Losing Weight While on Tamoxifin

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  • Heidihill
    Heidihill Member Posts: 5,476
    edited June 2011

    It's taken me three years to lose 9 lbs. My theory (not based on any study) is that our bodies want to make up for the missing estrogen and so wants to retain as much fat as it can, where it can make more estrogen. I still have 5 pounds to go to get to my pre-chemo weight. I try to do twenty minutes of intense cardio a day combined with resistance training. I'll now try to ramp it up to 30 minutes and see if I can lose those last 5 pounds in the next month. Good luck to us all!

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  • sanbar8771
    sanbar8771 Member Posts: 281
    edited June 2011

    I have lost 34lbs since diagnosis. Started Tamox about 6 months ago and I can see that I am fluxuating between 5lbs. I lose the 5 lbs then gain it back. Ahhh....I have stopped eating red meat, limit alcohol and sugar. Maybe its the cheese fries... I just cant stop those. Gotta live a little these days. I am working out 5-6 days w yoga or running but those 5 lbs are still there. Hmm...I'm blaming it on the tamox.

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  • koshka1
    koshka1 Member Posts: 678
    edited September 2011

    Hi,

    In May of 2012 I would have been on Tamoxifen for 4 years.

    Prior to breast cancer I had a very healthy weight....taught aerobics, taught yoga...ate organic.

    Over the last 4 years I have struggled with anxiety and maybe been in a little bit of a "funk"....and have not been motivated to work out as dilligently as I have had in the past.  Because of the post traumatic stress...I think I really did eat more and watched less of what I ate....hence 3 years into this I was almost 25lbs heavier.

    I am happy to say that I have lost 12 of those pounds just by focusing in now on the exercise.  Every day I am doing a form of cardio.,..If I am not at the gym on the elyptical I am making sure that I walk te 5,000 steps with my handy little weight watchers pedometer!  As well,,,I have pretty much cut out all of the bad carbs...no bread...not potatos.....just eating lean healthy protein and veggies.  I have 1 cheat day a week. So for example hubby and I went to te drive in last Saturday (which was fun by the way....brought me back to being a kid)..but I ate 1 large bag of chips, 2 hot dogs and 4 sticks of red licorice!! lol    however,,,,next day...back to very low carb....and i have lost 1 lb since.

    Soooooo....weight loss on tamoxifen can be done.  I didn't think it could...but once I set my mind to it and I made those changes...sure enough it started to fall off.

    I feel better..I look better and yes the less body fat you have the better it is on the estrogen levels in your body.

    Keep it up...find out what works for you and what is realistic and don't give up.

    Keep us posted too!!!

    Hugs......Kosh

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  • IsThisForReal
    IsThisForReal Member Posts: 384
    edited November 2012

    I agree, weight loss can be done while taking tamoxifen, even while leading a sedentary lifestyle.  I started tamox in Aug/10 and until recently I've been stuck with an additional 25lbs.  Those 25 lbs attached themselves to me during chemo, started to lose some of it while in rads, then 'hello again' after rads.  It's been very frustrating, to say the least.  To top it off, I take 225mg effexor, 88 mcg synthroid, and I do lead a very sedentary lifestyle because of extreme fatigue that has not yet abated, making weightloss even harder to achieve.

    I stumbled upon a website a few months ago called myfitnesspal.com.  Wow...I've lost 12 lbs so far and can't even believe it!  I can wear my wedding rings once again, as well as look half decent in my clothes!  You can already notice a difference in my face, which thrills me as I have a very round face.

    So what do I do on this website...how does it work?  Basically, you track your calories and exercise...that's it.  The website does all the rest for you in calculating how many calories to consume!  I'm so glad I found this site, and wanted to pass it on to my sistahs who are struggling with the same issues as I am.

    If anyone decides to join, please feel free to send a friend request...I'd love to see you on there!!  I'm 02tods. 

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  • LtotheK
    LtotheK Member Posts: 2,095
    edited November 2012

    I use Livestrong.com (I know he's unpopular now, but it's a fantastic site).  I had everything going against me:  young menopausal after chemotherapy and on Tamox.  I'm right where I was before diagnosis, but my body has changed shape.  My bottom half has thickened, my upper half gotten a little smaller. I lift weights and go to the gym, though really it doesn't do much to manage the weight.  Being active all day long and watching what I eat is the ticket.  If I sit on my rump all day at work, the gym isn't even a dent in the issue.

    We need to get our cardiovascular systems in gear, and for estrogen+ survivors, keeping weight in range is essential. Cancer gave me a little piece of mind.  I used to be hell-bent on perfect. I think I'm better than I was before because my face doesn't show so much anxiety always giving myself such a hard time about being little miss skinny perfect.  In my world, I realize skinny doesn't amount to diddly healthwise in the former state of mind I was in.

    I think weight lifting has also had a profound effect on my mental state, too.  Not a huge transformation, I just feel empowered.

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