Meeting with the nutritionist.

May 20, 2022

This past Friday I met with a nutritionist. I went in ready, had all my notes of what I eat on a regular basis, my workout regime detailed out and the things I enjoy or dislike, now or prior to treatment.  I share this all with her and even volunteer to send her my spreadsheet I’ve made! The first thing she asks me prior to sharing her own knowledge is, ‘can I guess what you do for a living?’ Her response after I anxiously await to see what she thinks I do for a living is….you have to be an accountant or engineer 😂. I laughed, that is very far from what I do, but I appreciate that you think I’m that smart! Guess my planning and organizational skills go beyond just the fashion industry and now are creeping into my Chemotherapy treatment!

We met for about an hour, the thing that stuck with me the most was the feedback she shared with me. She said, ‘Lauren, you seem to take really good care of yourself, you exercise, eat healthy and genuinely take the necessary steps to live a healthy life. But, I need to make sure you know, everything you’ve done thus far is 1) not a waste, it will serve you well as you go through chemotherapy, and 2) there was no way for you to prevent this from happening. There are so many outside factors that contributed to your diagnosis….the food containers we eat from, the environment in which we live, the things we put on our body (makeup, lotions, etc), those are the things you can’t control and those are all contributing factors to your diagnosis.’ Hearing this, I guess, made me happy but more importantly made me proud and determined to continue doing me and let the Chemotherapy take care of the Cancer.  I do want to remind you, Breast Cancer has various forms and it impacts 1 in every 8 women in their lifetime - so all of these outside factors are really a large factor, unfortunately.

What I learned (or maybe what I was reminded of) regarding my diet during chemotherapy goes as follows:

- eat small meals

- eat what I can, when I can

- know that there will be days where every smell, every food could bother me or peak my interest in the matter of an hour (this is a challenge for someone who has planned meals each week for years. And as a side note, if I see you, avoid any strong perfumes or lotions, apparently this can be nauseating for someone going through chemo)

- eating foods at room temperature or cold will help with smells

- protein shakes will be important

- donuts or pizza may be all I can stomach on any given day, let go of the want to be healthy at every meal and just eat

- my love for food will come back once this is over (thank goodness for that!)

- use bamboo or plastic silverware to help with the metallic tastes I could experience

- bland (aka boring) food will be my friend - womp, womp, womp (hummus, avocado, sandwiches, melons, plain chicken, potatoes)

- foods could taste very salty or very sweet, even if they are not to the normal palette

- if I experience mouth sores from the chemotherapy avoid acidic and spicy foods

- be prepared to loose muscle weight in the beginning and in turn to gain weight towards the end of treatment…walking, strength training will serve me well

So, my motto has been day by day, but now it’s become hour by hour. Food is my friend through treatment, whether I enjoy it or not, only time will tell. So, all in all, a helpful hour of time, we’ll meet throughout my treatment to combat any issues I may face, but my diet will be what it will be and I’ll continue to get in my protein, veggie, naturally sweetened necessities as much as possible.  This cookie & wine loving girl is definitely cutting back on the sweets and alcohol…all in moderation but even more so than before treatment/diagnosis. 

Overall, this past week was good, I felt like myself for 5 or so days and for that I’m grateful. Ready (and anxious) for treatment #2!

XO,

Lauren