The 5th Notch

I profess repeatedly that this is a Science Experiment, denying most vehemently that it is a "diet". But in actuality it's a test of resolve, pure will power.

I only eat one day a week. The other six days are filled, from sun up to sun down, with pills, oils, supplements, and various other crap I can barely pronounce. Food is a visceral experience that most people take for granted. I know I did. We use every sense at our disposal to consume it. We take it in with our eyes; we can smell it, hear the sounds it makes as we tear it, cut it. We take it in our hands, finally taste it as we corral it into our mouths, and chew. For six days out of the week I am denied that. I hold little tasteless, white, off-white, and yellow capsules. I pop them ask quickly as I can into my mouth and wash them down with water. It's the antithesis of eating. I'm left wanting, longing. But it's not hunger. I crave the experience. I lust after flavor. All the while I'm surrounded by delicious food, the smells of cooking, people eating.

In the first few days of this experiment I found myself walking, quite absently, to the refrigerator. I wasn't hungry. But I wanted texture and taste. This is undoubtedly a pitfall of many a determined weight-loser. Each time though, I caught myself at the threshold to the kitchen and turned back around shaking my head.

Don't get me wrong here, there is some flavor in my day. Unfortunately, to a one, they make me a bit queasy. I power through them, shake violently while I will myself to move past the flavor, and come out the other side no worse for the near retch. But, I'm stubborn. I'm going to keep pushing this experiment until it's just not constructive to keep doing so. And since I'm now using the last hole in my belt, it's still constructive.

Day eighteen of 90. Tomorrow I eat.

Eat Day + 3

It's been three days since my Eat Day, and I'm feeling a bit annoyed. You see, in the first three days, there was a noticeable change. You could see that I'd lost a few pounds even though it wasn't a lot. These past three days, nothing. It doesn't feel or look like anything is changing at all. If the two pounds a day thing was still happening, minus Sunday and Monday... I should be down at least 10 pounds. And it just doesn't feel like that to me at all.

Now I'll admit here the loss is probably just subtle and I'll never really be able to see something significant, like the first 3 days, again. You have those hopes though. But right now, the only real change I seem to be able to gauge since last Friday is that I'm suffering from a lot more pimples. The woman says it's the body expelling toxins; and, I get that. But, it doesn't frustrate me any less. It makes me feel (and look) ridiculous.

So how did the Eat Day go? Well a minor cold crept in (probably because my body is busy trying to deal with this fasting scientific system and didn't really have the resources to keep my typical high immunity in tact). So I couldn't really taste the food to the extent I would have liked. My fears about over eating were quickly dismissed though, as the size of my stomach, and thus my ability to consume mass quantities, had significantly decreased. I did manage to get in one more meal before my self-imposed cut off time of midnight. That extra meal could have possibly had a direct impact on my weight loss over the next two days. I dunno. I just don't feel like the last three days have been successful. There are a boatload of other factors that probably apply here as well. You know, the usual: stress, frustration, a cold.

We'll just have to wait and see though as I don't intend to weigh myself again until Sunday morning before I break my fast.

Day eight of 90. Feeling a bit "success"-less.

The Feedening

Today is the day I eat. Unfortunately, it seems I've come down with a bit of a stuffy nose. Meaning? I can't taste stuff very well. It's left me a bit sad, but I have no intention to let it stop me from devouring tasty things. I actually planned my meals days ago. Keep in mind that for this scientific fasting, your eat day is loaded with carbohydrates. It should also be noted that the chicken and eggs are all free range. The other meats are all pastured, grass fed. And, the pasta is just almond flour and eggs. There's no point spending 4 days detoxifying your body if you're just going to consume crap on your eat day.

So for breakfast: Bacon, eggs, and potatoes.
Lunch: Bacon Cheeseburger with sweet potato fries.
Dinner: Fettuccine Alfredo with grilled chicken.
And throughout the day I can eat as much bacon, and beef sticks as I like. (without gorging myself)

Two pounds a day is interesting; it's good to see results so quickly. But, I have some doubts that it will last. I expect at some point to drop to a pound a day, then a pound every other day. Let's hope that happens closer to my goal than not.

Day five of 90. Hoping it lasts.

Mouth by Erlenmeyer

I knew the first few days were going to be rough but right now I'm hungry, my head hurts, my stomach hurts, my throat hurts, I'm sleepy constantly, I'm not thinking clearly, and apparently I don't smell great. Every time I move I can smell Lipoceutical Glutathione. Which, if you're not acquainted with it smells, to me at least, like rotten eggs.

Out of curiosity, I stepped on the scale this morning. 6 pounds in the first three days. I can also see the difference in how the fat around my midsection is being held. It's softer, not so round.

I eat tomorrow, and I have some reservations about that. With the weight loss I mentioned above though, I'm committed to the program for at least another week.

Day four of 90. Interesting visible result.

Day One of Ninety

I'm 5'7". I weigh just under 230 pounds. And, I carry the vast majority of that weight right at my mid section. When I was young I played sports constantly. I was always outside, always moving. Now, nestling firmly into middle age, my job is at my desk. My socialization is at my desk. My most tolerated form of communication is at my desk. But, I've got a four year old, and "at my desk" isn't how I want to spend my time with him. Thus do I find myself here, voluntarily subjecting myself to a dietary experiment.

I have little patience for crash diets, yo-yo weight loss, dietary plan debates, or any reference whatsoever to BMI. I get squinky eyed when someone says something about weight loss without working out. So when the woman recommended Bulletproof Fasting where you eat one day a week and ingest supplements, vitamins, oils, etc. the other six, I was wary. I trust her because she's a foodie and I know she'd never ask me to do something that she felt might hurt me. But really... scientific fasting? I feel like a Science Project. Like at the end of this there will be a tri-fold, table top standup with glued on pictures, sharpie-d letters, and crudely rendered bar graphs and pie charts.

So today is day one of 90. The goal is to get below 180 lbs.