Diet Suggestions - What has worked for you??

scrapmom40

Hi Ladies - I am hoping to you can give me any diet suggestions that have worked for you in the battle to lose weight.  I need to lose 15 to 20 pounds.  I am on Tamoxifen (3 years this July).  Unfortunately, I have not lost weight being on Tamoxifen and instead have had weight gain problems going through menapause, etc.

Would love to hear your success stories.  Thinking maybe I should try Weight Watchers.  Anyone try Healthy Trim??  Is it bad for BC survivors?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Karen

dlb823

Hi, Karen ~ Since no one else has popped in to answer your question, I'll go ahead and share my thoughts with you as a way to bump your thread.  I'm convinced that the only way to lose weight and keep it off without being on a diet the rest of your life is to focus on eating natural, healthy foods in reasonable portions, and to get more exercise.  Although structured diets work okay for some, the problem with them is that food (thinking about what to eat, what not to eat, measuring, weighing, counting) becomes the focus of your life.  Instead, if you try to make one or two small changes to what you're eating each week and stick with it, you will end up changing your tastes and eating much healthier in a few weeks, as well as losing weight.  A book I highly recommend is Eating Well for Optimum Health by Andrew Weil, M.D.  Also, have you read, Anti-Cancer, A New Way Of Life, by David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., Ph.D.?  He's a 2x cancer survivor and his book is full of science-based nutrition information aimed at preventing a recurrence. 

I also heard an excellent nutritionist on XM Doctor Radio yesterday.  She has a book that sounded really good.  I just found this link to it: 

http://dietitians-online.blogspot.com/2011/03/book-review-small-change-diet-10-steps.html   

Also, I'm a huge advocate of walking, which I started doing seriously after rads, and which has helped me to drop a pants size without changing anything else.  JMHO, although I know some women prefer WW and other structured programs.   Deanna

scrapmom40

Hi Deanna - thanks so much for responding to my post.  I have and have read Anti-Cancer.  I thought it was a great book.  I do eat pretty healthy (although I probably could work on portion size) and as far as exercise, I am not always consistent.  I live in New England so the winter is tough.  I like to walk outdoors.  I will look into the other two books you suggested.  Thanks for the suggestions.

Do you have any good healthy recipe books you can recommend?  That would be great.

Thanks again for replying to my post.  I appreciate it.

Karen

alex56

Hi Karen!  I live in New England too and this winter has been a nightmare. My husband dragged home a treadmill that a neighbor was giving away and I used it while I was in radiation to keep my bones moving.  My lymphedema therapist has me doing theraband exercises and some core strengthening stuff that is helping a lot.  A few years ago I bought the South Beach Diet book and found that it is pretty good with good recipes.  It's low carb, low fat and was fairly easy to stick with.  Some of the meds I'm on tend to kill my appetite which is sad for me because I love to cook and eat.  I've lost weight since my DX but it has helped my lymphedema especially.  Some warm spring weather will make everyone feel better though!

scrapmom40

Hi Alex56 - I have done the South Beach Diet before and did have success on it.  Thanks for the information.  Do you have any low carb, low fat cookbooks to recommend?  If you do, please let em know.  I am always looking for good recipes.

Thanks.

Karen

mdg

As far as recipes, I find a lot that I like on www.cookinglight.com.  I just do some substitutions to adhere more close to the diet from the Anti Cancer book.  I do get lots of good ideas from Cooking Light.  As far as eating healthier, I find it helpful to have a menu for the week and a plan.  I look through my recipes and select what I will make that week based on our schedule (being home or not for dinner each night) and I plan a menu.  Then I make the grocery list based on that.  I eat a lot of leftovers for lunch.  I always make extra veggies for dinner and make sure to eat some with my lunch so I get more veggies in. 

Heidihill

I've lost 8 lbs since finishing treatment (and would like to lose about 10 more). I couldn't h ave done it with diet alone, especially with t he meds we take. I think it's important to raise your metabolism with regular exercise. I've also tried skipping breakfast, except for coffee, working out at the gym and then eating something for lunch as the first meal. These have worked for me but I have again stopped losing weight and need to change strategies. The body reaches a new set point and needs to be shocked out of complacency. Sorry if these aren't really diet suggestions.

scrapmom40

Heidi and Maria - thanks for the tips.  I will take any and all tips, suggestions, etc. that I can get.  I have started walking again and have been eating lots of salad again so hopefully something will start to happen.  I eat pretty healthy most of the time.  Exercise is my biggest issue.  I am not consistent enough with exercising.

I am going to check out cookinglight.com.  I am actually have Easter Brunch at my house so I will start there and hope to find some healthy recipes.

Thanks for your feedback.  I really appreciate it.

 Have a great day.

Karen