No change in size, up 3 pounds.
A: 57"
W: 48
L: 287
I'm no a new anti-depressant, and the primary side effect of it seems to be tiredness, headache, and weight gain. So I might be fighting this med.
I have another week on the med before I have a meeting with my psych to evaluate where we are and see if we need to change it up. I'll discuss with him the changes I've made and the fact that I can't lose weight, and see what he says.
Saturday, January 27, 2018
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
IF Week 3, Day 2, All's Well
I'm on my 3rd week of this.
I got over my depression this weekend and tackled with renewed vigor this week.
Making sure I get around 3k steps each day, making sure I don't over eat when I'm in a feeding time. Trying to have slower burning calories at the start of my feeding time by starting with a simple salad.
I wonder if the tape will show any changes this week.
I'll probably not post to this daily now that I'm in the habit of this new life plan. At this point it's just keeping up with the plan and tracking changes to my body.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to make them here on my blog, or on Facebook.
I got over my depression this weekend and tackled with renewed vigor this week.
Making sure I get around 3k steps each day, making sure I don't over eat when I'm in a feeding time. Trying to have slower burning calories at the start of my feeding time by starting with a simple salad.
I wonder if the tape will show any changes this week.
I'll probably not post to this daily now that I'm in the habit of this new life plan. At this point it's just keeping up with the plan and tracking changes to my body.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to make them here on my blog, or on Facebook.
Sunday, January 21, 2018
2nd Saturday on IF
So, this is the 2nd Saturday on IF for me.
I have decided to take 3 measurements every Saturday:
1 - Around = (R) = the girth around the largest part of my stomach
2 - Waist = (W) = my waist where my pants sit
3 - Weight = (L) = my scale weight when I wake up in the morning before I eat
1/13/18
R = 57.5"
W = 48"
L = 290
1/20/18
R = 57"
W = 48"
L = 284
I'm happy that the L went the right direction.
I'm disappointed that my R only went down .5" and W not at all.
I celebrated my unhappiness by letting myself have some sugar. Rainbow sherbet with my daughter, a few margaritas with my depression.
Monday we're back on the non sugar, and we're going to make sure we walk 15 minutes minimum at least once per day.
This body MUST change.
I have decided to take 3 measurements every Saturday:
1 - Around = (R) = the girth around the largest part of my stomach
2 - Waist = (W) = my waist where my pants sit
3 - Weight = (L) = my scale weight when I wake up in the morning before I eat
1/13/18
R = 57.5"
W = 48"
L = 290
1/20/18
R = 57"
W = 48"
L = 284
I'm happy that the L went the right direction.
I'm disappointed that my R only went down .5" and W not at all.
I celebrated my unhappiness by letting myself have some sugar. Rainbow sherbet with my daughter, a few margaritas with my depression.
Monday we're back on the non sugar, and we're going to make sure we walk 15 minutes minimum at least once per day.
This body MUST change.
Thursday, January 18, 2018
Distraction and Diets
For the last 2 nights I've been totally distracted getting my Twitch stream setup to work with 2 computers through an Elgato HD60. That sentence means something to probably 3% of people who will read this post.
Long story short - because I was fighting technology to bend it to my will, I didn't eat much at all. I had a half a chicken breast and some mini-pretzels with about 1 tbsp of ranch dressing last night, and that's all I had. For lunch, I had a bit of lettuce with mixed cheese and bleu cheese dressing. Maybe 3 oz total of food. And I wasn't hungry at all! I had to force myself to eat the pretzels at 9:30 or I was going to be out of my window and low on calories.
This morning, I woke up feeling shaky. Listening to my body, the way the experts tell you to, I went ahead and had a half-cup of fresh orange juice. That took care of the shakes, and the rest of my day has been great!
I'm 1 hour from feeding time, and I'll be partaking of another iceberg lettuce and bleu cheese lunch. I might throw in a small baggie of cheetos or something, just for the calories.
I'm really interested to see how things measure up on Saturday.
If you're curious about my streaming setup for Twitch, feel free to ask in comments below. I've been streaming for 2 years now, and I've gathered a lot of information about it (even though I usually have zero viewers). Check out my channel RabidMonkee and follow me on Twitter to know when I go live.
Long story short - because I was fighting technology to bend it to my will, I didn't eat much at all. I had a half a chicken breast and some mini-pretzels with about 1 tbsp of ranch dressing last night, and that's all I had. For lunch, I had a bit of lettuce with mixed cheese and bleu cheese dressing. Maybe 3 oz total of food. And I wasn't hungry at all! I had to force myself to eat the pretzels at 9:30 or I was going to be out of my window and low on calories.
This morning, I woke up feeling shaky. Listening to my body, the way the experts tell you to, I went ahead and had a half-cup of fresh orange juice. That took care of the shakes, and the rest of my day has been great!
I'm 1 hour from feeding time, and I'll be partaking of another iceberg lettuce and bleu cheese lunch. I might throw in a small baggie of cheetos or something, just for the calories.
I'm really interested to see how things measure up on Saturday.
If you're curious about my streaming setup for Twitch, feel free to ask in comments below. I've been streaming for 2 years now, and I've gathered a lot of information about it (even though I usually have zero viewers). Check out my channel RabidMonkee and follow me on Twitter to know when I go live.
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Time Keeps On Slipping Slipping
I noticed that my time is slipping.
I started this on 16:8, 16 hours of fasting, 8 hours of feeding (2pm to 10pm so I can have dinner with the family).
Then I noticed that I'd stop eating around 9 instead of 10.
Today I looked at the clock and saw that it was 2:40, almost an hour past my start-eating time, and last night I again stopped at 9. So today was actually 18 hours of fasting.
I feel great!
I used to be able to eat an entire box of Mac-n-Cheese by myself. Last night I barely got through 3/5 of a box before I had to push it aside. I used to make sure I'd finish what I took, even if I was over full, but not last night. No interest.
So, I think it's...working!
Also, I know daily scale checks are damaging. I'm stopping that (got batteries for our scale). 2 days ago I was 290, this morning I was 286. From this point on, I'm only checking weekly on Saturdays with the rest of my measurements.
I started this on 16:8, 16 hours of fasting, 8 hours of feeding (2pm to 10pm so I can have dinner with the family).
Then I noticed that I'd stop eating around 9 instead of 10.
Today I looked at the clock and saw that it was 2:40, almost an hour past my start-eating time, and last night I again stopped at 9. So today was actually 18 hours of fasting.
I feel great!
I used to be able to eat an entire box of Mac-n-Cheese by myself. Last night I barely got through 3/5 of a box before I had to push it aside. I used to make sure I'd finish what I took, even if I was over full, but not last night. No interest.
So, I think it's...working!
Also, I know daily scale checks are damaging. I'm stopping that (got batteries for our scale). 2 days ago I was 290, this morning I was 286. From this point on, I'm only checking weekly on Saturdays with the rest of my measurements.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Being Slightly Hungry Is Not the End of the World
Something I read recently that really struck a chord was that Americans have been trained to believe that feeling hungry is one of the worst feelings to have.
We get this message from all of our media, from our families, from the wives' tales that are told about diet and fitness. Food is a massive industry in this country, probably the biggest scam since the original food pyramid. All paid for by the industries that have the most to gain from us constantly consuming.
Something that also resonated with me was the idea that is core to the IF lifestyle: How can your body burn fat if it has a bunch of calories sitting right there in your stomach ready to be broken down quickly and easily into sugars? The answer, of course, is that it can't. We've evolved to burn simple carbs quickly and our bodies prioritize them because in our ancestors, simple carbs were rare treats.
Now that works to our disadvantage. If you have processed simple carbs sitting in your system, your body will burn those and stash the harder to process stuff as fat for use later, just the way it's built to do. Instead of burning carbs, we have to re-teach our bodies to burn fats.
In keto, they call this ketosis. Lowering carb macros so low that fat is your preferred energy source, followed by protein, and finally carbs.
I wonder if IF sort of hijacks this ketosis process without necessarily being on a keto diet.
All I really know is that I feel better now. I ignore the slight hunger feelings that I get throughout the morning quite easily. I feel more energetic. It's easier to get out of my chair and wander around the office, or go for a walk around the lake across the street. So, whatever is happening, it definitely feels like it's working.
Side note - I got batteries for my scale last night and this morning, my naked and fasted weight was:
290.0 lbs
We get this message from all of our media, from our families, from the wives' tales that are told about diet and fitness. Food is a massive industry in this country, probably the biggest scam since the original food pyramid. All paid for by the industries that have the most to gain from us constantly consuming.
Something that also resonated with me was the idea that is core to the IF lifestyle: How can your body burn fat if it has a bunch of calories sitting right there in your stomach ready to be broken down quickly and easily into sugars? The answer, of course, is that it can't. We've evolved to burn simple carbs quickly and our bodies prioritize them because in our ancestors, simple carbs were rare treats.
Now that works to our disadvantage. If you have processed simple carbs sitting in your system, your body will burn those and stash the harder to process stuff as fat for use later, just the way it's built to do. Instead of burning carbs, we have to re-teach our bodies to burn fats.
In keto, they call this ketosis. Lowering carb macros so low that fat is your preferred energy source, followed by protein, and finally carbs.
I wonder if IF sort of hijacks this ketosis process without necessarily being on a keto diet.
All I really know is that I feel better now. I ignore the slight hunger feelings that I get throughout the morning quite easily. I feel more energetic. It's easier to get out of my chair and wander around the office, or go for a walk around the lake across the street. So, whatever is happening, it definitely feels like it's working.
Side note - I got batteries for my scale last night and this morning, my naked and fasted weight was:
290.0 lbs
Monday, January 15, 2018
Informational Post About Intermittent Fasting
If you're wondering why I chose this as my latest attempt at changing my lifestyle for a healthier me, here's some information.
( Taken from the Reddit Wiki: https://www.reddit.com/r/intermittentfasting/wiki/index#wiki_5.3A2_.28the_fast_diet.2C_eat_stop_eat.29 )
The following list has been proven to occur in clinical trials involving human subjects assigned to a TRF or IF protocol.
( Taken from the Reddit Wiki: https://www.reddit.com/r/intermittentfasting/wiki/index#wiki_5.3A2_.28the_fast_diet.2C_eat_stop_eat.29 )
The following list has been proven to occur in clinical trials involving human subjects assigned to a TRF or IF protocol.
- Reduced visceral and subcutaneous fat
- Reduced basal plasma glucose
- Reduce basal plasma insulin
- Elevated rate of autophagy
- Slight increase in total body metabolism
- Improved insulin sensitivity
- Reduced skeletal muscle inflammation
- Improved intestinal motility
- Reduce plasma inflammatory cytokines
- Hepatic glycogen depletion
- Improved cognition
- Reduced resting heart rate
- Reduced blood pressure
- Improved fasting lipid profile (reduce LDL, TGL, improve HDL)
- Increased lipolysis
Anecdotal Benefits of IF
- Binge / appetite correction
- You want to eat healthier
- More energy
- Better focus
- Better appreciation for those who are truly starving
- Awareness of the pressures of society to make us eat
- Less time spent worrying about food and cooking
- Attempt to cool down internal body temp throughout the day
- More time in the day for other activities besides cooking/eating
First week of IF is done!
Not much to report so far.
Sunday my mom took the family out to dinner at Olive Garden to celebrate her paying off her mortgage. I had a couple of limoncello long-island drinks, and a pile of pasta. I think the alcohol and sugar in the 2 drinks really hit me hard. I could feel my heart pounding hours later still.
My scale doesn't have batteries, and I don't have measurements of my body from before I started.
Something I'm going to do every Saturday is measure around my belly, and waist, each Saturday. Hopefully I'll see some changes in measurement.
Non-scale-victories are even more important that seeing that number move.
But, my ultimate goal is to get below 200lbs for the first time in 12 years.
Sunday my mom took the family out to dinner at Olive Garden to celebrate her paying off her mortgage. I had a couple of limoncello long-island drinks, and a pile of pasta. I think the alcohol and sugar in the 2 drinks really hit me hard. I could feel my heart pounding hours later still.
My scale doesn't have batteries, and I don't have measurements of my body from before I started.
Something I'm going to do every Saturday is measure around my belly, and waist, each Saturday. Hopefully I'll see some changes in measurement.
Non-scale-victories are even more important that seeing that number move.
But, my ultimate goal is to get below 200lbs for the first time in 12 years.
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Day 5 Complete
Day 5 was easy.
No, that's not true.
I still have to think about it all morning and remind myself not to go get some food. Part of the problem is that I'm in a lull at work.
The nature of our business means that we have a sort of feast/famine routine where we work like crazy for a few months, then we have a few weeks between sales pushes where we have a bit less to do. After working like crazy, those lulls feel like nothing is happening.
With no work to distract me, the time goes by at a crawl, and that gives me lots of time to think about the fact that I'm not eating.
Also, 10pm seems to come earlier each night...I think "oh, I'll go grab a snack before my fast starts again" and look at the clock and it's 11pm.
Again, my shirts are definitely starting to feel a bit less tight around my belly, but without a scale I don't know for certain if that's just water loss - I've been peeing a lot more during my fasts - or that I'm actually losing some size already. It would be incredible if it's already starting to change my body composition!
Around (the widest part of my belly)
57.5"
Waist
48"
No, that's not true.
I still have to think about it all morning and remind myself not to go get some food. Part of the problem is that I'm in a lull at work.
The nature of our business means that we have a sort of feast/famine routine where we work like crazy for a few months, then we have a few weeks between sales pushes where we have a bit less to do. After working like crazy, those lulls feel like nothing is happening.
With no work to distract me, the time goes by at a crawl, and that gives me lots of time to think about the fact that I'm not eating.
Also, 10pm seems to come earlier each night...I think "oh, I'll go grab a snack before my fast starts again" and look at the clock and it's 11pm.
Again, my shirts are definitely starting to feel a bit less tight around my belly, but without a scale I don't know for certain if that's just water loss - I've been peeing a lot more during my fasts - or that I'm actually losing some size already. It would be incredible if it's already starting to change my body composition!
Around (the widest part of my belly)
57.5"
Waist
48"
Friday, January 12, 2018
Day 4 of IF on the books
I found myself watching the clock more than the other days this time.
I actually stopped eating around 9pm - that's when we put the kids to bed - so I technically did 17:7.
Then, last night, due to bedtime again, I didn't feel like I got enough calories in before 10, so I had a glass of milk at 11, so today will be 15:9.
I don't think it matters much, these hour+/- differences, as long as I get into a fasted state for a good amount of time.
I don't own a scale, so I have no idea if it's working yet or not, but I sort of feel like my shirts might not be as tight...not really sure yet.
So, here goes day 5, and I'm already hungry at 9am...I'm sure there will be days like this all over the place. I will not break my fast, though!
I actually stopped eating around 9pm - that's when we put the kids to bed - so I technically did 17:7.
Then, last night, due to bedtime again, I didn't feel like I got enough calories in before 10, so I had a glass of milk at 11, so today will be 15:9.
I don't think it matters much, these hour+/- differences, as long as I get into a fasted state for a good amount of time.
I don't own a scale, so I have no idea if it's working yet or not, but I sort of feel like my shirts might not be as tight...not really sure yet.
So, here goes day 5, and I'm already hungry at 9am...I'm sure there will be days like this all over the place. I will not break my fast, though!
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Scales?
I desire 2 scales: one to weigh me, and one to weigh my food portions.
Recommendations from personal experience?
Go!
Recommendations from personal experience?
Go!
IF: 003 done, 004 in progress
Last night was the end of fast period 3.
I was hungry for a bit, but carbonated water with lemon did a good job keeping me hydrated and fighting the empty stomach feelings.
I had some pizza for dinner with the kids, and it didn't taste the same, kind of weird and off tasting, but the rest of the family didn't seem to notice. I ended up just picking the pepperoni and cheese off and leaving most of the bread. It's almost like my body is telling me to get into the keto zone, even though that's not my goal right now.
So, diet aside, I want to talk about mental health and medications.
A year ago this spring, I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD), Bipolar disorder, and adult ADHD. I also have PTSD, but not related to my military service - it's from when I got mengeoencephalitis and ended up in the hospital for 9 days in December of 2014. I don't remember that Christmas, or most of that December, really. It's bizarre.
I take Seroquel (quetiapine) 300 mg, which levels out my bipolar swings. I have to take it at night because it forces me into an 8 hour sleep cycle (it's used off-label as a sleep medicine). It raises my heart rate and blood pressure while it's in my system. My resting heart rate went up an average of 10 bps, and my blood pressure is in the mild hypertensive zone now. I cut out iodized salt and only eat non-iodized, which lowered my BP significantly.
My psychiatrist just recently added Rexulti (brexpiprazole) 1mg to my regime because I was having depression. He is hoping the combination will keep me from feeling depressed and angry while not triggering a manic episode. After 4 days taking it, the wife told me today that she definitely feels like I seem happier.
The problem: 2 days in a row now I've gotten sudden nose bleeds when I strain or bend over to do something like tie my shoes. I got 2 yesterday - one when I stretched in bed, and another when I moved position on the couch last night. That last one lasted over 30 minutes and triggered a panic attack. I ended up taking a Xanax to both lower my BP and try to stop panicking (dudes aren't used to bleeding, and I'm a real baby about it). Eventually the combination of the Xanax, a ton of paper towels, and some Afrin, it finally quit.
I don't know if it's related to the Rexulti that we just added this week, or just because of the cold, dry weather...but I hope it stops soon.
I was hungry for a bit, but carbonated water with lemon did a good job keeping me hydrated and fighting the empty stomach feelings.
I had some pizza for dinner with the kids, and it didn't taste the same, kind of weird and off tasting, but the rest of the family didn't seem to notice. I ended up just picking the pepperoni and cheese off and leaving most of the bread. It's almost like my body is telling me to get into the keto zone, even though that's not my goal right now.
So, diet aside, I want to talk about mental health and medications.
A year ago this spring, I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD), Bipolar disorder, and adult ADHD. I also have PTSD, but not related to my military service - it's from when I got mengeoencephalitis and ended up in the hospital for 9 days in December of 2014. I don't remember that Christmas, or most of that December, really. It's bizarre.
I take Seroquel (quetiapine) 300 mg, which levels out my bipolar swings. I have to take it at night because it forces me into an 8 hour sleep cycle (it's used off-label as a sleep medicine). It raises my heart rate and blood pressure while it's in my system. My resting heart rate went up an average of 10 bps, and my blood pressure is in the mild hypertensive zone now. I cut out iodized salt and only eat non-iodized, which lowered my BP significantly.
My psychiatrist just recently added Rexulti (brexpiprazole) 1mg to my regime because I was having depression. He is hoping the combination will keep me from feeling depressed and angry while not triggering a manic episode. After 4 days taking it, the wife told me today that she definitely feels like I seem happier.
The problem: 2 days in a row now I've gotten sudden nose bleeds when I strain or bend over to do something like tie my shoes. I got 2 yesterday - one when I stretched in bed, and another when I moved position on the couch last night. That last one lasted over 30 minutes and triggered a panic attack. I ended up taking a Xanax to both lower my BP and try to stop panicking (dudes aren't used to bleeding, and I'm a real baby about it). Eventually the combination of the Xanax, a ton of paper towels, and some Afrin, it finally quit.
I don't know if it's related to the Rexulti that we just added this week, or just because of the cold, dry weather...but I hope it stops soon.
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
IF: 002
Day 2, Intermittent Fasting (IF)
I got some flavored water last night. I thought I was getting LaCroix-like unsweetened, but instead what I got was "Clear American" which has aspartame in it.
So, today I felt more hungry. I stayed home from work due to a broken down car, so I was around the bacon and eggs smell from the kids' breakfast. I didn't have work to distract me, and I had the sweet taste of the water.
I still stuck it out until 2pm, so it was a success. But, I found myself prowling the kitchen for carbs. I'm not allowing myself processed sugar, but I haven't gone "full keto" yet - if I ever do. I just love bread and pasta too much for keto to be a sustainable lifestyle choice.
Anyways, in 30 minutes, my 3rd fasting period starts. I'll let you know how it goes.
I got some flavored water last night. I thought I was getting LaCroix-like unsweetened, but instead what I got was "Clear American" which has aspartame in it.
So, today I felt more hungry. I stayed home from work due to a broken down car, so I was around the bacon and eggs smell from the kids' breakfast. I didn't have work to distract me, and I had the sweet taste of the water.
I still stuck it out until 2pm, so it was a success. But, I found myself prowling the kitchen for carbs. I'm not allowing myself processed sugar, but I haven't gone "full keto" yet - if I ever do. I just love bread and pasta too much for keto to be a sustainable lifestyle choice.
Anyways, in 30 minutes, my 3rd fasting period starts. I'll let you know how it goes.
Monday, January 8, 2018
Science-Based Six Pack
I got pulled in by an ad on Youtube before a video I was trying to watch.
It was by Thomas DeLauer and it was about his program Science Based Six Pack.
It appealed to me because it lets me eat the same things I eat, while just moderating my schedule of eating, and adding some core exercises.
I don't have anywhere near the $100 he wants for his program, so I'm just winging it based on the basics: 16 hours of fasting with 8 hours of feeding between. For my schedule, this works out to eating between 2pm and 10pm and fasting from 10pm until 2pm the next day.
I already do much of this, between sleeping and eating late lunches at work, so all I have to do is cut out snacks.
I don't really care about a six pack, I've never had that even when I only weighed 150 lbs in my 20s. I just want to get below 200lbs again.
So, this is day 1, January 8th, 2018.
It was by Thomas DeLauer and it was about his program Science Based Six Pack.
It appealed to me because it lets me eat the same things I eat, while just moderating my schedule of eating, and adding some core exercises.
I don't have anywhere near the $100 he wants for his program, so I'm just winging it based on the basics: 16 hours of fasting with 8 hours of feeding between. For my schedule, this works out to eating between 2pm and 10pm and fasting from 10pm until 2pm the next day.
I already do much of this, between sleeping and eating late lunches at work, so all I have to do is cut out snacks.
I don't really care about a six pack, I've never had that even when I only weighed 150 lbs in my 20s. I just want to get below 200lbs again.
So, this is day 1, January 8th, 2018.
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