Pizza

We had company last night, so we ordered pizza. After you've gone all day without eating, it's important to eat food that satisfies. Some days, that can be fruits and vegetables (I find I crave these every day, and the more of them I eat, within reason, the better I feel), and sometimes you get stuck eating pizza.

Don't get me wrong, at times a pizza is great. But last night, the pizza merely took up some space in my stomach, didn't taste all that good, and left me feeling like my body was patiently wanting / waiting for me to feed it something else, something it wasn't getting from pizza.

The problem is that, you only know if your body is satisfied by your food choices after you've eaten, and once you've eaten, if you made an unsatisfying choice, you are full, so it's a sort of game over situation, at least until the next day.

Are all Fasting Hours Equal in Terms of Calories Burned?

Dinner started at 6:15 PM. I wonder if all fasting hours are equal, or if, for example, the the last fasting hour burns more fat calories than all the others? I don't know, but I would guess this is the case. For example, the first hour of fasting is not likely to burn much in the way of fat calories, as the body is still digesting and circulating sugars from eating. But at the end of the 19 hour period, I should be burning mostly fat calories. Thus, it may be of critical importance to hit the 19 hours per day of fasting....

Falling into a routine...?

Maybe I'm falling into a routine. Eat at 5 PM, done with eating by 8 or 8:30 PM. Have some vegetables (at minimum V8) and two servings of fruit (blueberries and a banana) along with some orange juice. If it is a routine that I'm slipping into, its not a bad routine.

Sunday

5 PM could not come fast enough today. I felt like I was starving. This occasionally happens, and when it does, it's not fun. I did some chi kung to pass the time, and then when 5 PM hit, I had some salami. On days like today, I find something greasy and full of protein seems to calm the stomach down. Pepperoni also works well, and can be bought pre-sliced. Time to go eat some blue berries.

Saturday

It's the weekend. The diet seems tougher on weekends. So I read in the early afternoon and then took a nap. When I woke up, it was 5 PM, and time to eat. Now I feel rested and full. Woot!

Convict Conditioning

Didn't eat dinner until 6 - steamed vegetables tasted especially good tonight along with the V8 juice and steak. Before dinner, I did some stage 1 pushups and leg raises from the book Convict Conditioning. Stage 1 is deceptively easy, so it builds confidence and the ability to enjoy and savor the exercises, in a moment by moment, in the moment, way. I was surprised the last time I did these exercises that I had some residual soreness the next day. Convict Conditioning will be an interesting experiment in the months ahead.

Back on the Wagon

Jumped back on the diet today. 3PM was tough, so I went for a walk, and bought some V8 and a sandwich so that I'd have food when the window opened. At 5 PM, I wasn't that hungry. So I went until 6:30 pm before eating. Distraction, coupled with a smidgen of will power, can work wonders.