Radical changes to lifestyle

Has anyone made any radical changes to their lifestyle since having oc or ppc? I have been reading a book called "radical remission surviving cancer against the odds". It talks about diet, herbs and supplements, stress, exercise etc. I was just wondering if anyone has made changes. I think I'm going to find. Dietician for my mum to help with her eating, at the moment her appetite is starting to come back and the doctors said it's best to eat whenever she's hungry and it doesn't matter what it is. But I'm thinking if she gets to remission she might need to make a lot of changes.

[Yoshbosh]

Radical, no, but changes, yes. There are plenty of people who do completely overhaul their lifestyle and I am both in awe of their commitment to it and intimidated by it.

However, I try to be more mindful of what I eat (Christmas has been an epic fail!) - we eat veggie twice a week and fish twice a week, then mainly only chicken for the other meals. I don't eat gluten and have tried to reduce refined sugars (again, epic fail as I tuck into a box of After Eights!), also reduced dairy. Very rarely have any processed foods and have developed a weird aversion to the microwave 😂 Make my own nutrient dense granola too!

I take a few supplements, but again, not to an extreme. I definitely try to have more fun, lots of cuddles with my family, and have built up a wonderful support network who looked after me when I was recovering from surgery and during chemo (one of the factors covered in radical remission). I have cut out negativity from my life and have spent this Christmas holiday laughing and dancing around to music I love. Walking and getting fresh air features a lot too.

I'm probably not quite 'there' yet in terms of the changes I want to make, but I also acknowledge that I'm a 21st century gal with a young family, so I can't suddenly inflict my changes on, for example, my 4 year old who wouldn't thank me for the quinoa and broccoli dish that I now love!

Yosh x

[Hidden in reply to Yoshbosh]

Thanks for replying yosh! You've given me some ideas to help Mum. I'm a total chocoholic and I'm going to try and cut down a wee bit. I liked the bit in the book about leaving negativity and stress behind and focusing on being happy. I'm glad you had a lovely time at Christmas x

[Mrs_Atko in reply to Yoshbosh]

Ooh Yosh (sorry for butting in Frozen) but I'm loving the sound of your 'nutrient dense, homemad granola...! Any chance of a recipe share??? 😁😋

[Cropcrop in reply to Mrs_Atko]

Me too please ❤xx jane

[Yoshbosh in reply to Mrs_Atko]

Will dig it out and send it to you both, Mrs_Atko and Cropcrop 😊

[Hidden]

Hi Frozen, I think your Mums doctor has the right idea, let her eat whatever she fancies for now. Then gradually introduce more veg and fruit into her diet and brown bread. I juice almost every day a green juice, I do use flaxseed capsules as well as I dont eat fish. I think everything in moderation is a good place to start. I like sweet things dont get me wrong but I try not to over indulge. I havent researched this whole new food idea. I have read some articles and adapt them to my needs.

[Hidden]

This might not be quite what you would like to hear... but the really significant change I have made is to ensure that I always have a bottle of fizz chilling in the fridge! So whenever any excuse arises, be it as simple as friends coming over of an evening, there is always the makings of a celebration, frivolous though this undoubtedly sounds.

One of the things I mean by this is that everyone will obviously make their own decisions about how they want to live their lives, and what it is that counts in the end. It's great that you and your mum are talking about what's right for her.

Hope your Christmas has been good and that there are many good moments ahead in 2017 for you both.

Judith

x

[Choski in reply to Hidden]

Judith, love this. Totally agree with now celebrating and feeling happiness and joy. Great idea

Clare xx

[Sherrym]

It matters what you eat. If u stick the wrong food or energy supply in ANY engine it will malfunction.

Read the book, do your best-u have everything to lose!! It could give extra valuable time at the very least some experts believe.

[Choski]

Hi, I've tried to eat more vegetables and less processed food but fail massively with sugars (sweets and chocolates!) and I know I eat too much bread and cheese but that's more because I tend to put on weight with those! Whilst I was on treatment I ate what I wanted, when I wanted and that was very important. my time to cut back and eat more healthily starts next week when I'm back following my Slimming Word eating which does work for me.

My job can be very stressful and I manage multi function teams of people across different sites and now that I'm back at work (back to full time after Christmas) I'm trying to not let the stress reach my core (that sounds weird but hopefully you'll know what I mean). There's a fine line though between managing the possible stresses (is this really important?) and completely ignoring issues and not taking action when I should. My organisation is also going through a massive transformation which will impact my team and also all our roles which will be interesting.

I suppose the main thing is I try to 'not sweat the small stuff' . Things that I used to get upset about before my diagnosis and treatment I now don't see as important. That can be quite difficult for others around us to manage - I'm now not bothered by things that maybe my hubby is still bothered by. Hope that makes sense.

My opinion (for what's it's worth) is that your mum needs to feel she's making decisions herself and not having things done to her and as a caring daughter I'm sure you are talking with her and encouraging her already.

Take care

Clare xx

[LesleyGreengran]

My main change was avoiding stress. I don't do stuff that I know will wind me up. I spend more time with friends too, and make more demands on them for company, coffee in my favourite cafés and so on, but for many this suits them as they have kids who've moved away, are retired, and so on.

I was already vegetarian and had a healthy diet except for treats like cake with my coffee, and get plenty of physical activity, outdoors for me, I don't go to gyms any more but I did do aquafit for a while. That's excellent gentle exercise as the water supports your body. I walk for at least half an hour a day, even if it's just near the house, and sometimes I do that with friends as well. I also do yoga now once a week with a teacher who's trained for health conditions and a friend now comes too and we have lunch afterwards. I went to a singing for wellbeing group before Christmas. I've never been a singer but this group does breathing exercises which are great for relaxing and I (can't believe it still) then sang with them including rounds.

I'm sure you'll find ways to help your mother, there's plenty of information on healthy eating mow as long as you avoid the faddy stuff. A dietician seems a good idea if you can get a referral. Near us there's also a wellbeing programme, I was referred by my GP, and went because it meant cheaper access to the gym, but it included some advice on healthy eating. it's worth checking out if there's something similar near your mum.

Lesley

[luluw]

I totally agree with Sonnetgirl! I think there is a huge amount of rubbish out there about diet. Look at stuff that has genuine scientific trials to back it up. I have only stopped eating preserved meats because they have recently been confirmed as being carcinogenic but I'm not obsessive about it. I had a healthy diet before diagnosos.

If my lfe is going to be shorter than I'd thought, I intend to enjoy it. Food is one of life's pleasures. Your Mum should be enjoying what she eats!