Done with chemo, rads - now about those 10 pounds...

Estepp, I had rads with my expanders in with no trouble at all. My left side (which was radiated) is just a little bit tighter than my right, but to look at them (I now have silicone implants) they look exactly the same. And I did find rads to be WAY easier than chemo-I went on my lunch break from work every day. Good luck!

Drat.   I just checked this thread to see how everyone is doing, and there was my name at the top of the list with a question mark next to it:   "otter?"

I am a WHOLE MONTH BEHIND.

Weight is such a huge issue in my family (my mom/dad/sis family).  There is a tremendous amount of psychological baggage associated with it.  With an elderly mom who's been dealing with a BMI of 32+ for most of her life, you would think I'd have every imaginable reason to maintain a healthy weight.  She uses food as a "tool"--e.g., as a demonstration of her sincerity.

I did keep the same healthy weight for about 12 years...right up to menopause.  After that, I started gaining weight quickly; and through 5 years of meno, I gained 16 pounds.  Since nothing changed except my hormonal status, I figured "It's the metabolism, stupid!".

OK, so I had an excuse.  That didn't change the fact that I'd gone from a "healthy" BMI to a BMI that was just into the lower end of the "overweight" category.  Following in my mom's footsteps?

So... the good news is that I lost 6 pounds during chemo and I've lost 2 pounds since then.  I wasn't trying to lose weight during chemo--it just fluctuated a lot because of fluid retention/loss (thanks to Taxotere).  Since finishing chemo and starting Arimidex in June, I really have been trying to be careful about what I eat.  Mostly I'm just starting out by eating smaller portions--half a potato, smallest piece of chicken, no dinner roll, etc.  That used to work--I could lose weight easily with that strategy.  It doesn't cause me to lose weight easily anymore, but at least I haven't gained any back and I'm still on the right track.

Now, there's a brand-new report that says women who stay, or become, physically active after being dx'd with BC have a better chance of survival.  They're talking about a reduction in the risk of death of 67% from 2 or 3 hrs of "brisk walking" per week during the year before and 2 years after dx.  Women who were "sedentary" pre-dx could reduce their risk of death by 45% if they increased their level of activity to 2 or 3 hrs of brisk walking per wk during the 2 yrs after dx.

This is the original article:  M.L. Irwin, et al.  "Influence of pre- and postdiagnosis physical activity on mortality in breast cancer survivors:  The health, eating, activity, and lifestyle study."  Journal of Clinical Oncology 26(24):3958-3964 (Aug. 20, 2008).  It was highlighted in a lot of news releases this past week.

That's a HUGE effect of physical activity.

We can do that, right?

otter  

I gained 1 pound, and again, I know it's because I'm not exercising the way I should, I've been very busy the last couple of weeks. Tonight, I WILL exercise!

Ok I'm here with my head hung low.  I hate back-to-school workshop days.  I'm up like 2.5 NOT including what I lost, so that would be up 4 from when we started.  ARGGG but I knew the whole time I was eating very badly.  Back on track! 

I've come up with a way to keep myself on tract for running IF I decide to do it.  I was thinking about making a chart showing when and how far I've run.  I would hang it behind my desk at school.  I know the kids would see it and keep me accountable!  We'll see if I'm brave enough!  I thought it might also be good for my students to see that I set goals for myself.

Ok-it's Friday, so I guess it's time to check in. I've been doing a little better with the exercising, still not as much as I'd like, but I did lose 1.4 puonds this week-How did you guys do??

Well, I have bad news and good news...

The bad news is that I think I've maybe perhaps possibly gained about 2 pounds.  At least, that's looking more and more likely.  I'm hedging because it might be less (like, 1 pound) or it might be more (heaven forbid!  like, 3 pounds).  My cheap-o WalMart scale likes to skip the odd numbers, so I jumped 2 pounds, due solely, I'm sure, to that teeny little peanut butter milkshake I had 2 nights ago.  I swear, that was the only bad thing I ate! 

The good news is that my dh fixed my elliptical machine, and now it works great!  We bought it shortly after my surgery in Feb. '08, when I vowed I was going to reform and become a svelt, active, healthy otter again (like before menopause).  Unfortunately, the elliptical--though a mid-priced, heavy-duty model--didn't "feel" right, so I rarely used it.

Turns out, there were two problems.  One was gobs of sticky gunk (OK, dust mixed with grease) on the track that needed to be cleaned thoroughly, and the track re-greased.  The other was that the console-adjustable flywheel resistance was set too high at the factory.  It should have been set on "zero" resistance, but instead I think it was on the "climbing Mount Everest in a blizzard" setting.  Once we took the front end apart and, with a spelunker's headlamp, various Tool-World devices, and plenty of cursing, re-set the resistance, it worked smooooooooth and slick!

otter (optimistic about next week's weigh-in) 

I weighed myself today and I'm down 2lbs which means I'm back to my starting weight of Aug 1!  I keep losing and gaining the same 2 lbs.  I've been so tired this past week and managed to walk three times.  I haven't been sleeping well which impacts my energy, eating, etc.  I've been trying to wean myself off sleeping pills...was taking 1/2 of a 7.5mg pill, then went to 1/2 of a 5mg pill.  I recently switched to 1/4 of the 7.5mg but apparently this isn't working so last night I was back to 1/2 of the 5mg and slept better.

I ran/ walked a 10km yesterday.

 I lost another pound this week.

 Cheers, N

Just put up a new treadmill AT HOME last night.  I'll be running more regulary now!

I've been struggling with a post rad fall out---some blistering, pain, etc.  I'm actually much better now but haven 't been on a scale.  Am seeing onc on Tuesday, who I am sure will weigh me and hopefully I've not gained anything. Clothes seem a little loose...so maybe a little loss?

Hey, I did get weight this morning and I've lost 3 lbs!  Very happy with that.

Don't even ask!!!!!!!

I joined sparkpeople.com and think that will help.  It's a great site that allows you to track both your eating and fitness plus lots of message boards.

I stayed the same again this week. I'm still not exercising the way I was-gotta get back to it, I felt much better AND lost the weight when I had more oomph!

How's everybody doing?  I'm loving this weather and was able to get outside a lot this week.  I'm down a pound.

I can't tell a difference when I look in the mirror, but my family says they can.  Even my 6 year old!  So that's encouraging.

Anyone else?

Michele