Y’all, I had my official weigh-in today! And I am down a total of 9.8lbs since starting the Alternate Day Calorie Restriction on May 4th. AND I’m down 13.3 since calorie counting in late March. Yay me!
Not eating every other day is difficult. But working!
Oh god, not another dreaded diet post…..
Yesterday was a ‘down day’ and by golly, was it tough. I had 420 calories to eat, for the entire day. Just for comparison, a Happy Meal, with 4 McNuggets, small fry and small milk, is 520. So you know, 420 is brutal.
Here’s what a Down Day looks like for me:
Breakfast – Water, multivitamin, iron, rice cake - 35 calories
Lunch – Apples, 2 Wasa crackerbreads, Light Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge (Swiss), Iced Tea – 105 calories
Snack – Wasa, Laughing Cow (Garlic & Herb), Watermelon, Iced Tea - 65 calories
Dinner – Fat Free Hot Dog, Light Whole-Grain Bun, Light Lays, Ketchup, Caffeine Free Diet Coke - 190 calories
Snack – Sugar Free Fudgesicle – 35 calories
Total Calories – 430 (over by 10 cals)
As you can see, the amount of food isn’t staggeringly small. But with such a small base, you have to carefully allot for those foods that will be the most satisfying.
Today, on the other hand, I don’t have to live like an anorexic. It’s an Up Day and, in theory, I can eat whatever I’d like.
It won't be a Happy Meal, that's for damn sure.
Realistically though, I won’t. #1, because I hate to diminish the good I did yesterday. No sense in starving yourself for 24 hours, just to binge like crazy the next. #2, because ironically, when the food world is yours for the taking, nothing seems good enough. The internal monologue goes like this:
”Oh my god, it’s an up day. I can eat whatever I want. What do I want? What would be the most delicious thing I could have, right now? …… Jeez, nothing sounds that great. I don’t know. Fine, I’ll grab some scrambled eggs from the cafeteria and hope inspiration strikes for lunch.”
Guess what? Inspiration doesn’t strike at lunch. Dinner is better, but not nearly as yummy as you imagined the down day before. Meal suggestions, anyone?
Let’s get this one out of the way now. It’s the most boring and yet, the hardest one on the list. But honestly, the one people want to hear about least.
I’m chubby, fat, pleasantly plump. Whatever. Mostly, I’ve been okay with this. Sure, I bitch about not finding cute clothes that fit, I sigh when I look in the mirror and I stare enviously at the slender and small. But I like food, I like my life and my life (and the people in it) seem to like me back. So why change a thing?
Babies and doctors, that’s why. In attempt to finally get my health issues dealt with (see upcoming post on an equally boring list item, # 6 – Address my health concerns) I found a new OB-GYN and went for a consult. He basically told me I was fat, nearly diabetic and going to croak by 48. I was shocked. I truly, don’t think that I’m that overweight. Well, not life-threateningly obese, anyhoodle. Again, I’m chubby, not the 400 lb woman.
I was so angry at this man, this doctor who’s wife, also an OB-GYN, is just as pudgy as me. How dare he say that to me? And not offer assistance? Guidance? (Which he didn’t, by the way.) Regardless, I decided to take him seriously. He told me that if I could just lose 10% of me, I’d be so much healthier. So I am. And I’m going to lose more than that.
How? Currently, The Alternate Day Diet. I’m on week two. Essentially, on your ‘down’ days, you eat 20% of your resting metabolic rate. For me, between 400-500 calories. On your ‘up’ days? You can eat what you want, and not count calories. I like it, so far. And I’ve been pretty successful so far. I’ll keep you posted.
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