It’s time to retire BREAST CANCER AWARENESS.
We’re plenty aware.
During October, I suggest we adopt BREAST CANCER ACTION month. To get you started I’m sharing 31 healthy tips for managing your recurrence risk and rebuilding your health after treatment.
Eating a plant-based diet, exercising regularly, limiting/avoiding alcohol, not smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight are all recommendations for survivors. (1)
A solid survivorship goal for everyone is “a lifetime of good health.”
I always say, “When you eat for breast health, you support your overall best health.”
The five recommendations above are the foundation of a healthy survivorship, but how to start?
Use my tips below, implementing one or two per week.
There may be 31 days in October, but it’s not necessary (nor advised!) to implement all 31 tips at once.
The goal is to sustain the lifestyle changes you put in place, so start slowly and be patient with yourself as you progress!
10 Plant-based Dishes
Open to eating more plant-based meals? Here are ten simple, delicious ideas.
- Black bean and sweet potato burrito
- Carrot, onion and lentil soup with whole wheat bread
- Oatmeal with walnuts and blueberries
- Pinto bean tacos with roasted potatoes
- Roasted tofu with brown rice and broccoli
- Veggie and tempeh stir-fry over quinoa
- Veggie burger with side of cole slaw
- White bean dip with raw veggies
- Whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce
- Zucchini muffins with almond butter and an apple
10 Basic Exercises for All Fitness Levels
Ready to get moving? Start slow, use perfect form, be consistent.
- Arm circles
- Bent-knee push-up
- Bicep curl
- Bicycle crunch
- Bridge pose hip lifts
- March in place
- Reverse lunges
- Side plank
- Side-to-side standing twist
- Squats
10 Healthy Tips for Survivorship
Where do you need to put your focus? Start with the tip below that fits your unique need.
- Experiment with no-calorie, flavored waters
- Try a new, great-tasting non-alcohol beverage
- Rather than stopping alcohol cold turkey, try reducing your intake
- Still smoking? Ask your doc about medications and treatments that lessen cravings
- Avoid triggers that encourage you to smoke
- Identify your WHY; the reason you want to quit smoking
- Get brutally honest about the reasons, behaviors, habits behind any recent weight gain
- Stop using food to buffer, soothe, distract, numb out or beat boredom
- Move your body because it feels good, not because you’re trying to lose weight
- Learn to identify true physiological hunger versus tummy, mouth or head hunger
- Give yourself adequate time for weight loss; it never happens as fast as you’d like
1 Reminder to Check Your Breasts
Changes can happen overnight. Don’t wait to be examinded by your doc, do it yourself on a regular basis (2)
- Know your normal
- Perform self-exams first day of every new month; better yet, check daily
- Get obsessed with your chest and be relentless in your commitment to self-exams
- Use this breast self-exam guide
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This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult your dietitian or doctor for guidance specific to your needs.
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