You're giving up that ?????

I have very reluctantly given up full cream milk. Not that I had much of it but boy, does it make coffee & a bowl of cereal nice. I've given up my daily coffee, as much for the kjs as anything else, but will still have one if I'm out with friends or if I've had a truly appalling night's sleep. I've cut back on sugar, which for me means less chocolate  :s. I've never had cholesterol problems and will have my first post-Letrozole blood test in October, so I'm more mindful of my red meat consumption. I think I'll make some turkey meatballs tonight.

But the big one is booze. I'd put on a lot of weight with the stress of my life in the two years prior to my diagnosis, and like so many middle-aged Australian women, I'd used wine as a stress buster. So I've gone from at least two big glasses a day to one or two a week. A g&t on Friday, and a glass or two with a meal on Saturday or Sunday. Sometimes I don't at all. Surprisingly to me, it's been the easiest thing to give up. And the good thing is it's saving me a lot of money! When I do buy a bottle of wine it's a much better one. Hey, if I'm only going to drink occasionally it may as well be good!

All this, plus some cancer diagnosis and chemo assisted appetite loss, and an effort to exercise more, has meant I've lost 25kgs. I'm still classified as overweight so to reduce my cancer risk I've got to start working on the rest of it. I'm going to break it down into 5kg chunks. Fingers crossed I can do it.

The latest thinking on making any lifestyle changes is to not do them all at once. So pick one thing, and give it three months for the new habit to get established. And then onto the next one etc. However some people are good with the cold turkey change. What do you reckon you'd be better with? Which thing are you going to tackle first @tigerbeth?

Hi @tigerbeth
I am over 5 years since diagnosis. I have made a lot of changes but very slowly. A one step at a time process. I think the changes I have made have added to rather than taken away from my quality of life.

I eat a healthier diet than before but I don’t eat anything I don’t enjoy! 

I am more active than before bc too but I have found exercise that I love to do so I actually look forward to it! I think about it differently than I used to. I see it as time out, time for me to do something I enjoy rather than something else that I should do, something that I need to force myself to do.

I have swapped to using less chemical products too. It just feels like the right thing to do. Something that helps my body to cope with the side effects of Femara etc.

I have also made changes towards a simpler life. Life is complicated and stressful enough without adding extras that may be avoidable. This is an ongoing process and one that I have to keep myself in check about. 

I honestly think that you need to make any changes slowly and that you need to feel they are the right ones for you. That way you don’t feel like you are giving up things but making little improvements towards a better quality of life.

After all that we go through the last thing we need to feel is that we must give up things that are enjoyable. I just swapped one thing for another. I found that if I was swapping something that I enjoyed but that I felt was truly not good for me, for something that I still enjoyed but that I felt was better for me, it was a double win. I was not missing out but just making a change that was better for me in every way. I hope that makes sense?

Take care and I hope that you find a way to live well after bc.
Deanne xxx

Being fructose intolerant and having to watch my cholesterol i didn't really have a choice and am currently eating low fat everything. I do miss apples and onions but they are on my evil list due to fructose. I discovered mountain bread and the wealth of recipes you can use with those is endless, the latest being lemon, lime and ginger chicken rolls...absolutely delish. Having said this it doesn't stop me from having a coffee, skinny of course,  and a chocolate or vanilla cannoli at my favourite italian cake shop!

http://nutritionaustralia.org/national/resource/healthy-eating-pyramid

Don't know where you were at prior to diagnosis to give you any advice except to say look at the food pyramid.  When I was at school, a long time ago, this was drilled into us and that is how we live, most days we eat something from each food group so we have a good balance.  My Mum was always saying you eat what I give you, and she was big on veggies and fruit and drink water.  Saturday night was our treat night where we could have a couple of chocolate biscuits and a cola drink!  Sunday lunch was always a roast followed by apple pie or crumble or something similar!  
At the end of the day it is about moderation

Did you grab some of the apples that were in the crates at the MCG - gorgeous, so fresh and crunchy!

For me, when I was first diagnosed I was told you are in the typical age group and it was my hormones, no mention was made nor questions asked but what I did or do eat and nor did Breastscreen ask if my Mother used Tupperware when we were kids or in fact if I do!

Hope that helps and you get inspiration from others
Take care

I haven't given up on anything. I know it's wrong to believe that eating and living same as pre breast cancer is possible. But I m doing everything i did pre breast cancer. I do think products are more harmful then we think they are. My personal opinion is that I dont know how long I m going to live so I rather enjoy my time while i can......