One of the most common questions I get asked by patients is, “Is there anything I can do to reduce my chances of getting cancer?” My response is always the same, “Live a healthy lifestyle. Eat healthy and exercise.” Now, that won’t necessarily mean that you won’t get cancer, but it is one of the few things you can control to reduce your risk of getting cancer. The majority of my patients are overweight and that is definitely a risk factor for breast cancer as well as a whole host of other diseases that can kill you. Also, being healthier allows you to recover sooner from necessary surgeries and tolerate treatments better.
But it’s easy for me to tell someone to lose weight, be healthy and exercise. I myself have never had a weight issue so I don’t know the struggles that come with trying to lose weight. But after living at my dad’s house for 3 weeks where I had no control over what there was to eat and a road trip where every meal was either fast food or eating out, I ended up in Houston feeling completely disgusted with myself and ready for a fresh healthy start. After all, shouldn’t I practice what I preach?
Cover via Amazon
I recently read Jackie Warner’s “This Is Why You’re Fat” book after having bought some of her workout videos. Her book talks about how the foods you eat affect the hormones in your body, including human growth hormone, testosterone, estrogen and insulin. It made me realize that although I am not fat, I would still benefit in many ways by eating in a manner that would keep others thin.
Let’s face it, us women have a hard time taking care of ourselves. I often ask my patients, “How come you haven’t come for a mammogram in 4 years?” Has it been that long? I’ve been so busy I didn’t even realize! As I remind my patients the importance of taking care of themselves first so they can continue taking care of others, I am now realizing that I too need to do the same thing for my family.
So let me share some of the things I am doing to take that step towards healthier living:
1. Always eat breakfast and have some sort of protein at breakfast. (This usually means eggs or a protein shake.) Breakfast is the most important meal. Studies have shown that by adding breakfast into your eating regimen you can increase your metabolism.
2. Don’t have any junk food in our pantry. That means no cookies, no chips, etc. I do still indulge in Healthy Choice fudge bars (100 calories, 5 gm of sugar) and 25 calorie fruit bars made with Splenda. Those make my kids happy enough not to complain.
3. Eat more protein and less white carbs (potatoes, white rice, pasta). This is supposed to help balance your insulin levels. In college I had started the Zone diet which was based on balancing your insulin levels. Prior to starting the diet, I always fell asleep in my afternoon lectures. But after the diet, I was able to stay awake no problem! I totally believe that the post lunch sugar crash was the cause of my inability to stay awake in the afternoons. As a result, I have been incorporating whole wheat bread, whole wheat tortillas, whole wheat pasta, brown rice and quinoa as my carbohydrate staples. I can’t give up carbs completely!
4. Eat fish at least once a week. This is a source of protein in my diet and provides the healthy Omega 3 fatty acids which are good for your heart.
5. Take a daily vitamin. For some reason, I just keep forgetting to pop those pills. I don’t know if I subconsciously don’t like the idea of having to take a pill. But I do it for my kids, so why shouldn’t I do it for myself?
6. Drink lots of water. I am just really bad at doing this. If it’s not in front of me, I don’t think to go and get it and I can go a whole day without drinking much. I literally need a bottle attached to my arm…
7. No more excuses about working out. I am going to try to devote 15-20 min to some form of exercise every day. Jackie Warner has a great DVD with 15 min workouts you can do at home. Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred workouts are 20 min long. When you think about 15-20 min, it doesn’t seem like much time, does it?
8. Get a good night’s sleep. I like to stay up late at night. In fact, several of my posts have been written close to midnight. It’s the only time I have to myself. Unfortunately, I am still getting up when my kids get up. Ultimately, I am depriving my body of its time to recover from the stresses that it goes through on any particular day. After a while, it will take its toll…
Just so you know, I have been trying to implement these for the past 2-3 weeks. I am doing well with 1-4 but still working on 5-8. It’s not easy to make so many changes but I already feel better doing some of the above. Eventually, I hope to be able to say I do everything above. It’s okay if it takes time to get there, as long as I get there. By then, several of those should become second nature. But until then, I will have to remind myself of those goals and what it will do for my well being and how that will make me a better mother, wife and doctor. That is the best motivation.
Mammo Doctor, Mother, Wife - Trying to put it all together... 