Why your dietary pattern matters
I know you think your potato chip habit will be to blame should you experience a breast cancer recurrence, but I’m here to tell you, nutrition doesn’t work that way. While it’s common to focus on eating/not eating individual foods as a way to “manage” your recurrence...
What Is Eating With Peace?
How often do you sit down for a meal or snack and experience a moment of worry before you eat? Probably more often than you’d like. I see this happening with way too many women after finishing treatment for hormone-driven breast cancer; their food scares them! Food...
Why Me?
Here’s the truth. This blog was inspired by a song written and performed by Kris Kristofferson, who passed away September 28, 2024 at the age of 88. While I wasn’t a huge Kristofferson fan, given that I’m a lifelong music junkee and was a 1970’s teenager (duh, A...
Three Ways to Control Your Food During Breast Cancer Awareness Month
As I write this blog post we’re one week out from October 1, the “official” start of breast cancer awareness month. You and I both know October brings a barrage of pink breast cancer awareness products that have NOTHING whatsoever to do with actual breast cancer (more...
Can Breast Cancer Survivors Eat Chocolate?
I’m not sure there’s anyone on the planet who loves chocolate more than I do. Unfortunately, chocolate is an amazing food that’s highly misunderstood, especially after hormone-driven breast cancer! Here are some chocolate myths: It’s fattening It’s junk food It’s...
Unsure About Foods That Prevent Breast Cancer?
First off, let’s get one thing straight. There are NO foods that prevent breast cancer or reverse a breast cancer diagnosis. Period. I don’t care what you read online. I don’t care what your sister’s friend’s hairstylist’s massage therapist said. I don’t care what...
Navigating Your Food Fears: Advice From a Breast Cancer Dietitian
If you’ve ever felt nervous, worried or panicked about your post-treatment diet, you’re on what I call the food fear continuum. The sneaky thing about this continuum is that it seems to help (in so many ways!), while in reality, it’s a destructive concept that holds...
Confused About Breast Cancer & Plant-Based Diets?
Breast cancer nutrition myths and misinformation abound! One of the most misunderstood topics? Plant-based diets. Recently one of my clients shared that after finishing treatment she met with a personal trainer specializing in cancer recovery who suggested she eat a...
Taking a Break…but I’ll Be Back!
Seven and a half years ago, in January 2017, I launched my DAM MAD About Breast Cancer blog. After I finished my active treatment for hormone-driven breast cancer (February 2015), I continued running my private nutrition therapy practice and personal training studio,...
Breast Cancer and Osteoporosis
“I figure if I keep my spirit in shape, the bones will take care of themselves.” ~ Rita Moreno Do you have any idea what I would give to know that my bones would take care of themselves in order to avoid osteoporosis? To know that even as my body ages my bones would...
Protein Powder for Breast Cancer Survivors
Why does the idea of consuming protein in the form of a powder, meal replacement, bar or pre-mixed shake hold such strong appeal for breast cancer survivors? Not only that, how did selecting a protein powder, meal replacement, bar or pre-mixed shake become so...
Plant-Based Protein Primer
Some years ago I had a client who shared that his son ate a vegan diet, avoiding even honey. Dad said, “He's been eating this way for four years. As far as I can tell he looks alright, like he’s getting enough protein. I think he has to combine, right?” I wasn't sure...
Perfect is the Enemy of Good
“It’s exhausting trying to eat perfectly all the time!” On a recent coaching call, one of my client’s spoke in-depth about how striving for perfection in her eating left her worn out and forever struggling to “do the right thing”. I hear this often. Eating...
Stop Believing In Miracle Nutrition
My mission is to serve as a trusted nutrition resource for the hormone-driven breast cancer community. I consider it my professional and ethical duty to call out potentially harmful nutrition information (miracle nutrition) targeting the vulnerable among us. ...
Emotions and Eating Habits
Your breast cancer diagnosis left you reeling. The emotions and feelings accompanying the words “It is cancer” can't be explained to anyone who’s not heard them. Breast cancer emotions and feelings are intense. Powerful. Icky. What the hell are you supposed to DO with...
March Nutrition Madness
Every year I get all sorts of giddy when March arrives. Volatile, unpredictable, raw March Chicago weather notwithstanding, this month ushers in celebrations and observances of a number of things I'm fierce about: Women’s History Month National Nutrition Month...
Diet Expectations
The work that I do has one purpose; helping food-panicked survivors of hormone-positive breast cancer eat with peace and enjoy their food again after treatment ends. Sounds like that would be pretty simple, doesn’t it? Give clients a few handouts, teach them what’s...
Diet Changes Are Hard
After treatment ends, it’s common to want to “do your diet differently”. You feel like your nutrition needs have changed, so why wouldn’t you want to shake things up? The problem is, you’re not sure where to start. That’s challenging enough on its own, but in my...
Peaceful or Panicked Mindset?
There’s a lot to be said for examining the way you “think” about food. I don’t mean think about food as in, “What will I make for dinner?”, “What SHOULD I eat for dinner?”, or “Is what I ate for dinner okay for me to eat for dinner?” Those are “thoughts” about food,...
Doing the Work
Happy 2024! It's been 2024 for five days. How you doing? If, like millions of other Americans, you made a resolution to completely overhaul your eating and drinking habits when the clock struck midnight on December 31, five days can feel like a lifetime. You've been...
Holiday Eating Tips
How you do anything, is how you do everything. That includes your post-treatment diet, which somewhere around Thanksgiving may have shifted drastically from what you'd LIKE to be doing. Now that we're in the thick of the season for holiday eating, you may have decided...
Healthy Holiday Baking Tips
No matter how you spin it, holiday cookies aren’t broccoli. Let’s talk about that holiday cookie platter. Groaning under the weight of sugary, buttery, floury bites of treasured tradition, it will soon make its annual appearance. And completely freak you out....
Got Holiday Food Panic?
Feeling a little anxious about the upcoming holiday season? Regardless of which holiday(s) you celebrate, you may be panicked about all the celebratory treats and symbolic foods. Why? Because you think they don’t fit into a healthy post-treatment breast cancer diet....
Why Are You Eating?
There’s a common complaint among women who’ve gone through breast cancer treatment. Weight gain. It doesn’t happen to everyone, but I hear enough women speaking about the issue to know it’s common. When I talk with someone interested in my Peaceful Plate program,...
Too Late for Risk Reduction?
Hey, Pinktober is almost over! How you doin’? I hope you’re taking care of yourself while riding the pink tsunami! I can’t help but think how many companies made a crapload of money selling breast cancer goods and services this month. Goods and services with no...
Stop Saying “NO” to Food
I work with women just like you. You’ve finished treatment for hormone-positive breast cancer and are ready to take charge of your nutritional health, but you don’t know where to start. You feel overwhelmed trying to figure out what to eat, what to avoid, and how to...
31 Healthy Tips for October
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...
Why Inconsistent Nutrition Answers?
In April 2018 I had the sincere pleasure of attending my first oncology nutrition symposium, a biennial event hosted by the Oncology Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Nutrition science ruled at this event, and “voodoo nutrition” based...
National Tofu Day
What is the big deal with tofu? In the ER+/PR+ breast cancer survivor community you and I are part of, it comes down to three things: It’s soy It’s scary It’s misunderstood This post isn’t a deep-dive into soy, rather, on none other than National Tofu Day (I’m not...
Three Breast Cancer Diets That Harm Not Heal
Fad diets constantly cycle through the breast cancer community. In this post, I offer three that you may not have considered, yet just may be following yourself. Unhealthy, unsustainable dieting habits all start somewhere. Allow me to introduce you to a few that won't...
Eating Well Made Easy
“It’s easy, once you get the hang of it.” How many times, under how many different circumstances, have you heard that? Rollerskating Riding a bike Falling in love (ok, maybe not that one) Now that you’ve finished treatment for your hormone-positive breast cancer, you...
Stop Nutrition Information Overload
Are you on nutrition information overload? Eat this, not that. Take this supplement, not that one. Stay away from ALL of this ________________ (insert every food you enjoy), but do eat ALL of this ________________ (insert every food you can’t tolerate. . .even a...
Intermittent Fasting Update
In 2018 I wrote an updated blog post on intermittent fasting (IF) and since that time, interest in this feeding behavior has only grown. Because I regularly get questions about IF, I’m writing a very brief post (more at a later date) on current scientific thinking...
Food Trust
Are you stuck in the research rabbit hole? You really, honestly, truly want to know what to eat. What to avoid. What foods will possibly help reduce your recurrence risk. You try sorting through the research, but get more confused. And then. . .your anxiety goes...
Diet Resentment
Remember how you “used” to eat? You gave a nod to your health, but you ordered the side of fries and that second glass of red wine without much thought. Now? You’ve cut out red meat You’re trying to avoid sugar You’re eating whole food plant-based, perhaps vegan,...
Phytoestrogen Fears | Part II
In Part I of this post I shared some background on phytoestrogens. In the hormone-driven post-treatment survivor community I hear this constantly; “A lot of foods have estrogen in them. I don’t want to eat anything that will make my cancer worse or come back.” I'm...
Phytoestrogen Fears | PART I
Now that you've finished active treatment, think you're ready to kiss fear and anxiety goodbye? Think again. Post-treatment survivorship is filled with scary things. Like PHYTOESTROGENS. How scared are you? As a survivor of hormone-driven breast cancer, you’re likely...
Did I Get Cancer From My Food?
Do you think your breast cancer is your fault? Maybe you think so, because you “indulged” too often in all the junky, fatty, sugary, unhealthy food you LOVE? If only the path from disease-free to breast cancer diagnosis were that straightforward. Science tells us...
Supplements vs Food
I’ve recently noticed a disturbing trend. I call it the “supplements vs food” trend. You know supplements are a hot topic in the ER+/PR+ breast cancer community, and it’s likely you toss back a few yourself (when you remember to take them). Just last week I saw...
Eat The Dang Blueberries
More food fear is NOT what you need, am I right? Especially about a food as innocent and delicious as BLUEBERRIES! If you’ve been diagnosed with hormone-positive breast cancer, you’re likely worried about phytoestrogens, soy, dairy, red meat, sugar and alcohol. But...
It’s ALWAYS About the Food
After a hormone-positive breast cancer diagnosis, your world and your head are spinning. Especially about the food. It’s always about the food. What should you eat? What should you avoid? What’s an eating plan you can follow for life? Why are the diet guidelines you...
Emotions, Food, Breast Cancer – PART II STRESS & GUILT
Here’s PART II of my two-part series exploring how the emotional side of breast cancer impacts your relationship with food. This is the stuff you won’t get from a breast cancer nutrition handout or 20-minute diet consultation at your cancer center, so let’s dive in....
Emotions, Food and Breast Cancer – PART I ANXIETY & FEAR
Join me for this two-part series where we’ll explore how the emotional side of breast cancer impacts your relationship with food. This is the stuff you won’t get from a breast cancer nutrition handout or 20-minute diet consultation at your cancer center, so let’s...
Chocolate. . .Is It Safe?
What is it About Chocolate? As I write this blog, I’m enjoying a cup of NUMI chocolate pu-erh tea. While the tea doesn’t taste very chocolatey, it’s delicious and cozy. What’s not to love about something chocolate? I adore chocolate and eat it often. Maybe you're a...
A December to Remember
What is it about the holiday season that sends us into frenzied, wild abandonment of the tried and true habits that keep us sane, fit, limber, focused, grounded, nourished and strong (mentally AND physically) the other 11 months of the year? I honestly don’t know....
Breast Cancer Awareness & Halloween. Coincidence?
*** I initially wrote this post in October 2014. *** My doctor had discovered a lump in my left breast, and I was awaiting my mammogram appointment. . .the outcome of which would change the entire trajectory of my life. Thought I'd bring it back in 2022. . .memories....
About That Weight Gain
Some research connects small, almost imperceptible lifestyle habits to weight gain. We breast cancer survivors are quick to express gratitude for all life-saving treatments we receive. We're just as quick to bemoan those treatments for the collateral damage left in...
The RIGHT Nutrition Plan
“You know, there’s a right and wrong way to do EVERYTHING.” Oliver Hardy, the American comic actor (and one-half of Laurel and Hardy) said that. He didn’t work in the world of breast cancer survivorship. Although nutrition is science, not comedy, I’ve encountered some...
Start Eating Food You Love
Maybe your breast cancer IS your fault. You drank the booze and ate all the fatty, sugary, floury, fried, processed, battered, crunchy, salty foods you love. Because everyone knows saying "no" to food you love is torture, and who willingly submits herself to torture?...
Exercise and Osteoporosis
Show me your muscles! If you’re a woman of a certain age, flexing your muscles for show probably isn’t something you do on the regular. That's not “ageist”. It's honest. There's an entire segment of women in the breast cancer population who didn't grow up hitting...