Hi I thought i would start this thread for anyone who is undergoing treatment or nearly at the end of it who wants support for losing weight. I have had chemo, dble mx, rads, ovary removal and currently having Herceptin until July and on Letrozole for 5 years. I have been really down about my body image and know that talking to others in the same boat will help.
Hi, what a great idea! I went shopping for clothes at the weekend and got so frustrated. The problem isnt so much the mastectomy but all this weight i have put on since chemo. I have just been given a treadmill so i think a get healthy drive is whats needed. I start rads in about 2 weeks, but need desperately to sort out how i look.
Saying that i have sausages under the grill as we speak! doh!
take care
anna
Hi, what a good idea. I have put on a stone so far and will probably add more before I finish treatment.
I have had mastectomy, 5 chemo.
Like Anna I am also chomping as I type. Lol.
Once I have finished steroids and am back at work I am hoping my weight will sort itself out.
Take care. Debbie. xx
Hi can I join this thread please? I am fed up wearing tent-like tops to hide my ever-expanding middle, and I really don’t want to start buying clothes in a size bigger than I was when I have perfectly decent clothes in my wardrobe that don’t currently fit me. If anyone is interested maybe some of us could set ourselves a target of losing a few pounds by a certain date, eg 7 pounds by the end of Feb. (I know this won’t work for currently anyone on chemo - bloody steroids mean you can eat like it’s an Olympic sport, well that’s how they affected me). Don’t know about others but I would be motivated by some kind of target and knowing that I have signed up to it on this site. What do others think?
Hi Scottiedog, that sounds like a good idea. I am currently still undergoing treatment so think Feb as you say will be a bit unrealistic for me.
My weight seems to be mostly round my middle too and the bloating I get from chemo doesn’t help.
I think some of it is middle aged spread, but at least I can blame the chemo for now.
take care, Debbie. xx
Hi, I will buy a set of scales tomorrow and join you on that. I think all my junk food will be eaten by monday so i will start then. Im going to cut out all the fattening, junk food i have started eating (blaming chemo too) and i am going to start doing 30 mins fast walking to start with on my treadmill. I think i will weigh myself weekly and see how it goes. I imagine losing 7lbs will make a wonderful difference to my self confidence. I think for me the big thing has been that i have gone from exercising most days to nothing for nearly 8 months, im sure a little exercise will be a huge help.
good luck everyone, yay Debbie you are nearly there!
take care
anna
I’m 5 ft 2 and a size 14/16. Last autumn I was invited on an NHS keep well programme and am doing something called Counterweight. Initially, you get monitored ever 2 weeks for a bit, then it’s every 3 months for about a year. They give you loads of little information books and advice at each session. I’m on around 1700 cals a day and although I’m not losing a vast amount I am losing and I’m not hungry. I’ve done all sorts of stuff like SW, WW etc in the past and I hated the classes - with this I get a one to one session, although in some part of the country they do groups. Best thing is it’s free.
Hi, Can i join too, i have not started my chemo yet, but after struggling to lose a stone and half before dx i am desparate not to put too much on. I can easily put on a couple of pounds but it seems to take weeks to get it off again. I am trying to get out for a walk everyday, but sometimes the weather is not too good and i cant muster up the energy to go.
Daughters chocolate calls me from its tin everyday too!!
Liz x
Hi
I am currently on an NHS research programme about healthy eating and exercise to see if it has any influence on possible recurrence or not. I’ts for women in the Greater Manchester area and is called the B Ahead study. You can find the details on the web. I started end of November and have managed to lose 6lbs without too much pain. It generally involves eating sensibly and includes advice on exercise, stretching and lymphoedema care. The level of involvement depends on which part of the research you are designated and lasts for 1 year.
It certainly helps having a goal and someone else to talk to.
Good luck to everyone
Margaret
im also on the b ahead study with margaret at the nightingale centre in wythenshawe hosp
sue
First warning is that if you are undergoing radiotherapy you must keep your weight stable (neither up nor down) or else the measurements for lining up the machine will be affected.
Something to cheer you up is that improved posture and a massage after a break in treatment will make you look much slimmer. When everything is hurting and you haven’t got a comfortable bra etc, you tend to develop a stoop.
Straightening up will probably make you regain an inch in height and flatten your stomach. So keep stretching upwards, drop your shoulders and roll them back a little (you are possibly a bit hunched).Tuck your bottom under.
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy release a lot of toxins into your system because they break down actively dividing cells (mainly cancerous cells but also some good cells disappear as well) and these tend to bind with fluid making you look fat. A massage will help eliminate a lot of excess water.
Increasing your fruit and vegetable intake has a mild diuretic effect without adding too many calories (just stay off regular portions of very sugary fruits like mango and papaya).
After the quick fixes, when you are ready for real weight loss, try to switch to a low GI, low GL diet. Eat from a smaller plate so you are more likely to eat correctly sized portions. Food eaten while doing something else tends to be forgotten about. Eating the leftovers on your children’s plates aren’t free calories either. When you eat, make yourself comfortable, eat slowly, chew everything well and enjoy it.
Provided there is nobody around to see it, the easiest way to increase the amount of exercise you take is to work out a few simple movements you can do while performing mundane tasks such as brushing your teeth.
Cleaning the bathroom tiles can result in much the same movements as “incy wincy spider” up the wall that we were all told to do AND you have clean tiles. Housework burns a lot of calories and you can dance with your vacuum cleaner if you want!
Slimming Clubs work for some but wouldn’t for me. Slimming Clubs are mainly about peer group pressure. You have to learn to do it for yourself if you eventually want to leave the club behind. Also, some of the clubs build dependency by pushing foods marketed under their name with points values etc. You want to be eaten healthy home cooking with your family.
Holey.
Hi babes,Can I join too. I had WLE, Rads and tamoxafin. I’ve put one and a half stone on since dia in August and cannot seem to budge it,although I must admit I have not been so active but I’ll also admit I’ve indulged myself a bit too. Too many chocolate biscuits when I was feeling sorry for myself. Jellylegs x
When shall we weigh in???
Hiya. i put on well over 2 stone during chemo and rads mainly because i ate like a horse as i was so unhappy! Since January 1st ive started slimming world and use my wii fit each night and its really making the weight come off.
I dont have the energy to go to a gym etc but 10 mins of boxing or prancing about on the wii is about right and its amusing!
Did try just the diet route but nothing shifted which has never happened before hence the exercising.
Good luck everyone! Shame its so easy to put on and such a swine to get rid!
S
X
Me too. I posted about this just before Christmas as my weight was rising 4lbs each chemo and going down two!! I took control and kept it level until 1st Taxotere and it has risen again - I now have another week to try and get it back level again. I think that is all I can hope for during chemo, but I am craving the day I can get back to normal levels of activity without feeling breathless and heavy. Sex life is down the pan to a large extent, mainly because I feel fat, puffy, tired and unattractive. A few pounds loss and a less puffy and spotty face and I might feel more inclined…
Just 7 weeks until it is all over (except for Rads… and Herceptin… and tamoxifen…!!)!!!
I think 7lbs might be a tall target in a very short month, but maybe 4 would be achieveable?
How about we weigh in every week on a Sunday for the rest of this month - that gives us a few days to stuff our faces with chocolate and other goodies left in our cupboards, then get off to a good start on Monday? (Oh dear that doesn’t sound so much like a good start already does it!). I think Flora29’s suggestion of losing 4lb by end of month is sensible. I don’t think anyone should feel obliged to post their weight on here if it makes them feel uncomfortable, but I’m happy to do so - I haven’t weighed myself for months, maybe years, but I imagine that I’m somewhere around the 12 stone mark. I will dig the scales out let you know the bad news on Sunday. Hope those already doing well on diets that are working for them, and healthy eating research studies and so on will continue to share tips and advice. I have tried several times to diet recently, and it ALWAYS falls apart round about the 3rd or 4th day, and I end up scoffing tons of sugary or chocolatey food and then feeling bad about it. I reckon if I could eat healthily and exercise for a full week then I’ll have broken the habit and the rest should be easier. Fingers crossed. I don’t think it will be easy to get that far though …
hi, a weigh in each sunday sounds good to me, i will do mine before my sunday dinner lol
take care
anna
Hi all,
please can I join in too? I have a rather large muffin top that has taken up residence during chemo and is now claiming squatters rights. I really need some help shifting it.
A weigh in each Sunday sounds great - I’ll weigh myself on the WIIfit! Not that I’ve had any energy to do any exercises (currently on 7 out of 20 rads).
So, we’re all going to post our starting weights on Sunday, is that right??
Al
xxx
I’ll join in as well, I can’t blame any of my weight on chemo, I’m just a little fatty and as my bc was hormone receptor positive apparently having extra fat can help feed it, and I’ve got plenty of extra.
Maybe those who don’t want to put their actual start weight can put down every lb lost.
See you sunday
I will weigh myself on Sunday too. Think I allready know that I have put on a stone. Not suprising really as I am eating like a horse.
I went back to work today, only part time, but I think that will make a difference after 4 months of inactivity.
Good luck everyone. Debbie. xx
Hi ladies - can I join too! I weighed myself this morning after catchoing sight of my tummy and decided I had to do something, reckon I’ve put on 10lbs since dx (would have been more but gone off wine and chocolate). Been for a walk and tried not to eat between meals. My downfall is carbs esp muffins, crumpets and hot X buns! I’m up for a weigh-in on Sunday. See you all then. Marli x