100 Perks of Having Cancer: Plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It (60 page)

honey in your herbal tea that you should eliminate. It’s

the morning donut with your coffee.

If you normally sprinkle sugar on your morning cereal, try berries

instead. Just like salt, your taste buds actually develop a tolerance for sugar.

One might say, an
addiction.
The more you eat, the more sugar it takes to

satisfy your sweet tooth. Make the effort to reduce the sugar by substituting

fruit or other flavorings like cinnamon, and, in about four to six weeks, your

tolerance will decrease and you’ll be just as satisfied with less sweetness.

Perk #61

Quality Time with My Girl

A
s a single parent, it is a rare luxury to

find quality time to spend one on one

with my three children. One day during my

radiation treatments, I got to do just that:

spend the whole day with my daughter, Kait-

lyn. She was kind enough to take a day off

school to come visit me and escort me to

one of my appointments. We made the most

of our time together in the city. The evening

before my appointment, we got dressed up,

met some friends at a nice restaurant, and

enjoyed a delicious meal together. It was

so relaxing to sit with our friends and talk

about things other than cancer!

The next day, we started out with a walk through Bowring Park, where

we stopped to feed the ducks and engage in a lively discussion on whether

or not ducks have teeth. (Kaitlyn’s friend, Haley, insists that one smiled

at her, and she saw a distinct

tooth!)

Next it was off for a healthy

brunch, followed by a mini shop-

ping spree. Finally, we made our

way to the cancer clinic, and Kait-

lyn waited while I was zapped with

my daily dose of radiation. But

alas, all good things must come

to an end, and by 5:00 PM that

day, I was abandoned for a “friend”

who is a boy, but apparently not a

Hmm
. . . it appears that Haley was right.

“boyfriend.”

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When you are fighting the Big C, it is even more important than

ever to make the most of your time with family and friends.

Watching a movie together, sharing a meal, or even just going

for a walk are great ways to spend quality time with loved ones.

HEALTH TIP #61

How to Make the Most Out of Your Walking

W
alking is one of the best exercises you can do. It doesn’t require any-

thing more than a good pair of walking shoes. (Just to be clear, walking

shoes are made specifically for exercise walking; they’re not just your most

comfortable shoes.)

A regular routine of good, brisk walking can help shed unwanted

pounds, relieve stress, aid in digestion, and strengthen your bones. Walking

can help with arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, depression, and cancer. (But

you already knew all that if you’ve been reading this book.)

Directions for walking:

1. Put on proper walking shoes.

2. Take right foot and put it in front of your body.

3. Take left foot and put it in front of your body.

4. Repeat.

C’mon, it ain’t rocket surgery or brain science for that matter.

Here are eight ways that you can “up the ante” to get the most out of

your daily walk.

1.
Use your arms.
You burn more calories when you pump or swing your

arms, and no one will slow you down or stop you to chat. If you choose

hand weights, remember to keep them light. Start off with one pound

and don’t exceed three pounds to avoid back injury. Keep the weights

close to your body and your arm in an “L” position as you swing them.

Perk #61: Quality Time with My Girl

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2.
Take smaller steps.
Smaller steps mean you are moving more. If your

goal is to take 10,000 steps a day, here’s where you can get a big payoff.

Keep up your speed as you increase the number of steps.

3.
Get some poles.
No, not Bob Polanski and his friends—Nordic poles.

You’ll burn 20 percent more calories by engaging the muscles in your

upper body with poles. Plant the pole at a 45-degree angle behind you,

then push forcefully against the ground to propel yourself forward.

There are some great videos to show you how, or ask a knowledgeable

person at the sporting goods store for help. (And I always thought those

people I saw walking with poles were pretending to ski on pavement

for fun.)

4.
Use your whole foot.
Roll through your step from heel to toe. When you

get to the ball of your foot really push off. This will tone the muscles of

your calf hamstring and glutes (translation: back of leg and butt).

5.
Stand straight.
Don’t lean over. When your body is aligned, your back

and butt muscles are able to work more powerfully, so you are able to

walk faster and burn more calories. Leaning puts a strain on your lower

back. Also, the stray dogs may not mess with you when you walk “like

an alpha” or “top dog.”

6.
Avoid steep hills if you can.
It’s better to maintain your speed on a mod-

erate hill or flat surface, than to slow down on a big hill. Steep hills are

a strain on your back and can force you to work harder than you should,

causing you to poop out sooner.

7.
Raise your heart rate.
Wearing a heart monitor is like having constant

feedback. You will know when to speed up and slow down. If you don’t

have a monitor, you can use this formula to figure out where your heart

rate should be during exercise: 220 minus your age multiplied by 0.7 or

0.8. This is 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate for your age.

You should be exercising so your heart rate stays within ten beats of this

number. (Note: Taking certain medications that affect heart rates might

change this number.)

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100 Perks of Having Cancer

8.
Add strength.
Consider pausing every five to seven minutes and do one

minute of moves like push-ups (on your knees or hands) or lunges. If

you’re exercising with weights, here’s the time to stop and do ten slow

and controlled shoulder presses above your head or ten bicep curls. Do

an Internet search to see the proper movement for these exercises. Then,

check your form in a mirror before you head out to make sure you are

helping and not hurting your muscles. Even if you stop walking to do

these strength moves, your heart rate will remain elevated when the

added moves are done correctly.

Working as a nurse in cardiac rehab, I saw people from the ages of thirty

to eighty get great results in their fitness level, as well as success with their

weight loss, with consistent proper walking. If you have

never exercised before, start with just ten minutes, three

If you’re going to walk,

times a week. Increase the time by two minutes each week

make the most out of

until you get to forty-five to sixty minutes. Always begin and

it and get the full

end with some muscle stretching to avoid injury and

benefits for your

increase flexibility.

whole body!

Be sensible and always check with your healthcare

provider if you are just starting an exercise routine, espe-

cially if you are over the age of forty or have any chronic health issues,

including cancer, or if you’re on the mend from surgery.