My tap measure finally arrived*, and I took my measurements. It’s official. I’m the fattest I’ve ever been in my life–or at least any time I’ve measured my boobs, waist, and hips. I knew I was up there because my favorite pair of pants were getting tighter, and the number on the scale at the doctor’s a month ago confirmed my suspicions; this is just crossing the t and dotting the i. I’ve been slowly working on removing things from my diet as a way to eat more healthily, starting with chips and then adding baked goods, but I backtracked today and bought cookies for the holidays. No, i’m not going anywhere or seeing anyone–they’re all for me. It’s better than buying muffins or cookies every time I went to the store, however, and this will be the last batch I buy, at least for a while.
I have to be careful how I plan on losing weight because I’ve dealt with eating disorders all my life. I was an overeater as a kid, partly because of childhood traumas and partly because my mother put me on my first diet when I was seven. She’s obsessed with her weight as well, something I didn’t realize until I was an adult. She disguises it by claiming it’s about her health, but it’s not completely true. If so, she would just eat better and exercise and not care about the scale or that she’s wearing smaller-sized clothing. In addition, when I was anorexic (twice), my mom made catty comments about how now I was smaller than she was, and she wasn’t being complimentary. There was a competitiveness to her that wasn’t pleasant, especially as I was struggling with the eating disorder itself. And, when I was in Taiwan the last time, she had to comment on my weight to the point where later, I wrote her a letter saying that any mention of my weight was off-limits. She protested saying she was just concerned about my health, but I knew that was bullshit because it was always my weight she mentioned. And, when I was anorexic, she never mentioned my health at all.
Anyway, I’ve written ad nauseam about how I’m wary about dieting or focusing on what I eat at all because I slip so easily into ED (eating disorder) thinking, even when I think I’m being rational and healthy about my decisions. I can start out being relatively healthy and then quickly become disordered in my thinking. Next thing I know, I’m staring at pictures of dessert for hours a day and fainting on the dance floor at a First Ave. concert. Believe me, I did not intend to end up in that situation, but it was inevitable given how crazed I’d become about my dieting. That’s the thing that scares me. I don’t intend to become trapped in my eating disorder thinking when I start to diet, but it’s always hovering just underneath my consciousness. I don’t know where that line is or if I’m just deluding myself into thinking that I wasn’t being disordered in my thinking from the very start. I know that the first time I lost a large amount of weight, I did it in an unhealthy way. I cut my intake down to roughly a thousand calories a day and exercised up to seven hours a day. This was the summer before I left for college, and I couldn’t keep up that exercise regime once I entered college. Instead, I cut down my intake even further. I ate a bowl of oyster crackers for lunch and another for dinner along with a piece of fruit (I didn’t eat breakfast and still don’t), and I’d be so starved by two in the morning, I’d binge on five or six packets of chips from the vending machine. Then, I’d feel guilty, so every few days, I’d throw up what I ate. That’s how my bulimia started, though I didn’t think of it in that way because I never did it more than twice a week. I know, I know. Bulimia is like pregnancy–you can’t be just a little bulimic any more than you can be a little pregnant. Granted, once or twice a week was better than every day or several times a day, but it’s the same mentality, which is not a healthy one in the least.
Important Note: I would like to thank Rubo for the birthday box she sent me. I am touched by how carefully she chose the items for me. In one case, the bracelet, she made it herself. She included writing journals (including a wicked awesome black one), calligraphy pens, newspapers she wrote/edited, and other thoughtful gifts. To top it off, she included a treasure chest and a framed picture of Alan Rickman. The last item made me laugh out loud in pleasure. I had tears in my eyes as I opened the box. I am grateful to have a friend like Rubo in my life–compassionate, funny, warm, tender-hearted, and true. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Rubo. I so appreciate you.
I can’t feel my feet! I wish I couldn’t feel my ankles, knees, or neck.
Hiya. I have been informed that people who are not on FB cannot view the photo albums I have been posting with each entry. I have been bugging my bro to upload the pics to Flickr, and he has finally done just that. Today, I am linking to the food photo set. It does not include ALL the pics of food (I don’t think), but you will certainly be totally jealous once you view the album, anyway.
Today was a pretty damn good day for the most part. Got up around six-thirty and had time to myself until nine. I’ve always been a solitary kind of person, but I didn’t fully realize how much I needed my alone time until I got so much of it taken away from me. Now that I’ve had a healthy amount over the last two days, I can breathe again. This morning, I got up around six-thirty and didn’t have to meet the family for breakfast until nine. I hopped on the intertoobz and just chilled with an excellent cup of coffee. Then, had a massive breakfast at our luxury hotel. After, my mom and my dad wanted to take a walk around the hotel grounds before my mom, my bro, and my niece went swimming. My mom described all the different pools and asked if I wanted to try on her swimsuit. The big one. I said no. As I have mentioned, I feel like an elephant right now, and the last thing I want to do is appear in public in a bathing suit. I mean, I knew I was fat before I went on this trip, but not this fat. Pictures don’t lie, man. I am greatly unhappy about how fat I am right now. I reached the conclusion that I would not fuck me, so why should/would anyone else?