Dear Followers/Stalkers/Friends/Mom,
I don’t usually do the whole selfie thing, but I’m feeling pretty proud of myself lately. I’ve given up coffee, diet coke, and wine (for the most part – I did have a little at a party Friday night, but I’m not sitting around drinking alone and sobbing over someone anymore, and I even dumped out the last of my last bottle to use it as a cute vase). I’ve also given up almost all processed foods. I’m drinking lots of water, eating lots of salad, fresh fruit and veggies. I no longer feel like a bloated toad and I’ve lost 10 pounds this month.
Some of my newer followers might not know that I started blogging not about poetry, but about having Type 1 Diabetes. When I was first diagnosed I was a good little patient, eating low carb and keeping my blood sugar numbers within range. I used to post all of my numbers daily, and my original blog was called “By the Numbers.” In recent years, I’ve gotten lazy (read: I didn’t give a fuck about much of anything). Not only was I eating crap, I drank coffee and/or diet coke all day, and enjoyed a glass of wine or two every night. The coffee kept me awake (sort of), the diet coke (and all the artificial sweetener) kept me constantly wanting to snack (and I did; I just have to bolus for it, right?), and the wine kept me numb and let me ignore the physical and emotional roller coaster I was on.
How did I quit all of these vices all at once?
Easy. My body finally had enough. I woke up one Saturday morning with horrible stomach cramps. A trip to the Emergency Room and a CT scan later, they found an inflammation in my small intestine. I’m not a doctor, but I used the super technical CT results and my google skills to figure out I probably have some sort of gluten intolerance. For 10 days I didn’t want to eat or drink much of anything, thanks to the nauseating antibiotics I was on. The idea of wine or coffee made me feel sick.
But now I’m feeling better than I have in a really long time. I got off the food and drink roller coaster, and traded my coffee mug for a bottle of water. Feeling better physically is also helping my emotional state. I’m not snapping at my kids, I’m trying not to rely on one-sided relationships to make me happy (keyword: trying), and it feels like a fog has cleared that’s surrounded my brain for years.
Anyway, I don’t usually do selfies, but why not?
Goodnight all,
Julie
by Julie Blue 