puffed, but it somehow seemed easier than usual. Am I finally getting used to doing cardio?? Is it finally becoming really enjoyable the way that weight lifting is? Yeah, I hope so!!

Weights tonight at the big gym. Oddly it's snowing but my hip is quiet for once! How weird is that!

Ya noy, yes, I believe Mitsuwa is in Arlington Heights, but it's just a couple miles from Ikea. I really like Mitsuwa for the food (the restaurants are so yummy!) and the bento boxes. I try to pack a lunch instead of going out to eat, it's healthier and safer, so I try to make lunchtime fun and cute. Bento boxes are totally cute and fun so I buy at least one new one every time I go to Mitsuwa.

Beach, I'd be leary of a 20 mile bike ride with iffy guts too. I'm similar, it took me 3 years to become brave enough & healthy enough to go kayaking again - there is nowhere good to "go" when you're in a kayak! We tend to be urban kayakers too as there are a number of good streams right in the city so it's not like you can hop out and go in the woods (although at certain points one one creek I could hop out and use McDonald's bathroom - and there is another creek that goes close enough to my house that we have literally hopped out and ran home to use the bathroom!). Add to that the fact that heat & humidity tend to cramp up my guts, and yeah, kayaking can be a bit dangerous. But we took our 2-person kayak out at least 3 times last summer and I had no issues whatsoever. So yeah, it's one part bravery and one part being healthy enough, I think. You have to be well enough to do something like that but you also have to get over the mental stuff and know that you'll probably be okay and won't have an accident.

How funny that everybody likes Ikea! That's interesting that it's popular in China too - you would think that China has so much cheap stuff manufactured there that Ikea couldn't compete, but apparently they can.

:applause:I just wanted to be your cheerleader for a moment. I'm glad to see you are following through and seeing positive results :congratualtions:

And thank you for deciding to share this on the forum. It's one of those things that has the potential to inspire others to get out there and not let IBD keep them away from physical activity. I know your thread has sort of pushed the idea of fitness back into the forefront of my mind after feeling defeated getting in the best shape I had been in for a long while and then having my first flares and diagnosis take it all away.

Baby steps....stretching, weights and elliptical to rebuild endurance and strength.

Anyways...Congrats!!!

:sheep::hang:

Thanks Chicago! I'll be your cheerleader too! You can do it! Your preferred exercises sound similar to mine, I love weights and the elliptical. I need to do more yoga/stretching. Like you said, baby steps! I can really relate to what you said too, I was in pretty good shape up until I became ill, then I lost my health completely when IBD came to stay. Now, every time I set foot in the gym, it's me fighting to get back what I lost and to be better than ever. It's been an uphill battle to be sure but I'm not giving up.

I don't think I've ever noticed that thing at the bottom of your signature before - well done for quitting smoking! I'm sure your health is thanking you for that! Do you feel better now that you've quit for awhile?

Oh absolutely! Breathing has definitely become a more comfortable thing to do as well as running around (less shortness of breath). I just don't feel as yucky anymore on the inside. And I'm sure it will make working out for longer periods a lot easier than before.

But I don't want to steal the thunder of your thread....when I have time I'll have to remember to send you some links to at home stretches and weights/body resistance exercises I found on Pinterest. Keep up the good work!

Cat-a-Tonic said:

I don't think I've ever noticed that thing at the bottom of your signature before - well done for quitting smoking! I'm sure your health is thanking you for that! Do you feel better now that you've quit for awhile?

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Cat-a-Tonic said:

Update 2-19-13:

Beach, I'd be leary of a 20 mile bike ride with iffy guts too. I'm similar, it took me 3 years to become brave enough & healthy enough to go kayaking again - there is nowhere good to "go" when you're in a kayak! We tend to be urban kayakers too as there are a number of good streams right in the city so it's not like you can hop out and go in the woods (although at certain points one one creek I could hop out and use McDonald's bathroom - and there is another creek that goes close enough to my house that we have literally hopped out and ran home to use the bathroom!). Add to that the fact that heat & humidity tend to cramp up my guts, and yeah, kayaking can be a bit dangerous. But we took our 2-person kayak out at least 3 times last summer and I had no issues whatsoever. So yeah, it's one part bravery and one part being healthy enough, I think. You have to be well enough to do something like that but you also have to get over the mental stuff and know that you'll probably be okay and won't have an accident.

How funny that everybody likes Ikea! That's interesting that it's popular in China too - you would think that China has so much cheap stuff manufactured there that Ikea couldn't compete, but apparently they can.

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That is something I've learned about the Chinese, they really are brand quality conscious, or at least the younger generation is. They tend to enjoy goods from Germany, Sweden, Japan and Italy. Well, Japanese goods might not be so popular right now in China with the dispute going on between the two countries. I've been told by a few Chinese politely that American made items tend to be thought of as only being so/so in quality. Ironically, and somewhat humorously as some of us here in the US will say Chinese made goods can be poorly made, in China from what I gather they tend to think the same of us.

Never been kayaking myself. Like so many things I suppose this dreadful disease has kept me from trying it. No complaints. Imagine that will change in the future. My mom kayaks often. It's kind of neat what her and her friends do. The folks live along a lake. It is one of those subdivision water retention lakes that is decent sized but not huge. What her and her friends do for exercise is kayak from one end and back a few go arounds. Additionally, a few times a year I've been told they hold a lake kayak party. Many of the neighbors living along the retention pond will meet up in the middle, have snacks and chat. I've not seen it myself, but can imagine it being a sight to see.

Well, I'm pretty fatigued and worn down this afternoon! Had a very nice workout this morning. Tuesdays is typically when I workout on my upper body with weights. I must have worked out harder than normal as I'm already feeling beat up. A good rest tonight should help. Maybe I'll slip a nap in at some point too. Despite my tired complaints, more importantly the stomach keeps hanging in there, doing very well.

Chicago, no worries about stealing thunder, post all the links you like!

Beach, kayaking is fun! We have a 2-person kayak (so if I get tired, the hubby can paddle us for awhile or vice versa). We bring our dog in the kayak with us and we usually pack a picnic lunch too. It's great fun! Maybe you could try your mother's kayak out sometime and see if you enjoy it? I'm glad to hear you got in a good workout today and glad to hear your stomach is doing well too.

Speaking of stomachs, mine is a mess. I don't know what I did - yesterday I felt mildly nauseous and just a bit "off" after eating lunch. It was just lunch though, I felt fine after dinner and I felt fine after my oatmeal this morning. But again at lunch today, immediately afterwards I felt super nauseous. It's been a few hours since lunch and I still don't feel right. I took a Zofran and that helped somewhat but something still definitely is not right in tummyland. It doesn't feel like a flare - my guts themselves are fine, I'm having solid stools and no other symptoms, just nausea and a general "not quite right" feeling. Since it's worse today than it was yesterday, I'm going to give my body a break and will skip the gym tonight. I *hate* taking unscheduled rest days, but I also know when my body needs rest more than it needs exercise, so I'm going to rest with my heating pad instead of working out. Hopefully this is just a fluke or something I ate or whatever and it passes soon. Nausea is my #2 least favorite symptom (vomiting is #1, so far I haven't but I got close immediately after lunch). Yuck and blah, I hate skipping the gym. Kind of feel like a failure right now, but hopefully tomorrow I'll be back to working out. I won't let setbacks derail me completely.

Oh no! Sorry to hear about the ruff day with the stomach, nausea, and just feeling awful overall. To borrow a word from my Chinese friend, I hope your "defective" gut feels better soon. Sometimes he has been known to ask about my stomach, referring to it as being defective. I think something has been lost in translation.

Well, I have thought to taking the kayak out for a spin. In theory it sounds good. I think though I'd be asking for trouble if I tried at this point. Being low in the boat, and with the paddling motion using some stomach muscle, I know from experience with stomach exercise machines, I'll be wanting a bathroom quick. Oh, then likely my poor mom would be hearing story after story from her friends about what they saw her son do in the lake. No reason to do that to her!

With the way things are going, I imagine in the future I'll be giving kayaking a try.

Thanks Beach. I like that, I think my gut is defective. I didn't save the receipt and the warranty is up so I'm stuck with this defective digestive system! Ha ha. I'm feeling slightly better but still nauseous and not right. So I'm just going to rest tonight and hopefully I'll be well enough to hit the gym tomorrow. I'm hoping it's just something I ate - I had Subway for lunch yesterday and that was when I first started feeling yucky, so I'm thinking maybe that's what's causing me trouble.

And hey, as far as kayaking goes, if your mother's neighbors all come to her saying "guess what we saw Beach do in the lake", you can reply that at least you didn't do it in her kayak! Ha ha!

(I can tell this nausea thing definitely isn't a flare, because I tend to lose my sense of humor when I flare.)

Cat-a-Tonic said:

Update 2-19-13: I rode the stationary bike in my house for about 35 or 40 mins yesterday, slightly longer than I usually do. I managed to do a fairly strenuous hill program and did over 7 miles, which might be a new record for me. And I felt good! Usually cardio just kills me, I huff and I puff and I feel like death but I push myself through it. I didn't have to push myself like that yesterday - I still sweated like crazy, and huffed and puffed, but it somehow seemed easier than usual. Am I finally getting used to doing cardio?? Is it finally becoming really enjoyable the way that weight lifting is? Yeah, I hope so!!

Weights tonight at the big gym. Oddly it's snowing but my hip is quiet for once! How weird is that!

Ya noy, yes, I believe Mitsuwa is in Arlington Heights, but it's just a couple miles from Ikea. I really like Mitsuwa for the food (the restaurants are so yummy!) and the bento boxes. I try to pack a lunch instead of going out to eat, it's healthier and safer, so I try to make lunchtime fun and cute. Bento boxes are totally cute and fun so I buy at least one new one every time I go to Mitsuwa.

Beach, I'd be leary of a 20 mile bike ride with iffy guts too. I'm similar, it took me 3 years to become brave enough & healthy enough to go kayaking again - there is nowhere good to "go" when you're in a kayak! We tend to be urban kayakers too as there are a number of good streams right in the city so it's not like you can hop out and go in the woods (although at certain points one one creek I could hop out and use McDonald's bathroom - and there is another creek that goes close enough to my house that we have literally hopped out and ran home to use the bathroom!). Add to that the fact that heat & humidity tend to cramp up my guts, and yeah, kayaking can be a bit dangerous. But we took our 2-person kayak out at least 3 times last summer and I had no issues whatsoever. So yeah, it's one part bravery and one part being healthy enough, I think. You have to be well enough to do something like that but you also have to get over the mental stuff and know that you'll probably be okay and won't have an accident.

How funny that everybody likes Ikea! That's interesting that it's popular in China too - you would think that China has so much cheap stuff manufactured there that Ikea couldn't compete, but apparently they can.

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I always found cycling to be tummy friendly, have done 100 miles/160km without incident. The few times I have had problems though, would be while wearing bibs and no bathroom in sight. :eek2: I now have a pair of bibs that clip off.. Genius!

Update 2-20-13. Ugh, still very nauseous! I had ice cream for dinner last night and that went okay. I felt hungry this morning but didn't trust it. I slowly slipped a Slim Fast for breakfast and then I had to take 2 Zofrans because the nausea was unbelievable. I don't think I'm going to make it to the gym tonight either and that's so freaking frustrating. I barely made it to work but am thinking about going home sick. I hate nausea so much.

cat,

We love bento boxes too. Asian Supermarket also has a restaurant and I believe they do offer the bento boxes as well, but they often have gigantic California rolls for only $2.99-3.99, along with these little egg, green onion and crabmeat patties, that are to die for--and cheap too!

The problem with the restaurant at the Asian supermarket is that the menu isn't in English, and most of the employees don't speak English either. Half the seafood there I can't even identify. Makes shopping there somewhat challenging.

Ya noy, any idea what language the menu is in at Asian supermarket? I'd really love to learn Japanese or Korean someday... I know a very few basic words in both languages. Kanji (written Japanese) is difficult though! I look at written Korean (hangul) and it looks easier to decipher, but in terms of speaking, Korean seems more difficult. I was googling Korean words and came across a comment that said "Korean is the French of Asian languages" and that seems about right to me! Japanese pronunciation seems much easier than Korean, but written Korean seems easier than written Japanese.

Anyway, getting back on track. Update 2-21-13. I'm feeling so much better today! I was really nauseous all morning yesterday, I felt just awful. Couldn't even handle a liquid breakfast. By lunchtime though I was less nauseous and was starving, so I had some plain noodles and that went down very well. I'm sticking with low-res for now just in case but I feel mostly fine and can eat again. So, I'm planning on hitting the gym today! I'm just going to do the little gym, to ease back into things. There's only 8 weight machines in the little gym and I may skip the abdominals machine depending on how I feel. But I'm definitely getting back in the saddle after 2 rest days. Wish me luck!

As promised, here are a few exercises I found. I'll just start with a few. If you are looking for something more specific, let me know and I may have some lying around to share

I think this is good for those days where you want to do some toning, but don't have crazy energy to move about:
http://www.prevention.com/fitness/strength-training/no-squats-belly-butt-thighs-workout?page=2

Some easy before bed stretches since I remember you saying you need to stretch more:
http://www.fitsugar.com/Stretches-Do-Bed-3773451

There are a lot of quick interval exercises popping up online too that seem really good at giving you an energy boost:

cat,

I'm not really sure what language it is, and I should! After all, my sister-in-law is Korean, she was born there, and speaks, I believe, around 7 different languages. Her and my brother live in Manhattan, but she's a buyer, and spends more of her time flying to various Asian countries to shop for materials, than she spends at home.

I really want to learn Korean. She speaks English fine, but her parents and other family members don't, which makes communication difficult--especially when she's traveling and we end up entertaining them.

We don't do much shopping at big chain supermarkets, and buy instead from local farmers, as well as other ethnic marts -- Spanish, Polish, Indian, etc., where the employees rarely speak any English. Better prices and more interesting food choices. Most of neighbors even speak more than one language, and I really should to broaden my language skills.

I'll take a better look at the menu next time we shop there.

Thanks Chicago! This is kind of silly/shameful, but the only yoga/stretching moves I really know are the moves that are on the Wii Fit game. Since you mentioned you could post more specific ones, do you know any good hip stretches? My hip responds well when I stretch it but I only know the one hip stretch that's in Wii Fit (it's called the Spinal Twist I think).

Ya noy, I had started a thead about Japanese and Korean pop awhile back in Members Only, you might be interested to read through it. Here's the link:
http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=45282
I find that the more I listen to Japanese & Korean music, the more it starts to make sense. I can pick out words that I know and the context starts to fall into place a little bit. So if you're interested in learning Korean, maybe you should check out some Big Bang or 2NE1 songs, or watch some of the (free!) Korean dramas on Hulu (you don't need Hulu Plus, you can watch them on the free version of Hulu - and yes, Hulu has subtitles, I think you just need to select it in the options).

Another quick update: I took a risk and had some oatmeal. I can tell the fiber is not sitting perfectly well, my stomach feels a little bit irritated, but on the whole it is sitting well and I don't feel any nausea. Going to the gym in about an hour. I really like the little gym as I'm usually the only one there. I'm going to crank up some Big Bang (yeah Korean pop!) and lift some weights. I find that music really helps me get through my workouts. If I have bad or no music, it gets tedious really quickly. If I have good music that I like and that has a good beat, it makes such a difference and I feel great and energized all the way through! Big Bang is my favorite right now so they will be powering me through today.

Cat, I already read your thread on k pop and j pop a while back, and was thinking about responding, but to be honest, I don't actually follow the music, but rather, I like learning the routines of various Korean dance teams, such as Waveya -- link to their "Gangnam Style" dance routine.
http://www.videoks.info/8efd5372f.html

And of course, Black Queen: http://www.videoks.info/f51ef96a8.html

I like to dance, what can I say?

I have been watching Korean TV on Hulu. There's some pretty good Korean shows. I can even pull up the free version of Hulu on my ipad, even though it's normally not available for tablets. I use an alternate browser which apparently Hulu doesn't recognize for tablet use.

What Korean shows have you watched? I'm a bit obsessed with Big Bang and several members of that group have acted in various things, so I mostly watch shows that they've been in. I watched Iris, which is kind of like 24 - it's a spy drama. It was pretty good although I hated the ending. I also watched What's Up? which is a drama about university students studying musicals & acting. Kind of like Korean Glee but not as much singing as Glee. I also liked that one a lot but again hated how it ended! It seems to me that these shows expect to get another season and then don't, so they end on cliffhangers or leave a lot of loose ends unexplained. That's my main gripe about the K-dramas I've watched so far anyway. If you've watched any K-dramas that had a good ending that tied up loose ends and didn't leave you guessing as to what happened, let me know!

Another quick update: I hit the gym and felt pretty good! I had one minor dizzy spell, and by the end of my workout my legs were shaking from weakness, and afterwards I had a little bit of a crampy gut, but otherwise I felt fine. I'm thinking a nice long hill program on the stationary bike is happening tomorrow. And I'm thinking I have an appointment with my heating pad tonight as my hip is aching yet again - it is going to snow tonight and my hip would really like to let me know all about that.

Oh I've been watching one called "Faith", which can't seem to decide what it wants to be, kind of an epic, historic, romance, time travel, fantasy, sci fi, and whatever else they can think of to throw on in there.

I've watched Iris, but it's no where near as much fun as the Korean shows that are so implausible, suspension of disbelief isn't even a possibility. The lack of final resolution to the series kind of drives me crazy too. Oh, I've also been watching a korean show called "Ghost", which is kind of a supernatural crime drama and is also pretty good.

I like British shows too. If you haven't watched "The Misfits" yet, you really should. completely bizarre. There's also a British miniseries called "Sherlock" which is incredibly good, but don't think it's on Hulu yet. Lady night, I just finished watching the last episode of a miniseries called "Utopia", which was also kind of a mystery, scifi, action adventure, which literally gave me nightmares with the ways they went killing people, ever so casually. Also not on Hulu, but I can get British TV through certain apps, that kind of trick the websites into thinking My iPad is located in the UK.

Korean TV dramas have become very popular on Hulu.

Yes, I love Brit-coms! The IT Crowd is probably my favorite. I also really like Coupling, Black Books, Little Britain, Peep Show, That Mitchell & Webb Look. I've been re-watching the earlier seasons of Red Dwarf lately too, what a classic that show is! The hubby got me into watching Doctor Who more recently too (I started with the Eccleston Doctor, didn't go all the way back to the very beginning). Most if not all of those are on Netflix streaming, I'm not sure about Hulu though. We don't have cable and watch TV primarily on Netflix & Hulu as it's much cheaper that way.

I really really liked Iris, up until the final scene (spoilers for anyone else reading) when the main character died and they didn't show who shot him! I guess they're filming a new season of Iris and it's coming out soon, but hardly any of the original cast will be in it since season 1 was from 2009 (plus they killed off most of the original cast in season 1!). So I don't know if they'll explain who killed him or not. I originally watched Iris because TOP from Big Bang was in it, but he was such a minor character. I still liked it in spite of TOP barely being in it, though. Although I didn't like how they killed off his character, either. He barely even put up a fight and just let the hero beat him to a pulp. Weak.

We have cable, but rarely use it. almost all the shows we watch, we can pull up on the Internet, so we'll probably drop it soon too.

Really liked Dr. Who with the Eccleston Dr., but after that, the show suffered from some pretty poor writing -- until Steve Moffat took over the series with the current doctor. I could drive an entire fleet of semis through some of the plot holes, but the story lines have really improved again. Red Dwarf is old, but still some of the best sci fi ever written.

Isn't the Big Bang song "Hallelujah" from the Iris show? I only watched a couple of episodes before running across the "Faith" series. I like all the historical costumes and settings, and the way the show shifts back and forth between the past and present.

I LOVE hip stretches. They feel SO good!

This one I do a lot and is my absolute favorite. It really digs deep in there I know its looks rather complex but it really is an easy position to get into. You can deepen the stretch by leaning down into it as far as you can comfortably go:


This is my second favorite (only because I have poor balance most of the time ). The deeper you squat, the deeper the stretch. You could use a chair too for balance but I usually try to just see how long I can stand on one leg w/o tumbling over lol:


This one is another favorite of mine getting the hips and the sides. I like to hold onto a wall and stretch my other arm over my head when i do this one to deepen the stretch:

Brit Comedy is great to me. I also like Coupling and Little Britain. During the last few weeks while I was sick and flaring, I caught up on the series Being Human (a drama/comedy) which turned out to be really good. I'll have to look into the shows you mentioned as well.

But of course, I also like the drama and am a huge Downton Abbey fan!

I'm more of a TV Show person than a movie person so Hulu is a blessing for me

Cat-a-Tonic said:

Yes, I love Brit-coms! The IT Crowd is probably my favorite. I also really like Coupling, Black Books, Little Britain, Peep Show, That Mitchell & Webb Look. I've been re-watching the earlier seasons of Red Dwarf lately too, what a classic that show is! The hubby got me into watching Doctor Who more recently too (I started with the Eccleston Doctor, didn't go all the way back to the very beginning). Most if not all of those are on Netflix streaming, I'm not sure about Hulu though. We don't have cable and watch TV primarily on Netflix & Hulu as it's much cheaper that way.

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Good to see you are back exercising Cat after the feeling poor spell! Hope the workouts continue!

Had an excellent workout myself on legs this morning. Bit surprised about that. Went in feeling tired, believing I would do poorly. The big accomplishment was doing well with the final exercise. I try to finish with doing 60 dead lifts, using light weight. For awhile I haven't been able to complete one set. Today was able to do one and a half sets with the final exercise!

Now I have a feeling I'll be walking funny for the rest of the day.

Beach, I'm walking funny today too. My arthritis is just killing me! It's been snowing a lot and I don't know if this storm is stronger in pressure or intensity or what, but it's just been murder on the hip. I actually practiced walking with my cane last night in case I would need it today, but I'm slightly better today than I was yesterday so I am not using my cane. I'm only 33 and feel like walking with a cane is just wrong, like I'm way too young for this crap.

In spite of that, I'm planning on riding the stationary bike at home tonight. I've found that even when the arthritis is acting up, riding the bike doesn't make it any worse so I know I can do it. I'm hoping to lift weights at the big gym tomorrow too - only a slight chance of snow in tomorrow's forecast so hopefully the arthritis will be feeling somewhat better by then! If not, I'm going to lift anyway - just like with the bike, it doesn't make the arthritis any worse, and lifting sometimes makes the hip feel better. My hip responds really well to stretching and strengthening exercises and is neutral to low-impact cardio. The only thing it doesn't like is high-impact cardio like jogging. I would need my cane if I tried to jog right about now!

Chicago, thank you so much, I'm going to try those stretches out tonight after I do the bike! The first one looks difficult, like doing the splits almost! I am not very flexible and have never been able to do the splits, but I will give it my best shot. The second one, I also have poor balance but I will also give it a shot. The third one, I think my mother showed me that one once but I forgot about it! I do recall that it is a good one, thanks for the reminder. As for Brit shows, I tried watching Being Human but I didn't really like it, I didn't connect with the characters and my hubby didn't care for it either so we stopped watching it after the first season or so. I don't really care for Downton Abbey either but the hubby loves it, ha ha. Have you watched Doc Martin? That's a pretty good Brit drama, it's kind of like the Brit version of House. The hubby and I like that one a lot, it's mostly drama but there are some funny parts too and of course medical stuff is always interesting on TV as long as it's fairly accurate (which Doc Martin seems to be).

Ya noy, you do know your k-pop! Hallelujah is indeed a Big Bang song from the Iris soundtrack. I have a lot of Big Bang in my workout playlist and Hallelujah is in there. It's not my favorite Big Bang song but it's got a good beat and definitely helps keep the workout going. I'm trying to get fancy with my playlists and set up different ones for lifting and for the bike, and I think Hallelujah is more of a bike song than a lifting song. Anything with a faster beat like that one gets me pedaling faster so that's a good thing! I like to pace myself more with lifting and make sure my form is good and everything, so I tend towards slightly slower or even acoustic songs for lifting.

I haven't seen Doc Martin. I liked House so I bet I would like that show too. I also agree, it is far more interesting if it is more accurate. I also forgot to mention Absolutely Fabulous. An oldie but a goodie. That show always cracks me up those two women are just plain crazy.

Good luck with the stretches! Let me know what you think of them

CrohnsChicago said:

Brit Comedy is great to me. I also like Coupling and Little Britain. During the last few weeks while I was sick and flaring, I caught up on the series Being Human (a drama/comedy) which turned out to be really good. I'll have to look into the shows you mentioned as well.D

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There's an American version of "Being Human" on the Sci Fi channel--they didn't even bother changing the title of the show. In my opinion, the British version is better. So were the original British shows, "Life in Mars" and "Sherlock", both of which were copied and Americanized, but the British versions were just SO much better.

I'm kind of a sci fi fanatic and my current favorite TV series on Hulu is a show called "Charlie Jade" a Canadian production, filmed primarily in Cape Town South Africa. It's more than a little difficult to comprehend what's really going on in the first few episodes, but then it gets better--and the storyline resolves, really well! The ending is almost perfect. In my opinion, of course.

Cat-a-Tonic said:

Ya noy, you do know your k-pop! Hallelujah is indeed a Big Bang song from the Iris soundtrack. I have a lot of Big Bang in my workout playlist and Hallelujah is in there. It's not my favorite Big Bang song but it's got a good beat and definitely helps keep the workout going. I'm trying to get fancy with my playlists and set up different ones for lifting and for the bike, and I think Hallelujah is more of a bike song than a lifting song. Anything with a faster beat like that one gets me pedaling faster so that's a good thing! I like to pace myself more with lifting and make sure my form is good and everything, so I tend towards slightly slower or even acoustic songs for lifting.

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I've watched the video with the English translation of the lyrics subtitled. The lyrics fit, and the video consists of scenes from the show, so it wasn't a difficult leap. Big Bang performs another song that I have a dance routine for. It's more along the genre of hip hop. I think the name of the song is "Good bye".

Working out to music you really know and enjoy makes all the difference in your interest, and performance as well. I would never be able to stick to routines, where you do, say, 20 push-ups and 15 jumping jacks. I don't have that type of self-discipline.

Oh, we've got lots of snow here. Time to get out and shovel.

Cat - Ah, sorry to hear the arthritis is acting up! Hope you are able to get some bicycle time in this evening. That seems to be a common plaint I've noticed around here, developing arthritis early. I suppose I'm lucky - can't believe I'm saying that with what I've been through with my IBD - but have physicians mentioned why the early arthritis?

I have to admit, I enjoyed the snowfall last night. We probably received around 3 inches of the white stuff. I'm officially a Florida resident. I'm in Illinois for most of this winter, but most likely I'll be residing down south in the future. Figure with the way this winter is going, this likely will be my last snow falls to see! At some point today think I'll tromp around outside for awhile before it all melts.

Beach, no idea why the early arthritis, my doctors can't figure any part of me out it seems. I'm "a tricky case" as my GI has said. My IBD is still officially undiagnosed - they're pretty sure I have some type of IBD (we've ruled out most everything else and I respond well to pred, Entocort and Asacol so it pretty much has to be something in the IBD family!) but they don't know which one. My GI decided to treat me as though I have IBD (he feels I likely either have MC or Crohn's, he doesn't think I have UC as I'm not a bleeder) and because I am being treated as though it's IBD, I am in remission. I'm still a mystery though!

So yeah, the arthritis is a mystery too. My guess is that it's related to the IBD but that's just a gut feeling (pun intended ). My GP feels I have arthritis but he doesn't know which type. He sent me to physical therapy which helped a great deal but got me no closer to a diagnosis. He also sent me to an orthopedic surgeon, but the ortho surgeon wasn't even sure if I have arthritis or bursitis or both, that was a pretty pointless appointment. I went back to my GP who is still confident I have arthritis, but still doesn't know which type or why exactly. Yeah, fun! I also have severe GERD, which I thought was mainly due to a hiatal hernia. But my GI said that my hernia is really small and wouldn't account for the severity of my symptoms, and he doesn't know why my GERD is as bad as it is (recent upper endoscopy showed nothing out of the ordinary aside from the small hiatal hernia). So with pretty much all of my health issues, I'm kind of a mystery.

Anyway. I have a feeling the arthritis might have spread to my other hip and/or my lower back as lately I've been having some mild pains there too. I see my GP in a couple months for my annual physical, so I'm going to have him do another set of x-rays to see if the arthritis has progressed or spread. If it has progressed, at least that might mean they have a better chance of figuring out what type of arthritis and why I developed it, etc.

I'm feeling a bit better this afternoon than I did this morning arthritis-wise though. The snow has mostly stopped and my hip isn't quite as painful as it was. I'm definitely going to ride the stationary bike tonight. And I'm putting my cane back in the closet, for now... they're saying we might get another 5 inches of snow on Monday though, so I'm anticipating more hip pain then! (Beach, when you go back to Florida, you are more than welcome to take some of this snow with you! )

Ya noy, Big Bang has a lot of songs and I'm not a big fan of their early stuff, so I might just not have heard of that one, but I'm not familiar with a song called "Good bye" - they do have a song called "Tell me Goodbye", is that the one you're thinking of? Although I would guess it's not that one though, as that's one of their Japanese songs, it's not in Korean (it sounds to me like you're more interested in Korean than Japanese so I'm assuming you prefer their Korean songs). Apparently the market for Japanese music is HUGE compared to the Korean market, so they sometimes release Japanese songs or re-release their Korean hits into Japanese. In fact one of the members of Big Bang, Daesung, is releasing his first solo album next week - and it's going to be all in Japanese. I was a big fan of J-pop for years, but it got kind of stale to me after my favorite singer went on indefinite hiatus, which is why I started getting into K-pop more recently - but regardless, I'm excited for Daesung's new album. And I totally forgot where I was going with this.

Cat - Oh, that is no fun, I was the same way, a mystery patient also. Lets see, the first diagnosis was nerves, then a couple celiacs despite all tests returning negative, severe IBS, a couple microscopic colitis, and one GI specialist thinking I might have Crohn's for some reason. It got to the point where I figured if I paid the doctors enough, they would name the disease after me.

I can see it now ~

"After a numerous exams, an extensive review of your many medical records, we can absolutely, positively, with 100% accuracy declare you have a case of Beachism."

Hope in the end the doctors do not declare you have a case of Beachism! Then again if that happens I've found a good grain free diet does help improve the diseases symptoms considerably.

Hope too you find relief too from the GERD and arthritis. Would have to imagine there could be some kind of connection between the all.

We have more snow coming? Ugh! I forget, the white stuff looks nice, but is miserable to walk in. Snow isn't IBD friendly. Doing a walk around the neighbor, I found myself high stepping it most of the way. Good exercise, but tough on the stomach muscles. Thankfully, all neighbors restrooms where safe. I didn't find the need to hurriedly knock on anyones door.

Well, after todays exercises, I'm exhausted this evening! Good to make it through the weeks workouts though. Now I have weekend tennis play to look forward to. Should be fun!

At least Beachism would be putting a name to whatever I've got. I know I'm luckier than most in the Undiagnosed Club because at least I'm in remission - the only tough part is, it really makes no sense to go through further testing until I flare up again as I highly doubt anything will be found while I'm in remission. So, I'm in indefinite limbo. Don't want to flare up again either so it's not a terrible thing that I'm still undiagnosed! It's frustrating for sure but there are far worse things in life than being undiagnosed & in remission.

As for the other stuff, the GERD attacks are the worst I'm exercising. My reflux does not like abdominals exercises especially. I've had many episodes at the gym where I've just had to stop and rest for a minute and try to coax my stomach contents back down into my stomach. I can't eat anything for at least 2 hours before working out, but even so, I reflux plain water and Tums/Zantac when I work out. My GI actually told me once that I should stop lifting weights! But when I explained what a difference exercise has made for me, and that weights are my favorite thing and make me feel really strong and healthy, he relented and put me on a double dose of Zantac instead (I also take Nexium). But I think that must be a very rare case of a doctor telling their patient NOT to exercise, ha ha.

Hahah, I have had my military Doc tell me not to exercise, but my GI doc knows better than to tell me something so absurd. I will tell me when not to exercise thankyouverymuch. The only time I actually listened to the mil doc was when I broke my leg.

Alli, you could still do upper body exercises with a broken leg though, right?

My update today 2/23/13 - I feel good! I got home yesterday evening and was so tired and my hip still really hurt, I had no desire at all to ride the exercise bike. But I forced myself to anyway. It was tough and I wanted to quit, but I made myself do it. My bad hip slowly started feeling better, and by the time I was done, I felt okay. I feel quite good today too! I had to walk the dog in the cold today, and the dog park was like one big sheet of ice with a bit of powdery snow on top so it was very difficult to walk and I wasn't walking normally because of all the ice, so because of that the hip is acting up a little bit again. But it's still much better than it was. I'm planning on heading to the big gym in a bit to do some lifting.

Chicago, last night I tried the hip stretches you posted! The first one was difficult and I couldn't get very low to the ground, but the second one I did well with. I'm going to keep trying them. Thanks again!

You bet! Except I had surgery 3 weeks after I broke my leg, so then I wasn't doing anything. Last year was a bad year.

Do you have a pair of Yaktraks? They are grips for your shoes for when it's icy. I never use mine for running, but they are great for walking the dog when it's icy out. I have a lab-border collie mix, she doesn't understand it's too nasty to go for a walk, the Yaktraks come in handy.

I do not have a pair of those but will definitely look into it, thanks for the info! I just used my walking stick to try to give myself some extra balance today and that went okay. I managed not to fall anyway so I consider that fairly successful. I was honestly more concerned about my dog, she seems to hurt herself fairly easily if she falls (she's a corgi so she only has like 2 inches to fall if she slips, but she is a fan of limping if she falls over). Due to our work schedules, the hubby walks the dog during the week and I walk her on weekends. More often than not, she gets injured on my watch, and the weekend emergency vet is not cheap. The worst was when a big dog slammed into her last year on a Saturday and knocked her over, she sprained her leg and I had to carry her home (she's 42 lbs!). We live right by the dog park so it wasn't far but it was still pretty exhausting, and an expensive emergency vet bill.

Cat,

I've been looking for that Big Bang dance routine and haven't been able to find it. It's stored on my computer, but I'm not sure where. It's not the song "Tell me Goodbye" though, but might be in Japanese. I have a lot of dance routines, different styles.

Another alternative to Yaktraks are screw shoes. You literally put screws into the bottom of an old pair of shoes. We get a lot of freezing rain in Kingston, some of my running friends do this for running, don't know anybody that has done it for walking, but can't see why it wouldn't work. Somebody from my club had posted a link on how to do it, but our message board is down today. Figures.

Update 2/24/13. Soooo. I had a totally lazy day. I was going to ride the bike but it didn't happen and it's all due to pure laziness. I kinda worked out twice yesterday, since I walked the dog in icy & cold conditions and then I lifted weights, so I don't feel super bad about skipping today. I do feel quite lazy though! The hubby needed to borrow my laptop, so I borrowed his newer one (he has 2 laptops, an old one he uses for work and a newer one which has Windows 8 and he hates it so he only uses it for internet ). So, he said I could install the Sims 3 on his new laptop since The Sims will not run on my laptop at all and I've been in Sims withdrawal for awhile. Yeah, that was a mistake. I played the Sims all day. I didn't even get dressed, I'm wearing my pajamas still. Didn't walk the dog, had oatmeal for lunch because I was too lazy to make actual food. It's been a textbook lazy day. Tomorrow I'm back to the gym though, for serious! No more Sims!

Update 2/25/13. I feel bad about being so lazy yesterday! I played the Sims and then watched the Oscars and that was it, that was my whole day. So lazy. I'm not going to let one slip up get me down though, I'm right back to the gym today. Hitting the little gym in a few hours to do the weights. Tomorrow, I'm hitting the bike. Not sure if I'm going to do the bike at home or the one in the gym yet. I like being in the gym better, the atmosphere says "get to work!", but I like my stationary bike at home better than the one that's in the gym. Hmmm, must ponder this further. Wednesday I'm tentatively planning to hit the weights in the big gym. Thurs will be bike again, and Fri will be weights - not sure yet which gym, probably the little one. Although I do like going to the big gym on a Friday evening so I'm thinking about that. Hardly anybody is at the big gym on a Friday night so I can use all the machines without waiting for any, it's really nice having such a huge place almost all to myself. Hmmm, must ponder this also.

Anyway, that's the plan so far. Furthermore, the plan is to work out first, THEN play the Sims (if I have time/want to). Stupid time-wasting addictive game.

Another quick update for today: I hit the little gym on my lunch hour and that felt great. I did all the weight machines including the abdominals one and had hardly any reflux - I didn't even belch! Had a little bit of arthritis pain but that's to be expected (more snow coming tomorrow!). I did more stretches than usual after lifting, including the hip stretches that Chicago posted earlier. (Thank you!!) That first hip stretch is still pretty difficult but I think it'll get easier the more I do it. I tried jogging to warm up as I can sometimes jog for a few minutes without pain, but literally my hip started aching about 30 seconds in so that was a no-go. On a really good day I can jog for about 5 whole minutes before the pain sets in, but the hip hasn't had a lot of good days lately. Anyway, I had a good workout in the gym and that counts for a lot. Tomorrow, the stationary bike and I have a date.

Please send snow here!! All of our snow is melting and I have to drive 2 hours to Ottawa for decent cross country skiing.

Hope your date with the stationary bike is hot!

I think my dog keeps ordering all this snow. I'll try to get her to send some your way. My dog's previous owners lived in California and my dog just hates the heat - her first winter with us was her first winter with snow, and she LOVED it. Whenever we get fresh snow, she runs all around in it and just goes crazy with joy. We're supposed to get up to 6 inches tomorrow & Wednesday, yuck.

Yeah, hot date with the bike. Going to get really hot & sweaty on my date, ha ha.

I love the sims!! I don't play on it too often but it is addictive. Its like, I'll just play until this happens, I'll just keep going until they do this. lol

I'm lookIng forwArd to starting back at gym. Easy to forget how important exercise is, I think to get on top of cd one needs to tackle it from every direction.

LMV, yeah, the Sims is totally addicting and I do that too! I'm like, "I'll just play until my sim gets to the next promotion in her career... Oh, she did that? Okay, I'll keep playing until she gets to the top of her career track. And until she makes this other sim be her boyfriend. And until they get married. And until she can afford a better house. And..." I can never just sit down for like an hour to play, it always turns into multiple hours and I accomplish nothing in real life (even though my sim is rocking it, ha ha).

Joshuaaa, I agree, I think a multi-faceted approach is best to get and keep IBD under control. That's what's been working best for me - meds, supplements, exercise, sleep, stress management, diet, etc. It's all important, but exercise is the one where I really feel like I'm making an active effort to physically fight my illness. It's as close as I can get to punching IBD in the face. And it feels great! I hope you have a good time when you are able to start going back to the gym.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. My update for today 2/26/13. I am going to hit the stationary bike at home in a little bit. I like the gym atmosphere better than the home atmosphere, but I like my bike at home better, and I don't feel a time constraint at home like I do when I'm at the gym in my workplace. I am hoping to pedal for a little bit longer today. I make myself workout mixes, and I recently made myself a full hour mix. Not sure if I'll be able to do a full hour of hill program or not, but I'm going to try! I usually do 30 mins although last time I did the bike, I did 40 mins. If I can do 45 mins today I'll be satisfied, and if I can do an hour that'll be awesome. So that's the goal. Wish me luck! Oddly enough it's supposed to start snowing here any minute, but my hip is pretty quiet so far. Usually it starts acting up awhile before it snows/rains.

I played on it yesterday because of you!

LMV, I played it yesterday too! It doesn't run on my computer so I have to borrow hubby's laptop to play it. I told him I'd give him his laptop back at 9 PM. At about 8:59 PM, he was like, "Ahem, maybe it's time to turn off the Sims now?" I was like, "But, my sim is on a date with her boyfriend right now, I can't possibly stop in the middle of a date!" Then I realized how stupid that sounded, and I turned it off. It's kind of a good thing that I can only play Sims on hubby's computer as that will limit the amount of time I can play it.

Okay, my update 2/27/13. I rode the bike yesterday and ended up doing about 45 mins (hill program on the stationary bike). I wanted to go longer, my muscles felt great - but my left knee started giving me some pain at around 40 mins. I tried to keep going but I couldn't push through the pain and didn't want to injure myself. My knee feels fine today so I don't know if it was a fluke or what. Oddly enough, my hip also feels fine - even though we got about 6 inches of snow and it's still snowing! I'm planning on hitting the big gym tonight to lift weights, and will do the bike again tomorrow. I'm going to try for another minimum of 45 mins on the bike tomorrow, wish me luck.

Oh no. I was starving this morning so I had a donut. Then I got to work and it was my 10 year anniversary yesterday of working here, so my boss brought in donuts. Yeah, I'm nibbling at my 2nd donut. (Don't want to be rude but I'll probably throw most of it away when she's not looking!) I feel full and bloated and like I've had too much sugar and chocolate, blah. Going to have to do a little bit extra at the gym tonight I think!

Going with the other thread mention - sweet bike Cat! It's has pedals, brakes, reflectors, wheels, and a nice cushy seat. What isn't to like!? The cushy seat in particular is what's important to me anymore when biking around. With my IBD, a comfortable rear garners great importance.

Well, it appears I'll be going to the YMCA soon after all - probably! The plan, I won't be an official member myself. My father is a member and he will be gone till May. Despite the age difference, the two of us look a great deal alike. I believe I can pass as him. If questioned by the receptionist been thinking of responses. I could mention the IBD SCD/ paleo diet I'm on - You won't believe how this diet has changed me! Could go with a plastic surgery story. Probably honesty would be the best tale though. One way or another I'll be at the gym this year. Hopfully I can find some energy soon to have a nice workout. Have been told the Y has popular weekend instructed biking classes.

Had a nice tiring walk around the block this afternoon as snow fell.

Beach, that's a great plan about the YMCA! I did something similar years ago, when I was a teenager I was told by the Y that I could only stay on my parents' YMCA membership until I was 18. I was sternly warned by the Y that I would have to get my own membership after age 18. But, the Y never bothered to check my age and they didn't forcibly remove me when I turned 18, so I just kept going with it. Didn't say a word, and I've always looked younger than my age so they never checked to see if I was over 18. I managed to pull that off for years and I don't believe it cost my mom any extra money. Win win!

Yes, a cushy bike seat is super important! I spent something like $180 on my bike and another $30 just on the gel seat - a bit pricey, but soooo worth it (my booty has been through enough punishment already!). The gel seat has a quick-release on it too, so I pop it off and bring it with me when I park my bike so that nobody steals the seat. I am hoping that makes my bike less steal-worthy too, hopefully no thief would want to take a bike that has no seat. Obviously I lock my bike but there was a comment in that other thread that cruiser bikes are popular among bike thieves, and that made me a bit paranoid!

The stationary bike I have at home, that also has a comfy seat. I wanted an exercise bike so I looked on craigslist and found one that fit my needs: It was cheap, and it had a really nice-looking seat. It's recumbent-style so you kind of sit back in it. I like it a lot, it is really comfortable. The seat itself is really padded, and the back is mesh for more airflow. The hubby and I brought it home and set it up, and my cat immediately hopped in the seat, so I know it's comfy if I have to fight my pets for it. It's in my guest bedroom so I kind of hate when we have guests over, because that means I can't use my exercise bike! Ha ha. I'm even putting a flatscreen TV in the guest room because I watch TV while I ride the bike. I have some older game systems hooked up in there too (Gamecube, Dreamcast and Genesis) so that I can play video games when I ride the bike. Yep, I'm awesome.

Okay, so this is weird - it's been snowing all day, pretty heavily too - and my hip hasn't so much as made a peep! No pain! I do have a headache, and I'm not sure if that's because of the snowstorm (I tend to get barometric pressure headaches in certain weather) or if it's because I got new glasses yesterday and I'm still adjusting to them. But at any rate, it's snowing and my hip is not aching, that never happens. I'm going to see my GP next week for my yearly physical (I thought I wasn't due for another month or two but they said I could be seen next week if I wanted to), so I'm going to get my arthritis re-checked then. Of course it goes quiet the day I make a doctor appointment! Sneaky old hip!

I certainly hope so. It would be nice to get in and see the Y, give it a trail membership run. I am having a few second thoughts about, this evening, ever since the idea came up from my father. Don't know it is the dreary weather, or maybe my colon is being irritated from being used properly of late, but I'm tired!, more so than normal. I can see myself going, getting in, running into friends, and next thing I know I'm in the biking class that goes for 3 hours straight! Nightmare scenario. The never ending bike ride on a hard seat. We all go through the low energy problem at some point. I've been there, so know this will pass. Well, I'm looking forward to giving the Y a try. Imagine I'll be able to get in one way or another. Maybe I'll have to start with the pool first. Lounging sounds about right at the moment.

I've heard of people watching TV, playing video games while riding a bike. That sounds like fun. Kind of a funny story in a way, but a few years back there was a small fire in my place. I had some video games, along with an old Japanese pachinko arcade game. My nephews loved coming over to play them. And when I was at my worse with the gut, not much energy to do much, I would play the games myself. Well, one day the nephews were playing with the video games when the old classic pachinko game caught on fire. The room was burnt to a crisp. Not good. No one was hurt thankfully. Well, I got to talking with my neighbors later on, many of them are retired former professors, and they let me know that they had been watching me! They saw i was wasting my time playing video games! Nosy neighbors. Well, I never did replace the video games. Instead I rebuilt the room and set up a gym with some weights, a tread mill, even have an exercise bike but rarely use that anymore. And when tired, worn down from the gut with little energy I lounge on the couch, reading, near the window were nosy neighbors can see me. I often fall asleep. Haven't heard a complaint about that. Figure this is probably what many of them do themselves!

Great that this stormy weather isn't aggravating the hips! I was happy that it rained considerable here the last few days. Not that I enjoy rain much, but better than gobs of snow, and reminded me of spring showers. Warmth will be here soon! Can't wait to break out the shorts. Hmmm.... then again I've seen a few crazy mid-westerners already breaking out shorts in 40F weather. It always kind of amazes me, during winter here the weather gets slightly above freezing and half the town is driving around with their windows down.

Beach, a 3 hour bike class does sound horrifying! I'm pretty sure that doesn't exist though. Or if it did, you probably wouldn't be the first person to walk out of it. You can do a lot of "on your own" type stuff at the Y too, you don't have to take a class. A pool does sound nice - I belong to Planet Fitness which is a pretty basic gym, so no pool there. Not that I'm in any kind of swimsuit shape anyway - my arms and legs are toning up nicely, but my midsection is still flabby due to the steroids I was on 2 years ago. Entocort put me into remission and let me gain my weight back, but all the weight went to my belly area and has stubbornly stayed there. It's gross!

Yeah, it's kind of difficult playing video games while riding the bike. I can do it, but if I concentrate on the game too much then I forget to pedal or I pedal too slowly, so I don't get a very good workout. So mostly I watch TV/movies while riding the bike at home. That way I can make sure I'm doing what I need to on the bike but can still be entertained.

And yes, here in WI it's the same. If the weather gets even mildly warm (like 35 degrees), people start wearing shorts and sandals, and playing frisbee outside and stuff like that. I don't get it! I won't leave the house without a jacket if it's under 60 and I certainly won't wear shorts when it's 40. Just because it's warmer than it was doesn't mean it's warm outside. A lot of people here in the midwest get really anxious for springtime though, so any warmup feels like spring to some people I guess.

Ugh. So my update for today, 2-28-13. I feel yucky. The hubby made dinner last night, and we're in desperate need of going grocery shopping, so he just threw something together with what few ingredients we had. He made some pasta concoction but he put shittake mushrooms in it. I love mushrooms, but I sometimes have a hard time digesting them, particularly shittake. So I ate the pasta anyway and I feel unwell today. Had the runs this morning and there were pieces of undigested shittake mushroom in my poo. I feel a bit nauseous and the guts are unhappy. I'm not obstructed or anything, my body just doesn't like when I eat things that it can't break down. It gets very grumbly when that happens.

Fortunately we hit the gym before the mushroom incident, and I felt great there. My hip gave me one twinge of pain when I was putting on my gym shoes, but otherwise I had no pain at all and was able to do everything I wanted to in the gym. After working out was when I ate the mushroom pasta, and it all went downhill from there. In addition to my guts being unhappy, I woke up today feeling sore, like I had been tossing and turning all night, and I also woke up with a pounding headache. Fun times! In spite of all this, I'm still planning on hitting my stationary bike tonight. I always feel better after a workout, so even though I feel crappy now, I don't feel so crappy that I need to skip my workout, and I should feel better afterwards. So that's the plan.

I've been to a 2 hour spin class, but not 3
I feel yucky today too, I'm on leave and have been to the bathroom a million times already. Still going to run, but may opt for a treadmill where I can be close to a bathroom.

I was joking around a bit about being stuck in a 3 hour biking class, but something like does happen at the Y! We have a family friend that participates in it on the weekends. He rides all morning with the group apparently, which is great to see.

He has been battling a few health conditions of late, diverticulitis in particular. He also had esophagus cancer that was somewhat recently operated on at the Mayo clinic. Being as ill as he was, I never thought Denny would do as well as he has of late with sticking to his new diet and working out.

Alli, I hope you feel better soon. I totally hear you on the treadmill thing, that's why I like the stationary bike. My bathroom is just down the hall from the bike.

Beach, that's great about your friend overcoming his health issues and working out. I hope he continues to do well! Wow, riding for 3 hours, that sounds very tough. I'm hoping to be able to ride one full hour soon. I can ride for an hour on my actual bike, but of course I'm not pedaling the whole way and sometimes I stop to take a quick break, have a drink of water, etc. When I'm riding the stationary bike, I pedal the whole time and don't take breaks unless absolutely necessary. I can do that for about 45 minutes at this point, there's no way I'd be able to hang on for 3 hours! Not yet anyway. Maybe someday...

Cat- Yeah, I don't know how the friend does it. We used to workout with the same gym trainer. The trainer would give me updates on how the friend was doing. Overall, early on the working out wasn't much of a success. Basically, after being pushed hard, the friend being a sweet guy overall, had a bad habit of flipping out on the trainer!

Then the esophagus cancer diagnosis came in. He originally visited the local hospital for diagnosis, and heard what they had to say about treatment. Here they wanted to remove most of his esophagus, and tie his stomach basically to his throat. The operation had a 25% death rate.

Wanting a second opinion he visited the Mayo clinic. There he was told the esophagus removal operation was old, had not been used at their clinic in over 20 years. Instead it was thought possible to simply use a scope to remove the cancer. It would be a simple one day, in and out operation. It pays to get second opinions.

The friends health was poor though for years. The cancer diagnosis seems to have been a wake up call. I don't know what he did to change his diet, but over the holidays we talked and he mentioned all "junk food" had been removed from what he ate. It showed! He probably weighed 100lbs less than the last time we had seen each other. And now he exercises like nobodies business. As far as I know he hasn't flipped out on any Y personal trainers!

Best of luck in reaching the goal of an hours ride! It is amazing at how our bodies are able to adapt over time, even with these tough stomach conditions.

Wow, it certainly does pay to get a second opinion! I'm glad your friend was able to get good treatment without losing his esophagus. It's always really interesting to me too how some people just thrive during/after something like that. Years ago, I always assumed I'd just moan and whine if I became ill (and I did more than my fair share of whining during my first year of IBD) but I never thought I'd be one of those people who wants to work out a lot and actively get healthier and could even thrive, but I think that's what I am. Your friend definitely sounds like that type too! Good for him, I love hearing about when people bounce back from something like that and come back fighting & better than ever.

But I've known people on the opposite end of the spectrum as well. A former co-worker of mine had stage 3 throat cancer. He went through surgery, chemo, radiation, all sorts of awful stuff. He beat the cancer and is now cancer-free - but he acts like a victim and still refers to himself as a "cancer victim" instead of a cancer survivor. He doesn't work, he doesn't do anything. Last I heard, all he does all day is watch TV. He used to get dressed and cook for his wife and stuff, but he doesn't even do that anymore. I just want to smack him and make him wake up and stop being a victim! During his cancer battle, that was around the time when I was at my sickest too, and he confided that he worried a lot about me. It made me really sad in a way, he obviously cared about my health, but it seems like he doesn't care at all about his own. He's so weak from doing nothing that he can barely walk 10 feet. But he worries about me. I wish I could convey that I'm fine, I'm fighting hard every day for my health, and I wish he would do the same. Some people just won't be helped though.

Anyway, my long roundabout point is that it's really interesting to me that some people respond to illness like your friend does and it really brings out the positive in them, and other people respond to illness like my friend and just shrivel up and let the illness win even when it really hasn't. I'm grateful that I'm able to be the former and a bit surprised I didn't end up being the latter.

My stomach is still a mess but I'm still definitely hitting the bike in a little bit. I have an hour-long DVD ready to go so we'll see how far I get into my DVD before I have to stop pedaling. It's a music DVD I burned for myself, and I purposely put some of my favorite songs at the end as an incentive to try to get through an hourlong ride. We'll see if it happens today! Wish me luck!

Good luck Cat! For inspiration in the future, to keep you going, you'll have to watch the biking movie Breaking Away while pedaling! I suppose to there is the other biking movie I recall, Pee Wees Big Adventure, but wouldn't recommend that.

I actually really like Pee Wee's Big Adventure! The film geek in me likes that it was Tim Burton's directorial debut. I loved it as a kid, and it's held up pretty well over the years. Every so often I'll watch it and it's still good in a campy, nostalgic kind of way.

I did an hour on the bike yesterday! It wasn't pretty, but I got it done. Just like last time, right around 40 minutes in, my left knee started hurting. I decided to go for it anyway to see if the knee pain is anything like my hip arthritis. With my hip, if it starts hurting and I try to keep going, the pain gradually gets worse and I remain in pain for days afterwards. Fortunately the knee didn't act the same way - it stopped hurting when I finished my ride, and hasn't hurt since. I've always had iffy knees anyway (they dislocate fairly easily which is super painful) so I'm just going to attribute it to that. I may ask my GP to check my knees too when he checks my lower back & good hip for arthritis - just in case.

My stomach is still pretty unhappy with me though. I did the hour on the bike and took a shower... and then I had to figure out something for dinner. We're in dire need of going grocery shopping so I didn't have many options, and I ended up grabbing a frozen pizza because it was quick & easy. I knew my guts wouldn't like it but I was exhausted from my ride and couldn't spend any more energy on cooking. So, I had some pizza and the guts stayed upset and I had some more d (and passed yet more undigested shittake mushrooms, along with my undigested Asacol tablets, that's just great). This morning I was feeling so-so and felt like I might try some leftover cold pizza for breakfast. I usually don't eat breakfast but cold pizza sounded good. Um, ouch. It caused terrible heartburn! I very rarely, almost never get heartburn with my GERD. I get every other reflux symptom but never heartburn. I sure got it this morning though, wow! Because of my GERD, I carry Zantac and Tums with me everywhere anyway, so I had some on hand and got it under control, but it sucked for a little while.

So yeah. The stomach is still angry with me but I'm hanging in there. Planning on hitting the weights at the big gym tonight. I really like going to the big gym on Friday nights because nobody is there! It's so empty, just a handful of people there. I hate when the gym is too crowded, if it were totally empty it would be just perfect. Friday nights and Sunday mornings seem to be when the gym is the most empty, so I try to take advantage of those times, and that's the plan this week. Saturday I'll walk the dog and I'm not sure if I'll ride the bike or try some yoga. I have to do grocery shopping too which can kind of be a workout in itself sometimes! The hubby works weekends right now so I'll be lifting the heavy grocery bags all by myself. I'm pretty organized but often I forget something I need that's on the other end of the store, so I walk around quite a lot too when I'm grocery shopping.

Cat-a-Tonic said:

I actually really like Pee Wee's Big Adventure! The film geek in me likes that it was Tim Burton's directorial debut. I loved it as a kid, and it's held up pretty well over the years. Every so often I'll watch it and it's still good in a campy, nostalgic kind of way.

I did an hour on the bike yesterday! It wasn't pretty, but I got it done. Just like last time, right around 40 minutes in, my left knee started hurting. I decided to go for it anyway to see if the knee pain is anything like my hip arthritis. With my hip, if it starts hurting and I try to keep going, the pain gradually gets worse and I remain in pain for days afterwards. Fortunately the knee didn't act the same way - it stopped hurting when I finished my ride, and hasn't hurt since. I've always had iffy knees anyway (they dislocate fairly easily which is super painful) so I'm just going to attribute it to that. I may ask my GP to check my knees too when he checks my lower back & good hip for arthritis - just in case.

My stomach is still pretty unhappy with me though. I did the hour on the bike and took a shower... and then I had to figure out something for dinner. We're in dire need of going grocery shopping so I didn't have many options, and I ended up grabbing a frozen pizza because it was quick & easy. I knew my guts wouldn't like it but I was exhausted from my ride and couldn't spend any more energy on cooking. So, I had some pizza and the guts stayed upset and I had some more d (and passed yet more undigested shittake mushrooms, along with my undigested Asacol tablets, that's just great). This morning I was feeling so-so and felt like I might try some leftover cold pizza for breakfast. I usually don't eat breakfast but cold pizza sounded good. Um, ouch. It caused terrible heartburn! I very rarely, almost never get heartburn with my GERD. I get every other reflux symptom but never heartburn. I sure got it this morning though, wow! Because of my GERD, I carry Zantac and Tums with me everywhere anyway, so I had some on hand and got it under control, but it sucked for a little while.

So yeah. The stomach is still angry with me but I'm hanging in there. Planning on hitting the weights at the big gym tonight. I really like going to the big gym on Friday nights because nobody is there! It's so empty, just a handful of people there. I hate when the gym is too crowded, if it were totally empty it would be just perfect. Friday nights and Sunday mornings seem to be when the gym is the most empty, so I try to take advantage of those times, and that's the plan this week. Saturday I'll walk the dog and I'm not sure if I'll ride the bike or try some yoga. I have to do grocery shopping too which can kind of be a workout in itself sometimes! The hubby works weekends right now so I'll be lifting the heavy grocery bags all by myself. I'm pretty organized but often I forget something I need that's on the other end of the store, so I walk around quite a lot too when I'm grocery shopping.

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1 hour - yay, that's awesome
Cycling is the one thing I can usually tolerate if my tummy is acting up, though if it's acting up to the point where I can't fuel properly, I have to stick to 50k or less.

50 k - that's about 30 miles, right? Maybe in my dreams I could ride for 30 miles. I did about 11 miles in my hour ride yesterday and that's the farthest I've ever done. And that was on a hill program so I am thinking I could go further on flat terrain. 30 miles sounds incredibly tough to me though! My goal this spring/summer is to ride my bike around the small lake in my city and through the arboretum. It shouldn't be more than 10 miles total. Now that I've done 11 miles on the stationary bike and didn't die, I'm pretty sure I can do 10 miles on my real bike on real hills. I think. I hope!

Does anyone else's city do something called "Ride the Drive"? It's where the city shuts down some major streets for the day and lets everyone ride their bikes. Not like a race or anything, just a casual ride around downtown in the middle of the streets without having to worry about cars. It's a nightmare for traffic but really fun for bike riders. I did it last year and it was lovely. There's a big uphill on part of it though and I just couldn't do it, it was too tough and I wasn't in good enough shape. I had to get off and walk my bike up the hill, and I felt like a loser. That's part of why I've been doing hill programs on the stationary bike, because I'd like to make it up that hill this year without stopping and walking. That's one of my fitness goals. Big hill, you won't beat me again! Probably!

Cat-a-Tonic said:

50 k - that's about 30 miles, right? Maybe in my dreams I could ride for 30 miles. I did about 11 miles in my hour ride yesterday and that's the farthest I've ever done. And that was on a hill program so I am thinking I could go further on flat terrain. 30 miles sounds incredibly tough to me though! My goal this spring/summer is to ride my bike around the small lake in my city and through the arboretum. It shouldn't be more than 10 miles total. Now that I've done 11 miles on the stationary bike and didn't die, I'm pretty sure I can do 10 miles on my real bike on real hills. I think. I hope!

Does anyone else's city do something called "Ride the Drive"? It's where the city shuts down some major streets for the day and lets everyone ride their bikes. Not like a race or anything, just a casual ride around downtown in the middle of the streets without having to worry about cars. It's a nightmare for traffic but really fun for bike riders. I did it last year and it was lovely. There's a big uphill on part of it though and I just couldn't do it, it was too tough and I wasn't in good enough shape. I had to get off and walk my bike up the hill, and I felt like a loser. That's part of why I've been doing hill programs on the stationary bike, because I'd like to make it up that hill this year without stopping and walking. That's one of my fitness goals. Big hill, you won't beat me again! Probably!

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31.25 miles.. The computers on the spin bikes at the base gym are in imperial measurements, So are the treadmills, I'm good at conversions now

You can do it, cycling, like anything, is about building up your tolerance to it.

Update for 3/2/13: I hit the big gym yesterday but was a little disappointed. It's usually dead quiet in there on a Friday night, but it was surprisingly a bit busy. Also, there was a total creep in there who kept bugging me, ick. I like working out with the hubby because then I don't get hit on at the gym, but when I go by myself then the creepwads seem to gravitate towards me. I'm a total introvert and don't like talking to people anyway, but when I'm working out I'm all business and my mind is on getting strong and nothing else, so I really don't want to be bothered. Especially by someone who's clearly just there to pick up women. Yuck.

But anyway, in spite of that I got in a good workout and did everything I wanted to do. Today I'm taking it somewhat easy, going to walk the dog and either yoga or ride the bike (but not for an hour this time, my legs need a bit of a break). I'm going to walk the dog first and then see how I feel and will plan the rest of the day accordingly.

Cat-a-Tonic said:

Update for 3/2/13: I hit the big gym yesterday but was a little disappointed. It's usually dead quiet in there on a Friday night, but it was surprisingly a bit busy. Also, there was a total creep in there who kept bugging me, ick. I like working out with the hubby because then I don't get hit on at the gym, but when I go by myself then the creepwads seem to gravitate towards me. I'm a total introvert and don't like talking to people anyway, but when I'm working out I'm all business and my mind is on getting strong and nothing else, so I really don't want to be bothered. Especially by someone who's clearly just there to pick up women. Yuck.

But anyway, in spite of that I got in a good workout and did everything I wanted to do. Today I'm taking it somewhat easy, going to walk the dog and either yoga or ride the bike (but not for an hour this time, my legs need a bit of a break). I'm going to walk the dog first and then see how I feel and will plan the rest of the day accordingly.

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I work out in a military gym, there are always creepy guys. Being a woman is like being a moving target. We also share our gym with the military college, getting hit on by 20 year old sex crazed university students is not my thing. (downside to looking 20 when I'm actually 30) I always wear headphones, it deters them from trying to talk to me.

Alli, I'm 33 and I look much younger than my age too and I also find a wide range of guys are hitting on me. The dude from yesterday was probably in his late 30s (big fat dude with a bald head and a beard, even if I were single that's not exactly my type, ha ha!). I always wear headphones too which is usually a good deterrent but not always. I feel like I need to wear a t-shirt to the gym that says, "I'm married, I'm an introvert, I'm just here to work out, I don't like you, go away."

AlliRuns said:

. We also share our gym with the military college, getting hit on by 20 year old sex crazed university students is not my thing. (downside to looking 20 when I'm actually 30) I always wear headphones, it deters them from trying to talk to me.

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That sounds like my thing!

I felt a bit self conscious at the gym yesterday when I realised I was the only female in my gym. There were some 17 year old looking guys who were just chatting on the weight machine right next to me which was annoying.

Update 3-3-13: Today I lifted weights in the big gym, and that went great. No creeps this time. I went around noon - the gym at noon on a Sunday is pretty empty so I was able to breeze through my workout. Then I ran errands, and then the dog and I went on a long walk. I'm quite tired now! I feel good, but I'm definitely going to veg out for the rest of the afternoon & evening. Tomorrow is cardio day so I'll do the bike - hopefully for another hour-long session. We're due for yet another #$%&* snowstorm Monday night/all day Tuesday so I'm not looking forward to that. It's a bit warm and sunny today so the snow is actually melting. This seems to be a theme - it snows 6 inches, then it mostly melts over the next 2 days, then it snows another 6 inches. That's seemed to be the pattern here for most of the winter! I'm so sick of it! My hip is not a fan of it either!