On Sunday, I moved into my second week of Fast-5. After I wrote my post last week, I had a bit of a setback. Monday, I pushed my eating window back to 3:45 successfully, but then on Tuesday, I was having a lot of hunger pains and I felt sick. I felt like I needed to get food into my body ASAP. So at 2:30, I broke my fast. I was so disappointed in myself for ‘giving in’. I had done so well the day before, but Tuesday, I felt like I blew it. I couldn’t believe I had destroyed all the progress I had made.
Then I realized that I didn’t. Each day is a new day! The lack of progress one day does not stop further progress the next day. So on Wednesday, I fasted until 5 PM. My first successful 19 hour fast and 5 hour eating period! I was so proud of myself, especially coming off what I felt was a defeat the day before. I even got outside and went for a 35 minute walk to help keep the hunger at bay.
On Thursday, I went for two walks on my breaks. It was wonderful to get out of the office and breath fresh air. It is especially nice because there are some nice paths near my office to walk on. Two walks of 20 minutes each were perfect to work off some energy and get my body moving again. My fast did last longer than normal because my wife had to go look at my dad’s thermostat and I didn’t get a chance to grab a snack on my way out the door. I fasted until 8 PM, so I kept my window open until I went to bed around 11 PM.
On Friday, I fasted until 5 PM again, staying on course. I also got my butt out of my office chair on my morning break, ‘lunch’ break and afternoon break. I walked at least 20 minutes each time and crushed my step goal. When I got home, I had a small snack, but then it was off to the Canadian Brewhouse to celebrate a close friend’s birthday. I had a shrimp dish and a pepperoni and mushroom pizza. They were delicious. My window did stay open a bit later though because by the time we got home, I needed a snack, but it was already 10. So I opened it a bit longer, so I could make sure I got something to eat before the fast began.
Saturday, we went to help my brother and sister-in-law paint some of the rooms in their new house. I was able to fast until 5PM. Saturday morning, I rewarded myself with a haircut. I took off 10 inches and am donating the 9 inches that made it into the ponytail to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. Not only did my head feel a bit like it was floating, I felt good to be donating to a good cause. Below are the before and after photos as well as a photo of the hair I’m donating! Look at that length. Yes, that’s Olivia’s curious face checking it out.
Sunday, I only fasted until 4. We did some cleaning of our apartment and by the end, I was famished. So I broke my fast at 4 PM. In order to determine if I was just having a craving or actually hungry, I have been employing a technique that I learned in the Whole30 program: Steamed Fish and Broccoli. For those of you around since the beginning, you may remember this. For those of you not: the Steamed Fish and Broccoli method is simple, but effective. When you think you are hungry, ask yourself if you are hungry enough to eat steamed fish and broccoli. If you answer ‘no’, it is just a craving. Act accordingly. If you answer ‘yes’, then you are hungry and it is time to eat.
Monday was my day off from work and I was left home to my own devices. I don’t do well when I have nothing to do. As it turned out, I was really hungry around 2:30 PM and ended up breaking my fast then. At first I was upset, but then I remembered that tomorrow my day resets. Tomorrow I can try again with a fresh slate. So I closed out my fast at 10 PM as usual. I know that if I break my fast early, I should start my next fast early. However, I really rely on the 5 to 10 during the week at work. Not eating at work and going for walks on my breaks make the day go by.
Today, I found a walking buddy at work during our breaks. She is not on the Fast-5 program, so she eats lunch, but on our morning and afternoon breaks, we went for walks together. It is gorgeous out! The sun is hot, but there is a nice breeze. It was wonderful to get out of the office and into the sun for a nice walk. I did my own walk alone at lunch, so I have almost already met my step goal on Fitbit of 10,000. As of this writing, I have 9,479 steps. So by tonight, I will have crushed that goal.
My non-scale victories (NSV) are that I have started walking a lot. Especially at work on my breaks. I seem to have a lot more energy, which is surprising. I thought it would be the opposite, but I have a lot of energy and I am sleeping better. I am also drinking at least 8 cups of water a day, something I haven’t done since the Whole30. If I can have something sugary, I tend to lean towards that, so I am super glad to be consuming so much water.
On the other hand, my scale victory is that I have lost 4 pounds since I started fasting two weeks ago. It is good to see such a scale victory right out of the gate.
Well that is all for this week. Thank you everyone for your support!
All is Fair in Love and Writing 