Having a Gallbladder Sucks or Why I Will Never be on Man Vs. Food

Yesterday I ate potato chips. Have I mentioned that I hate potato chips? Not only are they fake, but they're high in calories and non-existent in nutrients. It was the first time I had more than a single serving of potato chips in over...5 months? I also had a piece of fried chicken (I can't even remember the last time I ate that), a serving of Ben and Jerry's vanilla ice cream, two candy canes, and six blueberry muffins. It's not even like I like muffins that much, or chips, and fried things make me want to gag. I'm fairly certain it's the most junk  food I've had in a singe sitting in over a year. I woke up and my stomach was hurting a big, ate an apple and a blueberry muffin and that was it.

Gallbladder attack. The first in over a year. I hate American food.

It started out like heart burn, but the pain spread out into my back and crawled down my spine. I noticed my stomach was swollen as well and I couldn't see any definition (I may not be a skinny chick but I can probably kick your butt in the Captain's Chair). As the pain went my sides and stomach started to swell more and my intestines hurt. It didn't start like the last gallbladder attack I had (or it may have but I was asleep). Luckily I'm staying at my mother's house today with my sister and she had some gallbladder meds. I took them right away and only had to deal with about 15 minutes of that pain that freezes your spine and turns your breath into short little pants.

Now, I'm in fairly good shape. I usually eat very very well. My family considers me a food and exercise example (my brother might be more of an exercise example but he eats what he wants when he wants, and doesn't have a bad gallbladder).

Why haven't you gotten yours out?" You might ask. Well, firstly my sister got hers out and she has explosive diarrhea every time she eats anything with fat. I like not pooping all over myself, thanks. Also, I don't normally have problems with my gallbladder and considering the stressers from this week I think they contributed to it significantly. Third, do you have the money to get my gallbladder out? Because I'm a girl without a job and that means any insurance I technically have is only there because I haven't tried to use it. But, hey, you want to drop some $5000 dollars for me to get that pesky gallbladder out? Feel free.

Anyway, after that I went to sleep and woke up with a migraine. The light's felt like strobe lights or spot lights or something really harsh and blinding and I was crazy dizzy. I went back to sleep; it was the only reasonable thing to do when my stomach, while not feeling like it was about to spill open and drop my bleeding guts on the floor, still hurt. Now I'm alright, but tender, and my spine feels like the joints are stiff.

So, I see this as a wake up call. I need to drop back down to my 1300 calories a day thing, because I can't do 1500, it ends up being 1800 or 2000 (or like yesterday, gosh, 2000+, ick)

Yep, and that's why I'll never be on Man Vs. Food. Oh, but what fun would that be.

Hooha Health: or Eat for your Vagina

Until recently I never knew that our girly bits needed nutrients too. I mean, how would I? No one talks about it. It's private. And private means no one talks. So, how would I know? 

In addition I'm a virgin, which clearly excludes me from most conversations centered around the nethers. I was under the distinct impression that my vajayjay was supposed to be in stasis until "used". Like the hymen as a zip-lock seal. So, every time I got a yeast infection or felt uncomfortable down there it would send me into a spiral of confused panic. How could this happen? I'm a virgin. Virgins don't have vagina problems. Sex makes vagina problems. I don't have sex! I was also concerned that there was something deficient about me. Apparently, naturally and without information, a virgin is expected to know how to take care of and keep up her vagina, but I didn't. I was really afraid I might have accidentally ruined it, or broken it, and then when it came time to use it it wouldn't work, like a machine that rusted because you didn't care for it properly. An episode of Private Practice where a virgin gets married but basically she broke her vagina by having untreated infections and has to get horrible painful shots before she can have sex did not help my fear.

Unfortunately I've had itchiness down there almost non-stop since my period started when I was, oh, about 12 years old. 

Lately, mostly since the Korean health insurance I had decided to label a yeast infection as an STD I've been particularly paranoid.  

I finally came to the conclusion that I get some kind of nonspecific vaginitis, and/or I'm super sensitive down there, since yeast infection meds didn't seem to be working. Heck, I could be wrong, but who's going to tell me? Not you. Of course not you. And since we're on the subject of things not specified, what is a "fish odor" that is supposed to be the indicator of an infection? There are a lot of different fish and they smell differently. Raw fish or cooked? Shellfish or vertebrates? Fried or grilled? What if it smells kind of coppery or just strongly? And the three times I've been to the GYN they didn't really have anything to say. Though, granted, I was terrified, and fairly traumatized by the whole experience (really, years of "only the man you marry should touch you there, you shouldn't even masturbate or take too much fun in washing yourself," and I'm supposed to be okay with someone feeling around, painfully, inside my lady parts?), so maybe they thought I was exaggerating. 

In my research (because I'm good at researching, it's something I do) I ran across this website: Beautiful Cervix Project 

image from Beautiful Cervix Project. Go look at their site

I was very impressed. I'd never seen that before and even in all my thinking and over-thinking I'd never thought that systematically or in depth about that part of my body. 

My gosh, I was even in the Vagina Monologues and we never discussed anything like this (frankly, the vagina monologues could be summed up in "period, period, vagina, touchy, rape, sex, vagina, vagina, vagina, ha." Not a lot of in depth helpful info in it). I didn't realize that it was ok for the look/color/texture of what came out of me to change. When it did I always worried there was something wrong. They didn't cover this in sex ed. I can't remember them covering much of anything in sex-ed.

poster from the Vagina Monologues. No, no one gets nekkid.

After that it got the gears and cogs in my head turning. Maybe there was more to this than I thought. And, frankly, I didn't want to go to the GYN unless I thought I might be dying (you know, since going makes me want to die that would really be the only fitting time). 

I discovered that the vagina benefits from what you eat.

For example Apple Cider Vinegar and yogurt (it's not just your digestion that is helped). 

Folic acid can also help. 

As can eating garlic and drinking thyme tea, which both have antibiotic abilities. 

Also, eating probiotics especially for the vagina can help

As can vitamin E and Boric acid. 

Apparently tea tree oil can help too.

Since learning this I've started drinking a bit of apple cider vinegar every day as well as taking a folic acid dietary supplement, eating a half cup of plain yogurt, drinking thyme tea and rinsing my girly-bits with a diluted mixture of water and vinegar in the shower. 

My girly-parts have never felt better. 

Now, if only someone had told me this years ago. 

What I Should be Eating a.k.a. Food I Want Other People to Compliment Me On

Oh, come on. It's not like you don't think it, too.
You want to eat well in front of people because you want them to look at you and think wow, she has such discipline, such self control. Health and beauty are really a priority to her.

What? Just me? Ah, well... ^,~

So, my goal is to eat between 1,100 and 1,400 calories a day.
With 150 on the larger end for sweets or something. However, I'd rather eat perfect for 6 days and then eat whatever I want on the seventh.

Perhaps that's not very healthy but the way I logic it out is that the body can only absorb so many calories at a time, right? So, beer one day a week, those lovely cinnamon rolls one day a week, and ramen with cheese one day a week.

That being said, I'd like to start cutting the sweets even on the one day (the "one day" that's been, like, 21 days in a row at this point. Jeez). That's because I want to loose more belly fat (and back fat, I would like a sculpted back) and I've heard that sugar does not help that.

Actually, I've found that excess sugar makes work outs hard, and recovering from them harder. And, I get really thirsty after eating a bunch of sweets. I'm telling myself that's NOT pre-diabetes. Because, really, my cousins don't have it and their as big as me, or bigger, and my mother has been overweight for years and years more than me and she's not got diabetes, my father either.  So, yes, being paranoid. Being overweight for 4 years does not give you diabetes.

Back on track.

I'd like to eat about 300-400 calories in fruits and veggies.
About 200-300 in breads/grains
100-150 in dairy (a milk and a yogurt)
And the rest in protein (eggs and nuts and seeds).

I think that's the right amounts of each. We'll see. I know protein is neccessary, I just don't know how much. And I neeeeeeed carbs. I don't have a diet plan so I'm counting everything.

When I'm not being lazy I make a mean healthy veggie and egg drop soup. It's amazing.
It has chard and broccoli leaf and mustard leaf and spinach and onion and garlic and carrot and tomato and some other things I found at the grocery store and mushrooms and turmeric and cayenne and ginger and salt (and egg of course). It's amazing. I said that already. Well, it is.

I could eat that soup for breakfast and dinner every day. Especially if I could include a rye bread roll. Wow. That just makes it about 3 times more wonderful than it was before.

I eat a lot of fruit, to try to supplement my sweet tooth. And when I'm diligent enough to cut up carrots I eat them in place of crunchy things.

I have frozen fruit in my freezer so I can make smoothies in place of ice cream.
And I make my soup stocks mostly from scratch.

I try to add ginger and cayenne to everything I can. Drinks and foods, whatever.

I try to drink tea at least once a day.

And, my goal is a liter and a half of water a day.

Healthy Food a.k.a. Sweets How I Love You So

Detour: How the heck can I weigh six pounds more this morning than I did yesterday morning? Really? My body makes no sense. I would work out extra but my wise mind tells me that would only result in getting hurt and having to skip a work out later. So, I'm just going to pout. Stupid scale. I freaking HATE scales.

Me and food have a love hate relationship. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it. Food usually loves me all the time.

I usually manage to have a near-prefect diet for about two months in a row, and then I fall off the rails, eat junk food for a month, gain half the weight I lost back, and start again. I'm about 3 weeks into that "off the rails thing." My diet has been around 2000 calories every day for the last 10 days at least. Maybe I made it under one or two days. But that's bad. Bad. Bad. Bad.

Did I mention I'm a vegetarian?

Ok, so, for example, today I ate:

Oatmeal. 150 calories.

                     with

1 1/2 teaspoon ground almonds.

1/2 tablespoon flax seed.

1 tablespoon brown sugar.

a bit of ginger.

quite a bit of cinnemon.

2 drops of maple flavoring.

Tea with 1 teaspoon of honey in it. 30 calories

Sounds good, right? Right.

Then at lunch (5 hours, and lots of stomach growling later) I ate:

1 1/2 cups gluttonous rice. 254 calories.

Some kind of pepper kimchi. No idea of the calories (60?).

2 small pumpkin pancakes. Also, no idea of the calories (100?).

1 lite milk. I think it's 50 calories.

Yesterday I was too lazy to be bothered to do my dishes and cook today's lunch for myself.

Still sounding good? Now add:

1 package of strawberry chews. 175 calories

1 bag of potato chips. 300 Calories

Well, there went the calories I should have used for dinner. :-p And, lunch had no protien.

It's usually around this point that it all goes to heck and I end up working out and then coming home and eating 3 oranges 2 buttered breads an egg and a package of 500 calorie spicy ramen. Here's to hoping that won't happen today!

Coming next: What I should be eating a.k.a. Food I want other people to compliment me on

My Regular Work Out a.k.a. Procrastinating on other things

This is my regular work out. It lasts a minimum of 40 minutes and a max of 65.
I'm going to give you guys 2 here. The one I was doing before and the one I started recently.

First off; where I work out. There is a nice park about 3 blocks from my apartment complex. You can access it by a back rout past other apartments and I usually go that was as it's safer and a residential area. The other way is walking along the edge of a busy road with no side walks.

The park itself is pretty big. The track is probably 1/2 a mile but I can't be sure because it's kind of winding.
It has some out-door work out equipment. I use one that vaguely resembles a Captain's Chair machine to do Captain's chair leg lifts (like this), and another, which most people use for strait leg sit ups (:-p bad bad bad), to do some glut ham raises (like this).

However, the Captain's Chair thing is a new addition.

My work out used to be walking a lap and doing ten lunges and 60 jumps, then walking another lap, then running half a lap. I would do this for roughly 50-55 minutes. However; three things happened, that work out got easy, it wasn't yielding results anymore, and it got cold. The reason I point out the temperature is because if you're sweating and running 1/4 mile every ten minutes or so you're going to FREEZE when the temperature is breezy and 36 F.

I was pretty much avoiding the work out equipment because it's mostly elderly who use it and virtually no one uses the equipment optimally (or even somewhat correctly most of the time). Even I, who can't read fitness-Korean can look at the machine, follow the pictures, see what muscle groups are supposed to be targeted, and have a general understanding of how to correctly use the equipment. Apparently I am overly intelligent. The point behind this is simple, it annoys me to see people doing things wrong, I want to make them stop and show them how to do it right. But, most people do not take kindly to strangers, and particularly strangers who can't even speak the language well, telling them what to do. So, I just do what I have to and go.

Now my work outs have changed a bit with some advice from my cousin who is a trainer. I walk for 1/2 a lap and run for 1/3 of a lap, then I do a set of lunches and a set of the Captain's Chair leg lifts and jump 60 times. I do 10 front lunges, 10 backwards lunges, 10 stable-kicking lunges, and 15 side lunges (on each size).

Depending on whether or not I'm switching to the sides or just doing the strait ones I'll do 10-20 Captain's Chair leg lifts eat lap (I lift my knees, not my feet, I'm not trying to overwork those hip flexors after all).

On the lap that I do the hamstring exercise I don't do lunges, instead I jump 120 times.

I do this until my workout is finished, though sometimes I'll walk the last lap.

This week I have also added the Plank Pose back in to my work out after I get back to my apartment. I do the basic plank pose for a minute and then the Side Plank on each side for 15 second intervals (because I can't really do more than that) until I make 45 seconds.

I also do the bicycle ab exercise thing...sometimes. With the old work out I was doing it a lot, but then I started doing the Captain's Chair and stopped. Now I've added it back in but I'm still feeling around in regards to ab strength so I can't say how many I will do regularly. I did a bunch on Sunday but only 10 today.

I was in yoga my first 5 or 6 months back in South Korea this time so I also do some of the yoga moves, particularly for areas where I'm feeling stiff.

Yoga was nice, and I got very flexible, but it didn't seem to have much effect on my weight. However, it did the beginning work that was needed to prepare me for the real work outs I do now.

My goal is to be able to do 20 side lunges, and 15 of the other lunges in their turn. I also want to do at least 120 jumps every lap. I want to be able to go all the way down on the glut-ham raises (which I can only do once at this point) and I want that 1/3 lap to be sprinted, not ran (and I'd like to be sprinting 1/2 lap at some point, maybe as it warms up). I want it to be easy as well. I want to feel worked but not gasping after said goal work out.

Next up: fitness in food a.k.a. Sweets, why do I love you so?

The First Post. a.k.a. My Excercise History

Isn't it a little intimidating? You know, that first post in a blog. That thing that so many people will probably read. That is, until you've written so much that no one is ever going to read all that.
Ah, well, I've simultaneously managed to make myself feel better and worse.
A little about my fitness history:

• I joined a swim team when I was 13. It was the first team sport I participated in. I did alright. I got swim ear a lot. I was embarrassed about wearing a speedo, but not as embarrassed as seeing my brother in one, too. There was a boy on the team I had a crush on. I cannot remember his name. I think he may have reminded me of J.T.T.
• I joined my high school's tennis team my freshmen year. I played tennis every year for four years. I didn't really improve much. 
• I joined a soccer team when I was a junior in high school. Honestly, I hated it. My coach was mean and I sucked at running. I wasn't very coordinated either. I felt like getting stuck as the stopper was like being put in left field.
• I participated in weight lifting my senior year of high school. I took to that much better. It turns out that I am more than capable of lifting weights and I build muscle pretty fast for a girl. I had a trainer. I worked out around the football players. I felt like a real human being with a real skill. My trainer suggested that I could do weight lifting competitively. I turned it down because I didn't want boys to think I was a lesbian. 
• I joined the rowing team (aka. Crew). I loved that. I was ok at it. Not the best, but not the worst. However, I felt like I was part of something and good at something. I did that for a year and a half. Quit because of my boyfriend, said it was because of school. I broke up with the boyfriend four months later but was too embarrassed about quitting to ever rejoin.
• Took Tia Chi for a year.
• Then I gained too much weight. At this point I had put on some weight between my junior and senior year of high school (probably due to stopping Ritalin and starting depression meds), I lost most of that on crew. Gained a little back during Tia Chi. Gained that back and THEN some after Tia Chi.
• I didn't really work out for a while after that.
• I started going to the gym my senior year of college. Got in shape but didn't loose any weight. 
• My second senior year I started playing DDR every evening with a very overweight friend in order to encourage her to loose weight. She lost some weight. I didn't.
• I was 200 lbs at this point (Up from 160 in high school). Went to a nutritionist the Summer after my second senior year. I didn't have much money and could only afford her for half an hour. She told me my fat was disgusting, I was eating too much, I needed to loose something like 12 inches off my waist, and that I was going to kill myself from diabetes very soon if I didn't change my life (I'm 5'5 3/4" by the way). I was terrified and felt like a horrible, ugly, disgusting person who should probably be euthanized. I followed her diet for about 2 months, lost about 16 pounds, couldn't maintain it, and gained it all back. I also spent the next two years terrified that everyone who saw thought I was disgusting.
• Later I moved to South Korea and started hiking and working out regularly. I was really isolated so working out pretty much became my life. I didn't eat very well but I was working out about 2 hours a day. I went from 205 lbs to 163 in a year. I also lost 4 dress sizes.
• I went back to the States and put back on 25 pounds.
• I came back to Korea. There aren't any mountains in my back yard this time and I'm less isolated but I have tried to be healthier. I'm much more aware of my diet since I can't do a hardcore exercise like hiking every other day. I came and I was reaching toward 190. I'm now 171 on a good day and 173 on most days. I have 3 and a half months until I return to the States. I want to loose at least 20 pounds by then, 25 would be ideal. I must loose at least 14.
• I am 26 and turn 27 in 3 weeks.

So, that's my weight and health history there.

Other things that might use mentioning:

• I'm an English teacher.
• My family has a history of type 2 diabetes in their elderly years.
• I have a bad gallbladder, as does apparently everyone else in my family.
• I used to be a self-injurer, but I haven't been for 3 and a half years. That being said, because of my history psychological health is just as important to me as physical health.
• I live by myself (so no one to sabotage diets, and no one to work out with consistently).
• I work out at a local park, not a gym, and in my apartment.
• I don't own a car so I usually ride my bicycle to work.

Yeah, I think that's about it. So ends the first post and the history of my health.