Battling Weight Gain

As mentioned on Tuesday, I have put a good chunk of weight back on and I’m now starting the process of fighting it back off. Here is my plan:

Exercise: I have reached out to the personal trainers at my gym to inquire to see who would be the best fit for me to set up an exercise regime for me to follow. I’m more likely to do so if it’s set out for me. Part of what helped me lose weight last time was running but I hate running.. At least running for running sake.

Comfort Food: I am no longer bringing in food that I consider to be comfort food that is deadly to the waistline. This means no more cookies or pudding or chocolate. It also means no more ordering pizza or other fast food.

Portion control: I have to return to watching exactly how much I eat. So if I make a pizza from scratch I can’t eat the whole damn thing in one sitting. That is no longer allowed.

Weight Gain

Over the last few months, my mental health has not necessarily been the greatest.

Motivation has been down, so getting to do things that aren’t scheduled has been a challenge.

Fatigue has been high, so having the energy to do even the things that are scheduled has been a challenge. I should follow up with my doctor to ensure it’s not just the fibro cuz it’s been more as of late & I am getting my B12 shots done regularly now.

Pain has been escalating. It hasn’t been high enough to warrant a visit to the ER, but it is higher than it was before Christmas. It’s usually been muscular pain in my leggs, sciatica pain in my lower back or just plan old headaches or migraines (a bit of both). Pain doc can’t help with the first or last beyond medications, and I’ve been getting epidurals for the sciatica. Unfortunately my back popped a month or so ago, so the epi hasn’t been as effective (yes, I’m following up with my GP on that when they return my call)

Comfort food has been the go to lately, most of which has not been healthy. Junk food, cookies mostly leftover from Christmas, candy, chips, etc . Not the best choices.

The accumulation of all these factors has resulted in significant weight gain..

Non-Scale Victories!

This is part of a series of various Non-Scale Victories. They are things I’ve noticed over the last few years as I’ve lost weight.

At The Gym – Part I

i have recently returned to the Durham YMCA fitness center. Mom & I going two years ago due to COVID and are going back I’m not doing the same activities as I used to for a few reasons.

The schedule and availability of classes is different and limited, a casualty of COVID. My own personal schedule activities has changed – the times I can go and the timing of what is available rarely mesh.

Arriba– The only organized activity is the Arriba class, the one where I step the the music because my coordination sucks. I do some of the step movements with ease cuz they are steps I used to do in my dance classes all those years ago. I rarely do the arm movements cuz I’m usually too focused on the stepping to get it right or even can’t been bothered to figure them out for the most part.

But here’s the thing, I’m able to do the class and not be completely exhausted afterwards. Yes I will feel sore afterwards, but it’s a good sore. Unfortunately, last week even tho I was taking it super easy, I inflamed my fibro even worse. But generally it’s an in improvement.

Swimmimg – Because I’m still waiting for Koolaid to finish healing again, I’m not allow to get him wet with chlorinated water, I can’t go into the pool. But for the one week I was able to go into the pool for a week, I did and was able to walk the lengths of the pool, back and forth. Yes taking breaks at each end, but I am slowly able to do it When I first started doing water, I would only treat water in the deep end of the pool. Given the high amount of fat in my body then, it wasn’t difficult, cuz fat floats. So a definite improvement.

Unfortunately, there is no Aquafit (bouncing to music in the water) that currently fit in my schedule. I hope it opens up soon..

Towels – I am a plus member at the Y and one of the perks is the towel service. When covid shut us down, I was unable to get the larger gym towels fully around my body, to say nothing about the smaller towels. When I returned I found that I could not only wrap the large towels around me with fabric to spare, I was able to do the same with the smaller bath towels! Wow!!

Stairs – To make it to the workout rooms and the upper studio for the yoga classes, I would have to climb a double height staircase. Sometimes, on bad days, I would take the elevator up. On really bad days, I wouldn’t even both going. Those days I could make it up the stairs, it was a massive struggle. I’d commonly stop at the landing and take a breath.

Now, to stop part way up at the landing means I’m having a bad day. But I can now climb the stairs all the way up. I didn’t notice I had done this until several visits in..

Non-Scale Victories!

This is part of a series of various Non-Scale Victories. They are things I’ve noticed over the last few years as I’ve lost weight

Flexibility – Now, part of this may have to do with exercise as well as not having as much chubb (fat tissue) blocking me from movement.

Squating – I have noticed improvement in this area as my weight has dropped. But I was at the rifle range late last month with the Boy Scouts. (Let me know if you want more info on this) When I went to post my target, with is pinned on a board right at floor level, I squatted down. Not just partly, and then bent over. I was able to squat all the way down where my tush was just off the floor. Even more impressive, I was able to stand back up from said squat with no help whatsoever. Last summer, I’d been able to get almost that low, but had trouble getting back up. That day at the rifle range, absolutely not! The freedom of movement is wonderful even if it hurts.

Falls – I am reminded of another situation. I was at Long Sault Conservation area shortly before COVID hit & shut down the world. I was still pretty heavy then. I was there with my friend Jen & her son as well as my sister & her kids. It was March and the ground was still icey. My balance bites at the best of times, so of course despite my good winter boots, I slipped and fell. Firstly, instead of a gasp & a moan and hurting myself, I started to laugh. My sister, so used to me being so big, uncoordinated and non- functional, she unconsciously rushed over to help me. Two years prior, I probably would have needed the help, but I told her I was ok, and I was already halfway back up by the time she got to me. She was surprised I was able to move well enough on my own and to be honest so was I. But I was, because I was lighter and could move more easily than I had.

Did I hurt myself? Good God, yes. I have fibro, so that was not unexpected, but I didn’t feel it until later after I got home.

Touching my toes – Can I touch my toes? No, I still can not bend that far and don’t know if I ever will.. I can however, because there alot less tummy in the way, reach significantly further than before. With straight legs, I can touch my shins about 3 inches above my ankles. At maximum weight I’m not sure I could have bent over and touched my knees.

Yes, I Tried That.

I know you’re trying to be helpful but your suggestions of yoga or CBD or massage or med XYZ, but I’ve tried it all already..

Medications.

In my case, I have tried all the meds. The only one I haven’t tried is one that’s available in the States but not in approved for use here in Canada. It’s called Sabella.. Specific medications for fibro include lyrica and gabapentin did not help and in fact, the gabapentin made me significantly worse – not good

I’ve been on any number of narcotic medications, starting at 20 Tylenol 3’s a month (that was a joke, way too insignificant) to high dosages of codeine contin & Fentanyl.. Fortunately, those were not at the same time.

I’ve also been on several muscle relaxing medications. Unfortunately, the one that works the absolute best is not covered my government benefits, but the one that is covered is adequate unlike many others.

i have been on anti-inflammatoriez for many many years due to Endo then the arthritis. Unfortunately, it seems to have started causing increased bruising in the last year or longer. As a result, my GP has taken me off my regular double daily dose. I now take an otc anti-inflammatory “as needed. “

I have actually been on various forms of medical marijuana and just as I’m finding the perfect balance to help, I start having issues, problems that might be due to cannabis products. We are still trying to figure out the cause because even tho I’m off *all* marijuana products, synthetics oils and otherwise, I’m still having regular issues. So the docs got no idea what’s going on. Read more here.

Exercise!

You’re kidding me, right? Do you know how hard it is to exercise when your body is screaming at you? Even Yoga.. Or swimming.. Or walking.. Even these simple every day activities, when you have severe Fibromyalgia can be unbelievably difficult. While it can help some it does impact others in a negative way, deteriorating their health.. I am lucky. I made a decision 10 years ago when I hit 303lbs on the scale at my doctor’s office. So I did start the long and painful, excruciating process of doing a smidge more activity, very slowly increasing what I was doing.

So yes, now I can go swimming.. well, walk in the pool, lol.. Before COVID I could participate in an aquafit class, but sometimes no more than bobbing in the water but I made the effort to be there.

Yes I can walk further, but that happened with great encouragement from my sister. Over the last six years, we would get together weekly to walk. On some days I can’t walk very far, but I try. This encouragement has led us to talking and we have become very good friends now. An excellent side bonus!

Yoga can still be very painful, depending on the speed, the instructor, the modifications, the positions we use and the flows (God I hate flows). I do have favourite positions like bridge & pidgeon that surprise people. But it took me 10 years to get to this point and it can still very much hurt.

Was at the gym, stepping around in an Arriba class earlier this week and crashed out that night… Barely made it to the time I take my night meds. Even took extra early pain meds to help dampen the pain so I could sleep.

The advantage of me having the gym membership at my local YMCA is the plus membership I fork out the extra for the plus membership because it includes additional99lounge, steam room & the infamous hot tub. The hot tub is my life saver. Can’t wait for my tat to finish healing so I can send all the way in to my neck

Diet.

These include gluten free, Keto, vegetarian, vegan, anti-inflammatory, Noom, high protein, Mediterranean, Weight watchers, diabetic, South Beach, intermittent fasting, paleo, raw foods, Aktins, etc… While some of these would works for some, none of these really helped me or could help me. Between complexity, my will power (or lack thereof), cravings and food sensitivities, none of these actually worked for me. My choice of “diet” is moderation and avoiding a lot of prepackaged foods. The closest to this would probably be the weight watchers program but I found their point system to be complicated especially with the cognitive issues with my Fibro. This adaptation has also helped me lose weight. So I still do drink Coke, probably still too much, but significantly less. I’ve almost 100% restricted out the xanthan gum, guar gum and carrageenan additives as they typically cause my IBS to flare which would start putting me in starvation mode, which makes maintaining, let alone losing weight even more difficult. Not to mention get some of these diets require me to eat foods with these additives in them.

I do treat myself every once in a while with a bowl of sorbet. Very infrequent use of these chemicals it is permitted because my body can tolerate them in very very small doses.

Alternative treatments

We’re talking massage, acupuncture, physio, osteopathy, chiro, etc. Physiotherapy does not really help the fibro other than adjusting exercises that could be beneficial to help increase strength, endurance or flexibility. In many cases this does not improve the pain due to fiibro in patients.

While chiropractic medicine helps some with fibro, it actually made my situation significantly worse.

Osteopath does help but it mostly treats my other conditions like post concussion syndrome, migraines or endometriosis and general health and wellness. Does not help fibromyalgia specifically that I know of.

Acupuncture does absolutely nothing for me or any of my medical conditions. I have tried it a number of occasions and hasn’t worked with any of the practitioners. One lady treated my Endo & gave me migraines. Any further attempts for any other issues have resulted in absolutely not relief

Massage can wonderful. If you get an appropriate RMT who understands fibromyalgia and will listen to you & adjust when you say “Ow!” it can help. Unfortunately it also tends to be very short-term

Injections.

For 15 years now, give or take, I have been getting injections of a medication called Marcaine which is a sibling medication to lidocaine. These I get with my pain physician who was initially in Scarborough and is now in Oshawa. These shots have helped over the years for anywhere between 4 days and 4+ weeks depending on the level of my pain

In the winter I also get epidurals up to three times each winter depending on my pain levels at that time. This tends to treat my osteoarthritis in my lower back, not the fibro pain. In doing that however, it reduces the OA pain, making the fibro pain more manageable.

lidocaine infusion. This is the one last treatment I know of. This is when they attach an IV and add lidocaine to your blood system. This is my next course of action for treatment. I have an ECG scheduled for next week so that I can access this treatment. Once it’s been verified that my heart is ok, I can and will book the treatment. I will let you know how it went.

Thank You, But..

Thank you for your concern for me and your helpful intentions, I’ve been dealing with this a long. Thank you for your pearls of wisdom persistent unsolicited advice is actually inconsiderate & thoughtless. I *do* know my body & I do know what works for me. It comes across to those of use dealing with these issues like we don’t know anything about my fibro and that you know more than me & my doctor. Honestly, in most cases, I do know more than my doctor. So please stop making suggestions cuz what worked for your friend’s cousin, Sally, I have already tried. or that your Dad’s friend’s daughter was cured, because it can’t be. I don’t need anyone telling me how other people’s treatment going to work for me because her fibro is not my fibro.

So stop I don’t need or want to hear it.

New Level of Weight Loss

In the Winter of 2012, I stepped on the scale at my pain physician’s office, CPM Scarborough and was flabbergasted when the number came up. 303.6. I was absolutely horrified.

From there I started to eat less and to get moving more and slowly over the years, the weight has slowly and consistently, bar some plateaus, come off..

While my regular pain physician is no longer in that office, I do, in the winter, see her colleague in that Scarborough location This Wednesday I stepped on that same scale that years ago said 303.6.

It read 189.2.

Do you know what that means? As it is the same scale, it means I have lost 114½ pounds so far.

Do you know what else that means? I’m at high school weight. No just able to fit in high school clothes, but the actual numbers?! I’ve not been this light since I graduated highschool. At the end of Grade 13 I was 191lb. So I am about the same weight I was in my highschool graduations pictures .

I’m the same weight, give or take, in these 2 pictures..

Flaring! Flaring bad!

Yesterday was the perfect storm. Everything conspired against me.

1. Poor Sleep. According to my fitbit, for the last several weeks, I’ve been getting usually between 4 & 6 hours of sleep a night, average rating poor-fair. There’s the occasional longer, better sleep in there, but not often..
2. Forgotten Medication. When I left for the cottage early this morning, I forgot all my meds at home. Admittedly I didn’t need them all today, but there are certain ones that I do have to take at certain times for them to be effective. Unfortunately, those got left at home. I did have limited or weaker alternatives which I suppose is better than nothing.
3. Emotional Stress. I am currently having problems with my current relationship. I’m not sure if it’s something I can handle and accept or not, so there’s alot going on there..
4. Poor Diet. Due to the aforementioned stress, I haven’t been eating.. I haven’t been eating well & I haven’t been eating much. Neither is good, both is worse.
5. Activity. Spent the day in bed.. with my boyfriend, not sleeping. While this is usually a good thing, due to stress, I was unable to truely relax and enjoy it. So I was getting the workout without all the longer term benefits
6. Physical Stress. After I’d started going down hill, I had a horrible drive home. What would normally be a nice relaxing 1½ hour drive home from the cottage turned into a 3+hour nightmare. Between accidents causing an entire highway to shut down for over 14hrs, excessive detours, multiple accidents on said detours, snow.. The body begins to tense up more & more & more.. and with me being in the car I wasn’t able to like stretch or anything creating more physical stress

For the first time in over 3 years, my pain turned to a solid 8/10.

After 2+ hours, 4 Tylenol3, 4 muscle relaxers, an anti-inflammatory, my CBD oil, prescription edibles, and a backrub with A535.. the edge started to come off, but I also started feeling the effects of over medication too..

I just can’t win..

Stuff That Doesn’t Mean We’re Okay

Posted on February 28, 2017 by MyFibroTeam

Life as a “normal” person is turned upside down when suffering from & living with chronic illnesses. Often these conditions are invisible. This can cause many to not understand and not believe that you’re as sick as you claim. They have to realize the despite the image we may project, we are in pain Every Single Day.

Then there’s the Catch-22.. Should I put forth an effort into my appearance when I miraculously do go out to look ‘normal’? Should I show up looking as bad as I feel? Or should I even bother going out? It’s a tricky thing — trying to live normally when your life no longer is. People tend to be surprised when we post a well-articulated paragraph on Facebook, have a good laugh, talk about things other than sickness (apparently lately ive been talking non-stop about Cub Scouts), write a highly researched, factually correct well written blog post, or bigger things like going on vacation even if it is just to go up to the cottage.

It is sad that we need to point out these things. It has hit many of us more than once that appearance, timed-just-right clarity of thought or momentary positive mood seem to adjust the perception of those around us creating more doubt in the truth that we each are really very, very sick.

So to that end, Take into account that while we may do things one day, these activities are not necessarily our norm, or it is something we have planned for well in advance. Review this non-exhaustive round up of things that do not mean we’re lying and actually okay:

1 – Articulation/Ability to Communicate Well

Admittedly this is currently one of my prominent disabilities, impaired cognitive function. However, many others can found themselves in the middle of a conversation in a rare moment of a clarity & articulation. And even myself even more rarely. These are the times where we have clarity of mind, excellent though process and the ability to communicate well. . In these moments, we are not communication like someone who is ill. It impairs the idea that Fibromyalgia and many other chronic disease do have cognative impairments.

i have actually spoken with several others with fibro who are highly cognizant in the change of their levels.. Personally I’m pretty sure my IQ has dropped at least 20 points by now, if not more.. In my mid-20s, I had an IQ of 180, thats hitting genius level. I haven’t had access to retesting, so I dont know 100% sure, but its pretty obvious to me.

2 – Laughing and Smiling

Apparently, those of us who are sick are not allowed to be happy, be joyful and positive. Yes, we are in pain & have memory/cognative issues, are drained & exhausted, have issues with sleep and deal with mental health issues, so some think it would get us down and we would not want laughter. In actuality, we need it the most because it feels good.. Smiling and laughing have little to do with someone’s health or pain levels. Those with chronic conditions have become strong from all the suffering they experience, they can still laugh and smile while in pain, which says not that the pain is low but that the need for relief is high.. Additionally laughing with others releases endorphins in the brain and it activates the release of the serotonin, both of which are homegrown feel-good chemicals which can only make us feel better.

3 – Getting Out

Being social is something we need to do. We can get both depressed and anti-social due to our chronic conditions. Some go “all out” as far as appearance: hair fixed, makeup, jewelry, and a dress. But I’ve never been one for being ‘dressy’ so when I go out I tend to be in jeans & a nice top. I’m not going out to impress, I am going out to have fun & enjoy myself.. But, I do tend to dress a little more sexy & with make-up when going to a club..

Some go out frequently. Personally, for purely social purposes, I go out once a week, maybe twice (without covid) . But, I also go out for Cub Scouts weekly which is different than social but is still getting out. I also get exercise – I walk weekly with my sister & our pups. We end up talking the whole time. I have also recently joined an exercise group that meets weekly which is also both social, but also exercise. Unfortunately, with my bff living out of town, & her also having fibro, we dont get to actually see each other that often even tho I have a key to her place.. I’d probably go out more if she was closer & she wasnt so busy with work..

So while we can & do get out, its not always a reflection on our health level. Sometimes we need to make accommodations. I’ve gone out to a bar, medicated on narcotics, to be with friends. (No, I wont drink) I’ve gone to Cub Scouts Day Camp the day after an unsuccessful ER visit, looped up on muscle relaxers & anti-inflammatories or MMJ. I had to go – I had half the equipment *&* the itinerary. Dont worry, there are other leaders because if I’m medicated, I don’t count for ratio. I’ve also usually had either a hot shower or preferably, a hot tub, when available, after almost any type of workout to minimize and even help prevent any residual issues I might have the next day or two. Unfortunately, there are still many times that I still need to cancel plans with scouting, friends, family & intimate relationships.

4 – Technological Activity

Technological socialization is all a lot of us have, especially with COVID. We tend to find typing on a keyboard or on text to be almost always easier. With the hermit life many of us live, we might also avoid telephone conversations because in & of themselves they can be stressful & exhausting. So when my whole body feels like death warmed over, but I’m usually more able to move fingers either on the laptop of cellphone. While a “activity” in no way suggests any other type of activity whatsoever, many people assume that because you are participating online that you are fully functional. Sometimes we express ourselves via social media just to stay sane.

If I post something non-health related or — shocker — something happy on social media or my blog, I wonder if others see it as me being “well,” which is never the case. Our illnesses are always, always there, even if we’re not talking about them at the moment. No matter how much we wish to ignore them, we would still prefer to make them go away.

5 – Announcements that Imply Activity

Many of us are creative people in some format even if is just colouring.. Due to COVID, many people have added extra creative outlets over the last 2 years.. But every new pursuit that is public in any form makes others wonder if, as mentioned above, people see those pursuits or accomplishments and think, “Oh see, she’s doing well.”

But you need to understand: I am on disability and I have no “real” job. My life revolves around creative outlets, medical appointments, cub scouts, health & wellness, Lilly, family, friendships and my social media & Blog. With my very messed up sleep schedule, I do dishes and laundry when I can, and attempting to keep both my pup Lilly and myself fed. Seriously. All of that is my every day. And as little as that seems to be, to my body, that is a whole freakin’ lot. And it gets overwhelming, and some days I can’t even do half of that.

But some days — or nights in my case — are better than others. And that healthy girl who lives buried in me somewhere is begging to come out and create, and sometimes I just have to listen. So when I post about the awesome stuff my Pack is doing, share images of my latest painting project, talk about my love of soccer, add to my Varage Sale store, or am chilling up at the cottage for a few days, all this is done either on a good day, or only take a portion of my day, but is the only activity.. What you see are ‘snips’, brief moments it time, a small glimpse into the parts of my life I want to share. And even then, some of those can be done while still laying in best, resting my body, but still having an active mind.

We are never fine. Whatever assumptions you make based on how we look, how we move, what we do, or even what people “think” we can do, the only thing safe to assume: we are always worse than you think we are

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The original post was first published here, While I have kept some of the content, I have also made multiple changes with my own feedback, comments & experiences.

The original author Kacie Fleming has learned about health and treatment options into the nearly six years since being labeled with fibromyalgia. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and spends her time working on her handmade jewelry.

Working the Federal Election

On Monday past, here in Canada, we had a federal election. End result was we are now $600 million more in debt & the government changed by about 3 seats. We still have a liberal minority.

^{Directional sign by Elections Canada signifying our poll station.}

But I’m mentioning this because I work the elections. It’s a long day but it’s actually kind of fun and here in Canada we get paid for it..

I did a training several days before & I get paid for that.. On the day of, polls are open from 9:30 to 9:30. We were required from 8:30am to whenever we got all the electors in.. Fortunately, our location was dead after 8pm. Other locations had people lined up around the block at 9:30pm when the polls closed (If they were in line before 9:30, they still got to vote. )

So there was a couple things that I did to manage.. I changed jobs so I wasn’t always standing or always sitting. Because our station was not very busy I was able to walk around quite a bit when I needed to move. I took my lunch outside and the same with my dinner, enjoying the lovely weather. I had my regular meds plus additional other meds in case pain levels went up. I did yoga – no not getting down on my hands and knees on a mat and doing stretching poses, but I can listen my back up, rolling forward & back similar to cat and cow, just in a chair. Last time, one lady actually stood up & did some full blown yoga poses!

So, basically I kept moving & kept lightly drugged the whole day.. But it works for me!

Socializing While In Pain

Do I socialize when I’m in pain?

Yup, I socialize, otherwise I’d be a hermit!

Yup! Otherwise I’d be a hermit. Plus, very few friends can identify how much I’m in pain. My bff & my sister can tell by looking at me.. I have other friends & family who have learned the signs.

Mom can tell usually just by looking at me.. not always, but usually.. My sister is pretty good.. Her kids & hubby not so much – ironically I think the kid of hers that would recognize the best is her youngest, because he has seen me the most over the last few years.

My guy friend T has, over the last 3½ years learned quite a bit about how to read the non-verbal clues.

My BFF also has fibro & is sometimes a little too focused on her own fibro to catch my issues. Only reason I can gauge her easily is that she has an emotional response to her issues that I don’t even think she’s aware of.

My second BFF also has his own issues, and usually only sees me on better days.. I don’t think he’s even seen me at mediocre or worse in a long time..

Them there’s some of the Scouters I work with.. Raksha 13th & I have become good friends through Scouting & Rainbow I’ve known since grade 8 or 9, but through guiding & scouting as well. They are pretty good a picking things up.

There are other friends who are less prevalent in my life but even they can recognize some signs if I’m having issues

What I Can Do.

So, there is the basics of who I tend to see most, then the next thing is *what I can do*. Mind you the days when I’m seriously f****d up due to symptoms, I don’t talk to anyone unless I haveta Haveta HAVETA.

Now pain & other symptoms varyy from week to week, day to day, even hour to hour.. Fortunately in the last few years the hour to hour option seems to happen less and less frequently, but for a long time that is how I had to play it.

When my pain levels are super high, any communication is digital.. To everyone. If you’re lucky..

^{Digital Communication Only on my Worst Days, At Best}

Next level down:

• Mild exercise like walking my dog around the court
• Have company over for low maintenance visits
• Socialize for dinner with Mom & Dad

^{Exercise by walking the Dog Around the Court Is All I Can Handle Some Days.}

As my pain levels drop, I can be more sociable in activities that require less interaction such as:

• Hanging out with selects friends in a quiet environment, such as a campfire, living room, patio, poolside, dock.. This would be BFF’s, & T, for the most part
• Walking around the neighbourhood
• Watching the kids’ soccer games
• Visiting the family cottage for a few days
• Visiting the gym for a hot tub!

^{Hanging out with Friends, in Front of the Campfire, or Otherwise, Though we use Chairs – LOL}

As the pain levels drop a moderate to low level I can usually do the following:

• Karaoke
• General.Cub Scout Activities
• Marksmanship
• Hangout with friends in a noisier, bigger, busier location like a restaurant or bar
• Moderate exercise like the walks with my sister & the pups
• cub Scout meetings!
• Glamping at my BFF’s cottage
• Concerts (depending on who, I may go on a worse day & accept the consequences)
• Professional sporting events like the Leafs, TFC or The Rock.. & to a lesser extent, Argos, Jays or Raptors..

^{Concerts with Friends Are Always Fun!!}

So assuming my pain level is low, there is a lot I can do. I can:

• More strenuous exercise such as cycling
• Visit the gym for Aquafit, yoga, weights, or the track. I had gotten in a few slow Zumba classes in before COVID..
• I can Camp – not the glamping like at the cottage, but camping with friends, and even my Cub Scouts . In fact we were going to Camp Impressa for a year end camp earlier this month with my senior Cubs & the Scouts (See more in this post).. & I just went camping 2 weekends ago with T
• Sporting activities like soccer with the girls or golfing with T
• Some of the more physical activities in Cub Scouts.. Such as teaching how to put up tents, waterproofing the bedroll, setting up grey water, basic orienteering, limited kayaking/canoeing, etc..
• The Pheonix. – Dancing at the club!
• Hiking (like fairly flat, fairly short, nothing overnight – Second Marsh near me is a good example)
• Roadtrip!

Easy Hiking with Friends

What I can not do.

There are so many things now that I would like to do that I just not in the cards. These are activities the I’ve either done or were at one point on the bucket list. This includes activities such as:

• White water rafting. T wants to go – I can do the camping part, but not the rafting part
• Backpacking/ Hiking. This includes longer hikes, more challenging hikes, or overnight hikes. I can not lug an air mattress through the wilderness 😄
• Winter outdoor camping
• Amusements parks – can’t do most of the rides, and way too much walking.
• Skiing
• Horseback Riding
• Zip-lining (not sure I’d do that anyways)

_{^{Canada’s Wonderland, the Prominent Amusement Park in the Toronto Ontario Area.}}

What would you like to do that you know you will never do again?