Lessons Learned & Learning 4: 120 Days of Maintenance

My 30-day maintenance update is here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1176760-lessons-learned-learning-first-30-days-of-maintenance
My 60-day maintenance update is here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1202553-lessons-learned-learning-2-60-days-of-maintenance
My 90-day maintenance update is here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1228283-lessons-learned-learning-3-90-days-of-maintenance

My fourth 30 days looked like this:


Weight: I had reached my goal weight of 150 lbs. on Dec. 17, 2013. According to MFP, that would place my net calories at 1600 for maintenance.

Between days 91-120, my measured weight ranged from 147.5 (Mar. 18 and 19) to 150 (Mar. 24 and Apr. 12, 14, and 15). I say "measured" because I stayed away from the scale from Mar. 25, the day of my lumpectomy, through Apr. 6. I continued to log my food, but I also knew to give my body what it needed, regardless of weight or calorie count. I also knew that I was dealing with swelling, which meant extra fluids.

My average measured weight for days 91-120 was 148.82, compared with 149.1 for days 61-90, 149.83 for days 31-60, and 150.06 for days 1-30. I'm still holding within my desired range. Days 91-120 also produced a new low for my maximum weight: 150, compared with my prior max weight of 151.

Exercise Calories Burned: I took 5 rest days (0 calories burned) during maintenance days 91-120, as compared with 3 rest days over days 61-90, 4 rest days over days 31-60, and 2 rest days over days 1-30. Rest days for this period included the day prior to surgery, the day of surgery, and two days following surgery. On the third day after surgery I took a slower-than-usual ride on my mini-bike and spent several days literally getting back up to speed.

My average exercise calories burned for this period (including rest days) equaled 347/day, as compared with 376/day for days 61-90, 367/day for days 31-60, and 377/day for days 1-30. Maximum number of calories burned in a day equaled 680 on Mar. 21, which was dedicated to yard work.

Exercise during days 91-120 included my usual workouts on the DeskCycle, yard work, and planking. Since my surgery, both yard work and planking are currently on hiatus. Prior to surgery I was holding at 4 minutes for a basic plank and had reached 1:45 for each side plank. I miss those planks and look forward to resuming them, whenever that will be. As of this writing I have not yet received clearance to perform breast surgery exercises (http://documents.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/002840-pdf.pdf), since my incisions are still healing.

Another reason I love my mini-bike: my legs still work fine! :-)

Total and Net Calories Consumed: Total calories for maintenance days 91-120 averaged 1873/day and ranged from 1132 (Apr. 9, the day of a tooth extraction) to 2245 (two days later, when my mouth was sufficiently healed for my appetite to return). Net calories (total calories minus exercise calories burned) averaged 1525 and ranged from 943 (Apr. 10, the day following tooth extraction) to 2195 (Mar. 26, the day after my lumpectomy). Not surprisingly, my calorie count had also been low on the day of surgery, with both total and net at 1068. That said, my average net calories for this period came to within 5 percent of MFP's maintenance of 1600 net. Though still technically below maintenance, this is the closest I've come to it.

Here's how the four 30-day periods compare:



Cancer Update: I am still healing from surgery at this point, but it looks as though my treatment will include both radiation and hormone meds. I'm still waiting for the results of genetic testing, which will yield a recurrence score. My medical team and I expect that score to be low, which would mean that I would not need chemo, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

My discharge from same-day surgery had been delayed -- and delayed, and delayed -- because my blood pressure had refused to climb. Finally I was discharged with a BP of 79/42 because I was asymptomatic. I told the nurse, "Fitness'll do that to ya."

I'm pretty convinced that taking the weight off and keeping a good fitness level has been instrumental to my speed and quality of recovery. Three days after surgery I was back on my mini-bike. The only reason why I didn't drive until five days after surgery instead of the surgeon's predicted four days was because of severe thunderstorms, including nearby tornadoes. I had felt sore for several days, but I didn't even need ibuprofen, let alone my prescription for stronger stuff. Little by little I'm getting my range of flexibility back. I've also read that staying active helps combat the fatigue that can come with radiation treatments.

In the meantime, I've joined a local breast cancer support group and online resources Patients Like Me (http://patientslikeme.com), http://breastcancer.org, and the American Cancer Society's WhatNext (https://www.whatnext.com/home). As part of the support group, I've been paired with a Reach to Recovery volunteer whose breast cancer is similar to mine and who is mentoring me through the process. I'm also catching up on long-overdue dental work, in the hope that I can avoid any potential complications with cancer treatment.

I already have some impressive scars, so I welcome my new ones into the collection that has saved my life. Interestingly, for over a decade I've had Deena Metzger's "Tree" poster (http://www.deenametzger.com/poster/poster.html) hanging in my bedroom, and to my knowledge there is no history of breast cancer in my family. Who knew?

I converted my own new scars (from lumpectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy) into this digital mosaic, which I call "Blue Skies":