5 lb

I now know that at any given time I have about 5 lb of food and water in my digestive system. How do I know this? Jenny gave me the most horrific food poisoning of my life! It completely cleaned me out! (She says it was for my own good; it was a distraction. It was certainly distracting!) To be fair, she took very good care of me until it struck her too, and then she suffered just as much as I did. I might never touch another soy sausage! (She's just forsworn the expired variety.)

I am so skinny right now! I ate hardly anything for two days, and am completely on empty. After the first day I felt a little better (except for when I took Pepto Bismol. That guaranteed more puking. What's up with that?! Why do I always get the exact opposite response to pink medicines than I'm supposed to? Calomine lotion gives me a rash and pepto bismol makes me throw up. They're supposed to soothe those things!). But we were afraid to eat at that point since initially even drinking water would re-trigger it and since we both had plane trips scheduled for the next day. Now I'm back home again and eating and drinking like normal (i.e., like a horse). Phwew!

I've always been amazed at how noticeable it is when a skinny person has had a lot to eat. It isn't really surprising. Sticks like me don't have much to conceal what's going through their digestive systems (except rockin' abs, of course) and a difference of an inch or two (or 5 lbs) is much more significant to a 26" waist than to one of 62". For instance, I'm much skinnier in the morning than at night. And since I eat before ballet, my dinner is always conveniently put on display by my leotard. But you do what you have to do... Now that I'm getting old, I definitely need the energy from a decent meal to dance. I don't know how those anorexic ballerinas do it!