For years I have given lip service to living a more healthy lifestyle. Eating better, getting more exercise and avoiding stress have all been discussed, but I have been pretty much all talk and no action. Somehow I always manage to find an excuse to avoid tackling these issues.
As I look for a new job, I really hope that I can find a fit with a company where I will be able to limit my stress. Really, the stress thing has got to be up to me. Stress is everywhere...the effects of stress are what's important, so clearly, I'm going to have to learn to cope with stressful situations better than I have in the past. Frankly it's sort of silly to imagine me in a job interview (with unemployment approaching 10%) asking of a potential employer: "You're not going to yell at me are you? I hate that." Or: "I find that I work best under less pressure." I'm sure I'd get the job.
How stupid is it that it took a diagnosis of cancer to get me to finally eat better? In the 3 weeks since my diagnosis I have already lost 10 lbs.. And it really has been pretty easy. Almost every workday I used to eat breakfast in my car during my 40-minute commute. I would grab a Mountain Dew from the refrigerator on my way out the door. Then, usually it was a Sausage McMuffin....sometimes I was a bit better and ate a Jimmy Dean biscuit (hey, it was Turkey Sausage). Now breakfast is a half banana sliced on granola with Soy milk. Prior to diagnosis I ate lunch at my desk most days. Taco John's or Arby's or perhaps Subway. Occasionally I would go out for lunch. You cannot find lunch entrees for under $8...add to that a $1.99 pop and a tip and lunch out is pretty much a minimum $12 investment. If I'm spending $12, I'm eating well....and I'm cleaning my plate. Now lunch is very light, if I have it at all. Or just maybe a snack of some nuts, grapes or (yes) Cauliflower. I'm planning dinners much better now...more fish, more veggies...less starch, and usually smaller portions. While I was nowhere near an alcoholic, I probably drank more than I should have...now I drink less alcohol than I'd like, but it's not drastic. We used to probably split a bottle of wine at dinner 3 times a week...now it's once. I used to have to have a couple cookies before bed...no more. I thought I'd miss all of those things...but I don't. Not one single bit. I hope to lose another 10-15 lbs. before I begin treatment next month. A lean, mean, cancer-fighting machine.
Maybe I'll even get serious about exercise...my treatment choice is going to help me there, I think...more later...
The Prostate cancer I have is early-stage...I probably could ignore it for a couple years, but I have a perfect opportunity to deal with it now. How sad would it be if I treated my cancer only to drop dead of a heart attack in my 40's or 50's? My cholesterol was borderline high last I checked...my mother has already had two heart attacks. I believe that the fright of a prostate cancer diagnosis will eventually have long-term benefits for me because of the positive change in diet, exercise and stress management that it prompted me to implement.
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