Week 8 Summary

Day 56, Fast Day #27

I got back on the scale today and turns out that I lost another pound, for a total of 18 lbs lost during the last couple of months. Alternate day fasting seems to be working well for me, as I am losing an average of 2.25 lbs per week at this point and not regaining the weight back. I am still making progress, which makes it easier to stay in this revolving door of calorie restriction. Below is a graph showing my progress:

Remember, I did not have a scale when starting this experiment and my initial weight is from March 30th, when I had last hopped on the scale at my future in-laws house. I started ADF on April 6th and bought a scale on April 14th, so the initial 9 lbs of weight loss was very likely more gradual than it appears. After that initial measurement, the weight loss has been a spurt, an 18-day plateau where I snuck in extra feast days for birthdays and social events, and now weight loss again. It will be interesting to see when and if I plateau again.

Calories
Week 1: 1,437 kcal or 76% of baseline calories
Week 2: 1,938 kcal or 102% of baseline calories
Week 3: 1,680 kcal or 89% of baseline calories
Week 4: 2,196 kcal or 116% of baseline calories
Week 5: 1,829 kcal or 96% of baseline calories
Week 6: 1,531 kcal or 81% of baseline calories
Week 7: 1,954 kcal or 103% of baseline calories
Week 8: 1,196 kcal or 63% of baseline calories

While ADFing: 1,720 kcal or 91% of baseline calories
Baseline Days: 1,896 kcal

All Feast Days: 2,881 kcal or 152% of baseline calories
All Fast Days*: 473 kcal or 25% of baseline calories

For reference
Week 1: 4 fast days, 3 feast days
Week 2: 3 fast days, 4 feast days
Week 3: 3 fast days*, 4 feast days
Week 4: 3 fast days, 4 feast days
Week 5: 3 fast days, 4 feast days
Week 6: 4 fast days, 3 feast days
Week 7: 3 fast days, 4 feast days
Week 8: 4 fast days, 3 feast days
*Includes faux-fast day that was my mama's birthday dinner.

With my average caloric intake being just shy of 1,200 kcal/day, it is no wonder that I dropped a total of 4 lbs this week. My average calories/day each week seesaws as the number of fast vs. feast days rotates. This week was an all-time low because I practiced much better self-control regards to food and drink. My up days averaged 2,142 kcal this week, which is 113% of my baseline eating (close to what Krista Varady, who researches ADF and diet interventions at the University of Illinois, found in her research) and is 39% less than my overall average feast day caloric intake. I am proud of myself for not letting myself overindulge this week, despite pausing slightly every time I walk by the giant 40 oz. open bag of pretzel M&Ms at my workplace.

Bags of pretzel M&Ms might as well be classified as biological weapons at the 40 oz. mark. Delicious, salty, sweet, and crunchy weapons of body mass destruction.

Fast(ing) Food - Almost Eggplant Parmesan

Day 53, Feast Day #28,

I was going to finish up a post about something else, but I ended up making a yummy dinner and realized it ended up being low-calorie too. That means I get leftovers for tomorrow's fast day, yay! There is no actual Parmesan cheese in this recipe, so it is almost eggplant parmesan  Goat cheese is 80 calories per ounce versus 122 per ounce of actual Parmesan cheese, plus I just like the taste and texture better.

Almost Eggplant Parmesan (Yields 5-6 servings of two slices) ~261 kcal/serving
Takes 45-55 minutes

• 1 tbsp of olive oil ~120 kcal
• 1 eggplant, sliced into 1/4-1/2 inch slices with the peel on ~110 kcal
• kosher salt
• 1 cup pasta/tomato sauce ~140 kcal
• 4 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled ~320 kcal
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning (or mix of marjoram, thyme, oregano, and basil)
• 2 large eggs, beaten ~140 kcal
• 1/2 of a lemon's juice - optional ~6 kcal
• 95g buttery crackers (about 32 crackers), crushed into crumbs ~455 kcal
• 1 tsp garlic powder ~9 kcal
• 1/2 tsp onion powder ~4 kcal
• 1/4 tsp black pepper ~1 kcal

Set the oven to bake at 375 degrees.

The next thing I do is prep the eggplant, because it is best to get some of the water out of them to avoid sogginess later. I laid out a baking sheet and put down a layer of paper towels. I then lightly salt both sides of the eggplant slices with the kosher salt and lay them on the paper towels. I put another layer of paper towels on top and them put some heavy plates on them to squeeze out some of the water.

Meanwhile, prep everything else. Crush and mix the cracker crumbs in a large bowl (which you can substitute with any other breading agent like breadcrumbs or almond meal) with the garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper.

Beat the eggs with the lemon juice in a shallow bowl (so you can easily dip the eggplant slices into it).

Pat dry the eggplant slices and set aside. Then lightly coat the baking sheet with the olive oil.

Dip a eggplant slice into the egg mixture so it is coated. Then put the egg-covered slice into the crumb mixture and coat evenly. Place the slice on the baking sheet. Repeat with all the slices.

Bake the slices for 15 minutes. Then remove the baking sheet and flip them over.

Top the slices with the pasta sauce and goat cheese. Put the eggplant back into the oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes. Eat!

I ate mine with some sauteed rainbow Swiss chard, onion, and garlic with a little soy sauce, pepper, salt, and maple syrup (~104 kcal/servings).

Fast(ing) Food - Veggie Scramble with Goat Cheese

Day 52, Fast Day #25

I weighed in a couple times this morning just to make sure I wasn't going crazy. I managed to drop another pound, for a total of 17 lbs lost. It probably helps I didn't overeat like crazy yesterday (2,077 kcal).

Zach and I have the day off today for Memorial Day, so I got to cook a hot meal for my fast day lunch, instead of the salad and soup I usually eat on fast days at work. The result was me whipping up this Mexican-inspired scramble. The goat cheese and cilantro balance the spice from the cayenne pepper, but one could make this recipe without the goat cheese to shave off calories. One can also use sour cream instead of goat cheese. I am lactose-intolerant though and prefer the creaminess of goat cheese. This scramble turned out so good that Zach and I were nearly licking our plates:

Veggie Scramble with Goat Cheese (Yields 2 big servings) ~424 kcal/serving
Takes 30 minutes

• 1 red potato with skin, diced ~150 kcal
• half of a onion (I used a yellow one), diced ~30 kcal
• half of a medium-sized bell pepper (I used a yellow one) diced ~10 kcal
• 1 Roma tomato, diced ~35 kcal
• 1 cup of spinach, chopped ~7 kcal
• 4 large eggs ~294 kcal
• 60 grams of soft goat cheese (two servings of the one we used) ~160 kcal
• 1/3 cup of cilantro, chopped ~1 kcal (optional)
• 4 tsp of extra virgin olive oil  ~160 kcal
• 1/4 tsp or to taste of red cayenne pepper ~1 kcal
• 1 tsp or to taste Adobo seasoning (a mix of salt, garlic, cumin, oregano, and black pepper)

Heat the olive oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes. I also put a lid on them between stirs, to soft them up a little quicker. Stir occasionally.

Add in the onions and peppers, cook until the potatoes are tender, about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the potatoes are softening, beat the eggs in a bowl. Add the Adobo seasoning and cayenne pepper.

Add in the tomatoes and spinach. Cook and stir until spinach starts to wilt.

Add the beaten and seasoned eggs. Scramble up the mixture until the eggs are cooked through.

Plate the scramble and top with goat cheese and cilantro. Enjoy!

Week 7 Summary

Day 51, Feast Day #27

I woke up this morning to good news from the scale. I have lost another 2 lbs, for a total of 16 lbs lost. I also started taking waist and hip measurements this month, and I have lost a half inch from both my waist and my hips. So now I am averaging a little over a 2 pound loss per week. My clothes are beginning to feel looser and friends are starting to notice the change. Here are the numbers:

Calories
Week 1: 1,437 kcal or 76% of baseline calories
Week 2: 1,938 kcal or 102% of baseline calories
Week 3: 1,680 kcal or 89% of baseline calories
Week 4: 2,196 kcal or 116% of baseline calories
Week 5: 1,829 kcal or 96% of baseline calories
Week 6: 1,531 kcal or 81% of baseline calories
Week 7: 1,954 kcal or 103% of baseline calories

While ADFing: 1,795 kcal or 95% of baseline calories
Baseline Days: 1,896 kcal

All Feast Days: 2,966 kcal or 156% of baseline calories
All Fast Days*: 471 kcal or 25% of baseline calories

For reference
Week 1: 4 fast days, 3 feast days
Week 2: 3 fast days, 4 feast days
Week 3: 3 fast days*, 4 feast days
Week 4: 3 fast days, 4 feast days
Week 5: 3 fast days, 4 feast days
Week 6: 4 fast days, 3 feast days
Week 7: 3 fast days, 4 feast days
*Includes faux-fast day that was my mama's birthday dinner.

So I ,obviously like collecting data and using it to evaluate my behavior. I am kind of a numbers junkie in general. I use SaveUp as a free tool to track the money I use to pay down debt and save money. The thing with SaveUp, is you get rewarded in credits for the money you save or pay debts with and you can use credits to enter into raffles for prizes, lotteries, or play other luck-based games. After a little over a year of using SaveUp, I finally won a raffle for a $100 Whole Foods gift card. I don't normally shop at Whole Foods, but $100 of free groceries is awesome. 

I took this gift card as an opportunity to try some non-grain flours and meals and non-corn oils so Zach and I can work on eating less processed and refined corn and wheat products and start eating more primal food, in addition to the produce and meat we'd normally have on our grocery list. Tonight we enjoyed some bison sirloin steaks with mashed red potatoes (without milk) and sauteed asparagus from our grocery trip. Yum! Bison steak is great because it is leaner than regular steak. My 7 oz. steak was only ~210 calories with 47 grams of  protein and 35% of the DRV of iron. In comparison, the same size and cut of steak from a cow has ~368 calories, 44 gram of protein, and 18% of the DRV of iron.

While at Whole Foods, I also bought GT's grape chia kombucha on the recommendation of a friend, since my first kombucha experience was unpleasant. I basically had taken a swig of a friend's kombucha on a hot, humid day not knowing what I was putting in my mouth. All I could taste was a funky, fungal flavor---not refreshing like I had expected from refrigerated tea on a hot day. 

Kombucha is a fermented tea made with fungus that is becoming increasingly popular as a "living" food (there is bacteria and yeast in it). I doubt kombucha is becoming popular because of its vinegary and yeasty taste. However, the glucuronic acid in kombucha may reduce one's risk of cancer, which seems like a good trade off. Luckily, one can find kombucha in flavors, since I am too much of a wuss for the unflavored stuff.

This grape chia flavor kombucha tasted a lot better than the non-flavored kombucha I had previously, although there is more sugar from the flavoring. I like the chia seeds in there because it reminded me of drinking bubble tea. I think the mistake I made with kombucha this time was drinking it on nearly an empty stomach at the end of a fast day. My stomach was making all kinds of strange noises and I think it triggered my heartburn from the acidity. I will try to drink the rest of it on a full stomach and see if that is less cruel to my stomach. Otherwise, I may have to scrap kombucha.