Cake is just cake.

There’s chocolate cake. Vanilla cake. And my personal favorite. . .coconut cake.

There’s cake for your birthday (a cake-worthy day if ever there was one), cake for end of treatment (seriously, get a BIG cake for that), and cake for the sheer love of cake (yes, really).

What you may not realize is that CAKE is actually a metaphor for TERROR.

FOOD FEAR DECODED

I like cake, but I’m particular about the cake I choose to eat.

I prefer homemade by me. Since I greatly reduce the amount of sweetener I use in my baked treats, commercial bakery cakes are too sweet for my liking.

I also bake with nourishing ingredients, for example, whole wheat pastry flour.

Commercial bakeries tend to use standard baking ingredients that skimp on nutrition.

Here’s the thing, though.

When I decide to bake and/or eat cake, it’s an intentional choice I make because I WANT TO EAT CAKE.

It’s a choice based on hunger (am I hungry enough for cake now or waiting until later?), preference (my preference is never for ice cream cake), and whether or not I’m in the mood (sometimes, I just don’t want to eat cake).

It’s not a choice laced with fear.

Fear-laced and fear-based food choices often have nothing to do with hunger or preference.

EXAMPLE A: You want cake, but you’re convinced it’s “bad” for you. As in, will cause weight gain or trigger recurrence – there’s sugar, you know.

So you try to push the thought of cake out of your mind. . .only to think of nothing but cake.

That’s annoying.

It’s tough to concentrate when all you can think about is cake, whether or not to eat the cake, the flavor of cake you want, all the reasons why you shouldn’t eat the cake, when the next time you might actually eat cake will be, and the guilt you’ll feel after you do actually eat the cake.

It’s so tiring, isn’t it?

EXAMPLE B: You want cake, so you bake one. Then do all you can to resist it, because of course it’s on your “don’t eat” list.

When you finally succumb, you can’t stop at one slice. You eat way too much cake (how do you know it’s too much? you don’t feel well!), then drown in remorse, shame and fear. 

Remorse and shame because you “should be ‘better'”.

Fear because you know how awful sugar is for cancer.

PLEASE. JUST EAT THE CAKE.

First off, you may need some sugar and breast cancer education. Click here to read my blog about that.

And then? Recognize that cake is just cake.

The power you give cake comes from all the things you THINK about cake.

What are your cake thoughts?

Write them here:

1. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Now, review those thoughts. Read them out loud.

Are they positive? Negative? Crazy-sounding?

Breast cancer recurrence is somewhat influenced by diet, that’s for certain. But it’s not directly influenced by any single food. . .like cake.

The pattern of your diet over time is more important to your breast and overall health.

If on occasion the pattern of your diet includes cake, that’s awesome. I hope you’re celebrating something amazing.

Like food fear freedom.

Do me a favor? Share your thoughts about cake in the comments. . .I’d love to hear what you have to say !

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Thanks for reading my blog post!

Most survivors of hormone-positive breast cancer get anxious when they think about what to eat after finishing treatment, so I’ve created the Peaceful Plate program to help survivors eat with peace, not panic. 

When you eat with peace, you feel free to enjoy your food again.

Ready to eat with peace? 

CLICK HERE and grab your FREE copy of The Five Foods Survivors Should Eat

CLICK THIS LINK and watch my 2-minute Peaceful Plate program video!

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.