Jetée

Sorry it's taken me so long to realize this discussion.

I have had bouts with, and still deal the very same issue you both deal with (along with your father). I don't constantly think about food, but that's more to do with I me only thinking in spurts. I do, however, wonder where my next meal is going to be, what it will be, (hot, cold, green, snack, in a bag, on the roof, in a car) and then afterwards, I take time to decide what else I could have. I also don't get full. Ever. I can eat and eat and eat, but without knowing my limit (other than to satiate my hunger) I don't ever think to stop. This was probably triggered by my childhood, in which it was always a struggle to find and obtain one good, square meal a day. Anything else was a bonus. We (meaning our mind's trigger) may be acting on basic animal instinct to eat, and continuing eating, storing up nutrients and fat, if there was ever the case that we may not encounter food again for a while. It doesn't matter if that's the real case or not, because it is very hard to override it (but not altogether impossible to ignore it when you realize what's up).

Additionally, I do (did?) have the same digestive disorder which only allowed me to occupy real estate on the porcelain commode just a few times a week, if that. I still have not gotten a definitive answer from any medical specialist on what this is a symptom of, and what causes it, but I do know a fair share of the population does experience the same problem. I overhead this conversation about a young teenager only going to the bathroom every two weeks, saying it was normal for him, but his friend was just in disbelief. I'm not sure if the stastistics are right, or even up to date, but last I heard, at least 8-12% of the population details that they experience only 1 or 2 bowel movements a week, on average.

When I had the money and time to shop well, cook well, and eat well, I did so. And in turn, after about a week, did my digestion "normalize" to me going about once a day, or every other day. The thing is, I did notice it took me eating at least six "meal-sized" portions a day to achieve this. I have never counted calories before, but there may be something about if I do not reach a certain caloric marker daily, I get "penalized" with a "hunger debt", and subsequently, I get backed up. (I also have sort of the same thing with my sleep pattern, in which if I go to bed after midnight, I must, absolutely without fail, must I sleep for a full 12-hours at the point from which I finally went to bed. That's the "sleep debt".) The main problem I see with this is that I (we?) either too little at a time, or it's a product of what, exactly, is the foodstuff in which is being ingested by the body. With me, it doesn't matter how much fiber or water I take in, if I don't eat "full, satisfying, or heavy" meals, like whole grains, legumes, and meat, then it becomes increasingly more difficult to keep my one-a-day schedule.

Last thing, is I do get a little peeved by the patronizing comments of "What a horrible, miserable existence you guys live. I would die if I had to deal this." I realize this is not normal, but since when do we as functioning human beings ever experience a "normalized" existence? I've found ways to overcome the situation, (by constantly eating... which again is another "problem") but as of yet, from the many medical sites I've visited, and have frequented since I was young (I was always the 'sickly' child) the doctors have had no answer for me, other than I was constipated, and needed to eat more "greens". (drink this green powder, and tell me what happens ; didn't work? I also have this green pill!.)

The solution to my problem is another complicated problem, yes, but it does give me the feeling that I'm not the bloated monster I used to once be. By the by, on the weight detail, ever since I was perhaps 8 years old, had I had an insatiable craving for more food (no wonder, it's because I was always hungry) but somehow along the way and stepping stone to adulthood, my body's mechanics retained that desire and fear of hunger, so the cravings for more edible consumptions is still intact. Now, though, whilst I was always a chubby youngster, now as I have the funds and means to eat as much as I want, do I still want more; thing is, I'm still a featherweight, weighing around or less than ~140 lbs (or for the English folk, approx. 10 stone).


What I'd recommend, in my own experience, is, well... I don't know. Do you want to be able to eat less, "go" at a more regular interval, or would like to be able to, relatively. maintain a static weight and physique? I'm sure there could be a way to achieve all three, but speaking for myself, it is very difficult to do, and you'd need to spend at least a quarter or a third of your day (~4 hours), cumulatively, both stuffing yourself, and then exercising afterwards. As it is right now, I eat about 5-7 meals a day, exercise peaks at an ideal 2-hours total, and then, only then, am I barely able to accomplish my business on the commode, daily. It's real frustrating having to allot so much time, energy and actual earnings of one's already busy worklife of what comes so "naturally" for others.

Again, another sorry for making this post so long.

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As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi