Day 96
April 13, 2009
D and I are now both at the same weight, separated by about one pound and both heading toward the same goal weight of 145 pounds. We’re hoping to begin transitioning, the three week period of slowly introducing food that moves us into maintenance by the first of July. I won’t be surprised if D makes that goal but I suspect it’s going to take me a little longer to reach because of my body’s resistence to releasing the weight. I actually don’t know if there’s a natural weight for my body since I haven’t weighed that number since….well….it was probably when I was still in grade school around the age of 12 or 13. While 145 pounds is a reasonable weight for my age and height how reasonable it is given my weight history might well be another story. Additionally if I force my weight lower than is natural for it then it means maintaining that weight could potentially require too restrictive of a food and exercise plan for me to adhere to with any consistency in the long run. It’s not that I don’t intend to be very intentional around building on the lifestyle changes I’ve already made over the past eight years that have led to a total weight loss of nearly 150 pounds but I have no interest in feeling deprived around my food or always driven to do more in terms of exercise. My goal is to create a healthy way to live where I can enjoy my food, continue to strengthen my body, and maintain my weight and this time of fasting is allowing me (and D) the time to consider all that and then plan for how it’s going to work. So ultimately I’m going to keep doing this fast through June and then in consultation with the doctor’s determine what body weight is right for me. For now, it’s just fasting one day at a time and letting tomorrow and where this all leads take care of itself.
After more than three months for me and five for D, we have a real system to this whole fasting thing. When it comes to the liquid protein there are a number of ways to make and consume them. Most people mix the supplement with water and a little ice in a shaker and then gulp it down. Ugh. Not me. When I need to eat a supplement on the go I just mix a supplement package with just enough sugar-free syrup to give it a cookie dough or cake batter like consistency so I can eat it with a spoon. My favorite combo this way is the vanilla supplement mixed a little sugar-free lemon custard extract and a splash of sugar-free coconut syrup. I know. You’re drooling at the thought, aren’t you? But most of the time and especially when I’m making supplements for both of us I make the supplements in a way that by appearance, texture, and taste are just like soft serve ice cream. Seriously, they’re delicious! I’ll take a chocolate-flavored supplement that has already been pre-mixed and frozen with a can of Diet Chocolate Soda and putting it into the blender I’ll whip it with added flavorings (D’s favorite is Chocolate – Peanut Butter, mine is Chocolate – Pomegranate). Yummy! Right now, our freezer has about 30 individual frozen shakes that we’ll end up whipping and eating throughout the week. I just finished making them in a little session I refer to as “Blender Madness” and because we go through 10 shakes each day between the two of us, Blender Madness comes around every week or less. So far we’ve burned out the engine or worn out the parts on about five blenders though we’ve only paid for three of them since Bed, Bath and Beyond has actually allowed us to replace the old ones with new ones when it’s been within a reasonable time frame.
I look forward to the day when our blenders will be reserved for homemade salad dressings and purred soups. Sigh….oh happy day!
Posted in Liquid Fast
