After the long weekend, it was back on the road today. Home late, and not much time to post. Though my meals so far have been mostly variations on a theme, I’m a happy camper. Still not craving anything I can’t eat, but I’m sure that will come. Without cravings, I’m still not feeling the need for a “cheat day,” but it’s only day three.
I seem to recall that Timothy Ferris, the author, says something about perhaps taking a few days to adjust to the diet, and that you should feel good after that. So far, I’ve been feeling fine. Generally black beans do a number on me, but the mixture of black beans, lentils and chick peas has had no effect on me whatsoever (thankfully!).
It still seems like I’ve been eating way more than I should be. I’m curious enough that I’ll probably count the calories at some point. I’ve been taking good enough notes to be able to make a rough guess, but more about that some other time. I’ve experienced hunger--as in, my gosh, I’m starving--only once. That was this afternoon following a smaller-than-normal lunch, and heading into the late afternoon. The many pit stops I had to make today is evidence that I’m probably drinking enough water. How much? Tough to say, because I’m not measuring it. I would guess 2+ quarts per day.
The author mentions tracking data. I agree. When I lost a ton of weight one time, I kept calorie counts, weight, and an exercise log, eventually cutting out the calorie count when I got a feel for it. Then, I got to the point where calories no longer mattered anyway. I may detail some of that experience some other time. Right now, all I’m tracking is weight. I don’t own a tape measure, so I can’t do waist and other measurements. But I certainly know my clothes well enough to be able to tell what’s going on.
I have only three weight measurements so far--the morning of the day I started, and the two following mornings. I can’t get excited over short-term measurements. I know from experience that my weight while I was exercising and dieting would regularly vary by seven pounds during the week. This was based on weighing myself at the same time every day. You want to do that, too. In my opinion, there’s no sense in doing it any other way. Probably the best is in the morning before breakfast. The trend on a weekly basis, say your Friday morning weight, if your cheat day is Saturday, for example, carries far more meaning than the day-to-day fluctuations. And the trend is more important than week-to-week fluctuations, too. Trust me, in a former life I was trained as an economist with a strong background in statistics.
Have I seen a trend in just three days? Yes. Is it significant? Not in the overall scheme of things, so I’ll reserve judgment. I think it will be interesting to see how the first week stacks up. But I can’t gainsay my comments on the weekly trend. To me, that’s far more important.
So, I’m cheating a bit. I bought a jar of sauerkraut which, the book suggests, as a fermented food, is good for you. I’m trying to get away from canned and frozen food, so where do we draw the line? Is food in a jar superior to food in a can, or flash-frozen packed in paper? I’ve made my own sauerkraut before, and you can too, so I’ll let you be the judge. Again, I’m trying to improve on what the book offers for food suggestions, but at the same time keep it simple. Given that, I also bought a jar of Pace picante sauce and a jar of Mezzetta deli-sliced “tamed” jalapeno peppers. Neither contains any sort of sweetener. The former to try to spice up my ahi, which I indicated I’m not that fond of. The latter, because I’ve had them before, and I love them. I used to chop them and add them as a topping to pizzas, or to spice up a pasta sauce, among other things.
As far as the ahi is concerned, I’m actually liking it better now anyway. It seems, like cheesecake, that the flavors of everything meld in the plastic bag in the fridge/freezer, and become much more delicious.
I’ve had two meals on the road, both of which had protein and veggies, but lacked the bean element. That’s why Ferris suggests Mexican food. Yesterday, late afternoon, was a double-double, protein style, at In-N-Out Burger. For those of you who don’t know, that would be two burgers, two slices of cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion, wrapped in more lettuce instead of on a bun. I forgot about the sauce they put on it, which I’m certain has some sort of sweetener. Most of that dripped out, though, along with the juice from the tomato.
Then today, by late afternoon, I was starving. I was on the remote California coast. I finally hit a supermarket which I knew had a salad bar and a deli department. I thought that would be great, since many salad bars have garbanzo beans, along with the normal spinach and salad greens. I thought I could get some sliced meat to go along with it. But the salad bar was broken down by the time I got there, so I moved on.
Down the road I stopped at a restaurant (Sea Ranch--I might as well give them a plug--they’re pretty good) and sat at the bar. I had a burger with a slice of Swiss, a side of delicious, tiny Brussels sprouts, and lettuce, tomato, and half a dill pickle. Bingo! Except for the lack of beans.
I’ve made two changes in cooking ingredients. I’m blanching the cauliflower ahead of time--more on that perhaps tomorrow. And, I’ve decided to wilt the fresh spinach, rather than chomping on it rabbit-style (unless, of course, I want a salad of the fresh stuff).
I’ve been jotting down notes from time to time, and I have a lot to share, but it will have to come some other time. However, I can tell you that last night I went to bed looking forward to breakfast this morning. That’s rare for me, unless I’m eating out, as I’m neither a morning person nor a breakfast eater. I whisked three eggs, poured them in a hot sauté pan which had been coated with veg oil. I turned down the heat and let the eggs set a bit, then added a handful of spinach. After that warmed, I added one of my bags that had the bean mix, blanched cauliflower, chicken, and a quarter cup of the salsa, and spread it out over the eggs, and left it to warm a bit. Then, I folded it over into a delicious omelet. For me, it was soooo good! Generally I’ve been eating half the breakfast I prepare and saving the rest for lunch. I ate more than half the omelet, and could have eaten the whole thing. Hence my smaller-than-normal lunch.
I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this yet, but the bags of chicken I prepared contain over a pound of food. On top of that, I add eggs and spinach, so we’re looking at quite a bit! Again, more on that later.
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