Anyone Else Obese?

123JustMe

Count me in! BMI close to thirty hoping to lose 40 pounds!

shorfi

Monis. I am your height but weigh 230 pounds. At your weight...I would look wonderful and thin believe it or not.

grammakathy

I am 5'10" and always grateful my genes granted me extra inches to stretch out my fat cells. At my diagnosis of BC I weighed 218#, and down to 165, a year later. I had to make life changes to lose weight since I am not one who will exercise in a gym. It's just not something I am willing to commit to doing for the rest of my life. It's been nine months since then and I am down 3 more pounds so this looks like the weight I should carry.

sandcastle

GrammaKathy.....ONCE you get it....you just get into the routine.......it sure is work.......but we all can do it....Liz

movingsoccermom

I would recommend looking at second hand sporting goods stores for cheaper options on home equipment. I too have a stationary bike and it's much easier for me to be home than at some gym. I try to put a tv in the room to watch while cycling. Can't wait to finish rads so I can get back to it. So happy to have found fellow "fun sized" ladies!

sandcastle

I...belong to a gym...but we also have a bike at home......and that is great when there our days that I just want my coffee and not get dressed right away.....we have a TV in that room and have really used this...anything that can help...Liz

Bliss58

Grammakathy, I can relate to your story. BC has also been my motivator to finally lose the weight that probably contributed to my diagnosis as well. I'm down eight pounds so far and looking to drop many more. Heck of a way to join a weight lose plan!

grammakathy

I'm planning to try joining a gym when we get home in October because of comments here. If I waited 35 years to lose wait and did it, I'm telling myself I can improve my health further by doing this. Do any of you have implants from reconstruction? If so, what upper body exercises should be avoided or does it matter? Mine are the cohesive gels and under the muscles. I appreciate any information you might have on this

BeanBean

Hi all. Glad to find this thread. According to my BMI (and my mirror) I am also obese. 5' 6", 195 lbs. I've been overweight for most of my adult life, but cancer, chemo, tamoxifen and menopause have moved me into the obese category. My mother-in-law, upon seeing me after all my treatment, said I looked "puffy". Yeah, puffy enough that none of my summer clothes fit so I am wearing long pants, in the middle of summer, while having hot flashes!

I have a follow up with my oncologist next month and I am dreading it. The past two visits he has urged me to exercise 3 hours a week. He suggested that it be something I truly enjoy so it wouldn't seem like work. Well, first of all, with work and kids it is difficult to carve out 3 hours for myself. And secondly, there's really no form of exercise that I truly enjoy.

I finally got fed up about 7 weeks ago and joined the local Curves gym. After 4 weeks, a had lost over 10 inches, but only 1 1/2 lbs. I decided I needed to add cardiovascular exercise so started walking on the treadmill. Then I changed my diet, very limited carbs, more lean protein and fruits and vegetables. This is my second week doing everything I can do and the scale is not moving! I am so frustrated.

Kathy

gypsyjo

Hi LateNightReader, Remember that you are also building muscle and muscle weights more than fat. Your lost inches are showing your progress right now and the weight will eventually fall. You are in a marathon and doing quite well!

sandcastle

LateNight.....Take the Scale and put it away.....just go by your clothes......that will help your Mind......that damn Scale will just mess you up.....Liz

queenmomcat

Not quite sure what or how to ask. Exercise has been part of my life for years, but I'd started getting far more serious after a cancer scare last winter/spring, and I have started noticing differences--better muscle definition in the mirror, my much beloved gimlet-eyed 'queen of the nosyparkers' neighbor has commented on the change in my appearance. (I'm 5'4", 196 pounds, and stable weight since last November.)

I'll be the first to admit that losing inches is a marvelous way to judge whether we're losing fat/gaining muscle. I want to be healthy, to look good in my clothes, my bathing suit and in my mirror, and scale weight is only part of that equation. Not to mention that I, as do we all, have more pressing concerns just now! Not gaining weight/losing muscle during cancer treatment is a not unreasonable goal.

But what to do if my doctor looks at the BMI chart and says "Lose thirty pounds." Other than lose thirty pounds, I mean!

BeanBean

Thanks for the encouragement. I should just stop looking at the scale, but old habits die hard. I'm going to try. Stupid cancer, stupid menopause, stupid BMI chart

Jesika63

ditto latenight. The other day i went to my GP and he did regular blood work. Told me everything looks great but beofre he walked out the room he looked at me and said the weight really has to come off I looked at the wall and wanted to rip the BMI chart of the wall. I hate to even get weighed when i go to his office. I think that is probably the first thing he checks lol.

gypsyjo

I guess I lucked out on getting my MO. He stated the single most important thing I need to do to prevent cancer is get active, 30 minutes a day 6 6 times a week. Everything he says would be helpful, but to focus my attention there. It's more important than changes in what I eat or weigh. I was feeling guilty about my excess weight and he helped me focus my energy on priorities. I started gently yoga yesterday. Other than being a little sore, my joints do feel much better from the effects of anastrozole.

Jackbirdie

gypsy- yay for an MO with such a positive attitude. I'm going to try his advice myself

Bliss58

Hi LateNight, I agree, if you're losing inches, but not pounds, then you're replacing fat with muscle and much better than just the lousy number on a scale. I'm with you when it comes to not liking any exercise much. I've just started chemo, and I've been dropping some pounds just because I don't really feel like eating, but know I must. I'm trying to get myself into an every day 30-minute walk routine for now..

gypsyjo

Hi Ladies, I just wanted to post that I started Gentle Yoga a week ago and am feeling remarkably better! My joint and muscle pain from anastrozole is greatly relieved. I even feel like getting more active. I had no idea how much better it could make me feel. I can even get up and down from the floor so much easier.

PatRN10

That is great news !!! Hope the improvement continues. I am noting all of this for when I start these meds.

tangandchris

Hi ladies

Well, I went to MO yesterday and everything looked good but my blood sugar...it was 200!! She did an A1C and it came back that I am borderline diabetic, of course this wasn't a fasting lab so I'm not sure how accurate that really is. I'm freaking out to be honest and now I am working on getting my head right on losing this weight.

I now weigh 35 lbs heavier than I did prior to BC, I was already overweight at dx, but seriously 35 lbs heavier?? I'm not sure how this happened, but it is what it is and I need to do something.

I started back on my Walk Away the Pounds video, anyone tried this? I enjoy it for the most part, I like walking and its so damn hot outside that this let's me stay inside. Anyway, it's 30minutes long and I'm planning on doing this on my lunch breaks....I work from home.

Anyway, I'm really going to try and stay motivated on this. It's really difficult, but I've got to.

Bliss58

Good news, gypsyjo, and noteworthy for future use. Wishing you continued progress.

sandcastle

At....my Gym, yesterday they had Chair Yoga.....I was so very surprised how good it was....they only have it once a week....will try next week also....Liz

retired2015

Not happy to be here, but happy to find this forum. I have been very overweight for a long time. Skinny kid, totally appropriate for my height (5'3") as a teen and young adult. Pregnancy weight gain was limited to 20 pounds in my day and I did just that; however I kept 5 pounds with each pregnancy. My OB wrote in my chart when I weighed 140 that I was "obese." I joined Weight Watchers and went to a gym while my youngest was in kindergarten and lost 20 pounds. Took about 4-5 years to put it back on. I kept gaining because my husband I love to cook and love to eat. I have never been one to exercise. When we quit smoking (early 30's) I really gained because I exchanged one addiction for another. Not sure how I got to be 220 but that was my weight at BC diagnosis in March 2015. I had planned to retire in June and #1 on my list was to lose weight, exercise, and get healthy. I had a double mastectomy in April and am in the reconstruction process now (July 2015). I lost a little weight in the 5 weeks between diagnosis and surgery. My main motivation has been that I told both surgeons that I wanted to be "little" this time around. I had been a 44DD and was not going back there. Both surgeons said "You are too big to go really small." Those words have plagued me ever since. So far I joined our local Senior Center and go 2-3 times a week for an exercise class - which I find challenging so I keep going. That membership allows me 2 2-hour sessions at our local Y where I use the recumbent bike and tried walking on the track. Hurt my back pulling weeds and am seeing a chiropractor. My heel started hurting from walking on the track so the chiro said to stick with the bike for now. Though the cancer society I have been allowed 4 sessions with a therapist - we talk about my poor body image and trying to accept it. I am also allowed a 2 month special membership at the Y with 4 sessions with a trainer who specializes in working with cancer patients. That starts in a couple of weeks. My hips hurt when I walk but I do plan to continue walking when I can. My hope with working with the trainer is to get core strength which I never had, even when I was thin, as well as some flexibility, of which I have none. I am availing myself of every support that is out there - even a support group which I would have thought was not my thing. I find comfort in talking to others who have been where I am. I am hoping my plastic surgeon and breast surgeon will understand my need to have smaller breasts. I am blessed that I need no further treatment, my BR1 and BR2 gene test was negative, outcome could not have been better, but I beat myself up every day for being so out of shape at the start of this journey. At this point I can only go forward and hope to continue to exercise, lose weight, and get healthier.I want to be active enough to enjoy my grandchildren. As far as diet is concerned I try and eat much less of everything than I had before. I buy protein drinks recommended by my nutritionist and use them when I don't have or take the time to fix something for myself. Losing slowly. I wish for you the same. Baby steps. Good luck.

PatRN10

Hi retired, Sounds like you are doing the best that you can and using all of the available resources.That is all anyone can ask. Sounds like you are going slow but steady!

retired2015

Unfortunately, I am totally fixated on what size my implants will be once the expansion is done. I hate that it is as important as it seems to be. I am not vain, just want to look normal. I can't lose weight fast enough and am so afraid the docs will encourage me to go bigger than I want to be. and I am gearing up to have the discussion on Friday. Wish me luck. In the scheme of things, size is nothing compared to what so many women are dealing with. Wish I could just let go and let it be what it will be.

Moderators

Hi retired2015, and welcome to our community. You may find it helpful to read here about reconstruction. There is naturally the option of waiting for your reconstruction following surgery. Take a look here, and we hope this helps: Reconstruction. You may want to discuss this option with your surgeon.

From this page:

Typically, breast reconstruction takes place during or soon after mastectomy, and in some cases, lumpectomy. Breast reconstruction also can be done many months or even years after mastectomy or lumpectomy.

Please keep us posted, and like you said, one baby step after another!

Mab60

hello. Did snyone on this thread have a bmx and have a fat pad left directly under their arm? Do you think it is something I will just have to live with and maybe it will go away with weight loss

retired2015

I have a lot of fat/tissue to the side of the expanders. It feels like 2 handfuls. There is also extra tissue at the top of the expanders. My PC plans to use it for contouring during the implant transfer procedure and he promised to lipo any that he does not use. I am counting on it. I had a lipoma under my right arm which was removed (partially) many years ago. Because the surgeon said she could not get it all and the cut in the underarm left the area numb, I never went back to have the one under my left arm removed. The first one left some of the lipoma (fatty tumor). I asked my (different) surgeon to remove the one on the left when doing the mastectomy. She actually did it from the inside and got it all! I'm sorry now I didn't ask her to finish the job on the right underarm. I don't know if that is the type of fat pad you are talking about. Do you mean in your underarm (axilla) or the area below that?

Mab60

thanks for the reply. It is lower than the axilla. When I wear the surgical bra I went home in it is bulging below the bottom of the bra. It is the area prior to the bmx that I would have pulled into the bra cup. When I google seems a lot of overweight people experience this. Possibly referred to as the tail of the breast. I am co tangly pulling bottom of bra back down over i

retired2015

I will say that I wore the surgical bra for maybe 3 weeks and found it a little uncomfortable as it was tight under the arm and my belly was in the way in the front. My stitches were in for a long time - almost the end of June and surgery was April 22. I had to put Zeroform strips on the stitches and used surgical pads over that so that the tumeric yellow sticky stuff on the strips did not stain everything. At one point my husband helped me put an ace bandage around me to hold the pads in place..that lasted 2 days. Then I bought cotton sport bras and used them - still using them. They were comfortable and holds in the extra fat that is beyond the expander space, etc. Once stitches were out, I no longer needed the strips and pads. Would you be able to use the sport bras? I bought them at Target 3 for $10. Not too tight. I have them in many colors and wear them under my clothes.