Diet + Pills
Summer is rapidly approaching. This is the time of year where I start seriously considering the fact that I will be expected to be in a bathing suit in, oh, four weeks. That's a point for my mother, I guess. No matter what my weight, I've just sucked it up and put on the spandex unitard. Exposing my body to the elements and the public for six hours is actually LESS scary than interfering with my mother's beach plans. So there you go.
Still, just because it doesn't matter in the end doesn't mean I don't have some drive to lose some weight. My body, as usual, is one step ahead of me. It's time for my body's annual unprovoked pre-summer weight drop, and I'm happy to report I'm down about 7 pounds so far. Score. Hello there, pants that fit again.
I've tried a bunch of diets over the years. There was the crazy soup diet; while the soup was really good, by the third day of having it for every meal I would fling myself on the floor and writhe rather than touch it. South Beach and the 20/30 Fiber plan didn't do much. Two diets have worked well. The first was Atkins. Yes, I know. The first time I tried it, I felt great and lost weight like crazy. It ended up being too hard, especially since I switched onto Atkins from being a vegetarian. Yeah, that was s-m-r-t. I've tried it since then, but it's not the same. The other plan that worked was an easy thing suggested by the nutritionist at Smith. Eat whatever, but divide your plate into half fruits/veggies, 1/4 protein, and 1/4 carbs. Not too difficult, when your meals are served buffet-style.
I'm also thinking about my diet because I got some bloodwork back today. Tests taken last time at the new CRS doctor came back normal, apparently*. I see the dude in late June, and those results mean I should be able to start metformin at that time. They have to check liver/kidney functions first, because metformin can cause a potentially deadly LA LA LA LA LA LA.
According to the interweb, gastrointestinally speaking, that's when the fun ends. Part of metformin's charm is that fats and sugars have the tendency to pass through one's system like greased lightning. Eat too much of one or the other, and there may be hellacious consequences. Have just one extra cookie, and spend the next few hours bonding with the toilet. Of course it's supposed to get better after a few weeks, everyone is different, no two people are not on fire and all that. It's safe to say I'll have to make some adjustments to my diet. Just how much, though, I don't know. I refuse to eat salads.
* Yes, even the insulin/glucose tests came back normal...which makes total sense, given that the doctor wants to give me an insulin-sensitizer whose only approved use is type 2 diabetes, right? Eh, he told me last time, those tests are stupid. The only way to get a "real" picture would be to admit you to the hospital and draw blood every hour for 24 hours. I could do that, but I'm not going to. Chances are this drug will help you, even if everything's normal, so let's just give it to you.