Today I want to express my thoughts on food again, mainly because I think eating correctly is at the top of my list of things I can control to fight my cancer battle. I recently had a post dedicated on my interpretation of the documentary film – Food Inc. (2008). One of the reasons I summarized the key points of the film was because I firmly believe I needed to understand where food comes from first before I can be smart enough to choose which types of food to eat. What I eat – or don’t eat – have a powerful effect on my cancer fight. Certain foods may fuel the spreading of my brain tumor, while other foods support my body and strengthen my immune system to help fight off the cancer from spreading.
Now that I’m equipped with more knowledge on food and how I literally react to certain types of foods when I consume them, I developed and implemented a personal ‘meal plan’. I am not talking about a hard-core and rigid ‘meal plan’ in which I have to eat specific foods each meal and cannot deviate from it. I am referring to a flexible ‘meal plan’ in which I have options on various foods to consume and still enhance my immune system.
To monitor my ‘meal plan’, my Super-Wife, Stef, purchased a pretty cool Wi-Fi body scale – compatible with my Apple’s iPhone – called Withings (http://www.withings.com) that tracks my weight, body fat, and Body Mass Index (BMI). So I started tracking my health stats back in September 2012 using this product. I was still going through the chemotherapy cycles and taking the same medication since September until now; so the ‘constants’ of my equation remain relatively the same. Aside from the food I choose to eat, the key variable was my appetite, which was usually quite large due to my dexamethasone (steroids) as a side effect. I tried to keep my food cravings in-check to the best of my ability; however this task was definitely my biggest challenge.
Anyway, my initial approach was to identify what I should eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Below are some of the sample foods that I varied daily on my ‘meal plan’:
Breakfast (7:30am – 8:30am)
- Bowl of oatmeal
- Omega-3 omelet with added egg whites (usually cooked with spinach, onions, and organic peppers)
- Organic cereal
- Organic multi-grain toast with almond butter
- Fresh vegetable and fruit juice
Lunch (12:30pm – 1:30pm)
- Organic chicken (various recipes)
- Wild salmon filet (various spices)
- Organic tofu (various recipes) – Note: My Super-Mom usually cooks a healthy tofu dish with turmeric sauce that is delicious.
Dinner (6:30pm-7:30pm)
There is always at least one side of vegetables with my lunch and dinner. Typically it would consist of spring mix salad or steamed organic vegetables. My Super-Mother-in-law usually makes quinoa – either plain or in salad form – as a side dish along with the main entree. I absolutely enjoy quinoa. It has fantastic nutrients, and it just makes me feel ‘fresh’ after consuming it. I can literally eat quinoa every day. A special shout-out goes out to my good friend Annie for sending us a simple-to-make and delicious quinoa salad recipe recently. This recipe is now a staple in our household.
I’ve been tracking my weight, body fat, and BMI for a month and a half by following my initial ‘meal plan’; and to my surprise, my weight, body fat and BMI actually all increased over time! Not a lot, but enough to notice the difference. My face and body has been noticeably pudgier, partly due to my dexamethasone intake, but that would just be part of the excuse. I know I can do a way better job in controlling how much I eat and my weight ‘gains’.
I decided to modify my initial ‘meal plan’ slightly. Instead of eating only 3 full meals a day, I started to eat 5 SMALLER meals a day. For breakfast, lunch and dinner, I am still eating the same foods outlined above but with much smaller portions. My in-between meals now include:
Morning (10:00am-11:00am)
- A piece of organic fruit (Apple, Pear, etc.)
- Organic yogurt with flaxseed
- Fresh veggies with hummus dip
- Salsa with organic pita/chips
Afternoon (3:30pm-4:30pm)
- Similar options as Morning meal
I have been following this 5 meal per day plan for 2 weeks now and I feel really optimistic about it. My weight, body fat and BMI have been somewhat status quo (at least not increasing!), and I do feel less full and more fresh after I finish each meal. If anyone have other ‘meal plan’ suggestions, please leave a comment.
Some of my friends ask me how I control what I eat when I dine out. My answer is if possible, the top priority is to choose a healthy option on the menu (i.e. salads, fish, etc.). However when no healthy options are available, I follow the 90%-10% rule. Here is my logic: If I eat healthy 90% of my 35 meals (5 meals a day x 7 days a week), I would consider myself doing a good job managing my diet. This means I could eat whatever I want for 3-4 meals a week and not feel too guilty about ‘spoiling’ myself. Just like in school, the goal is to achieve 100% but 90% is not so bad, right?
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