Day 39- NO to the Yoyo

Stats- Ate-no cheese :(, Pistachios, lots of cashews, turkey, shrimp, ice cream, rum and diet coke. Calories-1410. Activity- hour walk with dogs. Weight -0.6 lb up from yesterday (water weight, as my calorie count was below maintenance).

I am glad I was able to get my calorie count up to the 1400-ish range. It is very important to me to not get my body used to lower calorie counts, as I am not normally a small eater by any means, and I do not want to be forced to be.

If my body expects/gets trained to function on 1000 calories a day, and I eat even 1200 calories (which is not a lot more, a serving of nuts would be around that), the 200 extra calories a day would result in a weight gain of about 2 pounds a month, close to 25 pounds a year.  Trying to take off the weight gained would mean going way below the 1000 calorie setpoint, an almost impossible task. Ergo, over time I would end up gaining rather than losing weight. This is how Yoyo dieting works, or should I say fails to work.

I have to be mindful and actually eat till full when I want to, rather than gaming myself to eat fewer and fewer calories (even if subconsciously) in a twisted attempt to lose weight faster. This might work in the short term, but it is a recipe for failure long term. Don’t gorge, but don’t starve or overly restrict either. Have to remember this!

Day 38- Cheese, how do I love thee..

Stats- Ate- Pistachios, cashews, bulletproof coffee, bacon, plums, cauliflower. Calories- 926. Activity- hour walk with dogs. Weight – 2.3 lbs down from yesterday.

With respect to Hormonegeddon she-Hulk (or Shulk!), she is gone. I lost 2.3 lb of bloat overnight, so only 1.5 lbs of water weight hangs on my body. This means I am not as sore all over.

Why on earth does this post title refer to loving cheese when I did not eat any today? Because, Dear Reader, cheese has truly stopped Hormonegeddon in its tracks. Also, did you see the calorie count? I have NEVER eaten at that level in my memory.

Again, no restriction, just eating till satisfied of what I want of lowcarb-ish food ~80% and anything else ~20%. I actually DO NOT want my body used to surviving on this calorie level, so if needed I am going to make sure I never get below 1000, and if possible 1200 calories.

My regular calorie intake (in the pre-mostly cheese years) was around 2200 if I paid attention to what I ate.  I am mildly overweight at that intake. I suspect, and dearly hope, that the low calorie intake today was as much of an anomaly as the close to 4000 calories I ate during the past month of blogging. That would balance out.

The more I think about it, the more I feel like my body is testing my response to its demands. The more I soothe and meet its legitimate needs, the less variation there will be in its demands.

That’s my theory and I am sticking to it. Laters!

Day 37- Hormonegeddon continues

Stats- Ate 7 oz cheese, a LOT of cashews, beef, cauliflower, ice cream and bulletproof coffee. Calories- 1719. Activity- hour walk with dogs. Weight-another 1.7 lbs UP from yesterday when Hormonegeddon began.

That is a total of  3.5 lbs gained in 2 days, folks. If that isn’t a mega bloating event due to water retention, I will eat any non-edible hats I have. Psychologically, it is hard to see that scale go up and up, even though rationally I KNOW this happens every month and know that generally that number is a gain of 6 lbs by this time.

Be that as it may, I attempted to rein in Hormonegeddon by starting the day with a cheese meal – that 7 oz of cheese was in one sitting in the morning. Don’t judge, people. Felt reasonably full for a couple of hours then went to town on cashews. That seemed to work to bring me back from hormonal Hulkdom.

In the evening I was back to wanting an actual meal, so beef and cauliflower rice hit the spot, followed by ice cream for dessert. Don’t judge, people. I am still in the pre-period week and am allowed some sins.

Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

 

Day 36- Return of Hormonegeddon

Well, I had 20-plus days of relative hormonal peace thanks to this WOE.

Today, I was reminded once again of the power of hormones.

Recap- Generally I have 2 good weeks and then 2 awful bloated, tired, hungry weeks every month. Because, periods. Hence, Hormonegeddon. This time, thanks to mostly cheese, Hormonegeddon did not begin until about a week before the main event, which is a victory of sorts, as it gave me about seven extra days of a normal feeling body and mind.

So today I ate a ton, and some of it was crap (besides my everyday nuts, cheese, coffee, cauliflower, had honey, plums, and tacos). I was proud that I just opened the box of Godiva chocolate and then closed it without eating any. I looked, I touched, I might have even smelled longingly, but I did not eat. I wouldn’t bet on this continuing, seeing as this is merely the beginning of Hormonegeddon. Also, in line with my new body wisdom, if my body really really wants it, it gets it!

Calories- 2290. Weight 1.8 lbs up from yesterday. This is pure, unadulterated hormonal bloat. Also, I am a bit sore all over, with my mammary glands being a lot more sore than anywhere else.

My solution is to try to stick to mostly cheese tomorrow, and hunker down and pray for daylight the way I do. Every. Single. Month.

Men- you have NO idea how easy you have it, reproductively speaking. Although, to quote Mr. T- I pity the fool who lives with me during Hormonegeddon.

Help me Obi-Wan.

Day 35- Smile, its day 35

****The 30 day experiment of mostly cheese went so well that I am doing another round of 30 days****

Stats- Ate 2 oz cheese, habanero cheese sausage, bulletproof coffee, pistachios, cashews, almond biscotti. Calories- 1409. Weight- 0.1 lb down from yesterday, 7.8 lbs in 35 days.

Mysteriously, this is still working. Feel focused and happy. There really are no words.

 

Day 34- Better and better

****The 30 day experiment of mostly cheese went so well that I am doing another round of 30 days****

Stats- Ate pistachios, cashews, hazelnuts, plums, bulletproof coffee, cauliflower, lowcarb pita bread. Calories- 1268. Weight- Down 1.4 lbs from yesterday (thank you salt restriction!), 7.7 lbs lost in 34 days.

OK people, something magical has happened in the last almost five weeks. In the first couple of weeks I experienced appetite suppression and steady energy, allowing me to tackle a lot of stressful situations without my normal going-off-the-rails and gaining 10 pounds behaviors. The appetite suppression was gradual and I went back and forth between wanting to eat (and thus eating) a lot, and then not wanting to eat a lot.

Today, I was stunned because I breezed through salt free day without feeling like I was going to pass out. To those who just started reading this- I have to eat a lot of salt to keep my blood pressure up so I can function, and so I introduced a salt free day one day a week to try and minimize the potential damage to my health.

I ALWAYS had to salt load the day before, eating upwards of 5000 mg of salt (about two and a half times the recommended daily amount) in preparation. The salt free day was previously pure torture, but five weeks into the now misnamed mostly cheese, I did not want to salt load and handled salt free day like a champ.

I can only conclude that my salt/electrolyte balance has stabilized somehow as a result of this experiment, or that my body’s blood pressure regulation has improved. In either case, this is a huge health win.

Healthy blood pressure needs to be maintained in a range that should not be too low or too high, as either can lead to massive problems. I continue to be shocked at the benefits I am reaping from an experiment with rather facetious beginnings.

Day 33- Preparation

****The 30 day experiment of mostly cheese went so well that I am doing another round of 30 days****

Today is the day before my weekly salt-free day, so that’s what I am preparing for. I generally salt-load and that shows up as a gain on the scale (purely water weight, but we know how that does a number on us!).

Stats: Ate 2 oz cheese (out of an 8 oz block I put on my plate), bulletproof coffee, ice cream, hazelnuts, natural peanut butter, ciabatta bread (one serving because I was craving it), cauliflower, cucumbers. Calories- 1159. Activity- 1.5 hours walking with dogs and 45-ish minutes of yard work, mowing included. Weight- 0.5 lbs down from yesterday, 6.3 lbs in 33 days.

Looking over what and how much I ate when I had complete permission to eat to satisfaction- Holy Moly- the difference between pre- and post- mostly cheese is ah-maze-ing!

I did not need to salt load (although I will report on how tomorrow goes without salt), which makes me think my body is handling it’s electrolyte balance better than when I started. Yet another unexpected benefit.

Also, looking at the activity and calorie intake ratio is incredible. I normally need to eat a lot of calories when my activity levels go up even a bit, but apparently I have now convinced my body to use some of its fat reserves.

This is my body trusting me to take care of its needs, people. I have never been able to do a 1200 or even 1500 calorie ‘diet’- I am ravenous and give in to hunger by the end of day 2, always. Cannot focus, feel lightheaded, and obsessed with food. My food intake used to linger in the 2000 plus calorie range, and that was with reminding myself not to go to town on what I actually wanted to eat.

But now? I mean look at my stats- I do not need a constant stream of food, and honestly, I have to do a double take and make sure I add everything I ate to my food log. Again, this is not everyday, and on those days that my body says eat 4000 calories, or 2500 calories, I am going to indulge it, because that would be me trusting my body to balance input and output to function the best way it can.

One life, one body. Time to honor its needs.

Day 32- In cheese we trust

****The 30 day experiment of mostly cheese went so well that I am doing another round of 30 days****

Stats- Ate 4oz cream cheese (Valrhona chocolate cheesecake), bulletproof coffee, peach, hazelnuts (filberts), chunky natural peanut butter, cauliflower, chicken, beef, rum and diet coke. Calories- 1191. Activity- 1.5 hour walk with doggies. Weight- 0.1 lb down.

Trader Joe’s had this Fall Harvest salsa that has pumpkin in it- this went liberally on the beef I ate and it was awesome. A little less heat and more sweet than I like in my salsa, but good despite that.  The chocolate cheesecake is so dense and filling that eating it for breakfast kept me full till almost 4 pm.

I have to say that the body is a super smart being. It realized that I fed it 650 plus not so easily digested calories in one go, so it did not send out hunger signals until it actually was hungry. Probably afraid I would sling down another cream cheesy meal and that would mean extra work to digest it.

Force feeding my body a 200-300 calorie breakfast (whether it is begging for fewer or more calories) seems so ridiculous in hindsight. It starts the day out with stress for my body, for no reason other than no longer being in touch with its needs, or caring about its needs.

Remember this: When your body asks for food- give it an adequate portion (=however much food it takes to satisfy said body, not whatever portion you are supposed to give it) of something real and something it absolutely wants to eat.

On the flip side, if it is not hungry, don’t eat just because it is time for a meal.

That’s what it means to live the mostly cheese lifestyle. 🙂

 

Day 31- or day 1, round 2 of 30 days of mostly cheese

You might ask – What on earth is Day 31 doing on mostly cheese for 30 days?

Continuing the experiment, that’s what. Hence I named this day Day 1 of Round 2. Call me crazy, but I kind of like the sound of it.

Ask me how many times I have successfully stuck to any plan for 30 days, let alone 31.

OK, OK, no need to twist my arm, I’ll tell you. The answer is a big, fat zero. Let’s say that again. Zee. Roh.

What’s different this time? It is the utter freedom from guilt, low energy and major food preoccupation. It is the freedom from believing that X or Y or Z is terrible for ALL humans. Dairy is NOT terrible for me. I’m not saying that it isn’t terrible for other people with other genes, but for me, it is manna. It makes me feel good and makes my body run like a well oiled and happy machine.

This is what food is supposed to do, be fuel and building blocks for our bodies and mind. This has been a gateway for getting healthier in all ways. My skin and mind are both clear.

Enough pontificating. Here is my record for today.

Stats- Ate 4 oz cheese (cream cheese in the most delicious chocolate cheesecake known to humans- two words, Valrhona cocoa), pistachios, cashews, habanero cheese sausage, bulletproof coffee, peach. Calories- 1636. Activity- hour walk with doggies. Weight – 0.3 lbs up from yesterday because water weight from incredible amounts of salt. This and more will come off in a couple of days.

Off to live my life now- thank you mostly cheese.

Day 30- So much success!

Fact- I will do another 30 days of mostly cheese.

Fun fact- I lost 6 pounds in 30 days of mostly cheese with no painful control hijinks. Energy, mood and creativity were amazing.

Today, I only managed to eat 1104 calories while free feeding- no need to weigh, measure or superhumanly control food. When I have a 4000 calorie day (and I have had one in the past 30 days, along with 2000 calorie days) I will not panic and assume all is lost. Because I don’t need to.

I am still in shock.

Tomorrow starts the next 30 days of this experiment – let’s see what these bring.

Stay tuned- I will keep recording. This is really getting good now.