This is the big question of the day, "What does a vegan eat for lunch...or breakfast...or dinner?" As of Friday January 20, I am on a vegan diet. In addition to not eating meat or any animal byproducts, I am also not eating sugar/sugar substitutes, or white flour. Yep, this pretty much eliminates everything you like to eat on a daily basis. My diet will consist of all fruits and vegi's, legumes (beans), and rice. I can eat whole wheat products too. If this diet will help heal my body, I will give it my all. It may be difficult to pass up that bowl of ice cream, or grilled chicken, but if it means I will get better and live longer, there is no question. Life is my main motivation here.
Lance and I went to Costco and got a bunch of Kelly-friendly foods last week, so when I got home I went through my cupboards and stripped them of all foods I no longer eat. I am amazed at everything that has sugar in it! Our fridge has a plethora of condiments/salad dressings/etc. and the only item that did not have sugar or dairy in it was MUSTARD! You better believe I immediately made a veggie sandwich on wheat bread with, probably an overload of mustard. I do not have any allergies to food therefore I have never had problems with worrying about what to eat. I feel for people with specific dietary needs/allergies. In more or less words, it stinks! But on the other hand, why don't we already eat like this?
We live in a society that loads our bodies of toxins because it is quick and convenient and tastes good. Frozen dinners, chips, deep fried chicken strips, chocolate, doughnuts, ice cream, soda pop, McDonalds, and Wendy's value menu to name a few. Have you ever eaten these things? I sure have. Why does it taste good to us? Because we've trained our taste to prefer it. OK, some of you are probably thinking, "What gives you the right to say this, you are generalizing and is not true about me!" You're right, this is a generalization and I'm not saying that everyone needs to cut out everything from the list above, or even that everyone eats these things, but I hope you'll at least think about what you take into your body. I'm only saying this because I've had a wake-up call. If changing my eating habits could potentially help cure me of cancer, think of how it could prevent someone from getting cancer. Food for thought. Ok I'll get off my soap box, I just needed to let that out.
I am almost 2 weeks into chemo and am feeling surprisingly well. After my second treatment I felt ok until Saturday. My stomach was upset and I felt as if a semi just plowed me over. Don't worry though, I took a zofran and slept for a while. By Sunday I was feeling better, just really tired. I have probably mentioned this before, but the main side effect is fatigue. I don't like to sleep too much during the day because then I have a difficult time falling asleep at night, so when I am feeling exhausted I watch a movie and just veg. I will say, it is a nice excuse to just relax without feeling guilty...well sometimes I still feel guilty I'm not doing something productive, but if I overwork myself then I'll be more tired later.
My hair has not fallen out yet. I have heard from cancer survivors and also the nurses that 2 weeks is the average time that it begins to come out. The other day I talked to a lady who kept her hair for about one month. It is very specific to the individual and type of chemo. They also say that not all of your hair falls out. Most people shave their heads because their hair gets so thin and it is easier to be bald than to clean up hair everywhere you go. Then there are the rare cases that you do not lose your hair. I guess I'll just have to wait and find out. I'll keep you updated.
A couple questions I have received are, "How much has the tumor shrunk on your spine from radiation?" and, "How effective was radiation?" I had 14 treatments (3 weeks) of radiation. I began to feel improvement about the second week, meaning the pain lessened from about an 8.5 to 6 on a scale from 1-10. However my back will continue to improve up to 6 weeks after radiation treatments are finished. Since I was scheduled to start chemo a week after radiation, we wouldn't have had 100% accurate results if we tested the effectiveness of radiation because the full effect had not yet taken place. Does that make sense? I can physically notice huge improvement in my back since I began radiation. My pain level is probably a 1 or 0.5 now, however it is not pain as much as a weak uncomfortable feeling. So, sorry to Sue and all of you who like statistics and percentages. My back improving and feeling MUCH better.
If you have questions, feel free to ask. Also, if any of you are vegan, or know of any good vegan recipes, please please please let me know. Thanks!
I loved what you wrote about eating! We've been eating "real food" for some time now (no sugar or other refined/processed products and ingredients, etc. etc.) and you are right -- it makes such a difference in one's wellness and quality of life. While I favor eating real to the vegan diet, what I've read says nothing beats vegan for the cancer patient. I'm SO GLAD you are going for it! I know that it will help you. After all, everything you put in (and on) your body affects your cells. I recently read about the Gerson Protocol for cancer patients and was wanting to tell you about it. If you haven't heard of it, you can read an overview here: http://www.chipsa.com/gerson_protocol.html. There seem to be a few books on it as well.
ReplyDeleteThere is a huge vegan presence on the web and lots of vegan cookbooks out there. Vegans still eat very tasty food. Good luck and keep us posted. I'll try any good recipe YOU recommend. :)
Kelly, thechew.com has lots of vegetarian and vegan recipes. They did a veggie show just yesterday with recipes easy to adapt to vegan. A veggie moo-shu wrap and a moroccan red lentil soup that looked really yummy. Good luck lady! You are in our prayers!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried juicing? Are you a documentary watcher? Check out the movie called "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead." It's all about healing your body with the nutrients in fruits and veggies. And he does it through juicing. Not to mention that fresh juice is delicious! If you're into it, try juicing about 4 carrots and 3 or 4 green apples. Or oranges and carrots. Or Spinach and cucumbers and green apples. Or cantaloupe and pineapple. Or anything really. It's a great way to get a lot of good veggie and fruit nutrients easily and quickly into your body. Good luck with the veg diet. I agree, we should all eat like this!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to add that there's a great vegan (and all raw) restaurant in Sugar House called Rawtopia. You can look it up next time you're visiting home and feel like going out.
ReplyDeleteAlong the lines of juicing, if you want an amazing energy drink, juice a whole head of celery, one carrot, a bunch of parsley, and half a cucumber. Blend in 1-2 T. honey and enjoy.
You are awesome, Kelly.
I am a big fan of juices/smoothies... as Jamilyn said above, it's a great way to get lots of veggie and fruit goodness into your daily diet. My typical recipe for a breakfast smoothie includes kale, spinach, berries of all sorts (frozen works great this time of year!), a little cayenne pepper and cinnamon, and some cooled green tea. I put greek yogurt in, but since you are following a vegan diet, you might want to try some silken tofu instead, for protein. It blends right in and will give you some energy for your day.
ReplyDeleteAnd I've eaten at Rawtopia and can tell you that it is WONDERFUL! :-)
Kelly, I'm so glad that you have become a convert to the whole-food diet. It is a much better way to live, and really what we were intended to eat anyway! I hope it sustains you and gives you both strength and pleasure to eat so well.
As always, you are in my thoughts and prayers, and I appreciate your taking the time to keep us all updated on your blog. Much love to you, Kelly!
You go Kelly!
ReplyDeleteMy sister-in-law had cancer & she juiced a TON & loved it. There is a website called greensmoothiegirl.com that has a lot of great information regarding healthy juicing. How to & great recipe's :)
ReplyDeleteGo Kelly! You are doing awesome! I am so proud of you! Sometimes I am bored at work so i will look up recipes for you. :) If I think of any great movies, i will let you know! Keep on Keepin On!
ReplyDeleteGood luck Kelly! I'm sure it will take some adjusting, but it sounds like a great change to make. I'll keep my eyes and ears open for some great vegan recipes!!
ReplyDeleteYou're such a great example to me!
PS this is the website I was telling you about: chocolatecoveredkatie.com It's a vegan website, mostly desserts, but she has some other great recipes in there. I have made a lot of things off of her website and I have really enjoyed them!
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