Week 16 Summary

Day 116, Fast Day #50

This post is late, my bad. My mother and my future mother-in-law were in town this weekend for my bridal shower and staying at my apartment, I had my bridal shower, and then dealt with a little family drama which luckily doesn't revolve around me. It was both a busy and stressful weekend.

This morning marked a new milestone. I dropped another pound, bringing me to 25 lbs (11.3 kg) lost total over the last 16.5 weeks. My weight loss is so far 1.5 lb (0.7 kg) loss per week. I was feeling so confident, I ordered a bikini. I'm not sure if that was a good decision even at 30% off of clearance prices (I should probably consider doing some ab exercises and buying some self-tanner), but the point is that is how confident I have been feeling about my slimmer figure. I don't think I have worn a bikini in several years. Plus I will be spending quite a bit of time on the beach in the next month and I am scared the swimsuits I wore last year will fall off with one good dive or wave. A swimsuit malfunction in front of my in-laws would be way more mortifying than a little beer belly showing.

Calories
Week 1: 1,437 kcal or 76% of baseline calories (-3,213 kcal/week)
Week 2: 1,938 kcal or 102% of baseline calories (+294 kcal/week)
Week 3: 1,680 kcal or 89% of baseline calories (-1,512 kcal/week)
Week 4: 2,196 kcal or 116% of baseline calories (+2,100 kcal/week)
Week 5: 1,829 kcal or 96% of baseline calories (-469 kcal/week)
Week 6: 1,531 kcal or 81% of baseline calories (-2,555 kcal/week)
Week 7: 1,954 kcal or 103% of baseline calories (+406 kcal/week)
Week 8: 1,196 kcal or 63% of baseline calories (-4,900 kcal/week)
Week 9: 1,638 kcal or 86% of baseline calories (-1,806 kcal/week)
Week 10: 1,637 kcal or 86% of baseline calories (-1,813 kcal/week)
Week 11: 1,681 kcal or 89% of baseline calories (-1,505 kcal/week)
Week 12*: 2,108 kcal or 111% of baseline calories (+1,484 kcal/week)
Week 13*: 2,649 kcal or 140% of baseline calories (+5,271 kcal/week)
Week 14: 1,882 kcal or 99% of baseline calories (-98 kcal/week)
Week 15: 1,280 kcal or 68% of baseline calories (-4,312 kcal/week)
Week 16: 1,861 kcal or 98% of baseline calories (-245 kcal/week)

While ADFing: 1,781 kcal or 94% of baseline calories
Baseline Days: 1,896 kcal

All Feast Days: 2,842 kcal or 150% of baseline calories
All Fast Days: 442 kcal or 23% of baseline calories

For reference
Week 1: 3 feast days, 4 fast days
Week 2: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
Week 3: 4 feast days, 1 medium day, 1 fast day
Week 4: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
Week 5: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
Week 6: 3 feast days, 4 fast days
Week 7: 4 feast days, 3 fast days,
Week 8: 3 feast days, 4 fast days
Week 9: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
Week 10: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
Week 11: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
Week 12: 5 feast days, 2 fast days*
Week 13: 5 feast days, 2 fast days*
Week 14: 4 feast days, 1 medium day, 2 fast days
Week 15: 3 feast days, 4 fast days
Week 16: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
*Includes days during my bachelorette party weekend.

Today I had one main lunch meal of 372 calories, so I have some calories left for an evening snack if I want them:

• pistachios, 1/2 cup (measured with shells on) ~170 kcal
• Kroger Cow Pals light mozzarella string cheese ~50 kcal
• 35 blueberries ~27 kcal
• 1 bell pepper, sliced ~45 kcal
• 10 baby carrots ~35 kcal
• 1 tbsp edamame hummus ~45 kcal

Wheat-Free Experiment

Day 101, Fast Day #43

After two full days of being off of Cipro, I lost 3 lbs and am at at 23 pounds lost (10.4 kg) in  the last 14.5 weeks. Woo hoo! All of that bachelorette party and birthday party weight is gone finally and I am losing weight again. 

In the last three days, I have also avoided consuming wheat products. Wheat is proving much easier for me to kick than Zach. I caught him eating some snack mix with pretzels and dried bread chips in it that was next to the trash can so it would be thrown out. So far no progress on the elbow rash. So my paranoia about my body getting rashes from wheat might just be plain paranoia. Either way, Wheat Belly has me all freaked out about wheat at the moment for many other health reasons.

In my wheat-free adventure, I made little pizzas with wheat-free crusts to break the fast today:

I went a little crust crazy! WARNING: This is not low-calorie fast day food.

So this is an example of what I might eat on a feast day. The crust is just 1 cup arrowroot starch, 1 cup almond meal, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 2 beaten eggs, 1 tsp olive oil, and a bit of kosher salt. I mushed it all up and then flattened the dough out on a thin layer of arrowroot starch so it wouldn't stick. This yield 2-3 servings and is ~1,261 kcal for the whole batch. It's some dense crunchy crust. It is not like normal wheat pizza crust, but it is better than not eating pizza at all.

Guest Post: Low Calorie Eating on Vacation

by Cole Millen

Watching calories for your healthy lifestyle is difficult throughout the year, and going on vacation can often derail progress. However, it is actually easy to stay consistent with healthy habits while on vacation; all it requires is a some planning and research.

At the start of the trip, it is important to plan ahead and have an idea of what healthy options will be available while traveling. Make sure to eat breakfast before heading to the airport so that you won't be hungry. This will allow you to know exactly how many calories that you are putting into your body. At the airport itself, it may seem overwhelming to have so many food options, but stick to the plan. While you are waiting for a flight try to walk around and take the stairs instead of the escalator to burn some easy calories. Pick something like, like a salad or pieces of vegetables to get you through the flight. During the flight itself, avoid alcoholic and sugary beverages, as they contain empty calories. Stick to water as this will keep you hydrated and alert without adding any calories to your body.

Once you have arrived at your vacation location, it is important to scope out the area to see what options are available. Many travelers rely on using the mini-bar for snacks, but they are often filled with calorie-laden treats. A better idea is to stop at a local store or the hotel gift shop and pick up the options that you know you can eat without going over your limit. You can also select options like oatmeal or soup if there is a microwave in the room. Careful planning will help to ensure that you make healthy choices.

Determining information and amenities about hotels and restaurants can often be difficult but can inevitable be the difference maker in staying around your calorie limits. I recently took a trip to Sin City and found a great site that listed reviews for the amenities and services of each of the Las Vegas hotels and restaurants that made eat easier than ever to plan out every aspect. This allowed me to ensure that I could maintain my calorie count the exact way that I wanted to.

Since it is a vacation, you will most likely go out to eat for a number of meals, and the best way to make good choices is to have a good sense of the menu. Before selecting a restaurant, do some research; many restaurants will include menus and calorie counts on their websites, so spend some time taking a look through the options. Seek out locations that offer very lean proteins, such as fish or chicken, as well as a variety of soups and salads.

Once you've entered the restaurant, take a closer look at the menu and consider any specials for the evening. Make sure to avoid any descriptions that include words like creamy, fried, breaded, or buttered, as these items are often unhealthy. If you plan to eat a salad, try it without the salad and you could be eating a virtually calorie less meal. In terms of side dishes, pick a variety of vegetables. A good dinner option might include a chicken breast with the skin removed, a salad, and a side of vegetables. Finally, avoid the dessert menu at all costs. Even though the choices sound delicious, it is more important to keep up your healthy habits.

While eating healthy on vacation may seem difficult, careful planning can help travelers make smart choices. Planning ahead and having a number of alternative options is beneficial to keep your diet on track. Similarly, being conscious of your choices will help as well. Keeping these ideas in mind will lead to a healthy, successful trip.

Cole Millen, is an avid traveler and foodie who never forgets that life's best memories are made through real life apprehension of legitimate "experiences." Follow his blog at Cole’s Mill.

"Are You Crazy?" and Other FAQ I Get About Me Fasting

Day 62, Fast Day #30

Alternate day fasting and other forms of intermittent fasting (IF) like 5:2 have only recently become more popular as diets in the last few years due to new research on IF, new books, and increased media coverage. The earliest published research I could find on alternate day fasting is from 1988, in which scientists studied the renal functions of elderly rats that were fed every other day. (Spoiler: The old rats on ADF had better eye health.) Since them, there has been more relevant research on human subjects.

I have been alternate day fasting for nearly 9 weeks at this point and am used to fielding a variety of reactions and questions from the people I tell about my current unorthodox eating pattern. Some typical responses I get from my peers are along the lines of:

Question #1: "Are you serious?" or "Are you crazy?"

Question #2: "Why don't you just eat less every day?"

Question #3: "There is no way I could do that." or "How do you have the willpower to eat 500 calories in a day?"

Question #4: "Don't you just binge after you fast?"

Question #5: "So, how long are you on this diet?"

Question #6: "Can you do that long-term?" or "There is no way you can sustain that long-term, right?"

Question #7: "There is no way that can be healthy for you." or "Isn't that going to hurt your metabolism?"

There is no such thing as a stupid question, right? However, it is very stupid to not ask questions or try to get them answered. I can answer most of these questions without getting into a lengthy science discussion:

Answer #1: I am serious and I am fairly positive that I am not crazy in the clinical sense.

Answer #2: Because I feel deprived when I try to eat less every day and I give up. The daily calorie restriction is endless and depressing. It is like I committed a fat crime and was sentenced to a lifetime of never getting to drink real beer, eat ice cream, or indulge in dessert again. With alternate day fasting, my dieting mental prison sentence is only every other day. The end is always in sight and it makes you really appreciate feast days and look forward to the next day. Alternate day fasting is a good weight loss method for people like me that can't commit to daily calorie restriction.

Answer #3: I just quit talking about, false promising myself, and generally just thinking about trying to lose weight. In the spur of the moment I decided to actually do something about the 40 lbs (18 kg) or so of extra weight on my body with Zach after watching Eat, Fast, Live Longer. I am an incredibly stubborn human being, so when my mind is set, that is what I am doing. My willpower is perhaps just my stubbornness. 

The thought of continuing life being overweight and my eating habits contributing to my own physical and mental demise is also a motivator. So some anxiety and fear is a part of my willpower. Me being overweight forever and getting weight-related diseases later in life is not inevitable. Anyone that is overweight is able to solve their own weight problem with a little willpower and by acting on known weight loss solutions instead of maintaining the status quo. Obviously the status quo lifestyle is the problem.

Answer #4: Define "binge." I don't eat everything in sight on my feast days. Sure, I have my beer and chocolate chip pancakes moments, But, I don't think my feast day eating even remotely resembles the binge-eating I have seen on Dr. Phil episodes about eating disorders.

I do want to eat most of the food around me, especially the pretzel M&Ms. I don't need the food around me. I now ask myself, "Do I need to eat that? Am I hungry? Or do I just want to eat that for taste/to cure boredom/because other people are eating it?" The answer is usually that I don't need the food and I just have mouthlust.

Answer #5: Until I decide not to do it? My body has adjusted to this eating pattern, so it's not that difficult anymore. If I ever get to be under a healthy weight (hahahahaha, right) then I would obviously stop. I would also stop if I got pregnant. For humanity's sake I hope that doesn't happen for a few years or more (yes I am knocking on wood while typing this). I also would go on a lighter maintenance plan of 5:2 or 6:1 if I hit my goal weight/a healthy weight. I will also be stopping when I get married to Zach in late August temporarily. I am not going to be on any sort of diet on my wedding day or my honeymoon. My family will create more than enough stress for me during this period of time that fasting would be an overload.

Answer #6: I have read the forum posts of people that have been alternate day fasting for 6 years or so, so I think it is possible to stick to this diet long-term. Plus, people restrict their calories daily long-term and do just fine.

Answer #7: I am cooking up a research-laden post on the metabolism question. Something for you to look forward to.

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.

Week 5 Summary

Day 37, Feast Day #20

Getting calories down on feast days has proved difficult with trips to bars, breweries, and birthday parties with friends. 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

While ADFing: 1,776 kcal or 94%of baseline calories
Baseline Days: 1,896 kcal

All Feast Days: 2,942 kcal or 155% 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
*Includes faux-fast day that was my mama's birthday dinner.

Obviously, our feast days are still too feasty. As usual, this is due to overindulging when eating out, particularly when it comes to a calorie-packed cocktail or beer. I also discovered this weekend while at a friend's 30th birthday bash that not only is mead (honey wine) incredibly delicious, but it is over 220 calories for a 5 oz. glass. It is a good thing I don't have easy access to mead regularly. Luckily his week's social calendar is looking less hedonistic, so hopefully I can make some progress on the following goals:

• Reduce the sugar I am eating. I was eating 57 grams/day this week. This is below both my original sugar consumption and below the 5-week average of 63 grams. I still would like to cut this down even further since I have a family history of diabetes.

• Reduce overall carbohydrates eaten. My carb gluttony has me at 196 grams of carbs/day this past week. This is still below what I have been averaging, but again the USDA DRV is 130 grams. That is over a 50% reduction I am aiming for, so this could be tough.

• Eat more potassium-rich foods. I am still struggling to get even close to the DRV of potassium. Last week I only ate about 1807 mg/day on average, which is lower than the previous 5 weeks. The daily recommendation is 4700 mg/day, to put things in perspective. We bought some mushrooms this week and are still working on using up a bunch of tomatoes. More of our meals need to revolve around potassium. I think eating more legumes might tackle the potassium deficit plus providing iron, which I have also been running low on (55% of DRV).

ADF Side Effect - You Keep Going, and Going, and Going...

Day 36, Fast Day #17

I am alive and still alternate day fasting. I have lacked the energy and focus to finish a blog post over the last few days due to a rough week of spring allergies. The uncharacteristically nice weather here in Seattle has seemingly caused every single plant in the region to blast the air with its pollen. Because all of these plants are trying to reproduce with my sinus cavity, I have been feeling like the living dead (minus the hunger for human flesh and brains). Sitting down and blogging with a fuzzy brain, runny nose, and ear and nose congestion has yielded about three partially-completed posts.

(If for some reason urination freaks you out, I recommend skipping the rest of this post.)

I am neither pregnant (yay) nor suffering from a urinary tract problem (yay), so I assume the recent increase in my peeing frequency is from alternate day fasting. Luckily, I spend a lot less time cooking and eating on this diet, freeing up my time to search for toilets.

It appears that a normal, healthy person urinates 6-8 times a day on average. I have been more in the 8-12 times a day range. I doubt I have a reduced-capacity bladder despite getting some flak about having a woman's "microbladder" in reference to me needing a pitstop at least once every road trip in the past. In fact, women and men's bladders are approximately the same size. It is the bladder positioning due to special lady organs that irritates a woman's bladder more often and creates the urge to urinate. Hence, the line for the women's restroom.

Whether I am fasting or feasting, I am likely thirsty. As a result, I have been drinking large amounts of water and herbal tea. It is obvious why I am peeing a lot. Consuming lots of water and water-filled foods is a common trick often used by dieters because water makes you feel full for zero calories. Research shows that increased water consumption may be an independent factor in women's weight loss as well. I too have been using water as a food substitute to wait out hunger pains on my fast days so I feel volume in my stomach without the calories.


One of the non-beverage ways I have been absorbing all of this water volume is through the produce I am eating. On my fast days, I have been packing in fruits and veggies for their volume and nutrition. Below are some of the fruits and veggies, with their respective water content, that I have been eating on fast days for reference:

Apple, 84% water, ~72 kcal (medium fruit)
Blueberries, 85% water, ~41 kcal (per 1/2 cup)
Carrots, 87% water, ~30 kcal (large carrot)
Orange, 87% water, ~65 kcal (medium fruit)
Broccoli, 91% water, ~30 kcal (1 cup)
Peppers, 92% water, ~60 kcal (1 bell pepper)
Spinach, 92% water, ~7 kcal (1 cup)
Strawberries, 92% water, ~46 kcal (1 cup)
Watermelon, 92% water, ~46 kcal, (1 cup)
Tomatoes, 94% water, ~35 kcal (medium fruit)
Celery, 95% water, ~9 kcal (long stalk)
Cucumber, 96% water, ~45 kcal (medium fruit)

In fact, if I ate every single thing on this list in these portions, that would be about 486 calories total and within the fast day calorie goal. Mind you, I probably wouldn't eat this list alone on a fast day because that would be 62 grams of sugar (which is over twice what is recommended per day) and there is not enough iron or protein. However, these foods are still great for getting in vitamins, phytochemicals, and fiber.

On a different water-related tangent, I will call to your attention that the encouragement to drink a ton of water for health somewhat revolves around myth. The common advice to "drink 8 glasses of water a day to avoid dehydration"  lacks hard evidence. You do need to drink enough fluids to replace what you lose daily (again, basic math like calorie intake and outtake for weight management). But a lot of the water we consume comes from the food we eat. The water consumption an individual requires is based on a lot of factors including the climate they live in, their size, and their lifestyle. As long as you can pee, it is very rare that too much water will be a problem for you. Just make sure you have enough electrolytes.

I also have yet to find the study that is often referred to in blog posts and articles (which all have broken links, when there is an attempt at a citation or source at all) claiming that the human sense of thirst is very weak and is often confused with hunger, resulting in 37% of people mistaking thirst for hunger in "studies." Perhaps I am searching for the wrong keywords? Or perhaps 37% of the people in this mysteriously unsearchable "clinical study" are just idiots and cannot differentiate their own bodily needs. Either way, 37% is not a majority, so I am not sure how this line of reasoning about our sense of thirst has been turned into such thriving urban legend. The study I did find in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that hunger is not related to thirst at all. My conclusion is to just drink water when you are thirsty. You will likely be aware of when you are thirsty.

Week 4 Summary

Day 30, Fast Day #14

Fasting today felt great after putting my body (especially my liver) through a bit of hard labor this weekend. I found I was not very hungry today and craving mostly fresh, raw produce after  eating a bunch of grilled meats, pastries, and fried foods over the last couple of days. I had a ton of energy today, got a lot of sleep, and was enjoying the great and unusual summer-like weather we have been having in Seattle.

Zach and I added in an additional feast day this past week because friends visited us from out of town and there was lots of celebrating with friends to be had. I weighed myself again this morning and I am still holding steady at 13 lbs lost in total despite two consecutive days of going out, day drinking, night drinking, and eating lots of rich foods.

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
,
While ADFing: 1,856 kcal or 98% of baseline
Baseline Days: 1,896 kcal

All Feast Days: 2,952 kcal or 156% of baseline
All Fast Days*: 498 kcal or 26% of baseline

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
*Includes faux-fast day that was my mama's birthday dinner.

It was the most calorie-heavy week since starting alternate day fasting. I ate well over the calories during my baseline days. How did I manage to consume so many more calories than the previous few weeks? One word: Alcohol. Between Friday and Saturday, the consecutive feast days, I consumed about 39% of my calories within just 29% of the week. On Friday, 41% of my entire day's calories where in alcoholic beverages and on Saturday, 33% of my day's calories were in alcoholic beverages. Don't worry, this is NOT my typical drinking behavior and the booze was not all consumed within the same window of time.

What I find most interesting about looking at my numbers from the last month is that my total calorie consumption, as of now, is not significantly less than my baseline calorie consumption. However, I still am down the 13 lbs of weight. 

It is possible the baseline calorie consumption I am using for myself is lower than the number of calories I actually ate on average in the past, since I only tracked two days worth of eating prior to Zach declaring the third day a fast day. (Again, this is not a scientific experiment I am doing, this is just me trying to figure out how intermittent fasting effects my body). My level of physical activity has not changed, so I doubt that is a factor. If my average calorie intake was much higher than my baseline, it is possible my calories are more reduced than I know and this is why I have not regained the weight this week.

The only noticeable nutritional difference that I know of between my eating now and 4 weeks ago, is that my sugar consumption (but not total carbohydrates) is 42% lower. I am not eating much less in overall calories or carbs, so I don't think the lower amount of sugar is a factor in preventing my overeating. However, there is research that suggests that blood sugar levels and glycemic response are related to fat storage. One theory could be that I am not storing fat in the same way because of the large reduction of in sugar in my diet. I have also been eating foods lower on the glycemic index since starting ADF, and therefore explains how I am eating carbs, but not as many of the simple sugar ones. I figured all of those Marie Osmond infommericals selling Nutrisystem was all gimmick, but perhaps there is science behind eating lower on the glycemic index to lose weight.

My only other theory is that the pattern in which I am eating on it's own is changing how I metabolize food. That I will explore this theory on another night, since it is past my bedtime.

Fasting Away Heartburn

Day 27, Fast Day #13

Ever since I turned 22, it seems like I have been at war with my GI tract. I am not sure if this was due to some gene switching on or off, or if years of stomach abuse caught up with me in college. Perhaps it might be a long-term effect of eating the 15% butterfat University of Maryland ice cream. (For me, the Fear the Turtle flavor is a spiritual experience, so if you ever are in Maryland, make the trip to eat at the dairy's ice cream.) Either way, it has not been a fun war and I lose to my gut most of the time.

Where my freshman 15 (lbs) came from, but probably not where all of my tummy troubles come from. Genetics is more likely, especially in the case of my lactose-intolerance.

One of continuous digestive wars that is being waged in my body is an acid attack. I have regularly experienced heartburn and acid reflux (gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD) in some combination for almost a year. I blame the stress of wedding planning. 

Don't get me wrong, I am well aware that a lot of the foods I love to eat are commonly labeled as "heartburn triggers." All the yummy spicy, garlicky, oniony, citrusy, minty, fatty, and chocolatey ones I love are labeled "triggers." Plus I drink caffeine and alcohol, also supposedly heartburn triggers. However, what I have learned from researching heartburn for this blog post is that the first-line recommendations for acid reflux might be the result of medical practice being trigger happy.

Contrary to what one would think after reading through lists of foods and drinks to avoid if you have heartburn (like this one), there isn't an large or overwhelming body of evidence showing that quitting these foods or drinks will help with GERD even if they influence stomach pH (according to this meta-analysis of common heartburn first-line recommendations). Basically everything I was told or have read about heartburn is based on little or no evidence.

This doesn't really surprise me, since I have tried removing all those yummy foods and drinks by going on a BRAT diet to try to solve my heartburn. Removing "trigger foods" did NOT help me at all. I am sure there are many people that benefit from not eating heartburn trigger foods for one reason or another. I also know there are foods I know make my heartburn worse. The thing is, I don't have causal heartburn. My heartburn is already there whether I ate or not.

So, I still had acid indigestion without any trigger foods while on a BRAT diet and would still wake up early in the morning because of horrible stomach pain. I tried the usual antacids, OTC medications, and herbal remedies (peppermint and papaya) to deal with my sour stomach. Using omeprazole daily for a bit was my only relief from the stabby, debilitating heartburn pain at my worst point early last December. If I skipped a day, I was in trouble. No I did not have an ulcer---this was really bad heartburn.

The good news is my heartburn has improved since I started alternate day fasting and I have not needed to take any daily heartburn medication since. I still chew some Tums as a source of calcium with a meal, if I am lacking it that day, but no omeprazole and only ranitidine on occasion. The heartburn hasn't gone away completely, but it is so much better than it was. I have heard from other intermittent fasters that their heartburn worsened from fasting though, so fasting doesn't seem like a universal miracle treatment for heartburn or acid reflux.

I haven't found any specific research published on alternate day fasting (or just fasting) and its effect on acid indigestion, however, I have two theories on why ADF is helping with my stomach acid issues:

Research shows that at least in an overweight population (which can describe me right now), weight loss is an independent factor in reducing acid indigestion. My Body Mass Index (I am not claiming BMI is the most accurate method of determining healthy weight, I am using it as a unit of measurement) has dropped about 2.2 points in the last 27 days, including the additional pound I lost yesterday for 13 total pounds lost. Perhaps even just losing this amount of weight from ADF has pleased my stomach acid gremlins.

My second theory is that I am producing less stomach acid because I am eating smaller meals and eating less often ("shrinking my stomach" or at least its capacity). In the same meta-analysis where Kaltenbach looks at the body of research around first-line heartburn remedies, she emphasizes that acid exposure increased with volume of food, whether it is has high or low fat content. Controlling my food portions and being conscious of servings sizes due to starting ADF may also be helping with my heartburn problems.

Even though I am not entirely sure why my heartburn has lessened or if it related to intermittent fasting, I am happy about it. On that note I hope everyone has a great weekend and if you celebrate Cinco de Mayo, like I will be, have fun!

Week 3 Summary

Day 23, Fast Day #11

I lost another 2 lbs for a total of 12 lbs. Today was harder to stay motivated just because neither Zach or I got enough sleep since we stayed out late last night and had to get up early (for us on a Sunday) to volunteer at our church today. Also, I might have had a chocolate hangover from two different desserts for my birthday happy hour/eating & drinking fest with friends. It was a good birthday week. Next weekend may be a repeat of bad eating behavior since we have some friends from out of town staying over next weekend.

I skipped a summary last week due to being out of town. So I spent some time last night looking at the numbers from all three weeks since I started alternate day fasting:

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

While ADFing: 1,685 kcal or 89% of baseline calories
Baseline Days: 1,896 kcal

All Feast Days: 2,756 kcal or 145% of baseline calories
All Fast Days*: 507 kcal or 26% 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


*Includes faux-fast day that was my mama's birthday dinner.

Alternate day fasting has reduced my average calorie intake overall, despite me being very bad about sticking to it this past week due to birthday festivities. It is clear to me that one of the things I need to work on is not using my feast day as an excuse to eat everything. More importantly, not as an excuse to drink whatever I want. It is amazing how many empty calories from sugar one can consume in the form of cocktails. I feel like my food decisions have improved over the last couple of weeks because I am more aware of the calorie and nutrient value of foods. I am basically retraining my mind and body on how to eat.

Some other things I need to watch and lower for a healthier diet is my sugar, fat, cholesterol, and sodium intake. I finally managed to meet the DRV of potassium on one day this week by eating a large volume of tomato soup. However, this also had a lot of sodium in it too, so I am sure a lot of that was neutralized.

I also expect the rise and fall of average calories every other week (so far) to be due to the number of fast versus feast days I have on a given week.

I also ordered and received a copy of Dr, Michael Mosley's The FastDiet, so that should be useful and hopefully motivating. I am already liking the calorie guide in the back.

Calories: The Birthday Gift to Myself

Day 19, Feast Day #10 - Double Feast

I weighed in yesterday and had lost another pound, so a total of 10 lbs lost. I expect to reverse some if not most of the weight loss progress this week. There is a lot of social eating and drinking in my near future.

Today is my birthday and Zach and I are going out to eat at Poppy and then to see Oz the Great and Powerful in 3-D, since the original movie The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorites. Who doesn't love James Franco? I figure Poppy isn't super unhealthy cuisine, so maybe I can eat somewhat responsibly tonight?

What was on my desk this morning.

On top of giving myself extra calories for my birthday (aside from the shoes, red leather bag, and clothes I just ordered...), my co-workers were thoughtful and planned birthday treats for tomorrow, since it is normally my fast day today and they were working around my weird eating schedule. They must think I have more willpower than I actually possess if they think I am going to fast on my birthday and forego an excuse to indulge on cocktails and a nice dinner. This means, 500 calories is also extremely likely to be breached tomorrow due to birthday treats. I would be happy if I could keep things below 1,200 tomorrow like I did on Saturday... but we will see about that. This all depends on the decadence of the treats.

Then an additional feast day is happening again on Saturday, since we are doing a birthday happy hour because getting together during the workweek is a pain, especially since some of my friends live in the suburbs. With 500 calories being a decent sized margarita, I am kind of doomed this week.

I suppose I can just try to skip breakfast and at least follow an intermittent fasting schedule (16/8) by trying to not eat for 16 hours at a time, then not eat after an 8-hour period. Perhaps that will help some.

Sunday is going to be a brutal fast day.

Fast(ing) Food - Spicy Pan-Fried Shrimp & Tex-Mex Rice with Corn and Beans

Day 17, Fast Day #9

Sticking to 800 calories for my mother's birthday dinner didn't really worked out like I had imagined it to in my head. I ate more like 1,100 calories on Saturday. This is what happens when a loaf of fresh, crusty bread gets put in front of me when I haven't eaten in 20 hours. To be fair though, I would have eaten way more than 1,100 calories without any restriction.

I also went a bit overboard yesterday on my feast day since it was a good friend's birthday. We took her out to a hard cider bar in Portland and then to one of our favorite 24-hour greasy spoons at midnight. Eggs benedict happened. Then Zach's mother made us an apple pie (which one cannot say "no" to) so we ate a slice of that for second breakfast. Then actual lunch time rolled around and we had yet another breakfast. This time I had french toast. Zach's wonderful mother also made me a chocolate cake for my birthday, since my actual birthday is Wednesday. Did I mention there was a potato salad snack? There is a reason I had a mere salad when we got home for dinner. So I ended up slightly surpassing 3,200 calories yesterday.  Yikes.

As you can imagine, I really did not want to step on the scale this morning. Especially since I peeked at the numbers midday on Sunday after I had eaten and I had gained 5 lbs. Well the good news is that I gained no net weight this weekend and am still at a total of 9 lbs lost. I made no progress, but I also did not gain anything.

Today's fast day is already starting out pretty brutal since I am going back to 500 calories today. However, I have a yummy lunch to look forward to. These recipes are also very easy:

Spicy Pan-Fried Shrimp (Yields 3 servings) ~181 kcal/serving

Takes 70-75 minutes (if marinating for 60 minutes)

• 1 lb of shrimp (this will taste better with raw shrimp, but I was cheap, lazy, and tired when I made this at 10pm last night) so I got the pre-cooked, deveined, no shell medium-sized shrimp) (~308 kcal)

Marinade:

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (~120 kcal)
• the juice of one large lime, you can substitute with a couple tbsps of lemon or lime juice out of the bottle (~15 kcal)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic, or a few fresh cloves minced (~15 kcal)
• one half of a 7 oz can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (this is normally found in the "International" aisle of my grocery store), chopped, include the sauce in the marinade (~60 kcal)
• a handful of chopped cilantro, no stems (I love cilantro) (~3 kcal)
• 1 tbsp paprika (~20 kcal)
• a dash of cayenne pepper (~1 kcal)
• a dash of pepper (not even a calorie)
• a pinch of kosher salt (not even a calorie)
• a couple dashes of red pepper flakes - optional (not even a calorie)

If you are using frozen shrimp and do not know how to thaw them, look at my last shrimp recipe. Thaw shrimp and start any shrimp prep first.

If you have a low tolerance for chile spice, feel free to ease off some of the marinade ingredients or marinate for less time. I like my food spicy.

Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl. Toss in defrosted and towel dried shrimp.

Let the shrimp get happy in the marinade for an hour or two in your fridge. (This will still taste good if you can only afford 30 minutes of marinade time.)

Heat up a frying pan or skillet on medium-high to high heat (my oven burners are powered by devil fire, so I use medium-high). Toss shrimp in hot pan. Cook and stir until shrimp are opaque. If you are using precooked shrimp like me, this will only take a couple minutes.

FOOD SAFETY TIP: Raw shrimp can carry salmonella like raw chicken. If you intend to use excess marinade it is very important to make sure your marinade reaches a boil in the pan for a bit and is reduced before using. You can also not use it.

Tex-Mex Rice with Corn and Beans (Yields 8 servings) ~103 kcal/serving

Takes 25-30 minutes.
This recipe is also SUPER cheap. About 50 cents a serving.

• juice of one small lime, you can substitute with a couple tsps of lemon or lime juice out of the bottle (~10 kcal)
• 1 regular-sized can of black beans, drained and rinsed well) (~385 kcal)
• 1 regular-sized can of corn, drained (~210 kcal)
• a couple dashes of ground cumin (not even a calorie)
• a handful of chopped cilantro, no stems (I love cilantro) (~3 kcal)
• Mexican-style hot sauce to taste,Tapatio or Cholula works well - optional (not even a calorie)

Rice Prep:

• 1 regular-sized 8 oz box of yellow rice (I used Zatarain's) (~98 kcal)
• water for rice prep (2 1/2 cups for Zatarain's, but use the amount of water on the box)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I substituted the butter in the directions for olive oil) (~120 kcal)

Boil water and olive oil in a medium to large pot with lid. Add rice. Lower burner to a low-medium heat (3/10). Cook for 20-25 minutes.

It is important not to peek on the rice while it is cooking. Otherwise it will take longer because it needs the steam it has built up in the pot. When the rice is done, the water will be absorbed.

Fluff the rice (aka, stir it up, especially on the bottom and sides of the the pot where it sticks). Dump the corn, beans, cumin, cilantro, and hot sauce in the pot. Done.

Water Weight: A Dieter's Foe

Day 13, Fast Day #7

I stepped on the scale yesterday and saw another 2 lbs lost for a total loss of 9 lbs in less than two weeks.

Frankly, I would be a fool to think that while on this diet that I am just dripping pure fat off my body like a meatloaf in a hot oven. So how much of the weight I am losing is just water weight?

Based on my current diet so far, here has been what I am eating on average feast and fast days as a reference:

Carbs: 333 grams (feast), 64 grams (fast), 130 grams (USDA DRV) - I clearly love bread

Fat: 86 grams (feast),7 grams (fast), undetermined USDA DRV

Protein: 91 grams (feast), 31 grams (fast), 46 grams (USDA DRV)

Well, complex carbohydrates bond well with water. So it makes sense on my down days where I am fasting, that the water in my body has less to bond to by way of carbs, and therefore I lose the water. I have clearly had plenty of carbohydrates to bond to on feast days and prior to dieting.

My sodium intake on an average fast day is 2,272 mg while my feast day is a very naughty 4,367 mg. The USDA recommends no more than 2,300 mg a day for my age and sex, so I should work on that. We know sodium retains water in the body. So, it makes sense that when I am consuming less sodium on my fast days, I must also have the ability to drop more water weight.

A study by M. Yang was sort of useful in answering my question. (Mind you, his study is with obese men and the low-carb ketogenic diet he uses is more like the Atkins diet, so not perfect for me.) In his study participants on a ketogenic diet, of the weight loss subjects experienced (by weight): 60-69% water weight loss and 15-36% fat loss (depending on which study you look at). My point is, the rapid initial weight loss seems to be mostly water.

Luckily it looks like the lower carb diets in a longer period do end up "accelerating" fat loss and maintaining muscle mass after the initial water weight loss, as noted in this summary of papers on the topic. So hopefully I level off on the number of pounds soon and start burning off more fat.

Fast(ing) Food - Quick Shrimp With Snow Peas

Day 11, Fast Day #6

Weighed myself again this morning and thought I was hallucinating. So I weighed myself twice more. Turns out I am down another 3 lbs, putting me at a 7 lb loss after 11 days. Crazy.

I have been busy wedding planning today, so I did not have time to finish an epic blog post. But I will leave you with a fast day recipe instead.

I basically got tired of eating just cold, mostly raw food on my fast days. So I made a heartier shrimp stir-fry for lunch today instead, yum!

Ugh, more cold, boring vegetables.

Quick Shrimp With Snow Peas (Yields 3 servings) ~288 kcal/serving
Takes about 15-20 minutes

Stir-fry:

• 1 lb medium or large shrimp, frozen, no shell, cooked, and deveined (~427 kcal) - If you have time to devote to deveining and shelling your own shrimp and cooking them from a raw state, go for it. It will taste better. However I am cheap and impatient. Most shrimp sold in the US is previously frozen anyway.
• 1 cup snow peas (~42 kcal)
• 2 green onions stalks, chopped (~10 kcal) - I have been saving the bulbs and putting them in shot glasses full of water on our window sill and growing a second batch of green onions for free.
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (~8 kcal)
• 1 tsp ginger, minced (a root piece about half the size of your thumb) (~2 kcal)
• 2 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil (~309 kcal)
• pepper to taste
• salt to taste

Sauce:

• 1/3 cup vegetable broth (~5 kcal)
• 1 tsp white sugar (~15 kcal)
• 2 tsp rice wine (~17 kcal)
• 2 tsp soy sauce (I prefer low-sodium, but if you have a wheat/gluten issue, stick with regular strength) (~7 kcal)
• 2 tsp cornstarch for thickening (~20 kcal)

For Shrimp Thawing:

• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 1/2 cup cold water
• paper towels or a clean dish towel (for drying)

Add 1 tbsp salt to cold water in a large bowl. Stir until salt is dissolved. Add frozen shrimp and defrost. This takes about 10 minutes. So do any prep work now.

Add the broth, sugar, rice wine, soy sauce, and cornstarch into a small bowl or measuring cup and whisk until blended.

Pat dry shrimp on towel(s). Otherwise your shrimp are going to make the stir-fry watery and diluted coming straight out of the water bowl.

The key to stir-fry is not taking your eye off the pan and stirring continually to avoid burning things. Bring oil to medium-high to high heat in a wok, skillet, or large frying pan depending on how hot your burners get. 

Add garlic and ginger to the pan. Stir continually for one minute. 

Add shrimp, cook and stir for about a minute. If you bought precooked shrimp like me, these are already cooked so you are just heating them up basically. Otherwise cook raw shrimp until opaque and pink.

Throw in the snow peas and green onions. Cook and stir until snow peas start getting a little floppy.

Pour in the sauce mixture and stir until the sauce thickens up. Salt & pepper to taste and eat!