Wednesday, September 14, 2011

My Zero Tolerance To Last Night's Food...and why I'm gonna stick to "safe" eateries for the rest of 2011...

I feel like crap.

I woke up groggy--9.5 hours after I went to bed.

Right eye was nearly swollen shut from some allergic reaction. I had assorted rashy bits across neck and arms. My voice was altered. My nose was stuffy.

I felt lethargic ...and still do, hours later.

This is what eating in a chain restaurnat will do. I am sure I ingested things that are bad for me in the way they prepared stuff...and after eating clean for nearly every day this summer, and the vast majority of the days since January, I have not much tolerance for ...crap.

I remember reading the blogs of folks who were on plan for weeks and months, deviated with binges or just overeating or just slipped in a junk food, and then got diarrhea or joint inflammation, etc. Seen it over and over.

Now, it's me. I felt GREAT most of this year from eating better. High energy. Today, my skin is blotchy, my nose is congested, and I don't have the vim to do much other than sit.

There it is. This is how I felt 10 of the 11 years of this millenium. Crappy. Why? I used toe at a lot of stuff that, clealy, I ought not have.

And though I didn't have much of said stuff last night--the scale today was 183.4, back to Monday's weight, which is proof I didn't totally go off the rails, a mere .4 blip upwards--I FEEL IT. Not in bathroom issues or nausea. But in my immune system's wacky reaction.

Real food, good food, solid food heals.

Chain restaurant food is deadly.

There are some restaurants we frequent with no issues whatsoever. Some of them, I've talked to the cook/owner and know what goes in. Not always perfect--the Mexican place we like uses Safflower oil, which I prefer to margarine and soy or canola, but still wish they'd use olive or butter or other less inflammatory fats--but I know they're not rejiggering the food, adding weird flavor enhancers. I can see them cooking. I can ask. They're small mom/pop place. I can make special requests. I don't get sick there.

I remember when hubby and I regularly did Chili's. Then I read THE END OF OVEREATING...and we never went back.  Ditto McDonalds. I have done some chain ones--Chipotle (no reaction to the salad with meat or chicken toppings, salsa, guacamole) and Ruby Tuesday's (only the salad bar this year). But I know that there's stuff added to and processes created to make those foods addictive to excitable, binge-prone overeaters like me. It's not fresh food made by a cook. It's processed/bagged/frozen/manipulated food "assembled" in a kitchen for mass production. Best avoided.

I consider this a lesson. I like having energy and not having eczema and congestion. This means: Only eat in "safe" restaurants. Safe is not necessarily perfect. It just means it doesn't derail me. :)

Home cooking is the safest, but some places, especially those with real cooks in the kitchen and real produce and real meats/proteins that haven't been uber doused in breadings/MSG/etc....those places will continue to get MY moolah.

I know I got glutenized and MSG-ed yesterday, and I was a co-conspirator in crashing down my vim and health status. Stupid me.

But..hey, today, so far, eating my food--honeydew was amazing, I may say!--and making my own java, sip, sip, sip. Trying to heal up again and feel human, not like something a gang of mutant hyper-allergy-causing cats clawed over and spit on.

For those on plan, keep on it.

For those recovering from being off plan, let's do it.

For those messing up: Stop it. Regroup.

And...be well...(or better)...today...


15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love this post, the writing style and language you used is really fun.... quite the narrative about the whole experience. When I first read, I thought you said 'my skin is bitchy..'... I was like oh Princess has jumped on the swearing bandwagon! I was mistaken and you're way too classy for that (I'm not!). I need to read the book you speak of. The documentary Food, Inc. scared me... a lot. Hope you feel better very soon!

Betty W said...

I´m doing well so far. But I haven´t been invited to any dinner´s or birthday´s yet, they are always my downfall.
I hope you feel better today.

lv2 said...

Hope you feel better soon. I agree that I can often tell if a place adds a lot of "junk" by the way I feel.....but I still love to eat out and try to avoid those places that give me a problem.

Unknown said...

Man your food reactions sound like some of what I experienced in August... the blotchy skin (I had hives), fatigue, stuffy nose and hoarse/sore throat. Mine moved on to get much worse though and I don't think it was food related at all. I've picked a book that might clue me in on what my issues are, I hope yours get better with the changes you make on sticking to those places you know are safe!

Julie said...

McDonald's is my bad place. I have to remind myself once a year or so....why I don't know but still I go for a treat and I spend the next two days sick. You'd think I'd learn and just tay away. It's been 6-8 months now and I don't need the reminder so not heading there.
I hope you are feeling better soon.
Take care Mir. Blessings my friend.

Anonymous said...

Ugh... I had the runs most of the day today. I think it was from all the junk food I ate the last two days. It was definately a learning experiece. I don't think I will EVER(I hope anyways) eat like I have been again. It feels miserable.

We can do this! We will do this! Yay!

"KT" said...

"a gang of mutant hyper-allergy-causing cats", haha! I've only been on my plan for a month or two, and I fell off once, but... there was a point when I realized that now I can name every single ingredient that I'm putting into my body, and know what it is. No "high fructose" stuff, no food coloring, and worse. It was a really empowering moment! Hope the clean food heals you up soon. :)

Bluezy said...

You are such the encouraging pep poster. Glad my celly gets me online not to miss it. My antibiotics set me up to catching an intestinal virus going round the friend's baby started the contagion. Have many of the symptoms you described.


It is a big responsibility to cook for the public AND with allergies that can send many to the hospital...to have them and to eat out you put your trust out there.

I do hope you feel better soon.

Anne H said...

I never read the book - but I stopped eating at most of those places.... and stopped liking to go to the store. I'm in the "angry" phase... I'm sure it will pass.

Sarah said...

I hope you feel better soon! It's amazing how our body reacts now to food we have stayed away from for months and we indulge one time!

Karen Butler Ogle said...

Princess, I am hearing you. I did McD's on our trip and ended up paying for it dearly the rest of that day. The fried foods I ate gave me only a few moments pleasure but the pain of digesting that crap went on for hours. I wont be doing that again any time soon.

Sarah said...

I'm totally with you on this! McDonalds makes me SO sick. My stomach will hurt for days. Gross...

Sarah

Michele said...

I don;t go out much to chair restaurants, but do frequent some more local places. I have found success eating out by just getting the house salad with dressing on the side. Works for me, plus I have a bite or two of what my hubby is having, but that is it Feel better.

Karla said...

Ok princess, stop mentioning books!!! (just kidding) i got it on my Nook this morning... Loaded the Nook up:)
Also someone recommended Younger Next Year
:::sigh:::: i wish, why didn't i do this in my 20's? Sheesh what a dope!!

Jane Cartelli said...

Talk about a Chain Reaction!~

Remember this experience - it will help you derail the next one and the one after that. I have learned to keep the bad moves 'green' so that I am not doomed to repeat them.

Jane~
Keepingthepoundsoff.com