Gaining back the weight chemo took

julianwinnett

So in November I got diagnosed with cancer and I'm coming toward the end of my chemo treatments but it took 30 lbs from me. If anyone can help me with learning how to create food plans and what not that would be phenomenal. Or anywhere with information on how to meal prep and healthy meals to use!!

AnnPT77

Congratulations on completing chemo! I always tell people chemo was the worst hobby I ever had: Worse than extreme sports, worse than adventure travel.

All kidding aside, I understand the toll it takes on one's body.

First: Did you go to an established cancer center for treatment? If so, they may have a registered dietician (RD) on staff you could ask to see, who can help you with this.

Basically, you want to do what the smart weight-loss people do, but with a calorie surplus instead of a deficit.

For starters, set yourself up with an MFP profile that is set to gain weight gradually. You might find it easier to be quite gradual at first, and build up.

Having an MFP calorie goal will also give you macronutrient goals: Protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber.

Starting logging your eating, following tastes and preferences. At first just try to hit your calorie goal daily.

After a couple/few days, you'll see if you're falling short on protein and fat, even while meeting calories. Start tweaking your eating, using foods you enjoy, to get to the MFP fat and protein goals as minimums. (Your body can use other nutrients in place of carbs, but can't use other things as substitutes for fat or protein.) If you are exercising, protein is especially important.

For fats, try to get at least some from especially healthy sources like fatty fish, olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados, etc.

For proteins, meats, fish, other seafood and dairy are especially good sources. Ancillary sources like beans are not as complete in essential amino acids, but are worth including for their excellent micronutrients and fiber. If you need good protein ideas, look in the "most helpful posts" section of this food part of the forums for a post titled something like "Proteins and Carbs are Cheap - Here's How to Get Your Proteins' Worth" (apologies, I can't pasted a direct link on this device).

Alongside your protein and fats, work on getting at least 5 daily servings of fruit and veggies every day, and ideally more. They'll have good fiber you need, and the micronutrients and beneficial phytochemicals (such as antioxidants) that science is telling us are so important for combatting cancer. Eat the ones you enjoy most, chosing varied, colorful ones over time for best nutrition.

There's a lot of good information here on MFP about nutrition (look in the "most helpful posts" section of the General Health and Food topics especially), so you can do some self-education and tweak your eating goals if you wish. Obviously, you'll want to be focusing on getting calories vs. cutting them, but the same nutritional principles apply - happily, it's easier to meet them on more rather than fewer calories. The internet at large is a mix of good science-based sources, and crazy woo-filled faddy nonsense sites that cherry-pick scientific studies to support their unscientific claims (but can write persuasive prose). Stick to information from major, respected mainstream sources like the big cancer centers (M.D Anderson, etc), Mayo Clinic, Harvard Health, etc., until you get your bearings!

I'm not suggesting you need to log your eating forever, or that you need to be hyper precise about quantities. For your purposes, if you get the scale moving in the desired direction, you'll know you're doing fine with calories. I do think that logging roughly for a while will be a big help to you in getting nutrition to a good place. Once you know what good nutrition looks like for you, you should be able to stop logging if you wish.

For me, exercise was a hugely important factor in recovering my strength, energy, and vitality. I needed to start slow, as I was very physically depleted after treatment. Personally, I began with yoga. Simply walking is also good. Then I worked up to more vigorous things like biking, weight training, etc. Exercise that builds strength is important for full recovery, so begin to include it when you can. Weight training is one form, but anything that challenges your muscles will help. Overall with exercise, don't be afraid to challenge yourself a bit, but let your energy guide be your guide in figuring out what's enough. Build up slowly.

For some cancer types, research has shown regular exercise to make a strong contribution to avoiding cancer recurrence. This is true for my cancer (breast), so I've made it a point to become and stay active, which has enriched my life in many ways, beyond strength and health to great friendships and improved mood/stress management. (I was not a very consistently active person before cancer, at age 44. Now, at 62, I think of myself as an athlete. Huge change!)

By the way, you may also want to check out the Gaining Weight and Body Building part of the forum. It has other people whose goal is weight gain, both bodybuilders and people who simply are underweight and want to gain.

Again, congratulations on making it through the intense part of your treatment,. And best wishes on the road to improvement ahead!

fitoverfortymom

I have no advice, but hardcore well-wishes for your recovery! Be well!

Chieflrg

I would incorporate strength training with your plan of weight gain. Otherwise the weight you gain will be fat. You will want to gain the muscle you lost. Following a program Starting Strength would be your best option for gaining the most strength back in a short amount of time.

As far as eating, healthy has many definitions by many people. I assure you just by hit your macros and don't put the focus on "healthy" , the results will come quicker. One can eat anything they want in moderation and be just fine.

Congrats on finishing your treatments.