A weighty issue

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Marni_s
Marni_s Member Posts: 4
edited January 2016 in Health and wellbeing

Hi all

i finished chemo end of August last year, had surgery three weeks later and finished my radiotherapy end of November. I'm finding it really hard to shift weight since I stopped treatment despite eating (relatively) well and working out three times a week. Normally this would have seen weight come off quite quickly but it just seems to be sticking and I'm finding it really depressing I'm working my butt off and nothing is happening. Has anyone else found it hard to shift weight after finishing chemo/treatment? Any suggestions on what might help?

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  • Peachandkiwi
    Peachandkiwi Member Posts: 10 ✭
    edited January 2016
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    Hi Marni_s,

    i finished chemo dec 2015 and have just had surgery (day 2 post op). I am also for radio in feb/march.

    from my diagnosis til now i have gained about 5 kg, not a lot perhaps but more than ive ever been. I have also found it hard to shift the weight but i am planning to attend some classes for women post surgery.

    also if your on tamoxifen it may prove harder to loose the weight. I havnt started it yet.

    maybe look into the 2 and 5 diet. Its five days eating normally and two days of fasting (500 calories) my inlaws do it and they lost weight slowly but it seems to stay off  . Their fasting days are mon and thurs ( but work out whats best for you) read up about it , ive never been jnto diets but this seems quite credible and more of a lifestyle thing to implement than a diet to loose weight that will most likely come back. 

     

    Hope this helps

  • BecMellifont
    BecMellifont Member Posts: 7 ✭
    edited January 2016
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    Hi

    i finished my chemo in Sept, then radio in October. I'm also struggling to lose the 8 kg I put on thru treatment despite going to circuit 3 x a week plus walking my dog!! I have started on tamoxifen which might be why it's tough to move this weight. I think it is slowly coming off but it is certainly a much bigger challenge than I had anticipated. 

    The additional weight that I have gained thru my treatment is something I am struggling with too. Hopefully if I keep working at it, I'll beat the tamoxifen weight genie into submission and tempt it to be a little slimmer! I'm keen to hear if anyone else has had success in getting rid of treatment weight. 

    Cheers to all

    Bec

  • holly1981
    holly1981 Member Posts: 36 ✭
    edited January 2016
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    Hi Marni_s

    I had surgery followed by chemo late last year and have now finished 7 weeks of radio just two weeks ago.

    I too put on weight through treatment and have now ended up about 5kgs heavier than I have ever been before in my life. I asked my oncologist about it as nothing I do is helping to shift the extra weight, she said it is caused by the drop in oestrogen (I currently have NONE according to my blood results) post treatment and there's nothing I can really do about it because no amount of exercise or nutrition can replace the missing hormones that stabilise body weight :( Also I have not started tamoxifen yet as there's no point blocking what's not there!

    My focus is to keep going with healthy nutrition, regular exercise and meditation and hope that in time my body will revert to it's normal pattern once the adjustment period in hormones settles after treatment. Then maybe the weight will come down. I have stopped my dairy intake however as this seems to congest my lymphatic system making the cellulite and dimpled skin look much worse, it has helped a lot so far with the superficial appearance at least!

    Good luck :)

  • Nkildea
    Nkildea Member Posts: 3
    edited February 2016
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    Hello everyone

    I looked into weight gain during menopause,as that is what the chemo has done thrown us into early menopause, and the tomoxifin is keeping us there. We need resistance exercises so weights, as well as cardio.  The resistance exercises keeps your muscles strong and increases metabolism, additional benefit bone strength. Lack of oestrogen causes muscles to slowly decline if not using them, hence we really need to do weights and or resistance work.  I have been keeping my weight stable with 2 to 3 times a week weight classes at the gym such as pump or kettleworks as well as a couple of cardio sessions, and good eating as I have noticed that I will gain weight by just looking at a mars bar!

    Hope this helps? 

    The 2 to 5 diet good too

    nikki

     

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