Revelations

Ok, I'm a slacker. Focused, dedicated, hard-working...but still a slacker. My intention was to post every few days and keep tabs on my attempts at turning my life around. But I found it hard to find time to post, even though it only takes a few minutes. But I haven't given up! I've just not been sharing it with anyone.

Last time, I was talking about tea and how it helped me realize soda was dulling my brain and giving me stomach issues galore. I also realized during that 2-week period that I eat fairly well while traveling, but I eat like crap while at home. I've got to work on that.

When I'm traveling, I'm more focused on what I'm doing instead of what I'm eating. Everything I do is fun. When I'm home, I'm more focused on what I should be doing. Everything I do is work. While traveling, I eat local foods and try to keep portions small so I don't feel ill. While home, I go for hours without eating and then gorge on huge portions quickly so I can get back to work faster. It doesn't matter if I feel ill because I don't need to move. There's a lesson here...I need to add more fun to my home life. Guess that'll be another 2-week goal!

For now, I have a few in the hopper, so I'll finish up my tea experiment and move on. At the end of Day 14, I had a net gain of .5 pounds. Although this is in the wrong direction, I also experienced less stomach pain, bloating, fatigue, mood swings, brain fog, bad breath, tooth scum (is there a word for that?), fuzzy tongue, and headaches. The verdict? Keep drinking tea and avoid soda like the plague.

Experiment #1 Grade: A

On to experiment #2. I was going to do Chinese herbs as my second test, but I think adhering to my Western medicine regimen is more important at the moment. I despise taking pills, so I don't. Unfortunately, all of my medications are designed for long-term results. Every time I stop taking them, I screw up my progress and it takes longer for me to see any change. The challenge here is to figure out how to convince myself to take my pills daily even though there is no obvious benefit. Hmmmm...

For reference, my drug cocktail consists of:

• 200 mg Spironolactone - this horrible tasting pill does wonders for my blood pressure and has an incredible side effect of reducing hirsutism in women. But it takes 6 months to show results, and it makes me dizzy.
• 2000 mg Metformin - these horse pills supposedly keep my blood sugar levels in check, resulting in fewer cravings and providing a slight hope for weight loss. It also makes me feel quite ill.
• 25 mg Hydrochlorothiazide (holy crap, that's a big word!) - this little guy does a great job getting rid of the pitting edema in my legs (that's the fun water retention that allows you to mold your skin like clay...at least temporarily). This is the only instant gratification pill in my whole collection. Unfortunately, it makes me dizzy and sometimes I break out in a rash from sun exposure.
• 300-600 mg Gabapentin - these capsules help relieve my Restless Leg Syndrome, helping me get at least 5 hours of good sleep per night. Studies have shown a link between sleep deprivation and obesity, so maybe lack of sleep has been contributing to my problem. The problem? It makes me very nauseous within 20 minutes of taking it, so I can't take it until I am in bed. If I wait too long, I can't fall asleep. Go figure.
• 1 tab Femcon - regulates my hormone levels so my husband doesn't leave me. Probably the most useful pill I take. :)

And don't forget the handy-dandy multivitamin! That's a must-have, since some of these medications leach stuff out of my system. Seems like a pretty crappy way to live, taking all these pills every day. Which is why I don't take them. But without them, I'm in pretty crappy shape.

So, long story very, very short: I vow to take my pills religiously for 2 weeks. I almost succeed, and in that time, my weight drops .5 pounds. A step in the right direction, and I am now right back to where I started from when I began this blog. Fabulous.

Verdict? Keep taking the damn pills and hoping for a .5 pound loss every 2 weeks. Maybe with prolonged use, they really will start to work. (Something to keep in mind: the only time I successfully lost more than 5 pounds and kept it off for more than a week was while taking Metformin, Femcon, and Spironolactone on a daily basis. I lost 40 pounds and kept it off for a year.)

Experiment #2 Grade: B-

Coming up: The Chinese Herbalist