Dietary Changes

It was the late 2016, or as this writer remembers it, the Season of Pain .  Seriously, it seemed like all this writer did was hurt.  He woke up, ate breakfast, took a shower, and hurt.  Then he went to work and hurt.  He when to his after-work fun spots and hurt.  Then he'd go home, eat dinner, and hurt.  Finally, he'd hit the shower, get in bed and hurt some more.  It seemed like all he did was hurt.

The pain was terrible.  Toothaches, coughing, legs wobbly like Jell-O, arms feeling anvils were in each hand, foot pain, and general lack of energy, among other things, sometimes all at once.  The pain would go away for a few days, then come back for a few weeks.  The intensity of the pain would change, but the fact that it was pain didn't change.  What's worse is that nothing seemed to help.

How bad did it get?  This writer asked himself, "Is this what it's going to be like for the rest of my life?  How long do I want to live if I have to keep going through this?"  That was the last straw.  This writer was going to do something about it.  But what?

This writer forgot what it was that made him think of it, but he asked, "Is it something I'm eating?"  After asking that, this writer looked at his dining history and noticed all these episodes of pain had one thing in common; pork.  Whenever this writer ate pork, he'd feel these pains.  During more prolonged stretches, this writer had eaten pork as many as three times a week.  Ribs, fried pork chops, baked pork chops, ham, and (sigh) bacon.  Pork was ate the center of this writer's diet and it was (he assumed at the time) killing him.  So the choice was either give up pork and live a happier life or continue eating it, live in pain, and question rather or not he wanted to live.  Needless to say, it was an easy choice.  This writer hasn't felt a sliver of pain since.

Bacon...how I miss thee.

Now, rewind back to 2012.  This writer loved Pringles.  He'd eat them almost everyday...until they made him want to vomit.  This writer said, "I have been eating these a lot lately.  Maybe I should give them up for a while."  So, this writer didn't eat a single Pringle for several months.  When he ate some after a long layoff, the same thing happened.  Goodbye, Pringles.

That thing resembling a head has a trick up his sleeve.

Jumping to 2013, this writer felt heavy and had a general lack of energy.  This writer didn't know why.  He did plenty of exercise and was at a healthy weight...or so he thought.  This writer checked the scale and realized he was almost 180 pounds (this writer is a small guy).  It was a news story that let this writer know that pop (or soda for those not in the Midwest) could make you fat.  So this writer gave up pop for a while and watched his energy go up and his weight go down.  Serious cutbacks here.

Avoid everyday drinking to keep your energy up and weight down.

For the fourth and final stop, let's go to 2014.  This writer had to stop eating Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  They were just too good.  It got to the where he ate 28 in one day.  Twenty-eight!  That was fine...until he realized exactly what was in a Reese's.  Honestly, they shook change the name to Reese's Crack and Heart Attack Cups.

These little things must have crack in them.

Yes, giving up foods you like can be BS, but ignoring your body when it speaks IS BS.  Like with this writer and pork.  His body was doing everything in its power to say, "Stop eating pork!  I don't like it anymore!"  The same thing with Pringles and pop.  His body was saying, "this stuff is slowing me down.  Stop eating it."

So, there you have it.  Don't ignore your body when it speaks.  Listen to it.  Don't make it yell or repeat itself.  When it comes to food, you don't need a doctor (though it's recommended) to tell you what your body already knows.  Study your eating history to weed out nuisances before they become big problems.

Until next time...