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| Stomach-by-Karrie-Nodalo |
Is it Possible to Shrink Your Stomach by Eating Less?
This question -- whether or not the stomach can be shrank by consuming less food -- made headlines on Yahoo! today.
Aside from the answer provided in the article "Does the Size of Your Stomach Shrink When You Eat Less?" featured on Yahoo! Health, I felt compelled to weigh in with my own "answer" as I am a perfect guinea pig.
To be clear, by "stomach," we're referring to the actual organ, not the waist or mid-section.
Now that that's out of the way, if you haven't already, go ahead and read the article mentioned and then come back here to read my own answer and how I arrived at the conclusion years ago that my stomach organ did in fact seem to shrink.
I arrived at this conclusion by complete accident (and at the expense of my health and youthful years of wild, carefree bliss) thanks to extremely agonizing gut-related issues that left me and every doctor I visited puzzled for most of my teenage and adult life.
It looks as if my extreme misfortune is finally coming in use for something, and I must say it's about time. Perhaps there was a reason for all those years of agony after all. And here I was asking why? Why? Why? Why must I seem the be the only girl forced to spend what's supposed to be the most fun, free, and wild years of the human life wasting away in bed (or more like the bathroom)?
Perhaps this is the reason -- so that a few years down the road I could finally write a blog post to let people know that it's probably true that your stomach can shrink if you don't feed it.
Well, at least I finally have an answer for why my adult life and late teen years cannot really be accounted for. That is, unless you're asking my cats or awesomely supportive boyfriend stayed by side through the last 10 years, including during the years I only half existed.
I've gone into great detail about the entire journey of those health problems, so I won't get too detailed here. I'll just get to the point and answer the question, based on my experience.
As you now know, and as the article I shared at the beginning of this post points out, the stomach can shrink when put through a period of not being filled, but to reach a level of actual shrinkage requires such a small amount of food that it's totally illogical and completely unhealthy to consider this as a weight loss method. Unfortunately, I know this all too well.
This question -- whether or not the stomach can be shrank by consuming less food -- made headlines on Yahoo! today.
Aside from the answer provided in the article "Does the Size of Your Stomach Shrink When You Eat Less?" featured on Yahoo! Health, I felt compelled to weigh in with my own "answer" as I am a perfect guinea pig.
To be clear, by "stomach," we're referring to the actual organ, not the waist or mid-section.
Now that that's out of the way, if you haven't already, go ahead and read the article mentioned and then come back here to read my own answer and how I arrived at the conclusion years ago that my stomach organ did in fact seem to shrink.
I arrived at this conclusion by complete accident (and at the expense of my health and youthful years of wild, carefree bliss) thanks to extremely agonizing gut-related issues that left me and every doctor I visited puzzled for most of my teenage and adult life.
It looks as if my extreme misfortune is finally coming in use for something, and I must say it's about time. Perhaps there was a reason for all those years of agony after all. And here I was asking why? Why? Why? Why must I seem the be the only girl forced to spend what's supposed to be the most fun, free, and wild years of the human life wasting away in bed (or more like the bathroom)?
Perhaps this is the reason -- so that a few years down the road I could finally write a blog post to let people know that it's probably true that your stomach can shrink if you don't feed it.
Well, at least I finally have an answer for why my adult life and late teen years cannot really be accounted for. That is, unless you're asking my cats or awesomely supportive boyfriend stayed by side through the last 10 years, including during the years I only half existed.
I've gone into great detail about the entire journey of those health problems, so I won't get too detailed here. I'll just get to the point and answer the question, based on my experience.
As you now know, and as the article I shared at the beginning of this post points out, the stomach can shrink when put through a period of not being filled, but to reach a level of actual shrinkage requires such a small amount of food that it's totally illogical and completely unhealthy to consider this as a weight loss method. Unfortunately, I know this all too well.
You see, for some reason, a combination of digestive problems -- one of them being fatal severe IBS (just kidding. Don't panic. IBS is not actually fatal. It just feels that way for those who suffer with it). Accompanied with the digestive complications came endometriosis that, according to the OB/GYN I reluctantly see, was deeply embedded in... ahem... my bowels (I know, as if having something called "irritable bowel syndrome" wasn't dehumanizing enough, right?).
Apparently, it was a better idea to simply sew me back up without removing any of the problematic endometriosis/adhesions than to attempt removing it from a place such as the bowels.
The point of sharing such humiliating personal details is to lead up to telling you that these health issues also caused me to become extremely ill anytime I ate. As if having something called "irritiable bowel syndrome" and then bowel-endometriosis on top of it isn't dehumanizing, humiliating, and agonizing enough, right?
Apparently, it was a better idea to simply sew me back up without removing any of the problematic endometriosis/adhesions than to attempt removing it from a place such as the bowels.
The point of sharing such humiliating personal details is to lead up to telling you that these health issues also caused me to become extremely ill anytime I ate. As if having something called "irritiable bowel syndrome" and then bowel-endometriosis on top of it isn't dehumanizing, humiliating, and agonizing enough, right?
My misfortune just had to be taken a step further and ruin my ability to even survive. Not being able to eat more than a couple of bites on any given day -- no joke. A couple of bites would almost always leave me writhing in pain -- started making it a little tough to survive. Forget the other health issues and sicknesses that come along with being malnourished and dehydrated.
Eventually, as you might've already guessed at this point, I was quite literally wasting away. 70-something pounds was my lowest weight.
By the time I had came across my little life-saver aloe vera (too bad I didn't start munching on it before the expensive surgery that did nothing to help), I was certain that death was closing in on me.
I was also certain that my stomach had shrank because when my family would force me to risk pure agony (by forcing me to eat, bless their souls), I would be as full as a dog tick, even from as little as 2-3 saltine crackers. Who knew that was possible?
This went on for several years until my desperate consumption of aloe vera -- I read it could soothe problems associated with IBS and immediately began taking it -- and it was nearly two years before I was able to actually sit down and finish a real, proper meal with proper portions.
So, to say that the stomach cannot shrink would be a complete and total injustice to the fact that I'm pretty sure my stomach shrank to the size of a peanut. Okay, a walnut.
Before I end I want to make it very clear that I am not in any way condoning any type of weight loss nor is this post intended to be taken as advice or suggestions on losing weight. In fact, if anything, I would like to recommend against any attempts to halt your food consumption in order to lose weight. Please treat your body like the precious, beautiful gem that it is (inside and out.) If not for you, do it for me. My heart broke every single time someone would comment on my extremely, sickly small size and then after asking me how I "did it," they would reply that I was so lucky and oh how they wish they would get sick so they could "get skinny."
I promise you, getting sick doesn't equal getting skinny in a healthy or fun way. From an outsider's perspective it may seem like the perfect, easy way to losing weight, but it's not. I used to tell the dozens of people who wished they could lose weight by getting sick the way I did that I'd rather be 300 pounds than to feel the pain I would feel from simply eating. We have to eat to survive. Having to endure so much pain that you can't even bring yourself to swallow a bite is not ever going to be worth it to you when you're there.
Okay, now that I've gone on and on to make sure you know that this is not a weight loss idea, I must finish up by also making sure you know that I'm not against healthy weight loss. But please do it the healthy way! Cutting out some of the foods that are extremely bad for you is a great way to do this and so is aiming for healthier portions and more filling meals. Don't forget, you have options that allow you to be a healthy weight without hurting yourself.
I know all about extreme food cravings that won't let you sleep. When I finally became able to eat normally and as much as I wanted without pain, believe me, was it hard to quit! I've come to really love food. But I do keep fairly healthy portions and aim for some healthy foods.
If you are disappointed that you came here and didn't find any information on actually losing weight, then perhaps I can interest you in other posts I've written discussing healthy and very effective ways to go about it. You can find dozens of posts here that will help teach you about plenty of options for losing and maintaining weight. I've even covered ways to knock out those intense cravings for junk food that strike every night. For example, this post will give you information that'll help you kick the habit of emotional eating, over-eating, and midnight cravings.
Eventually, as you might've already guessed at this point, I was quite literally wasting away. 70-something pounds was my lowest weight.
By the time I had came across my little life-saver aloe vera (too bad I didn't start munching on it before the expensive surgery that did nothing to help), I was certain that death was closing in on me.
I was also certain that my stomach had shrank because when my family would force me to risk pure agony (by forcing me to eat, bless their souls), I would be as full as a dog tick, even from as little as 2-3 saltine crackers. Who knew that was possible?
This went on for several years until my desperate consumption of aloe vera -- I read it could soothe problems associated with IBS and immediately began taking it -- and it was nearly two years before I was able to actually sit down and finish a real, proper meal with proper portions.
So, to say that the stomach cannot shrink would be a complete and total injustice to the fact that I'm pretty sure my stomach shrank to the size of a peanut. Okay, a walnut.
Before I end I want to make it very clear that I am not in any way condoning any type of weight loss nor is this post intended to be taken as advice or suggestions on losing weight. In fact, if anything, I would like to recommend against any attempts to halt your food consumption in order to lose weight. Please treat your body like the precious, beautiful gem that it is (inside and out.) If not for you, do it for me. My heart broke every single time someone would comment on my extremely, sickly small size and then after asking me how I "did it," they would reply that I was so lucky and oh how they wish they would get sick so they could "get skinny."
I promise you, getting sick doesn't equal getting skinny in a healthy or fun way. From an outsider's perspective it may seem like the perfect, easy way to losing weight, but it's not. I used to tell the dozens of people who wished they could lose weight by getting sick the way I did that I'd rather be 300 pounds than to feel the pain I would feel from simply eating. We have to eat to survive. Having to endure so much pain that you can't even bring yourself to swallow a bite is not ever going to be worth it to you when you're there.
Okay, now that I've gone on and on to make sure you know that this is not a weight loss idea, I must finish up by also making sure you know that I'm not against healthy weight loss. But please do it the healthy way! Cutting out some of the foods that are extremely bad for you is a great way to do this and so is aiming for healthier portions and more filling meals. Don't forget, you have options that allow you to be a healthy weight without hurting yourself.
I know all about extreme food cravings that won't let you sleep. When I finally became able to eat normally and as much as I wanted without pain, believe me, was it hard to quit! I've come to really love food. But I do keep fairly healthy portions and aim for some healthy foods.
If you are disappointed that you came here and didn't find any information on actually losing weight, then perhaps I can interest you in other posts I've written discussing healthy and very effective ways to go about it. You can find dozens of posts here that will help teach you about plenty of options for losing and maintaining weight. I've even covered ways to knock out those intense cravings for junk food that strike every night. For example, this post will give you information that'll help you kick the habit of emotional eating, over-eating, and midnight cravings.
Before you go, scroll down to the comments and share your own knowledge, ideas, and theories regarding the topics we've covered here in this post.
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