Well, knowing that I was about to embark on a 5 day fast, my nutrition was less then desirable yesterday (especially being that it was New Year's Eve!). I was working on a new recipe and ended up eating 3 of my “healthy” muffins! Healthy or not, 3 was 2 too many?!
DAY 1
Anyway, this morning the scale was at a whopping 148 lbs! Why am I telling you this? Because this blog is a way for me to be honest with my readers and to let you know that you are not alone if you struggle with weight gain over the holidays.
This year, the holidays and getting back to the simple life was something I was craving. For me, cooking, baking and sitting down to dinner with friends is what the simple life is all about. I'm not sure about you, but if I had to describe 2018 using only 1 word, the word I would chose would be "chaotic". Between politics, the stock market, personal health issues as well as family issues, this year was probably one of the most stressful ones I have ever experienced.
I wonder if it felt this way because I am getting older and am not able to handle the stress as well? I'm not sure what the answer is, but I am definitely going to try to make 2019 a calmer and more relaxing year.
Now, onto the weight issue. Although I would never be described as "overweight", for my body type, 148 is definitely too much. My legs are swelling more, I feel VERY bloated and my "big" size of clothing in my closet is getting tight (I think every female has 3 sizes of clothes in her closet!)
From the research I have done, to find your “healthy weight” and “set point”, you should aim to be as close to the weight you were in your 2o’s. For me, I was always between 120-125 so 148 is over 20 lbs too much.
Although weight loss is not my primary reason for doing this 5 day water fast (you can read more about why I fast here), I am hoping to slowly, over the course of the year, return to my set point and maintain it for the entire year. Maintaining a healthy weight is a key component of my personal quest of achieving "Optimal Health"
As for the fast? So far, Day 1 has been uneventful. I have fasted in the past for a couple days so as of today, I have not hit my “struggle” point yet.
I had a great night sleep, had coffee in the morning and went for a jog with Mr. Grumbles (A.K.A My husband) and Pig Pen (A.K.A - our forever dirty looking Labradoodle). When we got home, we did a quick ab routing followed by some pull-ups. Around 9 a.m., my stomach grumbled a little but a drank some water and distracted myself with this blog and a nice phone call with my mom. At 1 p.m., my stomach rumbled again so I filled it with a little water and started cleaning the house. I decided to go for a second jog as I had the time and the energy.
As for the end of Day #1...EASY PEASY!
Tips:
- keep busy
- stay out of the kitchen
- do NOT check out other food bloggers
- drink plenty of water
For the next 5 days, I will keep a "diary". I plan on completing this process once a month so it will be interesting to see if each time around, I feel the same.
Upward and onward!
Day 2
Weight Day 1: 148.0 weight Day 2: 144.1
Fasting thought of the day
1 day under my belt and only 4 to go. I really do believe that counting down psychologically is easier then counting up. Think about it, you NEVER quick during a countdown...no one ever quits during a countdown. Can you image if dynamite or a space shuttle launch ever stopped midway? We are naturally programmed to believe that we are going to make it from 10 to 0. The same is not true for counting up. For me, counting up tells me that I am going to try to make it to 10 but if I don’t, it’s not that big of a deal. For example, I will try to do 3 sets of 10 at the gym, but if I make it to 8 on my final set, then I pat myself on the back and call it a day.
If you do decide to try a fast, try counting down instead of up and see if aren't more successful!
As far an energy today, I felt fine. I was a little tired around 2 pm but after a quick yawn and some water, I was back to being energized.
I had my usual small hunger pangs around 8, noon and 6 pm but they passed quickly.
Day #2 .... COMPLETED!
DAY 3
Weight Day 1: 148.0 Weight Day 3: 141.0
So far, fasting has been relatively easy...it is definitely more of a mental struggle then a “true” hunger struggle.
For those of you that don’t know me well, I have suffered from gastrointestinal issues for over 15 years. I have been on two courses of heavy duty antibiotics which I believe may have destroyed some of my good gut bacteria. This fast is meant to help me deal with my GI issues and ultimately get closer to my goal of “Optimal Health”.
Here is what Dr. Hoagland and Naomi Whittel say about fasting:
“Fasting is like hitting the reset button on your cells.
When you go extended periods without food, your body becomes stressed in a positive way, which triggers the natural cellular detoxification process of autophagy. Your ability to prevent chronic disease and live a long, active life depends on this process.
While many biological functions benefit from restorative periods of fasting, strong research shows that the metabolism is a special benefactor.
Dr. Hoaglin said, “Metabolic disorders are strongly linked to derangements in the gut microbiome, where trillions of bacteria live in a symbiotic relationship with our own cells.”
“The gut microbiome influences energy balance and insulin sensitivity by creating short-chain fatty acids and vitamins, sending critical metabolic signals and helping digestion. But when an imbalance exists, it can be quite difficult to lose weight,” he explained
My intentions are to finish this fast to truly allow my system to heal and then moving forward, I will continue with an alternate day fasting schedule for the month of January. Hopefully, this will bring me one step closer to defining “Optimal Health”!
Day #3 ... COMPLETED!
Day 4
Weight Day #1: 148.0 Weight Day #4: 140.0
Well, Day 4 went without a hitch. It is truly amazing how much i am not hungry.
If you have done any research with regards to fasting, you will see that many medical professionals suggest including bone broth during your fast. After doing a lot of research, I have come to the realization that fasting has so many different benefits that the way you approach your fast is directly related to what you want to get out of it.
If weight loss is your goal, fasting including bone broth is a great idea. Bone broth has many health benefits such as alleviating joint pain, healing "leaky gut" syndrome, boosting the immune system as well as many other claims. The key components which makes bone broth such a wonderful addition to anyone's diet is the high concentration of collagen and amino acids. Collagen is important in all cellular repair and amino acids are the building blocks of protein.
For me, my goal with fasting is to get my body into a state of autophagy. What is autophagy? Here is a great explanation by Colin Champ, M.D., a board-certified radiation oncologist, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center:
"Autophagy is a natural process ...it's the way your body does a "self clean". Your cells create membranes that hunt out scraps of dead, diseased, or worn-out cells; gobble them up; strip ’em for parts; and use the resulting molecules for energy or to make new cell parts. Think of it as our body’s innate recycling program. Autophagy makes us more efficient machines to get rid of faulty parts, stop cancerous growths, and stop metabolic dysfunction like obesity and diabetes.”
So, you are probably asking what this has to do with the amino acids in bone broth? The main regulator of autophagy is the target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase. This is also referred to as mammalian TOR (mTOR) or mechanistic TOR. When mTOR goes up, it shuts down autophagy. mTOR is exquisitely sensitive to dietary amino acids (protein).
And there you have it! Bone broth which contains amino acids will activate mTor and therefore will shut down autophagy. Once again, please note that I do believe bone broth has many health benefits but activating autophagy is definitely not on the list!
Day 4... COMPLETED!
Day 5
Weight Day 1: 148.0 Weight Day 5: 139.0
Well, I am on my last day of fasting and overall, this has been a great experience and experiment! In general, I only had a few small hunger pangs which always went away within 5 minutes by simply drinking some water. Never once did I feel dizzy or did I feel like I lacked energy. I continued to run in the mornings and work all day without any issues.
The hardest part of fasting is the mental struggle more so then a physical one. I could hear voices in my head saying "you have to eat" because that is what I have been told my whole life. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that you have to eat but to eat when you are not hungry doesn't make any sense.
When I reflect on the past 4 days (since today is actually day 5), I realized how much we are a example of Pavlov's dog. Almost all my "hunger" pangs happened when I would typically eat in the past. I have conditioned myself to eat at certain times and am no longer in tune with my true hunger signals.
My fast ends tonight around 6 pm so my first goal in January has been accomplished. I will continue to fast on an alternate day schedule like I had planned and will repeat the 5 day fast in February to compare my feelings between the 2 fasts.
Please note that if you do want to try a fast, you should consult with your doctor first. I always carried some nuts with me so that if at ANY time I felt dizzy, I would have something to eat readily available.
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