Nutritionist

Yesterday I had a phone meeting with a nutritionist at MDA.

She was fantastic.

Prior to my diagnosis, I was flourishing. I was building lean muscle fuled by consistent resistance training and lots of protein. I was feeling SO GOOD!!!

By the time my cough developed, I noticed that my clothes weren't fitting the same. When I think back, it's also when I notice I had a decrease in appetite. Then I stepped on the scale... I was surprised to see I had lost a pretty significant amount of weight for my frame.

A common symptom of lung cancer is weight loss. Not good when you are already petite to begin with.

My job now is to try to gain weight so that I have all the strength and reserve possible for the inevitable onslaught of cancer treatments. All of this while my appetite continues to wane and my stress level skyrockets.

Sounds like an awesome problem to have! And believe me when I tell you I am trying.

But there are also things I need to stay away from such as beta carotene (so long sweet potato fries and my beloved cantaloupe), limited red meat (18 ounces or less/week), and foods with a lot of sugar (ice cream and cookies!)

And so begins:

Small, frequent meals

High protein snacks/shakes (thanks for the Hulk shakes hubby)

And eating the second I feel any sort of hunger.

So far, when I am hungry, all I want is breakfast! And boy has my fam bam gone above and beyond! One morning, my hubby and dad went to 3 different places just to try to get what I asked for... I am one blessed gal!

Gaining weight is just the first (and probably the smallest) hill to climb. But winning the small battles is important. I need the little wins to propel me into the bigger battles I will need to wage in the coming months.

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend. Please know I love you and am thankful for each and every thought and prayer. The support I am receiving is beyond belief and I am beyond grateful.

Until tomorrow...