I got a little cocky last week. It's easy enough to do; I am one of the lucky ones who doesn't have any food sensitivities, who able to eat pretty much anything she wants. Chinese food, chicken, eggs, all dairy products...name something that someone you know wasn't able to eat and I probably can.
But I got cocky last week, and I paid for it. See, I don't dump on sugar the way most people do; I don't get the racing heartbeat or the cramping or the headache or the passing out thing. I've had sugar in bites of dessert since I've started eating regular food; the most that ever happened was a little bit of light-headedness. It was enough to remind me to stop after 3 bites, but not enough to make me really sick. Perfect, right? Instant portion control! Really though, fatty food is what makes me more sick...instant nausea if I eat anything too greasy, to the point where I need to lay down for awhile.
So one Sunday night we went out to Applebee's before heading to the bowling alley, where I ate a very tasty salad filled with chicken and spinach and apples and blueberries and strawberries and blue cheese. And then the three of us (me, my husband and our bowling teammate) decided to each order one of their "shooter" desserts. Figured it would be perfect for someone like me; small, just a few bites of something sweet. I ate about half of it (a chocolate mousse one that was quite tasty), then shoved it away from me.
Ten minutes later, I was in the bathroom. And 10 minutes later I was there again. And when we got to the bowling alley for our league night, I dashed off for the third time. But I wasn't done yet! One more trip, and then I was as empty as I could possibly be. Seriously, it was flashbacks to my first month home...I was actually daydreaming of being constipated by the end of it.
It was a Lesson Learned, I'll tell you what. The dessert followed on the heels of a salad filled with fruit. Fruit which is loaded with natural sugars. That plus the refined sugar in the dessert combined to be Too Much. And I'll tell you what, I will not be eating that much sugar again for a very long time, if ever.
But it was a lesson I had to learn for myself. Kevin probably could have told me that I might not want to eat it, but he kept his mouth shut and for that, I'm grateful. (He did say he would remind me of that night the next time I have a sweets craving.) This whole journey is a series of lessons that I have to learn for myself, no matter how uncomfortable they might be. I'll tell you what, I don't want to spend another night running back and forth to the bathroom while my body empties itself out in an attempt to get rid of the sugar.
I told Kevin later that this year, during the holidays, I want to use my sensitivity to sugars (which cause bathroom issues) and carbs (which make me sleepy enough to almost pass out if I eat too many) and fat (which makes me nauseous). I want to use them to make moderation a habit rather than a chore. Life without an occasional indulgence is not what I'm going for. What I'm going for is life without uncontrolled binges. Two bite-sized brownies is okay. Scarfing down 4 or 5 full sized brownies for breakfast is not. As long as I remember that, I'll be okay.
(And I won't be in the bathroom for hours either. Awesome!)
But I got cocky last week, and I paid for it. See, I don't dump on sugar the way most people do; I don't get the racing heartbeat or the cramping or the headache or the passing out thing. I've had sugar in bites of dessert since I've started eating regular food; the most that ever happened was a little bit of light-headedness. It was enough to remind me to stop after 3 bites, but not enough to make me really sick. Perfect, right? Instant portion control! Really though, fatty food is what makes me more sick...instant nausea if I eat anything too greasy, to the point where I need to lay down for awhile.
So one Sunday night we went out to Applebee's before heading to the bowling alley, where I ate a very tasty salad filled with chicken and spinach and apples and blueberries and strawberries and blue cheese. And then the three of us (me, my husband and our bowling teammate) decided to each order one of their "shooter" desserts. Figured it would be perfect for someone like me; small, just a few bites of something sweet. I ate about half of it (a chocolate mousse one that was quite tasty), then shoved it away from me.
Ten minutes later, I was in the bathroom. And 10 minutes later I was there again. And when we got to the bowling alley for our league night, I dashed off for the third time. But I wasn't done yet! One more trip, and then I was as empty as I could possibly be. Seriously, it was flashbacks to my first month home...I was actually daydreaming of being constipated by the end of it.
It was a Lesson Learned, I'll tell you what. The dessert followed on the heels of a salad filled with fruit. Fruit which is loaded with natural sugars. That plus the refined sugar in the dessert combined to be Too Much. And I'll tell you what, I will not be eating that much sugar again for a very long time, if ever.
But it was a lesson I had to learn for myself. Kevin probably could have told me that I might not want to eat it, but he kept his mouth shut and for that, I'm grateful. (He did say he would remind me of that night the next time I have a sweets craving.) This whole journey is a series of lessons that I have to learn for myself, no matter how uncomfortable they might be. I'll tell you what, I don't want to spend another night running back and forth to the bathroom while my body empties itself out in an attempt to get rid of the sugar.
I told Kevin later that this year, during the holidays, I want to use my sensitivity to sugars (which cause bathroom issues) and carbs (which make me sleepy enough to almost pass out if I eat too many) and fat (which makes me nauseous). I want to use them to make moderation a habit rather than a chore. Life without an occasional indulgence is not what I'm going for. What I'm going for is life without uncontrolled binges. Two bite-sized brownies is okay. Scarfing down 4 or 5 full sized brownies for breakfast is not. As long as I remember that, I'll be okay.
(And I won't be in the bathroom for hours either. Awesome!)
1 Comments:
I'm pretty much like you. Since my surgery, I've only had one incident and it was strange. It was the morning of the Tour de Pink, and I wa riding in it. One of the first soft-foods I ate was cream of wheat. I always made it with something called Mootopia (low suger, high protein milk. I drink nonfat lattes all the time, so since I had run out of Mootopia, I would just use skim milk in my cream of wheat.
Ho-ly-shit.
It made me vomit (the first time since my surgery), gave me the sweats and just felt all around crappy. I couldn't believe it. It was the combo of the carbs from the milk and the carbs from the sugar.
We live and learn!
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