FITBODY Pink® Success Story
How Michele Lost 44 Pounds on Tamoxifen
Two years after ductal carcinoma, 33 rounds of radiation, and daily Tamoxifen, Michele felt heavy, drained, and unsure her body would ever feel like hers again. A year later, she is 44 pounds lighter, 5 pounds of muscle stronger, and running up stairs two at a time.
“I looked at photos from a year ago and I was shocked at how different I look. Even my complexion is better.”
Start Your Own TransformationAge & Location
52, Lynn Haven, Florida
Timeframe
Approximately one year
What Changed
Down 44 pounds on the scale, 48 to 50 pounds of fat, plus 5 pounds of lean muscle. Waist down 11.5 inches, hips down 14 inches, more than 7 inches off each thigh.
Biggest Win
Feels like an athlete again, on the same medication that made her feel heavy and drained a year earlier
When Michele came to me, she was 52, married with a son and two grandchildren, and she had been fighting for her health for a long time. Back in 2023 she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma. She found a great surgeon and she dug in. Then came 33 rounds of radiation, which is punishing on the body and the immune system in ways that last long after the last treatment day. Then Tamoxifen, which she will take for years to pull estrogen out of her system and keep the cancer from coming back.
By the time she reached out to me, all of that had left her overweight, out of shape, and honestly worried her body would never respond again. In the breast cancer community there is a running joke about the medication.
“They don’t call it Tamoxithin.”Michele Clancy, 52, Lynn Haven, FL
It lands because it is true. Losing weight on Tamoxifen really is harder, and that is physiology, not willpower. But harder is not the same as impossible, and over about a year of coaching, Michele proved it. She lost 44 pounds on the scale, dropped an estimated 48 to 50 pounds of body fat, and added 5 pounds of lean muscle at the same time. She took 11.5 inches off her waist, 14 inches off her hips, and more than 7 inches off each thigh. She did all of it while staying on Tamoxifen.
Why This Was So Much Harder Than It Should Have Been
The frustration is real, and it deserves a straight explanation. Tamoxifen is a selective estrogen receptor modulator. In breast tissue it blocks estrogen, which is the whole point, because it starves the kind of hormone driven cells Michele was treated for. Everywhere else in the body, the ripple effects change how you store fat, where you carry it, and how your metabolism responds to the same food and workouts that used to work.
Add treatment induced menopause on top of that, plus the fatigue and stress that come with a cancer diagnosis, and you get exactly what Michele was living with. A body that stopped following the rules it used to follow. Losing weight on this medication is not the old story of eating less and moving more. It is about training and feeding the body you have now, with a plan that respects what the medication changed.
Most women are never told this part. Standard diet advice will fail here, and that is not the woman’s fault. She needs a strategy built for a body on Tamoxifen, applied consistently, not perfectly, over time.
What Actually Worked for Michele
Michele had been reading my newsletters for years before she reached out, and one finally clicked for her. She read about my own breast cancer story, twice, and about the fact that I take Tamoxifen every day too. She realized she was not looking at just another trainer. She was looking at someone who had lived inside the same medication.
“I thought, Julie understands what I’m going through. She knows how to help me get my life back.”Michele Clancy, 52, Lynn Haven, FL
Once we talked on the phone, she was in. From there, the plan looked nothing like the crash diets and punishing workouts most women reach for. I built Michele a progressive strength training program that respected her real starting point and added load over time. That is how you build lean muscle after treatment, and lean muscle is the single most powerful lever a woman on Tamoxifen has. It raises your metabolic rate at rest, improves how your body handles blood sugar, and protects the bone density that hormone therapy can quietly wear down.
Nutrition was the other half, and it was macro based and protein forward, not restrictive. We fueled her body enough to keep training hard, protected her muscle through the fat loss, and adjusted every couple of weeks based on how she was actually responding instead of following a template. When we hit her hardest daily obstacle, getting her steps in around a desk job, we built around that reality instead of pretending it was not there. Nothing was rushed. Nothing got pushed through pain. She kept moving forward because the plan kept meeting her where she was.
The Numbers, and What They Actually Meant
The scale was only part of the story. Because Michele added muscle while she lost fat, her real body composition change was even bigger than the 44 pounds she dropped. But the strength and performance numbers are the ones that show the deeper change, the kind that shifts what a woman believes her body can do.
- Down 44 pounds on the scale
- An estimated 48 to 50 pounds of body fat lost, with about 5 pounds of lean muscle gained
- Down 11.5 inches at the waist and 14 inches at the hips
- More than 7 inches off each thigh
- Pushups from 5 to 44
- 4 minutes faster on a 3 mile bike test
- Flexibility up 7.5 inches
- Standing long jump up nearly 10 inches
Every performance marker moved in the right direction, on the same medication that had felt like an anchor a year earlier. That is what a smart, patient plan does inside a body on Tamoxifen. It works around the medication instead of fighting it, and it builds a stronger body underneath.
The Hardest Part Was Not the Training or the Food
People assume the hardest part after breast cancer is the training, or the food, or the discipline. For Michele, none of those was the sticking point. The hardest part was getting her steps in during a work day that kept her at a desk in payroll processing. That kind of honesty from a client is worth everything, because once I know what the real friction is, I can build the plan to solve it instead of ignoring it.
She never gave up on that daily movement, and the small choices added up. Weight loss after treatment is not made or broken by one perfect day. It comes from consistency across ordinary days, and Michele put together hundreds of them.
The Moment She Realized What Her Body Could Do
Some of the best proof comes on a trip, not in the gym. Michele and her husband were touring the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam when the tour guide told the group they had to hustle to stay on schedule. Michele took that literally.
“I ran up six flights of stairs two at a time, leaving everyone else, including my husband, in the dust. That’s when I realized just how far I’d come. I felt like an athlete again.”
Michele Clancy, 52, Lynn Haven, FLThat is what a year of steady, well built work looks like. Not a smaller version of the body treatment left her with, but a stronger one that trusts itself again.
What She Is Building Now
Michele is not treating this as a program she finished. She is still training, still fueling her body the way we built it, and still holding onto the lean muscle that makes every year on Tamoxifen a little easier than the last. Having a plan that finally works, on the exact medication that used to feel like the reason nothing worked, has changed how she talks about her future.
“I can’t thank you enough for all you have done to get me on a healthy way of life again.”Michele Clancy, 52, Lynn Haven, FL
Her advice to other women is simple, and I hear a version of it from almost every survivor who commits to real coaching.
“If you’re struggling after breast cancer treatment and can’t seem to lose weight on Tamoxifen, I can’t recommend Julie enough. She truly understands the unique challenges we face and knows how to help you overcome them.”Michele Clancy, 52, Lynn Haven, FL
The Questions Women Ask About Michele’s Story
Are Michele’s results typical for women on Tamoxifen?
Every woman’s body and treatment history is different, so results vary. What Michele’s story shows is that meaningful, lasting change is possible on Tamoxifen, even when it feels stuck. She lost 44 pounds on the scale and an estimated 48 to 50 pounds of fat over the course of a year while staying on the medication the entire time. The two things that matter most are progressive strength training that builds lean muscle and a macro based nutrition plan that fuels the body rather than starving it. Consistency, not intensity, is what makes it work.
Why was this so much harder for Michele than losing weight had been before?
Tamoxifen blocks estrogen in breast tissue, which is what makes it so effective at reducing recurrence risk, but the ripple effects on the rest of the body slow the metabolism, shift where fat is stored, and change how the body responds to food and exercise. Add treatment induced menopause and the fatigue that comes with recovery, and the diet advice that used to work no longer applies. For Michele, the approaches that had worked in her 40s stopped working. That was physiology, not willpower, and it needed a solution built around the physiology.
Do I have to stop taking Tamoxifen to lose weight?
No, and you should never stop or adjust your Tamoxifen without your oncologist. The medication is doing important protective work, and the goal of coaching is to build a body that thrives on the medication, not around it. Michele took her Tamoxifen every single day of her transformation and still lost 44 pounds on the scale. The plan is built to work with your treatment, not against it.
Is strength training safe on Tamoxifen and after breast cancer?
For most women, progressive strength training is not only safe once your medical team has cleared you, it is one of the most valuable things you can do. Lean muscle raises your resting metabolic rate, improves insulin sensitivity, and protects the bone density that hormone therapy can slowly reduce. The key is starting where your body actually is, progressing deliberately, and never pushing through pain. Always confirm your own clearance with your oncology and medical team first.
How long did Michele’s transformation actually take?
About a year of consistent work, longer than most women want to hear, and worth every month. That timeline is realistic for a body on hormone therapy, and Michele’s results held because they were built on real muscle and real habits, not on a crash. The women who commit to a year of steady, well coached work almost always end up somewhere they did not think was possible on the medication.
What makes FITBODY Pink® different from regular weight loss coaching?
FITBODY Pink® is coaching built specifically for women rebuilding after breast cancer, from a coach who takes Tamoxifen every day herself. It uses the same structure as my FITBODY Recomposition System™, progressive strength training, nutrition that fuels rather than restricts, and consistent progress tracking, but it is calibrated for a body that has been through treatment. You get guided correctly, never handled like you are fragile, and you get the honesty of a coach who has lived the same medication and the same fears.
Your Comeback Starts Here
You Can Rebuild Your Body Too
Julie Lohre is an IFBB Fitness Pro, Certified Personal Trainer, and Certified Nutrition Specialist with 20+ years of experience, and a two time breast cancer survivor on Tamoxifen. If you are ready to stop guessing and finally see your body respond again, Michele’s start can be yours too.
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