Diet, nutrition and fasting

 So since Thanksgiving I’ve been increasing my WW (Weight Watcher’s) logging and following the easy point system.  I have lost a total of 15 lbs since start.  I also broke my foot a month ago, removing any and all attempts to be more physical as I had planned.  (I’m going back for a follow up on tomorrow, so I’m hoping this will ‘release’ me so I can walk and do more things.) In addition to just being keen on my diet… (FF when I can, really conscience on how much I eat, just really reducing overall intake and processed foods), I’ve been fasting.  The last 2 weeks, I’ve been doing a 12/12, which fasts zero caloric intake (water only) for 12 hrs, eating my “WW” diet for the other 12.  Last weekend, unbeknownst to us, we attended a dear friend of our’s a funeral - which lasted 5+ hrs.  My 12/12 turned into a 18/6.  It was then I decided to increase my fasting time to a 16/8.  These last few days I’ve noticed I really like how it makes me feel.  I have a ‘happy’ feeling.  I’m alert.  I accept and welcome the hunger feeling. - All knowing that while fasting it’s healing my body.  I’m starting to pay attention to what my body is telling me. 

Rather than eating because it’s “time to eat breakfast”, I don’t.  I eat when I’m hungry.  I stop when my body says I’m full.  (Which, may just be a half a sandwich.). It really intrigues me to see and learn just how much of an open trough we have available to us to just eat and graze and graze and eat all day, every day.  No wonder we’re over weight and obese.  No one is listening to what their body is telling them, they only listen to what they want - ooh Doritos, cookies, tacos and pizza!  

While that’s all well and good - and I do eat that still, I’m limiting what I eat.  Not only to help save money because we don’t NEED 3 pizzas, but I want to bit lean and fit for the cruise and I keep telling myself I’ll eat that on the ship!  It’s not about what we eat, but how much we’re eating.  I’ll explain.

I’ve not had any sweets in 3-4 weeks.  Not milk chocolate anyway.  Might be longer, I honestly can’t recall the last time I had milk chocolate.  My husband finds us some Cadbury eggs at the store the other day.  I ‘reward myself and eat mine and it was disgustingly sweet!  Like too much.  I now understand when forgeiners complain about American Chocolate.  It’s gross!  But more to my point, while I want this to be a lifestyle… the life style should not be about limiting and completely removing foods from my life.  I like Doritos and pizza and cookies and cake.  But I’m not needing the whole thing (not that I ever did.)  You get my idea.  

Fasting has given me some clarity to what my body says and needs.  It’s not about shoveling food in my mouth because it’s time to eat or because it’s in the cupboard.  It’s about making choices to eat when you need it and to include foods that will fuel you rather than just scratch an itch.

I will say the first few days on the 16/8 plan were a bit messy.  I’d come to my fasting finishing time and I would feel so famished I’d want to binge eat.  I nearly did the other day, going to bed with a tummy ache.  Luckily I ate things like fruit and veggies and not things that would ruin my diet.  I need to really pay attention to what I’m eating and how fast I’m eating it.  I need to allow my body the time to take and send proper signals to tell me that I’m full or I should not get anymore food.  I did good tonight. I was hungry about an hr after I stared my fast.  Maybe I’m a little light on the caloric intake for the day, but that’s ok.  I’ll work off what I put on from overeating.