Strong & Sensible

Tracy, so frustrating!!!!! I'm glad you posted anyway! You will have to tell about the road trip.
Lisa and Mary, I hope you are well! I have more on my mind, but I'm too sleepy to chat.
I did XT CLB pm today and 20 min of BW upper Body this week and BC again all this week. I love Cathe, even if I primarily do short cuts and premixes, she is the best.
 
Hi fit babes! There is an undo button here but in my panic during my last post, I didn't see it. I may have been able to save it. Oh well!

The road trip was great! Working out at 7 a.m. my time was a little brutal but I got through it! Cathe changed her decorations for every workout and wore either a costume or Halloween-themed outfits for all the workouts. The cast of her latest workouts were with us for the 7 a.m. workout, in costume too! But it was 10 a.m. there so not too bad for them. What I thought were my allergies on Saturday turned into a cold by Sunday but I didn't miss any of the road trip--hooray! Cathe shared that her next series is going to be kind of like STS 2.0! 12 discs total, 4 weeks of each phase and they will progress. All strength training, with mobility work mixed in. I'm excited! She is also coming out with new fitness gloves, boxing gloves and something I'm pretty excited about--barbell clips that make it much easier to get your plates off and on. I don't use my barbell much because I just fell out of the habit but with the new series, I will be using it again I'm sure.

Riley's paw is about the same. But I went to another vet and he explained things much better for me. It was an allergy that's now turned into a compulsion. We keep his paw wrapped, have him on a new med but it doesn't seem to be improving. He still licks his paw a lot. DH may take him on Friday to see another vet I made an appt. with but I also have a follow up scheduled with the vet I saw on Nov. 22. Riley has a lot of empathy and I don't know if this is due to us being home all the time or if he feels our frustration that lives under the surface or what. This is not something his breed does. They are really relaxed dogs and fireworks don't even bother them.

We were set to go back to the office Nov. 29. It has now been postponed again to Jan.18. I'm happy to stay home but I think they should let the people who want to telelwork 100% to go ahead and do it and not just give us up to 3 days a week when we get back. It will be 2 years we've been doing this if they postpone it again to March 17!

Let's see. Taking a break until I feel better. But I got it all done already at the road trip! Cardio kickboxing and later a stretch on Friday, Upper Body with cardio, then Boo-tcamp, then Wicked Legs and Glutes after that on Saturday.

Take care fit babes! Hope to see you soon Mary.
 
Hello all! It has been a minute! I did SNS PHA today and previously this month have been using SNS BC, but last workout was on the 12th- so sporadic to say the least. I've had lots of overtime and a crappy day on day off sort of schedule so I've been off my groove. I got my booster recently and spent the next day on the couch but I'm good to go now.
Tracy, I am excited to hear about the new series, too. I hope your Fur Baby is better and you also. I assume by now you have long recovered from your recent cold/respiratory infection. I have loved all my pets, but I'm certainly not in a position to manage anything beyond my low maintenance cat at the moment. The road trip sounds like it was so much fun, good for you for being able to manage such early workouts. What is your current workout groove?
Lisa, I have been trying to increase my LB workouts. Like you said, when you do a lot of cycling or step or whatever, those parts seem strong. But since I have not been doing that stuff and also lost weight, I can see where I will benefit from bringing that emphasis back to my routine.
Mary I hope you and yours are all doing well.
Happy TG to all!
 
I hope all are well and your TG was nice! It is always wonderful to see everyone, but I understand the rare and sporadic check ins. I hope you all have a great Christmas and NY if we don't get in touch. Hugs and waves to all ~~~~ : D
oh ps I used Fit Tower TB pm today- Legs and Abs and Sh.
 
Hi fit babes! I meant to get here before now but the time just flew by!

Good to see you Jodi! How was you TG Jodi? My TG was nice and quiet. No one got together again this year! Saw my dad the Saturday after and will see him and my sister on the 18th for a holiday lunch.

Riley is finally all better but it didn't occur until last week, ack! DH ended up taking him to a 3rd vet who found out he had an ear infection too. We had a culture done then too and on the follow up visit, found out the little guy had an antibiotic-resistant paw infection! This ordeal went on for a total of 2 and half months. I hope it never happens again I tell you! DH and I had already decided awhile ago that Riley will be our last pet for awhile. We can't just drop everything and leave for an overnight trip on the spur of the moment and we would like to be able to do that again like we did many years ago. I say that now, but we'll see how we are when we no longer have a pet!

I'm getting my booster tomorrow and have a pretty low key day on Weds. I hope I only need one day to get over any side effects. Glad it only had you down for a day Jodi!

I've been doing Cathe's rotations, my way of course! I think I'm doing her June one. I had a long break from Cathe when I did 12 or 13 weeks of Beachbody and I'm behind. I like her rotations because I don't have to come up with workouts on my own. I'm lazy that way! And good going on the weight loss Jodi!

My eating has been less than stellar lately. My fault for buying the junk! Riley had us stressed for quite a while (we had to put ointment on his paw and wrap it 3 times a day at one point) but now DH has likely herniated a disc in his back and is in tons of pain. And grumpy too. It's been a lot of fun at my house lately! He has an MRI appt. next week because we couldn't get one any sooner. I am hoping he won't need surgery but I won't be surprised if he does.

I hope all of you are well! And if I don't get back here soon, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and NY! I'm kinda ready to kick this year to the curb. Take care fit babes!
 
Hi Tracy,
Wow, that has been a long haul with Riley! I'm glad he seems to be on the mend now. Good luck with your vax and recovery. And, I'm sending lots of positive vibes to hubby~ chronic back pain seems like a heinous condition- hopefully it is treatable and the pain and grumpiness abate!
I am looking forward to the new workouts and hoping they will be something I can utilize. I'm still doing well with weight loss and I want to emphasize increased muscle and bone density, as much as possible, going forward. Tracy, it is hard to stay food sober!
I used UB and ABs from FT TB
Work tomorrow. I'm trying not to get too stressed and just go with all the flow and appreciate the opportunity. I do a lot of overtime, work in specialty areas, relief "charge/lead", am on two committees and am in school for my BS degree. It seems like a lot to "start" at my age, lol! I'm off from school til Jan, but will take two classes then.
Waves to all~
 
I’ve been remiss in posting. I’ve actually didn’t want to scare anyone of my side effects from booster vax. Awful. Then was waiting for ‘the word’ that Suki was finally healed. As you know from FB, she had the last surgery to remove the plate. We have fingers crossed that once she’s all healed from surgery that she will be good.

Tracy, how crazy about Riley. We feel SAME way, no more pets. Suki being sooooo sensitive, it’s hard to go anywhere! But we love her! I’m glad the infection cleared! Crazy! I can sympathize with DH back pain as I have a lot of back pain and grumbling too! Started with stopping my daily ibuprofen (2 pills 2x a day) because my BP shot up after vax. I admit I did take a lot of advil/Tylenol to control the 103 fever but even a week later my BP was high after not taking anything for a week after fever cleared. I know advil makes my BP go up, I know I’m sensitive to meds, but I got concerned enough to go to dr. No real answers as to what happened. Since I had Pfizer for first 2 shots and Moderna for 3rd they think the dosage being more on Moderna may be too much for me. Anyway, I’m trying to stay off the Advil (they did give me med for muscle spasms), but my back is killing me. I do yoga, I stretch, I know I over do a lot of exercise but it makes me happy. So, I’m backing off pushing too hard on the bike, and doing pressure point releases and even more yoga and stretching. I feel so old! Walking like an inverted L. It’s amazing how much Advil covered up the pain. BP still kinda high but not near as bad and I’m back to my regular BP med dosage (after shot I had to take 3x the dosage and still it wouldn’t go down). Anyways, I just put off coming here waiting for the….I’m better, Suki’s Better! Well, we aren’t there yet but we are on the path to better.

Jody, you do sound like you have a lot going on! thanksgiving we erred on the side of caution and didn’t get together with the son/wife because wife tested positive for covid, even though boosted and no symptoms. Kept it safe because of our granddaughter. So hoping for a Christmas with everyone together. The booster totally showed up on Oura too! You can tell my body struggled a lot! RHR went up 10 points and stayed there for over a week. Obviously the fever showed. HRV still hasn’t recovered (I had shot on Nov 23rd).

Hope everyone has a great holiday season!
 
Merry Christmas friends! I know I have been missing, I think of you all often. Life has been a bit chaotic. I will be better!
mary
 
Hi all, best wishes for a happy and healthy, prosperous New Year 2022 to all. My Puerto Rico trip dusted and done. Waves to all, bbl!
 
Happy New Year Fit Babes! So good to see you Mary, I had been worried about you!

Lisa, I had been following the massive fire in Colorado and I am so glad you are safe!! So scary!!

Thank you for your kind wishes Jodi and Lisa! Hubby is still down with his back. MRI showed he has the spine of an 80 year old. Our bad weather has prevented him from seeing a pain doctor but he is set to go in this Monday to see what can be done. Our holiday season was pretty low key but it usually is. I've taken on extra duties around the house but not killing myself trying to keep up. My goal is to keep the stress down and that seems to be working best for both of us.

I got the vax booster and was thrilled not to have any side effects this time! I was expecting them. Riley is doing really well and back to himself and his shenanigans. We couldn't be happier about that!

I hope Suki is on the mend for a complete recovery Lisa! And I am so sorry about your chronic back pain, that is awful! I am hopeful that something can be done for DH because this is not the way either of us want to live. Just a few months ago, we agreed that we wouldn't handle it well if we couldn't be active!

Going back to the office Jan.18 has been postponed yet again! No new target date has been set yet. They also haven't chosen who will be the next division chief of our division. Our current leader retires at the end of January. With things up in the air, I'm not planning any trips or vacations now but I sure want to!

Wow Jodi! 2 classes on top of your overtime and other commitments--you go!! I'm glad you visit here as often as you do! How is DD doing in Puerto Rico and how long is she going to stay there?

I hope you all are well and wish you only the best in this new year! Tracy
 
Quick post….bad news with Suki for her recheck X-ray. Pardon my copy and paste from my Peloton group, I’m exhausted but wanted to update you all.

HI girls, I had a tough day re: vet…..X-rays said Suki’s fracture refractured. So that’s why she’s been limping so much since the plate was removed. We have 2 options —— external fixator with weekly cleaning and bandage changes and hope it heals (he would also make the fracture straight vs the angle it’s at and the cost estimate says a bone graft (he didn’t mention that part today, of course I was too upset to talk too much). Or the other option is amputation. I’m been crying all day.

We have cost estimates of each, realizing the external fixator might not work. We want to talk the options over with our regular vet to get another perspective of someone in the veterinarian field.

External fixator is easily a 3 month process (we’ve already been at this for 6 mths). We have the “routine” down. Vet was surprised she’s even putting some weight on the leg. Tough girl. I feel like Suki looked at me and said she’s tough, and to give her a chance. So we are leaning ‘external fixator’ approach.

We have to make a decision in a week, and have next Wednesday appt for whatever we decide to do. I’ll probably be bawling. I cried all the way home, then when I got home I went to the bathroom to cry some more, but I had no tears left, all I could do was scream, and now the tears still flow, eyes puffy. I’m a mess. Oh, and my hip hurt last night so I need to rest that or else I’ll risk more injury to myself! What a mess we are!

I hope I sleep tonight! And really hope I stop crying
 
Lisa, my corgi, Brownie, had a tumor and did very well post amputation of her front paw.
I'm behind on my workouts- today for sure!

Geesh, I was going to post a Brownie amputation pic and it was her back leg not her front. This was apparently back in 2011. I loved my two corgis so much, and feel the heart break of their loss and miss those dog kisses. I recall the anguish of not being able to afford the vet bills at the time and trying to decide on care, quality of life and personal finance. I'm so grateful that I can take proper care of my cat now. I don't miss the other aspects of having a dog though. I'm sending you guys all the good vibes on your pup problems!

ETA SB SS. Funny how you remember not being able to follow the combos on previous uses, but 4 months later, its like you have it down perfectly! Was it in the background waiting to download properly? Also, I changed pic to reflect thinner me. :)
 
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Jody, nice pic! Yay you!

We have researched, gotten more medical info re: Suki, and are leaning toward amputation. Making the decision isn’t easy. Surgery scheduled for Wed. But we aren’t ready to say which way we are leaning yet, but I did join an amputation forum.
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Good luck, Lisa. No matter your choice, it will be difficult. I can only say that my Miss Brownings did fine after the initial recovery. I was surprised how well. I felt guilty I'd not treated the condition much sooner. Again, all the responsibility of pets. I know you guys will consider all the choices and make the best decision possible. HUGS and hearts
 
Hi Lisa, good luck on Wed.

Short answer low carb that includes a lot of veg with a hard lean into ketosis much of the time. And time restricted eating (TRE) with periods of longer extended fasting.

Longer answer is that this change was a result of my overhaul I started last April with an emphasis on understanding my purpose and creating vision in different areas of my life. Health was the initial "domain" I worked on most intently. Habits and schedule and sleep protection have played a big role. I use Jason Fung's principles for all the diet stuff and am a member at thefastingmethod.com which provides ongoing reinforcement and education for my choices.
 
Hello all!
Lisa, I’m so sorry about Suki! Such a difficult decision, will keep you all in my prayers.
Tracey, hopefully the doctor was able to give you some help with DH. Miserable to be in pain all the time. Thinking about you both.
Jody, have you been working a lot? I go back next week, ER’s are flooded here, nightmarish.
Was working a lot, vaxxed x 3, Covid still found me, so grateful for the vaccines, was down for about 10 days, antibiotics and steroids. Lisa, so glad you were safe from the fires. Holidays were very quiet, kids were home though, so that was lovely. 2 years without seeing my Parents for , Christmas , hopefully this coming year.
think of all of you!
mary
 
Lisa, I went on FB just to check on Suki and I can't tell what you decided or how it went? I hope y'all are doing OK.

Mary, I hope you are recovered, are you back to normal yet? I'm glad you didn't get any worse than you did, though it sounds like you were quite ill. Yes, I'm working a lot and taking two classes this semester.

Tracy, how was dh's appointment? Any good news or relief? I was trying to get through to materials department at work the other day and held the phone in the crook of my neck for 5 minutes while doing other tasks. As a result, I had a neck ache the entire next day and boy was it annoying! So I can only imagine what chronic back pain would do to someone's spirit.

I've been following SNS rotation- I like that series. Yesterday was PHA and today was CS. I worked 4 days prior to that, and I'm due for some outdoor adventure soon. Waves and hugs to all.
 
Jody,
You probably didn’t see any post saying outright that we amputated. It’s been emotional, and in one comment on a post, I did divulge amputation, and the response back was NNNNNNOOOOOOO. that hurt for some reason. So I’ve kept quiet and only let a couple of friends who kept privately checking in on me know. The first week after amputation was really hard! I stayed strong, not crying because Suki needed positive vibes to heal. After the 2 week, when talking to my sister, I had to bawl my eyes out over every emotion I had for the last 2 weeks. Like HOW COULD I DO THIS TO SUKI! It’s how I felt, I had to reconcile it in my mind. Anyway, at Suki’s 2 week checkup, she got the compression shirt removed (thank goodness she hated that thing), she was so scared at the vet, worse than normal, but when she heard positive sounds from the words being said, she relaxed. We left shirtless and she was like a changed dog. Then since it was warm we too a very short bike ride as we commit to getting her out on adventures…they may be shorter since she may not be able to sit upright very long (cushioned with a pillow), and can’t walk far, but we will drive to different places and live this life Suki’s been blessed with. She loved it! Sniffing the air. Each day has gotten better and today we finally (after snow) had another bike outing (shorter than what we used to do, but hey, we’re older too). She is loving life, seems much more at peace and getting around really good. Thanks for asking. So all my close contacts now know and maybe one day I’ll actually have a public post, I’m just shielding us from people who needlessly react in a negative way! One step (or is it hop) at a time!

Tracy, I’d like to know about DH and his back too!
 

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