Hi all,
I feel so fat and frumpy having been slim all my life I got cancer and put on weight through comfort eating. Importantly I survived the disease but now feeling down about my appearance and just don’t know where to start. I have tried tonnes of diets and I just can’t stick to them. Any advise gratefully received. Many thanks.
Hi and welcome, TashyT 
As you say, the most important thing is that you beat cancer and now it's time to make you feel better about yourself.
You don't want to diet, as that implies a start and finish and any weight lost, is generally regained, plus a bit extra. You need to aim for a healthier lifestyle.
Ignore the reference to age here, it's applicable to all healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... and it sounds as if you've got into the habit of snacking, so this may help phcuk.org/wp-content/upload...
Sorry to give you so many links, but all will help you in your quest healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...
To make navigating the forum easier, we've put all the information you'll need in a newbie pack and here's the link
healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...
Please take the time to read it carefully, so that you're able to enjoy everything that we have on offer.
We ask that you also read this important information about internet privacy and security.
healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...
Wishing you all the best
My Dear TashyT you are But a Spring Chicken, believe me; what I'd give to be 40, or even 50, or 60, again!!
And how marvellous that you survived this most testing of life's challenges. Now you will want to celebrate the life you have won back, but you do need to address your health and fitness, as moreless says here. Try a few days of writing down everything - and I do mean EVERYTHING - that you eat. Leave nothing out, and record also what you are drinking. Then take an honest look at what you are putting into your body, how much, how many times per day. Are you eating three proper meals a day, then leaving time for your body to digest each meal?
We all need to eat what we enjoy, but in a controlled way and a balanced diet, which allows our body to process it effectively. I'm sure you know all this but your testing experience may have given you different priorities for a while. Now you're ready to fight back and regain your former self!
Do read round what bods are posting this Christmas period, especially regarding diet and exercise. You will find inspirational examples of little and big triumphs every day. All good luck and we are rooting for you. You say you were slim once and so you can be slimmer again if you want it badly enough. Don't be in a hurry: slow and steady wins the race.
Betty x
Thank you so much Betty, your post is so kind, thoughtful and helpful, I feel very inspired x
So glad, TashyT. You can do this but do make use of the support you get here; there are so many of us on the same journey! BB x
Hi TashyT, I had also put on a lot of weight while I was In the process of getting the cancer sorted (I dislike the word “battle” because there was little I could do to affect the outcome). Luckily for me I have now been 18months clear, and six months ago decided I probably had enough prospective future to make it worth while trying (again!) to lose weight. I have never felt naturally slim, always been conscious of weight. If any of the responses from others direct you to consider a low carb high fat diet then I would agree with them. I’m having great success with it, it’s overcome my sugar cravings and hunger caused by comfort eating and then low fat diets. There is also some thought that sugar is a friend to cancer cells that can only get their nutrition from glucose in the blood - true or not, I think eating less sugar and refined carbs can only be a positive for me at the moment, as long as I’m eating plenty of healthy fats to stem hunger pangs. It’s seems to be working for me, good luck to you whichever route you take.
Thanks for your suggestions, I will certainly try them. Glad to hear that you are succeeding on your weight losission too and that you over come the cancer. Ps I didn’t think it was a battle either..x
Well done you for fighting the dreaded disease.
If you had the emotional and mental strength to do that then finding an eating regime that suits should be a lot easier.
If sugar is a problem then try the Lchf part of this site.
Good luck to you
Go girl go
Hi TashyT firstly, well done on beating the cancer 😄
Secondly, I understand your need to comfort eat. I'm in that downward spiral myself. I've put on over 3 stone in the past year and reach out for all the foods that give instant gratification. Diets I've done that worked were Weight Watcher's and Slimming World. I also went walking and together were a great partnership. I hope these help.
Slimming World didn’t work for me. I’m going to give it my all with the 12 NHS diet plan. Thanks for your words of encouragement and I am glad that you are also doing well with addressing the weight loss now x
Thanks Concerned, I will watch the video, I do spend some time each day reading or watching videos about carbs/insulin response etc to remind myself why I’m doing this and to keep motivated. Yesterday’s was about the Dr Otto Warburg findings that initiated the idea that cancer cells thrive in sugar. Apparently new cancer drugs are actually being trialled using sugar to get the drug into the cells. I’m not avoiding carbs altogether, but I’m choosing carefully and they are the only part of my daily intake that I weigh and monitor.
Welcome to the forum! You've already identified the problem... Comfort eating and snacking... There's what you need to change!
Keep it simple 😀
You've been doing great and this is going to be a smaller obstacle for you.
Best wishes to you and it's lovely to have you along 🌺
Thank you very much x
My porridge goes into a bowl large enough to prevent overflow in microwave, so I have to weigh that because it would be very easy to double the quantity without realising it. I am loving what I am eating, as a former carboholic who couldn’t envisage life after bread I’ve discovered that I don’t NEED the boring white parts of a meal, potatoes/rice to make me feel full, adding back in the fats that I used to avoid has made everything tastier and more filling. I’ve watched the video and it goes along the same lines as report I was reading yesterday from a different source. Thanks and Merry Christmas to you too
Hi TashyT,
Welcome to the club nobody wants to be a member of (Cancer patient!). I had breast cancer 5 years ago, and joined this group a couple of years ago but failed miserably. At the time I was living with and caring for my antagonistic mother and i dont think the time was right - I comfort ate. This last year she has been in a residential home and I believed my eating habits would improve and the weight would just drop off. Ha ha ha - I've been dashing around the country clearing her house, giving day care to my grandson and trying to fit out my new home, a narrowboat, and have often had to eat travelling from here to there. On top of this I have post cancer/chemo fatigue (diagnosed) and although I manage it well, the occasions it gets me I just need sugars. I'm beginning to feel more settled and mum's house is nearly sold and I'm looking forward to next year, so I've signed back on here, (amazingly at the same weight I was two years ago) and preparing to start loosing weight as from 1st Jan. (so I don't feel guilty or 'fail' over Xmas, but I can become more aware of what I'm consuming!)
I really think that loosing weight after having cancer/chemo is incredibly hard - psychologically as well as physically. Please don't be too hard on yourself, if you are still taking drugs this won't help - I'm on Tamoxifen. I'm a fair bit older than yourself, but if you want to buddy up to help each other that would be fine! Good Luck!
Brave Girl you are. All power to you. Betty x
Hi Tashy x please go back and lock your post to community only or the world and it’s wife can see our responses .
Have you tried low carb and low cal combined ? Keeping carbs to less that 50g a day stops me feeling hungry allowing me to keep to calorie limit . I was fifty and frumpy - even worse !! If I was to eat porridge or 120g carbs a day I would be starving , especially after eating , life in low level ketosis suits me fine and has enabled over 6 stone loss in 8 months (2 more stone to go)
Take care chick and start now, not after Xmas !!
Wow!! 6 stone in 8 months! How many calories a day do you have?
Pa how do I now go back and lock my post to community only please as I’ve looked and can’t see how to reset it to that? Thanks.
Go to settings on your post - I think it says something like community only??
It’s s not more complicated than just calories
I do
1. Fast 16:8, no eating from 9pm to lunch the next day when I have chocokate homemade organic protein smoothie , then I have a smaller one at about 3:30 pm
Total calories were about 1100/1200 but I increased up 1350 and have lost just as much .
The real key is hardly any carbs until 6pm-9pm - there’s maybe only 10g in my smoothies
And because of the protein and fasting I can put off dinner till 8, then there’s less time to snack after !
I do 39 min cardio a day - could be fast walk at lunchtime, bike up hills, or cross trainer at gym. Then weights three yikes s week for about 30 mins plus sit ups and stretching .
What this has meant is that I haven’t just lost weight, I’ve lost only fat .
In terms of measurement I’ve lost about 11 or 12 inches from my waist !!
If you read the information moreless gave you about internet privacy and security, it will explain about locking posts.
A low carb way of eating needs to go along with an increase in healthy fats. If you go for that approach, you won't need to count calories. Again, if you read the first two links moreless gave you, you'll learn a lot more about it.
Fat and fed up
Fat people's clothes?
Fat and fed up
