Week 19 Summary

Day 135, Feast Day #78 - Six in a Row

Well that pound I gained back after entering maintenance mode disappeared. So I am back to where I started before deciding to decrease my numbers fasting days for the sole purpose of fitting in my wedding dress without more alterations. So I am at -27 pounds (12.2 kg) since April 5 and of course, my dress is just a little too loose. Last week I only did one fast day and a medium day with five feast days, and still lost that darn pound.

So this week, I don't think I am going to fast at all. Even on maintenance mode, my caloric intake has been comparable to other 4:3 weeks I have had in the past. I have been eating out less this month to save money, so I think that has prevented me from eating insane numbers of calories. Now gaining weight is difficult for me. What a silly problem to have.

Gaining weight is difficult is because I have retrained my tastes and my brain has different food reward associations now after nearly 5 months of alternate day fasting. To be honest, I read that this happens in Dr. Michael Mosley's The FastDiet and thought there was no way I would not always want to eat bagels, fried food, processed food, etc. It happened though! the last time I really went nuts on calories and carbs I felt awful sick afterwards with bloating and stomach pain.

I have basically had to unlearn everything my brain liked about food, and retrained it to like food that gives me energy and a lot of nutrition, not empty calories. I crave greens like chard, peppers, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli, not breads or pasta. The onion bagels toasting at work still smell good, but I don't crave them on my own without being exposed to good smells. I have been easing off of wheat products after scaring myself by reading Wheat Belly and not repurchased wheat products I've run out of (with an exception for beer) too. It is crazy how many calories you cut out once you stop eating bread, pastas, crackers, and the like.

Reducing my portion sizes and not eating after I am full is also becoming habit for me. These commons sense practices only become habit after lots and lots of conscious decision making and practice saying "no" the instinct to gorge.

I bought some bacon and have wine and cheese eating on my social calendar this week (aside from my wedding). So hopefully I can get one of those pounds back on!

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)
Week 17: 1,684 kcal or 89% of baseline calories (-1,484 kcal/week)
Week 18: 1,598 kcal or 84% of baseline calories (-2,086 kcal/week)
Week 19: 1,686 kcal or 89% of baseline calories (-1,470 kcal/week)

While ADFing: 1,761 kcal or 93% of baseline calories
Baseline Days: 1,896 kcal

All Feast Days: 2,732 kcal or 144% of baseline calories
All Fast Days: 435 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
Week 17: 4 feast days, 3 fast days
Week 18: 5 feast days, 2 fast days - maintenance mode
Week 19: 5 feast days, 1 medium day, 1 fast day - maintenance mode

*Includes days during my bachelorette party weekend.

Maintenance Mode

Day 123, Feast Day #68

So I lost another pound for a total of 27 pounds lost in 17.5 weeks. Normally this would be a great accomplishment, especially losing weight after a feast day. However, if I lose much more weight my wedding dress is going to be too baggy and maybe fall off. I only have 18 days left until I walk down the aisle so that limits the time I could get the dress altered. More importantly, I do not want to spend more money on that dress! It's a great dress, it looks great on me, but I am wearing it once. My expensive outfit expires within 24 hours. I do not need to be spending more money on it.

My solution? It is much cheaper to fast less often to maintain my weight (or possibly gain back some weight in my case) compared to altering my dress again.

Fasting periodically to maintain one's weight is what is commonly referred to as "maintenance mode" by other fasters. Dr. Michael Mosley for instance fasts just 1 day a week (a 6:1 schedule) to maintain the weight he lost while doing a 5:2 diet and to get some of the other benefits of fasting. Other people go from ADF to 5:2 or 6:1. Some people who just fast for weight loss (not the biochemical changes) just go back to everyday calorie restriction.

So my goal until August 25th is maintenance, not weight loss, in the hopes my wedding dress will fit nicely. So more feasting will happen.I 

Hence, I will try my best to pig out on my feast days for a couple of weeks. I broke my fast with a gross amount of carbs and wheat yesterday in the form of beer, a soft pretzel, and a burger bun. I got home after that and passed out soon after. I swear all the wheat and carbs resulted in a food coma I couldn't fight off. I felt awful physically after that feast and later groggy and hungry the next morning. I think it might be better if I try to get fat on potatoes instead. Sorry body.

One Pound That Might Be Back Tomorrow

Day 61, Feast Day #32

I dropped another pound today for a total of 19 lbs (8.6 kg) lost  in almost 9 weeks. This is a little over 2 lbs a week, which is on par with what Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer cite as the average weight loss per week while alternate day fasting.

I broke my fast with a really unhealthy meal that included three beers and a bacon-wrapped fried hot dog. So much for exerting self-control. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try a deep-fried hot dog for the first time, much less one wrapped in bacon. The fact that I can be on a diet and not have any rules against bacon-wrapped deep-fried hot dogs on rare occasions is one of the best perks about ADF. I probably should never eat bacon-wrapped deep-fried hot dogs, however, I have always been a "go big or go home" kind of gal. So I went big on calories, fat, carbs, and everything today. I ended up at 112 grams of fat in the 24-hour period. Don't act like you aren't impressed (or scared for my arteries).
.

If that pound returns tomorrow, I will know why...

YOLO! I promise I will never use that acronym on this blog again.

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.