IDC and morbid obesity

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Anonymous
Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
edited April 2015 in Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity

I'm a 2 yr. survivor and I am morbidly obese.  I have dropped 70 pounds but it has been very slow.  I started 3 yrs. before my diagnosis.  I have read some articles saying that these two are a deadly mix.  I have also read that daily aspirin therapy may reduce the risk of recurrence.  I am working very hard at making healthy food choices but weight loss is very slow.  I take several meds that inhibit it, age, having a hysterectomy, stress, and other factors make it very hard.

  I need to lose 165 more pounds to be where the charts say I should be.  My onco nutritionist suggested I read "Intuitive Eating" and that is what I have been trying to learn to do.  I have read and am reading it again and I participate in the online community.  I exercise 5 days a week for 1 hour.  Intuitive eating is based on learning to honor your hunger, your fullness, and satisfaction as well as understanding the different types of hunger and learning to choose things other than food when it is not physical hunger.  I have ignored my fullness signals for most of my life so learning to stop eating when I am full is my biggest challenge along with being satisfied with "enough".

   I am also type 2 diabetic but losing weight helped me to cut my medication in half and my A1C is now under 6.  Exercise helps to reduce my glucose levels also and on some nights I do not have to take the med because my numbers are under 90 and my fasting level ranges around 110 the morning after.  If I take it, I go too low at night.    Stress or illness can raise it even if I exercise.

   This is an uphill battle for me at 59 YO.  I want to do what is right for my body.  I hope there are others out there who are in the same boat.

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  • Sunny_Girl
    Sunny_Girl Member Posts: 111
    edited September 2014

    Good topic - I will look up the reference you mention.  I had lost 40 pounds prior to being dx with breast cancer 2 years ago. 

    The diet program I was on is high in soy, so it's  now my favorite diet I don't get to do.   That pesky soy is in quite a few things I used to eat.

    The lost 40 pounds have found me & I need to lose them and quite a few more. 

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  • 2timer
    2timer Member Posts: 590
    edited September 2014

    Wow, you are preaching to the choir.  I've been trying off and on for the past several years to lose weight.  I lose some then fall off the wagon.  I know I MUST lose weight - I'm 90lbs over the weight I should be.  Heck I'd settle for being under 200lbs.  It's scary reading articles and studies that show how much being obese affects bc risk.  Was just musing today that had I taken better care of myself perhaps I would not be in the predicament I'm in.  Fat=estrogen and I'm 100% estrogen positive.  I would like to say teriw that I am very impress with your weight loss and even more impressed that you have done this over a few years.  That is great that you have kept at it even though it's slow going; your persistence is to be admired and you will achieve your goals.

    The YMCA in my town has a program called LIVESTRONG for cancer survivors.  They have specially trained people who show you how to do different types of exercises to get back in shape.  It's for 12 weeks and includes a membership during the  program period.  I start Monday and am hoping it will help me exercise regularly.  I have also been looking into low carb diets, like south beach and paleo, since I think they might be more effective than low fat/ low calorie.  Anyway, Good luck to you and Sunny_Girl.  It's very hard to try to lose weight and get healthy at my age and after what I've been through but it just might save my life.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited September 2014

    2timer. We have the live strong program too and I looked into it but have worked mainly on my own.  I have osteo arthritis in my knees and can't exercise but in the water and I do upper body strength training.  I got away from it over the summer, but I am going back now.  I should join the live strong program if for no other reason than group support.  I do attend a water fitness class on Wed. nites but I swim laps the other days of the week.  I love how it makes me feel.

    My surgeon continually reminds me that fat stores estrogen and I am wondering how the anastrozole affects it.  Does it deplete it, stop the release of it, or does it do anything at all?  My ovaries, tubes, and uterus are gone as of May 2013 so I am not producing much of it.  Just a thought,

    p.s...  I also have read "Healthy at Every Size" by Linda Bacon.  Her premise is that death by obesity is a myth and it is supported by some strong evidence in studies.  There is no data to support that it "causes" cancer.  I first blamed myself for "not taking care of myself" as one counselor ignorantly suggested I had not done.  This book cites studies that say that dieting can cause disease, which makes sense because it puts our bodies under stress.  It also describes how dieting alters our metabolism and changes the level at which our body will allow more fat to be stored.  Just a couple more thoughts...

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  • cp418
    cp418 Member Posts: 7,079
    edited September 2014

    teriw - in case you missed this topic, aspirin has been in the news recently.  I realize not everyone can take aspirin but thought to post these links here.

    http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/08/14/aspirin-may-help-overweight-breast-cancer-patients-study-says/

    http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2014/09/02/study-shows-aspirin-may-reduce-breast-cancer-recurrence-in-overweight-women

    http://canadajournal.net/health/aspirin-affect-breast-cancer-study-says-13506-2014/

     

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  • Sunny_Girl
    Sunny_Girl Member Posts: 111
    edited September 2014

    Thanks for the articles - I take a baby aspirin a day - will have to see if the qualifies or if they are taking a full dose.

    Patty

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited April 2015

    I have been taking daily aspirin for about 5 yrs. I worry because some studies have shown that even low doses can stimulate macular degeneration, which runs in my family. My mother is blind because of it, as was her father. But I take it to reduce stroke risk.


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  • angelia50
    angelia50 Member Posts: 381
    edited April 2015

    teriw, i"m here with the rest of you. I was diagnosed in 6/14 and my husband and I had been cutting down prior to this. Then, when this all happened, I thought what the heck. I'm not going to live anyway so why bother. I had gastroplasty many years ago and I didn't even lose much after that, just slowed my metabolism down to the point that I could not lose. I too worried that I caused this but there are tons of ladies online that are fitness trainers and runners and were so thin, they didn't even have enough body fat to have fat grafting, so in reality, if its going to get you, it just is. Now, that said, I am trying to cut back again. I learned many years ago, starving isn't going to be very long term, so I just try to do mostly protein and low carb but I"m not a taking it to the extreme. I see people talk about needing to lose 20 lbs and I'm thinking you have no clue. I once saw a quote by Erma Bombeck that she had lost so much weight in her lifetime she should be hanging on a charm bracelet and thats how I feel. I've lost that same 20 lbs 20 times, even managed to lose 50 lbs a few years back, but, as another lady said, it found me again. I am having problems with my hip and legs hurting, hopefully, its Arimidex and nothing more serious, but it doesn't make me want to go to the gym. I'm 59 and I'm still trying but at this point, I"m like one of the other ladies, my goal is to get under 200. I gave up on weighing 135 again, long ago.

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