Week 15 Summary (& America's Fried Food)

Day 107, Fast Day #46

I had a really epic feast day between Friday night and Saturday afternoon. I broke my fast at the Bite of Seattle, which is a weekend event at Seattle Center (where the Space Needle is) celebrating local restaurants, standard greasy American county fair-type foods, music, and canine athletic events. My heart is still beating despite the heaps of trans fat that are flowing in my veins.

For all of my readers outside of the USA, the stereotype is true that most Americans will just about eat anything they can deep-fry. Typical deep-fried foods in the American diet include "French" fries (aka frites/chips) or any type of cut, sliced, diced, or shredded potatoes, fried chicken, whole fried-turkey, fried shrimp, chimichangas (deep-fried burritos), Americanized Chinese food entrees (sweet and sour pork, General Tso's chicken, orange chicken, etc.), corn dogs (battered and deep-fried hot dogs on sticks), jalapeno poppers, egg rolls, fried dough covered in sugar (doughnuts, elephant ears, etc.), onion rings, and mozzarella sticks. The repertoire of American fried food creations goes well beyond this. Some venture into eating deep-fried pickles, fried macaroni and cheese, chicken fried steak, fried tofu, fried green beans, fried clams, fried mushrooms, chicken-fried bacon, fried cheese curds, and deep-fried ice cream. 

But the American love of deep-fried junk food goes beyond the normal American diner, Tex-Mex joint, and Chinese American restaurant. Deep frying is basically a culinary art best expressed at our state and county fairs, which are full of carnival rides and games, livestock competitions, and food that can send you into a diabetic coma. Some "fair foods" are deep-fried butter, deep-fried Twinkies, fried Oreos, fried ravioli stuffed with beer, fried batter flavored with soda syrup or Kool-Aid drink mix, deep-fried candy bars and jelly beans, deep-fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and more. You can understand why some of us Yankees are irritated that Mexico has taken our title of the most obese country in the world. India also better not get too comfortable with its #1 rank for the largest population with diabetes either. We are coming for your title! U-S-A!

I myself enjoy eating novelty deep-fried food on occasion (I do not eat like this normally  because I feel like this is an opportunity I may only have in America, where it is easy and legal to obtain calorie dense, nutrient poor, sugar coated balls of fat and more sugar on sticks, which are likely fried in the oil of GMO corn. In the past I have eaten some exotic deep-fried dishes like fried alligator, Rocky Mountain Oysters (calf testicles that are battered and deep-fried), and fried frog legs. Yes, I ate testicles and they taste and have the mouthfeel of fried mushrooms. On Friday, I scratched off deep-fried lasagna and a deep-fried peanut butter cup sandwich from my bucket list of fried foods.

America is the land of freedom to fry and eat whatever you want, expect sassafras oil, unpasteurized cheese that is aged less than 60 days, and haggis. Photo from the Telegraph.

I am glad that alternate day fasting does not interfere with my bucket list of American fried foods (which may cause many in my country to kick the bucket early). I am also glad that I have managed not to gain any weight after my deep-fried calorie extravaganza on Friday. This past week I lost a total of 2 lbs. I think this is likely due to stopping the antibiotics that had me gaining and retaining weight. My total loss is now 23 lbs (10.4 kg) over 15 weeks. This averages to 1.5 lbs lost per week (or 0.7 kg per week). Again, this is not accompanied by changes in exercise or the cessation of any habits or substances.

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)

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

All Feast Days: 2,830 kcal or 149% of baseline calories
All Fast Days: 450 kcal or 24% 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: 4 fast days, 3 feast days
*Includes days during my bachelorette party weekend.

What a difference a 4:3 week makes to my numbers compared to a 3:4 or 5:2 week. In case the deep-fried peanut butter cup sandwich or deep-fried lasagna didn't tip you off, I have also not been successful in keeping wheat products out of my mouth. It is a new day, so I will try once more to not eat wheat.

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.

What I Wish I'd Known Before Starting ADF

Day 25, Fast Day #12

This morning I woke up hungry, so I had a feeling it would be a tougher fast day. Since eating a lunch of a reduced fat string cheese (50 calories), my low-calorie tuna salad (72 calories), a can of Progresso Light soup (120 calories), and a whole cucumber (45 calories) and celery stalk (9 calories) with Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette Lite (45 calories), I feel quite full. I also have some calories left for an evening snack. 

Despite almost eating half of a pepperoni pizza for breakfast yesterday (haters gonna hate), I have somehow managed to defy physics and stay at a total of 12 lbs lost.

I am quickly approaching a month into this ADF adventure and we all know hindsight is 20/20. This is why I have some words of advice for my past self who was considering jumping into alternate day fasting, and anyone else thinking about radically changing their eating pattern through intermittent fasting:

1) Make sure fasting is appropriate for you - If you have diabetes, have an eating disorder, are pregnant, are underweight, or are under 21 you should not fast. If you have any other known medical issues or are on medications, you should also be cautious before doing any diet not prescribed by your doctor. If given the option, I probably would have done this first instead of deciding with Zach one day before running errands that today is now a "fast day."

2) Know what and how you are eating normally - I was not trying to eat healthy at all prior to starting ADF, so the transition was pretty rough for me. I would recommend prior to fasting to start tracking your caloric and nutrient intakes. Calorie tracking alone has been an eye-opening realization for me as to how I ate and what my diet was missing to begin with.

3) Make a plan - Come up with a plan on how you are going to get in as many nutritional requirements as you can on both fast days and feast days. If you can't reach them just through food alone, figure out supplements that are effective and safe that you can take. For me, the struggle is always calcium since I have issues with dairy. I also usually plan out and prepare (if necessary) my food for fast days in advance. I feel like if I have a plan and the food is ready, I can stick to the 500 calorie limit and avoid temptation and slip-ups easier.

4) Prepare your gut -  I also highly recommend getting your body used to a lot of fiber if you aren't already. You will be eating a lot of veggies alternate day fasting. A lot of people have bowel movement issues (too much or lack thereof) when starting alternate day fasting. I think this is largely due to the change in the amount of fiber, if you didn't eat enough before. I also take probiotics supplements regularly (which I did before ADF) since it helps me with dairy and consequent tummy troubles. Probiotics are awesome.

5) Accept the fact that hunger is uncomfortable and you will be hungry - Since fasting involves not eating for longer periods than a lot of people are used to, or not as much food as people are used to in a day, you will more than likely experience hunger. Hunger is not fun. Your body will become more accustomed to the eating schedule if you stick with it though. Start a hobby (for me, blogging) or catch up on to-dos on fast days. Staying busy keeps your mind off of being hungry. Drink lots of fluids and eat food with lots of fiber to stay fuller, longer. Remind yourself on fast days that in 24 hours you can eat bacon if you want.

6) Be prepared for side effects of hunger - Zach says he never experienced any side effects from ADF. However, I know I did early on. I had a nagging headache on my feast days for the first week. I have read that other people, when starting ADF, also have gotten these headaches on fast days. They are most likely a side effect of hunger. If you get migraines, you should probably have any medication you take for them handy, or maybe start fasting on non-work days so you can lay in the dark for awhile if you need to (or whatever else you need to for migraines). Hunger might also make you light-headed and irritable. I know I can feel "hangry" at times. You also might feel tired or fatigued from fasting. Some people even get nauseous. I felt a little dizzy my late in my first couple of fast days and was tired. But now I am usually more productive and usually at least as energetic on my fast days as my feast days, if not more so.

7) Be okay with a little failure - Failure is human. A lot of us are used to the feeling of failure since "lose weight" is often on the New Year's resolutions list (this has been on my list since college). I have already failed a lot. I have missed fast day and feast day calorie goals (eaten way too much on both). I have also eaten junk food, had to totally guesstimate portions to track calories, and have probably forgotten to include here and there to add to my food diary. This is okay. I have accepted I will fail, do fail, and am not getting disappointed about it. It is important to keep long-term health goals in mind and just keep working on them.