SECRET POST: You'll Have to Click To Find Out

There are many subjects this 'secret' blog post could be about. It could be about the greatest time of year - Fall - and how our seasons are starting to change and bring with it the chilly, bitter winter air.....but then again.....................maybe it isn't.

No, that's not what this blog post is about.
Not at all.

It isn't about anything that will make you comfortable - but maybe part of learning life's lessons is in the being uncomfortable - outside that zone that you feel safe.

Are you ready to be shaken up? I present to you.....

Puking.

Yes, I said puking. AKA: vomit.

Vomiting (known medically as emesis and informally as throwing up and numerous other terms) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose.^[1] Vomiting can be caused by a wide variety of conditions; it may present as a specific response to ailments like gastritis or poisoning, or as a non-specific sequela of disorders ranging from brain tumors and elevated intracranial pressure to overexposure to ionizing radiation. The feeling that one is about to vomit is called nausea, which often precedes, but does not always lead to, vomiting. Antiemetics are sometimes necessary to suppress nausea and vomiting. In severe cases, where dehydration develops, intravenous fluid may be required.

Vomiting is different from regurgitation, although the two terms are often used interchangeably. Regurgitation is the return of undigested food back up the esophagus to the mouth, without the force and displeasure associated with vomiting. The causes of vomiting and regurgitation are generally different.

So yeah - puking. I don't love it - heck, I don't think I even really like it - but I do consider it a necessary and vital gauge of how our bodies are doing. If I am really nauseated though, I would gladly puke to feel better than stay in that gross feeling for too long.

Let's put it this way - there are two major routes for our bodies to immediately remove toxic wastes from our systems, allowing us to remain healthy, vital and energetic. If you haven't guessed already - those two things are vomit and diarrhea. Notice there aren't many visuals here today.

Diarrhea or diarrhoea (from the Greek διάρροια, δια dia "through" + ρέω rheo "flow" meaning "flowing through"^[2]) is the condition of having three or more loose or liquid bowel movements per day.^[3] The most common cause is gastroenteritis.

Oral rehydration solutions (ORS) with modest amounts of salts and zinc tablets are the treatment of choice and have been estimated to have saved 50 million children in the past 25 years.^[1] In cases where ORS is not available, homemade solutions are often used.

It is a common cause of death in developing countries and the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide. The loss offluids through diarrhea can cause dehydration and electrolyte disturbances such as potassium deficiency or other salt imbalances. In 2009 diarrhea was estimated to have caused 1.1 million deaths in people aged 5 and over^[4] and 1.5 million deaths in children under the age of 5.^{[1](from Wikipedia)}

If we vomit, it is a direct and urgent signal from our bodies that whatever we have in there is not meant to be in there. Interestingly enough, most prescription medications come with a leaflet that tells you side effects - often these include vomiting and diarrhea. 

When your body involuntarily pushes something out of you - you should really pay attention!

The same goes for diarrhea.....your body wants it out - and now. What you have to say doesn't matter. It'll happen. 

Remember the movie Bridesmaids?

Time for seriousness - stop smirking. We're talking about vomit and diarrhea.

I think that's proof enough, don't you....and as funny as I thought this movie was - I gotta say I totally get it.

Years ago, I weighed 266 pounds because I regularly ate a diet of high sodium, high fat and high salt content foods. No secret - I've laid it all out for you here at The Fat Girl Now 50% Lighter.

My nutritional choices were non-existent because I didn't use my brain because I didn't realize I was avoiding caring about who I was. I had a busy life - a job I loved, a now ex-husband that I clearly didn't love and a mess of issues that I had carried throughout my entire life that had been stomped on, broken and now seemed unfixable.

I couldn't handle any more. I couldn't seem to do anything but soak my brain in a soda and carry on.

Wow, Shawn - what does this have to do with vomit and diarrhea?

Not much, but I thought the reasons I thought I had to stay unaware and unwell were good enough. They weren't. All of the above reasons were reasons for my hasty and poor food choices.....key word choices. I had them and I messed them up to the point where my regular diet was grease and salt.

I always had a great reason to eat crappy foods - the first and most important being that they tasted way better than those rice cakes I tried to choke down for lunch that one time. A Popcorn flavored rice cake. Now I understand how sad that is.

I would drink bottle after bottle of soda - never water - not ever. When I realized how large I had become and acknowledged that I didn't like it - I made a change. For me, it was huge - others laughed and were certain it would lead to nothing significant. I guess they were mistaken.

I switched from regular soda to diet soda - but I got far sicker far quicker. Then I was just confused.

The one interesting thing I noted was that when I ate these foods, I always got diarrhea. I recall one time that I headed to a fast food place with my Grandmother - I couldn't even get through the meal (if that's what that was) without hitting the washroom. As fast as I could eat it, my body was rejecting it. This was strange to me because I had eaten it almost all of my adult life. I should be used to it. I loved it.

Not once did I connect the food to what was making me sick. Not once. I was in complete denial about it because eating that rice cake - well - there was going to be hell to pay if I had to eat that.

Over time we learn - we grow - and I learned to look at my little victories for what they were - successes. I quit eating a regular diet of garbage, quit soda - I quit smoking like a chimney and drinking more than I should have. I started telling myself the good things about myself instead of the other things and I really started spending time enjoying being me. I hadn't known who that was for a really long time.

Everything starts with a thought - so if you have already done something (ie: eliminated soda) - congratulations! That is beyond what most thoughts become. You are now 'doing something positive for yourself' no matter if you view that as a large success or not.

So, I guess I should get to my point with this whole vomit and diarrhea post.

The point is - these fast fried and processed foods make you crap and puke. If that is happening to you, please stop eating them.

Listen to your body.

Now go forth and share this link - gross YOUR friends out too!