This has not been a good week, or even month for that matter. I had a big gain, a lot of stress, and failed Intermittent Fasting experiment. And did I mention my period came early, a whole week early? Ugh! I have decided to take the next 28 days off from weighing in. I have handed over the scale to my husband, whom will hide it and not allow me to weigh in again until the morning of April 7, 2014. Wish me luck!
I woke up with GREAT Difficulty. IF did not help on my first day of my period and that "groggy, I can't get enough sleep" feeling I get every month. But, I started out this morning with full intention on continuing IF, with doubt that I should be. I didn't eat my first meal until 11:45, and couldn't even wait another 15 minutes for my eating period. And what is 15 minutes really? So I ate my lunch, which was satisfying. Then something happened. All those chocolates, jelly beans, trial mix, etc. started looking REALLY good. And I caved. I caved hard. I left work, stopped at a store and happened to see Sugar Free chocolate covered almonds. So I caved on those too. I was so stressed out about going to my TOPS meeting and weighing in, that I ate those things all the way to the meeting, where I showed a 3 pound gain. NO surprise there. So I believe it is safe to say that I DO NOT belong on an Intermittent Fasting strategy. I will continue to eat when hungry, and no other time. I feel good having done this experiment, because that is another "what if" that I can scratch off my list. Been there, done that.
7:00am: Woke up with ease
8:30am: Fatty Coffee (Coffee, heavy cream, butter & coconut oil)
10:00 - 12:00pm: 2 more cups of fatty coffee
12:30pm: Started with a romaine lettuce salad with blueberry fayre cheese, oil & vinegar. Ate leftovers from yesterday: Chorizo patty, cheese, chipotle mayo, 1/2 avocado, sauteed cabbage.
I felt very full. I actually felt that I ate too much. Started to feel tired, unmotivated, etc. My mind is telling me that I should eat more in a smaller timeframe. I am going to try and slow it down so that I can make sure I am chewing adequately and not overeating.
5:15pm: Boneless/Skinless Chicken thighs cooked in duckfat and bacon grease, seasoned with thyme, rosemary, savory, etc. A homemade gravy was made with left over grease and heavy whipping cream. Broccoli with butter. 2 Fat bombs
Felt very satiated. I did not feel that I overate. BUT, I wasn't that hungry and knew I had to eat anyway because it was getting late and I had to leave for an event.
I did not feel hungry the rest of the night. ********************** My Mood:
Again, it is very frustrating the first part of the day being so hungry. I am questioning continuing this experiment. It doesn't feel right physically or mentally. I stress out very quickly, and IF seems to be adding to that problem.
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RESULTS: (Weighed in Thursday, March 06, 2014 @ 5:30 am)
LOST/GAIN = 0.00 (Stayed the Same) Another day without good results. Is IF right for me?
Day 2 Results: Waking up this morning, I felt it much easier to get out of bed than usual. I typically can sleep an easy 9-10 hours without hesitation. I actually could not fall back asleep after waking up at 6:55am. Normally, I can fall asleep VERY quickly after waking up this early (on a non-work day of course). Maybe because I had an empty belly before going to bed? I am home today since schools are closed due to the 5+ inches of snow we got. Temperatures haven't gotten high enough to melt the snow yet. **************************
6:55am: Woke up 9:00am - 10:00am: 1.5 American size cups of Fatty Coffee (coffee, coconut oil & grass fed butter) I felt MUCH fuller this time and could not finish my 2nd cup. 10:50am: Very Hungry. Drank a glass of water. 12:45pm: Ate a salad with the following: Romaine Lettuce, Broccoli Sprouts, crispy bacon, blue cheese crumbles, blue cheese dressing, avocado oil, and balsamic vinegar. Also ate 2 chocolate/coconut fat bombs and a few little slices of aged cheddar. 5:30pm: Ate Dinner as follows: Hamburger patty, ground chorizo patty, monterey jack cheese, 1/2 avocado, sauteed cabbage, chipotle mayo & green chiles. 8:00pm: I was so hungry I almost caved and ate some pork rinds. But I stuck with it and didn't eat anything. 10:45pm: It took a little while to get to sleep, but not as bad as Monday night. ************************ My Mood: Its very frustrating being so hungry in the a.m. I'm also hungry about an hour before lunchtime, which is frustrating. An hour before dinner, I am also very hungry. And although I can eat something at that time, it would spoil my dinner, and then I'd be even hungrier in the evening. In the evening, I am going to bed VERY hungry. I'm not sure how else I can get more food in my system without overeating and being uncomfortable. Not sure that IF is right for me at this point. But it is only the 2nd day, I still need time to adjust. ************************ RESULTS: (Weighed in Wednesday, March 05, 2014 @ 6:55 am) LOST 0.4 Pounds I was hoping to see a bigger loss for the 2nd day, especially following 2 large gains. Hopefully day 3 will be much better.
Yesterday (Sunday) I did not do as well as I should have. It all started with Famous Daves Restaurant, and ended with chips and root beer. In addition, I believe I am starting my "shark week" a week early. Not sure yet, but it is possible. So with those two things batting against me, I thought this would be a perfect week to attempt a 7 day experiment on Intermittent Fasting (IF).
I know IF is not for everybody, so what works for someone else may not work for me. There is only one way to find out. What will I be doing? I will be fasting for ~18 hours every day, starting at about 6pm and ending the following day at 12pm noon. I will only eat in a 6 hour window from 12pm noon through 6pm. The times will fluctuate with my schedule, because sometimes dinner takes longer than planned ;) I will weigh in every single morning and report it on that day's results (not the next morning). So.... bare with me, as my posts will be a day behind. But you can see why and excuse my tardiness, right? I hope so ;) The idea with IF, is that the body needs time to re-adjust the hormones, clear the colon, keep insulin levels in check, etc. Its a natural reset that happens every day. I found a great site for an understanding of what I am doing, and why: A Beginner's Guide to Intermittent Fasting I will be reporting what I ate and when, as well as how I felt throughout the day. My hypothesis (this is an experiment after all), is that I will adjust very quickly, with only a day or two to adjust to not having breakfast. I will then have to focus on slowly eating so that I don't overeat and that my food gets chewed properly, since I will be hungrier than normal. I also feel that I will lose a higher amount of fat this week, than I have in the past few weeks, especially compared to the "week before my periods" of the past. So here it goes.... **************************
8:00am: Woke up 9:00am - 11:00am: 2 American size cups of Fatty Coffee (coffee, coconut oil & grass fed butter) 12:15pm: I started to get hungry enough to make lunch. 12:30pm: Ate a salad with the following: Romaine lettuce, broccoli sprouts, crispy bacon, blue cheese crumbles, blue cheese dressing, salt and pepper.
I love eating my salads on a plate vs. a bowl. There is something more appealing about the way it looks on a plate. 2:00pm: Ate 2 Chocolate/Coconut Fat Bombs 5:30pm: Ate Corned beef, cabbage, a little slice of parsnips, and 2 little slices of carrots. I feel EXTREMELY full. Completely forgot my photo. Sorry, I was a little hungry, but not hungry to forget the photo. 7:50pm: VERY hungry. 10:00pm: Attempted to go to sleep. I had a hard time, felt very alert and awake. I have read this could be a side effect to IF for some people, but this is also how I feel when I start my menstruation, so its hard to tell right now. 11:45pm: Finally fell asleep. I fell asleep a few times from 10pm to 11:45, but the puppy kept waking me up. ************************ My Mood: I was not so hungry I could eat my own arm, which is what I thought would happen. Today was rather easy to get through. Although, I do not recommend watching the Food Network on the first few days of trying this experiment. ************************ RESULTS: (Weighed in Tuesday, March 04, 2014 @ 6:55 am) GAINED 1.4 Pounds (Keep in mind, I feel that I am starting my menstruation 1 week early, which is VERY unusual)
