Help! Can't shift chemo weight...

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Rubyluby
Rubyluby Member Posts: 74
edited June 2014 in Life After Breast Cancer

Hello lovely ladies,

I know I'm lucky to be alive and weight gain is, by comparison, a trivial issue, but it's really getting me down.

I have gained 25 pounds in the time since I was diagnosed. I don't recognise myself in the mirror anymore. (My profile picture here is a "before" shot by the way!) I've joined Weight Watchers and started kick-boxing classes, but it seems to be so much more stubborn than anything I've dealt with before. 

 Are there any ladies out there who have successfully managed to shift the chemo chub? How long after the end of chemo? Will my body stabilise? Is there hope? 

Hugs to you all,

Lucy 

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  • Claire_in_Seattle
    Claire_in_Seattle Member Posts: 4,570
    edited June 2010

    Hi Ruby....

    I actually lost weight during chemo, and am almost where I want to be.  WHY?????

    Because I learned earlier in my life what happens if you don't exercise regularly.  It's sneaky:

    1. You lost muscle mass and replace muscle with fat.  This is usually not obvious.
    2. Then you gain wait because your metabolism slows down.

    So you need to rebuild muscle mass which will raise your metabolism.  This requires weights and work on your core.  Aerobic exercise will help you burn even more calories.

    Some bad news is that if you reduce calories without working on muscle mass/doing aerobic exercise, then your metabolism just tanks further.

    I am not sure if kickboxing helps with muscle mass but free weights sure do.

    Good luck.  It's really a question of finding what works and then sticking to it.  Have you tried working with a personal trainer?  It might be worth the investment.

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  • Claire_in_Seattle
    Claire_in_Seattle Member Posts: 4,570
    edited June 2010

    p.s.  Picture was me on a typical Saturday during chemo.  I cycled, and I did weights/crunches plus walking on week days.

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  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 57,235
    edited June 2010
    Hi Ruby, Weight Watchers is a great start, because they teach you to eat healthy not just less. I found the whole key in exercise (sigh, no magic bullet!); from what I've read, a person should do a total of 4 hours of aerobic & 3 hours of toning a week, which is what I have tried to do (of course, some days during chemo my 'aerobic' exercise consisted of walking slowly in a circle around and around the house Frown). If you want to check out a fun and really motivating exercise thread, come over to 'post your daily exercises', and the 'e-lab project' (eat like a bird) thread looks fun and motivating too. Best of Luck! Ruth
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  • gsg
    gsg Member Posts: 3,386
    edited June 2010

    last year i lost the 28 lbs i put on during chemo (in 2006) by alternating between walking one day and swimming the next and also became a vegetarian.  Bought a pedometer and would try to walk 5 miles per day on my walking days. Was thrilled to see it come off because I'm on Arimidex and that seems to make it harder to lose weight.  Unfortunately, I stopped all this once winter began and it immediately came back...all 28 lbs.  So have to start in again.  Broke my leg 2 weeks ago...so will be laid up for 12 weeks.  I'm using weights in bed to try to jump start a healthy lifestyle again, even though I'm bedridden.

    Good luck to you.  For me, the weight gain was one of the worst parts of bc treatment. 

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  • bluesky
    bluesky Member Posts: 389
    edited June 2010

    i was very slim before bc and during chemo i was put into menopause then my thyroid was not functioning properly because of chemo and then on tamoxifen, in total i put on 40 pounds, it was the hardest part for me too.  after all we have to go through we are then left with this, i'm grateful to have my health back but it is very depressing to be over weight. last year i managed to lose 13 pounds, i went on a very strict diet, very well balance, i saw a dietician and i also did a lot of walking/jogging/dancing at least 4 times a week for 40 minutes.  lately i can't seem to shed anymore weight i have 25 more pounds to lose, i keep at it and won't give up until every last pound is gone!  i've heard that it takes at least 5 years for your body to get back to normal with a lot of work of course. if your are on tamoxifen it will be harder to lose, you should also get your tsh level on thyroid checked out, to make sure it is in the normal range as chemo does alter it.

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  • Marie45
    Marie45 Member Posts: 31
    edited June 2010

    My Onc prescribed Furosemide because the weight was fluid and my legs were huge.  I could barely walk - the chemo took a toll on my muscles and that made mobility difficult in and of itself - add the fluid weight and getting around was a challenge.  Getting up a flight of stairs was 'a project'.

    I would rather have lost it naturally but I'd been on aggressive chemo for 15 cycles and an exercise program of any sorts would be seriously limited for quite a period of time.  The weight was gone in 3 weeks on Furosemide.

    THEN my Thyroid acted up and I lost 10 pounds and was too thin! 

        

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  • Rubyluby
    Rubyluby Member Posts: 74
    edited June 2010

    Thank you so much ladies - your support is like gold!

    I take the point about needing to do exercise - at least 4 hours a week. Kick-boxing is good all-over cardio exercise and it's really tough and more strenuous than aerobics, so I'm hoping this will help bring back the lost muscle mass. I've also got a bicycle on order. 

    Bless you! And good luck...

    Lucy Smile 

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