Transformation Update #1

It's Day 5 of my 112 day medically supervised liquid diet. And I have been following it to the letter, I haven't cheated once on it.

My cabinets are completely empty and my fridge is bare as well. I found it therapeutic to clean everything out. One of my goals during this time is to reframe my relationship with food and I'm looking at this time as a reset for my body, so it will be nice to add things to my shelves when it's time to start over. 

Confession: I did keep some canned tuna that isn't going to expire until 2021. I figured in case of an earthquake it would be good to keep some food on hand and when I reintroduce food, tuna isn't going to be a food I avoid. And I'm saving some champagne for Day 113.

I found that when Day 1 came, I was mentally ready to start. I thought I was physically ready but after decades of eating junk food and sugar daily, there's no preparing for that! I have a great support system with my friends & family and my coworkers have really helped me out (more on that later). I think my mom may have some unrealistic expectations with this program though, she mentioned me being able to go out and buy clothes from different stores. I don't think she realizes that I'm still going to be fat, I just won't be as fat. And yes, I say fat because fat doesn't mean ugly. I love my curves, I just want to be closer to 200 pounds than 300 pounds. And I have a lot of weight to lose right now.

So back to Day 1...I find that I'm eating constantly, so I haven't been hungry. It's a high protein diet and high protein seems to really fill me up (good to remember when I can eat real food again!). So being hungry isn't an issue. I had already stopped drinking soda a few days before and was cutting down my sugary drinks. I figured that would help.

The real issue that first day was the 10 glasses of water that I have to drink daily. If I don't hit that water goal, the high protein will work against me. But drinking 10 glasses of water when you aren't very good about drinking water means your bladder goes into overdrive. And as a teacher, I cannot leave my students unattended. Teacher Bladder is a real thing. We can hold it like no other. Which also means we are susceptible to urinary tract infections. 

But I couldn't hold it! I get 2 chances a day to use the facilities during a school day: recess and lunch but I needed MORE. So my coworkers stepped in and watched my class while I ran down the hall...multiple times a day. Some of my students commented on my having to use the bathroom a lot. I hope that balances out a bit more. I'm trying not to drink so much water during the day and guzzling it after school but I'm on a liquid diet, it's not gonna work like that. I think after this experience, I'll buy the ladies in the office flowers or something nice. 

And speaking of a liquid diet: it seems some bodies have difficulty adjusting to a liquid diet and might have tummy trouble. I am one of those people. I was sick the first day. I had a meeting after school at another site. I stood in the parking lot and said, "NOPE!" and then went home for the afternoon. 

Thankfully, my body adjusted to that aspect rather quickly, so every day felt better than the first.

And then Day 2 brought the sugar withdrawal. It started at the end of Day 1 but on Day 2 I woke up with a headache that stayed with me all day. My morning tea didn't help. I thought I was going through a caffeine withdrawal but the tea should have made a difference and it didn't. Plus, I've had caffeine headaches before and I didn't want to cry for no reason or totally lack any energy in the afternoon and evening. No, my friends, this was a sugar withdrawal. 

I also noticed I was feeling a little woozy or dizzy....when I was walking down the hall towards the end of the day, the office seemed to shift off it's foundation as I was heading towards it. But that felt kind of fun, like something almost pleasant so I figured I was fine.

By Day 3 I was feeling better headache wise, my energy was still kind of low (my body is learning to use the energy she's stored instead of what I put in her mouth) and I was thinking about food. Like really wanting food but not the food I normally eat, not McDonalds, chips, or candy but things I never eat: I really wanted a grilled ham & cheese sandwich. I couldn't stop thinking about it, that if I ate that sandwich, all the happiness in the world could be mine. And dear lord, I freaking miss Dr. Pepper!

My old habits tried to creep up, like I went to go eat something before I had to remind myself that's not what I'm eating that day. 

Day 3 was also the day I had tickets to see Hamilton that night. I was so worried about my new bathroom crazy bladder that I decided I would drink my water earlier, then stop drinking water a few hours before the show. And that worked! A little too well because after the show, I felt dehydrated and all I wanted to do was to drink water, gallons and gallons of water. And I had a headache that went away as soon as I drank the water. And all of this was weird because I had already drank my 10 glasses, so my body should have been fine. But whatever, I didn't miss a second of Hamilton and that's all that counts. (It was so incredible by the way!!! I loved it!)

Days 4 & 5 (today) have been uneventful. I'm not as active on the weekend, so I'm making sure to try to fit in some extra walking. I sprained my ankle at work last week, so I can't get in too much walking but I try here and there. I'm tired and my energy is still down but my body feels like it's normaling out. There's hardly any tummy issues now or headaches.

I can't take certain medications only Tylenol for pain but I haven't been taking any of that either. I feel like this is all something I have to push through.

One other thing I've noticed is that I've been colder than normal. Like I need to walk around with a comforter wrapped around me and I'm not used to that.

So is it working? I'm not supposed to be weighing in....but I totally am. Yes, it's working. I've been seeing the scale go down a little bit every day. I'll post my weight loss for the week at the end of Week 1 (technically, it's Week 2 on the program but we didn't get our food that first week) and let you know how it's going. I know I'll start seeing the benefits soon of simply increasing my water, so that's cool. 

So for now, I'm signing off.