Tuesday, January 27, 2009

14 Months, 3 Days

It's been over a year and 2 months now, I'm still alternate day fasting and loving it. My weight throughout these winter months has fluctuated between 110-115 pounds with a Body Mass Index between 20 & 21. Today my weight is 112 pounds. I still choose the healthier options of food. Just because I fast every other day, doesn't mean I can gorge on unhealthy foods on the regular days.

Alternate day fasting has not made me ultra skinny or anorexic or bulemic. I have not heard any comments like, "oh, you're TOO thin"; however, I have heard things like, "You look so wonderful and vibrant!." That seems to be the case with others who alternate day fast as well -- they lose weight until they reach a certain normal weight and then remain at that weight.

Alternate day fasting has enabled me to maintain a healthy, normal weight without having to count calories or feel hungry all the time. Yes, I do feel hungry on my fasting day, but its not a constant hunger. It comes and goes and it is bearable. My son gave me a teapot for my birthday last year. This little extra step of placing the leaves into a beautiful teapot and allowing it to steep as opposed to tossing a teabag into a mug of water that was heated in the microwave, reminds me to show reverance to what I put into my body. I also find that if I dedicate the fasting day to some cause that I deem worthy, it makes the day easier to get through. When the hunger pains come, I think of World Peace or Enlightenment or anything really that is a greater, worthier cause than just myself and my own health. (There are bigger problems in the world than my fat butt after all.) I've never given in to the temptation to eat on a day that I dedicated to a higher cause -- it would just feel utterly 'wrong'. If our thoughts really due create our reality as the mystics tell us, well then why not use this fasting time to improve one's health along with the world?

Once in a while on a fasting day, I will get uncontrollably hungry. I don't know if it's a hormonal thing or due to something I ate the day before (too much sugar perhaps). On those occasions, when it's just more than I care to endure, I'll mix a tablespoon of cottage cheese with a teaspoon of flax oil and eat that. It tastes terrible, but it makes the hunger go away. (Actually, I started to enjoy the taste of it after a while -- go figure.) Other times, I have mixed a teaspoon or two of protein powder into a glass of water -- equally effective at qwelling hunger. I am only human and there have been days when I was supposed to fast and I just said, "to hell with it -- I'm going to eat something". There's nothing wrong with that, I just fast the next day. I'm not going to beat myself up or fret over it and I'm not going to stop alternate day fasting. It works too well, I feel too good and I do not want to go back to the way I used to feel. Most of the time, alternating between fasting and eating is as natural as breathing. It has become the natural rhythm of my life.

14 comments:

Chris said...

Thanks for the update - I was wondering how you were getting on

Chris

Anonymous said...

I have also been checking to see how you are doing Good to see that you are still doing great. I have been doing JUDDD for 10 weeks now and just hit my first goal of losing the first 25 pounds I actually am down 27 pounds this week I also went from overweight to the top of the "normal" on the BMI chart You have inspired me so thank you and keep on posting when you can A lot of us are cheering for you!!!!! Mary Jo

Muse said...

Chris,

Yes, still here, just can't seem to find the time to update the blog.

Theresa

Muse said...

Mary Jo,

Wow! You are doing so well. Congratulations. I remember how great it felt to reach normal. I'm cheering right back for ya!

Theresa

Anonymous said...

Muse,
Great to see you posting again!
I think I am now ready to alternate day fast.
I kept thinking i will try different things but hey its just a day every other day, and its not like I have to wait days till I eat again.
i have my blog going and I have been putting things off for a few days here but im ready now.
Just needed to think about things I guess.
Im almost done reading "Eat to Live" by Joel fuhrman, M.D.
and man thats a great book.
Says we should live on a plant based diet which I am doing anyway but eating whole plant based foods which have more nutrients and less calories so we can eat as much as we want and will lose or maintain weight.
Raw fruits,veggies,greens,nuts,seeds
and beans.
So I will eat this way on my eating days.
Rob

Hungry Girl said...

I really like your blog! It's an inspiration. I was wondering if you could post on what you do eat on your eating days. Are you GFCF? Do you low carb? About how much do you eat?

Thanks in advance!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting!
I've been doing alternate dieting - but I feel ready to experiment with ADF
For my "transition" I've been fasting for 24 hours on my dieting days...now I feel ready to stretch it all day...
Thanks for posting your experience with this.

Mary

Anonymous said...

I love reading your blog. I keep watching every few days to see if you've added to it. I admire your attitude about fasting. Recently I have gained 8 lbs (since Oct)and am no longer at goal but I am back on track with a 2 lb loss. I find that having a positive mindset is a must. If you think you can't, you won't, if you think you can, you will. Our thoughts lead us to action which leads us to our future and I don't want to reach 2010 and look back at another wasted year. Thanks for blogging, I find few that are so dedicated and the proof is in the pudding, you're doing it and you're healthy.
Thanks for sharing, Bug

Anonymous said...

I am inspired by your blog. I have gained about 15 pounds, putting me close to 120 (I am very petite) and now have irregular periods, bad skin and low energy. I feel best at 105# and just began alternate day fasting after reading your blog.

I had no energy to run today(my first fast day) but will make it through with willpower and the thought of breakfast tomorrow. I did have coffee with sugar today, but will work my way to no sugar as soon as I get used to this. Thanks for blogging.

mom in China

Anonymous said...

Muse, Happy to see you posting again. You were probably the first blog or site that I saw with reference to Alternate Day Fasting. Keep up the great job! Bob

:::nOtEs FrOm nOwHeRe::: said...

Thanks for posting your progress. You've inspired me to blog about my own experiences with Alternate Day Fasting and to stick with it even when it gets tough. I hope to have as much success as you have had!

Sweetness said...

you seriously are an inspiration,I've been all over the place w/ my diet, and I had heard of this one before---but it's more a change in life style, I like that on your off days you eat healthy, and that's exactly what I'm going for. I'm going to try my best, and I smiled at the part where you said you're only human, but even when you steer off track you don't beat yourself up...I need to learn how to do that. I think you're so awesome!

Anonymous said...

Hi there, your blog inspired me to try this out. I wanted to do a full cleansing fast, but not an option at the moment as I am still breastfeeding (although "baby" is now 2! - Just incase anyone thinks I am putting a child's health at risk!) and not practical at this point in my life. I didn't want my milk supply to decrease excessively and I wanted to lose some weight. So far I've been fasting every other day (36 hours mostly) for almost three months with a few exceptions when I've eaten two days in a row mainly for social reasons. I still breastfeed the little one 2-3 times a day and I've lost 12kg. (I would still like to lose about 8-10kg more to reach my pre=children weight). I don't always eat my ideal foods, (ie healthily) but on the whole have a healthy diet with lots of fruit and veges, little sugar and not very much red meat or bread.
Thank you for blogging as yours was the only blog I found doing this the way I wanted to do it and long term too.
Kind Regards, Nina

Jake said...

Hi,

Are you still fasting?

I've been fasting for two months now and have been sucessfully losing weight. I've really gotten into alternate day fasting, but did wonder about what would happen long term.

I thought that I'd have to swap my fasting days for a day of reduced food in order to maintain me at my target weight once I reach it.

Have you increased your food intake on your eating days in order to maintain your weight?

Hope to hear back from you,

Jake