Taking control of breast cancer pound for pound

It’s not hard to believe that when it comes to breast cancer, most people think your risk of getting it is something completely out of their realm of control.  However, that’s not entirely true.  For a long time, there have been findings linking obesity and weight to the development of breast cancer.  Excess fat tissue acts like an extra organ in your body by producing extra estrogen, the hormone found to be the biggest offender for the growth of many common breast cancers.  A new study takes the positive association between weight and risk one step further to say that if you decrease your weight, you’re actively decreasing your risk for breast cancer.  You’re ability to control your weight therefore is giving you the ability to control your risk level.

Now I’m not suggesting that you immediately go on a diet and deny yourself all indulgences or start working out like a fiend.  Although eating healthy and incorporating exercise into your daily activities would help, we’re suggesting some lifestyle changes to help promote weight loss and put you in the driver’s seat of your weight and risk for developing breast cancer.

Here are some quick, easy, and maybe even somewhat quirky suggestions:

1. Treat high-calorie foods as jewels in the crown:  In more common terms, adjust your ratios of healthy fare to indulgent treats.  For instance, make a spoonful of ice cream the jewel and a bowl of fruit the crown.
2. Find an online weight-loss buddy:  A study conducted by the University of Vermont found that people who lost weight with the support of an Internet-based weight maintenance program sustained their weight loss better than those who met face-to-face in a support group.
3. Bring the color blue into your life more often: Believe it or not, the color blue functions as an appetite suppressant.  So paint your kitchen blue, switch your dinner plates to a blue set, or even dress in blue during meal times.  Avoid red, yellow, and orange since they are found to encourage eating.
4. Clean your closet of the “fat” clothes:  Once you reach your target weight, get rid of all of the clothing that no longer fits.  The idea of having to buy a whole new wardrobe if you regain the weight you worked hard to lose will serve as a strong incentive to maintain your current weight.
5. Downsize your dinner plates:  The smaller the plate, the less food you can pile on it.  Studies have found that the less food you see the less you’ll eat and conversely, the more you see the more you’ll eat.  So instead of a dinner plate, grab a salad plate for your main meal.
6. Serve your dinner restaurant style:  Putting food on your plate in the kitchen versus serving it up family style at the table makes it easier to say no to seconds since you would have to get up to get it.
7. Hang a mirror opposite your seat at the table:  A study found that eating in front of a mirror slashed nearly a third of what people consumed.  Having to look yourself in the face reflects back your own inner standards and goals you have and reminds you why you’re trying to lose weight – to be healthy and control your risk!
8. Eat one less cookie a day:  One less of anything non-nutritious will make a difference.  So if you generally have three cookies for dessert, slim down to two or drink only one can of soda when you’d normally have two throughout the day.
9. Pare your portions:  Even though you should aim to eat 90% of your meals at home where you can control portion size and ingredients, the other 10% of the time automatically ask for a third of your meal to be boxed to eat at another time.
10. Find ways other than eating to express love, tame stress, and relieve boredom:   Food is not love.  Family and friends are so do something for or with them instead of grabbing for food that you’re not necessarily even hungry for.
11. State the positive:  Don’t create a self-fulfilling policy of failure.  Keep your goal in mind and the important reason you’ve set out to achieve it.  Tell yourself you can do it, because you can, and create a positive self-fulfilling policy for good health.
12. Wash something thoroughly once a week:  It probably sounds odd that I’m suggesting you clean house but look at it this way, you’re moving and moving burns calories and burning calories aids in weight loss.  Wash your floors, clean the windows or wash the car – all that scrubbing will help you reach your goals and everything around you will sparkle!
13. Make one social outing a week an active one:  If you plan on calling your friend after work to catch up, why not meet up for a walk and catch up in person – spending time with a friend will be good for your mental, emotional, and physical health.
14. Sniff a banana, an apple, or a peppermint when you feel hungry:  You’ll probably feel a little silly doing this but it works.  One theory is that sniffing the food tricks your brain into thinking you’re actually eating it.  Whatever the reason, if it helps to curb your appetite, why not try it.
15. Passionately kiss your partner 10x a day:  Last but certainly not least, this sounds great even if you’re not trying to reach weight goals.  Since a passionate kiss burns 6.4 calories per minute, that number times ten equates to 23,000 calories or 8 pounds a year!  We’re certain your partner won’t scoff at your weight loss plan if it includes kissing you more!

Filed in: Health Management Tags: Pink Ribbon • weight management