This is a little bit of a weird/touchy topic to some, but here’s today’s topic of my blog: diet.

And I don’t mean diet as in “let’s lose weight!” I mean, following a way of eating that best serves YOU. Your health (physically, mentally, and emotionally).

Of course, with having cancer, you can’t help but do some of your own research because you feel pretty out of control of your own body.

Some Googling can be pretty terrifying and not serve us well at all. I don’t know about you, but looking up symptoms usually just makes my mental state worse. It’s best to discuss things with your oncologist or family doctor instead of jumping to conclusions yourself (and I know all too well about asking for second opinions too).

I have a lot more time on my hands lately and one of the things I do to fill my time is read. I tried taking an online nutrition course two years ago but never finished it… but my interest in the power of food has always been there inside of me.

So with all that being said (feeling out of control of my body, not knowing why I got cancer at such a young age, and having the time to look more into my interest of food/nutrition), I am diving head first into eating differently.

These are the two books I’ve been most into when it comes to diet:

Both books are very ‘pro Keto’. AKA the “Ketogenic diet”, which, I always thought sounded like such a bizarre diet. And it’s true, it isn’t for everyone! It depends on your goals, your current health markers, your current habits, financials, etc.

What I like about this book is how it discusses every aspect of our lives and its connection to food (stress, environmental factors, hormones, genetics, mental illness, etc.) It’s so interesting to me how many doctors are moving more and more toward a naturopathic approach to helping health issues in our modern society (not just cancer, and not just physical illness).

If you just rolled your eyes, that’s okay.

But after listening to many TedTalks, podcasts, and YouTubers, and by reading books like these, I see the many promising tests and studies that showcase how a low carb diet can provide amazing results for people fighting cancer.

One thing I do have control over is what I eat. And also I constantly think to myself, “what do I have to lose?”

Worst case, I eat this way for awhile and find it doesn’t serve me well (whether through tests or how I feel), and best case it helps me beat this awful disease at a more optimal rate/way.

I don’t want this blog to be a ‘look what I’m doing!’ ‘follow my lead!’ ‘GO KETO!’ style thing. No… not at all.

I just want to share what I’m doing and if you find it interesting, great! Or if want to chat about it and your experience with food/nutrition— let’s!

So here is what my last few ‘grocery hauls’ have looked like (I didn’t buy all of this today, of course, but this is what’s on the list to eat this week! No, the Kleenex isn’t included, ha):

What I plan on making with this:

Breakfast:

Eggs with guacamole with a side of nuts

Lunch:

Ground beef/veggie ‘tacos’ (using the cauliflower crepe ”Egg Thins”)

Dinner:

Salmon with Cauliflower ‘stir fry’ and veggies

Snacks:

If I need a snack, I can have some tuna, tea, or a ‘hot chocolate’

I’ll be sharing my meals through Instagram stories at @shestaysstrongblog this week so be sure to follow along there if you’re curious!

Cooking is another hobby of mine and it’s a great distraction. I love experimenting in the kitchen (and if any of you know me, you know I have a pretty… colourful palate haha). This is just the beginning so I know it won’t be perfect. I might not even reach ‘ketosis’ (which is the point of following this diet— using fat as fuel instead of carbohydrates), but at least I know I’m avoiding as much sugar/alcohol as possible during this time. Which is void of the nutrients I need to fuel my body especially during this time of my life. I’ll be tracking my macronutrient (carbs, fat, protein)/calorie intake on the MyFitnessPal app.

But take this with a grain of salt… (or sugar?) Because it’s not FACT that this way of eating will help me, or anyone. But there’s positive research, and again, what do I have to lose by eating cleaner sources of foods? (Do note some foods are proven to affect chemotherapy negatively so please ask your oncologist/nurses at the hospital before gorging on anything new).

I invite you to look into this diet and it’s connection with cancer yourself. The evidence is conflicting and every doctor has their opinions of course. (Doesn’t everyone when it comes to diet? Which is exactly why I started out this blog with “this is a touchy topic…”)

Note: Not everything here would fit keto 100% (note the fruit) but these are some of the lower-carb meals I’ve made recently to ‘test the waters’ so to speak!

Anyway, I’d love to hear your opinions on the matter. And if you have any recipe ideas, book recommendations, or podcasts you feel I should listen to, please let me know! I’d love to chat more about this topic with you! You can reach me at shestaysstrongblog@gmail.com.

And again, if you want to see the food I create from this grocery haul, be sure to follow me on Instagram @shestaysstrongblog. (I also post a ton more day-to-day stuff here as well. The good, the bad, and the ugly of this so called ‘journey’ I am on).

Thanks for reading! And thank you so much for your support. XO