Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Not eating is as bad as eating
Dear Food Diary,
I left the house with good intentions yesterday. I packed a salad with good-for-you dressing and everything. I went to my first appointment, which took longer than anticipated, and then headed for the second thing on my list, a pit stop at Staples for office supplies. While there, I could tell I was getting hungry, having run out of the door with half-a-cup of tea and a slice of low-carb meatloaf in me. So I bought a six-pack of green tea, sweetened with Sucralose, and drank one of those en route to my third stop.
I got to my client’s office just before lunch time, and he offered to discuss business over lunch, but we needed to look at stuff online, so I declined. He ate his sandwich at some point, but I had left my salad in the car and didn’t want to go back for it because we would run short of time to get our work done. As it was, I was wrapping up instructions as I ran out the door to my next appointment. I had a handful of almonds, which I always keep in the trunk. It’s important that I keep them in the trunk, so I don’t keep eating and eating them. I take out six or eight at a time, which is all you’re supposed to need. Hah! It’s good for the crunch factor, but really doesn’t do anything on the hunger side. I could feel my gut clenching as I got to the coffee shop for my next appointment, which was a networking chat with someone I really liked doing business with last year, and wanted to stay connected to. So I ordered a soy latte, and felt myself getting a little nauseous and very thirsty. I asked for water, but got a 6-oz glass, hardly enough to quench my thirst. So back into the car and another green tea into me as I raced off to my fourth stop of the day: the gym.
After a quick calculation, I realized that I should eat something before I started working out, so I took my fat burner and alpha lipoic acid - in retrospect, that was probably not such a good idea to do that on such an empty stomach - and sat at the bus stop outside the gym to eat my salad. About half-way through the salad, I got impatient and just went into the gym to get changed and do at least some of my cardio before my trainer got there. I could tell that the food hadn’t metabolized yet because, despite eating eight green grapes after the salad, I could barely lift some of the weights. That’s not like me. I’m usually gung ho and ready to push myself. As well, dear diary, there was some neanderthal type there, muscular guy with heavy accent, who was obviously not pleased that a mere short, overweight woman was messing up his equipment by changing the weights. He would throw the padding off the Smith machine and onto the floor, and get that look on his face that I recognize on guys who have a strong misogynist streak. To contain my need for revenge, I had to imagine myself pulling weights that ended with him walking by as I pulled, and smacking him in the ribs. I have no patience for that, so why do these people put themselves in my path? Ick, ick, and triple ick.
Anyhow, after finishing off with another 20 minutes of cardio, I headed for the car, still feeling nauseous, perhaps even more so, despite having drunk a litre of water with protein powder mixed in. Another handful of almonds, this time not counting, so I probably had a dozen or so, and a nauseous drive home. When I got in the door, I couldn’t stand it any more, I was shaking and feeling quite icky by this time; I dove for something quick and easy. A roma tomato on matzah - I know, I know, why did I do that to myself? I’d been so good all day - and a half-hour later, a Lactaid followed by a piece of cheese on a cracker size piece of matzah. I stopped after that, and drank a bunch of tea and water to keep myself full. I also buried myself in work, though I couldn’t seem to stay focused. Facebook was about my speed last night.
Net result: down 2 lbs by this morning, so I lost the 1.5 lb of soy-related water and another half-pound. But I never want to do it by messing with my blood sugar like that again.