Normal Day 47 - 127.6

Apparently, I didn't have a hangover afterall -- I have the flu. We went to Disneyland today and I still felt nauseous. Later this evening, my son also started getting sick. We had to leave the park early and go home.

The realtor wants to come by and show the house tomorrow to a different realtor. grrrr I don't see how they can honestly expect to sell this place. There are at least a dozen homes within a 2 block radius with foreclosure signs on them. Why would anyone want to pay 1/2 million for this dinky little house with bad electricity and a leaking roof when they can get a house around the corner twice the size and 1/4 the price? They are making a mistake in my opinion, because all they are doing is pissing off good tenants who pay their rent on time. We are going to find a different place. We're not going to sit here and showcase their house for them. It's an inconvenience and a nuisance to stop everything we are doing and wait for them to come by -- and we sure as heck aren't going to have people coming in when we aren't home. Now, they will no longer have anyone making their mortgage payments for them because we are moving. I told my boyfriend that I bet within 6 months we will drive by here and their will be a foreclosure sign on the lawn.

Food:
1 cup oatmeal
2 T sliced raw almonds
2 organic bananas
1/2 avocado
1/2 tomato
1 whole wheat tortilla
1 glass red wine

Exercise:
walked several hours

Fasting Day 47 - 129

I had a little hangover today -- I'm not used to drinking that much. I couldn't keep up with everyone and had to stop early. I felt like crap all day today.

We drove to Balboa Beach again, but didn't stay long today. We walked over to the ocean for a little bit. I wore protective goggles to keep the sand out of my eyes --I must have looked a little bit of a freak to the other people on the beach.

We went to see the movie, "The Signal". The scenes at the coctail party were amusing. The whole theater audience laughed -- all 5 of us. If they would have stuck with that kind of humor through the whole movie they would have had an underground hit on their hands. Instead -- it was just disturbing.

Food:
2 protein/water shakes

Exercise:
walk 1 hour

Normal Day 46 - 126.4

We drove to Balboa Beach in Newport to meet up with my boyfriend's Mom and her Sister and Brother. My boyfriend's cousin has just finished her residency to become a doctor. Pretty cool. She looks way too young to be a doctor.

There was an overabundance of alcohol and food. I'm glad that I had the extra day of semi-fasting to help buffer the extra calories.

Food:
Celery sticks -- wasn't counting
1 baby carrot with some kind of dip on it
2 slices of pepper jack cheese
1 bloody mary
2 beers
1 margarita with salt
1 cheese enchilada with tomatilla sauce
rice & beans smothered in cheese
chips & salsa

Exercise:
Walked - 2 hours

Low Cal Day 4 - 127

We are meeting my boyfriends family in LA tomorrow. There will most likely be food involved. I have decided to make today a low calorie day so that tomorrow will be a normal eating day for me.

An email message from Medscape piqued my interest today. It contained a link to a one minute video entitled, "Fat Reduction by Topical Waist Applications May Actually Work". It stated that in a clinical study, dieters who rubbed "cellulite cream" on their tummy lost 6cm more off their waist circumference than dieters who did not use the cream. If you aren't interested in filling out their membership form just to watch a 1 minute video clip, here is a copy of the transcript:

This is the Medscape Medical Minute. I'm Dr. George Lundberg. So many people struggle with body fat, generalized and localized. How wonderful it would be if a person could rub on a topical cream and make the fat go away. Three researchers at Louisiana State University recently published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism, a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial that asked this question. If 50 adult men and women with body mass indices over 27 kg/m were on a prescribed 1200-calorie balanced diet and a walking program, would the addition of the application of 0.5% aminophylline cream to the waist twice a day change BMI and waist circumference? After 12 weeks, the answer was yes, 11 cm less in the cream group and 5 cm less in the control group -- a significant difference. BMI decreased in both groups; waist-to-hip ratios declined; women lost more; aminophylline blood levels were undetectable.[1] Small sample size, but an exciting result, worthy of further study. I'm Dr. George Lundberg, reporting.

hmmmmm I might have to test this research out on myself....

Food:
3 protein/water shakes

Exercise:
walk 45 minutes

Fasting Day 46 - 128.8

I don't want it to be true, but drinking these protein shakes on my fasting day might be what has slowed my weight loss. Maybe protein sparing isn't really necessary? I've read anecdotal stories claiming that while fasting -- old and diseased tissues are targeted before young and healthy ones. It is possible that the body has some sort of mechanism capable of this. We know so little about metabolism and even less studies have been done specifically on fasting metabolisms. I've noticed that my skin looks younger and the cysts and growths in my ovaries certainly seem to have been targeted in the first couple of months of alternate day fasting. The healing might also have something to do with the inflammatory response in my body lessening (this corresponds with studies on alternate day fasting).

Perhaps it's just the weather, but I've been experiencing some depressive episodes lately. I've read studies that memories and emotions might also be stored within the body itself, not just in the brain. (For example, Candace Pert's work with peptides being the molecules of emotion.) Could fasting be releasing depression inducing substances that were encapsulated within fat cells? We, emotional eaters, frequently eat to bury away our feelings. What if we truly are doing that -- what if our emotions are being stored in the fat tissue right beside the excess calories? Incapable of dealing with them in the past, we must once again deal with these feelings as they are released from their hiding places.

Food:
2 protein/water shakes

Exercise:
walk 45 minutes

Normal Day 45 - 128, Waist 29"

Today marks the 3rd calendar month that I have been Alternate Day Fasting. This month I lost 5.4 pounds. Altogether I have lost 27 pounds -- that is an average of 9 pounds a month. This month has been a rough one with 2 birthday parties. Birthday cake and weight loss must be in direct opposition with each other. And we still have that family get together to attend later this week.

It's time to record my measurements again.

Waist measurement:
3 months ago 34"
2 months ago 31.5"
1 month ago 30"
today 29"

Inches lost this past month:
Bust - 1/2 inch
Waist - 1 inch
Hips - 1 inch
Thighs - 1 inch off each
Arms - 1/2 inch off each

We drove over to a seafood market looking for some fish to make sushi. I really miss the Uwajimaya's Grocery Store in Oregon. We haven't found anything that even comes close down here. You would think that being on the coast in S. California that we would have amazing seafood and fresh produce selections. The produce in the store we went to was nasty and the seafood selection wasn't that impressive. We used to come out of Uwajimaya's with bags and bags of unbelievably fresh produce at an amazingly low cost. I could spend hours in that store just walking through the aisles looking at all the interesting foods from around the world. There must be somewhere like that here -- we just haven't found it yet. Why isn't there a wharf area to purchase seafood direcgtly from the fisherman or at least vendors like there is in San Franciso? No bazaars -- how bizarre.

Food:
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup DHA soymilk
2 T sliced raw almonds
1 banana
1 cup brown rice
1 oz raw tuna sliced (it didn't taste very fresh to me -- refused to eat any more of it)
4 oz mock crab
4 T shredded mango
4 T shredded cucumber
1/2 avocado
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp sesame seeds
nori
wasabi
pickled ginger
soy sauce
rice vinegar

Exercise:
walk 20 minutes

Fasting Day 45 - 129

Our internet service provider (COX) keeps having outages. I either can't get online or when I do, the connection is so slow that websites time out. I'm having to backpost to this blog. This also means our phone service is down because we use Vonage which relies upon our internet connection. My son cannot do most of his schoolwork, because his "classroom" is on the internet with K12.org. My boyfriend needs it to connect to his work. We will be going with a different service provider when we move. Cox is too unreliable. However, their cable television service stays up and running -- maybe they should just stick with cable tv.

Today we drove over to the Mexico/California border. They have a large outdoor mall filled with outlet stores. I bought two pairs of Levi jeans: one pair is a size smaller and the other is two sizes smaller. They both fit. The larger size is a little loose, but I think they will shrink to fit perfectly once I wash and dry them. The other size fits perfectly now, but will probably be too small once they are washed and dryed. I will have to "shrink" into those.

Food:
2 protein/water shakes

Exercise:
walk 45 minutes

Normal Day 44 - 128

Rainy and cold outside today. Good day to stay inside and watch movies. We watched the Korean film, "Nightmare" and the American movie, Crank. My son and boyfriend seemed to really enjoy the movie Crank (a guy flick -- I guess) they were on the edge of the seats laughing.

Food:
1 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal
8 oz milk
1 cup organic garbanzo beans
2 vegetarian tacos: whole wheat tortillas, lettuce, cilantro, avocado, recipe crumbles, taco sauce, cheddar cheese, black olives, onions, jalapeño, tomato

Fasting Day 44 - 130.2 (Day 90)

BBC Horizon recently aired an episode entitled, "How to Live to 101". It looked at the citizens of three different locations that have more centenarians than other places on earth: Okinawa, Sardinia, and Loma Linda. What is it that these people are doing differently than the rest of us?

Researchers found that Okinawan's eat 20% less than most people in Europe or America consume. They even have a saying, "Hara Hachi Bu", which basically means "Eat until your 80% full". (This corresponds with the research about longevity and calorie restricted diets. Alternate Day Fasting appears to confer the same benefits as a calorie restricted diet according to recent studies.) Their diet consists of a variety of fruits, vegetables, and soy protein/tofu. The researchers said that Okinawans eat more soy products than any other population on earth. They found that Okinawans age more slowly than the rest of us and their levels of the hormone DHEA declines at a slower rate.

Interestingly, the researchers also followed up on Okinawan's who moved to Hawaii. As their descendents developed a more westernized diet, they became even more unhealthy than westerners on the same diet. It is as if this group of people's bodies have adapted to require the calorie restricted, healthful diet of their ancestors.

The next group of long-lived people are located in the town of Ovoddo, Sardinia. Apparently this population's genetic lucky card was the result of inbreeding among the early population on this remote island town. (Yuck!) Inbreeding increases the odds of birth defects, but in this case the inherited defect was an advantage. The long-lived Sardinians are deficient in the enzyme G6PD. Researchers are hoping that by studying the Sardinian population they will be able to isolate which genes are beneficial for longevity.

The last group of people are in Loma Linda, California. This town has a high percentage of 7th Day Adventists. Their religion promotes a vegetarian lifestyle and prohibits smoking and alcohol consumption.

The documentary also briefly touched on the people of Glasgow, Scotland, whose aging is accelerated. The researchers hypothesis for this was interesting. They said that in the early to middle of the last century their were over a million people living in a few square miles. Childhood diseases ran rampant throughout the area. Some of the children developed heightened immune systems that protected them from infectious diseases -- a condition called inflammatory response. These children lived long enough to reproduce and thus people with this tendency for inflammatory response increased in the general population. This same overactive immune system is likely to turn on itself later in life and create inflammatory related diseases. Their descendents have inherited this heightened inflammatory response even though the conditions that originally created it are long gone. They are doing all the right things (lowering stress, eating healthy, etc.) but their bodies are still operating as if they are in the environment of their ancestors.

BBC News Magazine has an article, The Towns Where People Live The Longest, if you are interested in reading further.

***************
Exercise:
Walked - 40 minutes

Food:
2 protein/water shakes

Normal Day 43 - 128.4

I came across some PBS Frontline videos called "Diet Wars". Steve Talbot reviews some of the popular diets like Atkins, Dean Ornish, South Beach and Weight Watchers. He also has an interview with Gary Taubes (I provided a link to a lecture given by Gary in yesterday's entry.) If you do not have a high speed connection (or even if you do) you might be interested in reading some of the interviews with the doctors, scientists and other people featured in the videos.

Here is another interesting link posted on the Yahoo Fasting Group to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald. In this study, researchers measured how the ratio of protein/carbohydrates affected the lifespans and fertility rates of fruit flies. Fruit flies are frequently used in longevity research studies because they normally have a very brief lifespan. In this study, they found that higher protein intakes resulted in shorter lifespans -- but the flies were more fertile. Lower protein intakes resulted in longer lifespans -- but they were less fertile. Of course, we aren't fruit flies, but the study is still intriguing.

Food:
1 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal
6 oz soy milk
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 whole wheat tortilla
1 scrambled egg
1 vegetarian sausage patty
1 T salsa
1 cup chopped cabbage
2 cups boullion broth
2 T soy textured vegetable protein
1/2 apple
1 cup sliced english cucumber
2 T lemon juice concentrate

finger full of buttercream frosting swiped off the leftover birthday cake ... I should throw that cake out ;-)

Exercise:
I know the Doctor told me to wait a couple of weeks before exercising ... but ... it was cold outside ... not much chance of sweating.

walked 20 minutes

Fasting Day 43 - 130.2

This lifestyle has begun to feel really natural to me -- like breathing. It's like my digestion system itself is breathing -- taking in nutrients one day and eliminating toxic by products the next. It is refreshing and rejuvenating.

Recently on the Yahoo Fasting Group, there was a link to an excellent video by Gary Taubes, called "Big Fat Lies". He makes a convincing argument that excessive carbohydrate consumption is creating the obesity epidemic. Basically he states that without insulin it is not possible to store fat in the body. Most bodily tissues require insulin in order to use glucose. The excess insulin directs the body to store fat and only when the insulin levels drop back down will stored energy be utilized. I think he has really hit on some significant points that will help us figure out why obesity is suddenly spreading across the earth.

I find the "low-carb" results enticing, but I'm not ready to convert my diet. I still cannot accept that a high protein/fat diet is the healthiest long term choice. Yes, it is obviously a great way to quickly lose excess weight for many otherwise healthy people. However, critical pieces of the overall puzzle are still not in place. For starters, we don't know why cells become insulin resistant in the first place and we have yet to identify several unknown molecules and mechanisms within the insulin pathway itself. I agree that excess insulin is creating problems. But I'm fairly certain that eliminating carbohydrates in our diet would inevitably replace one set of health problems with a different set of problems down the road. Without a doubt, a diet of refined and processed foods is obviously unhealthy, but I'm growing weary of hearing people speak as if ALL carbohydrates are unhealthy. I think health comes from finding the optimum BALANCE for one's own body. That optimum balance appears to be different for each of us. I prefer to do alternate day fasting. I suggest you do whatever works best for your body. The main reason I won't do a "low carb" diet (hence high protein/fat) to lose my excess weight is because of a frightening personal experience that I had when I was younger:

When I was about 17, my boyfriend and I consumed a high protein diet because we didn't have anything else to eat. We were a young, struggling couple with little money and his parents filled our freezer with venison (deer meat) to help us out. I don't recall precisely how long it was (I'm thinking it was about 3 months) but I started experiencing a strange feeling in my back that progressively grew worse. I went to the doctor, they found protein in my urine but no signs of any infection. They said that I probably just strained myself somehow and gave me a prescription for a muscle relaxant. The pain continued to get worse and the muscle relaxers didn't help. My whole body swelled up and I was in a great deal of pain. My boyfriend finally took me to the emergency room. They said that I had a severe kidney infection and they couldn't understand how it could have been missed, they immediately admitted me into the hospital. They began treatment for the infection but I did not respond and my kidneys were shutting down. They called my mother and told her she should fly out immediately because I was dying. The antibiotics were not working, my kidneys were shutting down and they couldn't understand why. I started having convulsions -- which were excruciating -- it felt like I was going to snap my own neck. Gradually my kidneys resumed functioning and the infection began clearing up.

It turns out that what happened was that my kidneys began shutting down, probably due to the strain put on them by the excessive protein. The infection was actually secondary to my kidneys shutting down. That is why the kidney infection wasn't found initially -- I didn't have one yet. Perhaps the intravenous glucose in the hospital gave my kidneys the rest they needed to recover? I don't think I would ever risk eating such a high protein diet again. I realize that what we were eating was very different from what people are consuming on Atkins and other such diets. I might also have had an unknown kidney problem before I even began eating that way. My boyfriend remained perfectly healthy through the whole ordeal and he ate the same things I did. This experience is one of the major reasons why I switched to a more vegetarian based diet.

*******

I am now adding protein shakes on my fasting day. Today I drank 3 of them. My kidneys feel fine by the way. It seems like it must certainly be healthier to get protein from a shake than it would be to take it from my own muscles and organs. As long as I'm not overdosing on it -- it seems like it would be beneficial to continue supplementing my fasting day with protein shakes.

Peace is Free

I would like to introduce one of my dearest, long time friends, Lita Hope. She is one of those people who lights up the room the moment she walks in -- all eyes are irresistably drawn to this sparkling, gorgeous angel of a woman. How could we -- mere mortals -- find the strength to break our gaze?

With her kind permission, I share the message here ... PEACE IS FREE.

Normal Day 42 - 129

I'm here, but I'm still recuperating from eye surgery on Friday. It's a little difficult to focus on the computer monitor and these steroid eye drops are giving me headaches. Other than that, everything is going well. I'm still alternate day fasting. My weights for the previous days are:

Feb 15 - 131.2 - Fasting Day 41
Feb 16 - 130.6 - Normal Day 41
Feb 17 - 131.4 - Fasting Day 42

We took our son go-kart racing on Saturday. He loved it, but he was terrified before, during and after his first race. Imagine if the first time you ever drove a car, it was racing 45 mph around an indoor track--you're trying to figure out the steering wheel, gas and break pedals, while navigating around a narrow, convoluted track with 11 or 12 other cars. He said he wanted to just get out of his car and run away. We encouraged and insisted that he do it again, besides we had already paid for 3 races. He reluctantly agreed. He did fabulously the second time and even better the 3rd time. After that, we had to drag him out of there.

On Sunday, my boyfriend and son had their first surfing lesson. I couldn't even go and watch because I'm not supposed to go near the beach for at least 2 weeks. (I considered taping a patch on my eye to keep out the sand -- best not to risk it though.) They both said that Kahuna Bob is an excellent instructor. Our son got up on his first try. My boyfriend got up after a few tries. Now, they want to get wetsuits and surfboards. They said it was way more fun than boogie boarding.

The Southwest Home Educators Association is offering what sounds like an extremely exciting adventure (Check out that boat in the link--gorgeous!) this fall for teenagers:

Sail Training program teaches students the basics of sailing, coastal navigation, seamanship, small boat handling, marine biology, and oceanography. Each student participates as a crew member assisting in raising the sails, manning the helm, standing watch and peforming hourly boat checks. Students learn marine biology and oceanography through hands-on labs and snorkeling excursions. This is a weekend (Saturday/Sunday) excursion and is a fantastic experience that students will remember for a lifetime

This vessel is a three masted square top-sail schooner, thoroughly modern with the latest in electronic navigation and communications equipment. Comfortable accommodations, restrooms and showers, galley with an excellent chef, and a single bunk for every participant!

Did they have this kind of stuff when I was a kid? If they did someone was hiding it from me! I booked both my son and boyfriend on the trip. My boyfriend will go as a chaperone. If he can't make it, I will go in his place. He doesn't get seasick, I do. I get over it quickly too. It sounds like so much fun, but I'm not sure I would be up for chaperoning half a dozen kids while trying desperately not to vomit. My aunt sent me a link to these anti motion sickness devices that you wear on your wrist. That's an option -- assuming they really work.

Today, we went to a seafood buffet. I stayed in control of my diet--which can be difficult to do at a buffet. I passed up all the rich desserts and had one almond cookie. I don't really like eating in restaurants--I feel too self conscious--especially at a buffet. I feel like people are watching me. I would rather do take-out and eat at home or a picnic somewhere.

My car is still at my boyfriend's work near the doctor's office. We were going to pick it up today, but my distance vision is still blurry. Is that a good sign? The day after my first eye operation my vision was crystal clear and then progressively deteriorated. I am far sighted and they informed me that this is more difficult to correct, because it basically means that your eye is too flat. It's easier to flatten out your eye than it is to try and make it bulge more. So hopefully this blurry vision means that the procedure was more successful this time and my vision will improve as my eye flattens back out. I can definitely see an improvement in my near vision. I have severe astigmatism in both eyes. It looks like they may have cleared up a lot of it in my left eye this time.

I'm not supposed to exercise for 2-3 weeks! I forgot about that one; after the previous surgery I didn't have any interest in exercising anyway. They said besides the risk of a physical injury to the corneal flap that sweat can be harmful to the healing process if it gets into the eye. Sometimes, it seems like these guys are making it up as they go along...and they probably are. I would think that mild exercise would actually speed up the healing process. They used to tell pregnant women to stay in bed and now we know that pregnant women should exercise instead. I wonder if this is similar?

Normal Day 40 - 130.6

My son got his long, beautiful hair cut off today. It is still about shoulder length. It makes him look younger, which is ironic because he turned a year older today. At 13 years of age, he is now offically a teenager.

While he was getting his hair cut one of the beauticians came up to me and asked me if I would be interested in being a hair model for her tomorrow. I told her that I can't because I am having eye surgery. She asked if she could get my name and number to call me for her next show then. (That's the second time this week someone has come up to me and complimented me on my hair.)

My son's bio-dad called him to wish him a Happy Birthday. I have to give him a little credit -- he is beginning to accept more responsibility. The first 11 years of my son's life he refused to acknowledge his existence (or mine for that matter). My son is the one who initiated first contact. He wanted to speak with his bio-dad, so we tracked down the telephone number. They have only seen each other twice now, but they play video games together on Xbox live sometimes.

Sadly, the go-kart race track was closed for a private event. That's okay we were all exhausted and my son really wanted to just play Guitar Hero III anyway. They will go race on Saturday instead.

This may be my last post for a day or two while my eye heals from surgery.

Food:
1 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal
6 oz soy milk
1 organic banana
1/2 cup cottage cheese
10 raw almonds
1 cup chopped cabbage
1 T red wine vinegar
1 vegetarian sausage patty
1 cup clam chowder

Birthday Celebration:
gnocchi with pesto (about 1/3 of the restaurant portion)
slice of chocolate birthday cake with butter cream frosting
scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream

Fasting Day 40 - 131

I know to expect it now, but this end of cycle weight gain still freaks me out. My body actually "feels" toxic and I can't help but question if it is hormonal or a response to something I ate yesterday. When your whole body becomes painful to the touch and your face and eyelids swell up, it doesn't seem possible that hormonal fluctuations could cause this much discomfort. Hey if a usually peaceful calm serene person can be turned into a short-tempered, grouchy Harpy. Imagine what PMS would do to some guy who is already short-tempered, grouchy and quick to brawl most of the time. (Men suffering from what I call "testosterone poisoning".) It's a good thing that men don't get PMS--the human race would have killed each other off long ago.

I'm really looking forward to my son's birthday tomorrow. We are going to have such a great time! We got him 5 movies, a new 7-iron golf club, the Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 for the Xbox 360, Guitar Hero 3 and the wireless guitar for the Xbox 360 and (of course) a box of chocolates. My boyfriend is supposed to pick him up a Lava Lamp. I'm more excited about his birthdays than I am about my own. I love my baby Valentine!

Exercise:
Walk/Ran 1 hour (again mostly walked, but the running time is growing longer)

Normal Day 39 - 127.6

(Warning ... dear reader ... I have PMS)

Looks like my son's biological father got him the exact same thing that he has gotten him for the past 13 Christmases and Birthdays -- absolutely nothing. A real piece of work that one is. He can't blame his abominably atrocious behavior on his wife any longer. She is no longer around and he's still the same pathetic, self-absorbed, whiny infant that he always has been. Thank goodness my boyfriend has been here throughout my son's life. It restores my faith to see a man who expresses love and concern and knows how to be a REAL FATHER.

We have his birthday planned out. First, he is going to get a new haircut at Jet Rhys Salon. When my boyfriend gets home from work he is going to bring Gnocchi with Pesto Sauce from one of my son's favorite restaurants, Lorna's Italian Kitchen. We will eat, have cake and ice-cream and open gifts. Then the 3 of us will head over to K1 Speedway to race go-karts. If we get hungry later in the evening we will stop for pizza somewhere. On Sunday he has a 2-hour surfing lesson scheduled with Kahuna Bob. I think this will be a birthday that he'll remember.

Food:
1 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal
4 oz soy milk
1 organic banana
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 cup chopped cabbage
10 raw almonds
1.5" x 1.5" square homemade veggie lasagna
1 whole wheat tortilla
2 T recipe crumbles with taco seasoning
2 T homemade guacamole
1 T chopped onion
1 T sliced black olives
1 T kefir
2 T melted Velveeta processed cheese
10 tortilla chips
6 oz milk

Exercise:
Walk 20 minutes

Low Cal Day 3 - 129.0 (Day 80)

Okay, maybe these low calorie days are not so wonderful after all. The first couple of protein shakes are palatable and refreshing, but after that they left a sweet aftertaste that made me slightly nauseous. I managed to choke down 4 of them throughout the day. Perhaps having a couple of different brands and/or flavors to switch between would help?

Anyway, this low calorie day does work well as a switch over day. My son's birthday is on Thursday and he loves to eat delicious food -- so do I. Now his birthday coincides with my eating day.

I downloaded a couple of yoga and pilate videos to try out. Ah, there is nothing like starting a new exercise routine to make you feel like an ungraceful clod. I found myself comparing my body with the 20-something yoga instructor's lithe physique on the video. Not a wise thing to do. Instead of feeling good about losing 26 pounds and improving my endurance and strength, I felt like a big blob of blubber -- in tights. It made me really grateful that I didn't sign up for yoga classes yet. By first practicing at home, I can develop coordination and - hopefully - save some of my dignity the first day in yoga class.

While we were shopping at Target yesterday, a man walked up to me and told me that I had really beautiful hair. I was shocked and managed to stammer out the words, "thank you". I cannot even remember the last time a complete stranger gave me a compliment. It seemed that the more overweight I was -- the more invisible I became to other people. It was as if I no longer "counted" as a human being. I was easy to dismiss and ignore -- people didn't even notice me. So BLESS YOU kind stranger, whoever you are, you really made me day!

Food:
4 protein/water shakes (87 calories each)

Exercise:
Yoga 20 minutes

Fasting Day 39 - 129.6

I've managed to maintain the weight loss even after my eating day. I'm happy with that.

My son's 13th birthday is on Valentine's Day. I want to get switched around before then so that it falls on a normal eat day. We are planning on taking him go-kart racing. He has never driven a go-kart before and we think it sounds like something he might find exciting. I'm also trying to find out about signing him up for a surfing lesson -- if we are going to live in Southern California we might as well start acting like it.

One week ago my left ovary flared up and was more painful than usual. A day later the pain was gone -- COMPLETELY GONE. For an entire week now I have been 100% absolutely pain free for the first time in 10 years! Up until a couple of months ago, the whole lower left quadrant of my abdomen/pelvic region was in pain, then it shrunk to the area about the size of a quarter and now the pain is totally, completely, absolutely non-existent. It doesn't even hurt if I palpitate the area -- nothing -- completely painless, no tenderness whatsoever. I am shocked and thrilled and I hope this lasts!

Food:
1 87-calorie protein/water shake

Exercise:
Walk 1 hour
3x12 leg extensions, girl pushups
3x25 crunches, reverse crunches

Normal Day 38 - 129.6

Dropped below 130 pounds today -- yay! Even though this is my weight after FASTING yesterday and tomorrow my weight will probably be above 130 after eating today ... still ... yay !! My BMI is now 23.7.

It was a gorgeous day outside. We decided to head over to Mission Beach and rent bikes, alas, apparently so did the rest of San Diego county. We walked around for about 30 minutes, but it was too crowded and would have been WAY too crowded to try and ride a bike. Instead, we went over to the Little Italy district and ordered a pizza. Then we walked around downtown for a couple of hours. My boyfriend bought me a cute pair of strappy sandals at a little boutique because my feet had blisters on them from my flip flops and I was starting to limp. That was considerate and sweet of him.

Food:
2 cups lentil soup
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup cottage cheese
8 0z soy milk
1 scoop protein powder
5 almonds
1 slice cheese pizza with garlic (from a medium pizza)
1 beer
a couple bites of lemon cake
a couple sips of vanilla latte

Exercise:
Walked 2 hours
3x12 leg extensions, pushups (yes the girlie girl pushups)
3x25 crunches
3x50 reverse crunches

Fasting Day 38 - 130.8

I bought a cheap pair of shoes at payless to get me through. I can't justify spending over $100 on a pair of running shoes when I'm not running all that much. These will hopefully do the job, they are lightweight and have good arch support.

I also have decided to add a protein shake or two on my fasting day. If it slows my weight loss, I will go back to straight water and diluted coffee/tea on fasting days. I was hungrier than I normally am while fasting, even after drinking a protein shake. What causes this? Why is it easy some days and difficult on other days? Is it hormonal, an electrolyte imbalance, energy expenditure from exercise, the foods consumed the day before, a deficiency in vitamins or minerals? Could it be from changing my routine by adding the extra low calorie day?

Food:
1 87-calorie protein/water shake

Exercise:
walked 45 minutes
gardening 1 hour (used a pitchfork to transfer the compost pile to a different place in the yard and worked up quite a sweat!)

Normal Day 37 - 131

I finally saw the movie, "The Last King of Scotland", today. Forrest Whitaker is such a brilliant actor. It's kind of odd that this is the movie he finally received an oscar for his performance, because he has played many more outstanding roles than this one throughout his career. It was an excellent performance -- more than worthy of an oscar -- but I've seen him give even more incredible ones. For example, the depth he gave to his character in the movie, "The Crying Game", was utterly amazing. When I am flipping through the index cards in my mind of brilliant performances I have seen, his portrayal of "Jody" in that movie always comes to the forefront.

I need to go buy a new pair of shoes. My old pair was getting grungy, so I tossed them into the washing machine. They completely fell apart--they are shredded into bits of plastic that couldn't even be glued back together. The bottom soles are now pitted with gaping holes dotted throughout and the entire bottoms ripped away from the shoes themselves. I was hoping they would last another month because my son's birthday is next week. I would rather buy him gifts just to see the joyous expression on his face than spend it on myself. I have trouble buying things for myself--I think other moms out there probably understand what I am talking about. The needs and desires of our children come first. If they would have lasted until next month, I was going to get myself a decent pair of actual "running" shoes.

We took the long route around the golf course today, but this time we walked in the opposite direction. My dog started to run when we reached the downhill section, he turned back to look at me when I didn't join in. I had on regular street shoes without any arch support. I guess I could have ran, but my feet would have slapped loudly onto the pavement with every step and would likely have resulted in injury to my shins or achille's tendon. It looks like I'll have to break down this weekend and get a pair of running shoes. (Hey, I know -- think of all the money I'm saving by only eating every other day -- surely the savings would cover the cost of a pair of good shoes!)

Food:
1.5 cups oatmeal, splash of soymilk and sweetened with splenda
small handfull of raw almonds
1 cup lentil soup
2 T kefir
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 cup raw cabbage with red wine vinegar
1 morning star farms veggie sausage patty
1/8 of my son's sandwich (scrambled eggs, veg sausage on whole wheat, romano cheese and mayo)

Exercise:
Walked 1 hour

Fasting Day 37 - 132.4

I drank one 87 calorie protein powder mixed with water around 4pm this afternoon. Not exactly fasting, but the smell of food in our house was just too much. My son made a homemade butter-garlic-cream sauce, poured it over gnocchi and topped it with freshly grated pecorino romano cheese. (He is 12 -- I'm starting to think "future chef"?) The aroma was overwhelming and I started to feel deprived.

We arrived at his golf lesson a little late, which means there wasn't enough time to make it all the way around the neighborhood before he finished. There is a short, steep incline on one side and a long, winding, gradual descent on the other side. I walked to the top of the summit, turned around walked down, turned around walked back up and then turned around and ran back down. Our dog is getting in such good shape that I can barely keep up with him when he is running -- and he is just a little guy. We got back to the car with just minutes to spare.

Food:
87-calorie scoop protein powder mixed with water

Exercise:
Walk/run 45 minutes (mostly walked)
3x25 crunches
3x50 reverse crunches
3x10 girl pushups
3x12 leg extensions

Low Cal Day 2 - 132.6

Today originally began as an alternate fasting day, however it is my boyfriend's birthday. My son and I decided to bake him a lemon cake -- his favorite. We basically followed the recipe over on Tartelette's blog for her Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake, but we exchanged half of the recipe's sugar for splenda. I measured and my son mixed up all the ingredients. It was his first time making a homemade cake and it turned out beautifully.

We didn't actually serve the cake until around 8:00 pm. If you could have seen how the expression on his face fell when it came time to eat it and I mentioned that I was fasting today. There was no way any human being could have avoided eating that cake! So I had a slice and it was absolutely heavenly-delicious.

This is the first time I have not followed through on a fasting day. I said from the beginning that I was prepared to alter my fasting day if a warranted situation should ever arise. So far this is the only time that I really felt it was necessary to switch. Since today was not a normal eating day (all I had was a thin slice of cake), I may not have the energy to comfortably get through a day of fasting tomorrow. I will see what happens, but my intention is to fast tomorrow. If that doesn't work out, I will make tomorrow another low cal day and drink protein shakes.

Normal Day 36 - 131

Well, the extra day of low calorie fasting seems to have helped -- that is a relief. I will be doing that more often. The protein powder actually tasted pleasant, even though I mixed it in water. I wasn't grimacing at the thought of drinking it again. It really DID take away all my hunger.

Peculiar Phenomenon
I noticed that by the end of the day yesterday, I was having trouble speaking loud enough to be understood by others. My voice was barely a whisper. I had to use the amount of breath that would normally be almost shouting just to be heard clearly. Even then, I had to repeat myself several times. I think I recall reading a study on fasting and voice. I believe they attributed it to general weakness from fasting itself (or maybe that's just what I wrote it off as when reading the article?), however this was NOT the case. My vocal chords themselves felt strange like a paralyzed knot in my thoat when I tried to speak. I'll have to see if I can find that article again and read it more carefully this time.

I located the abstract on the study, Effect of Fasting on Voice in Women.

Results: Vocal fatigue was the most common reported complaint followed by deepening of the voice and harshness. Self-reported phonatory effort was significantly affected by fasting. Out of the 28 subjects, 23 had an increase in their phonatory effort. Vocal acoustic parameters did not change markedly except for the maximum phonation time, which decreased significantly. Laryngeal video-endostroboscopy did not reveal any significant changes during fasting. All stroboscopic parameters were the same except for a decrease in the amplitude of the mucosal waves in one subject and the presence of a posterior chink in three subjects. Conclusion: Fasting affects voice. There is an increase in the phonatory effort, and vocal fatigue is the most common symptom.

Food:
1 scoop protein powder in water
1 cup oatmeal with splash Silk soymilk with DHA
2 cups lentil soup (lentils, carrots, celery, garlic, bouillon, spices)
2 T kefir
1 whole wheat tortilla
2 T of tuna spread (tuna, mayo, onion)

Exercise:
walk 30 minutes
3x10 girl pushups

Low Cal Day 1 - 132.6

Today I am experimenting with adding a low calorie day to my regime. I bought some protein powder and was surprised that it actually tastes good. I got a huge jar of MRM Whey Pumped, natural flavor. It has 87 calories a scoop. I mixed it with water and was thrilled to discover that it completely eliminated my hunger today. I had 3 glasses: one for breakfast, one for lunch and one for dinner. This low calorie day is extremely easy -- easier than fasting. I will definitely being doing this again, maybe once a week.

It is becoming apparent that the only person who can support me in my diet efforts is myself. There isn't any person or website or book or video that is going to be able to provide me with better motivation than that which I give myself. It is a lonely road, yes, very lonely. But I can do this, I am doing this. I won't let anyone get me so down that I give up and eat to bury the feelings within me. If someone has a problem with me -- it's their problem not mine. It's time for me to stop allowing other people to dump their personal hang-ups onto my psyche. My New Year's resolution is to stay away from mean, hurtful, small minded people. If I can't find anyone willing to be nice then "I'll walk alone, thank you".

Food:
3 protein shakes

Exercise:
Walked 30 minutes
3x12 leg extensions
3x10 sissy pushups

30 crunches -- would have done more but my left ovary is flaring up and each crunch was painful

Fasting Day 36 - 134.4

Okay, I may have ate more yesterday than I normally do, but I certainly didn't eat enough to gain THIS much weight. Maybe it was the sodium content in the bouillon cube -- I don't know.

I have several potentially diet sabotaging events coming up this month, my boyfriend's birthday, my son's birthday, and a 5-day outing with my boyfriend's family. I need to take some proactive measures to ensure that my diet stays on track. I've come up with an altered plan on my regime. I'm calling it the "NFL Diet".

The NFL Diet will consist of a NORMAL day, followed by a FASTING day, followed by a LOW calorie day. In honor of the superbowl, I will start tomorrow and instead of having my "normal eating day" I will consume low calorie protein shakes. If it goes well, I may incorporate one low calorie day per week into my routine of alternate day fasting. Maybe some pattern like:

Normal Day -- Fasting Day -- Low Calorie Day --
Normal Day -- Fasting Day --
Normal Day -- Fasting Day -- Low Calorie Day --

Hopefully, this will speed up my weight loss. I'm feeling discouraged from gaining weight so easily--I didn't consume THAT many calories yesterday. Maybe my metabolism is already messed up from years of trying to lose weight. If it is, I'll have to deal with that problem down the road. Right now my focus is on losing this weight and regaining my health. Yes, I know that their is a greater risk of regaining weight after rapid weight loss; however, my problem was that I was unable to lose ANY weight at all. I am confident that I will be able to keep the weight off once I lose it -- I have found a wonderful tool that works for me now. I was able to maintain my weight for most of my life until about 10 years ago when I suddenly and inexplicably began rapidly gaining weight. And, no, it was not easy for me to stay thin -- I wasn't a naturally thin person. My grandparents were severely obese and it is very easy for me to gain weight compared to most people that I know including other overweight people.

I have read several studies showing that people lose less lean muscle tissue from a modified fast where they consumed low calorie protein shakes compared to those who fasted without any additional protein supplementation. I know that I am losing some lean tissue from my one day of fasting -- to me, this is a tolerably acceptable loss in order to lose weight. (I can always regain the muscle once I have lost the excess fat. In my opinion it is easier to gain muscle than it is to lose weight.) However, I'm not comfortable with the thought of repeatedly fasting 2 days and eating one day -- and I haven't found any research on it. Therefore, I think the supplemental protein day might be a safer alternative than two straight days of fasting. (I'm just feeling my way here -- whatever works for me is what I'm going to do.)

Exercise:
Walked/Ran -- 30 minutes (The majority of the time I was walking.)

Normal Day 35 - 131.6 (Day 70)

Do you ever have one of those days when you can't stop eating? I kept craving something sweet today. Perhaps I overtrained for my current level of fitness and my body is trying to restore it's glycogen levels? Whatever it is, I really felt out of sorts today, not sick -- just tired and worn out. I think I am going to take it easy again today -- even if it means I will probably gain a little bit of weight from all that I ate today. If I feel better, I might go for a walk later this evening.

If I was eating daily, I would push myself through this funk and workout anyway. But since I am only replenishing calories every other day, I don't know how this affects my body's ability to repair itself after a strenuous workout. My level of fitness isn't all that great -- but it is definitely improving.

Food:

1 cup Kashi Go Lean Cereal
4 oz milk
1 banana
1 T Smart Balance Omega peanut butter (straight from the jar)
1 whole wheat tortilla
1/2 cup black beans
1/2 cup chopped lettuce
1 T chopped onion
hot sauce
1.5 x 1.5 square homemade vegetarian lasagna
1 bouillon cube
1/4 cup chopped cabbage
1/4 cup chopped cauliflower