I'm surviving today's fasting period, but it's not easy. I can't wait to eat again tomorrow; gotta get my 1800-2000 calories in. I'm hoping I'll get used to this routine; I've heard that many people who do this sort of fasting stop feeling hungry after a while. The secret to surviving the fast may simply be to occupy my mind with other activities. I'm rereading The Martian, working on my book project, and watching a lot of YouTube at night, so that helps.
My coworker's wife made an odaeng-udong soup along with a bunch of California rolls for today; I couldn't eat any of it, which was sad. You'll recall that the Missus fell ill the day before she was supposed to make food for the 20th, which was my cheat day. Having missed my cheat day, she plowed ahead and made food for today. The saddest part is that, before she fell ill, I was the one who had expressed a preference for California rolls. So she ended up making the food I wanted, just not on the day I could eat it. Life is like that sometimes.
I'll get through today, then I'll eat tomorrow (either burgers or keto bagels with smoked salmon, capers, and cream cheese, and maybe a scaled-down salad), then I'll be fasting again on Thursday. Fasting does have the advantage of simplifying your life—you don't have to cook as often, and you have time, during your non-eating days, to prep food for your eating days.
I noticed yesterday that, after my Friday cheat, my diabetic neuropathy had come back somewhat, so that's a warning not to go overboard even on cheat days. Today, perhaps because I'm fasting, or maybe simply because I'm distracted by work, there's no neuropathy at all. The consumption of carbs leads directly to neuropathy, it seems. I admit that's not a rigorously scientific thought, but at least it seems plausible.
Like it or not, this is the lifestyle I've chosen. Whether I can sustain it is something we'll all find out together. Who knows—maybe I'll have to go back to the Newcastle paradigm. Or maybe I'll have to switch my intermittent-fasting window to eat lunch and dinner instead of breakfast and lunch. One thing I can't do is go back to eating the way I did before the stroke. God knows how many thousands of calories I was consuming daily then, and how much of that was carbs. A return to that way of eating would be deadly.
Pray for me as I finish out today. Water fasting is no joke.
The first day is bound to be the hardest. You'll find a way to make it work and/or adjust accordingly. There is no going back to the old unhealthy lifestyle, but this diet adventure you've undertaken has just begun. Who knows what you will learn along the way? Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteI see by your latest post that you have survived, so that's good to know.
ReplyDeleteAs for the fasting, I would recommend trying a breakfast fast (oh, the contradictions!) as opposed to a dinner fast. I suppose your mileage may vary, but I find that it is easier to just not eat in the morning. I haven't had breakfast in... crap, it's been almost a year now, and I've grown quite accustomed to it. Sometimes I feel hungry, but it's never a really severe hunger, and I just ignore it and get on with my day. I haven't found that it has affected my energy levels in the morning, either (so all that talk about breakfast being the most important meal of the day is, IMHO, a load of malarkey).
On the other hand, I think I would have a much harder time skipping dinner, as that would most likely mean going to bed hungry. It's easier to push through hunger when you have something else to do. When you're just lying in bed trying to get to sleep, though, it can be a lot more difficult. This is my experience, at least.
Charles,
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've been thinking along the same lines. I didn't use to eat breakfast, but after the stroke, and once I started Newcastle, I got into the habit of having a morning shake. What started off as strange and unusual became routine, and now, I'm used to having a breakfast shake. I suppose I could move that shake to dinnertime instead. The fasting window would remain about the same.
A lot of the health gurus I've been watching on YouTube agree with you: there's no scientific justification for the idea that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Hell, for years, I was getting by just fine with no breakfast. So you're probably on to something. And I agree that going to bed hungry sucks.
John,
I appreciate the encouragement. Forward!