Tag Archives: Nutrition

FoobieFitness.com

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You’ve seen me mention the amazing Casey Eischen and her post-mastectomy exercise program, I’m sure. I’ve done it more than a couple of times. Foobie Fitness, which started with Casey’s YouTube channel and a community page on Facebook, recently became an official non-profit! Today Casey and her team launched FoobieFitness.com aiming to help not only women navigating breast cancer-related journeys, but anyone interested in disease prevention, nutrition, yoga, and the overall cancer-free lifestyle. Who isn’t interested in saying NOPE to cancer?!? Make sure to visit this awesome resource!

FoobieFitness.com

 

My feedback featured as a Success Story on FoobieFitness.com:

 “The Coach Casey post-mastectomy exercise program is was what really helped me make a speedy and successful recovery after my prophylactic mastectomy and tissue expander reconstruction over a year ago. I knew that my range of motion and mobility were going to be severely impacted by the traumatic procedure, so I began searching for the right program that I could begin right away and would help me in my recovery. I found just that in Casey’s videos.

I started doing wrist bends while still in my hospital bed and I slowly progressed through additional exercises in the following days. Each time I played that YouTube video I was doing better than the day before and I attribute that to this program!  I talk about and recommend it whenever the opportunity presents itself. I still do it as of the day I write this, having had additional reconstructive surgery just four weeks ago! Casey has always been positive, encouraging, and willing to offer additional advice and tips. She even created a clean and simple nutrition plan to supplement the exercise regimen. Thank you Coach Casey for helping me and countless other women get through this!” – Nope2BC.com

On a side note: I had my second fill today bringing the expander to 400ccs. I have also moved my exchange surgery out a few weeks to September 11. The story continues.

Breast cancer and diet, green smoothie edition

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If you’ve ever watched Forks Over Knives, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, Food Matters, or read any of the multitude of books out there, like Anticancer, that support a whole-foods, plant based diet and lifestyle, you already know that eating clean offers protection against cancer and even suppression of any disease already present (cancer or otherwise).

“Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.” – Hippocrates

Mushrooms, flaxseed, soy, collards, kale, carrots, berries, tea, legumes, nuts, oats, and on and on and on. Superfoods can help ward off heart disease, cancer, cholesterol, and more. But it doesn’t work when they’re deep fried, slathered with unhealthy, high-fat dressings or sauces, or barely there in whatever you are eating. You can eat them raw and whole or join me and smoothie it up! I am in for the SimpleGreenSmoothies.com 30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge. It starts January 1 – that’s TOMORROW. Get your blender ready and stock up on some leafy greens and fruits. It’s time to get healthy (or healthier). Click below to sign up for the challenge. You’ll get emails with details and recipes + shopping lists every Thursday.

Do you already drink green smoothies? Got some great recipes to share? Are you using any boosters like chia/hemp/flax seeds? Coconut oil? Let me know what works best for you!

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Breast cancer and diet, continued

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As I mentioned in a previous post, Breast cancer and diet, I subscribe to the daily video from Dr. Greger (NutritionFacts.org). This week, he posted a series of videos about fiber, flaxseeds, and breast cancer. I just can’t keep these to myself!

A clinical study explored lignans/flaxseeds and thier effect on tumor growth (comparing it to Tamoxifen). Consuming flaxseed muffins over a period of five weeks made tumor cell proliferation go down, cancer cell death go up, and HER2 score go down. That’s amazing. The little ol’ ground flaxseeds I put in my morning oatmeal can do this!

Similar positive effects are linked to fiber. A study out of Yale on pre-menopausal women concluded that a higher intake of soluble fiber was associated with a significantly reduced risk of breast cancer – 62% lower odds. For younger women that goes up to 85%. Whether it’s the fiber directly or the way it interacts with other nutrients in your body, it doesn’t hurt!

Check out the short videos below to learn more.

Flaxseeds & Breast Cancer Survival: Clinical Evidence

Flaxseeds & Breast Cancer Survival: Epidemiological Evidence

Flaxseeds & Breast Cancer Prevention

Fiber vs. Breast Cancer

Foobie Fitness

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Fitness, nutrition, and your health

Speaking of exercise … post-mastectomy exercises are crucial to a full, healthy, and speedy recovery. I keep mentioning Casey Eischen’s program, because it really is a great one and has been working well for me. Every day I do exercises and every day I get further than the day before.

Casey EischenClick here if you’re interested in learning more or contacting Casey Eischen. This amazing lady 1. is a fitness expert and nutrition coach that is certified in training women who are recovering from breast cancer and related treatment or surgery, 2. she underwent a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy herself in November ’12, and 3. she took some time to provide invaluable feedback for this post. Also, be sure to visit (and like) Foobie Fitness, a FaceBook community page run by Casey Eischen.

NotePost-op workouts are one thing. Preparing your body before the procedure is another, and just as important. It is the #1 item on my preparing for surgery checklist: get in the best physical shape you can manage before the surgery. The healthier the body, the more tolerant it is to trauma, and the faster it recovers. I workout on a regular basis, however, I’m no fitness guru, so I would advise discussing exercise with your doctor and/or a certified trainer.

In addition to physical fitness, nutrition is extremely important to aid healing and keep a hand on inflammation. According to Casey, Inflammation is attributed to the improper functioning of the immune system. Check out this meal plan she designed for Simple/Clean Nutrition.

Something that should go without saying – smoking is a big NO-NO.

Details

Pectoralis major, serratus anterior

The breast reconstruction procedure utilizing expanders, and ultimately implants, wreaks havoc on the pectoralis major muscle. The nerves feeding the muscle are snipped when the pocket is created (note: this was the case with my PBM, but may not be the standard procedure for all plastic surgeons, so please talk to your doctor). This causes the muscle to atrophy and lose some of its functionality. The more developed the pec major, the more difficult (read: painful) the expansion process and following recovery will be. A few months before my prophylactic mastectomy, once I knew it was in my future, I began altering my routine. I stayed away from push ups and flys and instead focused on core and legs. After the procedure, because pec major is traumatized, core and legs must pick up the slack.

I’ve fallen and I can’t get up

Maya

Maya

My abs got me out of trouble on day three after the mastectomy. I was sitting on the floor petting a cat and decided it would be a good idea to lay down flat on the floor. That was fine and dandy until it was time to get up. No matter which way I tried to get up, I felt pain. Couldn’t roll over to my side, because I still had surgical drains coming out of me and I couldn’t use my arm to prop myself up if I ever got there. Bending at the waist was not working – my serratus was screaming. I finally wedged my feet under the couch and then used the leverage and my lower abs to bend at the waist.

It was scary as I was laying there helpless, but as soon as I managed to get up, I said to my self outloud: YOU F$@#ING IDIOT! It’s funny now, but wasn’t then. Moral of the story: don’t lie flat on your back three days after surgery, stupid.

Breast cancer and diet

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I subscribe to the daily video from Dr. Greger (NutritionFacts.org), who is a nutrition expert. This week he posted a few videos related to breast cancer.

Studies suggest that eating 5 plain white button mushrooms per day may be sufficient to suppress breast tumor growth! Consuming soy and green tea also provides protection against breast cancer (contrary to some thoughts on how soy/isoflavones effect hormonally-sensitive cancers – see related articles below). Don’t forget collards and carrots. Watch these short videos for more info.

Many articles and videos available from NutritionFacts.org as well as multiple other sources support the fact that a plant based, whole foods diet (read: vegan) is not only good insofar as prevention, but could also be curative. This applies not just to cancer.

If you haven’t yet come across and watched Forks Over Knives, I highly recommend that you take the time out of your day to do so. It is a feature film that explores the foods we eat and what effect they have on our health.

“FORKS OVER KNIVES examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.”

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