The Gall of It All OR Rethinking My Eating

Let's use this WW pony as a  kind of
unicorn chaser for this blog. In other
words, when you see WW Pony,
there is great TMI potential.

Now that I am gall-less (but not guileless), I am forced to face much of my eating habits. While I've gotten better about my food choices, I knew an overhaul would only really come if I were forced into it by a health issue.

Which is now.

The main job of the gallbladder is to help with the digestion of fat. Without it, eating foods with too much fat is like producing my own brand of Olestra. While not holding on to fat seems like a good idea, it may translate into cramps, gas, and diarrhea.*

I've already been eating better for some time now--lean meats, fruits, veggies, whole grains. I got this. It just a matter of making a few right choices, right? Mostly. For example, last Friday, I bypassed an incredibly delicious smelling pizza for a pre-packaged turkey sandwich--which still had 21g fat because of cheese and mayonnaise. I removed the cheese and ended up only having some gas. Similar situation after eating at Sweet Tomatoes; I kept the dressing nonfat, no butter on my single muffin, small cookie.

Key concept for me: moderation and adjustment. Again, reasonable and doable.

Fat runs away from me now, only my results are way less cute.

But at some point this past week, someone mentioned Indian food, and I had a major sad. My most favorite foods are saag paneer and chicken tikka masala--full of heavy cream, cheese, ghee ... I could eat those things in smaller amounts and as long as I am willing to accept the consequences of my body processing this meal. Again, in theory. I tried a small burrito with some cheese and guacamole--what I would consider "moderation"--and ended up spending a good amount of time in a Kroger bathroom. (Thankfully, I have an amusing word search game on my phone.)

Eating is now consistently asking myself, "Is it worth it?"

Thankfully, I do have a personal chef in my Mister who loves these sorts of challenges, and he frequently brings me most tasty foods. There is also the continual benefit that eating this way will continue to translate itself into more weight loss. I've gotten a lot of advice from people who have lived through this; the whole bland diet is pretty temporary until my system sorts itself out. I've adjusted enough to feed my sweet tooth with fruit and graham crackers.

I also know that I need to locate the bathroom wherever we eat.

If I think too hard (which I do), I worry about how I'm going to fuel myself on longer races. I really don't want to become NSFW Regretsy fodder. Then again, I'm going to have to get back to running in the first place (which is a whole other post).

To make things worse, I've been craving ice cream since before my surgery (two weeks ago today). Maybe someday. But I don't think post-race donuts are an option anymore. *cries*

* A more explicit cautionary tale may be found here.