Day 1

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.”

Today didn't start out exactly as planned.  After staying up way to late last night, I slept in way to late this morning.  Note to self: work on that.  

Since I woke up late, it kinda threw my meal schedule into a crunch.  I'm not eating at scheduled times, but I have set some parameters for myself during this 28 days.  One is to allow 4 hours between meals and another is not to eat after 7pm.  Let me explain both.

Allowing 4 Hours Between Meals 

(Explanation below is borrowed from another site)

It takes about three hours for your body to finish digesting a meal. If you eat every two or three hours, your body will constantly be in what nutritionists call the “fed state.” This simply means that you are always in the process of digesting food.

If, on the other hand, you don’t eat again, you’ll go into something called the “post-absorptive” state after about three hours. Several interesting things happen in the post-absorptive state.

First, you begin tapping into your body’s stored energy reserves to run your engine. Your hormone levels adjust to shift your body out of fat-storage mode and into fat-burning mode. Hanging out in the post-absorptive state also reduces free-radical damage and inflammation, increases the production of anti-aging hormones, and promotes tissue repair. And, surprisingly, your metabolic rate remains unchanged.

 

But what about your blood sugar?

You’ll often hear people say that eating small, frequent meals helps to keep your blood sugar levels steady. And it does: It keeps your blood sugar steadily high.

Whoever said that your blood sugar levels were supposed to remain constant throughout the day, anyway? They’re not. They are supposed to rise after meals, as food is digested and converted into glucose, and then fall back to baseline as the glucose is taken up by the cells and used for energy or stored for future use.

Having your blood sugar level fall to baseline is not bad for you! In fact, having your blood sugar closer to baseline for more of the day helps to protect you from developing diabetes. Now, of course, it is possible for blood sugar to get too low. This is known as hypoglycemia. A lot of people self-diagnose themselves with this condition, but very few of them actually have it. Diabetics using insulin or folks with a medical condition called reactive hypoglycemia need to be careful about letting their blood sugar get too low.

But for the vast majority of us, managing blood sugar levels is about avoiding the peaks, not the valleys. If you experience headaches, fatigue, and other discomfort whenever you go more than two or three hours without eating, the problem is probably not that your blood sugar has gotten too low, but that it’s been too high.

Eating a lot of sweets, sweetened beverages, white bread, and other refined carbohydrates will cause your blood sugar to go up very high, very quickly. What goes up, must come down and the higher the spike, the more uncomfortable the plunge. The easiest way to make that feeling go away is to eat again. But if you eat more of the same kinds of foods, you’re simply getting back on the same roller coaster. And that roller coaster is on a fast track to type 2 diabetes.

(end borrowed section)

 

Not Eating After 7pm 

There is a mixed bag of research on this one and good arguments on both sides.  While I am in the detox phase, I am trying to give my body a chance to do-its-thing.  I see the cut-off time as a chance to give my body and digestive system a break while I sleep.  If I eat by 7pm, my digestion will be done by 11pm.  Once I'm asleep, my body can rest.  For me, it's also adjusting my behavior.  I tend to eat a lot while watching tv at night.  Mostly out of boredom, not because I am hungry.  This will force me to change that behavior for the long run, which I really need to do.

Ok, so back to day one.  Waking up late meant eating breakfast late, and really set the whole day back a bit.  One thing I really need to work on is being kind to myself.  It wasn't really a big deal, but I let it be.  I'm proud of myself for not throwing in the towel and doing the whole "well, I can start tomorrow". 

I started the day with some detox tea..

Breakfast was scrambled eggs with bell pepper and onions and an apple.

Lunch was where I made an error in judgment.  I made a protein shake, but then changed my mind, opting for an apple and some almonds instead.  That was clearly not enough food for one meal and I paid the price a couple hours later.  I definitely hit a wall around 4pm and felt very fatigued.  I grabbed a figure 8 chew (more about figure 8 later) which definitely helped.

Dinner was garlic-herb chicken, quinoa, and roasted vegetables.  

With five kids, we use a lot of chicken!

Broccoli, carrots, garlic, onions with fresh rosemary, thyme, and dill.

Cooking quinoa for the first time.  Had great flavor, reminded me a bit of corn tortillas.

And, dinner is served!

7pm came and went and I was a little worried that my calorie intake was too low.  Since I am wearing my bodybugg and tracking my food consumption and calorie burn, I was able to confirm my suspicions.  I had only eaten 900 calories today...yikes!  I burn about 2800 per day when not exercising and 3500+ on days when I do.  Yes, I am a machine. :) Even with a 1500 calorie deficit for the day, I needed to get to atleast 1300.  (Note: When I lost 65 lbs, I ate about 2300 per day. This is the level I plan to remain at after the 28 days, so need to be closer to there now.)

I debated between eating something or not, feeling like I would be letting myself down if I did, since it was a goal I'd set.  However, by 10pm, I was REALLY hungry...like crampy hungry.  I know my body well enough to know I needed to eat something.  

Now, here's the moment of truth.  I can go grab a bowl of cereal, some cheese and crackers, etc and consider today a mostly good job, starting again tomorrow...my calories would still be at a weight-loss level, I would have mostly eaten the way I'd planned, and could consider the day a good one.  I wouldn't even have to admit it here, and could go on like it never happened.  Or.....

I could be true to myself and the goal I had set.  I could choose the journey over a temporary "reward".  I could give my body what it needed, nothing less and nothing more.

My choice?

A greenleaf salad with tomato, black beans, and some left over chicken.  Topped with a dressing I'd made earlier in the day consisting of avocado, lemon juice, olive oil, onion, cilantro, and garlic.  It wasn't a huge serving.  Enough to take the edge off and get in the 300 calories I knew I needed.  I did eat after 7, but pure foods, a small amount, and was still up another three hours, so digestion got to run it's course before sleep.

Goals for day 2: Drink more water, don't short change my meals, and enjoy the process.

Until tomorrow....