Thank you, Tim. Honestly I’ve been through a range of emotions from a strong desire to attack it (but never really processing it properly), so not giving a damn and eating/drinking whatever I wanted, to now really feeling mentally and physically stronger than I’ve ever felt in my life.
I’m not pretending it’s easy, it isn’t. But it can be completely manageable. For me, I’ve never been particularly athletic, but I found in order to this to be sustainable, it has to be fun. So instead of just pounding pavement which is what I did 4 year ago, now I focus on fun activities. I play lots of racquet sports, badminton, tennis, table tennis, if I go for a power walk I’ll go in the sun and by the ocean instead of just walking random blocks. I bought a stand up paddle board for use in the summer and loved being on the ocean, and I ski a bunch. It has to be enjoyable for it to be life-long.
I’ve basically stopped watching TV and make sure I get out for 1-2 hrs every day to do something healthy instead.
On the nutrition front I’ve cut out the bad carbs, but still eat well and healthy. But I don’t cut everything out- just the bad ones. I have a friend taking a PHD in nutrition and she told me to eat more carbs in fact- she said the brain needs 120g (gross not net minus the fibre) to stay healthy. I just make sure I eat lots of veg, protein, some carbs, but all sweets gone.
After really getting into a funk (at about the 6 month marker post-diagnosis), it took me a while to figure out how to manage this. But I promise you, if you’re willing to create new habits around things that bring you joy, your life will change forever (for the best!) Reach out if I can ever provide any insights.
