Happy to report that the “plateau” thingy seems to be receding in the rear view.
Harvest and “putting up” the harvest season is in full swing. Check out the bitchin’ salsa I’m canning (and chowing down fresh).
I am down now to a weight I can actually write down without wanting to dig a hole and pull the hole in after me to cover my shame. After six full months of alternate day fasting, 400 calories or less on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays without exception or cheating, I now weigh 188 lbs. I’m sure, gentle reader that you can do the math and compute my starting weight, but since since that heavy number is now history, we can move on and just say that I’ve lost a cool 43 lbs! I have not suffered (much), and I have a new skill. I can plan, cook, and serve a meal to others without eating any of it, not even to taste. This new skill was my number one doubt about going on a permanent weight loss lifestyle. (Note I didn’t say DIET. This is not a diet; this is forever.) I didn’t think I could do it. I have gone to parties, events, etc. and managed to not cheat. I am used to sticking to the fast knowing I will eat tomorrow. I now arrange my life around the alternate day fasting, because being a healthy weight is THAT IMPORTANT.
When I was a young gymnast and figure skater, I controlled my weight through fasting. But the only fasting routine I knew was a three day, zero calorie liquids fast–coffee, tea, water, diet soda, and what I jokingly called “bowls of air”. A teenager can handle this because they are made of youthful energy and vigor. But my old post menopausal self? Not so much. I get dizzy and feel really weird on day two of a full fledged monk’s fast, and by day three I’m sure my electrolytes and blood sugar levels could be dropping too low. One day fasting, on the other hand, goes by quickly especially if I keep busy, and despite the growling guts, I feel perfectly fine all day, (just a little jealous of others tucking into the terrific food I cook up for them.)
I am nearly halfway down to goal–my former normal weight of 130 lbs. I should be having the two big surgeries this winter, about three months apart. If I keep losing six pounds a month (and I might not and that’s OK), I should be approaching goal weight in about ten months, just in time for bathing suit season! Woot! Hopefully, I will be both slim and ambulatory enough to do some awesome swimming and diving next summer!
alternatedayfast 