My Health(ier) Journey

I know it’s very cliché to go on a health kick/journey once someone has had cancer or serious health issues. 

Some people want to lose the chemo/steroid weight; some people need to gain weight and muscle from the loss of appetite and nausea. 

Some people who have chronic health issues need to do what they can to keep their symptoms at bay or at least try to reduce them as much as possible. 

Fortunately, I don’t have any chronic health issues due to my cancer or treatment. 

That does NOT mean that my body hasn’t been through a crazy amount of change over the past 2+ years. 

Here are 3 main reasons why I am wanting to live a healthier lifestyle.

Part 1: Lack of nutrition and physical activity

Even before I got diagnosed with leukemia, I was trying to eat a little healthier and try to workout a few times a week. 

Yes, I did it mostly to lose some weight, but I also wanted to FEEL better. 

I wanted to have more energy. 

I wanted to be more active.

I wanted to feel more confident. 

I wanted to be a better version of myself. 

Almost a year and a half into treatment, just after I started my first round of my last chemo “cocktail” in mid March 2020, I had zero appetite, and I was so nauseous that I pretty much threw up anything that tried to go down. Water, soup, pasta, cookies… anything.

Due to the nausea, I didn’t want to leave the couch during the day. 

And that made me lose a LOT of muscle.

I chose the photo on the left that slightly exaggerates the size of my legs/butt, and a shirt that isn’t flattering at that angle(I was pointing to one of my best friend’s engagement ring as she had just gotten engaged! VERY EXCITED!!) to show you what I “started with”. The photo of me on the right was just before my 3rd round of that chemo “cocktail”. Those shorts used to be the correct size. At that point, they were 4 sizes too big.

I don’t recognize myself in the photo on the right for so many reasons.

I managed to not lose any noticeable weight or muscle during my 120 nights in the hospital over 13 months.

However, I went from about 150 pounds(I’m 5’4) to 120 pounds in 6-8 weeks in the spring of 2020. I lost 10 much needed pounds between my first relapse(left pic) and when I had my transplant new months later.

The last time I was 120 pounds was maybe 8th grade. I’m 30 now. 

Part 2: Being on so many restrictions & medications 

During my 100 days post transplant, I had MANY restrictions. 

You name it. Food. Drinks. Flossing. Lotion. Clothing. No deodorant… etc.

Being a blood cancer patient, I wasn’t allowed to take any blood thinners(Advil) or Tylenol(masks fevers). 

I am still not allowed to take them. Ha.

While you’re in the hospital, and at home, the doctors give you plenty of medications to treat practically anything you could run into. 

Nausea? Zofran. Compazine.

Constipation? Senna. MiraLAX.

I had even more, but those are what I frequently used. On top of my daily prescribed medications. 

I would receive chemo, have to take constipation meds to counteract the chemo side effects, then I’d take nausea meds, then I’d another 1-2 meds depending on my other side effects. 

It’s a constant cycle of taking more and more meds to try to cancel out the domino effect of meds. 

By the time things start to settle, your body is hella confused. It doesn’t know what the heck it just went through, and why you’re taking 5 meds just to have normal body functions. 

Many people asked me if I was doing a “chemo detox”, like a green juice type detox. 

I wasn’t allowed to have raw green juices, raw fruits, or raw veggies during chemo and the phase for a week or two after chemo. Hello neutropenic diet.

When you aren’t allowed to have fresh fruit or veggies and lettuce for a salad, your brain is very confused why you aren’t fueling it with healthier foods. 

I loved having berries with my oatmeal, and salads for lunch or with dinner.

When I was nauseous, the only foods that I could tolerate were Cheerios, pasta with olive oil and salt & pepper, and of course ice cream.

Some of you are probably thinking “oh, that’s SO rough, having to eat pasta and ice cream!”

One of the MANY weird things that happens to your body after a bone marrow transplant, is that your metabolism is heightened and you burn food quicker than you normally would. 

So on top of only eating maybe 1.5 meals a day and throwing up most of that, my body was burning through what I was feeding it much faster than normal. 

I could not feed or nourish my body enough.

I had to take Nutri-Boost, which is a protein shake, with most of my meals just to get some extra calories and protein.

The heightened metabolism lasts for 6 months to a year, so yes, I am out of that now. Or at least I think I’m definitely starting to get out of it.

I am happy to say that my appetite has definitely returned, my sweet tooth has returned, my strength is coming back!

Part 3: A natural & different type of detox

As I mentioned earlier in this post, I wasn’t allowed to wear deodorant for the first 100 days post transplant. I wasn’t allowed to use anything on my skin other than Dove Beauty Bar for soap/shampoo/face wash, and only CeraVe for lotion on my body and face.

I wasn’t allowed to use deodorant because post transplant, your armpits can darken in color(which mine did), and the doctors need to know if it was truly your body reacting to the transplant, or if it was something that was topically applied.

With that said, not wearing deodorant for 100 days(and much longer- by my choice – it was the winter months), your body naturally detoxes.

I very rarely wear deodorant now.
I don’t need it.

My body detoxed naturally so much, that even when I sweat, I still have no real need to put on deodorant. 

Another rule I had was no makeup. 

YUPP. NO MAKEUP. 

I love makeup. I used to wear makeup every day for work and dressing up. I always wore mascara. I wouldn’t leave the house without it.

When you lose your eyebrows and lashes FULLY, and aren’t even allowed to pencil in your eyebrows or *attempt* to put on fake lashes, 

First of all… you don’t recognize yourself for quite some time. Second, your face is so damn happy!! 

How many of you breakout from how much makeup you wear? Either from the makeup itself or from not cleaning your brushes enough(or ever – whoops). 

My skin glowed.
It thrived. 

Getting new cells from a bone marrow transplant didn’t hurt either lol. 

Since I wasn’t allowed to use deodorant, my normal skincare and shampoos, perfumes, etc, my body also detoxed from fragrance.

You’re probably thinking, huh?

Since I wasn’t allowed to use any products with any kind of scent or fragrance to it, my body detoxed fragrance.

On top of that, I started to notice that chemo and the bone marrow transplant had made me VERY sensitive to smells. 

So what does that mean…

I started to notice that I was getting headaches from my favorite candles. Yes, the Anthro Blue Volcano candle…

I couldn’t stand the smell of cleaning products.

I almost passed out from using a Mrs. Meyers cleaning spray. And that’s considered “clean”.

My old lotions that I loved? Their smells are too strong. 

My face would turn really red and hot when I would put something other than the CeraVe lotion on it. 

It has been quite a(sometimes painful) trial & error phase over the past year since transplant.

With those 3 ways of how my body has changed, I have started to do my own research and find out ways to not make my skin irritated or get a headache from scents. 

To help fuel my body from the inside out, and the outside in. 

What you put on your skin does in fact end up in your bloodstream.

Over the summer, I started to try “clean” products such as deodorant, sunscreen, and toothpaste. 

I say “clean” with quotation marks because there is something called “green-washing” where companies advertise products to be “clean” and “green”, and they can be almost as bad as regular products.

If you follow me on my personal Instagram account, over the summer you might have seen me trying on a dozen different sunscreens. I shared which deodorants and toothpastes I was trying that week.

I have only begun the journey of living a health(ier) lifestyle. I know I’m not the only one who wants to make some change in their life. 

What are some ways that you are trying to live a healthier lifestyle? Leave a comment below!