Hi all! I'm new to these threads but looking for some comradery as I try to focus on my health goals.
I'm a 37 year old mom of three who is currently 2/3 of the way through chemo for Hodgkins lymphoma. In my cancer beforetimes, I ran 15+ miles a week with two crosstrains and maintained a healthy weight (with some room for error, of course- we all remember the "there's a pandemic, I'll eat all the Cheetos I want" days!!). Then, the cancer caused me increasing fatigue and weight loss over the six months that I was searching for my diagnosis. When we finally figured out what was ailing me, I had been forced to give up all exercise and was still barely making it through the day to be awake later than my 9 year olds.
Fast forward through four months of chemo and I'm in a very weird sort of limbo. I gained back all of my weight plus ten pounds with the "Screw it, I have cancer, I'll eat what I want" mindset. My activity levels vary wildly depending on where I am in my every-other-week infusion cycle. I have 2-3 total crap days, 2-3 transitional days, and then hopefully 9 good, strong days before I have to go beat myself up all over again.
My goals are:
1) Be gentle with myself on my 2-3 total crap days. Eat what I need to in order to keep the nausea at bay, even if it's just junk food, and rest as much as I need to.
2) Use my 2-3 transitional days to reset into healthier choices. Once the nausea fades, make better food choices again. Once the fatigue lets up, start with yoga and pilates again. Start running when it feels right. (The earliest I've been able to run is a Thursday after chemo the prior Friday. I tried Wednesday this past infusion and hit a total wall after one mile.)
3) Use the rest of my good cycle days to stay active, run 5k, strength train, and make solid food choices.
I'm hopeful that keeping to these goals will allow me to finish up chemo with a good base to rebuild my strength and endurance, as well as a body that still fits into my current clothes. I'm not trying to lose weight right now, but I also don't want to allow my stress eating to push me any higher, as that's just more work I'll have to do this summer when chemo is behind me.
My next infusion is Friday, so I'm firmly in the good days right now. Yesterday was strength training, this morning was a 5k, and I'm limiting my snacking to raw broccoli or bell peppers with tatziki.
Here's to a healthy May!