Two weeks ago I was having a bit of trouble. I read about (and subsequently attempted) a dietary experiment. And last week I gave my preliminary results. At the time, things were looking generally positive, but I wanted to hold full judgment until I had at least one more week of falsified data great results to report.
For those of you just tuning in, here’s the scoop: I lost some weight last year but fell off the wagon a bit during the holidays. But then, just as I was attempting to climb back on the wagon, the wagon took off without me and there I was, left a-standin’ in the prairie like a lost cowboy.
The experiment? Fast for 24 hours to give my body a chance to regain control of the situation. The day after the fast, I was down nearly five pounds. (I guess it’s time for me to start hawking my miracle diet plan, huh?) Over the remainder of the week, I crept back up a bit, but was still down three and a half pounds over all. The second week—this past week—went even better. And I don’t mean that in terms of weight loss but in the sense that I wasn’t hungry and/or thinking about food all of the time.
That’s not to say I didn’t lose any weight, though. Because I did. Here’s a recap of the entire Return to Onederland so far:
I’m still not down to my pre-holiday low of 201.5, but I got what I wanted: a sense of control back.
| Day 182 | |
| Starting Weight | 224.0 |
| Current Weight | 206.0 |
| Change from Last Week | -2.5 |
| Lost So Far | 20.5 |
| Pounds To Go | 4.5 |
Will it last? I hope so. At least I more or less feel now the same way I did during that first big green part of the graph. And that’s saying something. I may even try this once a month, just to keep the body guessing. It’s just another tool I can use to help pull off this grand plan of mine.
And you all know how I love it when a plan comes together.
on January 26, 2009 at 2:22 am
You are doing really good Charlie! I still have not lost my ‘holiday’ weight…but I am going to keep working on it.
on January 26, 2009 at 5:06 am
The A-Team rules! Do you watch Leverage at all? It’s sort of like a mix between Ocean’s Eleven and the A-Team.
Keep that chart going down!
on January 26, 2009 at 6:59 am
Congrats on regaining control. Control is good 🙂
Good luck this week!
on January 26, 2009 at 7:12 am
“I pity the fool that doesn’t follow this rule”. (Very liberal license)
Great Job Charlie since in weight loss, everything going down is positive.
on January 26, 2009 at 7:14 am
So does this mean fasting is going to be a weekly thing for you now?
on January 26, 2009 at 7:17 am
I was thinking once a month. I think weekly would be a bit too much and would seriously cut into my Cheez-It throughput.
on January 26, 2009 at 8:06 am
Yeah Charlie. I would agree that a sense of control is a very important aspect. I wonder if it helped too…because on the fasting days you weren’t calculating calories and over thinking food choices.
on January 26, 2009 at 9:35 am
You should really check with a nutritionist, because fasting seems to make you loose weight but overall I do not think it is good for your body. Your metabolism will actually slow down when it is not getting food and then store more food when you start eating again. But good luck in your journey!
on January 26, 2009 at 11:16 am
Where would I get a copy of the graph to fill in my info?
on January 26, 2009 at 11:26 am
Hallie: Well, the fasting isn’t done to lose weight. It’s really just to give the body a chance to get glucose and insulin levels back in check.
I definitely wouldn’t call it a diet or way of life, but a quick tool for use on an “as needed” basis.
I can’t think of anything you do for just one day (eat zero calories or eat five thousand calories) would actually change your body’s metabolism.
Carol: I just keep track of my weight in Excel. I use that to create the basic chart, then I decorate it by hand in Paint Shop Pro for display purposes.
on January 26, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Glad to see your plan is coming together. Yay for super awesome January weight losses!
on January 26, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Congrats on another loss! And so happy to hear you feel remotivated. You will reach Onederland in the next couple of weeks!!
Then What?
Tusc 😀
on January 26, 2009 at 1:34 pm
I love the Merry Christmas part of your graph!
Happy Monday Charlie!
Love, your prettier sister
on January 26, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Onederland is only the first stop on this train. I still have a long way to go after that. A long way to go.
on January 26, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Thanks for visiting and leaving an encouraging word! I really like your blog, and your sense of humor. The whole fasting thing really intrigues me, except the part about not eating for 24 hours….
on January 27, 2009 at 11:56 am
My brother in law would fast from dinner on Saturday night until dinner on Sunday night for about 10 years. And he has never been overweight. I think it wouldn’t hurt to do once a month.
on January 27, 2009 at 9:45 pm
I read your article about the 24 hour fast and I am not 8 days post-fast. I’m a former binge eater and I have not binged at all. Food is almost never on my mind except when I’m planning meals and I’m rarely hungry. Thank you so much for posting that blog, the tips really gave me a sense of control over my eating again.
on January 27, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Wow! And here I am thinking I’m not actually helping anyone in between goose posts and celebrity childhood crushes. Keep it up, Michelle! Keep it up!