Thirsting for knowledge

Photo courtesy of lifeionizers.com

After years of not eating when I was hungry (dieting), and eating when I wasn't hungry (binging, stress-eating), I have come to the realization that I can't tell the difference between thirst and hunger. 


This sounds ludicrous to those who have never skewed their God-given  and well functioning appetite, but for the obese, it's a confusing and cloudy issue. 


Yesterday at school, I asked three thin and healthy people how they differentiated between thirst and hunger. Two of them asked me if I was joking. A third, who keeps an iron check on her weight and food intake, knew exactly what I meant. 


What it seemed to boil down to for them was to drink water first, then, if the feeling persisted, they then would eat. I, on the other hand, almost always turned to food first. The results? Obesity, and a kidney stone from Hades, since I was always dehydrated. 


These past 13 days have been interesting, with two protein drinks and one tiny low-carb meal a day. I have had to replace a lot of food with a lot of water, and I have noticed quite a difference. After years of a malfunctioning demon Lap-band that was thwarting my every weight-loss effort, not only was I usually dehydrated, but, as shown by my pre-op pre-albumin blood test, malnourished as well.


The fact that a person can be obese and malnourished was startling to me. Usually, jerks, cads, and family members, will be the first ones to say, "Just push away from the table!" They should say, rather, "Have a glass of water," or, "Eat more protein." Since my Band was keeping me from doing those two things, people around me were watching my weight go up, and up, and up.


My surgery has been moved up to Tuesday the 13th. I have to go quite awhile before I get to eat solid food. Have a helping of low-carb goodies for me during Christmas and New Year's. I'll post as I head in a new direction.


The Bionic Broad out.