Need motivation after Double Mastectomy

Nkeller2015

Last year I found out that I am BRCA1+ (breast & ovarian cancer gene) at 23 years old. I'm one month out of a preventative double mastectomy and unable to be very active right now. I have a goal of losing 80lbs and need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. When I was in high school I lost 80 pounds and throughout the years, have gained it all back. Wondering if anyone who has had a double mastectomy had results w/ working out and eating healthy even tho activity with pecs and upper body is extremely limited now. Or any other advice or tips from anyone! Thank you!!

ashesnposies333

The beauty of weight loss is that exercise isn't actually necessary, but it does help with health. And soon enough you'll be able to work your pectorals again once you get your doctor's OK.
Science says diet is 80% of success for weight loss and health, so I'd say focus mainly on that and do all the core and leg work you can until youre able to begin introducing training to your pectorals.

ashesnposies333

You can do anything you set your mind to.

__TMac__

@AnnPT77 -- Thought I'd point you toward this post. You always have helpful things to say.

AnnPT77

Nkeller2015 wrote: »

Last year I found out that I am BRCA1+ (breast & ovarian cancer gene) at 23 years old. I'm one month out of a preventative double mastectomy and unable to be very active right now. I have a goal of losing 80lbs and need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. When I was in high school I lost 80 pounds and throughout the years, have gained it all back. Wondering if anyone who has had a double mastectomy had results w/ working out and eating healthy even tho activity with pecs and upper body is extremely limited now. Or any other advice or tips from anyone! Thank you!!

Hi, @Nkeller2015, and welcome. You've come to a place that can help you!

I had bilateral mastectomies as part of my treatment for stage III breast cancer back in 2000, plus removal of lymph nodes and also radiation therapy on the left side. I didn't have reconstruction, but I'm guessing you did, since most do (and many of my close friends have). I don't know whether I have BRCA1 (I'm childless and an only child, so testing me doesn't help anyone else).

I know you're in a surgical recovery mode now, and that seems frustratingly long, but you'll be able to be increasingly active as time passes. I have post-mastectomy (& reconstruction) friends who row (boats and machines), lift weights, do crossfit, compete in triathlons, and do almost any other active thing you can think of, so I'm guessing you'll have a pretty open field in the long run to find active pursuits you enjoy.

In the short run, when permitted, please do any stretching or self-massage kinds of exercises your surgeon/medical team give you, and if they don't give you any, ask about that and/or ask for a physical therapy referral. Doing that can help avoid tightness of scar tissue.

I'm sure that you can make great progress. And the good news is that achieving a healthy weight, and regular exercise significantly reduce the odds of these kinds of cancers developing, just as they improve survival statistics for people like me.

My story in brief: Treatment included the mastectomies & axillary dissection, 6 months of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, as well as tamoxifen (2.5 years) & arimidex (5 years), in that order. After the radiation, I realized I'd have to work at getting back to feeling healthy and strong again. I really wanted that!

I looked around and by chance there was a breast cancer survivors rowing team forming nearby. Even though I was obese and seriously out of shape, I joined . . . one of the best things I've ever done: Transformational.

I don't know whether I'd be alive today without having found rowing, because I enjoyed it so much that it became a gateway to other kinds of activity for me - I started aerobics videos as a complement to off-season rowing machine workouts, then began taking spin classes when aerobics became too easy, did some weight lifting, took quite a few other group classes, and generally became, to my (and my friends') surprise, an active person. One even said (when coming to watch my first on water race), "Ann T. a jock - who would've thought?"

Still, I stayed obese, even while very active. As I got older, other weight-related health problems loomed larger: Borderline blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. - the usual culprits. Finally, it clicked that I needed to get my eating on a better footing. After some "just eat less" weight loss stalled out, I joined MFP, and found it the perfect tool to turn weight loss into a big, fun, simple (but not always easy ) science fair project for grown-ups. Over about a year's time, I lost 60-some pounds, a third of my bodyweight, and reached a healthy weight.

Now, rowing may not be the perfect, enjoyable, motivating activity for you. But I'm sure there's something out there that you'll find so fun that it pulls you in. Once you're cleared for exercise, you can work on that.

You may need to patiently try various things for a while, before something clicks. That can be fun in itself! I've taken diverse group classes over the years, and it was fun to sample things, and make friends among more active people.

I'd encourage you to stick with each new activity long enough to get past the inevitable newbie feeling of awkwardness, before deciding it isn't for you. Any moderately complicated pursuit can be challenging (maybe even seem impossible!) at first, but because it's not simplistic, once you get some basics, it will stay interesting and engaging over the long haul.

On the weight loss front, the standard MFP approach can work well: Read the posts in the "Most Helpful Posts" section of the "General Diet and Weight Loss" forum topic, and put them into practice at a gradual and manageable pace. Over time, you can keep eating foods you enjoy, in reasonable portions, and begin to lose weight and zero in on improved nutrition. It works!

Please take heart that you're on a good course, and that you can find a path to improved fitness and a healthy weight. If there's any way I can help, please send me a friend request, PM me, or ask any questions here.

Wishing you speedy recovery and maximum success in your health-improvement efforts..

middlehaitch

@AnnPT77 you deserve an insightful, inspiring, awesome, and like for that post.
It was so full of love, care, and sound advice it brought a tear to my eye.

@Nkeller2015, you won't go wrong keeping in touch with Ann.

Cheers, h.

AnnPT77

Aw, @middlehaitch - so kind, thank you. And @TmacMMM - thanks for the whistle-in.

__TMac__

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Aw, @middlehaitch - so kind, thank you. And @TmacMMM - thanks for the whistle-in.

You bet. It was the most helpful thing I could think of.

Nkeller2015

@AnnPT77 Wow! I don't even know what to say but thank you so so so much for taking the time to share your story and advice. I will be referring back to that post many times for encouragement You are one strong, beautiful and determined lady!! Thank you again. I am so ready to start this journey and take control in every aspect of my health!!

AnnPT77

Nkeller2015 wrote: »

@AnnPT77 Wow! I don't even know what to say but thank you so so so much for taking the time to share your story and advice. I will be referring back to that post many times for encouragement You are one strong, beautiful and determined lady!! Thank you again. I am so ready to start this journey and take control in every aspect of my health!!

You're too kind!

You can do this - one step at a time, and you'll amaze yourself with your progress.