Mastering Menopause

[CODawn]

Congratulations!

 

[MangoTux]

Congrats!

 

[Lady Celerity]

Congratulations on the HIIT Challenge!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 46

Finished my last O.G. Challenge from when I first started. It'll be replaced by a different punching challenge and hopefully one that will continue to build on the stamina that I have developed. I decided to drop the SOMA 40+ program since it was not really my mojo and replaced it with Arms of Steel - the non-seated variety. Too much yoga that relied on one being able to do the positions. Really not good for a beginner like me. Saw that the March challenge involved my absolutely favourite exercise of all freaking time... squats!! Makes me even happier that the Girl Power Week is about to start up.

Competed at UpDog with my BC today and, despite the human-side of the team not usually moving that much, I still ended up doing a little over 11,000 steps. Cray cray.

Oh, and thanks for the kudos @Fremen, @TopNotch, @Laura Rainbow Dragon, @Anek, @CODawn, @MangoTux, & @Lady Celerity. They meant a lot to me.
Onwards & upwards!

 

[Fremen]

Congrats

 

[TopNotch]

Congrats again!

 

[THew8]

Way to go!!

 

[Anek]

 

[CODawn]

Congratulations!

 

[Lady Celerity]

Crushing it!!!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 47

Thank you @Fremen, @TopNotch, @THew8, @Anek, @CODawn, & @Lady Celerity for the support.

Decided to jump on the Girl Power Week bandwagon, like a dutiful little bee, and have promised myself to do at least 2 out of the 4 available workouts every day along with doing the extra credit portion on whichever ones I choose.

I think I am a badge whore because, even though I am more than a month away from earning any badges now, I already have a bunch of new Challenges bookmarked as replacements when the time comes. My list of programs is almost as big too.

I know that the work I am putting in is working because, despite her best efforts, Bertha has shrunk a wee bit. Tshirts that were über tight at the beginning of the year aren't smothering me anymore. Yeah!!! I have a long, long way to go but this tangible sign is as much of a reward as DAREBEE badges.
Onwards & upwards!

 

[THew8]

Oh I 100% identify!l I was soooo pumped to get my first two badges!! And definitely feeling stronger and a teensy bit better in my clothes! Yay us!

 

[CODawn]

I know that the work I am putting in is working because, despite her best efforts, Bertha has shrunk a wee bit. Tshirts that were über tight at the beginning of the year aren't smothering me anymore. Yeah!!! I have a long, long way to go but this tangible sign is as much of a reward as DAREBEE badges.
Onwards & upwards!

Congratulations on this!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Oh I 100% identify!l I was soooo pumped to get my first two badges!! And definitely feeling stronger and a teensy bit better in my clothes! Yay us!

Oh gawd, @THew8, I am so happy to read this about you. You have it so much harder trying to workout in such a smaller space under more extreme conditions.
You are rocking it, girl!! Keep up the great work!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 48

Was an off day for me. Rolling hot flashes throughout the night for the last few days have made me very tired during the day hours. You'd think the amount of sweating I do during these nightly episodes would help with the weight loss. I mean, I am my own personal sauna now. LOL! My right shoulder is not a happy camper when my arm is in certain positions, so I have been protecting it a bit more when exercising. My right hamstring screams at me when trying to do lunges, which means no lunges (or those bastard squats) for the next little while. Step-ups it will be then. I am pushing my cardio a bit more by turning many of the challenges or Girl Power workouts into HIIT and bypassing the rest period between sets. So far, so good. It helps when Bender is there as my little set counter. My other cheerleaders (of the furry variety) are bored with my working out and are now trying to sabatoge many of the exercises. Any floor exercises I do now involves a Papillon on my chest or Bertha. My BC is 'helping' me by flinging balls & frisbees at my legs when I am doing any cardio exercises. Gotta love 'em!

Onwards & upwards!

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Congratulations on completing the Power Punch Challenge!

My other cheerleaders (of the furry variety) are bored with my working out and are now trying to sabatoge many of the exercises. Any floor exercises I do now involves a Papillon on my chest or Bertha. My BC is 'helping' me by flinging balls & frisbees at my legs when I am doing any cardio exercises. Gotta love 'em!

Ah yes. Canine workout partners are the best! I praise mine for performing the most important role of "supervising" my workouts from the futon. So now Shelby is firmly convinced that is the best thing to do.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 49

Ran out of time by the end of the day to finish my P&Cs, so everything became a HIIT exercise - no rest between sets when called for. It was a mental challenge for some of them and for others it was a breeze, which just shows me how far I have come over the last 49 days when it comes to strength and endurance thanks to DAREBEE. Doing HIIT with the Girl Power Week workouts was especially challenging but I pushed through and came out at least 1 ounce lighter. Can't wait to see what hell they give us today.
Onwards & upwards!

 

[THew8]

Day 48
View attachment 8877
Was an off day for me. Rolling hot flashes throughout the night for the last few days have made me very tired during the day hours. You'd think the amount of sweating I do during these nightly episodes would help with the weight loss. I mean, I am my own personal sauna now. LOL! My right shoulder is not a happy camper when my arm is in certain positions, so I have been protecting it a bit more when exercising. My right hamstring screams at me when trying to do lunges, which means no lunges (or those bastard squats) for the next little while. Step-ups it will be then. I am pushing my cardio a bit more by turning many of the challenges or Girl Power workouts into HIIT and bypassing the rest period between sets. So far, so good. It helps when Bender is there as my little set counter. My other cheerleaders (of the furry variety) are bored with my working out and are now trying to sabatoge many of the exercises. Any floor exercises I do now involves a Papillon on my chest or Bertha. My BC is 'helping' me by flinging balls & frisbees at my legs when I am doing any cardio exercises. Gotta love 'em!

View attachment 8878

Onwards & upwards!

Hilarious! Would love to see a pic of your furry cheerleaders!

I could be considered a pretty furry cheerleader myself, right about now

 

[AgileGrrl]

Hilarious! Would love to see a pic of your furry cheerleaders!

I could be considered a pretty furry cheerleader myself, right about now

@THew8, you can see my merry mutts on my profile page. Took the pic when we hit Lake Superior during one of our cross-Canada jaunts.

You should get a little furball. My toy poodle lived on the boat with us and she was an amazing little seadog (literally ). Taught her to use the swim platform for her business.

I finally found the only picture I have of our boat - a 36ft Trojan Tri-cabin. Not as pretty as yours but she was a great home.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 50

Oops, forgot to post this morning. Developed a post nasal drip cough last week and it's been driving me crazy every since. Can't figure out if it's because my body is run down, if it's from snow mold due to the constant thawing/freezing we've been experiencing, if it's a lack of humidity in my concrete house (27% right now), a combination of those, or something more nefarious. Who the heck knows? I don't like taking drugs unless I absolutely have to, so have not taken any antihistamines/decongestants/etc. But boy, have I been tempted the last 2 days. Oh well.
Onwards & upwards!

 

[AgileGrrl]

WEEK SEVEN DONE!

Just my weekly exercise stats to keep track of how many reps I did across my programs, challenges, and extra workouts. Marching steps, punches, butt kicks, step jacks, arms circles, and calf rises reigned supreme overall next to my step count. I have to say, my punching stamina has gotten a helluva lot stronger since the last Battleground. I will be more than ready for the next fight.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 51

So I had to add in a couple of weight-related workouts to my regular roster because Express Tone didn't use dumbbells today. I definitely need more weight-bearing exercise in my life to combat menopause-related osteoporosis and the two I used did the trick for today.

The coyote that frequents my property was screaching and barking outside of my window tonight and naturally disrupted my workout time. Why you ask? Because my Papillon wanted to go out and bark at it while the BC wanted to jump on me for protection, so I had the two of them bouncing on/off me. At least it was just the one coyote and not the whole pack this time. That is a true cacophony when they get going.

 

[TopNotch]

That is a true cacophony when they get going.

You should try the cicadas here!

 

[THew8]

@THew8, you can see my merry mutts on my profile page. Took the pic when we hit Lake Superior during one of our cross-Canada jaunts.

You should get a little furball. My toy poodle lived on the boat with us and she was an amazing little seadog (literally ). Taught her to use the swim platform for her business.

I finally found the only picture I have of our boat - a 36ft Trojan Tri-cabin. Not as pretty as yours but she was a great home.

View attachment 8889

Aww how precious are they!! ! I’m a little obsessed with getting a dog when we go back home. More on that later!

I’m so happy to see a pic of your 36’ Trojan! Lots of great memories I bet. I would have liked something like that yesterday during our very rough passage, instead of moving at a snail’s pace. It was a humbling crossing for sure - we fed the fishes all along the way!

 

[AgileGrrl]

You should try the cicadas here!

I happened to be in Kentucky during a periodical circada event once and that was truly a sound to behold, but the shiver factor was too much for me.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 52

Weighed myself today and I've lost 6 whole pounds. For a menopausal woman that can be huge. I haven't changed my diet, just used DAREBEE's wonderful workouts and tenacity to stick with whatever P&Cs I chose. I know my BMI has gone down because Bertha isn't as loud and proud as she used to be. Just 15 more pounds by June and I'll be able to compete almost as well as I did before my knee blew out and menopause hit.

Like MLK said... "I have a dream!"
Onwards & upwards!

 

[THew8]

Day 52
View attachment 8905
Weighed myself today and I've lost 6 whole pounds. For a menopausal woman that can be huge. I haven't changed my diet, just used DAREBEE's wonderful workouts and tenacity to stick with whatever P&Cs I chose. I know my BMI has gone down because Bertha isn't as loud and proud as she used to be. Just 15 more pounds by June and I'll be able to compete almost as well as I did before my knee blew out and menopause hit.

Like MLK said... "I have a dream!"
Onwards & upwards!

Something to celebrate!! Woohoo!! Knowing how hard it is to see that scale move (in the RIGHT direction ) this is indeed huge. And not starving to make it happen? I think we’re on to something here thanks to DareBee. Bravo AG!!

PS. Don’t let poor Bertha disappear altogether

 

[CODawn]

Congratulations!

 

[indigo]

Nice work!

 

[Lady Celerity]

Way to gooooooo!!!!!!! Keep up the good work!!

 

[AgileGrrl]

PS. Don’t let poor Bertha disappear altogether

LOL. Bertha needs to go on a very, very long extended vacation.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 53

Thanks for the kudos @THew8, @CODawn, @indigo, & @ Lady Celerity

Spent the day dealing with pumps, hoses, and whatnot to stop possible flooding at my place. All of the snow that fell at the beginning of the week quickly melted today. My property is much lower than my neighbours, so all of melt off runs straight to my garage and then straight into my house if the pumps aren't going. And of course, it is now raining as I write this. The temperature is supposed to drop tonight to bring either snow, slurry, or freezing rain. I just want it to get cold enough that the melting will stop. Then I can go out with my little miner's light, disconnect the hoses, and get them in the garage before they freeze up, so they'll be available for the next melt. Fingers crossed it'll happen before 2am.

UPDATE: Nope, took until 3am (now 4am with tonight's switch to DST ) for it to get cold enough to stop the melting and start the feezing process. Thank gawd! I can finally go to bed.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 54

Today had to be a rest day of sorts exercise-wise. Even though it was only -2⁰C outside today, there was a nasty wind chill with the 60-90km/h gusts we experienced throughout the day. Despite that chill, the bloody sun was still warm enough to melt the snow now buried under ice after the freezing rain last night. ARGH! Once again, I was out dealing with pumps, hoses, etc, except on treachously slick ice this time. It was a lesson in patience. By the time I cleared all of the wind damage done to my trees, thawed out the hoses a bazillion times it seems, connect/disconnect various lines when they were/weren't needed, and chipped through 4in thick ice to swap out one of the sump pumps, I was done with a capital D. Needless to say, I did not do all of my P&Cs, just some that my very sore body could handle. Getting old sucks!
Oh, did I mention how much losing an hour of sleep messes with insomniacs like myself? DST sucks even more!
Thank gawd tomorrow's another day. This little bee needs a mulligan.

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Oh, did I mention how much losing an hour of sleep messes with insomniacs like myself?

Last time for you though, right? I so wish my province would follow suit!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Last time for you though, right? I so wish my province would follow suit!

Unfortunately, no. I'm from BC but live in Alberta so I get to deal with it year in and year out like you. Fun times!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 55

It was a very long stressful day. My grumpy old man developed snow gastritis Sunday night and by early Monday morning was in distress. My vet is on maternity leave, and the others I called couldn't get me in until the middle of the week, so we had to go it alone. I do have pain meds for him (being an agility dog means his momma has a well stocked medicine bag) but they would have irritated his digestive system even more, so he had to go without. He couldn't lie down because of the inflammation, but thankfully sitting gave him a bit of relief albeit still with pain. At almost 15 yrs old, he normally sleeps half the day, so to be stuck sitting up, hour after hour, was not helpful for those reserves of his. Because his stomach was upset too, he also would not drink, and dehydration was a huge issue. I had to syringe water down his throat every hour without causing him to aspirate, which was exceptionally stressful to say the least. After 16 hours things finally started to settle down enough that he ate a couple of ice cubes, took a couple of mouthfuls of tuna, and was able to finally settle down when I held him. Thank gawd he's a 9lb Papillon and easy to hold. By midnight he was finally able to lie down fully for longer thna a few seconds and needless to say, he crashed hard. I then went hard on my P&Cs until 2am before crashing myself. Unfortunately, he woke me up at 6am still out of sorts, so it was back to monitoring him. He finally ate a meal around noon today and drank a bunch of water, so he's finally on the road to recovery, thank gawd!! I was so worried.

Now that he's napping, I think I need a nap too.

 

[Lady Celerity]

for your furry friend.

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Poor little guy. And poor you! It is so stressful when our furry friends are sick.
I hope you will both be able to get some good sleep tonight.

 

[TopNotch]

I had to look up what snow gastritis is. Sounds nasty. Glad he's recovering.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 56

Things are finally back to normal around here. Met with a nurse practitioner who specialises in menopause and its issues and we've come up with a plan involving low dosage HRT to help with all of my symptoms. Some, like hot flashes, don't bother me that much, but others, like depression, anxiety, etc are symptoms I never experienced in my life until menopause set in, so onto trial-based HRT to see if that will help. I only agreed to doing the lowest dosage and that will be coupled with progesterone so the benefits should significantly outweight the risks. Fingers crossed!
Onwards & upwards!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 57

Spent most of the day auditing 2 years worth of financials for one of the dog clubs I belong to and by the time I finished, got groceries + dog food, dropped the books off, and got back home it was 10pm. Turned all of my challenges into HIIT and only made it through a few programs before I had to head off to bed. Needed to get up über early the next morning to attend a seminar and this chickie needs more than a couple of hours of sleep. Still haven't adapted to losing that hour of sleep from the switch to DST. You'd think all of the exercises would help in that department.

 

[AgileGrrl]

WEEK EIGHT DONE!

My weekly exercise stats to keep track of how many reps I did across my programs, challenges, and extra workouts. Overall steps were down but marching steps were almost double from the previous week. I'll take it.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 58

Was at an agility seminar most of the day, so I put on a lot of steps on from running my arse off up and down the course. My BC did really great considering she doesn't have as many skills at her age compared to my other dogs. Plus, the course was well above her pay grade. We will be at a trial this weekend competing in an organisation we haven't done before due to money issues, but I had a bunch of free run coupons, so I figured, why not try it out. The courses will be much bigger and more technical than what my pup is used to, but I have no lofty ambitions or expectations and just want her to have fun while getting some pent up winter energy out. I only did my Challenges and Express Tone last night because that involved some weight training with dumbbells. The rest of the programs would have to wait since I was too pooped out to do the rest.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 59

Spent the whole bloody day (from 9am to 11pm) chained to my laptop and I still didn't get everything done. I have 2 more hours of work to go before I head off to bed to get up uber early in the morning. Ugh! I gave myself 15 minutes to do some exercises and even that was a luxury. Only got through half of my challenges and none of my programs. Grrr. Hopefully tomorrow's agility trial will run quickly and I can get home in time to do a proper workout before I have to head off to bed and do it all over again. At least my pup will be a happy camper tomorrow even if I am moaning and groaning about lack of sleep.
Onwards & upwards!

 

[THew8]

“Progress survives imperfect days” I’m trying to learn this. Previously I’ve had a very “all or nothing kind” of approach and trying to think of my movement differently these days. But good on you for doing what you could.

Good luck with the agility trial tomorrow! (I’d love to see a video of this sort of event)!!

 

[AgileGrrl]

@THew8 Agree. As long as I keep moving I consider that progress no matter how small it might be. Better than not doing anything at all.

You can see my pups doing agility on my YouTube channel at

agilegrrl

Devoted to my dogs & the various sports they do.

youtube.com

There is a bunch of agility vids of my current competition dog along with my previous ones.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 60

Spent the whole day at an agility trial where I put on little over 15,000 steps of walking/running the various courses with one of my puppers. Got home and only had enough energy left to do my programs, but I made it through level 3 on all of them if that was an option, so I am a bit proud of that.
Onwards & upwards!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 61

Second day at the agility trial had almost the same amount of steps except this time I ran more than I walked. The courses were huge. My pup won a bit of money, which in agility is a rare thing since this is just an amateur sport and usually one only gets a ribbon depending on a few factors. Got home a bit earlier and tackled my programs again making it through the 3rd level on all of them except Valkyrie. I was plumb exhausted by the time I got to that one, so did just level one and considered that a win.
Onwards & upwards!

Photo of my pup and her winnings:

 

[Lady Celerity]

Congratulations to both of you! Well done!

 

[CODawn]

Congratulations!