Pity party weight gain...need help.
Ladies,
I felt sorry for myself, I was sad so I had these Pity Parties all by my lonesome where I ate whatever was in front of me. I had an intimate affair with baked goods.
It has always been hard for me to loose weight but now it seems impossible. Is it the Aromasin, stress or all in my head?
In the past I have been successful with The South Beach Diet but it is very restrictive. I want to do the Mediterranean Diet as that is closest to how we eat but I heard weight lost is insanely slow.
PLEASE!!! give me advice. Nothing fits anymore and I feel frumpy.
Comments
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Bless you RaiderGirl - I was just contemplating starting "an intimate affair with baked goods"! Yesterday I merely flirted and gained a kilo!
Choose whichever way of eating you can stick with and is healthier in the long run.
Loosing wait quickly often means gaining the weight back quickly too.
Any exercise you enjoy?
I wish I could convert my love of food into a love of exercise.
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Hey Raider Girl -- are you into technology? Have your tried myfitnesspal (MFP)? Between using that faithfully every day and using my fitbit, I'm down 15 lbs from the beginning of the year (crossing fingers that I'm not jinxing myself by saying that). I don't stress over whether I can find a perfect match of what I'm eating to log it in MFP -- the process of logging is helping me be mindful of what I'm eating and my fitbit helps me be mindful of how much I'm moving (or not moving!). If you are into math, I recently checked their calcs re: how much I should have lost by now (calories in on MFP and calories out on fitbit) and it was pretty close.
I can't comment on aromasin, as I'm on tamox, but I hear you on being in love with baked goods:)
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RG - I hear you - it's the damned AIs and honestly nothing seems to get rid of the extra 20# gift they give you - I too have used South Beach in the past and had no problems but for some reason I now "need carbs" and I've never been able to metabolize them - I haven't gained or lost a pound in two years and I've cut portions down and upped the exercise - I feel trapped too but I'm much older than you (69) so I just carry on. Hope you find something that works for you.
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RG ... I feel for you. I was 20 lbs overweight when I was diagnosed. After treatment over the next couple of years I gained another 20 lbs. I wasn't taking Tamoxifen or an AI ... so I can't blame it on that. Maybe being thrown into instant menopause started the whole thing rolling downhill.A couple of years ago I lost 45 lbs. It took me a year to do it. Basically, I just restricted my calories. It was really hard to do. I love candy and anything with sugar in it! I've gained about 10 lbs back and I'm so disgusted with myself. It was hard enough to lose the weight the first time. The second time around sucks.
My willpower is next to none. It really is a struggle. What helps is that after a couple of weeks of changing the amount of calories you take in, it starts to become more routine. Another thing that helped me is that my weight loss was realistic for me ... and I didn't go by the charts on the internet that tell you what you SHOULD weigh. I'm an easy size 12 and that's fine ... I look good at this size.
Maybe we can encourage each other to hang in there and keep trying. The one thing I keep telling myself over and over so that I don't get discouraged is that if it was easy, everyone would be skinny. I had to adjust my expectations.
hugs,
Bren
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RG...I wanted to lose a little weight last summer and started Zumba classes. I absolutely loved it and lost weight. It was 'fun' exercise and it worked. I stopped when I was dx with bc but plan to start going again soon!
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I have no answers but I definitely have had the same problem. I am not much into sweets but I have had this "I have cancer therefore I should at least be allowed to eat this" mentality that is not paying off!
(Also, I have gained weight on Tamoxifen ....) My "program" (which I adopted last Thursday) is to stop eating so much (!) and to keep on exercising (which I have been doing religiously throughout). Sooner or later I have to top out... right?
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I second the FitBit and MFP. I will always struggle with weight. I LOVE to eat! Heck - I live to eat! It is harder to lose on the hormonals and near menopause. I'm trying again for the thousandth time - what part of my brain doesn't get that it is going to have to be a lifestyle not a diet. I goggled motivational quotes for dieting and I write one on my calendar when I can.
I'm with you sister.
I always tell my kids when they are faced with a daunting task "you know how you eat an elephant . . . one bite at a time." Did someone say eat???? bite?? -
Bounce - you are so right. I have to do something permanent. It just sooooooo slowwwww. I did loose 6 lbs the fist two weeks on South Beach but I could kill my own mother for a bagel. Ialso cant wrap my head around no fruit. I am Brazilian born. Fruit is in every meal. I need a eating way of life that feels like I am caring for myself and not punishing myself.
Ridley - I did download a with loss weight app. Gives me my caloric need for height, weight,age,gender to lose 1.5 lbs a week. That puts me at goal weight sometime around July.
Sandy 208 - As for your age and weight loss. When I was younger I believed that as I aged ( I will be 56 soon) that I would not care so much about weight and appearance. Bullsh*t, I am still the same person I was at 20 only wiser and scarred.
Bren 2007 - 45 lbs in a year is actually perfect weight loss. You probably didn't watch every calories every week so you lost a week or two. 45 lbs averages to 1 lb a week. Excellent progress. As for will power , the formula is that success begets more success. Motivations comes from seeing something positive happen. I know this , I just have to get my ass in gear and do it.
Jilly59- Ok you're like the 10th person to mention Zumba. There must be something to it. I will check it out.
Farmerlucy I will never think of an elephant the same way again. LOL
Professor50 - I was (am) on the pity party pastry train. I feel I NEED to eat what I want and I deserve to also.
I have done some research . AI's cause fatigue, when our bodies feel tired it will try to get energy somehow-either sleep or food. We grave simple carbohydrates because that converts to energy the fastest . Of course the crash follows in 2 hours causing more cravings.
Ai's stop androgens from turning into esters. Our bodies produce esters by ovaries, adrenal glands and body fat. Our bodies KNOW there is isn't any form of esters in our bodies and thus tries to make more. Ovaries are done with, adrenals are a static (non changing gland) but body fat ...ahhh , that is something the body can make. There is also a lengthy complex effect with cortisol but I'm not getting into that now.
Bottom line is that my little black dress fits so tight I look like a Hoochie Mama.
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RG ... you made me laugh out loud! "Hoochie Mama." ha! That's what I felt like when I tried on my shorts from last summer the other day. Those suckers looked so bad ... big bulges sticking out everywhere ... and my personal favorite ... dimples on my butt! I like what you said about success begets success. I am trying really hard not to get so down on myself for the weight gain. Thankfully, it's starting to warm up and I've got 5 acres I need to take care of ... great for exercise!hugs,
Bren
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I too am in the same boat as the rest of you. Before getting diagnosed, I had lost 64 pounds and was down to size 8's. I was finally in a good place with my body. Then-BC. Now I have gained 20 pounds back-lost my ovaries and am on Aremedix and I cant get the weight off. I am busting out of my size 12's...they are snug. UGH!!! The worst part is I had finally found something that worked for me-homopathic hcg drops. I was on them intermittenly for two years. Not only did it take the weight off-it sculpted my body-my arms, legs, butt, tummy, face, I looked really toned. Now I am reading online that others on hcg also got cancer so i am scared to take it as it is a hormone and my cancer is hormone positive. But I had also been back on birth control before BC-so maybe it was that. I wish I could get a clear answer from a doctor if the hcg would be safe for me...its the only thing that has ever worked. I am bummed...and fat.....like you, I need some help getting this fat off. I even looked into a tummy tuck-I am a candidate since I have extra skin-but they want to cut me from hip to hip-cant do that right now-and who wants that ugly scar. Feeling desperate
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I gained from the steroids given with chemo, didn't lose it, and then gained more on aromatase inhibitors. I had always been able to lose vanity pounds with South Beach, but it no longer worked for me. I tried 1200 cals a day and 5 miles of swift walking (sometimes the only exercise I could do because of surgery) and logged it all on My Fitness Pal, and I lost nothing. Zero. Nada. I started the Virgin Diet, which is an anti-inflammatory elimination diet that I was already doing part of (gluten for joint pain and soy) because of breast cancer. I eliminated sugar, corn, gluten, soy, peanuts, eggs, and dairy. I could not exercise because of three back-to-back surgeries but lost a pound a week for 6 months - 23 pounds total. I also had far less joint pain and upset tummy. It is the only thing that has worked and there is a school of thought that inflammation is connected to cancer, and many other serious health issues. I feel great, but this way of eating is challenging because you have to eliminate so many things, although I did add eggs back in on occasion. I lost the sugar/carb craving within two weeks.
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Vettegirl
Don't fret darling, Marilyn Monroe wore a size 12.
As for the me-homeopathic hcg, you cant say that caused the cancer. There was a thread here a one time, very funny, that tried to find what we all had in common. Women wrote wrote things like I played with Barbie Dolls, I used Cola as suntan lotion, I (fill in the blank). What I am trying to say that #1 Science Does Not Know what 'causes breast cancer #2 All cancer patients will have something in common if we dig enough.
Our bodies produce approx 35 major hormones and I forgot how many secondary hormones. None of these are known to cause cancer. Even you estrogen/progesterone did not cause the cancer. Some bc is fed by hormones but not caused by it. So, abandon the idea that you caused the bc.
All MO will respond with an "I don't know" to anything you ask that causes bc. I am going to do some research on the hcg. Will let you know.
I suspect that saliva causes weight gain but only if consumed in small quantities over a long period of time.
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Special K
Steroids cause hunger. And some AIs are not steroids but in the steroidal family.
I was reading your med history, Sugar, you have had allot of surgery. That has to have some impact on how the body reacts .
Past two days I have opted for low cal salads at lunch, sweets except fruit, no bread, potatoes, pasta, rice. Lets see what happens.
Luv to all of you
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RG-If I was a Marilyn Monroe size 12....I would be happy-LOL. I just feel and look really flabby now since BC and since losing my ovaries/estrogen, and on hormone therapy. I go back and forth at being Angry at this disease for what it's done to me physically and mentally...to being grateful for being alive and only being stage two. I know many have lost their lives to this, including some of my friends and family.....so I try to stay focused...but damn...this weight has got to come off.
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If any finds the golden ticket to lose weight let me know its killing me. Hmm lost hair look like uncle fester now can it get any worse. Not only do we get this awful cancer but I feel like I get beat with an ugly stick in my sleep nightly and the weight gain outs it over the edge .
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One month sticking to exercise and My Fitness Pal - 8 lbs. One weekend with visitors and totally blowing it +3. Hmmm. Dang this is really hard work. I think I can . . . I think I can. . .
Anyone else count the days until the next onc visit - and the dreaded weigh - in?
I'm having an ooph next month. Oh my. I hope that doesn't cause more weight gain (but of course it will).
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HI farmerlucy,
Did the tamoxifen cause weight gain for you? For me it did, 13 lbs in a little less than 2 years, then I had my ooph and it came off. Slowly, it took about year but it stayed off. Just wanted to give you some hope.
Anna
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Farmerlucy ... You're doing great for sticking with MFP and exercise for a month. I guess I got serious about this extra weight about 3 weeks ago. I'm down 5 ... but have at least another 10 to go. It's just so freakin' slow. I don't want to be skinny ... just want my clothes to fit nicely again.
I see my doctor in two weeks for my biannual check-up... and the dreaded weigh-in. It's depressing. Not only am I turning 60 this year, but I look old now too.
I had my uterus removed about 25 years ago and my ovaries taken out about 12 years ago, and was taken off HRT 8 years ago when I was diagnosed. I don't think my weight gain necessarily corresponds with the loss of estrogen ... I'm pretty sure as I have gotten older my metabolism has changed. I could be way off base though.
DSW ... If you find that golden ticket ... let me know. I'm sorry about your hair loss. I was fortunate being Stage I that I didn't have to have chemo.
Vettegirl ... I would kill to be a Marilyn size 12! I used to be, but those days are long gone.
Raidergirl ... I am having the most trouble staying away from sweets. I love CANDY. Jelly beans are my poison right now.
I'm going to San Diego in 3 weeks to see my family ... and I'm dreading the 5-hour flight with a muffin top hanging over my pants! You know, I think we're all grateful to be alive and thankful for the treatment. I don't think those feelings exclude my feelings of sadness over the changes to my body and life since I got cancer. I need to go a little easier on myself.
hugs,
Bren
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RG...I love the saliva comment. My dentist always called me "slobber box"...maybe that is why I struggle with my weight!
But kidding aside, I lost a lot of weight on chemo, mostly because there was absolutely nothing that tasted right to me. If someone asked me what the worst part of chemo, I would say it was the loss of my taste buds and realizing that when one removes the enjoyment of food, much of life's joy is gone. So....when radiation started, I ate everything that didn't struggle to get free and quickly gained back the weight, plus!! I will say that I enjoyed every morsel of food and don't regret my gluttony. Did I deserve to treat myself after almost a year of treatment.....you d@mn right I did!
What is working for me is using a fit bit and their app to track my food and activity. It really is about expending more energy than I consume. Interestingly, I find myself planning ahead for some low cal popcorn as an evening snack and bargaining for it with a brisk walk. I also find that surrounding yourself with others who are trying to be more healthy is very helpful. I weigh myself every morning to make sure that I am not slowly creeping up.
I would like to be more toned but the exercises for that are so boring to me. Anyone have ideas about some toning exercises that are fun or that you can do while walking and enjoying mother nature?
Love to all, MsP (or when I am at my heaviest, Fatty McFatterson)
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DSW
I don't mean to laugh at your misery but I couldn't stop laughing at the comment "beat with an ugly stick". That's so clever.
There is one thing I have decided to do for my own sanity. I will no longer mix gratitude for my life in the some bag with the anger, sadness, fear that comes with BC. Those are two completely separate issues and are not to be compared. I don't have to follow every comment with "Im grateful to be alive"
I'm going to see the MO first week in April if I heard one friggin negative comment about weight gain I am going to say that he is forbidden to say anything t as long as he is prescribing meds that cause weight gain. He doesn't have to tell me I am gaining. I know it way before he does. He needs to tell me how to lose it without spending 2 hours in the gym and eating grass clippings.
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I will no longer mix gratitude for my life in the some bag with the anger, sadness, fear that comes with BC. Those are two completely separate issues and are not to be compared. I don't have to follow every comment with "Im grateful to be alive"
Right on, RG! You are fabulous.
Oh, and ps -- your doctor is NOT allowed to comment on weight gain if he prescribes meds that cause weight gain! That is so unfair!
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Nice, I am joining the party too! Go figure we can't even have a cake for the party............
I gained 24 lbs. since last June. And it is driving me nuts. And it is so depressing to have all of my summer clothes ready to wear, but I can't get them on. My Doctors sit there and shake their head, and then say that BC patients usually gain weight. Crap can this get any worse? I was in the hospital 4 1/2 days with a mastectomy with complications, and I gained 4 lbs. I lost all my hair and a boob, and I still gained weight? How does that happen?
I'm walking again since the weather is breaking here, but still this is so unfair. I am going to walk this fat off one way or another. If the MO wants more weight, she can gain it. Or help me lose it. Carry on Ladies, this is just one more battle to win!
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I ate everything that didn't struggle to get free . . .
You ladies crack me up! Muah!
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after my cancer diagnosis and my MO saying that my extra weight carried estrogen, I got serious about losing my extra pounds. Christmas 2013 I received a Fitbit for Christmas and stopped eating anything sweet. I was on Arimidex and lost 50 pounds before the end of September 2014. I credit walking and eliminating sweets. I couldn't find the motivation before my BC but it was amazing what effect this scare had on me. Six months later and I'm still maintaining. And sweets don't entice me at all. Good luck. We can do this
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gammakathy
you have no idea how inspiring your post was to me. 50 lbs is a great deal of weight so I applaud you.
I know that body fat produces a form of estrogen. Patients on AI's tend to increase body fat becasue AI's stop the production of estrogen the body wants to fix itself and make more...thus more fat.
Stay skinny.
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I can't decide if this thread is encouraging me or not. I have noticed that the posters that lost weight were on Tamox as opposed to AI's
Tamox stops how cells absorb/use estrogen but it does not stop the production of estrogen. AI's stops aromasin which is needed to convert androids and others to estrogen so in essence it stops estrogen. The physiological effect of these meds are very different.
I think the AI ladies have the weight gain worse than the Tamox users but the Tamox users have to suffer the sudden onset of menopause . In other words.....we are all screwed.
Another thing to ponder. Years ago I was a weight watcher leader. I noticed that when a person first joined they had a million bad eating habits to change and so they lost weight easily. However, persons that have lost in the past and regained some had a harder time losing because they had fewer habits to changes.
What Im trying to say is the worse you use to eat, the faster any good plan works. If you are already eating reasonably well, the progress is slow.
anyone agree with me?
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Hi Raider Girl, I am 5'10" and I always weighed in about 130. Since BC I weigh 155. And I can't drop it to save my life. Very annoying since I have always been a good eater without any watching. My whole family is tall and thin. But the Doctors all harp on not losing it after chemo. I am so uncomfortable dragging all this unnecessary weight. But Spring is here, and I am going to walk it off until it's gone, BC or not. I'm triple negative so I can't do any hormones. But I don't have many choices as it is.
I hope we all get down to where we want to be! One foot in front of the other...............stomp on.
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Beachbum
5"10 and 155 sounds like statuesque perfection . I hate you already.
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Raider Girl, funny I hate me too
Some days you just have to laugh. Have a great day! -
RG - Tamoxifen does not cause sudden menopause - it does not suppress estrogen, but rather blocks the receptors on breast cells. I think both Tamoxifen and AI drugs can cause weight gain, and whether people gain, or it is harder to lose, is more of an individual problem.
I agree that if you have decent eating habits it is more difficult to lose, this is what was happening to me and it was very frustrating. I had no success with any traditional diet and exercise combination until I did the elimination diet. I have had several friends try it - ranging from someone who needs to lose quite a bit of weight, to someone who had lost and regained - and all have had success. It is a slower loss, but seems to be more permanent. My friends who have done this have now adopted this way of eating as a lifestyle, but all of them struggled with it when they started.
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