Monday, Bloody Monday

I gave blood yesterday, first time I have been able to in a year and a half. First I was deferred because I went to Belize, but once that time was up, I kept falling below the required iron numbers. Not very far below - nothing my doctor was concerned about, but enough that the NY Blood Center wouldn't take me. (I understand that people think they are unreasonably strict, and that if they loosened up their criteria they could impact the constant blood shortage, but does anyone really want them to loosen up their criteria? Come on.)

So the good news is that on my new eating plan, I am eating enough iron-rich foods to impact my iron levels. Yippee! I've always been a firm believer in nutrients from actual foods, not from supplements, so if a better diet makes me healthier, I'm thrilled.

I also dropped a pound and a half since yesterday morning. I'm not sure how much a pint of blood weighs, but when I tried to google it, I actually found someone asking if giving blood is a good way to lose weight. You know, if you get rid of 1 pint every six weeks, then you're dumping xxx amount of ounces every six weeks, right? Sigh. I don't suppose that idiot realizes that your body makes new blood to take the place of the old, thereby replacing the weight you lost. Otherwise, after giving a bunch of times (I've probably done 25 or so), you'd be pretty dried out.