And Then Two Things Happened...

Ok in my previous post I talked about getting off track. Well today I will explain how I am back on track.

Two things happened:


First...
Since my trip to Nova Scotia I had not been making myself very accountable, I hadn't been as religious in writing down my meals, and I had been constantly saying to myself that I would get more strict with my eating "tomorrow".  I was also struggling with the whole concept of being on a diet, when so much research suggests that diets are not effective in the long term. I knew that I was heading for trouble in terms of reaching my goals if I didn't figure things out. I also knew that whatever happens, the fact still remains that I have more weight to lose if I want to be in the healthy range for weight. So I reached out to someone and said, "Hey, I'm not doing good right now, please give me some advice".  This person provided me with some tips on what has worked for them, and gave me a whackload of encouragement. This person reminded me that I am not alone and that it is possible to reach my goals.

Second...
The next day was my 30th birthday and I allowed myself to have some treats, but in the end it added up to a lot of stuff that my body just hasn't been used to lately. Let's see....my husband made me chocolate chip pancakes, oranges, and bacon for breakfast. I had hot chocolate that afternoon. My husband ordered some cupcakes from the bakery which I gladly sampled (just so you know my husband never sabotages my diet, he was just trying to spoil me for a day and I happily accepted). We went out for dinner that night and had filet mignon with pasta, garlic bread, and cheesecake. The next day I vowed to get back into the habit of things and did really good until after dinner I caved and had some chocolate before bed. Needless to say, my body had clearly had an overload of rich foods that it just wasn't used to!

That night I woke up with extreme pains in my back and abdomen. It was worse than having a contraction during childbirth! And on top of it I couldn't breath through the pain like being in labour - It was hard to breath at all. My husband knew that he was not going to get me in the car to the hospital and so an ambulance came and brought me to the hospital. The verdict when the doctor checked me out - they think it was my gall bladder. I still have to do an ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis, but after some googling I am convinced that I had a gall bladder attack. Basically, your gall bladder is a pear shaped organ near your liver which is responsible for storing bile that digests fat in your body.  If the liver is overloaded with toxins and saturated fats, the bile (which carries toxins and fats) will eventually inflame the gallbladder. When enough cholesterol deposits (from saturated fats) have formed, they crystallize with the bile to form gallstones.

Things I read about gall bladder disease on the internet:
-factors linked to gall bladder disease include: family history, obesity, rapid weight loss, and pregnancy hormones
-if you want to avoid gall bladder attacks cut out certain foods that are high in saturated fat or have surgery to have your gall bladder removed

Can I just say that having a gall bladder attack was horrible and I don't ever want it to happen again? These are the exact type of health problems I said that I did not want to end up with. You remember me talking about always feeling hungry? Well I think it was my gall bladder acting up, I just didn't realize it at the time and I interpreted the abdominal discomfort as hunger. The point is, my body has clearly been talking to me. Would this have happened if I was never overweight and if I never had to lose so much weight after my pregnancy (I was 50 lbs heavier during my last week of pregnancy than I am today). Who knows, but it doesn't really matter because this is enough to keep me focused. It only takes one health scare for this girl to get it. The short term pleasure of eating a piece of cheesecake no longer appeals to me in comparison to what I experienced. Christmas parties are happening all over, there is going to be a lot of junk food up in my face, but I am up for the challenge.