Wednesday, November 10, 2010

I went to play at the YMCA 3 days in a row


10 November 2010

I sang my little ditty as I headed off to play at the YMCA today. The lyrics go like this:

I'm Off To Play At The YMCA
Alternate Title: Healing Seeker's It's Safe To Be Slender Song

© 2010 Song Lyrics by Debbie Dunn
Sung to the tune of "Hanky Panky"
learned in Girl Scout Camp years ago

I'm off to play at the Y, Hey!
The wonderful YMCA.
It's safe to be slender. Okay!
I'm losing weight the healthy way.

I'm off to play at the Y, Hey!
The wonderful YMCA.
No more excuses, come what may.
My inner wisdom I'll obey.

I'm off to play at the Y, Hey!
The wonderful YMCA.
I'm healthy and whole. Hooray!
Day by day, I pray and say ...

I'm off to play at the Y, Hey!
The wonderful YMCA.
It's safe to be slender. Okay!
I'm losing weight the healthy way.


Now that I have completed 35 daily radiation sessions as of November 5, 2010, I have more time on my hands to go to the YMCA to “play” on the toys in the Wellness Center.

My goal is to make my weight loss efforts as playful and fun as possible. I learned the hard way that taking it all too seriously just does not work for me. I ended up self-sabotaging myself the last time I joined a fitness center.

Monday, Nov. 8th, I rode the exercise bike for 30 minutes with a resistance level of fifteen. That translated to 2.4 miles. I felt like exceeding two miles was a good start for my first time there in a while.

It kind of surprised me that when I set the exercise bike for 30 minutes and a resistance level of fifteen the next day, it only translated to 2 miles that time. Perhaps I wasn’t pedaling the bike as fast as I had the previous day.

Today, I repeated the process. This time, it translated to 2.2 miles. I think I did end up pedaling faster than the previous day but perhaps not as fast as the first day. Feeling energetic, I then got on the tread mill and walked an additional 0.8 miles at a walking speed of 3.5 and 5% elevation. I was very happy that I walked and rode a total of 3 miles today. Woo-hoo!

Afterward, I played on two additional toys: the Lateral Pull and Compound Row. After getting ten lymph nodes removed during my double mastectomy, it feels important to regain full mobility of my left arm. Those two “toys” are tailored perfectly for that purpose. I am excited to say that my arm extension feels much improved. Fourteen days of physical therapy and several days of working out at the YMCA have really helped.

Now I am back home feeling energized and ready to continue on my various writing tasks. Have a great day everyone!

Best wishes to you and yours,
Healing Seeker aka Debbie

It’s Safe to be Slender: Diet Cola Dilemma


Introduction: This is an exploration of whether cola and diet cola drinks contribute to the production of or the spread of cancer cells or other debilitating diseases.

Prior to being diagnosed with breast cancer on January 7, 2010 and going through chemo from February 4, 2010 through July 1, 2010, I drank Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, or Diet Cola for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. I dearly loved this drink and felt that it made my food taste better.

Through the years, I had read that drinking soft drinks would dehydrate your body and that they were generally not good for you. I had also read that some of the ingredients in diet drinks actually promoted obesity as opposed to weight loss.

I wanted to be healthy in a vague sort of way; however, my motivation and willpower were not strong.  I am not a person who has ever smoked. Drugs and alcohol are also not a temptation for me. More than once, I had been heard to comment that drinking Diet Coke was my only chemical vice.

I knew that I was addicted to the caffeine in Diet Coke. I would get headaches if I let too many hours go by without consuming at least one glass. If I went too long without drinking a caffeinated drink, I would even develop flu-like symptoms.

More than once, I would try really hard to kick the habit and drink only water, juice, or milk. Once, I even managed to avoid drinking caffeinated drinks for two years. Then life got stressful, and I fell off the wagon once again, so to speak.

Once I discovered the large tumor in my left breast in late December of 2009, the doctor indicated that I should not drink any caffeinated drinks for 48 hours before getting the diagnostic mammogram on January 4, 2010. They stated that the ingredients in diet colas would make the breasts extra sensitive during the procedure. They hinted that diet colas could even cause breast lumps or cysts.

Click WEIGHTLOSS to read the rest of the story.