Sorting Body Image Issues After Breast Cancer [Podcast Ep. 23]

Breast cancer can dig up even old middle school insecurities about your body. Once diagnosed, breast cancer body image issues may sprout up overnight. That’s why we’re welcoming back Cathy Leman.

You may remember Cathy from our seventeenth episode about nutrition after breast cancer. Cathy is a registered dietitian who used to specialize in eating disorders, before shifting her focus to breast cancer. That’s why Cathy understands how pervasive body image is. As a breast cancer survivor herself, she also understands how this disease particularly can throw a woman for a loop.

Cathy draws on her skills as a fitness instructor, dietitian, and breast cancer risk reduction strategist to offer up some tips. She aims to give us skills to combat the body image problems that often go with a breast cancer diagnosis.

Cathy’s goal has always been to help women learn to feel comfortable in their own skin. In this episode, she discusses with us what it means to pursue a healthy lifestyle versus a specific weight. And while weight loss can be an invaluable weapon in the arsenal to reduce risk of cancer recurrence, it’s only a piece of a complete package. Healthy eating and exercise habits come first, regardless of our size.

Self-care is a popular buzzword lately. A lot of magazines lead women to believe that self-care means getting your nails done or having a bubble bath once in a while, but that isn’t the whole story. Cathy gives us an in-depth examination of what self-care of your body means and how good self-care can help you heal post-cancer.

Listen and subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher, or click the play button below.

What We Talked About

An introduction to Cathy and her myriad experience working one-on-one with patients and public speaking
What are some of the unique challenges breast cancer patients face when it comes to body image?
How can healthy habits and a well-rounded approach to overall health help with body image?
Comparing nutrition and fitness for a healthy life vs nutrition and fitness to be a certain weight
How exercise can be a place where you find strength rather than a necessary evil or a way to punish yourself for overeating
The psychological aspects of cancer recovery and how to channel your anger into something productive
What is self-care and how can we learn to be better at it?
How important it is to not put everyone else before yourself every single time

Links

DAM. MAD. About Breast Cancer – Cathy’s website
If You Harbor Body Hate and Body Love, Which Will You Feed? – A fantastic article from Cathy’s blog
Breast Cancer Nutrition 101: Beyond Turmeric & Green Tea – Cathy’s 3-product bundle

If you enjoyed this podcast, check out Cathy’s blog post 3 Questions When You Want to Get Your Body Back, and also her first podcast with us in episode 17. If negative self-talk is playing a role in breast cancer body image issues, go check out Kim Fredrickson’s post on how to be a good friend to yourself during breast cancer. Also, stay tuned because she’ll be appearing on our podcast soon!