Help - unintentional weight loss

katcar, the 3 factors you mentioned can obviously all contribute to weight loss, but my first question is, are you still losing weight?

I'm 5'4" and went from a normal weight of 117 to 107 during the 3 mos. prior to being re-dx'd w/mets last year, almost six years after my first dx. At the time, I also chalked it off to stress (our home had suffered a serious flood and we were displaced from it for several months with lots of drama surrounding reconstruction). But no matter which came first -- the stress or the illness -- the weight loss in my case was definitely a sign of something more serious going. So my first concern is, don't make assumptions about such a dramatic weight loss. Be absolutely certain something about your current health isn't being missed.

That said, if it turns out (as I hope it will) that it's all due to those previous bouts of illnesses, current stress, and eating more plant based, a couple of things I've done to regain almost all of my lost weight include... using a vegan protein supplement in a daily protein shake with almond milk and a frozen banana. I also enjoy the guilt-free luxury of adding a splash of 1/2 & 1/2 to my two cups of green tea with almond milk -- knowing I need those extra calories. You can also add a bit of olive oil to soups. And although I eat primarily plant based, I do have an occasional Greek yogurt and a bit of what I call healthy cheeses, such as feta and parmesan, for both the protein and the calories.

Just some thoughts off the top of my head... Deanna

Kat, I'm sure your medical team is on top of your situation, but I would just point out the weight loss to your oncologist. Let him/her determine if it's concerning or merits any further testing. In my case, my bloodwork was wacky enough (high CA27-29 and liver function tests) to suggest an un-dx'd problem, which led to a CTScan.

Good luck today! So sorry about the lump, but it's good you're on top of it, and it sounds like it's just a reconfirmation that it's benign. I'll be thinking about you -- sending you calming vibes! Hate the scanxiety!

And yes, I firmly believe stress is one of the precipitating factors for many of us. In fact, there's some very recent research backing that up. Will find it if you or anyone else is interested. Deanna

Hi Kat, I unintentionally lost weight in the year after chemo ended for me. I'm petite and can easily get underweight. Like it was mentioned up thread by someone else, I'd let your MO know about the weight loss, just to have their eye on it.

That said, I was able to curtail my weight loss by eating a lot of nut butters/nuts, avocado, cooking eggs in a bit of butter, cubes of cheese for a bedtime snack, and a nice glug or 2 of half and half in my coffee or oatmeal. Oh and dark chocolate, tons of it

Good luck! I still cycle through losing more weight and then having to eat intentionally to get my weight back up to a healthy one.

Kendra

Kat I'm sorry you are dealing with a biopsy! Is it a lump along your incision or somewhere else?

Are you just visiting CA for awhile? I live very near a Whole Foods also and enjoy walking there with my kids when the weather is nice. Problem is I normally have too many things on my shopping list and end up with too much to carry while walking Normally when we walk there it's just for fun and we get a few small things like fruit and chocolate (always chocolate...)

Kendra

I had the same problem for the same reasons, including a fairly drastic change in diet. I used myfitnesspal to count my calories, carbs, proteins and fats. I found that I was getting too few calories (duh!) and too little protein. So, I made an effort to eat more fish, especially fatty fish like sardines and salmon. Then I added nut butters and avocado and started using more olive oil on my veggies and salads. I also make a sauce/dip to eat with fish or chicken from garlic, parsley (or cilantro or both), walnuts and olive oil.

Eat salmon then, no reason to torture yourself. The green sauce jazzes up salmon just fine, but is also good with plain chicken or a pile of roasted veggies. If you eat it with fish, you can add some fresh lime or lemon as well.

Momine is a great cook. Hi Momine!

Kat, you say you can stomach eggs. Could you do avocado? Avocado toast? Half avocado, mash it in to buttered whole-grain bread (or use olive oil; I use vegan butter). Add salt, red pepper flakes if you want. Lime zest is good too -- even better than a squeeze of lime.

Great breakfast or great afternoon snack (esp. if you are tired of hummus, like I am)... XXX

What?! That cannot be the case with avocados. In fact, you know Kris Carr? The Crazy Sexy person? She's got avocado in lots of her recipes.

I am not saying foodforbreastcancer is wrong -- but I have been doing this for a long time, and I have never heard of people not being able to do avocado! It is so good for you in so many ways!

**silent scream of frustration**

I reply to myself. Kris Carr's blog is not that good -- she is just selling things now -- but she has two pretty great (for what they are) books: Crazy Sexy Cancer and then there is a pretty good recipe book (with juice recipes, that's mainly what I use it for) called Crazy Sexy Diet. I like both of those books -- she's a little wacky, but I like that.

XXX

In the bag for sx, kat!

kat, yay for benign! And also for getting the yuck of potential problems out of your breast! When I had my mastectomies I chose to do a mastectomy on the non-cancer side even though no problems were shown on the imaging of that breast. Turns out there was all kinds of yuck as you put it in that side. My MO said all the stuff that was in it was benign but inching quite close to the malignant side of things. Good riddance! I'm happy that you got your lump out and don't have to worry about it anymore!

Kendra