re : Gained weight and want to know what is the best exerise for the stomach

billandpatty said:

Marilyn:
I too gained weight after my treatments were over with. With no energy, I just didn't move around enough and my appetite came back! I did walk every day with my walking partner that I had for 11+ years, but that wasn't enough moving around.

Anyway, about a year after my last treatments, I joined Weight Watchers. It was a great group with a wonderful leader. I really enjoyed going to the meetings and having the hour to myself, for myself. Even tho' the topic was weight, it always covered life's issues and our dealing with them (even met some other breast cancer survivors). Anyway, I lost 20 lbs and got a lot of energy just from losing some of the weight. I feel great now. One thing that I had to do was convince all my doctors that I TRIED to lose the weight, it wasn't because I was stricken with some dread disease.

Recognizing you want to do something is part of the battle. Discover what direction you want to go with it and move forward. Weight Watchers is on-line too (as I'm sure other diet plans are) ... take small steps and soon you'll be running again.

Patty.

Hi, ladies. Yes, it went on easy and takes forever to come off...I gained from the chemo & kept it on from the tamoxifen. I have been off T for 6 months & have seen some come off. It is good to cut back on the cokes...have one...don't go cold turkey or you will go back to having too many...it is easier said than done, we all know that...is there someone you can go walking with...it definitely distracts from trudging around a track or path alone...I participated in the NY Revlon Run/Walk this past Saturday and all the conversations going on made the 3 miles a breeze to deal with (tell that to my legs even today!).

As for people asking if you are expecting, if they don't know what you have gone through, they are just asking. I learned long ago to not ask that because someone had gained weight and I felt bad.

I also will probably never have children. When I went to my first chemo treatment discussion with the doctors, that upset me more than what the chemo would do to my body, hair, appearance. I spoke to my cousin who was unable to have children, for a totally different reason, and her insight on how to handle it was a great help...after years of trying she & her husband adopted the sweetest little girl (now 11) and she said she felt like she had given birth to her because she had been close with the surrogate mother.

There is never an easy answer to any of the questions we all have come upon since the first day you started dealing with your diagnosis...I have had ALOT of internal conversations, attended support groups, gone on these great websites to realize I am not alone in anything I have felt and that has given me comfort.

Just "yell" out and we will all come-a-runnin' to help you through it!

I have learned that extra fat cells are converted to estrogen so after I finished treatment I lost 15 pounds. I cut out sodas, white rice, breads, pasta and chips. I also look at what constitutes a serving and try to stick to it. I took my wt. and added a zero to it and tried to consume that many calories or less a day. Walking every other day for at least 30 min. helped as well. A water arobics class is really fun. The belly fat is the hardest to get rid of so I do stomach crunches for that. I tend to snack watching TV and reading so I try to do other activities that make me move around more.
You need to give up the soda. Even juice is not as good as the whole fruit which has the fiber. Sugary foods are too quickly absorbed and converted into fat than fibery low sugar foods.
Hope these tips help.
Margaret

I have found it very easy to loose and keep my weight normal. Go vegan,no meat,no cheese etc also never eat sugar as cancer needs sugar to grow. Eat grains, fruit and vegetables. Buy most of your food organic, especially the fruit. We do eat eggs and fish twice a month. No farm raised fish and organic eggs. You will not become diabetic on this and with no fat but olive oil in dressing and stir fries your heart will be healthy. Linda