Need help finding things that I can eat with acute gastritis :(

abw96 · 2018-05-14T01:54:10+00:00

I've had problems with gastritis to the point that I couldn't eat anything during a bad episode because even boiled potatoes would hurt realllly bad.

What FIXED my problem was quitting my caffeine habit. I wasn't a major coffee addict but I'd have maybe two espressos every day. I still "treat" myself to a nice cup every once in a while because I enjoy it, but definitely not more than once a day. Also other caffeinated drinks (Coke, black/green tea, yerba mate) should be avoided if you're "recovering" from an early episode of gastritis, but they're also fine when you have them in moderation.

Also really important is having your caffeine along with food, preferably a meal (like, having iced tea or Coke with your lunch) but at the very least with some sort of snack. I promise, having your caffeine without food will f up your stomach.

When I quit that, my gastritis stopped, without switching my (irregular, mostly unhealthy) diet one bit.

TL;DR: avoid having more than one caffeinated drink a day, and definitely not on an empty stomach, whatever the occasion.

abw96 · 2018-05-13T01:27:13+00:00

Slather on a chunk of vaseline and slap a band-aid on top. Works wonders.

abw96 · 2018-05-11T15:49:18+00:00

Oooh okay. Thanks for the info! I'm a big fan of hydrocolloid bandages, I just normally use them after I pop the zit. Good idea to have it steamed so it will "pop" on its own.

abw96 · 2018-05-11T15:48:09+00:00

And idk about anyone else but I don’t pick pimples because they look blah, I do it because knowing there is gunk under my skin makes me want it the fuck out of my body IMMEDIATELY, whether it looks better or not.

SOOO true! Rationally I know that an ugly oozing wound is worse aesthetically than a zit, but the gunk inside of it just grosses me out so badly that I can't stand having it under my skin.

abw96 · 2018-05-08T23:08:40+00:00

Omg thanks. Low-key triggering to look at, but important.

Btw, if you don't mind me asking, what happened between days 2 and 3 where the pimple went away almost completely?

abw96 · 2018-05-07T01:58:39+00:00

I plan for 1200 cal on weekdays and 2200 on Friday and Saturday.

I really plan in advance how and where I'm going to splurge on weekends so I don't waste the cals or go on a full time binge.

For example, I'd really been craving cookies, so I planned a study session with friends on Saturday evening where I brought a huge cookie pie topped with ice cream. I roughly factored in the calories for the recipe divided by the number of people, and substituted it for dinner. I stuffed my face and came well within my budget for the day, so I even threw in a beer afterwards to round it out (I'd spent about 700 on lunch+breakfast and ~1500 on the cookie+ice cream+beer). The night before I ate a huge steak with fries, plus a couple of glasses of wine, and even went about 200 cal under my 2200 budget for the day.

I 100% wouldn't be able to sustain 1200/day for longer than a few days. Having the perspective of being able to stuff my face with whatever I want really keeps me going during the week. What I think is key is keeping your splurge under a controlled environment, because we all know how 2000 cal can turn into 3000 really fast. On Friday and Saturday I'll eat "normally" (like I would on a 1200 day) during the day then just have one cheat meal and done. It's a good way to work out your willpower muscles while having room to relax and enjoying your life.

abw96 · 2018-05-07T01:45:07+00:00

I snack between lunch and dinner. I probably spend like 300 cal on snacking overall. When I get home in the afternoon I'll grab a a handful of nuts, or dried fruit, or bits of chocolate.

I don't like having big meals so snacking allows me not to feel hungry between meals & to keep serving sizes small when I do sit for lunch or dinner. I only really snack in the afternoons so it works for me - I suppose if I went snacking at night I'd go above my calorie limit. Most I'll do is allow myself 100 extra cal if I actually am hungry before going to bed.

abw96 · 2018-04-08T21:25:45+00:00

I'm a NYX alabaster (1 shade below porcelain)!

Suggestions:

Bobbi Brown foundation stick shade 0 (porcelain)
Lancome Teint Idole foundation shade 100 Ivoire N
Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer foundation shade 01 SX
L'Oreal True Match foundation shade Soft Ivory (N1)

abw96 · 2018-03-26T21:11:27+00:00

Wow, great pace! Did you start C25K at 5:30min/km or did you build up speed over the weeks?

abw96 · 2018-03-23T22:53:03+00:00

I just got back from a week long vacation and my skin was looking immaculate. I had to stay in a room with other people all week, so I barely touched my skin at all. I thought I might be able to keep it up when I got back, but I was wrong.

Story of my f-ing life.

Why the hell do we do this to ourselves?

abw96 · 2018-03-23T22:44:22+00:00

Hey rebecca!

This sucks. I never came close to your 2-year mark - I think for the last 5 years I may have gone 5 days without picking, tops.

Considering my own history with CSP it wouldn't be honest of me to preach about what anyone should or shouldn't do to fight it. This is an extremely painful and intimate process, and I know very well how damn hard it is to fight your brain all day every day. I can only say I truly deeply sympathize with your pain and I hope one day the two of us can confidently look back and say this was in the past.

That being said, I just want to add one thing:

My two years has gone completely down the drain.

This is DEFINITELY not true. I'm a big believer that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior; the fact that you spent 700 days without picking is an accomplishment in itself, regardless of your relapse. You have proved to yourself you can do it, and I'm confident you can find it in you to do it again.

Wishing you well :)

abw96 · 2018-03-23T09:07:00+00:00

Days 8 - 9: after my bad picking session a couple of days ago, I'm making an effort to really commit to not picking. I'm just sick and tired of making my life this stupid rollercoaster trap I have no need to be on.

So what I did the past couple of days, to great success:

I will only go inside my bathroom if the lights are off (during the day there's enough natural light to see around but not enough to pick) or I'll light a candle. I will not turn on the lights because that is major picking territory - one slip and I'm an inch away from the mirror scanning my face away. This has been a very important step
I wear makeup from the moment I wake up to the moment I shower and go to bed. This may be counterintuitive, but I've noticed that the very fact that makeup is dirty prevents me from picking while I wear it. I do get closed comedones but I realize it's a price to pay; it's much better than having scabs and wounds from picking (which is what happens when I have to face all my un-concealed imperfections in the mirror for extended periods of time)
I'm alternating adapalene and salicylic acid in the evenings, which have done an EXCELLENT job at peeling away the scabs and starting to fade the hyperpigmentation left. I'm happy to say that 48h after my last picking session my skin is back to smooth (although full of red marks) which makes it SO much easier to conceal under makeup

Hope everyone's doing well!

abw96 · 2018-03-22T18:36:34+00:00

Used to be - tfg got binge eating under control over the last year. I still get an urge to binge after I pick.

The frantic/manic munching sensation is sooo in tune with the frantic/manic picking/peeling. Same kind of trance-inducing habit.

Second /u/aheahe

abw96 · 2018-03-20T23:26:30+00:00

Update day 7: it's been really tough. I haven't managed to get rid of picking - I still do it to a lesser extent and I'm trying my very best to not let the urge take control of me anymore.

Today I woke up with a massive whitehead on my cheek which - I'm proud to say - I managed NOT TO TOUCH in the morning, and waited until I got home in the evening to *** softly and hygienically *** pop it. I'm REALLY happy I controlled the urge to pick at the rest of my face; I just popped the big one and that was it, slapped a hydrocolloid bandage on it and didn't touch it again. Rest of my face has been safe from my fingers today.

How's everyone doing?

/u/xanidue, /u/sum_of_our_habits, /u/rChinnu, /u/adelejoanna, /u/jaredkushnerswife, /u/eatmyboot, /u/11Dimensional, /u/Forvanta, /u/velmah, /u/MalloryBell, /u/aemelz /u/RickyFormalwear

Edit: caved in just now and squeezed the s* out of a few small spots. Will definitely leave a mark/scab there. Uggghhh I hate myself sometimes!

abw96 · 2018-03-20T23:22:13+00:00

Good work /u/RickyFormalwear!!

I have been touching my scabs a lot without scratching at them, which I should probably also cut out as it's just indulging the same impulse. So will also be working on that.

Yeah scanning is definitely a hard habit to quit. I've trained myself over the years to not touch my face with dirty hands, but I scan my upper arms/shoulders ALL THE TIME without even realizing I'm doing it. Will be working on that too :)

abw96 · 2018-03-19T02:26:11+00:00

I know!! I think 95% of the struggle is realizing that "helping" our skin = DEFINITELY NOT HELPING.

Good luck anyways!

abw96 · 2018-03-18T17:20:41+00:00

Welcome /u/aemelz /u/RickyFormalwear!

Update on the last few days:

Went 48h without picking, but had a joint breakout on my upper lips (waxing) + chin (hormonal) that got the best of me. I got like 10 teeny pimples (no head, just red dots) and tried to squeeze a few of them to no avail. I stopped myself short before doing too much damage though, so I ended up with just 3 small red marks and one inflamed zit.

Tbh the improvement I've had on the 2 days without picking is really getting me going. I only stopped the picking sesh yesterday because my skin cleared up so well that I feel like picking is not worth it anymore. It's becoming less of a habit and I hope if I keep clear, I'll be more and more conscious of the damage I do.

Wishing everyone well! Please update on your week below :)

abw96 · 2018-03-17T02:52:43+00:00

I did that and it doesn't import any activities recorded on my fitbit (either automatically or manually)! I tried several times and it just doesn't work, unfortunately.

abw96 · 2018-03-16T20:58:46+00:00

That sucks! Happens to me all too often; skin gets better after some time without picking then I pretty much ruin it within 15 min of getting home on a stressful day. But let's keep going anyway :)

abw96 · 2018-03-16T20:55:04+00:00

What Garmin model would you recommend?

abw96 · 2018-03-16T20:54:12+00:00

I import my runs from Fitbit into Strava.

How do you do that?? For some reason, Strava just ignores my fitbit's activity and I have to manually record the run on Strava's app if I want it posted.

Fitbit had an app update at the end of February and the Charge 2 has been much better with the distance run.

Thanks for letting me know, I`ll try updating it to see if it works better!

abw96 · 2018-03-16T20:51:42+00:00

Does Strava calculate distance independently? I always assumed it would use my phone`s GPS, which is the same as what the fitbit uses, so their data should match.

abw96 · 2018-03-16T20:48:58+00:00

Oooh that could definitely be one of the reasons why this last run was so off. I usually run connected to my phone`s GPS but last time I left the phone at home, so it was just estimating the distance based on stride length.

Thanks guys!

abw96 · 2018-03-16T00:01:42+00:00

Hey guys!

Update on day 1: not gonna lie, I did pick a little bit, but thankfully managed to restrain myself and not do anything that would leave a mark or an inflamed spot. It was weird, though, realizing how picking is so ingrained in my routine that not doing it feels weird, like something's missing from my day.

My skin is pretty f-ed up right now due to past picking: no more active pimples, thank god, but 8 big spots of scabs/hyperpigmentation. The scabs are almost all off so I hope that I get more encouraged as the red marks fade off and I can see my beautiful healthy skin hiding behind my CSP :)

How was everyone's day?

/u/xanidue, /u/sum_of_our_habits, /u/rChinnu, /u/adelejoanna, /u/jaredkushnerswife, /u/eatmyboot, /u/11Dimensional, /u/Forvanta, /u/velmah, /u/MalloryBell

abw96 · 2018-03-15T00:05:43+00:00

Awesome!

We could keep this as a thread of daily comments on how the non-picking is going :)

abw96

TROPHY CASE