Saturday, August 14, 2021

Newcastle ends this coming Thursday

If I plan to ruin my blood sugar on Friday the 20th, then I'd better take my final Newcastle Diet measurements that very morning, or at least the morning before. This past week, I was eating Subway sandwiches—definitely not keto, but technically speaking, I've never been keto while on Newcastle, mainly thanks to my sugary SlimFast shakes.* And since the dietitian at the hospital seemed OK with certain types of Subway sandwiches (turkey-bacon-avocado on wheat with Italian dressing, to be specific), I took some interpretive liberties and combined her tolerance of Subway with the dictates of my caloric restriction and thus justified eating a single foot-long Subway sub for lunch four out of the previous five days.** Subway sandwiches are often touted as the "healthier" alternative to burgers and such, but the truth is that they're mostly carbs because of the bread. So, doubtless, my average blood sugar has been up this past week, and starting this coming week, I'll buckle down once again to finish the diet strong, i.e., I'll be back to salads and chicken breast for lunch, and possibly just fasting all of Thursday.

So, for this guy, the final day of Newcastle is this coming Thursday. Seems somehow apropos to end on a fasting note, especially right before the Day of Doom that is Friday the 20th. I'll be very curious to see what my BP, BS, and weight are at that point, plus, if I remember to check it, my resting heart rate. According to my goals calendar, my average blood sugar ought to be down to 120 by now, but I think I've already passed that goal.

Meanwhile, I have tomorrow morning's weigh-in to look forward to. I have already done my resistance training and stair work for today, so all that's left is my long walk starting at 6 p.m. Stay tuned as this ongoing autobiography continues.

Today's menu: a shake, nuts and berries, and some beef jerky. Then nothing the rest of the day. From the end of lunch onward, nothing. Like a classical Buddhist monk.

__________

*This, by the way, is evidence in favor of the CICO model: I have never once gone into ketosis, nor have I experienced autophagy, and yet I've been losing weight this entire time, albeit more and more slowly. The deceleration of the weight loss shows that CIM is a thing, despite a near-constant and radical caloric deficit, but the constant weight loss without ketosis and autophagy shows that CICO is a thing, too.

**Not that you're interested, but Tuesday was an Italian BMT; Wednesday was turkey-bacon-avocado; Thursday was pulled pork; Friday was chicken teriyaki. All Subway footlong sandwiches are in the 750-850-calorie range. My morning weekday shake, when made with almond milk, is a bit over 100 calories, so I'm in technical violation of the Newcastle Diet's 800-calorie limit, but despite having violated that limit many times, I'm still losing weight. Plus, I decided I might as well work my way through Subway's menu. After all, after next week, who knows when I might be back? Is it worth going to Subway on a cheat day?



No comments: