A Breast Cancer Survivor Mindset Assessment
How often do you feel guilty or anxious about skipping fruits and veggies?
Daily, weekly, once in awhile?
In my experience, this thinking comes from believing the myth that skipping a single food (or foods) will automatically trigger a breast cancer recurrence.
The truth is, that’s not how food works in your body.
Here’s a different way to think about it. The pattern of your diet over time is what determines the “healthfulness” of your diet.
Ask yourself this: “Do I eat produce more often than I don’t?”
If the answer is yes, you’re doing great and can let that guilt and anxiety go. If the answer is no, that’s a place where you can make some improvements. I call those areas for improvement “nutritional gaps” – how many do you see in your diet?
Taking action to improve areas of your diet that could use some help is a healthier and more productive way to spend your time than feeling anxious or worried about what you’re “not” doing.
The mental exhaustion from constantly thinking about food in that way isn’t peaceful!
So let’s dig into what happens when you don’t eat enough produce; I’m gonna say right here, it’s probably not what you think.
Why Produce Matters
Produce gives your body a beneficial combination of vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and phytochemicals.
Here’s why that’s important.
Beneficial compounds support your breast and overall health and may help reduce recurrence risk.
Fiber helps aid digestion, fills you up and keeps you feeling satisfied. A high-fiber diet helps reduce your urge to snack; a painless and excellent strategy for crowding out less nourishing foods.
One of the things I teach my clients is how to effortlessly add more veggies to a meal or snack through small changes that elevate the health of their plate. Do you have a strategy for that?
The Emotional Side of Not Eating Enough Produce
When I have discussions with clients about those “nutritional gaps” (especially not eating enough veggies), without fail, the conversation shifts to the worry they feel about “not eating right”.
I’ll say it again. The pattern of your eating over time vs a single meal determines the healthfulness of your diet overall.
Worry, guilt and shame about the way you’re eating is a guaranteed way to eat even more of those less healthy foods you grab in place of produce.
So we need a strategy to keep the emotions in check and produce on your plate.
One of my clients loves consistent reminders about adding fruits and veggies on a regular basis, saying that rather than feeling repetitive, they help her eat more fruits and veggies on a regular basis. How would reminders help you eat more produce?
Common Barriers to Eating Enough Produce
For most people, fruit tends to be easier to eat consistently, it’s those veggies that typically get pushed aside.
Think about an apple. You grab it, wash it, and enjoy. But onions, eggplant and sweet potatoes?
They take prep and cook time.
Or maybe an apple often sounds appetizing, but you need to have a taste for veggies, and that may happen less often than you’d like.
Practical Tips for Adding Produce
- Easy strategies: frozen veggies, dried and frozen fruit, pre-washed/prepped fresh veggies, purchase a full veggie tray (like you take to parties) and nibble from it all week
- Focus on progress over perfection; adding ½ cup of veg at lunch versus no veg at lunch is PROGRESS!
- Create an arsenal of veggie and fruit-based recipes and snack ideas that you tap daily to help you fill those nutritional gaps and enjoy a produce-heavy diet.
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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)
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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.