At my :) weight again
I was diagnosed in May 2013. After treatment I had put on a few kilos and was concerned about starting Tamoxifen. Would I be able to lose the chemo weight? With a gradual return to pre-cancer activity and being very careful with portion size I did lose those extra kilos. Changes to my lifestyle (for the first time in my life exercise was actually enjoyable) resulted in further weightloss while I continued on Tamoxifen. I was very happy and relieved to have some control over my life and body again.
After 2 years on Tamoxifen it was decided that it was best for me to lose the ovaries and switch to Femara. After some bumpy times adjusting to the aches and pains I continued along with no weight gain. I have just passed the 2 year mark on Femara now.
A few months ago I managed to catch the flu while overseas. For one reason or another this took a lot to shake off and I was relatively inactive for a couple of months. The longest period I have been unwell since chemo. Couple this with a bit of comfort eating and on piled a few kilos! :/
Not happy and concerned about whether I could lose the extra padding and get back to feeling at my best. At first I struggled. I increased my exercise and curbed the eating but nothing happened! Then I started to take note of my Fitbit info. It estimates the calories that I burn according to my activity and heartrate levels each day. There were many days where although I diligently did my exercise, I was not very active for the rest of the day. I was simply not burning enough calories most days to lose the weight.
So for the last few weeks I have been really trying hard to NOT sit down much. My Fitbit buzzes if I don’t move enough each hour and that has helped too. AND I have done it! I am back to my happy weight again.
Breast cancer and treatment made me feel like I had lost control over my body and my life. It has been a great feeling to claw back some of that control! I have reversed osteoporosis through weightlifting and now lost a little weight again.
After my mastectomy and partial axillary disection my oncologist gave me some fairly devastating statistics. Without chemo and hormone therapy people with similar pathology to me had a 33% chance of making it to 10years without a recurrence. I was only 47. Next May will be 5 years clear I hope. So I know that Femara is very important to my chance of staying clear but so is quality of life. With a bit of stubbornness I am mostly managing to achieve that too :)
After 2 years on Tamoxifen it was decided that it was best for me to lose the ovaries and switch to Femara. After some bumpy times adjusting to the aches and pains I continued along with no weight gain. I have just passed the 2 year mark on Femara now.
A few months ago I managed to catch the flu while overseas. For one reason or another this took a lot to shake off and I was relatively inactive for a couple of months. The longest period I have been unwell since chemo. Couple this with a bit of comfort eating and on piled a few kilos! :/
Not happy and concerned about whether I could lose the extra padding and get back to feeling at my best. At first I struggled. I increased my exercise and curbed the eating but nothing happened! Then I started to take note of my Fitbit info. It estimates the calories that I burn according to my activity and heartrate levels each day. There were many days where although I diligently did my exercise, I was not very active for the rest of the day. I was simply not burning enough calories most days to lose the weight.
So for the last few weeks I have been really trying hard to NOT sit down much. My Fitbit buzzes if I don’t move enough each hour and that has helped too. AND I have done it! I am back to my happy weight again.
Breast cancer and treatment made me feel like I had lost control over my body and my life. It has been a great feeling to claw back some of that control! I have reversed osteoporosis through weightlifting and now lost a little weight again.
After my mastectomy and partial axillary disection my oncologist gave me some fairly devastating statistics. Without chemo and hormone therapy people with similar pathology to me had a 33% chance of making it to 10years without a recurrence. I was only 47. Next May will be 5 years clear I hope. So I know that Femara is very important to my chance of staying clear but so is quality of life. With a bit of stubbornness I am mostly managing to achieve that too :)
