Pity party weight gain...need help.

I just had surgery yesterday so will be a bit before I can get going on my diet again.  Lost 11 pounds in APRIL.  The Nutri bullet is really helping-I do a smoothie shake of things like spinach, kale, berries, apple, etc....for breakfast.  I want to use the gm detox again next week for a few days-that was doing great for me.  Like RG-I have to get ready for vacation, but mine isnt until mid July.  Right now-I have to be kind to myself though and heal from this surgery.  I am wrapped in a binder around my whole middle, and another surgical bra 24/7 with styrofoam over my newly created nipple.  Feel pretty good today though, one day post op.

RG, some people gain on chemo and some lose. There doesn't appear to be anything scientific about it. I lost about 15 lbs. because I just couldn't tolerate food. Water tasted like spit....chocolate was nasty....wine was BLECH...it was horrible. The only thing I could tolerate for lunch or dinner was Zatarain's spanish rice or salami sliced thin wrapped around an olive and for breakfast a hard boiled egg... But even toward the end, those items were not tolerable. When I finished chemo and regained my taste buds, I ate everything that didn't move. That is the weight gain I have been working off since middle of last year. Gross! I wish I could have comforted myself with food during chemo...just didn't happen and to this day, I say that losing my taste buds was the worst part of chemo for me.

MsP

Beachbum, your post is making me hungry!!!! Walking on the beach sounds delightful...even if one doesn't lose weight. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

MsP

Hi Professor, have you considered a nutritional drink? I tried Ensure. Didn't like it. Then I tried Boost. I get the high protein, chocolate flavored kind. I don't even pour it in a glass- just stick a straw in it. Just full of protein and vitamins. To me, it tastes like a chocolate milkshake when it's good and cold. On the pricey side, but to me, worth it. I drink it sometimes as a snack, instead of a meal replacement.

They have vanilla and maybe strawberry, too, but I've never tried it. Might check it out.

Well, you got me curious, Special K, so I had to go and check my label. Water and sugar are the first two ingredients. Soy is the 7th. But they are high in protein, minerals and vitamins. Will I continue to drink them, probably, in moderation, but that's just me. It isn't like I drink one every day. And I've eliminated quite a bit of sugar from my diet like a lot of candy and ice cream, but obviously, not all. Thanks for the info.

Here is some info specifically regarding soy protein isolates - for me personally, I have done too much to combat cancer, and a recurrence, to take any risk regarding food.  We all have to make individual decisions about this.

http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/5/10/785.short

Still eating jelly beans ... still chubby.  What is wrong with me?  I need to show a little restraint.

RG ... your hubby is hysterical.  Every time I pop a jelly bean, my hubby shouts out "10 calories!" 

hugs

Bren

Butt pucker meter - LOL - you're a riot! Good info. there too, though.

Bren, buy another bag of jelly beans, did ya? Hee hee!

Thank you for that, SpecialK. And I do agree, best to hear all the views. We're all in this together.

Kayb ... Thanks for posting that article. The protein bars I like have 20 g's of soy protein. Is this the good kind or the bad kind of soy? I was 100% ER+.

Thanks Kay, very informative! Oh yes, I used to love the French Vanilla instant breakfast. I was curious about it, so did a google search. It has soy lecithin, whatever that is.

That's great, Bren! Yes, I think it takes will power, which I don't seem to have! Breast cancer seems to be poo-pooing everything I like to eat or drink too. I guess if I followed all of the rules, I might lose some weight. Ha!

RG - yes I am 59 this year - hard for me to believe I will be 60 next year, and that is really me, lol! Thank you for that sweet compliment!

kittysister - thank you, that is so nice of you to say!  People have guessed me at a younger age all my life, so some of it is a lucky genetic lottery, but I try to take good care of myself also.  I am also willing to bet that you don't look your age either - we are always harder on ourselves and see things in the mirror others don't notice!  I was worried that chemo and hormonal therapy would age me, I was not a cute bald person and had a bunch of surgery before chemo so I was a HOT MESS!! I feel like there was a gradual return to what I looked like previously - with a few extra wrinkles, but it took a while.  I do have medical background, most recently in the same hospital I had my BMX in - in Transfusion Services.  I am no longer working, too much surgery and physical therapy made it unfair to my co-workers to be gone so much, so I resigned.  I was also pretty strung out from treatment and didn't want to compromise patient care - too scary to make a mistake and hurt someone.  Much of my knowledge regarding cancer, health and diet is a combo of a number of things.  I lost both my dad and brother, my only sibling, to stage IV cancer of different kinds.  After my dad passed I took care of my mom who had a degenerative neuromuscular disease (she had been ill for 25 years), as well as a seizure disorder, that finally left her sharp as a tack mentally, but unable to ambulate for the last two years of her life.  My in-laws are doctors and nurses - my DH's immediate fam has two docs and three nurses (and a veterinarian for good measure!).  I have also done a lot of reading and study on my own.  You are fairly recently diagnosed but you may start to find yourself looking for ways to maximize your health, to minimize your risk for recurrence and other health issues.  This is what happened to me - I wanted to take control of the things I could because I felt  there were so many things that I couldn't control.  I was willing to release regrets about yesterday and control over tomorrow - but to effectively do that I needed to change my diet, my exercise, my mindset, and my approach to relaxation.  Doing what I could on my own has made it easier for me to face the uncertainty about the future that breast cancer brings.