My birthday has passed without much fanfare. Several dozen birthday wishes on social media, a few phone calls. I tend not to celebrate the day until the weekend. I had a two hour massage, which was great, and a steak dinner at Black Angus, which was meh.
The refurbished notebook is working better, but it’ll never set speed records. I confirmed it can run Linux. The screen resolution makes it less than ideal, but it’s usable.
My weight has still been fluctuating, mostly upward. I had my monthly session with IDM. I’m struggling enough that my next session is in two weeks. I was encouraged to start another fat fast, which can help reduce sugar cravings, induce ketosis/fat adaptation, and make water fasting easier.
Easter is this weekend. Honey is leaving tomorrow for a Saturday wedding in Arizona, so I’ll be alone most of the weekend. Her spring break meant a full work week, so I had the car most days. My food choices weren’t the best. From my low of 448 on March 24, I have worked my way back up to 473, my highest in a while. Nothing like a new high to up the motivation, especially with monthly checkups.
I saw someone the other day talk about his habits and efforts that made good sense. When he was following the standard american diet (SAD), his progress was Sisyphean. I’ve felt similar. At some point, the angle gets too crazy, and there’s no chance to rest, so you get steamrolled, a victim of your own efforts, and have to reach bottom before you can start pushing again. Whether it was caloric restriction, working out like a madman, even fasting – whatever progress I made was easily undone once I started eating “normally” again. (normal for me includes donut runs, vending machines, and supersized meals.)
When he learned about NSNG and started following a more ketogenic diet with intermittent fasting, he says his progress looks more like this (the red wedge is “eating keto”.) In my experience, eating in a ketogenic, super low carb way solidifies the progress, so I can rest (feast) between fasts and not spend the first few days getting back into that state. If I never leave it, that three steps forward, two (to five) steps back cycle is reduced dramatically.
The point is to reduce insulin resistance; fasting does that, and keto/fat adaptation does as well. It’s a potent one-two punch, and honestly, the food is tasty. Eggs, bacon, butter, cheese, avocado, olives…there are worse things to pile on a plate, and these have an advantage of being relatively easy to pack and store. Ideal for my workplace.
I doubt i’ll ever have an uninterrupted downward march of 4-6 pounds per day, after the first few post-donuts fasting days. But if i managed a consistent couple pounds a week, that’s 8-10 pounds a month, and my goal would be reachable in a few years. Within months I’d be reaching lows I haven’t seen in years. I know it’s possible. And I want it.
I do know there are other factors. My sleep hygiene is still lacking. I’m still not managing stress well enough. Those can derail even the most on-point diets, including fasting.
I picked up a few supplements. Although I’d rather not need “exogenous” ketones, in those first couple of days before fasting kicks in in earnest, and even during a fast I often feel weak. (Not enough mitochondria? Need to exercise more?) The exogenous ketones are supposed to be able to help with that. I got some “instaKetones” from Julian Bakery (who also make a few variations of Paleo Bread). They’re not what I’d call tasty – vaguely salty, from the beta hydroxy buterat? – but it’s an energy shot without the glucose or downsides of energy drinks. The stuff’s expensive, so making it an as-needed supplement that I need less and less would be great.
I weighed 473 this morning. I notice that there’s a bit of “stickiness” to the post-fast weight, but if I spend too many days in old habits, at some point the weight gain accelerates. A lot of it, I know, is water weight. But I still have been eating a lot of empty calories.
I came away from the call this morning a bit more determined. Getting a session in two weeks instead of a full month means they aren’t just punching the clock. The tools are solid, but the accountability seems to be one of my best tools when it’s availalbe and put to use. So, today I’ve eaten a half dozen eggs, some avocado mayo, two slices of bacon, an instaketones protein bar, and a shot of the instaketones powder. For the moment, my sugar and grain cravings are low.
Here’s to the next push.