Day 5b & 6b. --- it's the weekend. For good or for bad

Day 5b & 6b. ---  it's the weekend. For good or for bad

Well day five and six Kane and as you can imagine I was dreading these two days. Last time I was completely miserable. I was lying on my couch covered in a blanket and shivering. I was fighting a horrible headache for at least a couple of days. I even got a cold sore on my lip. It could not of gotten much worse. But really, two days? That really wouldn't be so bad. I think most of us would go through two days of illness to lose a significant amount of weight. 

But this time it was completely different. I had no ill feelings. I had no headache. I really wasn't even that lethargic. I felt The same as I did on day 25, or so, last time. A mild hunger from time to time always satisfied with some broth or water.  Quite honestly, this really isn't that difficult. I have had friends and others contact me to say that what I am doing is so amazing and that it must take incredible willpower. I'm not sure that is so. Quite honestly, I think it is much much harder to try to cut back on foods and exercise like crazy every day for four months and months to lose 30 pounds. I'm just taking the easy route. 

My wife Suzy has always talked with me about the importance of making little things a celebration. I remember she read a book that talked about how to take dreary and dull tasks and make them fun and special.  The first example I remember her using was with regard to paying the bills. I remember she said that she has a special pan that she likes. She only uses it when she writes the bills hence making the task a little bit more enjoyable. She will recommend that when we have to talk about business items that we go to a beautiful hotel and sit in their lounge, or have a picnic at the beach and talk business by the seashore.  Well I guess I did learn a thing or two from her. I have looked for special things to consume that are within my diet right now. I found that one of the things that I can have is Ashwaganda tea. It has a very rich flavor. No it does not taste like coffee, nor does it taste like att that I've ever had. But it does have a roasty sort of flavor. I would put it in the same camp with coffee, but again it doesn't taste like coffee. But it is a treat for me.  

I mentioned that my friend Cody at the Montecito wine bistro made a "cocktail" for me. It really didn't matter what it was. It just was a treat. I came back in and he said he had been thinking about a drink that you could make for me. He asked if he could push the limits by adding two small raspberries. I was feeling wild and crazy so I said yes. Please don't tell Dr. Saunders. I'll include a picture of it. Another celebratory beverage for me is mineral water. It is kind of funny that I can actually tell the difference between Perrier and other sparkling waters. Sometimes I had a line, sometimes I had a lemon, sometimes I add ice. All of this just makes for a little extra celebration in my life.

Day 4b – Friday

Day 4b – Friday

Today is Friday, the fourth day of the second part of my fast. Today was much easier with regard to having a strong desire to eat solid foods. I spent the vast majority of the day helping my mother-in-law. It is a bit odd to make food for someone and not be able to have any. So to make things easier, I made sure that I had a big mug of soup before I started cooking, and then one next to me on the counter while I made meals.

I have found this time that I'm less interested in soup broth and wanting just water. But I know I must eat the soup broth. That is critical. The doctor has told me that drinking nothing but water can be quite problematic for fasting. Is told me that the body needs the salts in the nutrients that come through the broth. Many people ask me about adding salt to the broth thinking that might be a bad thing. But the doctor has assured me that not only is it okay but that I should be careful to remember to add salt to the broth. Of course I am no nutritional expert, but he is and another nutritionist that I spoke to said the same. 

But when I do drink water, I want to be careful to drink water that is good for me. So I spend the money to buy bottled water and I have been getting the plain water that has electrolytes added to it. It tastes like, well it taste like water. But it is far healthier. I also gave that to my mother-in-law while she was in bed. Gatorade and other products have lots of electrolytes, and potassium, but they also have a bunch of sugar. As you may remember, I cannot have the sugar.

Overall the day was really very uneventful with regard to my fast. It wasn't so difficult but I'm dreading tomorrow. What I remember from the first time that I did this was that day four and five were really quite a challenge for me. If you have been reading this from the beginning you might remember that on those days I felt very sick. Not really sick to my stomach, I was running a fever and feeling completely blown out. In talking with the doctor, he had said that was because my body was getting rid of all the toxins. It will be interesting to see if that's what happens again tomorrow or if my healthy eating since the last fast has prevented those toxins from reentering my system. I'll know in a couple of days I guess. 

At least I made it through this day.  I am not sure if tomorrow is going to mimic the first time or not. Today I did have a little bit of lethargy, but really not that much. So far so good. But I am waiting for the other shoe to drop as they say

Day 3b --- not so bad for me

Day 3b  ---  Not a bad day for me

Day 3 was pretty decent.  I found that I was a bit hungry at times, but every time that I was hungry, I eliminated that hunger with a cup of broth.  I would find that I was extra hungry around traditional meal times but not always.  Sometimes a would get extra hungry at night.  But during those times I was always able to quench and squelch this mild annoyance.

Side note:  I love those two words "quench" and "squelch".  My sister Kathy and I had a friend in college who thought some words have a funny sound to them.  She said that they just make her laugh when she hears them.  Her name is Brenda and she always had us laughing.  So we had to know.  What were these words?  Her list included, but not limited to, Scooter, Kitty Litter, Ointment, and Scissors.  I wish that I could remember more but we always got a kick out of those.  I'm sure that she would like Quench and Squelch.

Back to when I am really hungry, I have a mug of broth, then if I wait another 20-30 minutes and have a second, I am good for a few hours at least.  So, really I never experience hunger that cannot be addressed easily.  Even plain water helps, especially after fasting on broth for a while.

On the personal side, I spent the day with my dear mother-in-law helping her with her recovery.  I care about her greatly.  She is very fit and always eats well and has for decades.  She is sharper than most people half her age.  She is strong and it is rare to see her sick and needing anything.  So really it was a treat to care for her.  All I did was make things like toast, honey, and tea, and make some soups for her.  Like I wasn't going to be making the soup anyway? And I found out that she really loves the solids of the soup more than broth anyway.  Perfect.

At the end of the day I watched my Red Sox lose in game two of the World Series. So now the Series is tied 1 to 1.  Go Boston!!

Day 2b --- Cruising along

Day 2b  ---  Cruising along

So today was day two.  It was pretty uneventful.  I was a bit hungry at times but I was satisfied every time that I just had some broth.  It's not really that difficult.  I find that it is just a matter of changing habits.  Rather than go pickup a handful of nuts or an apple, I pour some broth into a mug.

I made it through the day just fine.  I drank soup and plenty of water.  But I really had more on my mind then just my diet or stomach growlings.  I've been concerned about my dear mother-in-law.  She is still fighting a bout of the flu and has not been doing too well.  Much of my day was spent trying to help her.  I fixed meals, albeit more like snacks, and tried to be a support and companion for her.  Certainly what she is going through is far more challenging and more important than my fast.

The end of the day came and I was off to watch game one of the World Series.  I was able to pick up the action during the bottom of the 6th inning.  Boston was ahead, which made me happy.  I decided to walk over to the local bistro in the neighborhood where they treat me so nicely.  Montecito Wine Bistro and Restaurant is a favorite, in part because of it's proximity but also because I know much of the staff there, and they have good and reliable food.  Cody was tending bar, where I would watch the game.  I was not going to be having any alcohol, obviously, but I did watch him make a good looking drink.  I asked him to make something for my that fit into my liquid diet.  He muddled a lemon and lime in a glass with just enough mint to give it a nice balance.  He then shook it over ice and pour San Pellegrino sparkling mineral water over the top.  Go Cody!!  Thanks for giving me a nice "cocktail".

Well, 2 days down.....

Day 1b --- Full of fun...not really

Day 1 --- Full of fun...not really.

Day one (again) started on Tuesday October 22, 2013.  But the background was really on the day before.

The day began by taking my dear mother-in-law on a surprise trip to the hospital.  It was quite difficult for all of us, certainly hardest on her. After being released we needed to follow-up at home.  Suzy and I have needed to be available for her 24 hours a day.  I'm manning the post during the day, and Suzy has been there at night. Needless to say, I found myself very distracted and busy all day.

It was at about 10:00 PM last night, after the day of doctors, when I decided that I would start the fast in the morning.  I realized that if I'm going to do this again, it needs to be now.  The next chunk of available time would not be until January or perhaps a slight chance in December.  I know that Suzy would like to for me to be thinner, and I would for sure.  I'm just not there yet.  So, I decided that I would start in the morning.

The first, and most important, order of business was to make a soup for it's broth to drink. I knew that I shouldn't put it off until the morning so late last night I made a ham hock and white bean soup.  I thought that my wife and mother-in-law could enjoy the ham and beans, and I, the broth.  I also had made a chicken soup at my  mother-in-law's house on the Riviera the earlier in the day just to help her feel better.  I knew that I could have some of that broth as well.  I was off to a good start.

This was like the first day all over again.  I was completely fine except for the temptation to grab a handful of nuts or a cracker when I was hungry.  It was not bad though, just needing to re-train myself to consume broth when I'm hungry.  It really becomes a day of changing habits from eating solid foods to drinking liquid foods.

Overall a great day, just busy.

Revisiting the broth fast --or-- Here we go again

Revisiting the broth fast --or-- Here we go again

I was happy to have lost almost 27 pounds in 29 days but, and as expected, I gained 5 pounds back for a net loss of 22 pounds.  Dr. Saunders had told me that this would happen and said that it is normal to gain back about 5 pounds while maintaining a healthy diet. The key was "healthy" for me.   I can have pretty much anything.  That's how I choose to look at it.  I just can't have carbs and sugars, which I have to cut out anyway as I am nearly diabetic.  But pretty much everything else is ok, or ok within reason.  No soda at all, be really that is just being smart.  Soda is really bad for you, look it up if you want. Limited cheese, and stay away from milk.  The milk part is easy, but I really like cheese.  But it's fine, because I can have "enough" for me.  Of course if I just started eating like I did before, I would quite likely return to the same size and condition.   

But then....for one meal, every two weeks, I can eat whatever I want.  Anything is OK.  Carbs, sugar, whatever I want for one meal.  Even though I can "go crazy" But as it says in 1 Corinthians 10-23 "Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial".  How's that?  Got a little Bible in there, perhaps out of context.

I used to weigh 145, back at my healthiest.  I think that a the correct size for me would be between 145 and 150.  To do that, I need to lose about 15-20 pounds, knowing that I'm going to gain 5 pounds after I finish the broth fast.  Consequently, I need to fast for about 15 to 22 days.  I know that I can do it, it's just it would have been easier to have continued past day 29, when I ended.  I remember thinking, and probably writing, that I felt that I could easily go 40 days.  I know that I could have.  I found that I should have stayed on the fast longer.  

I've lost a net 22 pounds and I'm still too heavy. So, because I didn't hit my weight goal I need to do this again.  And before someone thinks, "what if he takes this too far?"  I have a specific goal and I also do not want to get too thin.  I wouldn't look good or be healthy if that happened. 

Oh well, this will be interesting to compare this time to last time.  Will it be easier the second time through because I now know what to expect?  Or will it be easier because I just cleansed myself for a month, only a few weeks ago, and have since been eating healthfully? Or will this be more difficult because it get's harder when there is less fat to lose?  I keep you posted.

So, the adventure begins again.  

Day 52 --- An update (Last 3 weeks)

Day 52 ---  Update

For the last few days since finishing my fast, I have been very busy. I went to Philadelphia , and Cherry Hill, with a quick run out to Atlantic City before leaving for Gettysburg, then up to Rochester, NY, next down to St. Charles County, Maryland, finally turning north to Washington DC, Philadelphia again, Atlantic City again, then up to Newark, NJ to fly home.  Arriving home I had a dear friend in town for a matter of about 9 hours total.  I played tour guide while setting up for a garage sale, to which we awoke the next morning.  Somehow I hurt my back during the sale, pretty significantly, and laid low the following day. Then off with Suzy to take her mom to the hospital for a freak accident but one that needed to be checked out.  Thank the good Lord, all appears completely fine. So, after a quick grocery run for my wife and mother-in-law, who will be together, or with me, for the better part of the next week, I made a chicken soup with Suzy and also some cooked gizzards, which is a real favorite for my mom-in-law.. It's been a whirlwind.  And that is the succinct version.  If anyone wants to know the details, post a comment and I'll get into it. 

Since I finished the fast, I have eating "normally" again.  I can eat almost anything, except starches and sugar.  That might sound like I have huge limitations but in truth I have been completely satisfied with this new diet.

But with all that stress and tension and stress, I have stuck to the doctor prescribed diet.  I only cheated one time. And even then, Dr. Saunders said to go for it, and I did.  I was going to be attending a Philadelphia Flyers game and while there I ate a cheese steak and half an ice cream.  It was delicious, but not all that much better than what I had been eating.

I've been able to have great salads with beef, turkey, chicken, and fish.  I've had lots of healthy food that I really enjoyed.  Perhaps it was the result of my taste buds changing from the fast, and perhaps it was just my appreciation for solid foods.

Either way, I'm happy, content, and healthy.