It's Finally Over!

I saw Dr. Howard today and will not have to follow-up for three whole months! What a relief! I'm very emotional - crying at every little thing - tears of joy and tears of sorrow and tears for fears. It has been a long, horrible road and I am so glad it's "over".

But it really isn't over, is it? I want to prevent a recurrence and definitely want to prevent a new cancer. In order to do this, there are six rules I must follow for the rest of my life - until I'm 65 at which point I'm going to start smoking and doing whatever the hell I want. I'm typing the rules exactly as Dr. Howard wrote them. They are not her rules, but rules set in place after numerous studies have shown that they help prevent recurrence.

1. No Smoking (I haven't had a cigarette in 1 year and 7 months, but I still miss it)

2. Alcohol - in moderation or not at all (I only drink on occasion, but when I do - oh boy)

3. Exercise - aerobic minimum of 3 hours a week, preferably 5 or 6 (This is something I planned on working on anyway now that the kids will all be in school, but will take me awhile to get up to this amount of time)

4. Low Fat diet:
- less than 20% calories from fat
- good fat
- limit red meat; beef, pork, lamb, venison, and bison (this is going to be hard - I love red meat, hate fish, and am not a huge fan of chicken)

5. Maintain body weight BMI of 24 or less (this is going to take some time and hard work that I had planned on doing anyway)

6. Maintain adequate vitamin D levels (should be o.k. after my 50,000 units per week x 8 weeks and now 2000 units a day)

So those are my new life rules. They are all part of a plan I've been trying to implement for the last two years only to be foiled by illness. It's going to be a tough battle and it's going to take time to find what works for me and make adjustments. Dr. Howard told me to do it in baby steps which is exactly how I had planned on it anyway. Hopefully by my 3 month follow-up, I'll be in a good flow with everything.

Part of me feels it is unfair that I have to be different from most people my age. Most people my age do not have to pay so much damn attention to every single little thing they do. Most people my age workout but aren't having to follow a number of hours. Most people my age are eating healthy but not having to measure and worry about having a steak. Most people my age can go out drinking and have a good time and not have it in the back of their minds that they have to limit themselves. I will forever have to be different and not in the way I like - I will always be looking over my shoulder (in a sense), watching and waiting.

So I suppose I won't be blogging here much anymore, but I fear I will miss blogging so I may just start an "A Lighter Side of Me" blog to track my progress with my journey to a healthier me, or maybe just a general blog to rant and rave. Who knows?