Jun 24, 2019 05:34AM missouricatlady wrote:

I don't want to know what my BMI is, I try not to know. I stepped on the scale this morning and am over 230 again. I did get down to 225 on that chemo diet some of you ladies unfortunately know about, I think my weight was somewhere around 260 when I was diagnosed, highest I've been in my life. Back then, I wondered how hard it was for thin women, who didn't have the weight to lose.

Let me share this link with you, because some YMCA's offer a free program for cancer survivors: https://www.livestrong.org/what-we-do/program/live... We have three YMCAs around where I live, and only one offers this, so not all of them do it.

When I saw my family doctor for my OBGYN appointment, we talked about weight and breast cancer, and she encouraged me to use a goal of 20 pounds. Maybe setting small goals is easier for us. I'm on anastrazole now for the past 3 months or so, but I have not tried to lose weight yet, although this morning, I told my husband, let's see if we can lose one pound this week (we both need to go on a diet). And I also told him we are going to walk down the street and back tonight, from what I've read on these boards, just a little exercise can help with side effects, and I'm going to try (I don't sleep well and have hot flashes and a tiny bit of bone aches, but I am 55 and think maybe I am achy anyway). Now, you watch him lose 20 pounds, men have an easier time of it.

I come from a family of people who enjoy alcohol as well, and sit and think about recurrence, thinking about not drinking at all, and then thinking about my weight, which is also a factor - try and not overwhelm yourself with all these thoughts.

Just know, you are not alone, Mavericksmom. I think what Illimae said is important - acceptance and be happy. Hugs, Lisa

Jun 24, 2019 09:00AM - edited Jun 24, 2019 09:29AM by Spoonie77

Hi ladies - I just wanted to join in and say thanks for starting this thread.

I have no idea what my BMI is but I do know I'm overweight by at least 50 pounds or so. I used to weigh 170, looked amazing, and then in 2010, had a relapse in my other chronic illnesses, which sent my metabolism into a tail spin. It's been a losing battle ever since. Gaining slowly, no matter what I tried. No matter what I ate or how I got moving, nothing would come off, it just slowed the gradual gain. Even Keto wouldn't help me lose. Par for the course. Just my body and its Spoonie Life. Le Sigh.

Anyway, had learned to accept it for the most part. Honestly, since I wear my weight well I guess, many people couldn't imagine I weighed what I did. So, before I was dxd last summer with BC I was up to 220, after putting on 10 pounds to soothe my heart, with wine and chocolate, over a rough break up. Was devastating. Enter BC. More pounds added. In all, considering the harsh SEs that have happened and affected my QOL over the past year of treatment, I'm up to 240ish range, the most I've ever weighed in my life.

Soooo long story short I guess is that I completely understand and sympathize with y'all. I'm here and with ya. <3

FYI -- > Learned about Intermittent Fasting here on the boards recently and have incorporated that into my daily regimen. I basically do not eat anything after 9 pm to 11 am the next day. Am working to increase that to a 16 hr range. I'm hopeful this will help somehow with my metabolism as this was never brought up by any of my dieticians in the past who were stumped. We shall see. Intermittent Fasting & Health Benefits (including lowering risk of BC RR and decreasing inflammation) Those factors, plus a possible metabolism and insulin resistance change, spurred me on in this new venture. I could definitely use all 4 of those, plus any of the other benefits studies show it can provide. It can't hurt and I know I won't fail at this as I kind of was already doing a version of this prior but just need to extend it by a few hours. Time will tell.

"The researchers also looked to see how many breast cancer recurrences and diagnoses of new breast cancers there were during about 7 years of follow up. The researchers also looked to see how many women died from breast cancer or any other cause during about 11.5 years of surveillance.

Overall, half the women fasted for more than 12.5 hours per night and half the women fasted for less than 12.5 hours per night.

The researchers reported that fasting for fewer than 13 hours per night was associated with a 36% higher risk of breast cancer recurrence compared to fasting 13 or more hours per night. This difference was statistically significant, which means that it was likely due to the difference in fasting and not just because of chance."

Cancer And Fasting

"Risk Reduction and Tumor Regression
In 2014, Longo and colleagues demonstrated that fasting caused "old" immune cells to die in mice, which were replaced by stem cells as soon as the subjects recommenced eating. They concluded that a 3-day fast could help regenerate a strong immune system.9 They also demonstrated that a 48-hour fast in mice slowed the growth and spread of five out of the eight cancers studied. They showed that the combination of fasting cycles with chemotherapy was more effective than chemotherapy alone in all cancers studied.6 As these were all animal studies, and it is unknown if humans would have the same benefit; however, several active clinical trials are studying the effect of calorie restriction or fasting on cancer."

Jun 24, 2019 11:07AM - edited Jun 24, 2019 11:09AM by mavericksmom

Welcome Spoonie! Happy to have you join our group! I'm still amazed that I am not alone with BC and obesity!

I'm not into fasting other than not eating after dinner, but it ws very interesting to read about. If it works for you or others here that would be awesome. Whenever I read about studies like these, I wonder what made someone decide to do research on it. I wonder what it was that caught the attention of the researchers.

We are all proof that nothing is “one size fits all," no pun intended. Thank you for sharing!

Jun 24, 2019 11:33AM mavericksmom wrote:

Sooo true on both counts! I hate that our society is food/drink oriented! The first question people seem to ask before every social gathering is “what kind of food are they serving?” I also hate the commercials at night although lately they don’t bother me because for some reason I am getting very bloated after dinner. My “muffin” top from the DIEP surgery gets tight and hard. By the next morning it’s better. I don’t think it’s lymphedema but Iam going to mention it to my MO later this week.

Jun 24, 2019 12:12PM Artista964 wrote:

I'm bmi 37. It bothers me but its not enough for me to diet to lose weight for long. It probably helps I'm alone and the fam i see on occasion like 2 x year doesn't say anything or they'd be cut off. I had a left knee replacement march 19, 19 at the only place I would, where i used to work. Dr. Alexander Sah here in Fremont is an outstanding surgeon with an outstanding bedside manner. Of course they always advise to lose weight before joint replacement surgery so recovery rehab may be easier but I went in bmi 37. Since I'm alone I got lucky that the skilled nursing and rehab facility across the street from Washington Hospital was a great clean non smelly place where I got OT and PT m-f which really helped me since motivating myself is non existent. It was painful and hard work but best decision now that my knee is stable and pain free.