One of the rather large obstacles with genuinely following through with this Earth Mother diet is children - I don't see too many kids running around the playground with kale chips, spinach wraps and grilled fish for lunch. They are not allowed to take nuts to school/care and for the little ones I think there is some leniency required by us parents to understand that their palettes are not quite as mature nor their jaws quite so strong. Having said that I very rarely cook a separate dinner for my children - they are served what we eat but with some minor kid-friendly alterations (if required) ie. remove the chili or finely dice the bok choy/spinach (which they unfortunately choke on). The one habit I'm really determined for them not to adopt is my psychological need to 'round out' lunch and dinner with something sweet. It is 100% an absolute HABIT - a psychological need that I've turned into a physiological necessity (or maybe it's the other way around?) which is SO difficult to break. So my kids now know - there's no dessert at our house...they can have it at Nan & Granddad's (most Tuesday nights). Overlaying all of this has to be some pragmatism...it seems wrong to me to have a low-carb or no dairy diet for children (unless there are allergies) and birthday parties are no fun if you're the child crying in the corner because you're not allowed cake. The newly introduced healthy eating pyramid is a great guide: http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/resource/healthy-living-pyramid
The three things I'm doing to help the family eat well are:
1. Hide - my kids happily eat spinach, celery, watercress or anything green if it's pulverised in a blender with a handful of frozen berries, a tablespoon of rice malt syrup and some milk (or OJ if you're a bit over the dairy). We have fun turning the drinks green or red or yellow (banana).
2. Slow Cook - the traditional roast, pulled pork, lamb shanks, paprika chicken...it's all so much easier to chew if it's been in the slow cooker (not to mention the fact you can add carrot, celery, tomatoes and yummy herbs to the sauces)
3. Make my own snacks - this has been a major hit and miss for me! I've tried:
a) 85% dark chocolate and zucchini brownies - too bitter for the kids, OK for the adults...the lack of sugar takes some getting use to
b) roasted nuts - too hard for the kids but yummy for the adults
c) my own muesli bars - moderate success with the kids but again quite good for the adults
d) coconut cream and mango ice-creams - pretty good
e) dipping fingers (carrots, celery, zucchini) with hummus or cream cheese - my daughter just shovels the dip in without taking a bite of any of the fingers!
f) Of course a piece of fruit is quick, convenient and usually consumed (particularly apples in our house!)
Would love to hear other people's ideas on snacks...any winners in your house?
Tuesday, 2 June 2015
Monday, 1 June 2015
The Cure Cancer regime - is this getting the balance right or are we a slave to a different tune?
The overhaul of my health begins with the primary pillars of Diet, Meditation, Sleep and Supplements;
The diet:
* NO Refined Sugar
* NO Dairy
* NO Grains
* NO Soy
* NO Fried foods
A typical day will consist of:
Breakfast = 2 serves of fruit plus 2 eggs poached, steamed spinach, grilled mushrooms or tomatoes
Mid-morning = handful of almonds or walnuts plus a serve of fruit
Lunch = 150gms protein and 3 cups fresh salad with avocado
Afternoon = handful of almonds or walnuts plus a serve of fruit
Dinner = 150gms protein and 2 cups fresh salad and 2 cups cooked vegetables
Supper = Herbal tea
Drink 10 glasses of water a day
Meditation and Sleep
Meditate twice a day for 10-15 minutes
Aim for 8 hours sleep a night
Supplements
Femme Essentials
BioQ150
Cell Protect
Lipoic
Fibroplex Plus
C-Ultrascorb
Gluthathione
Calcium D-Glucarate
Note to self - must actually find out what these are before pumping them in to my body!
The likelihood of seeing these strict guidelines through with two small children, a marathon training husband, a job and generally speaking a life (!) is....well, not high. But then I think, Cancer is a fairly significant catalyst. Even if I only get half way there, it's an improvement. Oh but to say goodbye to Haigh's chocolate frogs and Lindt balls - man I hate cancer!!!
The diet:
* NO Refined Sugar
* NO Dairy
* NO Grains
* NO Soy
* NO Fried foods
A typical day will consist of:
Breakfast = 2 serves of fruit plus 2 eggs poached, steamed spinach, grilled mushrooms or tomatoes
Mid-morning = handful of almonds or walnuts plus a serve of fruit
Lunch = 150gms protein and 3 cups fresh salad with avocado
Afternoon = handful of almonds or walnuts plus a serve of fruit
Dinner = 150gms protein and 2 cups fresh salad and 2 cups cooked vegetables
Supper = Herbal tea
Drink 10 glasses of water a day
Meditation and Sleep
Meditate twice a day for 10-15 minutes
Aim for 8 hours sleep a night
Supplements
Femme Essentials
BioQ150
Cell Protect
Lipoic
Fibroplex Plus
C-Ultrascorb
Gluthathione
Calcium D-Glucarate
Note to self - must actually find out what these are before pumping them in to my body!
The likelihood of seeing these strict guidelines through with two small children, a marathon training husband, a job and generally speaking a life (!) is....well, not high. But then I think, Cancer is a fairly significant catalyst. Even if I only get half way there, it's an improvement. Oh but to say goodbye to Haigh's chocolate frogs and Lindt balls - man I hate cancer!!!
Thursday, 28 May 2015
Friday, 22 May 2015
Thursday, 21 May 2015
What's chemo like?
Yesterday I was asked "what is chemo like?"....
My brain knows that it is a series of well researched drugs that attack fast growing cells. More scientifically put, chemotherapy drugs are "cytotoxics" which means poisonous (toxic) to cells (cyto), in particular they attack rapidly dividing cells (such as your hair, stomach lining, mouth-cells and cancer).
But my heart and frequently over zealous imagination see it as an X-files style black poison forced into my bloodstream to eat me from the inside out...I told you my imagination gets the better of me!! Supposedly chemo can also make you have some rather crazy dreams and it would seem I've extended this to my waking hours. My posts could get a bit boring post-chemo!
Anyways, the point is I have historically tried not to take a lot of medications. Not to say I won't take a Nurofen when needed but usually I find a heat-pack and a nanna nap do the trick. Now that I have been diagnosed with the dreaded C-bomb (keep it clean peeps) my outlook has somewhat changed. "Bring it on!" I say. If chemo reduces my chances of my cancer coming back from 20% to 10% then I authorise Scully and Mulder full access (one step too far with that?).
As to the actual treatment - chemo is all together surreal. The most painful part is inserting the IV. From there, a series of bags are hung upside down and slowly (over 3 hours) trickled in to my bloodstream. My arm gets cold and I get a little fidgety but other than that it's three hours of forced arse-sitting (an activity I'm not particularly good at unless I'm at work).
The side effects are more pronounced. Whilst they have the nausea fairly well managed these days, there is a heaviness I find difficult to describe. Perhaps the closest comparison is the lethargy you feel just before coming down with a flu. Every patient has other little "bonuses" - fried taste buds, mouth ulcers, red skin, ringing ears...the list is long and odd!
But a common side effect is the hair loss. I really thought I'd be OK with this. It felt like a small sacrifice to make to extend my life. But I'm not as confident as I'd hoped. It's such a glaringly obvious advertisement that I'm "sick". And so, like most, I hide the bald eagle. This part has actually been fun - I've had some beautiful gifts from friends and family and invested in some awesome berets, scarves and beanies. Thought I might start 'funky Friday' where I'll post a Twitter picture of the latest hat - check out @imtoobusyto (check me out being tech savvy - thanks Jonno ;)
My brain knows that it is a series of well researched drugs that attack fast growing cells. More scientifically put, chemotherapy drugs are "cytotoxics" which means poisonous (toxic) to cells (cyto), in particular they attack rapidly dividing cells (such as your hair, stomach lining, mouth-cells and cancer).
But my heart and frequently over zealous imagination see it as an X-files style black poison forced into my bloodstream to eat me from the inside out...I told you my imagination gets the better of me!! Supposedly chemo can also make you have some rather crazy dreams and it would seem I've extended this to my waking hours. My posts could get a bit boring post-chemo!
Anyways, the point is I have historically tried not to take a lot of medications. Not to say I won't take a Nurofen when needed but usually I find a heat-pack and a nanna nap do the trick. Now that I have been diagnosed with the dreaded C-bomb (keep it clean peeps) my outlook has somewhat changed. "Bring it on!" I say. If chemo reduces my chances of my cancer coming back from 20% to 10% then I authorise Scully and Mulder full access (one step too far with that?).
As to the actual treatment - chemo is all together surreal. The most painful part is inserting the IV. From there, a series of bags are hung upside down and slowly (over 3 hours) trickled in to my bloodstream. My arm gets cold and I get a little fidgety but other than that it's three hours of forced arse-sitting (an activity I'm not particularly good at unless I'm at work).
The side effects are more pronounced. Whilst they have the nausea fairly well managed these days, there is a heaviness I find difficult to describe. Perhaps the closest comparison is the lethargy you feel just before coming down with a flu. Every patient has other little "bonuses" - fried taste buds, mouth ulcers, red skin, ringing ears...the list is long and odd!
But a common side effect is the hair loss. I really thought I'd be OK with this. It felt like a small sacrifice to make to extend my life. But I'm not as confident as I'd hoped. It's such a glaringly obvious advertisement that I'm "sick". And so, like most, I hide the bald eagle. This part has actually been fun - I've had some beautiful gifts from friends and family and invested in some awesome berets, scarves and beanies. Thought I might start 'funky Friday' where I'll post a Twitter picture of the latest hat - check out @imtoobusyto (check me out being tech savvy - thanks Jonno ;)
Wednesday, 20 May 2015
Dr Emmett Brown and Integrated Medicine
Introducing my Integrated Medicine (IM) Doctor, who I'll call Dr IM...
I walk into Dr IM's rooms in a trendy but not pretentious suburb. She wears a pale blue suit - tailored, slightly shiny. It's cleverly non-committal. The cut ensures professionalism, the colour is calming. She doesn't look like a doctor but she doesn't look like a taro card reader either. Mind you, if you take away the scrubs, what does a doctor look like?! She is short, shorter than me - OK, makybe I like her ;) She wears glasses that slide down her pointy nose when needed.
And then I see the hair. Anyone remember Dr Emmett Brown from Back To The Future? Imagine him, without the receding hairline, trying to brush down that mane. Just as I finished my visual assessment Dr IM asks "Why are you here?" A little taken aback I tell her about my diagnosis of Breast Cancer and my desire to find a solution that tackles it from all angels. There's an awkward silence as she scribbles some notes. I look at my husband and we both raise our eyebrows inquisitively.
Randomly back on board Dr IM starts the interrogation:
* What do you eat?
* Do you know cancer loves sugar?
* How much water do you drink?
* How much exercise do you do?
* Do you get out in the sun?
* What time do you go to bed?
* Do you sleep through?
* Do you know what meditation is?
* Are you a stressed person?
* Do you know what a saliva test is?
As I try to answer each question she interrupts me - in fact she interrupts herself regularly as well. Her staccato style conversation has both my husband and I hiding our smiles. At some points she gets so excited she runs over to an 8ft book shelf. On the shelves are hundreds of handouts and photocopies. She snaps up certain papers, clicks her tongue in disapproval, keeps burrowing then triumphantly throws some handouts in my lap.
At the end of our hour together I'm exhausted and Dr IM is chatting away happily about how she eats fish and a cup of seasonal vegetables for dinner EVERY night. "Don't you get bored?!" I ask. "It's just food" she says and there in lies one (of a few) fundamental differences I sense we have.
I leave her office with a new diet, a new meditation schedule, a new supplements program (8 in total [though I never actually bought them but that's a discussion for another post...]) and a new headache! I'll post these new regimes next.
Surprisingly I also leave with a new resolve to realistically challenge each aspect of my life - to make sure I'm filling the right buckets! I'm more and more convinced that busy is not happy, in fact busy is just the new black and it's helping no-one, particularly not me.
I walk into Dr IM's rooms in a trendy but not pretentious suburb. She wears a pale blue suit - tailored, slightly shiny. It's cleverly non-committal. The cut ensures professionalism, the colour is calming. She doesn't look like a doctor but she doesn't look like a taro card reader either. Mind you, if you take away the scrubs, what does a doctor look like?! She is short, shorter than me - OK, makybe I like her ;) She wears glasses that slide down her pointy nose when needed.
And then I see the hair. Anyone remember Dr Emmett Brown from Back To The Future? Imagine him, without the receding hairline, trying to brush down that mane. Just as I finished my visual assessment Dr IM asks "Why are you here?" A little taken aback I tell her about my diagnosis of Breast Cancer and my desire to find a solution that tackles it from all angels. There's an awkward silence as she scribbles some notes. I look at my husband and we both raise our eyebrows inquisitively.
Randomly back on board Dr IM starts the interrogation:
* What do you eat?
* Do you know cancer loves sugar?
* How much water do you drink?
* How much exercise do you do?
* Do you get out in the sun?
* What time do you go to bed?
* Do you sleep through?
* Do you know what meditation is?
* Are you a stressed person?
* Do you know what a saliva test is?
As I try to answer each question she interrupts me - in fact she interrupts herself regularly as well. Her staccato style conversation has both my husband and I hiding our smiles. At some points she gets so excited she runs over to an 8ft book shelf. On the shelves are hundreds of handouts and photocopies. She snaps up certain papers, clicks her tongue in disapproval, keeps burrowing then triumphantly throws some handouts in my lap.
At the end of our hour together I'm exhausted and Dr IM is chatting away happily about how she eats fish and a cup of seasonal vegetables for dinner EVERY night. "Don't you get bored?!" I ask. "It's just food" she says and there in lies one (of a few) fundamental differences I sense we have.
I leave her office with a new diet, a new meditation schedule, a new supplements program (8 in total [though I never actually bought them but that's a discussion for another post...]) and a new headache! I'll post these new regimes next.
Surprisingly I also leave with a new resolve to realistically challenge each aspect of my life - to make sure I'm filling the right buckets! I'm more and more convinced that busy is not happy, in fact busy is just the new black and it's helping no-one, particularly not me.
Sunday, 10 May 2015
Meditation - attempt number one!
Although mindfulness has recently found its way into Western trends it is, of course, an ancient practice for many Eastern philosophies. So with thousands of years of endorsement (and because my Integrated Medicine Dr told me to) I thought I'd give it a crack...
The book I'm attempting to read at the moment tells me to perform a 'simple' body scan as an introductory exercise in being present. The steps go something like this:
1. Find a comfortable position
2. Feel your breath as it moves in and out of your body
3. Sense the natural rise & fall (place your hands on your abdomen if it helps)
4. Direct your awareness to your feet - notice temperature, feel the contact between your toes, explore sensations
5. Extend the awareness through your ankles, lower legs etc etc
6. Notice what is present, remember the breathing and come back to it if your mind wanders
7. Stay with this awareness of your whole body for as long as you want to
How did my first attempt go? Something like this:
The children are in bed and hubby's downstairs watching the footy. I sit cross legged on our bedroom floor. The room is nice and warm and I have a lovely full belly from our first Paleo dinner (but that's another story!).
I take a deep breath in and feel the air fill my hungry lungs. As I exhale I notice the heat of my breath and holy cr@p did I leave the oven on? I quickly rush downstairs and see the oven is safely off.
Back in position. Breath is strong and clear. I shift my attention to the soles of my feet and wriggle my toes. They feel warm and content in my fluffy winter socks. As I stretch my calves and release the tension in my knees I try desperately to ignore a strange rustling sound.
OK, back to the knees. I flap my crossed legs up and down and smile as my butt grimaces at having to work. I move my concentration up to my back and feel a genuine release in tension. Hey, maybe this thing works! But damn that rustling. I'll just quickly check it out...
I soon find the culprit - my 4 1/2 year old son has got himself out of bed to do a poo.
"Hey Mum" he smiles "I woke myself up to go to the loo!" he says proudly
"Awesome buddy" what more can I say?
He whips the toilet paper out from behind him to examine it and in the process flicks poo down the wall and on the floor.
"Oops, not quite clean" he says sheepishly as another rain-forest gets cut down to wipe the remainder of his butt.
"Easy on the toilet paper mate. Can I help?"
We clean up and I tuck him in to bed. He's asleep before I leave the room - such innocence, such contentment
I sit down once more, cross my legs and put my hands gently on my knees - palms up.
I take a big breath in and...realise I have sh!t on my sleeve.
The book I'm attempting to read at the moment tells me to perform a 'simple' body scan as an introductory exercise in being present. The steps go something like this:
1. Find a comfortable position
2. Feel your breath as it moves in and out of your body
3. Sense the natural rise & fall (place your hands on your abdomen if it helps)
4. Direct your awareness to your feet - notice temperature, feel the contact between your toes, explore sensations
5. Extend the awareness through your ankles, lower legs etc etc
6. Notice what is present, remember the breathing and come back to it if your mind wanders
7. Stay with this awareness of your whole body for as long as you want to
How did my first attempt go? Something like this:
The children are in bed and hubby's downstairs watching the footy. I sit cross legged on our bedroom floor. The room is nice and warm and I have a lovely full belly from our first Paleo dinner (but that's another story!).
I take a deep breath in and feel the air fill my hungry lungs. As I exhale I notice the heat of my breath and holy cr@p did I leave the oven on? I quickly rush downstairs and see the oven is safely off.
Back in position. Breath is strong and clear. I shift my attention to the soles of my feet and wriggle my toes. They feel warm and content in my fluffy winter socks. As I stretch my calves and release the tension in my knees I try desperately to ignore a strange rustling sound.
OK, back to the knees. I flap my crossed legs up and down and smile as my butt grimaces at having to work. I move my concentration up to my back and feel a genuine release in tension. Hey, maybe this thing works! But damn that rustling. I'll just quickly check it out...
I soon find the culprit - my 4 1/2 year old son has got himself out of bed to do a poo.
"Hey Mum" he smiles "I woke myself up to go to the loo!" he says proudly
"Awesome buddy" what more can I say?
He whips the toilet paper out from behind him to examine it and in the process flicks poo down the wall and on the floor.
"Oops, not quite clean" he says sheepishly as another rain-forest gets cut down to wipe the remainder of his butt.
"Easy on the toilet paper mate. Can I help?"
We clean up and I tuck him in to bed. He's asleep before I leave the room - such innocence, such contentment
I sit down once more, cross my legs and put my hands gently on my knees - palms up.
I take a big breath in and...realise I have sh!t on my sleeve.
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