| I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage. |
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| — Erma Bombeck |
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| Okay, the above quote is not strictly true for my family, but it seems pretty close… All of my immediate family have struggled with weight and the impact of that weight on our health. |
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| If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you know this (dieting and health) is recurring topic for my posts as I continue to struggle with my morbid obesity. Last year, I went on a 42 day vegetable juicing / fruit juice & vegetable blending diet. I dropped from my all time high of 380lbs down to 311lbs. However, like almost all of my other attempts to lose weight, the real effort is spent in keeping the weight off (not just losing it). I had hoped to gain around a pound a month for the next five years before having to worry about losing weight again. Unfortunately, things have not gone to plan and I have gained most of the weight back in less than one year. |
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| In the spirit of “never say die(t)”, I am now trying again. This time I will be trying the Alternate Day Fast (ADF) technique. More precisely, I will trying the “modified” ADF. In a “standard” ADF, you alternate between days you eat and days you fast. The “fast” day is not a “true” fast day as I’ve always understood it. Basically, females are allowed 500 calories and males are allowed 700 calories on your Fast days. On the “Feast” Days, you can eat anything you want and as much as you want. Obviously, you should approach this with some reason, but as near as I can tell, “common sense” is not a requirement. If you lack it (common sense), you will simply slow the process of weight loss, but you still will not stop / end it. |
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| In the modified ADF (MADF), I will be trying to stick to either a single large salad in the evening (between 4pm and 6pm), or a series of three smaller “meals” during a 8 hour window (typically between 10am and 6pm). Inside and outside of the window, I can have as much water, coffee and tea as I want. I will NOT, however, be counting calories on either day. The coffee and tea are black (with no cream), but that is not a requirement. If, some day, I want cream, I will have it. Basically, I am severely reducing calories on alternating days and eating normally on alternating days. |
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| On a typical juicing fast I would normally lose about 18 to 20 pounds in my first ten days of the fast. Most of this would be water weight and stomach content. I estimate between seven and ten pounds minimum (and probably closer to 15lbs). In this case my “real” loss would be the difference – between five and ten pounds. To date (today is ADF:9-5), I have lost about eight(8) pounds. This is actual “loss”, because I am not emptying my stomach and I am, in fact, maintaining my stomach contents (by eating normally every other day). It is possible the loss could still be mostly water, but I will not be able to determine that for at least a few more days (if not weeks). I do note that my hands and feet no longer feel swollen in the mornings when I get out of bed. |
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| My goal for this “exercise” (lifestyle change) is to consistently lose 1.5 to 2 pounds per week for at least the next five months. 5months X 4weeks X 2pounds = 40 pounds of weight loss by the middle of June. After that, I will evaluate whether I need to be stricter / looser or whatever… This is a completely arbitrary “deadline” and I anticipate I’ll know if the MADF is working or not within the next 30 days. You may have noticed in the last paragraph I said I’ve lost 8lbs in this first week. I am expecting this will have been mostly water loss weight, but in any case, I am well over my goal for the week. This means I will need to have more than my normal amount of calories tomorrow (during my “feast” day). Losing weight too quickly risks the body slipping into “famine” mode and lowering my Basil Metabolic Rate (BMR) which will only make future losses more difficult. |
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| Starting information: Age – 63; weight: 355lbs on Day 1; 366lbs on Day 2; waist size: 55.5″ at my belly-button. My “ideal” maximum weight for my height: 181lbs. My healthy waist size s/b: 35-36″ at my belly-button. |
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| Based on my height and weight, my “Inactive BMR” is: 2,434 calories per day; my “Lite Activity BMR” is: 3,347 calories per day. Generally, we all need to reduce calories 3,500 to lose 1 pound per week. So, if I have less than 1,000 calories on my fast days and 3,347 on my feast days, I should lose between 1 and 3 pounds each week. Easy, peasy… |
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| Additional info: During my last juice fast I struggled to get a consistent reading on my scale. It was during the summer, so I would be in t-shirt, shorts and barefoot for my morning weigh-in. I tried to stand a specific way to get a consistent reading, but it was difficult because I had to balance on the scale to do so. It is now winter and my house is too cold to wander around in shorts and barefoot, so I get up and get dressed now. This introduces another set of uncontrolled / un-recorded variables: different tops (sweat shirts), different shoes, and different pants. Since I am too lazy to get dressed just to weigh myself in the morning and then change to what I will really wear that day, I will be letting it all sort itself out in the wash. More precisely, I’m going to let it even itself out over time. Although I am weighing myself every day, the main factor I will use for judging success is the weight every eighth day. Up, down or no change. |
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| I will be recording my weight two ways: 1) HIGH – standing with my knees slightly bent, feet flat but with my weight on my toes; and, 2) LOW – standing with knees straight (but not locked), feet flat but with my weight on my heels. I have noted my scale can show a variance of 12lbs between these two methods. In future posts, I will be stating my “HIGH” weight. On my daily account of “Sweat Equity” (see tab at top of the page), I will list both and also other specific data I track (walks, sleep, feelings, etc.) |
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| So, I will not be counting calories and I will not be on any strict exercise regimen. I do walk my dog each morning for 30-60 minutes, but it is at a leisurely pace so she can smell the outside world. We are not walking for a land speed record. I will be going to the gym because I like to. This means a couple of times per week with no set day or duration. I will (generally) not post every day about this (MADF) process. I will try to post often, though. I am learning a lot about eating, fasting, exercise and a host of other topics which I am finding interesting and I plan to use this forum to record my observations (LOL – what else is new?). This is for my benefit more than for any of my readers. A personal journal, as it were… |
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| Just a last comment on “title of post” nomenclature: “ADF: Day 9:5” will tell you (me) this post is about the diet (“ADF”). It will normally be my second post of the day. If you are not interested, have a nice day and come back soon. If you are interested in my notes / thoughts, “Day #:#” indicates the total number of days and (at least for now) the second number indicates a “fast” day (odd number) or a “feast” day (even number). That will let you know if I’m writing while hungry or full (LOL). |
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| Please feel free to leave any questions below in the comments. I will try to respond to all comments, and who knows, your question may end up the basis for a future post. |
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| . |
| On This Day In: |
| 2018 |
#DumbDonald: Start With Hearing What You Don’t Want Said |
| 2017 |
The Press Is NOT The Enemy |
| 2016 |
It Ain’t Easy |
| (Leap Year 29th) |
Or Try To, Anyway… |
| (Leap Year 29th) |
Circles Within Circles |
| 2015 |
A Series Of Funerals |
| 2014 |
And Your Point Is? |
| 2013 |
Infinitely Care |
| 2012 |
In My Room |
| (Leap Year 29th) |
Stingray – TV Series Review (This is my most popular post since starting my blog – hands down! It still draws hits almost every week. The hits seem to come mostly from Central Europe. I guess the show must be in syndication there.) |
| (Leap Year 29th) |
A Single Thread |
| 2011 |
Lyrical Mixture |
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Teaching = Translating |
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