You go on a diet…you lose that elusive 10 to 15 pounds 20 pounds,more? You counted “points” ate Gluten free, ate low carb, ate Paleo and now you are a newly transformed person with ultimate will-power, making excellent choices in all your eating and exercising 3-5 days a week at 70 percent of your heart capacity. (That’s the dream of all dieters, right?) Then what? The hard work of maintenance dieting begins. The process of keeping all the work you’ve done, frozen in time, is the goal of both maintaining your weight and maintaining the results of cancer treatments. The rush of eliminating the unwanted pounds is gone, compliments on your dedication tapers, and friends just expect that you’ll keep that weight off and continue your journey successfully. You hope that you won’t backslide like so many dieters do and become just another statistic.
On Valentine’s Day, 2014, my doctor called to say those dreaded words, “I’m worried” about your CA (the cancer marker found in blood) levels. Shortly thereafter followed surgery, radiation, and 5 months of chemotherapy. Now, we maintain the results with an every-three-week it was “sold” to me as “monthly” treatment of Avastin. Avastin is a fancy expensive drug that has been part of my regimen since May 22nd. Essentially it is an infusion that keeps the cancer cells starved of blood so that they don’t develop into tumors. Side effects for me are primarily headaches, which I am learning how to fend off more effectively. Why didn’t I get the ‘loss-of-appetite” side effect?
How long do you have to keep your maintenance diet going? Weight loss professionals say that maintenance should really become a lifestyle change and it should go on indefinitely What, no more sugar forever? I don’t think so. My doctor called last week and started talking about how my maintenance treatments will continue for a year….wait for it….or forever. Forever? Seriously, Forever. Evidently doctors aren’t unanimous in exactly how long this treatment should be continued or how long it will stay effective.
So that’s where we are. In the dreaded “maintaining” portion of our cancer diet. Time to focus on the basics of good nutrition except for cupcakes, getting the energy to walk up the hills in my neighborhood, and sleeping for more than 5 hours uninterrupted (maybe that part won’t ever happen). I’m actually happy to have the opportunity to normalize my life and not think about life and death on a daily basis. Time to kick back and enjoy the maintaining!
How do you maintain the positive changes in your life-whether diet or exercise or something else? Is a struggle or a piece of cake? I’m Curious.
ovariancancerfighter 
I am thankful you have made it to MAINTENANCE! Survival under any circumstances, especially to the older years, requires maintenance. I need a statin, or would surely die of heart disease. I also have to eat healthy and exercise. I appreciate how much harder your maintenance is……but thankful that you have that option. My “struggle” have turned into daily decisions I make for myself, knowing that each decision plays a part in how I look and feel.
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Yes Karen! Me too!
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I’ve found that healthy diet, vigorous exercise and head over heels love are extremely addicting!! It takes time and effort, sometimes coming easily and sometimes a struggle, but the results feel sooo amazing that you can’t help but maintain to satisfy those addiction cravings :-))
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I’ve found that healthy diet, vigorous exercise and head over heels love are extremely addicting!! It takes time and effort, sometimes coming easily and sometimes a struggle, but it feels sooooo amazing you can’t help but maintain to satisfy these addiction cravings :-))
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