Just When I Got It - I Got More

So, finally I thought I had it all figured out. My weight was okay (not great but tolerable). My joints didn't hurt, I exercised and things were going along fairly well even if my taste buds weren't always pleased. Then, I got more. I could have handled getting more of many things but weight was not on my list of acceptable things to have more of. It didn't matter what I thought - I got it anyway.

Now I understand the term "the battle of the bulge." This version is not referring to the awful battle in WWII, it is all about the awful battle that is raging between my skin and bones - the fat war. I think there should be a fat exterminator. Oh that's right - there is - it's called liposuction. Change of Topic: Do you know that it can take 8 - 10 weeks for swelling to go down following a liposuction procedure. That's 2 - 2.5 months! Heck, a person could gain back the amount that was sucked out in that time span. I checked out some "before and after" pictures on liposuction.com. Some of the before/afters were pretty impressive. Although, I did see one that looked better before and quite a few that didn't look much different after. That's a lot to go through for results that may or may not be noticed. Yikes!

I started thinking about liposuction after I started wondering if it would be possible to cut fat off my body. Now, I have an aversion to sharp metal objects puncturing my skin and forced fat removal always includes scalpels, needles and some weird vacuum cleaner thing. I'll stick to my guilt induced exercise (the exercise equipment is breathing a sigh of relief - they thought they were going to have to find new homes). So surgical removal of fat is out of the question.

I contemplated eating cessation. That lasted all of 10 hours. My problem is, I get hungry after going without food all day. I guess that's by design so we don't accidentally starve to death. I'm thinking that temporary anorexia has its benefits - but that didn't get any votes from my husband. So, now I needed to find low calorie, high protein, high in nutrition vegan food. Hmmmm... and only eat that....NOT. I can find a few things. Change of Topic: did you know that a serving of green beans is only 20 calories?! I was so excited when I found that out. Green beans are really a pretty good deal. You spend 20 calories and you get 0g fat, 4g carbs, 2g fiber, no sugar to speak of, 1g protein and some vitamins and minerals. Did I mention that these are unsalted green beans? The green beans began to lose some of their luster when I realized that I would have to eat 47 servings of unsalted green beans just to get enough protein for one day. That's only 940 calories, but it is also 11.75 cups of green beans! So, if I ate an entire #10 can of green beans (which holds 6 lbs 2 oz - 7 lbs 5 oz) I would consume enough protein. The downside is, I wouldn't get enough other nutrients and I would eat at least 6 lbs of food that day. I don't care if that's only 940 calories - 6 lbs is 6 lbs!

Now where was I? Oh yes - I remember. The food thing was just too convoluted, so I called a nutritionist. I am now working with a nutritionist to find out what I can eat, what I should eat and what I need to stay away from. She showed up with this scale that measures weight, hydration, and body fat. I don't know my weight because I made her promise not to tell me. She did tell me that my body fat was 5% below average for my age. I hate that "for my age" part. I am also a little dehydrated. The nutritionist is fascinating. She reviewed all the vitamins and supplements I take and suggested removing a couple and also added one or two. She gave me a book with my nutritional Rx in it. My first one is to make sure that the sodium level in the food I eat is below 15% of the daily requirement. I am also supposed to eat berries and "skin on" fruits. I keep a food journal that contains more than just what I ate. I have to write down my exercise, how I feel after eating, what my hunger level is 6 times a day and a couple of other things. This is interesting.

I've given up and asked for help from a professional. It's probably a much better idea than temporary anorexia, carving off fat, or living on water and popcorn. We shall see how this goes. At least I'm not making food rules based on, what my husband calls, distorted and obsessive thinking . Oh - and I did have to admit to the nutritionist that I am totally obsessed over my weight. She said that she appreciated that I wasn't hiding from the truth - hmmm...she had only known me for an hour and a half...what do you think that means????