Clear Liquids Day

In the continued spirit of over sharing about tomorrow’s colonoscopy I thought I would list good things and bad things to do on the day when I can’t eat anything.  Actually, it is not that I can’t eat anything; I just am only allowed to have clear liquids, coffee (without milk) tea, broth, Jell-o, popsicles, apple juice and Italian Ice.  Oh yeah, and laxatives in multiple forms.

So far I have only had tea and seem to be doing fine.  My plan is to have a little broth at noon, get in the car to go to a meeting in Raleigh and stop at Rita’s and get an Italian ice.  I have to remember not to get a red or purple one since that is also a no-no.  During my meeting I have to casually take four pills.  Then when I get back in the car to come home I have to begin the chugging of the crystal light- Myra lax concoction I have in my thermos.

I am following the instructions to a T because the last thing I want to have happen is to get into the procedure tomorrow only to be sent home because of apparent unpreparedness.  I have one close friend whom this happened to and believe me she was unhappy to have to prep twice.

Fasting is not something I like to do ever since I did the Medifast diet back in the 80’s.  Medifast was the same thing Oprah did, I just happened to do it right before she did.  It was a very fast way to lose a lot of weight, but I think it did nothing but train my body to be more efficient with less food.  As soon as I started eating again my body feared it might never get food again so it held on to what ever I gave it.  Thus the yo-yoing began.

I learned that to be good at fasting you need to do lots of non-food activities.  Here are some of the things that are good to do:

Get Your Hair Cut

Walk the dog- just not too far or fast so you get light headed

Pay your bills

Answer E-mail

Write thank you notes

Do the Laundry

Talk on the Phone

Write a blog

Needlepoint

Get a manicure and pedicure

Anything that is not too strenuous that keeps your hands busy and your mind off food.

Things to do that are unhelpful:

Watch TV – There are too many food commercials or food related segments that cause you to think about food.

Go out to lunch

Clean out the refrigerator

Actually walk in the kitchen

Drive past a restaurant – even a fast food restaurant

Read Facebook – I never realized how many people post about food

Work in the Garden – bending over causes lightheadedness

Read a novel- you never know when a character is going to eat a meal causing you to want to eat.

Go shopping – food is everywhere

Anything where you might see, smell or have to touch food

Anything where you might not be near a bathroom

This is certainly no way to lose weight, but then again that is not why I am doing it.  It is just the way to stay alive a little longer.