Breast Cancer survivor looking for low-impact workouts

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flwyland
flwyland Posts: 142
in Introduce Yourself
I'm new to the process of losing weight. Over the past 25+ years the pounds have crept on. More than 100 of them. I used to be fairly active, but have never been one for a regimented exercise program. My weight finally caught up with my health last October. I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully it was caught early enough that a lumpectomy & sentinel node testing were the only surgeries required. No chemo! Just six weeks of radiation. Now I'm on Tamoxifen. One of the side effects of this....weight gain! So, in addition to deciding that I've got to do something about my weight to lower my risks of another breast cancer, I've got this other factor to consider. It will probably be harder with the Tamoxifen.

So far over the past month I've been able to stay in the 1200-1600 calorie range each day. I've been walking 30-45 minutes 3-4 days each week. I started strength training last week on 3 different days. I'm looking for low-impact, high result ways to get my exercise in. (Bouncing still hurts the surgery sites, so jumping & running are out.) I have a variable work schedule, so find it hard to set a time each day for exercise. Anybody have suggestions for me?

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  • tanyewest
    tanyewest Posts: 113
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    Not sure if this will be any help at all but hearing your story I will try my best to help.

    I think carry on with your walking, maybe increase to 60 minutes a day. I go for an hour's walk everyday on my lunch hour, explore new things but keep up a brisk pace and you would of burnt 240 cals easy and you won't get bored!

    My mum lost alot of weight by eating the right things and just walking everyday!

    Best of luck,
    Tanya :flowerforyou:
  • indy2bird
    indy2bird Posts: 13
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    I personally like Leslie Sansone for low impact. She has many DVD's to choose from. I have lost 12 poounds in six weeks using this site and her DVD's. Weight loss is also a little difficult for me as I take an anti depressant with the side effect of weight gain!

    I am happy that you were able to catch the cancer early and are a survivor!!!!
  • aerobicgirl
    aerobicgirl Posts: 354 Member
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    congrats on catching it early and being a survivor. i was gonna suggest that also, walking and eating right.
  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
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    My exercise staple is stationary bike. Very low impact and gives my joints a chance to recover from the high impact exercise I do (running & tennis, specifically).
  • MommyofLily
    MommyofLily Posts: 149 Member
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    Look into yoga classes in your area. A lot of studios have low impact classes or restorative classes. The studio I go to (in Denver, CO) even has a breast cancer survivor class occasionally. Yoga is amazing for your body, and Bikram (heated) yoga, if you can stand it, helps to expel all kinds of toxins when you sweat through the poses.

    Walking is great too, keep that up. Good luck to you! Stay strong! :)
  • Deweypc20
    Deweypc20 Posts: 68 Member
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    Glad to hear everything worked out for you :-)

    I know we are coming up on summer and most people prefer to work out outside.

    But, I would recommend an elliptical machine workout for low impact.

    Also bike riding may be another option?
  • flwyland
    flwyland Posts: 142
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    Thank you for the suggestions. I did look into yoga classes in my area. Unfortunately my work schedule makes it so that I would only be able to go once every other week. :frown: I'm looking into an eliptical, but not sure it will fit in my house. For now I'll keep walking, That is one exercise that isn't affected by my schedule, just by the weather.
  • kempka
    kempka Posts: 3
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    OMG poor us... I just started on Tamoxifen and I am terrified now because I am already overweight. I managed to keep all my weight on through multiple surgeries, chemo and radiation.

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