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This is Day 6 of the intermittent fasting
This morning, the time change threw me off a bit. When I woke up, my wall clock told me it was eight o'clock. Of course, I'm thinking I will be able to have my tea or coffee in about four hours. That's how it is every morning now. I get up and start counting the hours until I can suck down some sweet, creamy caffeine!
Then I check my phone (which is smarter than I am) and remember that it that time of year.
First, I'm happy because, well, only three hours til caffeine time - and also Spring! Then I'm confused because of the way my brain works. I mean, is it four hours or three hours til I can break out the Sweet Italian Creamer jug?
I'm going to be honest and tell you that it took maybe 20 minutes of hard thinking for me to realize that nothing has changed. Nada. I still have to wait four hours from waking to break my fast. I have to remember that I'm just counting hours and 16 hours fasting is 16 hours, no matter where those fall on the clock.
Man.
So, yeah. Daylight Savings messed with my personal schedule, but I've decided to just stay on track and, as Steve Wynwood sings, just "roll with it, baby".
The Good Part
What I'm happy to report is that as of this Day 6, I am having some success. Actually, I think I'm having great success.
I'm using a free app called Simple Weight Tracker. I looked at a couple other apps but they were too complicated. I just needed something nice and, well, simple. Of course, I am checking my weight using the cheap bathroom scale I picked up at Walmart or somewhere. (All those great scales I got for free to review? They are somewhere in Alaska being put to good use by the fam.)
The good news (maybe) is that I might be able to have one of the nurses check my weight tomorrow before infusion. I can't remember if this is something they do anyway or not. Still, though, even if my bathroom scale is a little off, it's probably consistently off. I should be down about 7 pounds either way, right? Maybe if I hadn't eaten 2 helpings of Texas Toast yesterday, I'd be down 8 pounds!
The Struggle
I still forget sometimes to keep up with my water intake. I had been so good recently about drinking 64o ounces of water each day. I fell off but I'm getting back on track this day. I'm drinking water as I type this. I have to say that the water drinking this morning is helping keep my taste buds from thinking of tea or coffee. A bit.
The thing I need to work on is alternating keto with non-keto days. I haven't been great about that. I'm not guzzling down pasta every day, but I am on a bread kick. I suppose, though, if the goal is to lose weight and eat better than I have been, I'm doing okay. Other than the bread, I'm not doing too many carbs. A potato here and an extra bit of creamer there...
Looking Forward
Now that Spring is almost here (in weather, not per the calendar), I should be able to get more fresh veggies and fruit. I picked up a watermelon on sale this past week and, boy, it was yummy. I still have a lot left so I will nibble on that today.
Hopefully, I will be able to keep the carbs in check, even if I don't get around to alternating keto days.
Keto vs IF & Pros and Cons
Keto or IF? I don't think it has to be an either or thing - choosing one over the other. Lots of people are doing the routines together. I think I told you all about the Ketogenic Intermittent Fasting Facebook group.
In my personal opinion, the best thing about IF is that, with or without keto, I'm losing weight. I think that keto is just good for me because, well, fewer carbs is always good.
So, for keto, the Pros are that you're cutting out a lot of junk. However, on the Con side, you have to cut out a lot of fruit and vegetables.
There are more carbs in a lot of fruits and veggies than the keto diet likes. I remember having to watch the list for a while and it was surprised at the carbs in, say, a banana (27g/medium). I love bananas! And mangoes (28g/cup). I love mangoes.
The biggest Pro to IF is that I eat a bigger variety of foods. The only downside is a small one: I have to practice portion control of the high calorie/high carb stuff.
Maybe I lied because there is another huge Pro to IF: your restricted hours of eating helps with portion control - unless you are scarfing down food for the entire 8-hour eating window. I find that I get in one decent sized meal in the middle of my window and a snack near the end, or three small meals throughout. When I had watermelon yesterday, I gorged on it, but then I was full for most of my 8 hours. I did have 2 tuna sandwiches later for my actual meal.
So, for me, if I had to choose one or the other, IF is the winner sure. Here's someone else's take on it.
The Freedom
I like knowing that, as long as I am in my 8-hour eating window, I don't have to deny myself any particular food. As long as I don't go hog wild (heh heh), I can indulge any craving. Usually, after my infusion appointment, my family and I pick up a burger or some chicken - something fast food-ish - and I have been thinking about a butter burger and some cheese curds from Culver's. After that, I will be content to start m fast right then and go on into the next day!
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| That's a meal and a half! |
I couldn't even think about a caloric splurge like that when I was doing just keto. Of course, if you eat enough butter burgers, there's no plan in the world that will help you lose weight and get healthy. Moderation is everything.
So, yeah, I'm still loving this intermittent fasting and I think this is now my life. Now, excuse me while I go have my tea.
Peace
--Free
