Should I be concerned about not gaining weight?

[joeyooser]

My wife hugged me tonight after work and said I was skinny, which increased my anxiety about this. I've always had to exercise like crazy and watch my weight, until the last 3 months or so. Now it seems, no matter what I eat, I do not put on a pound, and this means I am eating trash all the time now. On saturday night, I literally had 3 slices of Baker's Square coconut cream pie (1/2 the pie). I threw the other half away, because I was worried I would eat all of it.

The question is, could this be a sign of something bad, kind of like the dreaded symptom of "Unexplained Weight Loss"? I'm not losing weight, just not gaining, no matter how bad I eat. Also have decreased my total exercise the last few weeks because it seems I don't need it anymore.

Today my diet has been this bad:

4 am - can't sleep = get up and have a slice of French Silk pie
8 am - get up and have my new almond milk/fiber one combo
11 am - another slice of French Silk pie
12 am - bacon deluxe at wendy's
Wife says I feel 'skinny'
6 pm - Taco Johns - Potato Oles, beef burrito and chicken quesadilla
Now - Jack & Coke to calm down

I wish Gaelen was still active here - she probably would have some sage advice on this one.

[CRguy]

Today my diet has been this bad:

4 am - can't sleep = get up and have a slice of French Silk pie
8 am - get up and have my new almond milk/fiber one combo
11 am - another slice of French Silk pie
12 am - bacon deluxe at wendy's
Wife says I feel 'skinny'
6 pm - Taco Johns - Potato Oles, beef burrito and chicken quesadilla
Now - Jack & Coke to calm down

I wish Gaelen was still active here - she probably would have some sage advice on this one.

Your "diet" looks fine to me !!!!

PM Gaelen, just because she is not actively online doesn't mean she would not respond to a PM ... ???
OR track her down on one of her blogs....just a thought.

Cheers
CRguy

[wwroam]

With that diet I'd be researching cardiologists.
I kept losing weight for 6 months after I'd finished chemo even though I was long back to eating healthily. After that it was slow weight gain for 6 months and then I started to really pack it on. I've trimmed back over the last 6 months but that rapid weight gain took me by surprise.

[SkiFletch]

Still on the DCA? I've often wondered if bieng on DCA would have this exact effect, inability to gain weight. You're removing your body's ability to effectively metabolize sugar so you're just not creating/using enough energy. That'd be my bet.

[disco nap]

How about tracking calories in / calories out for a week to see where you're at?

There are many free websites that do this and supply you with other information such as whether you are meeting your daily requirements on certain vitamins, etc...

It takes an excess intake of 3500 calories to gain a pound. So, if you burn 2200 calories in a regular day (this is an average number - you'll burn more or less depending on gender/height/weight and a few other factors), burn 300 per day in exercise (Total burned 2500) - you would need to eat 3000 calories every day to gain only one pound per week. (7 days * 500 extra calories = 3500 calorie surplus). Hopefully my math is right - I'm currently hooked up to my 5-FU pump and math has never been my strong suit!

So, it's not always as easy to gain weight as many people think - 3000 calories every day is a *lot* of food and that's only a pound a week gain (but based on your original post, I would say you are hopefully meeting that and then some!) However, keeping a food diary for a week or so would be useful - if only to track your nutritional needs. You can PM me if you want website recommendations. A quick google search will turn up a few great options.

Happy eating!

[jmarie]

Mmmmmm taco johns.....potato oles......mmmmmm.....I haven't thought of or eaten TACO johns in so long. I don't think we have any in Florida.

I had lost so much weight by the time I was off Folfox. My pre dx weight was 151, I went down to 106 at my worst. I looked like a skeloton, I just came across some pics today. That was about a year ago. I too ate and drank anything I wanted. Just junk food because I was scared of being so skinny. I t took a few month but the weight started coming on and now I am trying to stop them. I just hit 152!!! It was like 1-2 pounds a month and ended 1-2 pounds a week. Now I want to get back to 130 but am afraid if I start losing weight it won't stop. I am going on Folfox next week so I will start losing weight I think. I have mixed feelings about it, its bad to loook forward to losing weight due to chemo, but I guess one benifit. I know I will be kicking myself for that once I start dropping weight without control again. My downfall has been mtn dew and coke, I wake up craving them. Its really bad. With folfox I can't drink carbonated drinks, I feel like something is exploding in my mouth. That is one benifit to folfox.

Sorry for my ramble, this probably doesn't help. My main point was that it took a while for the weight to start coming back and then it just snowballed. Enjoy eating whatever you want, you deserve it. Just make sure you reign it in when you get to your ideal weight.

[joeyooser]

Fletch, I'm not on DCA anymore, but I did wonder if it reset my metabolism to a much higher level.

As for calorie counting, I already have an app called 'Lose It' on the iPhone and I'm very familiar with what I used to be able to eat to maintain weight. Trust me, I could not eat slices of pie, bacon cheeseburgers, etc on a daily basis. That's why I'm wondering why I can eat all this trash now and not put on weight.

[MarkS.]

I don't think you should be too concerned, however, I do worry a little bit about taking in too much junk food.

There is a lot of debate about the type of foods which can cause cancer and it seems like the traditional Western diet is one of them. I understand that you need to take in calories, but nothing should prevent you from staying with relatively healthy staples: whole wheat bread, granola, fruits, vegetables, almonds, skim cheese sticks, etc.

Of course one doesn't do this cold turkey. Just incorporate it slowly into your diet so you can become accostomed to it. Also, eating every few hours also will help since it may take the "hunger" pangs away.

Just my .02......I may get back change

[PGLGreg]

I can't help being envious, since I haven't had a dessert for over a year. I have no idea why you might be on a losing streak, but you'd better tell your doctors. Eating more dessert and junk and cutting back on exercise just doesn't sound like a good solution.

[helen098]

I would ask your doc..but mabye your metabolism has been speed up by all this junk
or it could be your thyoid..
After chemo I started eating everything once my taste buds came back for at least 6 months I was still skinny 155 or so and eating everything ..then we started on the drugs for neuropothy (antidepresents- seems wrong if you are taking the pills because your not happy they make you fat and un interested in sex..would think that would make you more depressed) and the weight keeps going up and up and up

[pollo65]

I ate like a pig for the first six months out of chemo and after that I suddenly was back to gaining weight. I had lost a lot of weight pre-diagnosis and in chemo. Now my metabolism has slowed to what it was before I was aware of my cancer. Talk to your doc but don't be overly concerned---and beware of those pies
pollo65

[jscho]

Still on the DCA? I've often wondered if bieng on DCA would have this exact effect, inability to gain weight. You're removing your body's ability to effectively metabolize sugar so you're just not creating/using enough energy. That'd be my bet.

Skifletch, this comment intrigues me. Why do you think DCA removes the ability to effectively metabolize sugar? From what I understand, DCA inhibits an enzyme (pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase) that plays a role in the conversion of pyruvate into lactate, and thereby encourages normal glucose oxidation.

This certainly modifies the metabolism, but should encourage normal metabolic processes in abnormal cells and not do much under normal circumstances (although it may affect anaerobic exercise).

On the other hand, I'm not an expert in this area. Since joeyooser is no longer taking the DCA, it's all academic (but so am I, hence my interest).

Jeremy

[ams5796]

My experience was like Jessica's. I lost a lot of weight on Folfox, more than I needed to or wanted to. It was certainly a new experience to lose weight without trying . It took a while for any weight to creep back on. But suddenly I feel like I might have to watch what I'm eating. I've been on Xeloda since June. Does anyone know if Xeloda makes you gain weight? Or does having been on chemo make you gain weight?

Ann