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rhondalea · 04-08-2012, 10:30 AM

I read this the other day:

http://www.oncologystat.com/news/ASC...tients_US.html

A login is required to read the entire article (you can read the synopsis without a login), but signup is fast and easy.

It seems that those who are overweight are being shortchanged. Although excess weight may have its own impact on breast cancer, the fact that oncologists are undermedicating some of us may be skewing those statistics by quite a lot.

As for me, I'm trying out the intermittent low carb diet, and so far, I really enjoy it.

I started my breast cancer adventure hovering around 139-141 pounds, and two weeks ago, I hit 157. After a week doing the intermittent low carb plan (modified to one day low carb, followed by two days of normal eating), I'm at 154.2. (Yes, I know it's water, but almost 3 pounds right off the bat is soooooo motivating.)

Not being a dieter in the past (much less a low-carb dieter), I was surprised to find that my appetite is not overly active on low carb days or even the day following. This means that I've cut calories overall, as well as carbs.

Being the cautious sort, I meticulously planned my first day as if every little carb of the 50 carbs permitted were a precious jewel. Turns out, I came in at 35 carbs the first round and 37 the second without even trying. (And that doesn't even include a subtraction for fiber in my vegetables or sugar alcohol in my gum.)

My real problem is rebuilding muscle mass--my skeletal muscle percentage was 33%, but I'm now down to 29%. Every day, I tell myself to get down on the floor and plank, and every day, I just...don't.

Even if I do lose weight, I'm well on my way to becoming an amorphous blob.

04-08-2012, 10:30 AM	#33
rhondalea Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Somerset, NJ Posts: 487	Re: trends that weight management is going to be important in treating HER2-positive I read this the other day: http://www.oncologystat.com/news/ASC...tients_US.html A login is required to read the entire article (you can read the synopsis without a login), but signup is fast and easy. It seems that those who are overweight are being shortchanged. Although excess weight may have its own impact on breast cancer, the fact that oncologists are undermedicating some of us may be skewing those statistics by quite a lot. As for me, I'm trying out the intermittent low carb diet, and so far, I really enjoy it. I started my breast cancer adventure hovering around 139-141 pounds, and two weeks ago, I hit 157. After a week doing the intermittent low carb plan (modified to one day low carb, followed by two days of normal eating), I'm at 154.2. (Yes, I know it's water, but almost 3 pounds right off the bat is soooooo motivating.) Not being a dieter in the past (much less a low-carb dieter), I was surprised to find that my appetite is not overly active on low carb days or even the day following. This means that I've cut calories overall, as well as carbs. Being the cautious sort, I meticulously planned my first day as if every little carb of the 50 carbs permitted were a precious jewel. Turns out, I came in at 35 carbs the first round and 37 the second without even trying. (And that doesn't even include a subtraction for fiber in my vegetables or sugar alcohol in my gum.) My real problem is rebuilding muscle mass--my skeletal muscle percentage was 33%, but I'm now down to 29%. Every day, I tell myself to get down on the floor and plank, and every day, I just...don't. Even if I do lose weight, I'm well on my way to becoming an amorphous blob. __________________ 2/6/09 Core needle biopsy: negative; Mammos through 2010: no change 3/30/11 Pea-sized lump in left breast at site of prior biopsy; mammo negative, sonogram not so much 4/14/11 Core needle biopsy: negative for cancer 5/18/11 Excisional biopsy 1.2 cm tumor, LVI, positive margin; ER+60%,PR+20%,HER2/CEP17 5 6/15/11 BMX: Left DCIS & LH; Right ADH; SNB: 2/3 nodes: 1.4 cm and 1 mm; ALND L1&2: 0/10; Stage IIa, Grade 3 7/14/11 CT/Bone scans NED; MUGA 66% 7/19/11 Biweekly dd AC w/Neulasta; done 8/30/11 9/13/11 Transfusion (Hemoglobin 8.6); MUGA 64% 9/20/11 Start Taxol + Herceptin; Taxol done 12/6/2011; continue Herceptin until 9/4/2012 12/27/11 Radiation - 6 weeks; 2/27/2012 - DONE! Yayyyy! 2/29/12 Start Tamoxifen 20 mg/day; continue until 2/28/17 5/16/12 Start five-years Metformin trial 6/19/12 MUGA 61% 8/21/12 Brain MRI NED (head still hurts, brain still fogged) 9/4/12 Herceptin done! 9/6/12 Port out! 7/11/13 Aricept 5mg for cognitive impairment; increased to 10mg as of 8/23/13; back to 5mg 12/2013 5/2014 Add Namenda 7mg 9/2014 Stop Aricept and Namenda; Neuropsychological evaluation 10/24/14 Start cognitive rehabilitation therapy