Today was my third fasting day. It went well - easier than last week. I attribute some of that to drinking more coffee!
Here's what I ate:
Coffee w/2% lowfat mil (3.5 cups instead of my usual 2, so 75 cal?)
Kale chips (150 cal)
Shrimp - boiled x 10 (60 cal)
1 whole grapefruit (80 cal)
Tea - no sweetener or milk
Water
Nibbles of dinner I made for my son: cheese; soup; almonds (100 cal)
Fat Tire Ale (150 cal)
So... about 540 cal today. But feeling fine. Decided not to go running or do yoga but I probably will tomorrow.
Oh, and I weighed myself this morning: 161.2 lbs. That's about 3 lbs less than a week ago. I'm glad but not overwhelmed -- it's pretty typical for me to vacillate between 159-162 so I'll be happier when I hit, say, 158!
Monday, January 14, 2013
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Days 4,5,6: Feast
The past three days have been Feast days. As before, I did not feel an urge to actually "feast" -- probably because I didn't want to undo the good I'd done on my Fasting days.
The main ways I've indulged is in drinking a bit more alcohol (including 2 social engagements) and in dessert (more Ben and Jerry's fro-yo). But I do find myself taking more time to make my food choices: trying to make them healthy and filling, not just eating mindlessly.
Today I baked bread so of course I ate some of that (mmm, freshly-baked bread). If you've never tried James Lahey of NYC's Sullivan Street Bakery's famous "No-Knead Bread" technique, don't walk, run to this site for more info! Actually, I used a variation of that recipe, the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day version. Both are divine -- and really work!
Just try to eat the bread (or give it away) before your next Fasting day!
Tomorrow: Week 2
The main ways I've indulged is in drinking a bit more alcohol (including 2 social engagements) and in dessert (more Ben and Jerry's fro-yo). But I do find myself taking more time to make my food choices: trying to make them healthy and filling, not just eating mindlessly.
Today I baked bread so of course I ate some of that (mmm, freshly-baked bread). If you've never tried James Lahey of NYC's Sullivan Street Bakery's famous "No-Knead Bread" technique, don't walk, run to this site for more info! Actually, I used a variation of that recipe, the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day version. Both are divine -- and really work!
Just try to eat the bread (or give it away) before your next Fasting day!
Tomorrow: Week 2
Day 3: Fast
(Transcribed from last week's journal)
Day 3 was another fasting day. Like others out there, I figured it was easier to schedule my fasting days around my social schedule; i.e., not on days when I had lunch/dinner plans with others. So last week that meant Tues and Thurs (I started the diet on Tues, January 8, 2013).
Today I knew I needed to find a way to eat something crunchy. So I made Kale Chips. There are a million recipes out there (not that you need it: you basically just toss chopped kale in olive oil and salt/pepper, then bake on a sheet at 300 F for about 15-20 min) but here's one recipe.
I made kale chips out of 2 bunches of kale and ATE THEM ALL over the course of the day, which probably amounted to... 250 calories? Fine. Maybe more. But they were WORTH IT because I felt like I was able to snack on potato chips all day long (which I never do). Fun.
Other things I ate on this "fasting" day:
Coffe w/milk (50 cal)
1 hard boiled egg (80 cal)
Miso soup (45 cal)
Green tea (0 cal)
Glass red wine (100 cal)
... about 525 calories, possibly more.
Also, I did hot yoga today. Felt fine! Just didn't push it too hard and drank lots of water.
One other point: on fasting days I find I have a little harder time falling asleep - lots of energy until late at night.
Day 3 was another fasting day. Like others out there, I figured it was easier to schedule my fasting days around my social schedule; i.e., not on days when I had lunch/dinner plans with others. So last week that meant Tues and Thurs (I started the diet on Tues, January 8, 2013).
Today I knew I needed to find a way to eat something crunchy. So I made Kale Chips. There are a million recipes out there (not that you need it: you basically just toss chopped kale in olive oil and salt/pepper, then bake on a sheet at 300 F for about 15-20 min) but here's one recipe.
I made kale chips out of 2 bunches of kale and ATE THEM ALL over the course of the day, which probably amounted to... 250 calories? Fine. Maybe more. But they were WORTH IT because I felt like I was able to snack on potato chips all day long (which I never do). Fun.
Other things I ate on this "fasting" day:
Coffe w/milk (50 cal)
1 hard boiled egg (80 cal)
Miso soup (45 cal)
Green tea (0 cal)
Glass red wine (100 cal)
... about 525 calories, possibly more.
Also, I did hot yoga today. Felt fine! Just didn't push it too hard and drank lots of water.
One other point: on fasting days I find I have a little harder time falling asleep - lots of energy until late at night.
Day 2: Feast
Day 2
(still transcribing from journal...)
This was a "feast" day (as opposed to "fast"). Interesting. I'd read elsewhere (such as the very helpful and informative listserve for 5:2 dieters on MumsNet) that some 5:2'ers felt they ate less on Feast days even though they *could* eat whatever they wanted. Well, we all know it would be easy to undo the good deeds of the Fasting day by gorging the next, but like the others, I felt I didn't want to stuff myself the next day. For one thing, I woke up absolutely NOT hungry. I'd experienced this before: if I eat a big meal late at night, I wake up the next day starving.
So today I ate normally: my 2 cups of coffee with lowfat milk in the morning, then around 10-11 I got hungry. I decided to make one of my favorite smoothies: a Green Smoothie with bananas, spinach, almond milk, flaxseed oil, almond butter, cinnamon, and ice. I got the recipe (and other great recipes) from the charming website, Marin Mama Cooks. It's filling, healthy, and delicious. A great way to get your greens.
Later I ate a handful of roasted unsalted almonds (I buy them raw and roast them myself) and a couple clementines.
For dinner I had delicious Thai Curry Soup with tofu (from a restaurant). Delicious! Love that coconut milk.
I treated myself for dessert with a scoop of Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia frozen yogurt - I like the frozen yogurt version better than the ice cream!
Also: I decided not to weigh myself until I was a week in. So no scale for me! But I did run 3 miles at my usual slow-as-molasses pace (about 10-11 mi/hr) -- which is how I like it.
(still transcribing from journal...)
This was a "feast" day (as opposed to "fast"). Interesting. I'd read elsewhere (such as the very helpful and informative listserve for 5:2 dieters on MumsNet) that some 5:2'ers felt they ate less on Feast days even though they *could* eat whatever they wanted. Well, we all know it would be easy to undo the good deeds of the Fasting day by gorging the next, but like the others, I felt I didn't want to stuff myself the next day. For one thing, I woke up absolutely NOT hungry. I'd experienced this before: if I eat a big meal late at night, I wake up the next day starving.
So today I ate normally: my 2 cups of coffee with lowfat milk in the morning, then around 10-11 I got hungry. I decided to make one of my favorite smoothies: a Green Smoothie with bananas, spinach, almond milk, flaxseed oil, almond butter, cinnamon, and ice. I got the recipe (and other great recipes) from the charming website, Marin Mama Cooks. It's filling, healthy, and delicious. A great way to get your greens.
Later I ate a handful of roasted unsalted almonds (I buy them raw and roast them myself) and a couple clementines.
For dinner I had delicious Thai Curry Soup with tofu (from a restaurant). Delicious! Love that coconut milk.
I treated myself for dessert with a scoop of Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia frozen yogurt - I like the frozen yogurt version better than the ice cream!
Also: I decided not to weigh myself until I was a week in. So no scale for me! But I did run 3 miles at my usual slow-as-molasses pace (about 10-11 mi/hr) -- which is how I like it.
Day 1 of the Diet: Fasting
Day 1
(Note: I kept track of the diet in my journal this past week (on old fashioned paper) so I'm transcribing the next few days of it here until I catch up!)
I decided to start with a fasting day. I really wasn't sure if I would *totally* fast (i.e., eat nothing, just drink water) or try to eat under 500 calories. I thought I'd see how it went. This was a good week for me to start because my husband was traveling so I wouldn't have to worry about not eating at dinnertime with the family - I'd just make dinner for my son.
I thought it might be easier to not eat anything -- cuts out the decision-making! - but that didn't quite work. I knew I'd at least drink my two cups of coffee (with about 1/8 c 2% milk each, so 60 calories total) because that's non-negotiable. So I did that. Typically, I'm not really hungry until 10 or 11 anyway. That was true on Day 1, too.
I did get hungry around lunchtime so I decided to make some miso soup, something I eat regularly anyway, but it's really low-calorie and delicious. You just take 1-2 tbsp of miso (I use Miso Master Organic Red Miso) and stir in about 2 cups (sometimes more) of almost boiling water (apparently if you use boiling water, the heat kills some of the beneficial aspects of the miso). I then added about 1/4 cups of raw spinach leaves and a splash of soy sauce. Yum! Not super-filling, but not bad, either. (Calories: About 50-60)
An hour later I ate a Wasa Multi Grain cracker (another staple): 45 calories. Satisfied my need for some crunch.
I was fairly hungry by mid-afternoon so I opted for a big cup of green tea (0 cal). I like it better than coffee in the afternoon, because the caffeine hit is less intense. It did lessen my appetite a little.
My hungriest time of the day is always 4-5 pm. No different today. So I ate another Wasa cracker (45 cal) with a hard boiled egg (78 cal). The protein helped and held me over while I watched my son eat a burrito. I just drank a lot of water and tried not to pick at his leftovers. I was pretty successful, though I might have had a tsp of guacamole (apparently a whole avocado is 250 cal so let's say 45 calories; I made the guac myself and it contained avocado + salsa + lime juice + salt). I'm only human!
Finally, later that evening I had a small glass of red wine (100 cal).
All in all, it was about 425 calories, I think. Not bad! Yes, I was hungry most of the day, but knowing I could eat freely the next day made it not too hard to take. Mostly I missed the crunch.
(Note: I kept track of the diet in my journal this past week (on old fashioned paper) so I'm transcribing the next few days of it here until I catch up!)
I decided to start with a fasting day. I really wasn't sure if I would *totally* fast (i.e., eat nothing, just drink water) or try to eat under 500 calories. I thought I'd see how it went. This was a good week for me to start because my husband was traveling so I wouldn't have to worry about not eating at dinnertime with the family - I'd just make dinner for my son.
I thought it might be easier to not eat anything -- cuts out the decision-making! - but that didn't quite work. I knew I'd at least drink my two cups of coffee (with about 1/8 c 2% milk each, so 60 calories total) because that's non-negotiable. So I did that. Typically, I'm not really hungry until 10 or 11 anyway. That was true on Day 1, too.
I did get hungry around lunchtime so I decided to make some miso soup, something I eat regularly anyway, but it's really low-calorie and delicious. You just take 1-2 tbsp of miso (I use Miso Master Organic Red Miso) and stir in about 2 cups (sometimes more) of almost boiling water (apparently if you use boiling water, the heat kills some of the beneficial aspects of the miso). I then added about 1/4 cups of raw spinach leaves and a splash of soy sauce. Yum! Not super-filling, but not bad, either. (Calories: About 50-60)
An hour later I ate a Wasa Multi Grain cracker (another staple): 45 calories. Satisfied my need for some crunch.
I was fairly hungry by mid-afternoon so I opted for a big cup of green tea (0 cal). I like it better than coffee in the afternoon, because the caffeine hit is less intense. It did lessen my appetite a little.
My hungriest time of the day is always 4-5 pm. No different today. So I ate another Wasa cracker (45 cal) with a hard boiled egg (78 cal). The protein helped and held me over while I watched my son eat a burrito. I just drank a lot of water and tried not to pick at his leftovers. I was pretty successful, though I might have had a tsp of guacamole (apparently a whole avocado is 250 cal so let's say 45 calories; I made the guac myself and it contained avocado + salsa + lime juice + salt). I'm only human!
Finally, later that evening I had a small glass of red wine (100 cal).
All in all, it was about 425 calories, I think. Not bad! Yes, I was hungry most of the day, but knowing I could eat freely the next day made it not too hard to take. Mostly I missed the crunch.
Thoughts on starting the 5:2 Diet
Hi, I'm Sunny. I created this blog as a way to track my progress (and keep myself honest) as I embarked upon the 5:2 Diet (the diet in which you eat normally for 5 days of the week and then restrict your calories to under 500/day for the other 2 days).
I'm a middle-aged mom who has typically been about 5-20 lbs. overweight during my adult life. At the moment, I'm just a smidge under 5'6"and weigh 164 lbs. That's pretty heavy for me; I like to stay under 160 and am even happier if I'm closer to 150. But, you know, the holidays, etc...
I'm very active - I run 2-4 times/week (between 3-6 miles) and have completed a half marathon and usually run a few 10K races every year. I also do hot yoga 2-4 times/week. And then there's walking the dog.
I found out about the 5:2 diet kind of randomly; just happened to see the (famous, I now realize) article in the Daily Telegraph (UK): "The 5:2 Diet: Can it help you lose weight and live longer?"I found it intriguing. I was also inspired by Telegraph food writer Xanthe Clay's article, "The 5:2 diet lets me have my cake and eat it," in which she doesn't sugar-coat the experience ("It makes me unspeakably bad-tempered") but also positive about the results: she lost "half a stone"(7 lbs to Americans) in a month, even during the holidays (and even being a food writer!).
For whatever reason, the 5:2 diet has not gotten much press in the USA. But I was already aware of the topic of intermittent fasting (and its purported health benefits) because I have a friend who is a zoologist and told me about studies at an American university in which lab mice who fasted every other day were much healthier than those who didn't.
I'm not a lab mouse, but I could stand to lose some weight. I'm not a crash dieter and have never done any cuckoo diets (although I did try Atkins for a while in the 1990s but I couldn't stick with it) and in general my weight is pretty stable. I like the idea that in the 5:2 scenario, there are no "off limit" foods. I also think there's a lot of good data out there about the health benefits of fasting - even if one doesn't do it to lose weight, necessarily.
So I figured I'd give it a whirl. Here goes!
I'm a middle-aged mom who has typically been about 5-20 lbs. overweight during my adult life. At the moment, I'm just a smidge under 5'6"and weigh 164 lbs. That's pretty heavy for me; I like to stay under 160 and am even happier if I'm closer to 150. But, you know, the holidays, etc...
I'm very active - I run 2-4 times/week (between 3-6 miles) and have completed a half marathon and usually run a few 10K races every year. I also do hot yoga 2-4 times/week. And then there's walking the dog.
I found out about the 5:2 diet kind of randomly; just happened to see the (famous, I now realize) article in the Daily Telegraph (UK): "The 5:2 Diet: Can it help you lose weight and live longer?"I found it intriguing. I was also inspired by Telegraph food writer Xanthe Clay's article, "The 5:2 diet lets me have my cake and eat it," in which she doesn't sugar-coat the experience ("It makes me unspeakably bad-tempered") but also positive about the results: she lost "half a stone"(7 lbs to Americans) in a month, even during the holidays (and even being a food writer!).
For whatever reason, the 5:2 diet has not gotten much press in the USA. But I was already aware of the topic of intermittent fasting (and its purported health benefits) because I have a friend who is a zoologist and told me about studies at an American university in which lab mice who fasted every other day were much healthier than those who didn't.
I'm not a lab mouse, but I could stand to lose some weight. I'm not a crash dieter and have never done any cuckoo diets (although I did try Atkins for a while in the 1990s but I couldn't stick with it) and in general my weight is pretty stable. I like the idea that in the 5:2 scenario, there are no "off limit" foods. I also think there's a lot of good data out there about the health benefits of fasting - even if one doesn't do it to lose weight, necessarily.
So I figured I'd give it a whirl. Here goes!
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