Junkie does IF

Intermittent Fasting Journey

[junkikichic]

Day 24

We definitely walked a lot at Disney (Sparky walked close to 19,000 steps one day!) but we ate what we wanted and I didn’t gain any weight. I even had a beer at Epcot and our resort restaurant had homemade jerk chips that had to be gotten a second time! We also treated ourselves to dessert one night...I wanted ice cream but the machine didn’t work so I got chocolate milk and a rice crispies treat (shaped like Mickey, of course) and I ate the gummy worms off of Sparky’s chocolate pudding. I felt awful after that and realized that too much sugar is not worth how I feel later. I continued to do IF throughout the vacation and was happy to not have gained any weight.

I am happy to realize that I’m sleeping really well and have little to no pain. I used to have a lot of pain in my hips but I think that with all the walking we do and 200 leg lifts I do at night, that the muscles around my hip joints have strengthened. I also believe that cutting down on sugar consumption has helped with inflammation. It makes me feel younger and more energetic to not have to fight through the pain.

[junkikichic]

Days 21, 22 & 23

DISNEY VACATION! 

[junkikichic]

Day 20

Walked again by myself w/ music about 2 miles and then was out of energy. I don't know what the deal is with this but I wonder if it's a kind of cycle I should look into.  The other thing is that we went out to dinner last night with some friends and I ate mexican food in the latter part of my window and I wonder if it was just too much of a yummy thing. My meal had a lot of cheese on it which I've been trying to cut back on but I only ate half my meal so I did not over indulge...

[junkikichic]

This is me at 160 but rocking (LOL) the child sized veggie t-shirt! You can see my extra belly fat and love handles really well... Don’t judge! :)

[junkikichic]

Day 19

Finally got to Publix and to a scale!  It said 155.5!!  I was pretty happy! But I also wanted to use the machine, the HiGi, they have near the pharmacy.  It takes your information, takes your blood pressure, weighs you and calculates your BMI. The HiGi said I weighed 153 and my BMI was 22.57!!!  So either way, I've lost weight - either 4 1/2 pounds or 7 pounds. It would be a dream to be under 150 for the first time since my teens!!!

I'm watching so many YouTube videos about IF and then they lead me on to other information...A couple of doctors said that high intensity training is really beneficial and doesn't have to be done for long periods of time. So Sparky suggested we run as hard as we can up and down a hill (the smallest one you've ever seen and maybe the only one in the state of Florida) 3x.  We did it but I was definitely bent over breathless and gasping. (And hoping not to puke.)

Generally every evening I get out my floor mat and do some sit-ups, leg lifts and push-ups. The other night I was able to do 20 push-ups which I don't think I've ever been able to do.  It's really embarrassing how weak my arms are. The last place I worked, we had a gym we could go to and so one of my girls was using a weight bar (?) and doing bench presses.  I had never tried this before so I asked her to spot me.  I could not lift the same weight she was. So we ended up taking all the weights off and she had to CAREFULLY spot me just trying to lift the bar.  It was wobbling and tipping all over the place. See the weakness?????  So 20 push-ups is quite a feat for me!

[junkikichic]

Day 18

We were out on the beach when my fast ended (again not prepared) and so all that was available was a few cashews and my water. So when we got home I juiced for us and then took a shower and came out to make some serious lunch and just about broke down!  I was really grouchy and almost frantic to get food into my system.  Sometimes when I break my fast and I'm really hungry it takes a while for me to be able to "feel" that the food has landed in my stomach. This is just another reason to be ready for those unexpected moments of being away from ready food when it’s time to break the fast. Another reason I think I felt so desperate is that we walked around 7,000 steps on the beach and I believe I used up everything I had in me. 

One thing I might not have mentioned is that zero calorie beverages are okay during the fasting state. No one that I have watched/read recommends diet sodas since they are full of so many nasty chemicals and intrinsically IF is for getting healthy, not just losing weight at any cost.

Personally, I focus on water and I keep track of how much I drink on my Fitbit app. It gives me energy and keeps my joints lubed up and also flushes out fat. But every morning I drink a cup of BLACK coffee over ice. This is a trick my brother taught me. I always hated black coffee but cooling it down makes it taste really good to me. I like the caffeine hit and coffee has some health benefits. 

I used to drink my coffee with lots of caramel macchiato creamer and when I started IF I cut it out cold turkey. But creamers have weird stuff in them as well as having so much sugar and fat. So now I enjoy my cup of coffee so much more because there is no guilt!

[junkikichic]

Day 17

It was a normal day. I didn't walk much. I started my period and was hoping that it would be different for the better. But since I've only been IFing 17 days I'll wait until next month to make a ruling on if it's helping.  I definitely have less pain and usually I'm down for about a day just feeling rotten and lethargic and that hasn't happened.  I think I am also hoping for shorter and lighter duration also.

[junkikichic]

Day 16

Pushed through until noon and still plan to stop at 7. I get really full very easily now. I walked a ton and have lots of energy. Sparky and I eating on differing schedules really works well. I'm surprised! Now we do other things in the evening rather that make food and eat food. It's nice to live in a different way that isn't constantly revolving around food. I will be interested to see how this works out this summer when we are back with Peaches and Cream and want to do fun stuff (and eat good food).

Sparky was gone this morning so I walked a couple of miles alone while listening to music. It was fun!

[junkikichic]

Day 15

I slept terrible again.  It was a copy of last night. I seem to still have plenty of energy.  I made my step goal and did a lot of cooking and moving around.  I made Meatless Loaf using lentils as a substitute for the ground beef.  I used my old recipe and it came out perfectly! Also, it wasn’t greasy and the pan was easy to clean. I’m going to redo the recipe tho because it was full of sugar. I used a combination of BBQ sauce, Worcestershire Sauce and A1 Steak sauce for the wet part and a Ketchup/brown sugar mix for the topping. It’s just way over the top in terms of sugar. Sparky really liked it and it warms up really well. 

I wonder sometimes if people who have insulin problems really know how much sugar is in stuff that looks like meat/protein. The first ingredient in BBQ sauce is HFCS!!! So eating those ribs is probably just as bad as eating a sugary dessert...  

We took a bike ride today and I pooped twice!

[junkikichic]

Day 14

I slept 3 hours, was up for 4 and then slept another 3 hours.  I didn't eat enough last night and was extremely hungry this morning and that might be why I slept so badly.

Felt good all day.  I avoided the cheese at Moe's and didn't miss it.  I did that because I watched a TED talk where a former fire fighter had changed his and his buddies lives by eating better.  He talked about having a "plant strong" diet. There was a lot of information that I had never heard before and I could see why people decide to be vegan.

[junkikichic]

Day 13

I was hungry this morning but when 11 came around I did not feel desperate to break the fast. We went for a walk at Pinebrook Park and ran up and down the tiny hill ten times.  I was surprised to find I had the energy for that.  

I'm not as hungry now and finding that some water or a couple of bites of something is enough.  Pooped twice!

[junkikichic]

Day 12

I had floating poop today so then I did some research about that. Floating poop can mean there's lots of gas in it. In an extreme form it can mean something more insidious if it's accompanied by oiliness. Ew.

I had a lot of pain in my upper back last night and it hurt in that same place in my back when I would swallow.  I think my back might be misaligned. I also know I ate a lot of crap yesterday.  

Today I feel better but almost 20 hours of fasting is not what I have in mind for a regular habit.  I am going to have to think ahead and take food to break the fast when needed.  This was the first time I was in a situation like that and I just wasn't prepared.  

I walked around the lake and then we walked at the beach and am already at 6,000 steps. I made dinner for tonight so Sparky can eat before me, ending his window at 5. His schedule so far is revolving around that morning cup of joe.

[junkikichic]

Day 11

Lots more energy today. I had church stuff all day so I started my eating window late at 2:30 and then ate like crap all day and ended about 7. Obviously that is a very small window and now it's midnight and I am very hungry!!!!

I was very emotional tonight which is not normal for me. It was hard to be a church with all my friends and they all have their daughters with them. They are laughing together and joking and just experiencing life together.

I watched some more IF videos on YouTube to encourage myself. I think I feel just a bit chubby after the bad eating day. I met a woman at church who is a nutritionist and she said IF doesn't work in the long run metabolically for women. Blah. But I'm not doing IF just for losing weight. It has a ton of health benefits too - mental clarity and focus, brain health, anti-aging, cell repair, lowering blood pressure and stabilizing blood sugar levels....

Sparky is thinking about starting IF soon and I'm concerned about having different eating windows since he is unwilling to give up morning coffee and he wakes up very early. I can't see how this will work for us in the long run because of the conflicting dinner times. Also if he started eating at ten, he has to finish his window before 6.  I like the later window especially because it generally coincides with normal lunch and dinner times and does not end up being antisocial.

I was up a couple of hours last night but it could be because our AC stopped working and I had to change rooms.

[junkikichic]

Day 10

Thinking back over yesterday I can see that my energy was quite low. I had to get up really early this morning because Yeah-Yeah (niece) is here so I'll have to see how long I can make it without food.

So now that it's the end of the day, I can see that I wasn't overly energetic but not just slammed either. I did use the rip stick after dinner.

[junkikichic]

Day 9

Okay, here's a weird thing. I have had violent, bloody nightmares the last three nights. I think my body is in full rebellion and throwing everything it can at me.

I felt good again today but did take a nap (which is not a bad thing!). I started eating at 12:30 and so just before 7:30 I'm chewing, chewing, chewing my final veggies to get them all in. I should've eaten my nutrient dense food at the beginning of the meal and left the pizza for the end...

I find it soothing when the eating window closes and there is no deliberating if I should eat this or that and whether I deserve a treat or some such nonsense. This also takes away the guilt I would usually feel the next morning when it comes over me that I made some bad eating choice the night before. One thing I've learned over the years and that working out rarely burns off the calories of whatever it is I’ve eaten.

I finally got to a scale. They have these step up industrial ones in the foyers of Publix. Anyway, I've lost a pound. That seems pretty consistent with what others are saying happens - losing about one pound per week. My thinking was that in 10 weeks I'd be at my 150 pound goal. Not too bad of a length of time in my opinion.

[junkikichic]

Day 8

Who wants to talk about poop? I DO!! Did you know that your bowel movement says a lot about you? There's a lot of info on the web if you want to know more...But let me say that since I became a vegetarian some things have definitely changed...I didn't really think too much about how it smelled. Poop smells bad - any poop. It just does. But after having my very meat eating niece and nephew over to visit and encountering the toxic waste dump (pun intended) that happens  -  whew!

Anyway, back to Day 8...It was a big deuce this morning. This was the first really different one. It might be because I am eating a lot more veggies and also trying to juice every morning.

I felt good today and not really hungry 'til about noon. Ate some watermelon and broccoli salad and then went out to lunch. I had veggie red curry. So yum!

I made tacos for dinner and made "meat" from pecans. I ended my eating window at 7pm.

[junkikichic]

Day 7

My weight is easy to keep steady at 160 pounds. I can eat pretty much everything I want to (within reason) and it just hovers right there. But I don't feel my best at that weight.  I remember being 18 years old and going on a beach vacation with my boyfriend (Sparky) and his family. I weighed 150 pounds and knew I was pushing maximum density (enjoy Breakfast Club reference). At one fifty my stomach was fairly flat and I was curvy but not overly weighty in any one area. But at that moment I knew 150 was my max and I wasn't even happy at that weight.  Then life gets in the way and while I was busy getting married and watching Peaches and Cream be born and begin to grow, I lost sight of myself and my health and just generally caring about it all.

So I haven't been to a scale (I don't keep one...too depressing and I would probably start to obsess). But I feel slimmer.

I slept well last night except for between 2 and 4. I didn't have any caffeine again and felt very energetic. I walked half of my step goal this morning at the park. I felt a bit stiff when I got home but just kept doing things around the house and kept MOVING!

I generally feel really good. I was very, very, very hungry so decided to break my fast at 11:30 which still gave me the 16 1/2 hours fasting. Some day I try to do more fasting hours if I'm feeling good. 16 is the minimum....I also knew we had a church thing tonight at 7 and so would not be able to eat much after 6:30.