Wednesday, July 7, 2010

“All Diets are Extremely Boring.” (Week 16)

“All diets are extremely boring.”

Thus remarked a friend who’s been on this alternate-day diet longer than we have.

I’ve begun to share his view.  In the early weeks, there was enough change to keep my interest:  learning how to manage the low-calorie days, watching the pounds disappear, wondering what to do with our extra time.  But there is sameness in deprivation, however it’s cloaked.  A dish of Heavenly Hash ice cream begins to sound exciting.

This couldn’t have come at a worse time.  After weeks of steady weight loss, we had both stalled.  No change in two weeks.  Were we doing something wrong?  Was our diet less healthy on the non-fasting days?  “Keep an eye on this!” I said.

I needed motivation.  Since a growing number of friends had joined us on this diet, I thought their experiences might inspire, so I checked in with as many of them as I could.  I started by asking:  why diet?  And why this diet?

“I want to look like a teenager, like your wife.”  Hmmm, that sounds like a good start; another friend accused me of ‘cradle-robbing’, only partly true.  “I hope to shed some pounds before my trip to Europe in a few weeks.”

“I tried it because it sounded pretty easy to do.  And it seems to work so my wife and I will continue with it.  The 500-calorie days are not as tough as I thought they’d be.”

“Your wife’s looking pretty hot.  Maybe I’ll try it.”  She’s right, too.

“I started the diet today!  Did a little research last night. It seems very natural to me.”  Another friend compared it to a caveman diet:  a mammoth feast one day might be followed by a hunt day subsisting on acorns.  He thought the human body might be adapted to such variability.

“Sounds like this is one of the better diets and I have passed it on to a couple of friends.”

“All diets are extremely boring.”  However, even this friend admitted that this one was less boring than most.  And that made it work.

Although I now had more interest in keeping my non-fasting days under control, everyone starts out working out their 500-calorie day menus.  Typical for us is breakfast:  a very large cup of coffee with a lot of skim milk, a quarter of an avocado or a boiled egg;  lunch: a very small fruit smoothie and a tablespoon of home-made hummus;  dinner: a salad made from greens with skinless chicken breast or smoked salmon and a vinaigrette dressing.  A friend reported her version, “I am mostly living on congee with plenty of low calorie nutrient rich flavourful additions.”

People follow different strategies.  Mine is to start with a little avocado or protein, and then try and save half my calories till after 2pm;  once over that hump, I can usually wait till dinner time.  Another friend reports, “My wife is looking for calorie-conscious recipes so we can have a good meal while minimizing calories.  Our strategy is largely to eat very little during the day, leaving most of the calories for one meal in the evening.”  He suggested two glasses of V8, a small granola bar,  a biscuit, and a cup of tea. “The other day we had enough left for a tasty dinner of corn, a little rice and sautéed shrimp.”

Another reports, “For me, that's 3 slices of turkey bacon (105) for breakfast, then a small soup for lunch, another soup at dinner with whatever extras I've got left on my 500. Variations can be a V8, a small piece of cheese, etc.  My wife finds the power bars help at work - some green tea and a bar seem to keep her going.  To paraphrase John Lennon, ‘Whatever gets you through the day is alright, is alright.’”

Early experiences and later results seem consistent.  Typical is this comment: “Day six of the diet and I have lost seven pounds so far.  My wife started yesterday.”  A week later, “I lost seven pounds very quickly and it is hovering at that level. But we’re sticking to it.”  Those who have stuck with it for three months report drops of 20 pounds or more.

A common challenge is synchronizing the low-calorie days with life and exercise schedules, as we found ourselves.  Three full days, three fast days, and a “half assed” day every week is the usual solution.  Like us, others save their heaviest exercising for their “up” days.

Social rhythms count too.  “It's a little hard traveling and doing an intense workshop on the fast days. I knew it was coming up in my week but I decided to start when I did anyways. The diet makes sense to me and helps me appreciate food more.”  And appreciate it she did!  “Had two potlucks and therefore two half-assed days in a row and a very hungry day today!  Got used to eating again I guess.  Oh well, tomorrow is an up day again.”

Another common concern is remembering to drink enough water on fast days.  With little eating there’s less water from food and thirst declines as well.  I’m learning to drink a glass of water with every “micro meal” and every time I feel hungry.  I’ve also been tempted to drink diet colas on the fast days, something I rarely did before.  I doubt this is a good thing.  Others also report diet colas as a staple, but as a replacement for the sugared kind.  Probably an improvement.  But there’s more water in my future.

What lies ahead?

A friend asks, “My wife wants to know what you do when you reach the weight you want.  By my calculations, if I lose two pounds a week and stay on the diet for two years, I should have disappeared completely by then.”  My own wife suggests I’ve reached a good weight although I still have four more pounds to shed to reach my final target in the middle of my recommended range.  Even then, I'll still be fifteen pounds up from my college weight.

I started the week wondering why I’ve stalled with those four pounds yet to go.  I can’t really complain.  I recently moved from the heavyweight to lightweight rowing class – less competition there!  I feel lighter on my feet – no surprise:  I’m carrying 35 fewer pounds than I was last summer, most of it lost during this diet, the rest by eating smarter.  And so I resolved to return to my old healthy habits on my “up” days.

Even before I could put the resolution into practice, the results were in.  My wife and I both lost weight again this week.  When I reviewed our progress, I noticed that we’d had these plateaus before.  Perhaps it’s just the way of it.  A little excitement to keep our interest.  Because, when you come right down to it, “All diets are extremely boring.”



Resources:
Dr. Johnson's UpDayDownDay Diet
Calorie Restriction (Wikipedia)

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