No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Where are you and where are you going?
sky
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by sky »

Fasting

I continued to experiment with fasting combined with healthy eating this month, and was able to lose 15 pounds in January. Since mid November i have lost 30 pounds of body weight and am getting close to my target.

My main strategy has been one meal a day combined with alternate day fasting, in other words, eat once every 48 hours. This seems to offer the best weight loss potential with the least suffering. I am able to average about a half pound of weight loss per day. It is difficult but not as difficult as two day fasting.

I generally eat an evening meal of a bowl of vegetable-bean soup, a piece of homemade whole wheat bread with cheese and fruit. I do eat other foods and ate restaurant food twice this month for social reasons. Some days, due to hunger, I eat a lunch of fruit in addition to the evening meal. I also break down and eat dessert and snacks on some meal days. I have been pretty much firm on consuming nothing but water on fast days.

I suspect I will have to continue with one meal a day after I reach my body weight goal in order to maintain my weight. It is very easy to gain weight if you are not careful what you eat. One meal a day is convenient and not really that difficult. I am hoping the hunger level will not be as bad when eating every day.

I don't recommend fasting if you can avoid it, there are moments of painful, desperate hunger which you have to endure. In my case I believe that the health benefits of living at a lower body weight will be higher than the temporary pain of losing the body weight, so I endure.

theanimal
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by theanimal »

In my experience, fasting is most difficult when one's diet consists of primarily consuming fruits/vegetables/other carbohydrates. The body uses these as more of a regular supply of energy and processes them much more quickly then food options that are more energy dense. So without regular intervals of consumption, intense hunger ensues. I started fasting when I was vegan and would have a very difficult time as I would be intensely hungry as you experience. My body was geared up for regular energy supply and when I told it to go off of reserves it didn't know what to do. Now I eat A LOT more fats and very, very rarely experience hunger, even when fasting.

That being said, fasting does get easier with time and your body may adjust with continued practice to make it a more pleasant experience.

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Lemur
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by Lemur »

Fats slow down gastric emptying, in other words, you'll feel fuller longer. Definitely recommend adding in some avocados and more nuts & seeds to up the healthy fats. Generally I do a handful of nuts and add chia seed / flax seed to foods.

Congratulations on the progress Sky!

Another thing that can be very handy is consuming a very high fiber intake...it takes some adjustment but this also solves the hunger issue. Example today was my lunch was 4 russet potatoes...kept me full for hours. Most days I have to force myself to eat to get my necessary calories...and that is to maintain my weight.

I vaguely recall reading something a long time ago that says its very hard to develop adherence to ADF (alternate day fasting) in the long run. Daily time-restricted feeing daily is much easier to adhere to and you get a lot of the same benefits that come with long-term fasting. Just have to keep up the healthy dietary habits gained from the weight loss to maintain the loss.

guitarplayer
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by guitarplayer »

From personal experience, I would sign up for both what @theanimal and @Lemur are saying. I go the fiber way at the moment. Also, add to that whole meal, so for example, I barely ever eat bread which is essentially ground grain with salt, very easy for the stomach to digest all at once. But I cook myself barley and oats and eat them. Digesting them is harder compared to bread so it takes stomach longer and I feel fuller for longer. Also, from whole meal also there is possibly something left for your helpers who live in the intestines.

sky
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by sky »

I tried following my previous procedure of alternate day fasting with one exception, eating about 1/2 cup of walnuts at 5 pm of what would otherwise have been the fast day. I did not notice any hunger that evening, so it is a big improvement over eating nothing. Time will tell if I continue to lose weight using the walnut dinner method. I will report back if I reach any conclusion.

sky
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by sky »

I have been enjoying "winter cabin life" here in my home in the city. Every once and awhile I will light the woodstove because it provides a nice warm glow, it is so nice to bask in the heat. Snowy nights and a glowing stove.

We had a few weeks of warm weather with no snow on the roads, so I started to do food delivery gig work again. My main motivations were to get out of the house, talk to people, see what is going on around town. I have been learning how to do this and am finding that food and grocery delivery can be quite lucrative if you learn your market. My small town is not great for delivery, but I live about a half hour from a larger area (Grand Rapids/Holland) and it seems I can make about $20 per hour or more. There may be a potential for more as I learn more about the market. If anyone is interested in food delivery to make money, let me know and I will put together a 101 on how to get started. My goals are: 1. make enough money to cover all car expenses for the year. 2. Save enough to replace my car if needed. 3. Save enough to have fun camping over the summer.

I am working on sewing a sailing rig for my boat, a double masted schooner junk rig. Thanks to my food delivery income, I have been able to outifit my boat gear as well as my backpacking gear and I am just waiting for the right weather to start spending time outside. In order to test my canoe, I need the water to warm up a bit, I am afraid of hypothermia if I fall in while testing, and part of testing is pushing the limits to see what makes the canoe capsize.

Winter cabin life means a lot of sitting around and dreaming about what to do in warmer weather. My plans are to backpack sections of the North Country Trail and document water sources on the trail. I will also test out my canoe and do some canoe camping. I hope to identify local areas where foraging is possible, in particular I am interested in nettles and ramps. If I find a good source of nettles, my plan is to harvest and dry a years supply of nettle tea/broth. I hope to do a lot of walking in wilderness areas and will try to learn to identify some new forage plants.

I am at my target body weight and am focused on maintaining my weight at this level. If I gain some weight, I fast for a day and switch to one meal a day until I get back to my target weight.

I have been batch cooking and using up my food stored in the freezer. In February, I only had to cook once. I am working on a veggie chili recipe which is coming along nicely. I think I could be satisfied eating this chili as the main meal every day. I get about 6 servings when I cook, so I don't have to cook much. Currently more than half of my food intake is made up of vegetables and beans cooked from dry beans. This is a significant improvement for me because this type of diet is extremely frugal, in addition to being healthy.

I bought some fabric and will buy some insulation to make a new set of backpacking quilts based on everything I have learned from my previous set of quilts. I will make one quilt as a summer quilt, and a second quilt for cooler temperatures, and the two quilts can be combined for cold weather.

That is about all, not that much going on at the moment, just hanging out at home waiting for warm weather.

NewBlood
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by NewBlood »

Hi Sky,
Your life sounds very peaceful and full of contentment :-)

sky
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by sky »

That is the goal, make decisions to maximize long term happiness. From the financial perspective of a retiree, I have enough income to be able to choose what to do with my time and energy every day. To be successful and happy, I only need the motivation and discipline to do the things I decide to do.

NewBlood
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by NewBlood »

Sounds like a very good life design!

sky
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by sky »

Things to Do

My "Things to Do" list is written on a pocket sized spiral notebook, the type with the spiral at the top. I put a short pencil in the spiral and list the things I need to get done when I think of them. I am finishing up another notebook so transitioning to a new "Things to Do" notebook is a big event. My current notebook lasted over a year.

Transitioning into Spring

Changing over from Winter Cabin Life to Outside Maintenance Work. Getting a lot of stuff done, such as mulching the garden, touch up paint on window trim, new vent fan in the camper van, checking and repairing the irrigation system, cleaning gutters, various car maintenance and repair, spreading 2021 compost, closing up 2022 compost pile and starting 2023 compost pile. I got about 3 wheelbarrows of rich dark compost from a year of kitchen scrap collection. I have also done some work on my sailing canoe and when it warms up a bit will start rowing. I have not done as much walking or biking as I would like because I don't have much energy after doing the maintenance stuff. I tend to get aches and pains from odd movements, climbing ladders, crawling under cars and lifting things, but at least its exercise. It still is cool and we have had snow recently, so we are not into good weather yet, but its almost here. I think I have most of the spring maintenance stuff done, although there is no end to what could be done. Now I can start doing fun stuff along with the usual ongoing maintenance stuff.

Diet Health

I have been able to maintain my body weight in my weight window (target weight to (target weight + 5 pounds)). My goal is to do this without day fasts or multiday fasts. So far it is working although I tend to stay at the upper end of the window. My vices are evening snacking, chocoholism (addiction to chocolate) and cake and cookies with tea. For the most part I am doing OK but it is so easy to gain a half a pound a day. Eventually I would like to lower my target weight by about 20 pounds, but if I do that it would require slow weight loss combined with exercise. For now my goal is to maintain at the current level, which in itself is an accomplishment.

Fun Stuff

I have to admit that some of my hobby goals involve suffering, such as sleeping outside in rain and cold, and exercising to the extreme. I have not started to do much fun stuff this Spring other than riding my bike a few times. It is coming, but I am starting to feel old and question the sufferfest aspect. I may scale back the goals and try to enjoy the warm weather in comfort. Sitting at home during winter and dreaming of big adventures is all well and good, but actually going out there and dealing with the pain and discomfort is something else.

Screen Time

I have fallen back into too much screen time, sitting in a lounge chair looking at a phone. This is OK in winter but my screen time has increased to the point of me feeling yucky about it. I think the answer is to go outside and do stuff. Motivation!

Gig Apps

I stopped doing food delivery gig apps, the offers started to be low dollar amounts and there are not as many offers available. I was able to pay for new brakes and exhaust on my car. I like the idea that I can use my car to make money to pay for gas and repairs. I only made about minimum wage for my own time, but at least the car is in good maintenance for a while. I actually enjoy doing deliveries, I get to talk to people, get outside, drive around town and see what is going on. I may start doing delivery again if it picks up. I have applied for a another job but not heard back. I'm not sure I really want a job but applied out of boredom sitting around at home during winter.

Focus on Social Behavior

I have observed behavior in the people around me that causes me to avoid those persons: communicating in an annoying, criticizing or cruel way.

This behavior might come from a number of causes:
- response to trauma, past wounds.
- a learned behavior, through upbringing and socialization.
- self definition of identity.
- illness, pain, physiological causes.

In order to develop my own personality and social connections, my goal is to focus on projecting a character of kindness, compassion, caring and diplomacy. My goal is to escape the negative influences of past trauma and bad learned behavior, and rise above any pain to be a kind person who is pleasant to communicate with.

Western Red Cedar
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by Western Red Cedar »

sky wrote:
Mon Apr 24, 2023 9:28 am
My "Things to Do" list is written on a pocket sized spiral notebook, the type with the spiral at the top. I put a short pencil in the spiral and list the things I need to get done when I think of them. I am finishing up another notebook so transitioning to a new "Things to Do" notebook is a big event. My current notebook lasted over a year.
I track my weight-lifting in a small spiral notebook and it always feels like such a great accomplishment every time I complete one of those. It is basically a sign of commitment and perseverance as I can't complete more than one page in the notebook each day.

I hope you enjoy the emerging spring weather and that it allows you to experience more nature, and less screen time.

guitarplayer
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by guitarplayer »

sky wrote:
Mon Apr 24, 2023 9:28 am
In order to develop my own personality and social connections, my goal is to focus on projecting a character of kindness, compassion, caring and diplomacy. My goal is to escape the negative influences of past trauma and bad learned behavior, and rise above any pain to be a kind person who is pleasant to communicate with.
It is quite a coincidence that I have been focusing on something along these lines since the past few weeks. Thanks for sharing!

sky
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by sky »

Some techniques that I am using this month:

When feeling the need for chocolate, I eat an apple or two, and try to wait before going for the chocolate. Usually hunger goes away after eating an apple. This method does not always work but sometimes it does.

I now charge my phone at a different location than my lounge chair. I still allow myself to use the phone while sitting in the lounge chair, but to do so I need to go upstairs to the charging location and get it. Then when done using it, I need to bring it to the charging station. This reduces obsessive screen watching.

This is related to the charging station technique, I now check my email and messages only once or twice a day. I like being somewhat disconnected in this way.

Still batch cooking vegetable-bean soup, and my recipe is improving quite a bit. My typical daily diet: Morning: oats, walnuts and dates as muesli with water. Mid-day: trail mix (nuts, dried fruit) with prunes, banana and/or apple. Evening: vegetable-bean soup, salad. I am still an occasional omnivore, usually if I eat meat it is to be social with others. I am still successfully maintaining body weight.

I have had my canoe out and tested it with 150 lbs ballast in water bags, it was very stable but slower than without ballast. So I need to find the sweet spot between heavy/stable and light/speedy. I am working on getting the canoe set up as a sailing canoe. I am pretty close to testing it out. Still somewhat cautious because of cold water, I expect that test sailing will eventually result in capsize, so trying to be careful.

We are doing the big purge garage sale this week.

Henry
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by Henry »

sky wrote:
Mon Apr 24, 2023 9:28 am
My goal is to escape the negative influences of past trauma and bad learned behavior, and rise above any pain to be a kind person who is pleasant to communicate with.
IMHO - there is no escape and there is no rising above. That shit is embodied. They are parts of you and they don't like being ignored. Not to mention escaping and rising above is grueling. It wears you down. You got to talk to them. Like they are another person. Think about a person who has been traumatized. You think they like being ignored? Do you think they like being told to rise above it? Well that's how you are treating parts of yourself. Shit needs to be addressed. And anyways, what good is being a pleasant person to communicate with when you got all shit festering inside you. That is distinctly US Southern ie. as long as you're polite, everything is OK. Doesn't matter if you just got buggered by the local chapter of the KKK under a burning cross, as long as you clean up afterwards and hold your fork correctly at dinner, nothing happened despite the fact that you have a leaky asshole and possibly AIDS. I'm not telling you to become someone like myself who lives a life of continuous verbal altercations both on-line and off. That's not for everyone. I'm just saying I'd much rather talk to an honest person than a pleasant person. And that's besides the point, as you're deluding yourself into thinking you are escaping or rising above. You are not. You are avoiding and suppressing.

chenda
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by chenda »

Henry wrote:
Thu May 18, 2023 3:56 pm
Shit needs to be addressed.
How does one do that ?

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mountainFrugal
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by mountainFrugal »

sky wrote:
Thu May 18, 2023 1:22 pm
Still somewhat cautious because of cold water, I expect that test sailing will eventually result in capsize, so trying to be careful.
Do you always test until it capsizes to understand the limits prior to taking it on a trip?

sky
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by sky »

Yes, if a small sailboat is new to me. I need to know if I can reboard in open water, and how much it takes to push her over, both from my weight and from sail pressure.

2Birds1Stone
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by 2Birds1Stone »

Can you wear a wetsuit of some sort for this exercise?

sky
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by sky »

A drysuit is often worn while kayaking. I may get one, it would be a good idea.

Henry
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Re: No Time Like Right Now - sky's journal

Post by Henry »

chenda wrote:
Thu May 18, 2023 4:35 pm
How does one do that ?
I have a belief system tethered to a therapeutic model that is highly esoteric and not worth the waste of pixelation.

But I think an important question to ask oneself is whether past trauma is experienced as recollection or reality. If it's experienced as reality and not let's say, memory, being a pleasant conversationalist is commensurate to not worrying about being in the presence of a stick of dynamite because its fuse is not lit. I think the first step is engaging in conversation with the part that holds the past trauma and not having some other part talk over it. No one likes being talked over.

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