The Tale of Two Treats

We went for a walk yesterday right before lunch, then stopped at the gas station.  Note to self: Don't do that anymore.  The gas station has Diet Coke and potato chips. And I am hungry and more vulnerable to food temptations of lunchtime.   I have written about Diet Coke before—it is one of the food addictions I have worked hard to overcome.  I give myself a C+ on that.  I now have a Diet Coke 3-4 times a week instead of 8-10.  My success is up and down.  Sometimes I can go weeks without one.  And I always feel better.  So, long way of getting to the fact that I succumbed yesterday and had a fountain Diet Coke.  Here's what I need to remember about that:  They never taste good enough for all the bad they do.  That needs to be my mantra.

Then there were the chips.  But at least I chose the healthier ones.  And here's a cautionary note: standard potato chips have about 80 percent more calories and fats that baked ones.  The data:

Baked Lays: 160 calories in a 1.375 oz. bag;  4 percent of your daily value of fat, and no trans or saturated fats; and 8 percent of your DV of sodium.

Cape Cod Kettle Cooked: 270 calories in a 1.875 oz. bag; 21 percent of your daily value of fat, 5 percent DV of saturated fat, and no trans fats; and 14 percent of your DV of sodium.

So, if you're going to fall off the wagon with a treat, your choice of treats can make a big difference.

I had the chips with a healthy vegetarian sandwich sandwich: low-fat whole wheat bread, avocado, red pepper, romaine, and hummus.  So there's that.

Enough About Diet

My blogs about my diet are not working as well as I had hoped.  My goal was to create a sense of community, with readers joining in on a healthy eating bandwagon.  But reader response was lackluster.  And then I had missteps in my own diet, so I felt like a bit of a fraud.   But I also thought maybe that made it more authentic. Whatever the case, the product, process, and response were all uninspiring.

So I am going to continue my diet but not the daily posts, and I may do a recap when it is over.  We'll see. (I have lost a pound, so something worked.) Anybody who wants to join me can email me and I will help encourage you.  I am all about encouraging people.

The message I want to send in all this:

• Diet is important in fighting TNBC; losing weight appears to be the essential factor.

• It's a real pain to eat healthy all the time.  Others are better at it than I am.

• Remembering how much better I feel and look when I eat well keeps me motivated.
• Remembering is difficult when I am being lured by fats and sweets.

• Success in anything comes in smalls bits and starts.   When you lose weight slowly and steadily, you are more likely to keep it off.

• Moderation in all things should be your goal.

Now off to chew on a carrot.

[Here's yesterday's diet—I already had this prepared, so figured I might as well post it.]
March 21, 2013

Green Drink: Pure Synergy: 45 calories, no fats 

Breakfast:

•1/2 cup Cascadian Farm Organic cereal: 67 calories, no trans or saturated fats

•1/4 cup Almond Breeze almond milk:  10 calories, no trans or saturated fats 

Lunch:

Veggie Sandwich:

            • Sara Lee 45 calorie whole wheat bread: 90 calories, no trans or saturated fats

            • 1/3 red bell pepper:  23 calories, no trans or saturated fats

            •low fat cream cheese: 70 calories, 4 grams of saturated fat, no trans

            • 1 leaf of romaine lettuce: 1 calories, no fats

Sandwich total: 183 calories, 4 grams saturated fats

            •small apple: 116 calories, trace saturated, no trans fats

            • Organic hot chocolate with almond milk: 110 calories 

Snack:

• 1 cup broccoli: 25 calories, no trans or saturated fats

• 2 tbsp. Roasted Garlic Hummus: 60 calories, no trans or saturated fats

• 16 whole almonds: 82 calories. 2 percent daily value saturated fats, no trans fats 

Juice:

• 2 carrots (52 calories), 1 stalk of kale (34 calories), 1/8 red cabbage (14 calories), 1/2 apple (58 calories): 158 calories

Dinner: 

•  Baked acorn squash with apples: 315 calories

NOTE:  I make sure to keep hydrated during the day, but don't actually measure whether I get the recommended 64 ounces or not.  I feel livelier when I am hydrated.  Often, when I start losing energy, I have a tall drink of water and I feel better. 

TOTAL: 

1172 calories

5 grams saturated fats—25 percent daily value

2+ servings of fruits, 2+ serving of vegetables, plus juice and green drink

Stats:  I've lost a pound so far.  We'll see if I keep it off, but it feels like progress.

March 20, 2013: What I Ate (Day 3)

Green Drink

Pure Synergy: 45 calories, no fats

Breakfast:

Smoothie:

•1 cup fresh blueberries (frozen, then thawed): 70 calories, 0.2 grams saturated fat, no trans fats

• I peach: 51 calories, trace of saturated fat, no trans fats.

•1/2 cup Almond Breeze almond milk:  20 calories, no trans or saturated fats

• 1 cup orange juice: 112 calories, no trans or saturated fats

Total for smoothie: 253 calories, trace of saturated, no trans fats

Snack:

•Blueberry muffin with low fat milk: 162 calories, 6 percent daily value saturated fat, no trans fats.

• Coffee (black): 2 calories

Lunch:

• California roll (sushi—9 pieces): 360 calories, no trans or saturated fats

Snack:

• air-popped popcorn: 93 calories

• Powdered cheddar cheese: 50 calories, 5 percent of saturated fats, no trans fats

Juice:

• 2 carrots (52 calories), 1 stalk of kale (34 calories), 1/8 red cabbage (14 calories), 1/2 apple (58 calories): 158 calories

Dinner: 

• Berry smoothie: 150 calories (estimate)

Exercise:

1 hour qigong: 200 calories

TOTAL: 

1273 calories

12 percent daily value of saturated fats

4+ servings of fruits, 1 serving of vegetables, plus juice and green drink

1273 calories consumed minus 200 burned = 1073

Stats

This was a two-smoothie day, which put me a little heavy on fruit—that’s not a good habit, as fruit is high in sugars.  They’re natural, but it is still not good to overdo.  The evening smoothie was a healthy treat after my qigong class and it was small.  I had the morning smoothie because I was going out to coffee at a friend’s and I wanted to make sure I got enough nutrients, knowing I would not have a healthy snack.  I did get a low-fat muffin, so it was a little lower in fat, but it still was not nutrient-rich.  It is difficult to eat healthy while eating out or at a friend's house.   

As for exercise, I found several estimates for qigong that were higher than I used.  I love this exercise, but I think it was a bit modest in terms of calorie burning.

Please consider a donation to Positives About Negative to keep this site going.  This work is entirely supported by readers.  Just click on the Donate button in the right of the page.  Thank you!

Read more about diet and TNBC in my book, Surviving Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

March 19, 2013: What I Ate (Day Two)

March 19, 2013

Green Drink

Pure Synergy: 45 calories, no fats

Breakfast:

•1/2 cup fresh blueberries (frozen, then thawed): 35 calories, 0.1 gram saturated fat, no trans fats

•1/2 cup Cascadian Farm Organic cereal: 67 calories, no trans or saturated fats

•1/4 cup Almond Breeze almond milk:  10 calories, no trans or saturated fats

Snack:

•1 banana: 105 calories, 1 percent daily value of saturated fats, no trans fats

• 8 whole almonds: 41 calories. 1 percent daily value saturated fats, no trans fats

Lunch:

•Tasty Taco original (aka: Fell Off the Wagon): 520 calories, 12 grams of saturated fat, no trans fats

• 1/2 cup red grapes: 60 calories, no trans or saturated fats 

Snack:

• 1 cup broccoli: 25 calories, no trans or saturated fats

• 2 tbsp. Roasted Garlic Hummus: 60 calories, no trans or saturated fats

Juice:

• 2 carrots (52 calories), 1 stalk of kale (34 calories), 1/8 red cabbage (14 calories), 1/2 apple (58 calories): 158 calories

Dinner: 

• California roll (sushi): 255 calories, no trans or saturated fats

• 5 oz merlot: 122 calories, no trans or saturated fats

• sourdough bread: 160 calories, no trans or saturated fats

• butter: 72 calories, 26 percent daily value of saturated fat, no trans fats.

Exercise:

55 minutes brisk walking (burned 236 calories)

TOTAL: 

1735 calories

27 percent daily value of saturated fats

3 servings of fruits, 2+ servings of vegetables, plus juice and green drink

1735 calories consumed minus 236 burned = 1509

Stats

At my height (5' 9.5"), I could consume 1693 calories a day and stay at the same weight (168 pounds), so today was a bit of a wash. Exercise did help.  The lunchtime taco did not.

Writing this all down, however, is an excellent exercise—it helps keep me on track and makes me acknowledge reality. Hope it helps some of you.

Please consider a donation to Positives About Negative to keep this site going.  This work is entirely supported by readers.  Just click on the Donate button in the right of the page.  Thank you!

Read more about diet and TNBC in my book, Surviving Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Genes Related to the Metabolism of Fats Linked to Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

News Release from the American Association for Cancer Research

PHILADELPHIA — The overexpression or underexpression of a newly identified set of genes related to lipid metabolism may help physicians identify whether or not a woman is at risk for hormone receptor-positive or hormone receptor-negative breast cancer and to subsequently tailor prevention strategies appropriately, according to data published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Researchers sought to find a way to identify women at risk for estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer by examining gene expression in the unaffected breasts of women who had a primary breast cancer of known estrogen-receptor status.

They used this approach because prior research has indicated that if women who have had cancer in one breast subsequently develop a cancer in their second breast, the second cancer is likely to have hormone-receptor status that resembles the first cancer.

Using this logic, Khan and colleagues performed fine-needle aspiration on the unaffected breasts of 15 women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer and 15 women with estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer. They validated their results in a second group of women: 12 with estrogen receptor-positive disease, 12 with estrogen receptor-negative disease and 12 healthy controls. The cases in each set were matched by age, race and menopausal status.

The researchers identified 13 genes with significantly higher expression levels in samples from estrogen receptor-negative women. Eight of these genes were associated with lipid metabolism.

“This was interesting because obesity is a breast cancer risk factor for postmenopausal women, but obese women are generally thought to be at increased risk for hormone-sensitive cancer,” said Seema A. Khan, M.D., co-leader of the Breast Cancer Program at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University in Chicago.  “We were surprised to see that some of these genes that are associated with lipid metabolism, or the metabolism of fats, are actually more highly expressed in the unaffected breasts of women with estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer.”

The researchers also found significant overexpression of four of the genes associated with lipid metabolism — DHRS2, HMGCS2, HPGD and ACSL3 — in estrogen receptor-negative samples when compared with healthy women. In estrogen receptor-positive samples, two different lipid metabolism-associated genes — UGT2B11 and APOD — were underexpressed.

“It will be a few more steps before this information is practically useful, but we are hoping that it can take us to a place where we can obtain a breast sample from healthy women, see that they are at risk for a certain type of breast cancer and tailor the prevention strategy accordingly,” Khan said.

Please consider a donation to Positives About Negative to keep this site going.  This work is entirely supported by readers.  Just click on the Donate button in the right of the page.  Thank you!

Read more about metabolism and TNBC in my book, Surviving Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

March 18, 2013: What I Ate

Breakfast:
•1/2 cup fresh blueberries (frozen, then thawed): 35 calories, 0.1 gram saturated fat, no trans fats
•1/2 cup Cascadian Farm Organic cereal: 67 calories, no trans or saturated fats
•1/4 cup Almond Breeze almond milk:  10 calories, no trans or saturated fats
Snack:
•1 banana: 105 calories, 1 percent daily value of saturated fats, no trans fats
• 8 whole almonds: 41 calories. 1 percent daily value saturated fats, no trans fats

Lunch:
•Leftover crab cake sandwich (crab cake 160 calories, 11 percent daily value saturated fat, no trans fat;  English muffin 135 calories, 1 percent daily value of saturated fat, no trans fat) 295 calories, 12 percent daily value of saturated fat, no trans fats.
• 1/2 fresh red bell pepper: 23 calories, no trans or saturated fats 
• 1/2 cup red grapes: 60 calories, no trans or saturated fats 

Snack:
• 1 cup broccoli 25 calories, no trans or saturated fats
• 2 tbsp. Roasted Garlic Hummus: 60 calories, no trans or saturated fats

Juice:
• 2 carrots (52 calories), 1 stalk of kale (34 calories), 1/8 red cabbage (14 calories), 1/2 apple (58 calories): 158 calories

Dinner: 
• Mexican Seitan Fajitas on whole wheat tortillas (Seitan, 100 calories, no trans or saturated fats;  whole grain tortilla, 130 calories, no trans or saturated fats; bell pepper and onion: 25 calories, no trans or saturated fats), 255 calories, no trans or saturated fats.
• 1/4 bar Lily's almond dark chocolate bar with stevia: 43 calories, 10 percent daily value of saturated fats, no trans fats.

Exercise:
30 minutes brisk walking 

TOTAL: 
1177 calories
24 percent daily value of saturated fats
3 servings of fruits, 2+  servings of vegetables, plus juice


Stats
I am 5' 9.5" and now weigh 168 pounds, which gives me a body mass index (BMI) that's right at the edge of normal and overweight.  I want to weigh 160.  If I reduce my caloric intake to 1193.8 calories per day I will lose one pound per week without exercise, according to About.com's Weight Management Calculator.  I will use that amount, but also continue my exercise.

So, if I can keep this up, I am OK. (And, yes, I am not technically overweight yet, but this is a slippery slope, and I have fallen down it once, ending up 50 pounds overweight.  I do not want that to happen again.)

Please consider a donation to Positives About Negative to keep this site going.  This work is entirely supported by readers.  Just click on the Donate button in the right of the page.  Thank you!

Read more about diet and TNBC in my book, Surviving Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.