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I know a lot of us have been battling weight gain during and after chemo, and I wanted to offer my take on it because I have been fairly successful at taking off the weight, although very slowly over the course of a year:
I believe that chemo slows our metabolism. Being in menopause adds to the problem. A slower metabolism will lead to weight gain unless there is a corresponding decrease in caloric consumption. It takes 3500 calories to gain a pound. Thus, if you take in 500 more calories than you burn over each day for a week, you will gain one pound in a week. Many of us complain that we "don't eat more" and we "haven't stopped exercising" and stuff like that. But if, for example, pre-chemo, we were taking in 2000 calories a day and burning 2000 calories a day, and NOW we are still taking in 2000 calories a day but we are burning only 1500 calories a day, we will gain a pound a week.
What to do?
What I have done is to consistently eat less and less each day until I stopped GAINING weight. I am now down to between 1200 and 1500 calories a day. The weight has slooooooowly been coming off, so I know I am in the right range. I haven't changed my workout schedule except perhaps to try to squeeze in some exercise nearly every day. But I haven't added much exercise as I already exercised a lot.
Also, I had lipo on my flanks, hips and thighs to get rid of the menopausal spare tire. This did not produce any weight loss. However, it TOTALLY changed my shape to a more youthful, feminine shape.
lauren
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