Fasting Mimicking Diet - Day 2 & 3
I’m out - but not for the reasons you might think. In the past, if I didn’t make it through the end of a fast or cleanse, it was because of will power. This time, it’s because I discovered that the 5-day meal plan that I chose does not follow the guidelines for Dr. Valter Longo’s Fasting Mimicking Diet. Day 1 of the diet should equal 1100 calories with 500 coming from complex carbohydrates, 500 from healthy fats, and 100 from a vegan protein source.
The macros were a little off, possibly because I substituted macadamia nuts for almonds, but the calorie count was way off. Even by completely disregarding the portion size for dinner (1 cup of vegetables) and making a HUGE bowl of veggies, and adding two packets of Four Sigmatic Cacao to satisfy my chocolate dragon, I was still 300 calories short - on an already calorie restricted plan.
I felt fine when I went to bed but by then, I had decided that I would be modifying the diet for the next four days and trying again with a different meal plan next month. I don’t have the expertise to create a plan that fits the guidelines and Valter Longo strongly recommends that anyone who wants to do the program with whole food instead of the packaged kit, do so with the assistance of a nutritionist. I could probably figure it out with an investment of quite a bit of time. Maybe I’ll do that someday, but not this time. I’m going to follow the general outline of the diet:
Mostly vegan - some fish
Calorie restricted - between 800-1100 calories per day
Low protein - limit to small amounts of protein - beans, nuts, or fish
These changes might not shift my body into a fasting state; however, I do expect they will still have some benefits:
Creating a break in habitual eating patterns
Calorie deficit
No sugar
lots of nutrients from plant sources
Day 2 Meal Plan with Modifications
Breakfast: Herbal tea or black, decaf coffee (unsweetened) and a small piece of fruit, such as an apple or pear. Modified: Herbal tea or black coffee with Bulletproof Collagen Peptides
Lunch: A cup of clear vegetable broth with added diced vegetables. Modified: 1.5 cups of lentil soup (vegan), 1/2 avocado, 12 rice crackers
Snack: Celery sticks with ¼ cup of hummus. (snack is OK but I wasn't hungry in the afternoon so I didn't eat it)
Dinner: A cup of low-salt, broth-based lentil or vegetable soup. Modified: 1 cup roasted vegetables with brown rice or quinoa & 1 tbsp olive oil
*this is not what I ended up having for dinner, for reasons you'll read below. What I actually had was 1 cup roasted veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, radishes), 1/2 cup sweet potato, 3 oz brisket
Im writing this at almost 4 in the afternoon. I’ve had my lunch. I’m not hungry but I’m tired and want to take a nap. I NEVER take naps! I’m craving chocolate and I’m feeling a little crabby. My nutrition tracking app is yelling at me because I’m not eating enough calories. I haven’t even made it to the end of day two yet and I want to give up. Why am I doing this again????
UPDATE: 6 p.m.
My decision to discontinue has been reinforced by the fact that I went out to put my chickens to bed and the coops were already closed up. “Nice,” I thought. “Mark did my chores for me.”
Nope!
I had done my morning chores at 7 this morning: filled the empty chicken feed buckets, checked for eggs, filled their feed and water dishes, fed the barn cats and Rosie the barn chicken, but somehow, I forgot to open the coops!!!
Poor Pretty Boy and the girls were locked in their coops all day with no access to food or water:( I feel horrible but everyone seems fine. When I realized my mistake I brought food and water to the coops. It's too dark to let them out now, they'd be at risk of predation and they are creatures of habit. At sundown they roost. Nobody made a move to eat or drink but they’ve got food and water in their coops for the night so they’ll have it when they wake up at 4 a.m., and don’t have to wait for sunrise, when I can let them out.
I am spacey and forgetful enough without adding “fasting brain” on top of it. I still need to be able to function!
New plan = go back to my "pre-holiday" way of eating: Before noon - coffee with MCT and/or collagen peptides and bone broth only. After noon - lots of veggies, small amounts of healthy fats, mix of plant and animal proteins, and a glass of wine and piece of chocolate after dinner. This was working. I feel good, am not hungry, have energy, my digestion is good and I don't feel bloated, AND I've slowly (but steadily) lost over 15 pounds.
As for my other New Year's Intentions, I have gotten up a little early and done a gentle yoga practice every morning and have started working on the changes I'll be making to my massage practice and business in the coming months.
Yesterday I edited an article for the Green Lotus Yoga & Healing Center blog. It was about how to be successful with your New Year's Resolutions. One of the key points was being able to reevaluate and shift your plan if your original goal wasn't realistic or attainable. It's easy to become single minded and focused, prioritizing reaching the goal you've set over the benefits you were hoping to see from reaching that goal. Sometimes, you set a goal and find out that it's not in your best interest. It's important to be able to recognize that and give yourself the grace to let it go without feeling like you've failed.
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