Losing a Buck Twenty Five: Reinventing the Wheel
Losing a Buck Twenty Five is a weekly column that will document Cinderella Undercover’s quest to lose 125 lbs. You may also keep track of her progress at http://www.weightitout.com
Reinventing the Wheel
by: Cinderella Undercover
Nearly two months after my initial meeting with my trainer, and after a month of working out with her, it is now time to fully solidify the other portion of the diet and exercise program—the diet.
Most people on a rigorous weight loss program have to stick to a low calorie, low fat, and balanced diet– which is hard enough with a busy schedule that leaves room for little else besides fast food—but add a few medical maladies and you have a daily struggle with food that seems hopeless.
Because I have a digestion disorder known as Candida, and a medical condition which causes hypoglycemia, I have to be more concerned with what I eat than the average dieter.
Candida is a digestion imbalance of the yeast and good bacteria that aid digestion in the stomach. Without a balance, the yeast infects the digestion tract and prevents absorption of nutrients; spills toxins into the blood stream infecting other organs; and causes the sufferer to gain weight and crave sugars and starches on which the yeast feeds. Candidais most often caused by prolonged use of antibiotics, or large consumption of foods which contain large portions of the Candida albicans—such as breads, wine, beer, and other fermented products.
At age six, I suffered from cold and allergy symptoms that were caused–unbeknownst to my pediatrician–by pinched nerves from scoliosis. I was put on a heavy regimen of antibiotics for two years, after which I gained weight immediately. I remained a chunky kid into puberty where it was discovered I had another medical condition that caused hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia—or insulin resistance– is a condition where the body produces too much insulin.
Insulin is produced by the body to eat any excess blood sugar that has not been burned by activity. With hypoglycemia too much insulin is produced and stores sugar as fat. The blood sugar—the gasoline of the human body engine– remains low, causing hunger and fatigue. Eating foods high in sugar on the glycemic index causes the insulin to be produced in greater quantity, overworking the pancreas and thereby making senile diabetes more likely. Hypoglycemia requires frequent meals—about every three hours–made of balanced proteins and carbohydrates to maintain healthy blood sugars that keep the body functioning properly.
So where does this leave me? As far as food is concerned, the diet seems a bit bleak. Because of the Candida I cannot eat any foods with wheat (gluten), yeast, sugar, or fermentation—this means no breads, no wine, no beer, no nuts (except almonds); and no inorganic vegetables or meats. Dairy and fruit, because of their sugar content, are also limited to one serving a day. Because of the hypoglycemia, I have to eat constantly! Who has time for all of this?!
Having to constantly think about what to eat, what not to eat, and when to eat is utterly exhausting! Why do I have to have such regimented diet when others can just cut some calories?! My love/hate relationship with food is so exhausting that sometimes, I just say: “Screw it! I will eat whatever I want!”
I realize, however, I cannot have this attitude at this stage of the game if I want to actually lose weight, keep it off, and live a long, healthy life. I have to embrace my freakish diet needs if I truly want to become a fit, healthy person with a healthy weight. Everyone has his or her own crosses to bear in life, and this is mine—and it could be a lot worse, I tell myself. But, there are many, many days when I lament having freakish maladies that make me less than “normal.”
One such day, I was vociferating my disdain for “being different” and having to follow a diet that wasn’t “normal” when my nutritionist stopped me. She reached into her attaché, and pulled out a laminated sheet with the picture of what looked like a caveman on it. On the opposite side it showed in a cartoon, the progression of man from his cave dwelling days on up to his days behind the computer with a fast food drink in hand. The progression of man showed how man has gotten distinctively fatter over time, and finally obese due to our diet and inactivity.
My nutritionist raised the picture to show me and said “You see this guy? Anything he had to eat, you can eat—anything he didn’t, you can’t.” Great—I was going to eat like a caveman. I pictured horrible feasts of virtually raw bison—and, for the record I hate beef, so its cousin didn’t sound so appealing either. I sighed with disdain.
She went on to explain that man’s digestion—nay, man’s whole body system—has not changed since his early days, about 10,000 years ago. We as humans are not made for processed foods, chemicals, and preservatives. We are made for meat, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. We are not made for dairy, and sugar, and alcohol. We are made for water, and lots of it. She also explained that the caveman worked all day physically and awoke with the sun’s rise and slept with its set.
I looked at her with disbelief and slight disgust. No cheese? No Diet Coke? No Grey Goose? I tried to convince her that early man did in fact ferment potatoes and grain to make vodka for martinis—she was disinclined to concur. How was I supposed to eat nuts and berries and meat and go to sleep at sundown?! I couldn’t—I can’t! Sigh. We compromised.
I am to get at least eight hours of sleep each night and must work out each day. I have to eat five, three hundred calorie meals a day, made of lean protein and green veggies—two of which also need to include a serving of legumes. I can have dairy, fruit, and a whole grain once a day. I can drink organic green tea, and water—and that’s it—alcohol very, very sparsely.
Although this diet seems limiting, cumbersome, and hefty, I am somewhat relieved to know that I am not the freak of nature I thought I was—just a victim of man’s ingenuity, convenience, and gluttony gone awry—for 10,000 years!
In this modern world of convenience and comfort foods, this diet will be difficult to maintain, but I look forward to looking and feeling as nature intended—and after all, I’m keeping in mind that I am not reinventing the wheel—just myself.
Losing a Buck Twenty Five: Just Another Day, Part II
Losing a Buck Twenty Five is a weekly column that will document Cinderella Undercover’s quest to lose 125 lbs. You may also keep track of her progress at http://www.weightitout.com
Just Another Day Part II: Cinderella Undercover Meets Her Trainer
by: Cinderella Undercover
So it was only a few hours away from my twenty ninth birthday, and even fewer hours away from meeting the person who would hopefully save me from myself—my personal trainer.
I was excited, nervous, and intimidated about this whole idea, so naturally, I ate everything in sight, and smoked a half of a pack of cigarettes. I anxiously wondered if she would be one of those pretentious fitness types—you know the type—the skinny ones who don’t need to wear any make-up at all and still look fabulous—those types.
I wondered if she was used to working with affluent clientele that wanted to keep their bodies geared up for their next action thriller; or poolside holiday; or party at P-Diddy’s; and would shudder at the thought of training a poor, working stiff like me.
I wondered if she was one of those judgmental fitness-fanatics who would lend credence to stereotypes and preconceived notions of /about fat people—you know the type–the buff “hottie” who looks scathingly at overweight people while glibly ruminating how all of the stigmas fat people have to combat could be eliminated if fat people were to just put the fork down—one of those fitness types—they’re at every gym, fitness facility, yoga retreat, spin class, karate dojo; Pilates center, or kickboxing boot camp. They really are.
Preconceived notions aside, I mostly wondered if this trainer—my new super heroine—could reverse twenty four years of fatness? (more…)