Prioritizing Changes

[Jaquta]

Hi.  Thanks for providing this space for us to ask questions.

I was wondering if you had a recommended order of change or whether the incremental changes were over all aspects.

I have significant mh issues (pd, anxiety, etc) and have issues with mood, motivation, interventions, etc.  I have concerns about the impact these are having on my health and well-being.  They affect my sleep, diet, activity levels, etc.  
I also fear neurodegenerative and cardiovascular disease, etc due to my current lifestyle.  
I was diagnosed with breast cancer towards the end of last year and believe lifestyle factors may have contributed.  (I was told it was rare in someone my age therefore feel I have unintentionally sped up this process).

I live on a farm and get some activity in through that.  I use to be very active but now do very little.  I was doing half marathons but this year increased my mileage too quickly (following an inactive period after surgery and breast abscess) and sustained foot injuries.

I recently stopped taking zopiclone (7.5 mg) although my sleep is still disturbed.
I spoke to my GP yesterday and he said I have a caffeine addiction.
I have a tendency to binge-eat and restrict/ over-train.

Basically, I'm a mess.
I read your 'Eat Less.  Do More.' blog yesterday.  While I do some (eat breakfast, don't drink soda) I don't do others.

I'm currently working on decreasing my caffeine intake and increasing my water consumption.  My goal for now is 1.5 l of water per day.  Not sure about the number of cups of tea.  (In your blog you recommended black coffee.  I was wondering about the effect that would have on calcium levels.  Going from white to black.  And say, decreasing from 20+ cups down to four).

I'm waffling.  Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks heaps for your time.

J

[James G Beckerman, M.D.]

Hi Jaquta, thanks for your post.

To answer your question about coffee intake, I would emphasize the idea that if you do drink coffee, it's better to drink it without sugar or even artificial sweeteners if you are trying to cut calories - also, changing from nondairy creamer or half-and-half to skim milk makes a big difference too.  I think 20+ cups sounds like too much - I definitely suggest scaling back!

There are so many incremental changes to consider, depending on your own lifestyle.  I think it's a nice idea to pick one from a few different areas - food, beverage, activity, lifestyle... and try to work on them for a few weeks to see how easily you can incorporate them into your life.  If that works, add a few more.  If you are trying to lose more weight, you can choose more changes at the beginning - the nice thing about this approach is that it's flexible.  All the best!

[Jaquta]

Thanks for answering my post.

I don't add sugar to beverages or cereals, etc.  I use a reduced fat milk (1.6 g/ 100 ml).  My thoughts regarding the milk were more geared towards osteoporosis.  People often say that the effect of drinking tea or coffee is like peeing out your bones.  (Perhaps decreasing the number of cups and drinking it black cancel each other out??)

The volume of milk I must drink must add a substantial number of calories.  To be honest, I've been more concerned about the empty calories coming from misc. sources though.

I definitely need to cut back.  (The cups were 355 ml too vs 250 ml).
I felt much better when I was drinking 2+ l of water (and exercising) during radiation a few months ago so that is also a big incentive.

That makes sense to do one from several areas.  That in itself may create some momentum and increase motivation.
Lifestyle changes seem a bit more complicated and confusing for me.
The definition of lifestyle in my dictionary is ... the attitudes, behaviours, surroundings etc. characteristic of an individual or group.
For me that could almost mean addressing various issues in therapy, like ocd or emotional eating.  This makes it feel more like a check list or a list of things to do.  I wonder if that would work for me (pouring resources into one area and completing it before addressing the next issue/ area)??

I'm procrastinating about weight loss.  I do feel a bit chunky, but ...
Maybe next Monday.  That gives me time to get my head around it.

Is any damage to our health through poor nutrition, lack of exercise, stress, etc reversible?

Again, thanks for your response and best wishes for your new forum.

J