Type 2 Diabetes, a Dietary Disease #390: My 2nd and Last 30-pound Challenge: 3rd Qtr. Report

The half time report (#385) on my 2^nd and last 30-pound weight-loss challenge was a roller coaster of misadventures, but the trend line continued in the right direction, i.e. down, albeit slightly. So, “the challenge continues.” In the beginning I didn’t know how my body would react to full-day fasting. I feared that 1) I would be hungry and 2) my energy level would plummet. I learned that full-day fasting (300kcal/d) is easy because I am keto-adapted and never hungry. And as my energy level has not wavered, my comfort level has increased.

I began with an alternate day routine (Tuesdays and Thursdays, every week) and had good results: weight loss with no hunger and high energy levels. The reason, and I must emphasize this, is that on non-fasting days I adhered (for the most part) to a Very Low Carb (VLC) Way of Eating. I have been doing this since 2002, so I was already adapted to the VLC concept and my food choices. As a result of this increased comfort level, the frequency with which I did full-day, 300kcal fasting also increased.

Although I lost weight easily, when once I fell behind my weekly weight-loss goal, in order to catch up I decided to kick it up a notch. I went to 3-consecutive-day fasting (Tue-Wed-Thu) and it worked! Still no hunger and high energy levels! At the end of the 10-week challenge, I had lost 31 pounds. To stave off regain, I decided to extend my 3 consecutive-full-day, 300kcal/d fasting routine for another 16 weeks, this time to lose another (final) 30 pounds and reach my mid-teen weight. Why mess with success?

Week 9: As reported in #385, the first half of this 2^nd and last 30-pound challenge was far from a resounding success. I lost only 2 pounds of the planned 15, but the 8 pound gain in the final 3 days was fleeting. So, thinking optimistically, I was starting the last 8 weeks only 5 pounds in the hole.  And I was now committed to 3-day fasting every week, on consecutive days wherever my schedule permitted. This week it was Mon-Tue and then Thursday. By Wed morning I had lost 7 of the 8 pounds gained in Week 8. But…our social calendar included potluck buffets at gatherings with friends on both Wednesday and Friday, and I ate a small supper Thursday instead of fasting, so I gained 5 back and for the week only lost 2. FBG was also bad: 97mg/dl.

Week 10: Fasting this week Mon-Tue-Wed. Dropped 6 pounds, in spite of a little cheating every day! Had a small lunch Thu (kippered herring from a can) and a big supper (beef short ribs and a very large salad); gained back 1 pound. Fri had the same kippered herring lunch and a similar supper (lamb chops and a large salad); remained at 5 pounds down for the week. On Sat we had dinner out with friends before a concert. I had two low carb appetizers and one cocktail. At Sun weigh-in I was still down 6 pounds for the week. FBG aver: 95.

Week 11: I’m starting the week at 206 and will do another 3-day fast (300kcal/day), Mon-Tues-Thurs. (Lunch at the CIA Wed.) The goal this week is to blast through 205 pounds, the lowest weight I ever achieved on VLC (in 2008 while doing Bernstein). It’s also my weight at the end of basic training in the army in 1960. On Friday I left for a weekend family reunion in Rochester. That was a challenge. I brought with me 100 clams and a case of Michelob Ultras. Before leaving, I weighed in at 202 (FGB: 82), down 4 pounds. Upon my return I weighed in at 213 (FBG: 119). I gained 11 pounds in 3 days. That’s more than the weight of all the food I ate!

Week 12: Another challenging week: My wife’s surgery, hotel and hospital meals, and cooking for my invalid. Gained 2 more pounds to 215, 13 pounds above the 202 low just 9 days earlier! And my FBG average jumped to 107, with more challenges to come in the next week with 5 days/nights away from home. Time for a pause.

Discussion: A plan revision is in order. My new goal is to eat VLC for Week 13, then resume 3-consecutive-day fasting for the succeeding 3 weeks. Starting at 215, my goal is to get to 205 by end of Week 16, then to 203 by the next Tuesday (Dr’s appt.). That’s just half the 30 pound loss I targeted, so again, “the challenge continues.”