Here’s why I absolutely love Rachel Beller and why I’m so excited that her book, Eat to Lose, Eat to Win, is finally out. (It’s about time, Rachel!)
This is not just another diet book, and Rachel is not just another dietitian. Rachel is so much more. Her advice isn’t just for people trying to lose weight, it’s also for people like me who want to eat “defensively.” It’s life-changing advice—literally. And she actually makes it fun.
My story certainly didn’t begin in a fun way. Far from it. I can still hear the three words from my oncologist that completely altered my life: “You have cancer.”
When I heard that, I sat in disbelief. “But I’m super-fit. I’m only forty-two. I’m a good person.” At that moment I knew I’d never look at life the same way again.
That was February 2006. I had gone in for a routine mammogram, which showed some suspect calcifications. Those aren’t unusual for someone my age, so I was told to come back in six months. But my obstetrician urged me to have a needle biopsy right away, just to make sure the calcifications weren’t anything to worry about. The odds of it being cancer were only 5 percent, but the look on the face of my surgical oncologist, Dr. Kristi Funk, told me that my cancer was invasive.
The early days of my diagnosis are a strange kind of wash in my mind. I did what I always do when facing a challenge: I got down to fixing it. I met a recommended oncologist, Philomena McAndrew, and began schooling myself on cancer, as if it were a course I could master. I surrounded myself with friends and family, creating a fortress in which I could feel scared and sad and confused and exhausted. But mostly I felt profoundly changed. I was convinced that there must be a reason for my cancer, and that I needed to address the way I live, not only to beat it but to fortify my body for life.
Now I’ve long advocated bodywork, meditation, and the benefits of Eastern medicine, so in addition to my Western treatment of a lumpectomy and six weeks of radiation, I had regular acupuncture and drank the “stinky teas” from the Tao of Wellness in Santa Monica. But my most life-changing discovery came two weeks after I was diagnosed, when my oncologist introduced me to Rachel, who surprised me with something I had never really thought about: What you eat matters immensely. And what I had been eating couldn’t have been more wrong.
As I mentioned, I was very fit when I was diagnosed—I had just biked up Alpe d’Huez, one of the most famous climbs in the world. But since I had this impression of myself as healthy and invulnerable, I ate like a forty-year-old on the go, with most of my meals coming from hotel menus. That meant lots of pasta, club sandwiches, French fries, and Diet Coke. I didn’t think that what I ate had any effect other than feeding my hunger and keeping me going.
Then I met Rachel, just before beginning my course of radiation. The sight was unforgettable: She walked into my house with a big bag of food and an even bigger bag of information that would forever transform the way I looked at what I put into my body. She taught me the inside story of nutrition, food by food, brand by brand, one tip and trick at a time. Rachel stressed the importance of antioxidants, omega-3s, high-fiber food, cancer-fighting components in spices, and eating seasonally and organically. Her ideas were all new to me. Even more important, her upbeat energy was contagious. For the first time, I felt empowered, as if I could now take a proactive stance in beating my breast cancer—and in fighting its return.
Rachel and I met frequently, and each time she taught me something eye-opening about how to eat defensively. At the same time, she didn’t teach me anything crazy or extreme that would be hard to remember or follow. Everything made sense and seemed so easy. In fact, what makes Rachel’s words really sink in aren’t just the great ideas or her expertise—it’s the way she delivers her advice. She doesn’t lecture or go on and on about chemistry and biology. Instead, Rachel is all about getting real—we all live busy lives, so she keeps things easy, gets you into action doing what works, and teaches you not to wait to start living and feeling better. Even with her science and research background, she keeps it interesting and fun. That’s what really made me want to share this amazing knowledge with all my friends. In fact, one of the first things I did after meeting Rachel was organize a party so she could inspire all my friends the way she inspired me. Just as I predicted, they loved hearing from Rachel as much as I did—and as I still do.
That’s why I’m happy to see Rachel’s expertise featured in this book. It’s not just for cancer survivors—it’s for everyone who wants to look better and feel better. It contains surprising info that even a busy person like me can use every single day, whether I’m hanging out at home or on the road. I bet you’ll enjoy it too, and feel thoroughly empowered to take charge of your life. Even now, I can still hear Rachel’s upbeat voice, saying, “Sheryl, this is your winning formula!” It really is.
