DECREASED APPETITE

Hi there, Folks,

Yesterday i had:

Br: 1/4 small watermelon
L: about 6 bananas total...eaten pretty "grazing" style, as we were out doing errands, visiting both of our sick parents. Cliff's mom is not doing well at the retirement home, and my mom is in the hospital again for the 3rd time with intense stomach pains and terrible indigestion. She was rushed last Friday was 103 fever and a bacterial infection in her colon as a result of the antibiotics she is on. So now she's on more anti-biotics to kill the new infection.
D: about 8 small tomatoes, Cuizinart chopped with a few leaves of fresh sage from our patio garden. Kinda yummy! I would have preferred basil, but it was dark on the patio and i couldn't find the basil!

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CONVERSATION WITH DR. DOUGLAS GRAHAM ON HUNGER AND OTHER TOPICS
MJ: I don't seem to have much appetite anymore. Isn't that wierd????

Dr D: You will go through phases of more and less hungry.

MJ: Oh, god, what's going to happen, soon i'll only want one tomato a day... Victoria Boutenko's daughter, the last i heard her speak, only eats 1 salad per day...and that's IT.

Dr D: Don't believe all that you hear. AND, Valya is trying to lose weight, any way she can. Her weight got out of control in the last three years.

MJ: Is it a worry that the appetite decreases...and then the metabolism decreases???

Dr D: Metabolism remains the same. Did you not read The 80/10/10 Diet? You tell me you did, but sometimes your questions tell my you didn't really read it.

[I actually have NOT re-read his book in quite some time. It's been at least a year.]

MJ: And a person can gain on next to nothing...eating less and less?

DR D: Why?

MJ: [Because the metabolism slows down.] I'd heard you make people eat like enormous amounts of calories, over 3,000 or 4,000 on fruit, and ask them to stuff themselves.

Dr D: Who'd you hear that from? Certainly not from me, as I know I never told you that.

MJ: Is this generally true?

Dr D: No.

MJ: I was glad to have the ability to have as much as i wanted in the beginning, what a comfort that was. Now my appetite is so much decreased. Is this normal?

Dr D: Totally. One of the monkeys is off your back. You want to keep him off, right?

MJ: I may be hungry again after the tomatoes...i mean, how many calories is THAT??? but, we'll see. I have the feeling i would want some bananas with spinach (i enjoy blenderized), but i"m supposed to eat salad. I really like the banana with the spinach. If i'm really hungry i might.

Dr D: OK.

MJ: I had a nice walk today.

Dr D: Great.

MJ: More below - your comments from our last email with my new comments.

Dr D: Google: outpockets. Mega colon. see if you come up with anything. You are seriously getting rid of crap.

MJ: I totally believe you, because what came out of me, i think it looked EXACTLY like when i've had a colonic. Nothing came up under "outpockets" or "Mega colon" on Google that seemed to apply, but i get your drift. And it felt like how a colonic feels, waves of illness followed by release. I haven't had a bowel movement today at all, so the "diarreah" has stopped. I guess that's not good or bad, it just is.

Dr D: Don't give up on yourself now, please. [This was in reference to troubling food thoughts.]

MJ: Oh, no, no, i'm committed to this, it's just not easy often, especially when i'm hungry, or see other people enjoying regular food.

Dr D: YOU are eating regular food. They are not. Someday, you will see that for what it is.

MJ: But, i'm committed. I do what i'm supposed to. I don't want any pain anymore.

Dr D: Instead of telling me what you don't want, please, tell me what you Want.

MJ: I'd written something...you must have missed it... I wrote, "I don't want pain any more today."

Dr D: No, didn't miss it. I just want you to phrase in the positive, rather than the negative, whenever possible. Telling me what you don't want doesn't tell me what you do want.

xxoxo michelle joy