There is steadily-accumulating evidence that being overweight contributes to cancer occurrence, recurrence and mortality. Recent data suggest that obesity may cause as many as 20% of cancers. (footnote 1) Medscape reported a recent Danish study involving 19,000 women which concluded that having a Body Mass Index over 25, the limit for healthy weight, was associated with more advanced stage at cancer diagnosis and up to a 42% greater incidence of distant recurrence (metastasis).
Weight management for people with a recent or past diagnosis of cancer should be undertaken in full view of potential effects on cancer-promoting mechanisms in the body. While the desire to manage weight is admirable, many of the weight management programs available are, to put it bluntly, the last thing a person who has had cancer needs. Programs offering prepackaged food containing refined carbohydrates, hydrogenated oils or preservatives contribute to inflammation, which in turn may promote the development of cancer and other chronic diseases. Quality of food is key for healthy weight management in the setting of a cancer history. The closer food is to its original state, the more nutrient value it retains. When your health goals include preventing a recurrence of cancer, every bite counts. Sugars, unhealthy fats and preservatives take up space better filled with nature’s bounty of cancer-fighting (and delicious!) nutrients. Indeed, this is important for all of us as in the U.S., one-third of women and one-half of men can expect a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime.(footnote 2)
When devising a nutritional plan for someone who’s had cancer, I like to recommend what CAN be eaten as well as anything that can’t. There is a rainbow of foods available to support healthy weight, fight disease and infuse health! Even shopping for these foods is more fun than tossing plastic-wrapped packages into our shopping baskets. When we orient our nutrition to including the nutritional “good guys”, weight management happens naturally and brings wellness in its wake.
I’ll be writing more specifically on foods that fight cancer while supporting weight management in future articles. In the meantime, here’s an easy-to-read book that does a wonderful job of presenting foods that are your best friends if you’ve had cancer:
http://www.amazon.com/Anticancer-New-Way-Life/dp/0670021644/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0
1 Wolin, Kathleen et al, Obesity and Cancer, The Oncologist, Vol. 15, No. 6, 556-565, June 2010
2 American Cancer Society data; see the slide show at http://www.cancer.org/Research/CancerFactsFigures/cancer-facts-figures-2009
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Love Your Fat Away!
“The opposite of obesity isn’t starvation – it’s compassion.” --Dr. Martha Beck
Here I was in early spring, wanting to let go of a fifteen-pound postsurgical weight gain and dreading what that meant in terms of interrupting my routine and restricting my eating patterns. Then I read the brilliant quote above from Martha Beck, O Magazine’s contributing life coach, and in a split-second I realized that I had it all wrong. The prospect of a weight loss journey wasn’t something to be dreaded at all. Because unlike stereotypical programs which invoke lack, hunger and sacrifice, my weight loss journey was going to be an exercise in total self-nourishment. I was going to love my fat away.
You can read my observations on the weight-loss aspect of the journey in my recent blog posts below. While the program I chose to follow resulted in a satisfying twenty-pound right-sizing in record time, the best part of the experience was what occurred alongside the weight loss. A number of years ago I realized that in order for me to have the resources to support other people, I had to nourish my own inner resources. My cup needed to be so full that it overflowed with blessings for others. In our hectic lives, finding space for healthful eating, exercise, adequate sleep, recharge time and all the other things that result in radiant health is no easy thing. How many of us have let go of excess weight on a short sprint toward a weight goal, only to have it reappear within weeks as we return to the hurly-burly of our routines?
The secret, then, was to follow Dr. Beck’s lead and shift the goal from weight-loss to compassion, in the form of total self-care. Rather than resist the task as an interruption to routine, I scheduled time to shop and cook as needed for my chosen nutritional plan and reveled in the colors of spring vegetables in the market and the taste of each delectable bite on my plate. Rather than resist bedtime as an interruption to accomplishing my to-do list, I made sure to be in bed at a time that allowed me to sleep my optimal number of hours, and even managed a number of baths as a relaxing wind-down. Rather than resist exercise as something to be squeezed in among more urgent tasks, exercise became a respite from the routine and a creative endeavor in its own right. Each time I dedicated time to an aspect of self-care, I reinforced to myself the message that I am important and worthy of attention. No wonder then that as the weeks passed, my energy climbed steadily and my outlook improved even as the pounds steadily fell away.
So now I offer you not only a way to let go of pounds, but to love yourself into great shape and improved health. Are you ready to begin? Just give me a call at 866.678.8577!
Here I was in early spring, wanting to let go of a fifteen-pound postsurgical weight gain and dreading what that meant in terms of interrupting my routine and restricting my eating patterns. Then I read the brilliant quote above from Martha Beck, O Magazine’s contributing life coach, and in a split-second I realized that I had it all wrong. The prospect of a weight loss journey wasn’t something to be dreaded at all. Because unlike stereotypical programs which invoke lack, hunger and sacrifice, my weight loss journey was going to be an exercise in total self-nourishment. I was going to love my fat away.
You can read my observations on the weight-loss aspect of the journey in my recent blog posts below. While the program I chose to follow resulted in a satisfying twenty-pound right-sizing in record time, the best part of the experience was what occurred alongside the weight loss. A number of years ago I realized that in order for me to have the resources to support other people, I had to nourish my own inner resources. My cup needed to be so full that it overflowed with blessings for others. In our hectic lives, finding space for healthful eating, exercise, adequate sleep, recharge time and all the other things that result in radiant health is no easy thing. How many of us have let go of excess weight on a short sprint toward a weight goal, only to have it reappear within weeks as we return to the hurly-burly of our routines?
The secret, then, was to follow Dr. Beck’s lead and shift the goal from weight-loss to compassion, in the form of total self-care. Rather than resist the task as an interruption to routine, I scheduled time to shop and cook as needed for my chosen nutritional plan and reveled in the colors of spring vegetables in the market and the taste of each delectable bite on my plate. Rather than resist bedtime as an interruption to accomplishing my to-do list, I made sure to be in bed at a time that allowed me to sleep my optimal number of hours, and even managed a number of baths as a relaxing wind-down. Rather than resist exercise as something to be squeezed in among more urgent tasks, exercise became a respite from the routine and a creative endeavor in its own right. Each time I dedicated time to an aspect of self-care, I reinforced to myself the message that I am important and worthy of attention. No wonder then that as the weeks passed, my energy climbed steadily and my outlook improved even as the pounds steadily fell away.
So now I offer you not only a way to let go of pounds, but to love yourself into great shape and improved health. Are you ready to begin? Just give me a call at 866.678.8577!
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