Nov 8, 2007

a perfect storm

i am unbalanced.
more specifically, my intestines are unbalanced due to a host of reasons.
but one theme kept recurring: i just keep feeding the instability. with sugar.
refined sugar to be exact.

so we chatted today. me and my health counselor. here's what i love: she's pretty convinced that we can get rid of GI issues altogether if i can get back in balance. i've got seven pages of notes from our conversation & my head is still spinning from all i learned. if i am mistaken or have interpreted my notes wrong - i'll post a correction, but i think i got it. lets just say i am contributing to my own demise by half the shit that goes in my mouth by creating a bit of a toxic atmosphere that manifests itself in a general feeling of gassy, bloaty, poopiness - that sometimes may have absolutley nothing to do with whether or not i've had dairy, but quite possibly everything to do with the amount of refined sugar i ingest. and the fact that this feeling of gassybloatypoopiness is a total crap shoot (pardon the pun) and i never know when its' going to happen, i am sometimes downright afraid to eat when i need to eat most because god forbid the gassybloatypoopiness hits during a training run or worse, when you are trying to bq. there is no time for poopiness when going for a bq. i realize there wasn't time for that sidewalk/ambulance thing either, but hindsight is 20/20. but on that hindsight thing: the unbalanced state of my intestines, coupled with my glucose, electrolyte, potassium levels and heart rate quite likely became the perfect storm that knocked me down.

i'll say this -- i like to think i am a fairly smart, educated girl. i just like to think it, i didn't say it was true. i am absolutley amazed by all the factors that come into play and how certain things can just throw everything out of whack. some things that are so bloody obvious if you just put 2 and 2 together. and other things that had never even ocurred to me. never would have put it together. while amazing & fairly mind-boggling, it all makes perfect sense. i should have counted how many a-ha moments i had during our conversation. suffice it to say, a bunch.

so that's part one. getting back in balance. i have some homework for the next two weeks. homework that involves cutting out every ounce of refined sugar. and i am already floored by where all that shit's been hiding. eating whole foods. foods with ingredients that you can read. increasing my calories by specifically doubling up on my breakfast portions in the two days before my sunday long run and after a big dog run. cutting out wine. must add greens.

i love the specificity of it all. instead of just trying to figure out how to arbitrarily "increase the calories" and get to a certain number; the possibility of all that calorie counting struck me as a fairly excrutiating task. but to eat double of the one meal i do really well and am really proud of and do it on specific days? that i can do.

so we start there with the two weeks of homework. then we'll figure out on-the-run foods. because once my body is back in balance, i may be able to tolerate the things i once thought i couldn't. and being back in balance will ensure that the conditions for the perfect storm will never crop up again.

this is gonna be a trip.
but i think i am finally headed in the right direction.
am beyond excited.

7 comments:

RunToTheFinish said...

When I started to realize that I was eating too much sugar (actually in cookie form) I wondered if it was because sugar was invaiding the rest of my diet and I was amazed at what I saw in yogurt and granola bars and such. It was quite eye opening.

Did the nutrionist give you specific foods to eat? Or just genearl guidelines to follow?

zanne said...

eye opening indeed. its hiding everywhere!

no, she didn't give me specific foods to eat - (i was mistaken when i had thought that she'd present me with a food plan/diet to follow. she offers more guidance, counsel & education. its much more of a working together thing to find out what works best & less, "here's a menu - just follow it".

Nancy said...

Yeah. I love a good plan.

But...you're cutting out wine completely? What is she, a nazi? Just kidding. :D I'd go with half a glass. :D :D

Gotta Run..... said...

I am on the edge of my seat!!! the only part I found hard was NO WINE!!! :)

Really would love to know if she has a website I could go to. Maybe I should hit Barnes and Noble this weekend.

You really have me thinking!!

Laurel said...

Aaahhahaha!!! CRAP SHOOT!

Seriously, this is so great! Sounds like it's going to be a life-changing event. It's amazing the amount of junk we throw into our bodies.

Anonymous said...

oh, i think i am going to learn some stuff from you.

Vickie said...

Oh no! Give up wine! As hard as that may seem, there is a LOT of sugar in wine. Yeah, I did the cut out sugar thing a few years ago and am much better off for it. I used to have some serious problems on long runs, especially in the heat, until I learned what NOT to eat the day or two before. I rarely bonk now, but maybe that's because I'm so slow! But when you bonk on a swim, that's worrisome, so I had to get things under control. Hope things go well for you!