You Are What You Eat

You know, I never thought I'd be a vegetarian. I saw some of my friends do it and just thought to myself, "How in God's name could I ever pass up a nice, juicy steak? Or a cheeseburger?" I didn't think I could ever do it.

And then, I found out I had cancer. And red meat went bye bye quickly. 

It was easy, really. Dr. Lenz mentioned that I should probably try to stay away from it, and I'd heard enough about red meat and cancer to know that I wouldn't touch the stuff again. Since starting chemo some three months ago, I've had red meat only once -- in the form of one incredibly delicious cheeseburger from In 'n Out during a chemo week when my appetite was less than monstrous. All in all, I don't miss it that much -- it's just not a necessary ingredient to living life in HDTV for me. 

As the months have unfolded, I started doing some more research on diet and fighting cancer, and started to realize that red meat wasn't all I needed to cut. I needed to cut chicken, and turkey, and fish, and eggs, milk, and cheese. Yes, ladies and gents, I've decided to become a vegan.

For those of you who know me well, I know this is pretty crazy news, but drastic times call for drastic measures. And I'm doing everything I can to make sure this cancer goes away and stays away forever. And eating a plant-based whole foods diet is key to that, as far as I'm concerned.

So far, it's been pretty easy. Veggie burgers on whole wheat bread, corn chowder, tomato soup, peanut butter, peas, hummus, black beans -- even a few vegan cookies and some coconut milk ice cream thrown in there. I just had a protein shake with rice-based protein powder, almond milk, and some pineapples -- it was delicious. Luckily, there's a vegan substitute for pretty much all of my favorite foods, which is very important since cheese is one of my favorite things in the world. 

So much of this cancer-killing adventure has been about embracing change and learning how to live differently -- that means managing sleep and stress, faithfully exercising, focusing my mind and spirit on healing, and being vigilant about feeding my body only the best things. Beating Stage IV cancer is a monumental challenge, but your pal WunderGlo is up to the task.