Fast day 1 Thurs Apr 28 2010 202 lbs

Back again. Have put back on some poundage. Was up to 210 at one point and got that down with Mcdougalling. Now to get back to fighting shape. Fasted yesterday. Pretty good. And the sleep good as always after fasting.

Friday Jan 2 2009 190 lbs

I'm baaaaaaacckkkk. So mid November really threw me off the ADF bandwagon and had trouble getting back on although I tried. Jan 2 I decided to re-start. I had enough food and drink the last month and half to live off of for many fasts.

I had a good fasting day. It felt good to go to bed with an empty stomach if you believe it. Sleep is much more peaceful when you are not digesting food. I had forgotten how it felt. Also waking up after fasting is great. You feel rested and ready to eat something. Your body feels somehow grounded or re-set.

I also packed on about 10 pounds or so and hope to get them off. I was starting to feel my pants get tighter and that light on your feet feeling starting to disappear. OK so I am ready to the next run of ADFing. Let's see how long I can keep going.

Update Jan 3 9 P.M.: Made some good dinner that I have to post....
1. Brown a cut up chicken in P.C.
2. Take out chicken, add diced onion to pot and cook.
3. Add back chicken pieces, 1/2 cup of chicken broth (homemade), chopped celery, carrot, mushroom, one small can tomato sauce, one 16 oz can chopped tomatoes (drained), one half can tomato paste, dried "italian herbs", garlic powder, a little red wine.
4. Bring to pressure and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Release pressure and serve chicken and sauce with cooked ORZO.

This was good stuff.

Fasting day 27 Nov 23 2008 Weight Unknown

So I missed a couple of no-eat days (for the first time). I had to drive to DC for a meeting. It started on an eat day but I drove home on a fast day. But I couldn't not eat while on the road. So then I made even the next day after an eat day. But I picked up the fasting routine after that. Todays fast was pretty good.

I made Moroccan vegetable stew with couscous tonight. Here is what I did.
Saute onions in pressure cooker for 10 min until very soft.
Add one cut up potato, sweet potato, celery, carrots.
Add about 4-5 cups homemade vegetable broth.
Salt pepper, a little tumeric, cinnamon, 2 threads saffron, a little red pepper.
One small can of tomato sauce.
Bring to pressure for 10-15 minutes, release pressure.
Add one cut up zuccini and a can of chick peas (rinsed).
Put lid back on half way and bring to simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Serve with couscous.

Will eat this for lunch today.

Fasting day 24 Nov 15 2008 183 lbs.

I'm gaining weight? How is it possible? Maybe I'm eating too much rich food. I will try to eat large quantities of lean healthy food from now on on eat days.

I really really want to break the 180 pound barrier. Must say though, that I feel pretty good today and i think I look lean. I still haven't cheated since I began ADF, BTW.

Cooking-wise I made some vegetable soup. My kid likes soups. I also made those chicken "nuggets" again. Let me provide the recipe:

Take one chicken breast half. Cut it on the bias at about 1/4 inch thick starting from the thick end (the top part of the breast). Season each slice with salt pepper and "italian seasoning" (my favorite). Dredge in seasoned flour, then dip in egg then cover with seasoned bread crumbs. Deep fry for a few minutes or so. EAT. These come out pretty good usually. And really not that much more difficult to make than processed kind (provided you have a deep fryer full of oil ready to go, which I do). I like starting with ingredients that I can recognize. Those bagged nuggets scare me a little. They are most likely made from odds and ends that were not pretty enough for another purpose. Hmmm.

Fasting day 22 Nov 11 2008 180.5 lbs.

So I seem to be stuck at this weight. Also I seem to be more hungry in the evenings of no-eat days than before. Could it be that my body is trying to hold on to this weight?

I have concluded that I should eat more on eat days.

Although it seems to be getting more difficult I plan to continue. I like the weight loss effect. I have not been at this weight since the early 90s so I feel much different. Going up stairs, running around is much easier. Did some push ups and sit ups in the evening. These also seem to be easier as well. And stretching my hamstrings. Am I more flexible than before? Could be.

Yesterday I made beef stew in the PC. I didn't have the seasoning mix so I winged it. It came out good. I used the standard technique but included a small can of tomato sauce in the liquid (and some red wine). Added my usual "Italian Herbs" mix. I took a pic but forgot to transfer to the computer. Will post it later. OK I did.

Fasting day 21 Nov 9 2008 180.5 lbs.

Nothing remarkable to report. I seem to be hanging around at this weight. I will be happy when I break below the 180 barrier. Not cooking anything of note lately. Not that the stuff that I DO cook is exceptionally noteworthy. When I make something I like I will post it however.

I guess i should mention that I am noticing the weight loss in terms of day to day stuff like going up stairs or just walking. I feel lighter on my feet for sure. My pants that were too tight before now fit just right, maybe even a little loose now. I don't know if that is because they have stretched out or because I am losing weight. Probably both. I will have to get some new pants eventually. I will get some good raw demin jeans.

Fasting day 19 Nov 5 2008 180.5 lbs.

Lets talk about fries. They are a good whole food. Potatoes. Some salt and ketchup. What could be better? ADF is the only diet where you can eat them as much as you want and still lose weight. All you Atkinsers can't eat 'em. And you low fatters too (unless you bake them).

So how do you make them at home? Dont' get the bagged ones from the frozen food section at the supermarket. Those have oil in them already and other things to stabilize them like starches and stuff. Start with potatoes. Much easier and cheaper. In the case below I tried sweet potatoes. Peel them and cut them up into uniform fry shapes. Oh and you need a little home deep fryer. These are cheap. I have one that can cook one potato worth of fries at a time. Any more and the oil cools down too much. But this is enough for me.

So get the oil good and hot in your fryer. Put the freshly peeled and cut potato pieces in. Let 'em go until the just start to turn a very light golden color. Take 'em out and drain on paper towel. Let them rest for about 10 minutes or so. They continue to cook on the inside this way. Then when you are ready to eat, just put them back in to the oil until they get a deep golden color. I usually do this after I flip the burger that I am making. That way the burger and fries are done at the same time. Take the fries out, drain and salt them immediately.

I save the oil in the fryer and use it again until I feel that it has been used enough. Then only exchange a fraction of it. The old oil makes the fries taste better.

BTW a good no-eat day today. Better than the previous one.

Fasting day 18 Nov 3 2008 182 lbs

Missed a few posts...all is going well with ADFing. Haven't cheated yet. Made some great vegetarian minestrone soup yesterday. Vegetable broth was made in the pressure cooker using the usual leftover carrots onions celery (plus a half a tomato, and some cilantro, and some green onions). Throw in a handful of peppercorns. Cooked at high pressure for 1 hour then turned off heat and let sit while we went outside. Came back and strained it out into a soup pot and added lots of fresh vegetables including carrots, potato, onion and corn cut from the cob. Added a small can of tomato sauce and some white wine. Cooked it for about 20 minutes at slow simmer. Then added some zucchini, canned kidney beans, and elbow pasta (left over from when I made mac and cheese a while back). Lots of salt and pepper and italian herbs.

Served it with homemade chicken "nuggets" that I fried up in my deep fryer. I write about these at a later time.

Update 7:20 pm: Pretty darn hungry today...perhaps not enough to do?

Fasting day 15 Oct 28 2008-182 lbs.

Looks like my weight came back off. Nice to be back on track. Not much to report today. Will not cook tonight...just heat up some stuff for the fam. It got cold here in NYC today. So that means I was extra cold b/c I'm fasting. Got to remember to bundle up on fasting days. Especially for the office.

One thing about fasting is you tend to think about food and what you will be cooking for the next meal. It is not a "longing" for food like you are starving to death. Just thinking about what you will eat next and trying to decide on a menu. Like food becomes more interesting of something. Its more fun to plan and prepare meals now I guess.

So along those lines I am thinking of cooking a roast chicken with pan ju and vegetables tomorrow. Sounds good right now. If it comes out good I'll take a pic and post it.

Oh yea, yesterday we had meatloaf and mashed potatoes. I cooked the meatloaf in the pressure cooker. It only takes 20 minutes for a 1 pound meatloaf. You just make a meatloaf according to your favorite recipe and put in the PC on an insert to keep it off the bottom Add maybe a 1/2 cup of water and bring to pressure for 20 min and voila its done.

I'm likin' this ADF as a lifestyle or way of eating (WOE) and not just a diet.

Fasting day 14 Oct 26 2008 185 lbs

Ok so I gained 2 pounds over the last two days of eating. Today was a good fasting day, however. No problem. I actually wanted to fast after eating all that food Friday and Saturday.

I made potato-leek soup and spaghetti bolognese for dinner for the family. Use homemade vegetable broth, made in the pressure cooker, for the soup. These are common recipes so I won't list them in detail but I do have pictures.



I like cooking while fasting for some reason. Especially dinner. By that time I am so into the fast that I don't have a problem resisting the urge to eat.

Fasting day 13 Oct 23 2008 183.5 lbs

So it is a double fasting day. It is Thursday around noon and I haven't eaten since Tuesday night. So far so good. Actually feel great today. Mental acuity is high. A little hungry but am used to it by now. Hunger is not worse than what I experience on the one-day fast. Will check-in at the end of the day.

UPDATE: 728 p.m. Still okay. 2 day fast is no more difficult than one day fast. Making dinner for kid right now and not a problem not to eat. Felt high energy all day...a little wired and loopy however, but I enjoyed the edginess. I think my brain works better on fasting days than on eating days.

I made homemade mac and cheese for J for dinner. Here is what I did:
Sauce:
1.5 cups whole milk
1 cup of grated longhorn cheddar
1 by 2 inch block of velveeta
2-3 tablespoons of Wondra flour
2-3 tablespoons butter.

Put milk, butter and wondra in saucepan. Bring to boil while stirring constantly. Boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and cool for 1 minute. Add cheeses and stir until melted. Cook 1/2 box of elbow macaroni until just under done. Mix with sauce, put into a baking dish and top with a little cheese and some bread crumbs. Before baking pasta should be fairly wet with the sauce. Sauce will dry out upon baking so don't be afraid to use a high sauce:pasta ratio. Bake for 20 minutes until a nice crust if formed. Take out of oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with a little paprika for color.

This is a great recipe b/c I used exactly half of the elbows and the cheeses. That way I can make it again without going to the store ( as long as I have milk and butter and Wondra on hand). Oh yea, get Wondra..it is great for sauces and gravies.

This stuff smelled GOOD. I will have to reheat some tomorrow and taste it.

UPDATE #2: Slept like a baby...woke up feeling rested. Ate a bowl of Kashi/Rice dream to break fast. Was like rocket fuel. Now for 2 days of eating...

Fasting day 12 Oct 22 2008-184.5 lbs.

So we have company coming for Friday night and therefore Friday and Saturday will be eat days. So....I am thinking to fast today AND tomorrow so that I can be in synch. We'll see about that but I will definitely fast today.

In anticipation of a two day fast I ate big time yesterday. Pancakes, eggs, bacon (turkey kind) for breakfast, two slices of pizza for lunch, a few chunks of grilled chicken after work, and a steak and baked potato and salad for dinner. Had a bunch of bowls of Kashi puffed grain cereal with rice milk as a late night snack. So I think I have eaten enough for a two day fast. Its funny that I now eat lots of meat and dairy but still retain an affinity for "vegetarian" foods such as rice milk and Kashi cereal. These were foods that I ate on the McDougall plan. I still like them but I really crave MEAT now.

Part of the difficulty of fasting is fear of future hunger but not the actual experience of hunger. For example, when you are fasting you think "I am getting a little hungry and its lunch time. How can I possibly make it for the entire day? I will just be even hungrier later. It will be impossible to fast all day, I should just eat now." Fear of future hunger is what drives us to overeat, I believe, at least sometimes. Perhaps this was an evolutionary mechanism to get as many calories and nutrients as possible when food is available, in anticipation of food being scarce. Once you conquer this fear, fasting is easy. You learn that you don't keep getting hungrier and hungrier as the day goes on and that hunger is manageable. Hunger comes and goes.

Fasting day 11 Oct 20 2008-184.5 lbs

Made a good dinner last night. I like the way my spanish rice is coming out. Here is what I did.

1 cup brown rice
1 can chicken broth
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes, strain out the juice.
Cumin, turmeric, chili powder, salt, pepper.
a little oil.

Put oil in sauce pan and heat up. Add rice and toast it a little, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes. You should start to smell it getting toasty. Add chicken broth and tomatoes and seasonings. Don't put too much turmeric in, just a little to color it. Add a half cup of water. Cover, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until rice is done. You can stir it occasionally. If it gets dry before rice is tender then add more water and keep cooking.

I ate this with some grilled chicken breasts marinated in margarita mix, tequila, olive oil (equal parts each), garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and cumin. Oh and some extra lime juice. I marinated them in a food saver canister for 1 hour under vacuum.

Looking forward to a good fasting day although a little groggy this AM.. gee I wonder why.

Fasting day 10 Oct 18 2008-185 lbs

Fasting days are not so bad anymore. Anyone who wants to lose weight and get healthier can do ADF. It is better than dieting because you don't have to hold back on portions or watch what you eat. I cannot believe that I made it to 10 fasting days.

I notice people who munch on junk food and not even think twice about it. Individuals who are clearly overweight. For example, those who snack on chips and stuff while standing in the elevator or on the subway. People are ALWAYS eating. And the stuff they get at the supermarket. ALL packaged junk. The production and packaging of this crap must take tremendous resources. Think of all the energy and money we would save if everyone would just buy a whole chicken and cut it themselves instead of frozen chicken nuggets. Or a potato and cut it and fry up your own fries instead of the packaged kind. Make your own mac and cheese. Make a pot of beans in a crock pot instead of canned refried beans. All you have to do is learn to cook and you will enjoy much fresher and healthier foods. I guess I shouldn't criticize others, I have my weaknesses too. But one thing is clear, our family ate relatively whole foods before I started this crazy ADF routine. Now we eat even better whole foods. And I don't have to eliminate fats or meats like before.

I bought a bathroom scale at Target. Never had one before. So now I will be weighing myself and posting every fasting day. Maybe I'll make a running graph and display it on the page. It will be nice to see the downward trend in my weight. My goal weight will be 170 so I have 15 pounds to go. Shouldn't be too hard.

Yesterday I made the best beef stew in my pressure cooker. If you don't have one of these....get one. I use mine all the time for pinto beans, chicken or vegetable stock, stews, etc. It takes a fraction of the time to cook these things in a PC. Here is the recipe for beef stew.

1 lb. stew meat.
One medium potato peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
Two or three carrots peeled and sliced
Two celery stalks sliced
One medium onion diced.
McCormicks Stew Seasoning (okay so I cheated a little)

Dredge meat in flour and brown on all sides in pressure cooker in oil. Once brown add 1.5 cups water and half packet of seasoning and put on lid. Bring to pressure and cook for 25 minutes or so. Release pressure and add vegetables. Bring back up to pressure and cook for 20 minutes more. Release pressure and serve. This was enough for 3 people easy.

I like ADFing b/c usually i woun't eat beef stew as it was not part of any particular diet plan I happened to be on. For example, on low carb you can't have potatoes. On McDougall you can't eat meat or oil. Now I can eat it. Pizza also. There is NO diet plan that allows that!

Fasting day 9 Oct 16 2008

Fasting for a whole day is getting easier. Got to remember to bring a sweater to work b/c you get COLD while fasting esp your hands and feet.

Fasting day 8 Oct 14 2008

So far so good. Getting used to this fasting stuff. Yesterday I ATE huge quantities of food. I may be the only person to ever GAIN weigh on ADF. Not really but it sure felt like it yesterday.

Food smelled good today but it is possible to dissociate hunger from the need to eat. Water helps.

One thing that concerns me is what if a fasting day falls on a day that I must eat for social reasons. One remedy would be to plan ahead and switch fasting and eating days by fasting two days in a row. May have to do it at some point.

UPDATE: Was irritable in the late eve. However, not sure that food would have been the cure.

Fasting day 7 Oct 12 2008

Missed a couple of posts but its not about the posts its about the fasts. Fasting day 6 and eating day 6 went fine. I think I ran out of things to do on the last fasting day and thought about food a lot. You must keep yourself busy on fasting day. I cannot emphasize this enough. If you stay busy the day just rolls by and you never even think about the fact that you have had no food that day.

The urge to just munch on stuff mindlessly is starting to subside on eating days. Also you fill up quickly and feel incredibly full after a complete meal. We went to en Indian restaurant last night and I ate heartily.

UPDATE: Still fasting today (8:28 pm). Today was a nearly effortless fast even though it is a Sunday. Keeping busy is the key. Cleaned up the apartment nicely today. Went outside to the park with the kid. Took a little nap. Even cooked dinner without temptation. My new mantra should be "Fast and get more done". Is it getting easier? Will know next fasting day.

Eating day 5 Oct 9 2008

Breakfast:  Raisin bagel nothing on it.

Lunch 1:  Eggplant dish from middle eastern place.  Way too oily.  Rice.  Didn't eat all of it.

Lunch 2:  Cucumber avocado roll sushi.

Dinner:  Grilled up some more marinated chicken from last eating day.  Opened a can of fat free refried beans.  Put it all on corn tortillas with some salsa.

Late night snack: 1 bowl wheaties with real milk.

All in all a good eating day.  Didn't feel overstuffed.  Had good energy all day.  Lighter food is good for ADF.  You don't have to eat huge and rich meals on eating days to make up for the fasting days.  Just like its not that big of a deal to fast....its not that big of a deal to eat either.

Some Levi's 501 (preshrunk dark blue) that I bought about a month ago that seemed tight are now fitting well.  I read some internets about people who are really into raw denim.  They buy brand new jeans that have never been treated or washed and wear the heck out of them for months without washing them.  They develop stress marks over time and when they are finally washed they have these nice wear patterns.  I had been washing my jeans after every wear.  So now I will wear these new jeans without washing them at least until they start to smell.  I think this helps them fit your body better..  I like the dark blue look.  Looks like a biker's jeans.

Fasting day 5 Oct 8 2008

Was a so-so fasting day.  Kind of low energy.  I think the previous night's meal has a lot to do with how you feel on fasting days.  I must pay attention to it more.   Other than that not difficult. Hunger is manageable.  I like not having to worry about food on fasting days.  Also like the flatter stomach and not having food in my belly all the time.  It feels good to let your digestive system "return to its ground state" before you bombard it with more food it has to process.  There really is something to this ADF business.

This weekend I will get a bathroom scale to start measure my weight loss progress.  I figure that I was about 195 pounds when I started and am probably about 190 now.  Much of that is due to water loss no doubt.  I expect to lose about 5-10 pounds a month in real fat loss.  I know that it doesn't happen overnight from reading the other ADFer's blogs but the weight does seem to come off in a slow be steady fashion.

Eating day 4 Oct 7 2008

Breakfast:  Two bowls Wheaties with Rice dream.

Midmorning:  Bagel with cream cheese.

Lunch:  Chicken gyro.

Midafternoon:  Peanuts and crackers.

Dinner:  Mexican chicken breast (same kind of marinade as before except it was boneless breast and cooked on a grill pan), rice and beans, salad.  Margaritas.

I seem to be craving meat more and eating more food at each meal overall.  Not worried about it too much.  I used to be semi-vegetarian eating meat only rarely.  Now I don't try to restrict meat in my diet.  However, like some of the previous ADF bloggers (here and here), that have inspired me to follow this plan, I am finding that I want to make each meal a good one and not waste the eating opportunity on junk.  I hope to do better next eating day and lay off the crackers and peanuts.