Old body, starting a fresh, too much?

andysport1

I'm older than my age, I have cancer, hormone treatment, radiotherapy and chemo.

I'm miserable because I've put so much weight on, doctor said its normal and I can't have medication to help.

No drive, borderline depressed. I can't cycle it hurts and walking is painful but I don't know if that's because of the weight or the treatment (radiotherapy damages muscles, stomach, groin).

I have restarted doing my morning stretches 8 minutes, I have my 1kg dumbbells handy when sat on the toilet and I've just joined an app for armchair exercises. First day it sent me a 24 minute workout, I got to the 3rd exercise and was shattered and gave up, today a 5 minute seated abs workout, it was quite hard and 5 minutes seemed like a very long time.

My question, can I, should I do several 5 minute workouts per day or am I overdoing it?

I'm seeing my family on the 7th October and would like to be a little healthier/lighter.

Any thoughts or suggestions regarding the exercise?

cmriverside

That's a lot of struggles.

I'm sorry you're suffering with the treatment, I don't know that anyone here can (nor should they) make recommendations for you in your situation, but I wanted to let you know I read your post and I'm sending you strength.

AnnPT77

At heart, I agree with Riverside upthread, but - as a fellow survivor of advanced-stage cancer and its treatment - I'm going to risk giving advice. I, too, had surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and anti-estrogen hormone treatment. I admit, it's a few years back now, but it was real, and I remember how depleted and discouraged I felt. I empathize.

Partly, my advice is to trust yourself. The calendar is not a weight loss or fitness development tool. Positive progress adds up over time, but it's usually not realistic to say "I'll be at X weight by Y date" or "I'll run a 5k on Z date" if I haven't run for years and have challenges with running.

X weight is achievable, for many the 5k will be achievable . . . my point is that it isn't easy to determine when that will happen. However, persistent positive progress will lead to good things over in that direction. (Overdoing is more likely to lead to giving up, IME.)

You are brave, and what you're doing is excellent . . . assuming you're not overdoing.

I think the sweet spot for exercise for anyone is finding a mix of activities that are a manageable challenge to current capabilities. Exactly what that is will look different for everyone, and does depend on health history, current health conditions, genetics, starting fitness or activity level, and more.

It's completely fine to start with 5 minutes, even 5 minutes just a couple of times a week, if that's the current "manageably challenging" level. If walking to the mailbox is a challenge, then walk to the mailbox. If it's necessary to rest part way, do that. Do what's possible, with a bit of a self-push toward progress.

The "manageable" part is what keeps a person going in the positive direction, avoiding injury, under-recovery, over-use, or excessive fatigue. The "challenge" part - manageable challenge, remember - is what creates fitness progress over time. Patient persistence is part of the formula. Do what you can, and keep doing it.

After a while, the 5 minutes of exercise or the walk to the mailbox will start feeling noticably easier. That's when to go a little bit further, seeking what is now the new manageable challenge for your improved strength and fitness. Keep going, keep chipping away like that, be persistent, be patient . . . you can surprise yourself with the progress that happens over time.

You can know whether you're overdoing - and that's more effective than us trying to tell you. You don't want to be so sore that you can't do daily life things the next day. You don't want to be so exhausted that you're dragging through your days. You don't want to aggravate any pre-existing injuries or health conditions. Realistically, some things may be uncomfortable in the moment, but they shouldn't be making overall condition worse.

You can figure that out, with mindfulness. I'm not worried about you being too easy on yourself, because you're obviously working hard. That's great, a positive sign of your character and commitment to improve. I admire that. Some people do give up, and you're not doing that, which is great. You're getting the "challenge" thing going, and you can figure out the "manageable". You may slip a little far now and then, and if that happens, back it off a little, recover if necessary, then resume. If you focus on avoiding injury, you can be fine.

Along the way, please give yourself patience and grace. Talk to yourself encouragingly, like you would to a friend. Be proud of your persistence and the effort you're putting in, because you should be. You can surprise yourself, long term. (I did.)

Wishing you great progress - it's out there, and it's worth the effort.