Happy friday everyone! Yesterday was my second fasting day and I missed posting, sorry. Among other things I got to chat on the phone with a very good friend who lives very far away, and then had a romantic evening with my husband which included him drawing me a bubble bath! He is just the best, :).
So now for some data and other information! My fast started at about 7pm wednesday evening (after dinner again). It would have been earlier but my husband and I had a serious case of indecision regarding dinner that night. I hate when that happens! We finally settled on some salads from the diner across the street after almost a whole hour of "What do you want?"... "I dunno, what do YOU want....?". Terrible, heh.
Wednesday night was actually a really fun evening for me too, so I am going to digress for a moment. I went and tried out swing dancing! There was an even a few towns over, that included a lesson before hand on lindy hop. So I gathered all my gumption (despite my brain deciding to remind me how shy I can be!) and drove down to try it out. I had a lot of fun, and man was it way more of a workout than I had expected!! Apparently lindy hop is one of the more difficult dances to learn off the bat, which I did not know. But I got through the lesson (and only ran into one person... :/ ) and then a few people were kind enough to show me how to jitterbug during the open dance portion of the evening. Jitterbug was so, SO much easier! Haha.
Thursday morning was less than awesome. I can't BELIEVE how sore I was! Haha. Like I said, unexpected work out! Yesterday mornings weigh in was 229, another lb down! I think my husband is starting to suspect foul play. Especially since today, the day AFTER my second fast... I weighed in at 227.5!
To dispel common concerns that may crop up:
~ I have not had any instances of dizziness or fatigue during this week. In fact remember that
during my second fast day I went swing dancing! I didn't feel weak or anything. (A bit out of
shape... *stares at the yoga mat I will be using once this blog post is done* ;)
~ I haven't had much of a mood change, in fact most day's (even the fasting ones) I have been
generally happy and in a good mood!
I also try my best to "spend my calories" wisely on my fast days. LOTS of veggies is key, they are low cal and high in fiber and nutrients so they fill me quickly and easily! While I try not to dwell on it on my non fasting days I do at least try to get plenty of veggies in then too, while still letting myself enjoy pizza, or ice cream.
So here are the final stats for this fasting week:
Height: 5'7
Weight: 227.5
Waist: 37.25
Hips: 50
Thigh:27.5
No change in hips and thighs as of yet... but it's only the first week! I am almost looking forward to my next fast day with these kinds of results so I will have another post ready then! Until monday folks!
Friday, April 12, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Fasting Day 1, The Aftermath
Well I made it through the first fasting day! It wasn't grueling, but it wasn't a cake walk either. I became quite hungry in the last hour of the fast. (5pm to 6pm yesterday) But I made it! The weather was really great yesterday, we made it into the low 60's and it was mostly sunny! So my husband and I met a friend at the park and went to the local "drive up" fast but made to order food place to celebrate both my success at fasting, and the awesome weather. I enjoyed a small burger, small order of fries, and a small chocolate milk shake.
I was not able to finish a single one of those things! Which for me is really saying something. So I would say the fasting day had some pretty immediate effects. But it was delicious all the same, and I had a great time just being out-doors and hanging out. (Being from upstate NY, you really miss hanging out out-doors after the winter!)
When I woke up today I was not terribly hungry (although I did have to wake up about 2 hours earlier than normal today for a breakfast meeting!) and ate some fruit and half a bagel and was quite full. My weigh in today was 230, so another lb down from yesterday, crazy! And despite having to be at a meeting at 7am, I made it through a workday with minimal fatigue.
I am quite motivated and intrigued by my experience so far, and almost can't wait until my next fast day! Thursday will be my next fast day, and my next blog post so keep an eye out for it! I plan on doing a 6pm (wednesday) to 6pm (thursday) fast again as that worked out well the first time and will give you all more thoughts and stats then!
I was not able to finish a single one of those things! Which for me is really saying something. So I would say the fasting day had some pretty immediate effects. But it was delicious all the same, and I had a great time just being out-doors and hanging out. (Being from upstate NY, you really miss hanging out out-doors after the winter!)
When I woke up today I was not terribly hungry (although I did have to wake up about 2 hours earlier than normal today for a breakfast meeting!) and ate some fruit and half a bagel and was quite full. My weigh in today was 230, so another lb down from yesterday, crazy! And despite having to be at a meeting at 7am, I made it through a workday with minimal fatigue.
I am quite motivated and intrigued by my experience so far, and almost can't wait until my next fast day! Thursday will be my next fast day, and my next blog post so keep an eye out for it! I plan on doing a 6pm (wednesday) to 6pm (thursday) fast again as that worked out well the first time and will give you all more thoughts and stats then!
Monday, April 8, 2013
First fast day
Good morning! I am in my first day of fasting. I actually decided to go from 6pm-6pm (dinnertime) rather than from waking to waking. I feel like this might be a better plan because by the time I wake up on a fast day I am only 10 hours from eating whatever I want.
So last night I had my dinner and finished my dessert and wine by 6pm. I ate teriyaki chicken and broccoli with quinoa, and a mug brownie from my cooking blog. The only thing I consumed after that was water and plain tea with no sugar.
I did get a few tummy grumbles last night but nothing that was terribly hard to distract myself from. I also had a hard time getting to sleep, but it is possible that could be from oversleeping the night before (I had over 12 hours of sleep) and therefore just not being tired yet.
I should note that I enjoyed a delicious plate of diner breakfast (for lunch) as well yesterday, hash browns, poached eggs, and sausage gravy... my favorite! My breakfast was pretty light as I only had a slice of blueberry bunt cake and coffee with cream at church.
This morning I am feeling a bit hungry but I am not terribly worried about it because I can eat up to 500 calories before 6pm and then whatever I want after that! So by the time I do eat something I will have totally fasted for about 15 hours. I plan on starting with a small breakfast meal (a hard boiled egg, small serving of plain yogurt, and berries, most likely blended into a smoothie. Well the egg won't be in the smoothie! heh.) and then I will eat the larger allotted meal as soon as I feel hungry again. I premade the main meal I will eat today and used a recipe straight from The Fast Diet book. I am actually excited about eating it as it looks like it will be delicious! It is a carefully measured feta Nicosia salad (feta cheese, diced black olive, lettuce, cucumber, and beans) drizzled with a little apple cider vinegar. Yum.
Lastly a little bit of data. My weight this morning is 231, down a lb from yesterday morning. I am feeling peckish but not utterly starving, and I am suffering no sensations of dizziness, lightheadedness, headache, or mental cloudiness. I am still quite optimistic about this diet style and eager to track my results as they come! I will post again tomorrow (the day after the fasting day) and then likely not again until Thurday, my next planned fasting day. Ta for now!
So last night I had my dinner and finished my dessert and wine by 6pm. I ate teriyaki chicken and broccoli with quinoa, and a mug brownie from my cooking blog. The only thing I consumed after that was water and plain tea with no sugar.
I did get a few tummy grumbles last night but nothing that was terribly hard to distract myself from. I also had a hard time getting to sleep, but it is possible that could be from oversleeping the night before (I had over 12 hours of sleep) and therefore just not being tired yet.
I should note that I enjoyed a delicious plate of diner breakfast (for lunch) as well yesterday, hash browns, poached eggs, and sausage gravy... my favorite! My breakfast was pretty light as I only had a slice of blueberry bunt cake and coffee with cream at church.
This morning I am feeling a bit hungry but I am not terribly worried about it because I can eat up to 500 calories before 6pm and then whatever I want after that! So by the time I do eat something I will have totally fasted for about 15 hours. I plan on starting with a small breakfast meal (a hard boiled egg, small serving of plain yogurt, and berries, most likely blended into a smoothie. Well the egg won't be in the smoothie! heh.) and then I will eat the larger allotted meal as soon as I feel hungry again. I premade the main meal I will eat today and used a recipe straight from The Fast Diet book. I am actually excited about eating it as it looks like it will be delicious! It is a carefully measured feta Nicosia salad (feta cheese, diced black olive, lettuce, cucumber, and beans) drizzled with a little apple cider vinegar. Yum.
Lastly a little bit of data. My weight this morning is 231, down a lb from yesterday morning. I am feeling peckish but not utterly starving, and I am suffering no sensations of dizziness, lightheadedness, headache, or mental cloudiness. I am still quite optimistic about this diet style and eager to track my results as they come! I will post again tomorrow (the day after the fasting day) and then likely not again until Thurday, my next planned fasting day. Ta for now!
Sunday, April 7, 2013
And We Begin
So, I have been working on getting healthy recently, for many reasons including of course losing weight. I haven't been doing terribly, but also not spectacularly either. A lot of times I lacked the energy to work out, or was just really craving some chocolate, or some pizza. What do you do when this happens? Well on traditional weight loss plans you pretty much just deal with it, or possibly gain back a pound or two. That can be pretty demotivating!
While on a trip recently a book was recommended to me. It's called The Fast Diet. The long and the short of it is that our current ideas about health and eating are really really screwed up. Many other cultures of the world (both religious and not) have a tradition of fasting. Fasting is in its most basic form eating no, or drastically fewer calories than you normally would for a period of time. The book contains a lot of scientific research and examples of different ways of fasting, and then the author describes his idea of how fasting can work in our modern lives. He came up with the idea of fasting twice a week (on non-concsecutive days) and eating without worry the other five days. You can choose any two days in a week, and they can change if something comes up.
Sounds a little counter-intuitive right? Well I am not going to try and convince you right now, if you want data, check out the book (you can get it for under $6 as a nook book from Barnes and Noble) However the data collected by the writer seems compelling enough to give it a try! Outside of consistently dropping weight he records a positive impact in many basic health screening numbers (Again information you can find in the book if you are interested), he records finding himself with more energy, improved mood and sense of well-being, improved mental clarity, etc. This is definitely something I am willing to try!
So what exactly does this entail? Well two days a week, for me I will be shooting for mondays and thursdays, I am limited to eating 500 calories. The other 5 days I don't have to worry about calories at all. That is FANTASTIC! While counting calories has been working slowly but surely, it is often frustrating and gets really tedious to do day after day after day.
Will this be hard? Heck yeah, I believe it will be. At least to start. But all accounts of this sort of lifestyle indicate that fasting becomes easier and easier as you do it, and quickly. Within weeks according to the current statistics you not only see physical results but feel results internally as well. I have a few ideas on my strategy on getting through my fast days. Lots of tea is involved. Also I think that I will do well to wait to eat breakfast until as late as I can, as I am often not overly hungry in the morning anyway. I am also blogging about my progress to A) Track my results B)Share my experience, and C)Have some outside accountability.
So my first fasting day will be tomorrow! And here are my starting stats:
Height 5'7
Weight: 232
Waist: 39
Hips: 50
Thigh: 27.5
I plan to blog both on my fast days, and the day following my fast days to talk about how it goes, what sort of things I experience and how things work for me. I will also record my progress in the above stats! So here goes nothing folks! I am very interested to see what happens and if it is really true that I don't have to actively change my diet the other 5 days. Results to come! Now before my fasting day I am enjoying some wine, and chocolate mug cake with home-made whipped cream! :)
And for good measure, here is a picture of me at the start. I will do a picture maybe once a week? Once every two weeks? Ill decide later I guess heh. Anyway, I will do the picture in the same outfit every time to see differences! (I know the tank isn't flattering, that was purposeful. It will show changes best!)
While on a trip recently a book was recommended to me. It's called The Fast Diet. The long and the short of it is that our current ideas about health and eating are really really screwed up. Many other cultures of the world (both religious and not) have a tradition of fasting. Fasting is in its most basic form eating no, or drastically fewer calories than you normally would for a period of time. The book contains a lot of scientific research and examples of different ways of fasting, and then the author describes his idea of how fasting can work in our modern lives. He came up with the idea of fasting twice a week (on non-concsecutive days) and eating without worry the other five days. You can choose any two days in a week, and they can change if something comes up.
Sounds a little counter-intuitive right? Well I am not going to try and convince you right now, if you want data, check out the book (you can get it for under $6 as a nook book from Barnes and Noble) However the data collected by the writer seems compelling enough to give it a try! Outside of consistently dropping weight he records a positive impact in many basic health screening numbers (Again information you can find in the book if you are interested), he records finding himself with more energy, improved mood and sense of well-being, improved mental clarity, etc. This is definitely something I am willing to try!
So what exactly does this entail? Well two days a week, for me I will be shooting for mondays and thursdays, I am limited to eating 500 calories. The other 5 days I don't have to worry about calories at all. That is FANTASTIC! While counting calories has been working slowly but surely, it is often frustrating and gets really tedious to do day after day after day.
Will this be hard? Heck yeah, I believe it will be. At least to start. But all accounts of this sort of lifestyle indicate that fasting becomes easier and easier as you do it, and quickly. Within weeks according to the current statistics you not only see physical results but feel results internally as well. I have a few ideas on my strategy on getting through my fast days. Lots of tea is involved. Also I think that I will do well to wait to eat breakfast until as late as I can, as I am often not overly hungry in the morning anyway. I am also blogging about my progress to A) Track my results B)Share my experience, and C)Have some outside accountability.
So my first fasting day will be tomorrow! And here are my starting stats:
Height 5'7
Weight: 232
Waist: 39
Hips: 50
Thigh: 27.5
I plan to blog both on my fast days, and the day following my fast days to talk about how it goes, what sort of things I experience and how things work for me. I will also record my progress in the above stats! So here goes nothing folks! I am very interested to see what happens and if it is really true that I don't have to actively change my diet the other 5 days. Results to come! Now before my fasting day I am enjoying some wine, and chocolate mug cake with home-made whipped cream! :)
And for good measure, here is a picture of me at the start. I will do a picture maybe once a week? Once every two weeks? Ill decide later I guess heh. Anyway, I will do the picture in the same outfit every time to see differences! (I know the tank isn't flattering, that was purposeful. It will show changes best!)
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