Thursday, May 21, 2009

You Do Not Have to Gain Weight Because of Breast Cancer

I'm sure there will be many women that think this statement is not true. But I am here to tell you that there are no studies that prove that breast cancer and all the side effects and medications that go with it will make you gain weight.

So the question is, why do so many gain weight. Because 99.9% lessen their activity level and do not change their eating to compensate for burning fewer calories. That simple.

Like so much other information we accept it as the truth because we have heard it for years. This gives us an easy answer and we therefore do not have to take responsibility for that 10 or 20 extra pounds.

I did gain several pounds while going through chemo. The anti-nausea drugs really worked well for me and I was able to continue eating about the same as I always had. The difference was that once I started my surgeries and treatments I was running/walking 25 to 30 miles a week. That is a lot of calories not to be burning.

So I had to practice what I preached: Only eat when I was truly physically hungry and eat less. We live in America and we can pretty much get anything we want anytime we want. We don't need to clean our plate and we don't need super-sized portions.

A great book to help you get in touch with eating less and not feeling deprived is "Mindless Eating" by Brian Wansink. Also google Intuitive Eating.

Also pick up your exercise a bit. Don't exhaust yourself just add a little at a time. It will help your mental well-being too.

Kath