EngelFish.Net

For a while there I was a fan of *crossover* country music, and Mary Chapin Carpenter was one of my favorites. A standard on my iPod rotation had the line, “sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.” Yesterday, I was the bug. I was fasting, which is normal for my Mondays, but it didn’t go well. I spent most of the day obsessing over food, which is unusual for me. By the time Samara and I were both home, I was tired, cranky, and had no energy. My “meh” attitude didn’t help perk her up either (she’d had a good, but long day herself), and contributed to a “quiet time please” mood in the house. I finished adding a couple of new treads to the staircase to Mom’s apartment, with only two minor power-tool related injuries, but it took everything I had to do so. Afterward, I was too worn out to enjoy even doggie-play-time.

I realized that the fast was not improving the quality of my day, so I bagged it and ate. That was a good decision. What I ended up eating was not. I am following the Dukan Diet, and I’m down twenty pounds so far. Similar to Atkins, it focuses on lean protein and considers carbs to be off limits. In addition to foods that were Dukan-friendly, I also ate two slices of thin crust pizza, an apple granola bar, and an entire box of sugar-free/fat-free pudding. With a belly full of food, and now feeling both sluggish *and* guilty, I opted to go to bed early.

Those decisions were both bad for my diet. I could beat myself up over the slip, or I can roll with it. I’m choosing the latter. I know that I’ll get more accomplished, and make more progress toward my goals, by remaining positive and focusing on what I can do right now. Worrying about the past just isn’t worth it. Going to sleep on a carb-filled tummy has an upside… I’m plenty peppy today! I have a three mile run, a yoga class, and a massage scheduled today, so I can put that pep to good use.

As Winston Churchill said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” Yesterday I was the bug, but today I am the windshield.

For the last two years or so, I have semi-consistently done a liquid fast one day a week, consuming at least 3 quarts of liquid during the fast (diet soda, seltzer, water, coffee, and tea, but nothing with sugar). I started this habit as part of a weight-loss plan. My thinking was, and still is, that if I burn 2,000 to 3,000 calories a day (which I believe is reasonable if you exercise for 45 minutes daily) then by not eating one day a week I am positioning myself to either not gain (or to lose) almost a pound a week.

This assumes that I am eating a well balanced healthy diet the rest of the week, and that I don’t binge when I come off the fast. Some weeks I eat what I believe is a very healthy diet. Realistically, I eat too well on the weekends occasionally and I’m only breaking even for the week. Regardless, I have found that fasting is relatively easy for me. I don’t seem to get particularly hungry, and I only infrequently notice that my energy level drops at the very end of my fast day (which makes it that much easier for me to get to sleep, which is a nice side benefit).

I can’t speak to “clearer thinking” or “detoxification” that some folks claim to experience, but I can say that I do feel better when I follow this approach. It could be all in my mind (is psychosomatic the correct word here?), but it is nevertheless how I feel.

After doing some reading recently, I’ve found that our bodies take roughly 24 hours to use up the available glucose supply. After that period, our body begins pulling glycerol from our fat stores and breaking down muscle tissue to provide the necessary glucose for our brain and red blood cells. By the third day of a fast our body chemistry changes and we go into ketosis, which allows our body to burn/convert fat to provide the glucose for our brains. This process is, I believe, a cornerstone to the effectiveness of protein heavy diets like Atkins. This makes me wonder if I should try either extending my fast from one to two days weekly, or doing a three day fast once a month.

While I enjoy the weight-loss benefits of fasting, my primary interest is in how it affects my general energy level. My goal is to have the vim-and-vigor to work toward my goals every day, and I’m wondering if tweaking my current approach would be an improvement. I would be interested in hearing what you think, especially if you’ve tried anything like this yourself.

It’s always good to go to bed a bit wiped out on Sunday night.  In the past, I’d always get a bit of the “dreads” on Sunday night, knowing that I had to get up in the morning and go back to work.  Now, as my own boss building two businesses, the “Sunday Dreads” are gone.  I fully enjoy my weekends, right up to the last minute when I put head to pillow.  Sure, there are stresses along the way, some of them even pretty major, but my day-to-day life has been far happier on average these past few months than back during my corporate life.  I’ve read, and believed, that you cannot control what happens to you in life, but you can control how you respond.  Sometimes, you just have a great weekend, and I’m choosing to respond to this one by being grateful that it happened.  I hope yours was a terrific weekend too!

IMAGE:  Dinner Sunday night was at Red Robin at Brier Creek in Raleigh, after an afternoon hanging out at the pool with Taryn, Baron, Jen, Kendall, and Kelly.  I snapped off a few shots while waiting for my pineapple  & jerked chicken sandwich.  These are Baron’s hands, and wedding ring.  And to think he met Jen only a year ago today!

This is an interesting NYTimes article on Absinthe.  Long illegal in the US because previous recipies contained a toxic chemical, it will finally be returning to our stores.  Viridian Spirits is marketing it under the brand name Lucid (LucidDrink.com).  Reformulated to remove the offending substance, tweak the flavor for the American palate, and maintain the distinct anise taste, this 124-proof alcohol is sure to be the hit of the summer cocktail crowd.  I was able to try Absinthe in South Africa last year, and can attest to it’s unique appeal.  While it is initially being released in NYC, it will be coming to a liquor store near you sometime soon.  I’d recommend sampling a glass with a friend.  You won’t be disappointed.