It's Only for 14 Days: Day 5 of 14

WEIGHT: 128.8 kg (are we finally seeing some progress?)

APPROX. RESTING PULSE: 88 (15-sec calc method). Well, I guess that's something.

BLURRY VISION: none (obviously not counting myopia).

SKIN: as before: scabby, patchy, and blotchy, esp. on left shin.

CHEST PAIN: No tightness at all today. A welcome change. There's definitely a correlation between eating a lot and attempting to move around after eating: combining the two leads to chest tightness. We might be seeing a bit of progress after only five days. Tonight, I walked 15,000 steps for the first time in ages. Not a bit of tightness during the walk, although I did have to stop and take a torrentially diarrhetic poop at the park's large, clean restroom. (Cool air has always had a laxative effect on me. Am just wired that way.)

MENTAL STATE: alert, focused, generally emotionally stable. No fatigue, wooziness, or diminished coordination.

GENERAL WELL-BEING: Overall positive. Feeling less lackluster today, more energetic in general. Otherwise, I'm my usual huge, lumbering, sluggish self. I'm beginning to think I have a molasses-slow metabolism, which in turn means I really need to cut down my portion sizes (along with altering my diet, of course). Food stays in me for a long time, and it takes a long time to come out, given that my body seems to release it only reluctantly thanks to my (possible) IBS.

After this experiment is over, I'll have to seriously rethink my lifestyle. Given my metabolism, I think I can plausibly survive on a single meal a day. I'm aware of the clinical wisdom that says you should distribute carbs and nutrition fairly evenly throughout your waking hours, starting stronger in the morning and petering out toward evening so as to avoid spikes in blood-sugar levels, etc., but my own daily experience tells me that my energy level doesn't really fluctuate that much from morning to evening, and is fairly unaffected by eating: my alertness doesn't change before or after lunch, but shots of caffeine at strategic points throughout the work day can be helpful. I'll just have to change from Coke to tea for those shots.

I need to get back to vigorous walking, possibly supplemented by short-distance running/jogging, as there are no hills in the vicinity, unless you count Daemosan in the distance, about 30 minutes' walk from my apartment. I also need to engage more regularly in other vigorous activities; I've been contemplating a return to taekwondo (there's a dojang in the building where I work) and maybe a dip of the toe into the world of boxing (there's a boxing gym up the street from where I live). Boxing in particular would be great in a whole-body sense, and boxing training doesn't necessarily have to involve actual sparring unless I want it to.

End report.

ADDENDUM: I mentioned IBS above and, mirabile dictu, this article suddenly floats into view!