Year One, Week One- Beginnings

There's a lot of fresh starts happening at home. And only one of them is IF-related.

For example, we're supposed to be moving on October ninth. My son, however, moved out yesterday. So he's flown the nest.

Image by minka2507 from Pixabay 

Not to college, not to a friends' house, but moved out on his own to start a new life just like us, in a small town about two hours away from our hometown. He needed to move, and we needed him to move- That doesn't mean we won't miss him bunches and bunches! He'll also be about two hours from our new place, so at least we'll get to see him once in a while.

As for my fasting, the week went well, and I did even better this weekend. Perhaps because we were too busy sending off our elder child. Maybe because I've been incredibly distracted from eating by doing research for the new business and writing my butt off.

Sometimes I just plain forgot to eat my evening meal. Sometimes my window closed while I was busy, and projects took longer than my eating window allowed.

I also ate lighter for the most part, and I found myself feeling much better when I did. Bad habits and a bit of nutritional paranoia can wreck a perfectly good fast.

My biggest hurdle is a fear of not getting enough nutrition, so I make sure I eat more than enough to compensate. The tarnished side of this coin is that I overeat. We eat almost everything from scratch, so there isn't really a nutrition issue, but as of late, meals have been more carby than they should, and veggies haven't been a major food group in weeks. We're still living out of the freezer and fridge until the move.

So this week, I bought extra carrots and some broccoli and plan to make at least one giant vat of soup and two casseroles. All the extras can be frozen for the near future or after the move, whichever comes first. I also made some yummy chicken salad with fresh purple onion and celery. Crunchy munchy!

The foot swelling has gone down a lot, but I don't know if it's because the heatwaves have given way to cooler weather, or I've been eating less salt. Maybe a combination of both. Either way, it's nice waking up to see 'skinny' feet!

Oh, I forgot- two more significant changes are happening this week! First, my daughters' last day at work is Friday, and second, my husband is leaving his job of almost thirty years this Friday as well.

New beginnings, indeed.

Next week, we'll be gearing up for the move, hopefully settling on this house and the new one and packing up the essentials. It's going to be a crazy fantastic week!

Week Fifty-Two: Happy New Year!

 Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

Has it been a year already?

Fifty-two weeks. It's been an exciting year, for sure.

Significant changes for the first six months, not so many changes for the last six. But I've learned a lot about myself in the previous half-year.

Before we get to that, let's look at the numbers!

Original numbers:        4 weeks ago:            Now:              Difference:         Overall

Weight 363 lbs.                  ?                        ?                        ?                    -37 lbs.

Biceps- 23"                     20-1/2"                 21"                   +1/2"                 -2"

Chest- 61-1/2"                57-1/2"               59-1/2"                +2"                   -2"

Waist- 58"                      55-3/4"                54-1/2"               -1-1/4"             -3-1/2"

Hips- 69-1/2"                    62"                    62"                     same                -7-1/2"

Thigh- 32"                        28"                   29-3/4"                +1-3/4"            -2-1/4"

Neck- 18"                      17-1/2"                 17-1/2"                 same                -1/2"

I might've been maintaining, but look at the end result for the year- especially my hips! Yes, it might've been more if I used last weeks' results, but that's okay. All of the numbers are in blue instead of red!

It took me three decades to get this big, so for one year of IF, this is some significant progress. Of course, I want to do better this year. I will do better this year. Even if the weight loss goes down another 30-40 pounds, that's fantastic progress. This isn't a sprint- it's a marathon. I'm just getting into my stride.

In the beginning, I think I started cutting down too fast. By the end of the first week, I'd gone from 4-5 meals a day down to two and a snack. The book says to cut down on one meal a day, but it assumed you were eating three a day. I still wonder if cutting my food and windows so significantly in the beginning is hindering my metabolism now.

But I can't blame a fast start for everything.

I still have trouble with portions. I'm down to one meal a day three times a week, but that meal is more significant than it should be. My two meals a day during the week are also problematic because one of those two meals is also pretty substantial. The weekends remain open with a 6-8 hour window, eating two to three larger meals, and sometimes seconds.

I see the patterns. I know what to change. The issue is changing it!

Want to know something funny? I'm starting to not like eating as much as I used to, despite the food intake. I get sluggish, sleepy and have nodded off more than once after eating a heavy meal. I do much better when I eat lighter. And I'm starting to crave salad again!

Unfortunately, due to my van dying and the financial strain of selling, buying, and moving from one house to another, I'm eating what I can make out of the house storage because there's little time to shop after my husband gets home. Also, we're trying not to take a lot of food up with us because space in the trucks is limited.

Stress is high. I'm still fasting, but I could do a better job- especially now when the packing is done, and I'm sitting around an empty house all day waiting for the settlement to happen.

I know things will change drastically in the next month. Moving, unpacking, and getting geared up to start a new business will bring a lot more stress in my life, good and bad. 

I'm looking forward to being too busy to eat! 

Now don't take that the wrong way. I have no intention of starving myself. But if I only have enough time for a small meal once a day after moving boxes, unpacking, and walking from room to room as I put things away, then I consider that time better spent on burning fat instead of gaining inches and feeling like a slug.

Life is about to get more challenging but more fun! We're also going to be posting about our journey through the move and starting a small bakery cafe in a new blog soon, so if you're interested, I can post the link after its' creation. 

The future is looking bright- and thinner!

Week Fifty-One: Almost there!

One more week until I reach my first year of Intermittent Fasting! How awesome is that? 

We'll also be celebrating the pending sale of our home and moving onto our next adventure- A new home business. We'll be living in a small town for the first time, so this will get interesting. 

A new year, a new life, a new experience in my IF journey.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay 

For now, it's a time to breathe, rest and recoup before the next step.

The house is empty. The TV is in storage. My crafts are gone, and most of my writing stuff is packed. We have a two-to-three-week gap between the sale of this home and the settlement of our new home. So, for now, there's nothing left for me to do except relax.

This is a good thing initially, but boredom will set in eventually if I know me (and I do). And when I get bored, I tend to graze. Part of that problem is dealt with- I packed most of the snacky stuff. Yes, it's still in the house (no food in the storage unit), but I have to really make an effort to get to the goodies. So if I want to munch, I'll make myself work for it first. This is where laziness can be beneficial.

Most of the work I'll be doing now is mental. I'm glad I didn't pack my laptop- this thing is my primary source of distraction from nibbling outside of my eating windows. So maybe I might not be bored after all.

And I don't mean by watching cat videos either.

I need to set up the preliminary pages for our new business. We want to promote better food for better eating- all as close to farm-fresh and from scratch as possible. Business T's and I's must be crossed and dotted before we launch. Social media accounts must be created, websites made, and forms need to be filled out.

This move will get us next door to so many farm-to-table sources that even if we weren't starting a new business, we'd be eating better. Surrounded by fresh meats, milk, and produce with the giant mega-markets about an hour away, all we need to do is drive around the neighborhood to get almost everything we need.

Of course, winter will be different, but we can still get good quality produce for a lot less money because we'll have access to restaurant supply stores. We might invest in a greenhouse in future years, but for now, we'll use what's available until the farmers have crops next year.

Did I mention I'll be the primary baker in our Bakery Cafe? Yep, and when I bake, I usually don't eat. But, like I said before, this is going to get interesting really fast.

One thing I'd made sure not to pack was my measuring tape. I'll be using that next week for my one-year check-in!

Week Fifty: Cleaning, Cooking, and Chaos

This has been my life this week:

Image by Nina Garman from Pixabay 

As the house empties, my belly gets fuller. In other words, I'm stress-eating.

I forgot I had an appointment this week with the doctor, and it was a holiday weekend. So guess who ate more than she should?

Me!

The scale showed I'd gained a pound.  Well, of course, I did. I just ate at a holiday cookout on my down day. Duh.

I didn't take measurements because it's in the middle of the measuring period, but I thought you should know since I couldn't weigh myself last time.

But wait! Let's look at the scale again.

One pound in a month and a half. I'd been behaving myself for the most part, and I've been moving boxes and hustling and bustling around the house for weeks. Maybe that weight gain isn't fat. It could be muscle.

I'm sure some of it's fat, but if you looked at my measurements in week forty-eight, you'd see I lost a lot of inches.

Loss of inches + one pound gained = added muscle. WOOHOO!

Okay, so maybe I'm putting a more positive spin on it. But after a month of chaos and irregular eating patterns, I think I'm doing better than I would have a year ago.

In two more weeks, it will be a year since I've been IFing. Isn't that amazing?

We have to keep the house clean for buyers to see, so cooking has become an issue. I've been making some food in bulk, but I can't do all that and pack and schlep boxes too. This body is fifty-three years old, and it is tired.

When this move is over, I'm going to sleep for a week.

I've not been stress eating as much as I thought I would. The biggest problem is I gulp down food in minutes since I'm in a hurry, and the second my window opens, it's a food marathon. My fork and spoon become a shovel. When I'm done, I need to get back to packing before my body shuts down for the night.

When my body shuts down, I become Jabba the Hutt on Benedryl. How do I know? Because my allergies are kicking my butt as well. Benedryl knocks me on my keyster. It's hard to move boxes when you're in an allergy medicine-induced food coma.

The good news is I've been sleeping better. Exhaustion does a body good.

I do feel stronger (if more tired) than before, and my husband still thinks I'm getting thinner, so maybe it is muscle weight after all. I can't wait until this move is over!

Week Forty-Nine: Hurry Up and Wait

We're packing to move.

It's exciting. It's chaos. It's a lot of stress.

Some people come to help. Others promise to help but don't show. Contractors come when they please, and do what they want, and leave when they want. When that happens, deadlines aren't met, schedules are disheveled, and tempers run short. 

Lost my temper with my family twice and confronted the contractor once. As a result, he is now relegated to outside work while we find another painter. 

I won't go into details, but it was a stressful weekend. The realtor wanted buyers to look at our house today, but the house isn't nearly ready. Time is ticking. 

Most of the house is packed and moved into storage until the house sells. So now we clean, pack up the minor things and wait for the new painters.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay 

I decided that I'm taking today off to write, read, and pray. 

Everything else I do to let off steam is packed. My sewing, my fiction novels, even the TV is disconnected so they can paint the walls. So no binge-watching Bones for a few days, at least.

I packed for two weeks straight, and I'm tired. One benefit, though- my husband hugged me yesterday and said I felt like I'd lost weight. He hugs me a lot, so that's saying something. Maybe this move will leave me a lot thinner and more active than I realized!

Most of the week went well. However, I blew off Friday. It was my down day, and I ate like it was an up day. It was stress eating, and I knew it- But I was so stressed, I just didn't care.

The good thing about being overwhelmed is that you don't have time to snack much, despite eating an additional meal. 

I found that my wide-open weekend window didn't work when I needed to be energetic. (Wow- that's a lot of alliteration!) 

Saturday, we had breakfast early, lunch, and dinner a little later than my usual window. So, I was tired and sluggish all day. On Sunday, I postponed my breakfast until 11am, skipped the early morning family breakfast, and had a light lunch and an early light dinner. That worked much better. I got a lot more done and wasn't as tired.

Moving is stressful, chaotic, and messy in every manner. So I'm taking today to recenter myself with God and give myself a creative break. Maybe talk with some friends, rant, and laugh. Read a little. Take a nap. Recharge my physical and spiritual batteries for the coming days.

Because when we get to our new home, it's going to be awesome.

Week Forty-Eight: Scale Away, Scale Away, Scale Away

Today is weigh-in week. Well, it was weigh-in week. My van died completely, so I'm now without the means to get to my husbands' workplace to weigh in. It doesn't matter anyway, because two weeks ago, God decided it was time for us to move, and we found our dream home and business all in one shot. We should be out of this house before next month.

No more scales!

Image by xibarodays from Pixabay 

It's all measurements from here from now on.

Since it's just measurements, I've decided that I'll color code the losses versus the gains for easier comparison. So let's take a look, shall we?

Original numbers:        4 weeks ago:            Now:              Difference:

Weight 363 lbs.                326                        ?                        ?

Biceps- 23"                       20"                   20-1/2"                 +1/2"

Chest- 61-1/2"                  60"                   57-1/2"                 -2-1/2"

Waist- 58"                      55-1/4"                55-3/4"                +1/2"

Hips- 69-1/2"                 62-3/4"                    62"                   -3/4"

Thigh- 32"                     30-1/2"                    28"                   -2-1/2"

Neck- 18"                      17-1/2"                 17-1/2"                 same

Every part of me changed, but mostly for the better. Look at those losses versus the gains! I thought I'd gained, but it looks like I lost some weight after all!

I behaved myself for the most part, though yesterday I seriously disappointed myself by eating too much on my down day. I'd made a really awesome homemade Italian chicken lasagna bake with mini noodles that looked like those canned pasta 'roller coaster' shapes, with my own homemade sauce (or gravy, for you Italian folks out there), marinated chicken breast, loaded with seasoned ricotta and topped with four kinds of cheese.

Can you blame me for taking two helpings?

I could forgive myself for indulging, but not for overindulging. Halfway through the second bowl, I was more than satisfied, but instead of wrapping it up and putting it away, I ate it. As a result, I still feel bloated this morning. Ugh.

I still don't know why I finished it off. I'd made plenty, and today is my up day so I can have more for dinner! So why do I do these things to myself?

Beating myself up about it does no good, so I'll do better today. That promise I can keep.

I've been eating more junk than usual because I'm stressed. Some of it is good stress, and some of it is not-so-good stress. We found a house in the mountains with a store attached (it was closed five years ago), and it's perfect for us to start a business while living out of the city. God's been moving so fast that my head is spinning. Two weeks ago, we were moving along a steady track, now we're on a roller coaster.

We don't get that house until we sell this one. Our realtor told us he has a line waiting for us to see our house, so we need to get packed and finish the repairs ASAP.

Two weeks minimum to pack. A month at most. I don't think I'll have a problem finding ways to be mobile this month! Our house is three stories tall and thin. That's a lot of steps.

The new place is smaller than our current residence, but the kitchen is bigger and open. I want to establish better eating habits in the new kitchen. Maybe I'm weird for wanting that, but I figure if I get used to eating at a table and not some screen, I'll be a happier, healthier person.

I'm not packing my laptop, so I'll be able to blog in the next few weeks. I just hope I'll be cognizant enough to make a post you can actually read.

In the meantime, I'll be packing and moving boxes. Who needs a gym?

Week Forty-Seven: Opportunity Knocks

Life can be pleasantly surprising!

You're humming along, getting the house in order, doing your routines, and God comes along and swats you upside the head with His blessing stick.

When God knocks, you better answer the door!

Image by Dennis Larsen from Pixabay 

Unfortunately, I can't tell you what that blessing is yet because it's a potential blessing. But if it comes to fruition, it's going to be awesome. 

This week was a blur. I wish I could tell you that I did everything I promised myself last week, but I can barely remember. All I know is I don't feel like a bloated whale, so I did something right!

Yesterday I was supposed to have three meals, but I got so involved, I forgot to eat before my window closed. Oops. Today is a down day, so I hope I didn't throw my metabolism off too much. 

As for exercise, I did many things in the house, but not all of them required me to be active. 

However, if everything works out, I'll be as active as a nest of ants. I hope I can keep up.

My brain will definitely be on overload. There's so much to think about, no less do! 

Even without this potential blessing popping up, it was an eventful week.

It started with getting my van inspected. We knew it was on its last legs, but I was stressing a little when it didn't pass inspection the first time. So we fixed what needed to be done to pass inspection, knowing this was probably the last year we'd drive it.

Two days later, It blew a gasket. Literally. The van was dead for good this time, and though this was something I'd typically be freaking out about, I was calm as a cucumber and wasn't even worried about it. No stress eating, no desire to overeat to calm the nerves. God is so good!

I'd stopped working at my driving job months ago, and I'm so glad I did. that job killed my van, but when I was home full-time, I hardly ever used it. So not having a second vehicle is a minor inconvenience now, not a major, life-altering binge-eating catastrophe it might have been almost a year ago. 

Intermittent Fasting really helped me take control of my life in so many fantastic ways.

This weekend, we went out into Lancaster to visit the farms and get fresh produce. I hadn't had much to eat because we were going to try an Amish restaurant for the first time. The parking lot was almost at capacity, which is usually a good sign that a place has good food. After a seventy-minute wait, we were looking forward to some homemade Amish cooking.

What a disappointment. The restaurant took so many shortcuts, we couldn't even finish our dinner. For us to not finish a meal is really saying something about the food. The fries were frozen, and the sauces and gravies came from a can. The mac and cheese pasta was swimming in a pool of pure cheese Whiz. Ugh.

Despite these letdowns, we had a really great time taking the family out for the day. It feels good to get out of the city and into fresh country air.

The goals this week are simple. Be mobile and pre-prep meals. I didn't cook much last week, and the leftovers are no more. I might even make a few extra meals for the freezer, so we have something to eat if I don't have time to cook in the coming weeks.

I promise I'll tell you whether the blessing happens or not. Next week is weigh-in week, and we should know something by then. As for my IF journey, I'm confident I'll see smaller numbers on the scale and on the measuring tape. 

This is going to be one exciting week!