WEIGHT GAIN

Oh, wow. I just posted something very similar on the Xeloda and TNBC thread (very, very long post . ) The weight issues are making me nuts.

I think it has to do with our gut bacteria being destroyed by the chemo, especially an oral chemo like Xeloda. I'm hoping I can figure it out, because I'm with you, Flynn; I wasn't in the market for THIS new look.

Good luck to you, Flynn and Tuesdaystar.

Trish

I will share what worked for me. I've lost about 15 lbs with a *modified* keto/ low-carb diet, which a MO recommended for my TNBC, prior to chemo. If you want to kick it up a notch you can fast briefly at the beginning of the diet, &/or limit your window of eating to less than 11 hours out of 24.

Phase one, induction, is the hardest. You need to push your system into burning fat (using ketones to fuel cells) instead of carbs. (A side bar: ketones are hard for cancer cells to use, but easy for healthy cells to use, so can be helpful re cancer...) If you have been eating carbs it takes a while for your system to switch over to fat burning... about 3 weeks. During this time you want to eat *extremely* low carb. Basically no carby foods, with the only carbs coming in incidentally via veggies. If in doubt google the food and see if it is higher or lower in carbs. Aim for <30-40 carbs per day, or lower.

No: flour, sugar, rice, potatoes, pasta, or alcohol (pretty much permanently). No root vegetables. No legumes, beans, lentils etc during induction, thereafter *limited* amounts of nutrient-dense carbs ok (lentils, quinoa, sweet potato, beans).

Yes to unlimited above-ground veggies of many colors, cooked or raw. Make vegetables 3/4 of your plate at every meal. Yes to fats: nuts (best are pistachio, almond, brazil and other lower-carb nuts), seeds, avocados, olives, oil, cream, butter, ghee, mayo (limit animal fats due to cancer prevention, & make them organic). Yes to protein foods (but keep animal-flesh proteins lowish, also for cancer prevention reasons): lean organic or wild-caught meat, fish, poultry in small portions. Yes to organic eggs. Yes to full-fat dairy (cream, butter, cheese). NO to milk, yoghurt, cottage cheese in induction phase, thereafter limited amounts of unsweetened full fat dairy ok.

Re cancer prevention, no more than ~20% calories from fats and animal sources. Aim for a largely Vegan whole food diet, w/ small amounts of animal foods. This diet will lower inflammation in your system.

No fruits for induction phase other than 1/2 C berries/day... Thereafter, once in ketosis, increased low carb fruits ok (berries, kiwi, nectarine/peach, mango; kombucha), and infrequent higher-carb fruits are ok.

You can get "keto sticks" at pharmacy in diabetes section. You pee on the strip and it tells you if you have ketones in your urine, indicating ketosis. Once you are in ketosis, you can gradually re-introduce *nutrient-dense* carbs (kasha, quinoa, etc) and fruits in small amounts, keeping an eye on maintaining ketosis. Everyone is different in terms of what they can tolerate and remain in ketosis. You can count your carbs and see what your tolerance is.

This diet is easy to stay on, because if you are hungry you can always eat a chef's salad, a hard boiled egg, a handful of almonds, a piece of salmon etc. It's easy to order food at a restaurant. And a lettuce-wrapped burger is ok! The main trick is discovering a bunch of "go-to" foods that ARE permitted and having plenty of them on hand. If your current go-to food is a bagel, it will be a process!

I lived on almonds (& fresh ground almond butter, w celery sticks), seeds, avocado, eggs, multicolor salads, daily berries, coconut based yogurt (CocoYo), cooked veggies, and occasional eggs, salmon or tuna.

YOU MAY FEEL CRAPPY for the induction phase. Yeasts in your system will die and this can give you a brain fog feeling You will probably get a bad taste in your mouth (ketones). You may not lose weight initially. But press on!! Because once you are in ketosis the fit will melt off.... lower intake of dietary fats will prompt a lot of weight loss because if you are in fat burning, it will burn your body fat.