Weight Loss Experiment

Just a quick update…I gained 4 pounds (182) and up to 19.6% body fat after a potluck for our school that started at 4 and included pizza, beer, and corn chips.  My night ended at 3AM after watching a video with Sonya, and then “accidently” watching another movie (more guy like stuff) on my own (really, I was just going to see what it was like).  And you know what’s good with movies…yup…beer and chips.  I really challenged my indulgence antidote with a medium bag of Doritos.  Yes, the real thing, poison and all. 

Talk about an easy way to get in trouble.  That little bag of Doritos was the equivalent of 3 and a half beer, and it took about 15 minutes to down.  I did mention I have issues with indulgence right?  Thankfully, my favorite is beer, and it takes a good 20-30 minutes to drink a full beer (much better pacing).  Chips are a close second though…my lesson…15 minutes of chips isn’t worth 35 extra pushups (and 3 more metacrine, NAC, etc.)

That was Saturday, and we weighed in Sunday afternoon.  Today (Monday, February 25, 2013), I was down to 174.5 by lunch time.  That must be why scale watching is so frustrating.  I don’t care all that much what the scale says, but it is interesting.  176 on Friday…182 on Sunday…174.5 on Monday.  

I guess I overdid my antidote protocol on Saturday.  I bet it was around 12 total indulgence servings (equal to approximately 15 grams carbs, although the beer I drink is more like 18).  And I guess the extra weight on Sunday was swelling and water weight.  

I was pretty good on Sunday, with only 4 servings of bread as the only indulgences (oh, and a bit of ice cream cone), and kept the antidote at 6…water weight gone, and actually lost a pound and a half overall. 

Another lesson…if you look at the scale daily, you shouldn’t take it very seriously.  My ultimate measure will be how I feel and look in my “after” picture.  

Another interesting observation…when I get stressed out, I tend to get dry, irritated eyes, which feels like there is something in my eye.  My left eye was irritated and red all day Sunday, so much that I changed contacts.  It didn’t help, so I tested what would help, and got Skullcap.  (Whenever I say test, I mean muscle testing)  I didn’t have any at home, so I took two shots of Kava a couple hours apart, and tapped on my eyebrows corresponding to an acupressure point.  It worked well enough that I woke with almost no irritation, and my eye was fine all day.  I grabbed some skullcap on the way home to be sure though.  

Why would that happen?  Why would I be stressed out from a relaxing potluck followed by watching movies all night?  You could guess social anxiety, and that would be possible with me.  You could blame the evils of TV watching, and you’d have a point.  I think it was the sheer load of carbs over so many hours.  Carbs lead to blood sugar, which leads to insulin spikes, which leads to blood sugar crashes, and that burden lies directly on the adrenal glands.  When the cortisol production is challenged, the back up system is adrenaline…and dry, itchy, irritated, goopy eyes are a sign of adrenaline overload…at least that is my observation.  It has happened to me enough that I have been able to test out the theory, and it is always passion flower, skullcap, or lemon balm…all which work directly to soothe adrenaline.  

Maybe if I were more disciplined, I wouldn’t have to deal with these acute symptoms.  That will have to wait at least 3 more weeks to consider though, since I have committed myself to indulging during this weight loss experiment.