Diet Changes.

Arayasunshine69 · October 2010

Hello Everyone! I have to admit, I have not been eating as well as I probably should. Chemo treatments have made me very tired, and I'm raising a 15 month old baby girl. My DH works away for 2 weeks at a time, and some days are so rough, I feel short on time when preparing meals, and I'll eat as conveniently as possible, or just snack through out the day. I have gained 8 lbs during chemo. I admit I have been eating alot of unhealthy foods. I have been reading alot though, and I know that sugar is bad for me, and I should be eating alot more fruits and veggies, preferably fish, preferably more organic, and meat from grass fed animals...there is so much information out there. How did you all make the transition? I love my sugar...honey in my tea, diet pepsi, chocolate...you get the idea. I WANT to do this because I believe it's better to be healthy, and if this can protect me "at all" from a recurrence, then I have to attempt it. Please Help! I go for my last chemo in 3 days, and then in 4 weeks, I will start 4 weeks of radiation. I start Tamox. before radiation too...and that's a whole new rant...I don't want to gain more weight, if anything, I want to get myself back to a healthy weight. This is so overwhelming...already this one little question has become this massive rant...I lost 130 lbs in 2003, and maintained that weight loss, until I got pregnant with my daugther. It's been really hard to loose, even before I got diagnosed in May. So...getting back to my question of the day....How did you make that transition, and do you have any tips to share with me?

Thank You Kindly, and Happy Halloween!

Anonymous · October 2010

Kellie- It's hard to get started with so much going on but one thing I did was try to get my DH to do as much of the grocery shopping as possible. That way I wasn't buying the junk food, candy, doughnuts, etc that I so seemed to crave. I would try to have healthy options that I could just grab when I was hungry but too tired to cook anything. The biggest surprise for me was the longer I went without the sugary snacks and the fatty carbs the less I seemed to crave them. And when I did have them they didn't seem to taste as good anymore. If I did have to grocery shop I would always try to eat first and even then it took a lot of will power not to throw those impulse items in the cart. But I felt so much better when I could walk out of the store without them.

Claire_in_Seattle · October 2010

Hi Kellie,

You are not done with chemo yet, and your body needs the energy. You will crave less sugar if you eat more protein. That said, I had a lot of chai with honey when I was doing chemo. And I had chai lattes with something sweet during my weekend bicycle rides.

I am back to regular lattes now, but could not do coffee during chemo.

I love fruits and veggies so eating them throughout was no problem. Pears were a godsend, so you might want to try those. Very sweet when ripe.

You are probably drinking diet soda because of being dehydrated. Not unusual. But you could focus on drinking plain water. Sodas aren't my thing so wasn't tempted.

Exercise is as key to keeping the weight off as diet is, so make sure you get out and walk.

Hope this helps. BTW - I found that I wanted "tea with a little something" in the afternoons towards the end of radiation. That went away when my energy came back.

Good luck, and major congrats on losing the 130 pounds. You are right that you need to keep the weight off. That is why I am doing another group bicycle ride after church this morning. I exercise every day. Just so important. - Claire

weety · October 2010

I don't eat a lot of sugary foods, but I'm like you--I love my sugar in my coffee/tea. I recently discoverd agave nectar. I have been using half sugar and half agave in my coffee now. It gives it a little different taste, but not so different since it's half and half. I figure any change, no matter how small, has got to be better than it was! I worry because since starting on femara, my morning glucose levels have gone up about 10 points and I'm back into the "prediabetic" range (around 105-8 in the mornings) I was "slightly" positive for gestational diabetes during my last pregnancy. I was at the very bottom of the cut-off, but they still had me watch my eating habits and it was fairly easy to control it with diet, but like I said, I'm back in that range again (I'm assuming its the femara) and this time I can't seem to be able to lower it back to normal levels with diet.

Oh, that was probably too much info, but anyways, that's how I discovered the agave nectar. LOL.

somanywomen · November 2010

It seems that some of you are just not ready to take back control of your life...We all know the loss of control in our lives by being hit with this shocking dx....Esp., at the beginning, we have no control and like a Zombie we have to do what we are told....You absolutely have to want that control back and when you start feeling better by eating what you already know is better for you and stop eating what you already know is bad for you, your life will come back.....I can tell you that if you do not buy the bad stuff, you will be forced to be healthier and you will be doing your family a favor by giving them a better chance to change at an earlier age to never have to face this horrible decease...You have to truly take your power back!!!!!...Don't get me wrong, I do treat myself every once in a while and believe me that full fat latte with brown sugar makes me salivate....But for the time being I will continue to drink my organic coffee with a little almond milk and for the most part make better choices....Good luck, it is not easy, esp., at first, then it gets easier, esp., when you see the weight come off and your energy goes up, your cholesterol goes down.....

sdstarfish · November 2010

Hi, Kellie:

There are many things you can do. Stevia is a good substitute for sugar, as it has zero calories. Drop by Pink Kitchen (my blog) any time. I have a lot of easy nutrition tips and healthy recipes. You can always send me a message if you have any questions. Smile

You can do it!

weety · November 2010

What exactly is agave nectar? And is it safe? Is it a sugar substitute? Does it have calories? Does it have the funny taste that fake sugars have?

weety · November 2010

bump (still wondering if anyone knows much about agave nectar)

dlb823 · November 2010

weety, I use Agave Nectar all the time. It's a liquid that looks like honey but is milder (not quite so sweet), and doesn't have the distinct taste that honey does. You can find it at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, etc. I use it in tea, for baking, etc. It's from the agave plant -- usually 100% natural, but read the label to be sure you're not getting one that's overly processed. I've noticed several newer brands recently, and some may not be quite as natural as others. Deanna

kira1234 · November 2010

weety, It's lower on the glycemic ladder as well. I find I need less of it than regular sugar. I use 3/4 of a cup for 1 cup of sugar. I've only used it for baking, and my morning oatmeal.

weety · November 2010

Oooohh. . . Thanks girls! It sounds like I need to go out and get me some! You can actually use it for baking, too, even though it is a liquid?

One more question, why is it better for you than regular sugar (if it's similar to honey I'm assuming it still has all the calories that sugar has???) besides being lower on the glycemic ladder?

sdstarfish · December 2010

Hi, Weety:

So sorry I'm just coming across this, or I would have responded sooner

Yes, you can bake with agave. But it does not exchange equallly with sugar because it's sweeter when you bake. Just use 2/3 c. agave to 1 c. sugar. I use it in holiday cookies and no one can tell the difference

I have some recipes on my blog using agave nectar. Just type 'agave' in the search section to the right, and they will all come up. Click this link: Pink Kitchen

Let me know if you have any other q's. I'm happy to help!

Lisa

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