This is going to be about the trials and tribulations of being in medical school, and losing weight.
So what's with the title of the post and blog? Well, 2 years ago to the day, my life changed. At 10 pm on February 2, 2009, I got my acceptance letter to med school. Oh, did I mention that I love this day? It's my favourite non-holiday. And that was rambling.
Albert Einstein once said "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". I've tried this before. Lose 20 pounds, gain it back (and then some). Over and over, like a crazy person, expecting different results.
So what's different? Well, now I know more (thank you med school for telling me I have cirrhosis [or at least will in the near future] and NASH/NAFLD). As I learn things that are medically relevant, I'll post here.
Example 1: you know how they always say you need to lose weight slowly? Well, it's true. Why? I don't know all the specifics. I think part of it is the fact that if you do it slowly, it's probably a method that you can adopt into your life as a "lifestyle change". It's not a fad, it's a new way of living. I do know that losing weight too quickly can predispose you to gallstones (and thus, cancer [PS, gallbladder cancer is one of the worst GI cancers you can get - second only to pancreatic cancer]). While you've been eating a lot, and we both know the food was probably tasty b/c of all the fat and salt in it, your gallbladder has gotten used to the routine. Your GB and pancreas talk and decide to release bile and relax sphincters (muscles) so it can get into your GI tract. If you suddenly lose a lot of weight, your gallbladder can get confused and start spazzing out. The sphincter may start to become spastic (won't relax) so bile backs up. As it backs up more and more, stuff in there starts to get packed tighter, and stones can form. Because stuff stops moving and stones stay in there, you're putting yourself at risk for cancer. So, word to the wise - lose weight at 2 lbs a week. Your gallbladder will thank you.
Also, here's a point of irony. Physicians, the people who are trained to help you be healthy, are some of the least healthy people you'll know. The horrible hours (80+ hr work weeks) and stress all lead to weight gain and increased incidence of suicide.
I'm 28 and in my second semester of my second year. If I don't get ahold of this situation now, who knows when I will.
I have a weight-loss buddy (and I'm helping her with a vice of her own). I have started to eat better. For example - I'm down to about 1.5 cans of diet soda/day. Today for lunch I had a sandwich, grapes, a small yogurt, and wasabi peas. Tonight for dinner I had the last two small slices of pizza, a whole grain blueberry waffle with apple butter for dessert (along with two squares of dark chocolate). A couple of months ago I would have eaten the whole bar of chocolate, now I'm better with self control.
So here's to a little less insanity in this crazy world.
But if you'd also like to follow a friend of mine, click the link below.
http://dieharddieting.wordpress.com/
Thanks for the props. :-)
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