I’ll get to losing weight the wrong way soon. This week, I was in Manila for work. When I landed the air was warm, humid, and polluted. I can deal with the pollution when the air is warm and moist.
Warm, humid, and polluted
The area outside of the border control region in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport is not air conditioned. It’s open to the outside and it was gloriously warm and moist. It was drizzling and about 30 °C (86 °F). While the air is polluted and has a distinct odour, my skin reacted well to the humidity.
[maxbutton id=”10″ ]
Losing weight the wrong way
Anorexia
Anorexia (noun) is the jargon word for the medical condition featuring a significant lack or loss of appetite for food. It should not be confused with anorexia nervosa which is a disorder characterised by a desire to lose weight by refusing to eat.
Once I started getting the lower abdominal colic (paroxysmal pain in the abdomen, usually associated with an inflammatory reaction in an anatomical smooth muscle cellular tube like the bowel) on Tuesday evening after dinner, the anorexia set in but worse, my olfactory senses were accentuated so that the smell of food started to make me feel nauseated. Old cooking oil smells made me feel like puking.
By Wednesday morning I had started using loperamide (enter loperamide into a search engine for the details) and then the side effects started. There was drowsiness, dizziness, and more nausea.
I managed to get through the day by eating plain dry bread and drinking bottled water I could buy and at the end of the day I went back to the hotel, ate something very plain and went to bed. I didn’t even shoot photographs of the food.
On Thursday morning, I was still in need of the loperamide. During a break I put my head down on a desk to just close my eyes and I experienced an episode of vasovagal syncope. It was the first time I’ve fainted while seated with my head down. There was a pounding head ache, diaphoresis (profuse sweating), my tinnitus was going wild, and the nausea hit me hard. I was careful not to stand up knowing I’d fall over so I just waited but the nausea got the better of me and I could feel my œsophagus swell with vomit. Sure enough I had vomit in my mouth. I stood, conscious of staying alert, walked to the bathroom with an unsteady gait, and managed to open a stall door before screaming “Ralph”.
On Thursday evening I got to the airport early for my red eye flight back to Sydney. Once my flight was called and I was settled into my seat, I asked for a dry bread roll and a bottle of water and that’s what I ate for the entire 8 hour flight. I fell sleep sitting in my seat and only stirred when I had to attend the lavatory.
I got back to Canberra on Friday and all I can say, having a shower and brushing my teeth felt so good. I weighed myself and discovered I was losing weight the wrong way.
I cooked myself a late lunch of steamed egg and wilted spinach and immediately felt better. It was good not feeling nauseated at the smell of food.
How much did I lose?
On Sunday 2019-09-08 (the day I left) I weighed in undressed first thing in the morning at 81 kilograms. I try to weigh myself daily as soon as I alight from bed and after I’ve emptied my bladder.
On Friday, in the mid-afternoon, just before that glorious post-trip shower, I weighed in at 79.5 kilograms undressed. I knew this might be skewed because I’d eaten a bread roll at the airport in Sydney and ate a little of a muffin on the flight between Sydney and Canberra. I’d also had some water along the way.
On Saturday morning after emptying my bladder, I weighed in at 78.1 kilograms. I knew that would be a nadir for a few weeks and perhaps months assuming I recover and start walking again.
Most of the weight lost due to a gastrointestinal problem tends to be water which is easily replaced.
Can I take advantage of losing weight the wrong way?
I’m writing this post on a Sunday having spent Saturday washing and cleaning. When I weighed myself this morning I was 78.3 kilograms. My appetite has returned, and I’m wondering if I can avoid putting on the weight I’d lost? I know most of the weight loss is cellular water. I have been careful to keep hydrated. I don’t if I really want to alter anything in my diet. My meals have become fairly regimented when I’m in control. The most variable meal is lunch. My minor plan is to try to stick with small servings of lunch and see how I go.
What have I watched this week?
Hunter Killer
On the Sydney to Manila flight I came across this movie in the Philippine Airlines entertainment system.
Some people know how much I love a good submarine movie. Movies like The Hunt for Red October and Crimson Tide are among my favourite movies.
Oddly enough, both Hunter Killer and The Hunt for Red October have Scottish lead actors. Both refer a lot to the Russian Polyarny naval base, both use a deep-submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV), and there is a lot of torpedo action.
I really enjoyed this movie and if you like submarine action, I recommend it.
Can you imagine living on a submarine? Can you imagine having a few days of diarrhoea caused by something like Norovirus on a submarine? I’m betting naval cooks never serve anything deemed to be a possible risk in terms of food borne infection or intoxication. Cruise ships are basically floating buckets of diarrhoea, vomit, and lung oysters. A military ship, especially a submarine can’t afford to have mass illness on board. Losing weight the wrong way in a submarine would be a very bad thing.
I’ve never been on a cruise. I can’t imagine I ever will. The thought of being captive on a vessel with such a high risk of communicable disease makes my skin crawl. Flying is bad enough. Cruising would be awful.
Last Man Standing
Helen Potts
Season 4 episode 12 features Patricia Richardson who played Tim Taylor’s wife Jill in Home Improvement. It was a terrific episode with lots of references to Home Improvement. The B story was also pretty cool when Eve thought Ed wasn’t worthy to write up as a war hero for a report on the Vietnam War because he did clerical work and then she discovered he spends every Wednesday night helping veterans complete paperwork for their entitlements. For Home Improvement fans, there was also a reference to Wilson to.
Star Trek: Deep Space 9
Statistical Probabilities
Season 6, episode 9. Genetically engineered humans. Out of the outcomes, I would choose Lauren. I like the idea of human augments.
Don’t get me wrong, the notion of eugenics is abhorrent. In a genetically perfect (which is an oxymoron knowing how evolution works) world, someone with my skin condition and my other genetically determined traits would be seen as inferior.
National Rugby League
The Brisbane Broncos are playing the Parramatta Eels today in a knockout final. The less said by me the better.
What have I listened to this week?
The podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno is back for a fifth season. I find it really funny.
What have I eaten and photographed this week?
Videos
Photographs
WHO WPRO Dead Duck Dilbert WHO WPRO Manila 
WHO WPRO Main committee room 
Dead Duck Dilbert Pan Pacific Manila Gourmet Burger 
Dead Duck Dilbert Pan Pacific Manila Gourmet Burger 
Dead Duck Dilbert Pan Pacific Manila Bacon Omelet 
Dead Duck Dilbert Pan Pacific Manila Baby back ribs, corn, beans, and potatoes. 
Dead Duck Dilbert Pan Pacific Manila Baby back ribs, corn, beans, and potatoes. 
Dead Duck Dilbert Pan Pacific Manila Baby back ribs, corn, beans, and potatoes. 
Dead Duck Dilbert Pan Pacific Manila Bread roll Butter 
Manila sky line from Pan Pacific Manila 
Manila sky line from Pan Pacific Manila 
Manila sky line from Pan Pacific Manila 
Dead Duck Dilbert Pan Pacific Manila Baby Oil 
Manila RedBull Sugarfree Pan Pacific Manila 
Public Art Canberra International Airport 
Dead Duck Dilbert Canberra International Airport 
Dead Duck Dilbert Pan Pacific Hotel Pacific Lounge Manila 
Amuse Bouche PR212 
Thai chicken and mango salad PR212 
Twice cooked pork belly PR212 
Twice cooked pork belly PR212 
Double cream brie, smoked cheddar, and Chèvre with walnuts and apricot PR212 
Walnut coffee gateau with chocolate custard and Death by chocolate ice cream PR212 
Smoked salmon salad PR212 
Fresh fruit PR212 
Turkey with pesto mayonnaise dressing, mozzarella, parmesan, zucchini, and sun dried tomatoes PR212 
Turkey with pesto mayonnaise dressing, mozzarella, parmesan, zucchini, and sun dried tomatoes PR212 
Dead Duck Dilbert Breakfast Pacific Lounge Pan Pacific Hotel Pacific Lounge Manila Bacon, Bacon covered chicken gateau, cheese omelet 
Dried anchovies Beef Tapas Pacific Lounge Pan Pacific Hotel Pacific Lounge Manila 
Fillet mignon with prawns, potato au gratin, and sautéed mushrooms with a bearnaise sauce Pan Pacific Manila. 
Fillet mignon with prawns, potato au gratin, and sautéed mushrooms with a bearnaise sauce Pan Pacific Manila. 
Fillet mignon with prawns, potato au gratin, and sautéed mushrooms with a bearnaise sauce Pan Pacific Manila. 
Fillet mignon with prawns, potato au gratin, and sautéed mushrooms with a bearnaise sauce Pan Pacific Manila. 
Fillet mignon with prawns, potato au gratin, and sautéed mushrooms with a bearnaise sauce Pan Pacific Manila. 
Me and Spam 
Queensland Bowen with unsweetened Yoghurt 
Celery Carrot Brie Dates 
Saturday tea. Cheesy Rissole with Egg and Salad. The video is at Beef, Cheese, Egg, Tomatoes, Cabbage, Avocado #yummylummy #foodphotography #lowcarb #noaddedsugar #rissole G’day food lovers I felt like eating a juicy rissole tonight. I minced a piece of beef steak and shaped it into a rissole. I fried it in butter for 3 minutes on each side and then turned the heat off the frypan, put some slices of cheese on it, and put a lid on the frypan for 3 minutes. In the burnt butter I fried an egg in an egg ring and kept the yolk soft and runny. I shredded the sugarloaf cabbage and red cabbage with a mandolin, halved some cherry tomatoes, and sliced some avocado cheeks. The rissole was really nice and juicy, especially because I spooned some of the burnt butter on the shredded cabbages. Have a great night and hope that soon I’ll be able to fart with confidence. 
Saturday breakfast. Steamed egg, Coon™, and Wilted spinach. I’m so happy to be cooking my own breakfast after a week away. I’ve been craving some steamed egg and spinach so much. #yummylummy #foodphotography #lowcarb #nosugaradded 
Celery, Carrot, Dates, and Tasmanian Heritage triple cream brie
This is a gallery of photographs. Click on one image and scroll through the rest of them.
This week you’ll see some photos of food from my stay in Manila. While there won’t be photographs of Jemima the Duck, there are some Dead Duck Dilbert.
Yummy Lummy this week
There’s be a post later today on a rissole I cooked for dinner. Feel free to check out https://yummylummy.com for some cooking for one inspiration. The link is likely to be https://yummylummy.com/2019-09-15
The cookbook
I’ve been too busy this week working and being unwell.
[maxbutton id=”11″ ][maxbutton id=”12″ ][maxbutton id=”13″ ]
Final thoughts
- Have you ever “benefited” by losing weight the wrong way?
- Do you experience side effects from loperamide?
- Do you watch movies on flights? Have you seen any good ones lately?
I like using @SkylumSoftware Luminar 3 for photo editing
— Gaz 🖖 (@garydlum) August 15, 2019
Check out the product https://t.co/HnxMkLpw1J
Yes, if people buy from this link I get a reward.
That is terrible you felt ill during your trip away. One more day there and you might not have been able to leave your hotel room. When I’m sick with a full on cold which ends with a cough, I do lose a bit of weight due to lack of appetite brought on by the sickness.
‘Flying is bad enough. Cruising would be awful.’ A great line and so agree. I also am hesitant to get on a ship or cruise. As you said, the confined area is an excellent breeding ground for germs. Also you’d be sharing public toilets the entire time :/
OMG public toilets. I had to use some toilets I never want to use ever again…
There’s no guessing how often a cruise ship’s toilets are cleaned. There’s also always the chance a toilet might not work and that could be the start of sickness on board.
There’s public toilets you want to never use, and then there’s public toilets you want to forget.
Everytime I sat down on a never before experienced (by me) public toilet, all I could think of was the shower I would have when I arrived home…
Using dirty public toilets makes me feel so dirty.
Even when you wipe down the seat on a public toilet, it still never really feels clean. You could always never fully sit on a public toilet.
My mother trained me to squat from an early age.
Very nice. I hope you still have that superpower til today.
I have good thighs
Dreadful Gary, wow you certainly were very ill…glad you are better now – and yes smaller portions will def help…as of last week my weight loss over five months has been just over sixteen kgs. A couple more to go and then it’s maintaining it!! (the hard part)
Well done on the loss of 16 kilograms. That is such a great achievement. Congratulations.
I’m certainly feeling a lot better today than what I did last week.
Thanks G. I have been keeping up the exercise over here in SA and being pretty good with food intake. Glad you are feeling better too.
Thanks 😃
Wish that you will feel better soon, Gary.
Yes, I have tried to loose weight that way and kept a part of it, the one didn’t have to do with the water.
Thanks, Irene. I’m feeling a lot better than what I did.