Looking Ahead

Ah, a fresh new month! I really like beginnings, Daybreak, Mondays, new month, new year, a new notebook with nothing inside...It's like the feeling of spring, as if anything is possible! I don't love winter, the snow and ice and my anxiety through the roof, but I do think it helps me appreciate the other seasons more. Last time I blogged, I was was considering doing a 72 hour fast before the end of the year. Honestly, after challenging myself in October, I really let loose a little in the beginning of November, as far as going back to having sugar-free sweeteners. So I decided I was going to work my way up to a 72 hour fast, and my plan was to do a 36 hour fast one week, 48 hours the next week, then dice into a 72 hour fast and celebrate my victory. In preparation for my 36 hour fast, I had my last meal on a Sunday evening around 6PM. I made it through 24 hours fine, because my body is somewhat used to it. When I woke the next day and should have eaten at 6AM to end the 36 hours, I wasn't really hungry and I had a bunch of energy, so I decided I was going to try for 48 hours, keeping in mind that if my hunger became unbearable I could stop whenever. I will say, the hunger came in remarkably short waves and was not bad. Because I am in ketosis, my body burns my stored fat for energy so I really felt fine. In the 48th hour, I started to get a dull headache, but I really came on just about a half hour shy of me breaking my fast, so I just ignored it, and it went away as soon as I ate. I eased back into eating with some broth, it helps prep your body for digestion before you give it harder tasks. That helps you avoid stomach discomfort after fasting. During my fast, I only drank plain water, unsweetened herbal tea, and had a pinch of salt a couple times to make sure my electrolytes were good. I felt really good about being able to do that and it wasn't super difficult, I just set my mind to it and made it happen. I have little doubt that a 72 hour fast would be similar, the struggle (but also the determination) comes from our thoughts. I continued eating pretty similar to my normal, 100% on plan during the week, but planned on reigning my off-plan eating to once per weekend, if at all. I can't really recall how I did.I think I made family dinners at home some of those weekend days, which is usually not far off plan for me. For Thanksgiving, I kept it simple and got a pre-cooked, seasoned brisket that you warm in the oven, and I made microwavable corn and store bought mashed potatoes,then we had real pumpkin pie with full sugar whip cream on top. It is one of the few times I allow sweet sugars because pumpkin pie is one of my all time favorite foods. My weight during the month was really teetering between 156-157, sometimes dipping down to 155. I started to wonder if I really was going to make 51 pounds lost by my 51st birthday. I was really trying to focus on protein and I planned my meals around the protein. And I got really sick of meat! So the past two weeks I have been cutting back on heavy meat meals and eating more fat. I discovered these AMAZING cinnamon roll fat bombs that are divine. Cream cheese, butter, white sweetener, brown sweetener and cinnamon. Ooh it was exactly what I needed during PMS! And then I saw my weight going down a few pounds and finally settled at 154.0 on Friday night. I was excited and wanted to see 153 so I ate clean on Friday, but last night, we drove to a city a half hour away to go to a great burger spot, but it was closed for some reason, and being a small town, there's not a lot of other choices, so we went to a little bar and grill and after a bit we asked for menus and they said they only serve pizza. Sigh. I was hungry so I just shrugged and ate the pizza knowing that 153 might have to wait a little longer. Life goes on. It was a very friendly place and we had a good time, and that matters more than the scale! I was watching one of my favorite YouTube channels recently (Serious Keto) and one of the videos was about an upcoming year and he said he was going to take each month of the coming year and make a 30-day challenge for each month. I got really inspired by the idea so I think I might do this for 2024. I didn't decide exactly what each month's goal would be, but by the end of December I will have it mapped out and I'll post it here in case anyone wants to join in. I don't know if ill do a 72 hour fast this month or not. On one hand, if I do it I will have the satisfaction of having accomplished both my goals this year (the other was to be able to do 10 real push ups, which I accomplished in October), but on the other hand, if I don't do it this year I can use thar for one of my goals next year. I am a suckered for a challenge so I probably will, maybe next week. It would be better to do it before the holidays I think, then I can do my normal fasting split after. I just want to say that I did it. A doctor who I watch on YouTube does a 72 hour fast every week, so she only eats 4 days a week! It takes some mental fortitude to do that! Anyway, I just wanted to check in and say, everything is going good. I am still losing weight and my face looks oddly thin which means more wrinkles, but it's a trade-off I am happy to take.