Day 7 of my new reality. Let me tell you, it’s a not a bad reality by any means. While I had no doubt that I was going to make this work when I started on Monday, I didn’t expect it to feel so easy and so natural. I really didn’t expect to enjoy it so much either. I have also learnt a bit thus far.
Eating all the time is stressful
Do you realise how much time you spend thinking of food when you are eating all the time? Mornings are a breeze because I only break my fast after 11am. Then I generally eat again between 5 and 6 pm and that is it. What a pleasure! Essentially I fast for a minimum of 16hrs and a max of 18. In between I drink ice water or black coffee. I am so thrilled that my response when asked “how do you take your coffee?” is now: “Black. No sugar.” Makes me feel hard core and like I am in a movie! Hahaha! I used to snack a lot in the afternoons and I do still get the urge. Water and coffee are my go to’s when the urge strikes. I think that if I wasn’t allowed coffee, I would never have coped. It’s my drug of choice, my crutch, my friend. It keeps me sane. Back when I was still a stick figure, I used to happily live on coffee and toast for most of the day and then have a decent meal for supper. So yes, at least I still get to drink coffee.
I feel great (mostly)!
My head feels very clear. I haven’t reduced the carbs at each meal as much as I had planned as yet but perhaps, since I am taking in less overall over the course of the day, it has an impact. I wonder if, now that my body is spending less energy digesting food, there is more for my brain to use? I have also being doing better than normal on my scrabble games. (Yay!) It could also just be that I am rested since I am still on leave. Who knows. Time will tell I guess. I have been crabby though and this is not usually a crabby week for me from a hormonal perspective. (I have very distinct periods in my cycle where I am grouchy AF so I try to stay in my corner on those days). I am really hoping this is just a minor adjustment period I am going through.
I see a reduction in inflammation
My face is often quite puffy and it drives me insane. I had noticed a while ago that it is related to the amount of carbs I eat. Clearly just the reduction from removing a meal is enough to make a visible difference to the puffiness. This thrills me to no end. 😁 I also see an 800g loss on the scale which I am very happy with so so far so good! (doing the dance of joy…whoop whoop) Even my blood sugar levels are looking pretty decent over the course of the day. I think once I am fully low carb than the readings will be pretty steady all the time. 🤞
All in all this new reality has been a pleasant surprise. This is great because it means it will be that much easier to stick to. As I mentioned in a previous post, back in the day I ate to live and I did not live to eat and it feels good to go back to living that way. It feels right for me. I would definitely recommend giving it a chance if your doc says it’s ok for you to try. My bestie is also doing it so now I have 2 buddies to keep me motivated.
Let me know if you got a chance to read the book and if you have started intermittent fasting as well and you are finding it. Thanks for reading.
Grounded African 