Breast cancer survivors often mourn how they “used” to eat.
Savoring a sandwich. Lingering over a latte. Munching a muffin. Eating was oh-so-simple and something to enjoy!
Now?
It’s tough to shake the food stress. Avoid the worry that you’re not making the “best” choices. Nix the niggling thought that one wrong bite will bring your breast cancer roaring back.
It’s not crazy to think that way.
Whether you’re wading through social media posts aimed at clicks vs accuracy, getting “advice” from well-meaning folks, or drowning in the rabbit hole of your “own research”, you know how it goes.
One minute you’re happily making yourself a sandwich, and the next you’re freaking out over the carbs in the bread (ahem, the same bread you’ve been eating for years because you LOVE it).
The Truth for Every Breast Cancer Survivor
Eating after breast cancer is different.
You want to eat as well as you can, as often as you can. You’re determined to choose foods that help you stay healthy and cancer-free. You also want to enjoy your food.
The funny thing is, after breast cancer none of those things seem to fit together. It’s either eat for your health OR enjoy your food – they can’t possibly co-exist.
Or can they?
When I work with someone who’s on the breast cancer survivor austerity diet (you know, no caffeine, sugar, dairy, alcohol, processed or non-organic foods) and they’re drowning in guilt because they can’t stick with it, it’s generally because they have no idea how to make eating for health and joy co-exist in peace and harmony.
What Eating Was Like Before Breast Cancer
Before your breast cancer eating was complicated, but also, doable.
You were either on or off a diet. Being “good” or “cheating”. Gobbling fries and a cheeseburger when you had your period (salt and fat, amen!) or a stressful day.
Of course you wanted to eat “healthy”, but that approach was generally aligned with trying to drop a few pounds (pssst, it’s possible to eat healthy food and still be overweight).
Before your cancer, regardless of the food path you were on in any given week, you knew Monday was coming and you’d just start over.
It didn’t feel like your life depended on the recipe you chose to make for dinner.
Now. It’s complicated.
And you hate it.
Help for Eating After Breast Cancer
Let me share a simple exercise that will help you get clear on three things:
- The food anxiety you feel is real, but there’s likely a reason for that rather than just a “feeling”. Once you know the reason, you can tame the anxiety.
- Food does serve a purpose in your breast cancer survivor health, and it’s possible to identify that.
- You can be in charge of your post-treatment eating and meet your risk of recurrence halfway, but, you need to figure out how you want to do that.
Here’s the three-step exercise; grab a piece of paper and a pen (yes, old school!) and work through it.
Step 1
- Identify what it is about food that makes you feel panicked
- Write it down, then ask yourself, “Is that really true?”. You may find that you’re not sure whether something you believe about a particular food (or foods) is true or not, and I’ll remind you, that’s generally due to lack of guidance and education. Think about getting a clear understanding of post-treatment nutrition to help you feel empowered about the choices you’re making.
Step 2
- Identify at least one positive way that food supports you
- I promise you, regardless of what you’ve been told, one wrong bite of “the wrong food” will not trigger something bad. Food doesn’t work that way. Breast cancer initiation doesn’t work that way. This is an area where nutrition coaching can help you work through the misguided beliefs that you’re holding on to for dear life; beliefs that aren’t helping you.
Step 3
- Identify how you want to approach your post-treatment eating
- Here’s a hint. If the words “strictly” or “perfectly” come up for you. . .those are words I encourage you to avoid. What can you replace them with? Joyfully? Peacefully? Stress-free?
Thanks for reading my blog!
If you found it helpful, please leave a comment below and tell me how it helped – I love hearing from you.
____________________________________________________
Ready to start eating with peace and enjoying your food again?
Start here! Click to get your FREE copy of The Five Foods Survivors Worry About Most (and what the science really says)
Follow me on Instagram @hormone.breastcancer.dietitian
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.