Tips on regaining a healthy weight after treatment

I used to gain weight in pregnancies. My go-to for losing the extra weight after delivery was to cut out bread. 

Semi-skimmed milk instead of full-fat milk will reduce calorie intake too, or you could switch to Alpro hazelnut or coconut drink as they are low calories.

Maggie's offer an online exercise class, I think it's every Friday, just gentle exercise in a small group with an instructor, perhaps this can be a good start until you are able to go out for walks?

Hi,

To lose weight, you have to be in a calorie deficit. ie eating and drinking less than what you are burning.  I'd recommend introducing 'healthy habits'. For instance:

-Drinking 2 litres water a day

-Eating 4 portions of fruit and veg a day

-Eating minimum of 3 portions of protein a day (protein is highly important for maintaining a healthy weight, plus lots of other benefits like helping to keep your hemoglobin levels up)

-Swapping foods out for ones that contain less calories 

-Doing a certain number of steps per day. You could start small and then increase once you feel ready. Buy a fit bit or step counter that tells you and you can monitor this.

Then also watch out for the foods in supermarkets we think are 'healthy' such as yoghurt which contains a high amount of sugar. Some contain more than a chocolate bar and I know which one I'd sooner have lol.

I've recommended all of the above based on what has worked for me in the past. Good luck x

Great advice, thank you. Cutting out bread used to work for me when I was in my twenties. Will try that this time too.  Maggie's exercise routines look good. Will give those a go. Thank you!

PD: Discovered today that I have lost about 3-4Kg since finishing chemo. I have only put on weight steadily for months, so this is a good start. It will be good to go back to my normal weight or as close to it as possible eventually.

Why not arrange a consultation with the Penny Brohn nutritionist? Its a free service, with a voluntary contribution without any pressure. I found it so helpful and you can arrange follow up consults if you need them. A high protein, higher fibre diet avoiding processed and sugary foods was the general basis of the advice.  They also have exercise consultations and you could ask to have a one to one personal trainer session with their cancer trained specialist. It is challenging to get back to ourselves and I admire your strength to do all you can after your body has been buffeted by treatment over the last months. I have also arranged to go to the cooking sessions at my local macmillan centre (an hour away), or maybe Maggie's offer something similar? 

Thank you Natasha. There are some very good tips there, that I will be sure to follow.

The possibility to contact other people going through cancer treatment this way is such a great resource (thank you Macmillan).  I never knew of Maggie's or Penny Brohn... the tips and advice are invaluable. Thanks to everyone on this thread.

Thank you Zephyr, for directing me to Penny Brohn. I hadn't heard of them. I didn't know about the Macmillan cooking sessions either. Very useful advice! Also thank you for being so encouraging!

zephyr said:

maybe Maggie's offer something similar? 

In my area Maggie's offer a group session with a dietitian while someone else cooks a meal for everyone, and then you get to eat it, get the recipe, and the written version of what the dietician goes through. I went to such a session without expectation because I already knew a lot about nutrition. To my surprise and delight I leanred two things during that session that I consider very important. The meal was delicious too.