Sounds to me like you're doing really great. Not overthinking, not overanalyzing, just tuning in and responding in kind. That's the way!
And it seems we're coming to the same conclusion about skipping breakfast right now. Normally, skipping breakfast and eating two meals a day works best for me as a long-term way of eating, but I think for P3, I'm going to start eating breakfast if/when hungry. See how it goes. I'll be curious to see how it works for you as well.
we shall see but I agree. Breakfast, at least in the early stages of Phase 3 is seemingly really important and beneficial. I would think that by next week after all the normal foods are worked in our bodies will catch up and we can go back to intermittent fasting. I am going to commit to eating breakfast every day until next Tuesday and monitor from there.
thanks Dubbles. Early on that is becoming very clear and obvious to me. Still trying to find the right balance but that is what proper execution of phase 3 is all about.Originally Posted by Dubbles
okay, just realized something very interesting.
I am basically eating the exact same thing today as I did on Sunday.
Breakfast: 2 eggs and sausage
Lunch: beef short ribs and sauteed onions and peppers
Dinner: 5 chicken wings and avocado
Reverse order on lunch and dinner and that is exactly what I ate on Sunday. Only difference is that I drank a little over a full bottle of wine on Sunday. Oh, and I played tennis on Sunday and did a bunch of yard work and was basically physically active all day. Today I am sitting behind a desk all day but am playing tennis tonight for 2.5 hours. Different courts that are not as hard on my body as the ones I played on Sunday however. Also, no wine today.
After the same level of food Sunday, I gained 1.8lbs on Monday. I am very curious to see what my weight will be tomorrow. hmm
Should be interesting, let us know how it goes. You have to be burning a LOT of calories.
This morning: 219.2
I have registered a weight of 219.2 last Friday, this Monday and Today. All followed playing tennis. I am somewhat sore and stiff all over to be honest. Barely sweat at all last night, which is normal in the cooler months. In no way am I concerned that I am eating the wrong things or amounts. I think that part is fine. I was a little hungry when I got home last night and very hungry this morning. No bm since Monday. Not concerned at all with the 2lb gain. Most of that is water from playing tennis, I am sure. Pretty certain it will rebound the other way tomorrow. Tennis again Thursday night so we might see another 219.2 on Friday.
Wouldn't it be interesting if that turned out to be case. Then you would know what to expect. You are so active, you prob look 10 lbs thinner than you weigh. All just numbers, how your clothes fit, and inches make a HUGE difference. My DH has been so supportive, he was complimenting me on how thin I look--I told him I have another round to go, and would like to lose another 15-20 lbs. He said, from where? Point being we get hung on scales sometimes, but they sometimes are not true indication of fitness or even appearances. People can weigh more than they look. Curious to see if that goes down the same in your weigh-in tomorrow morning. Have a great day! Spring has sprung here in KY
It's so great to recognize these patterns. Helps to shift needless, incorrect expectations. We have to accept that these bodies of our are influenced by so many things and that fluctuations on the scale are absolutely normal and necessary. You seem to do a much better job being more even keeled about it than i do, and that inspires me! I also think it's either wise or a fortunate accident that you seem to be eating the same foods. At least that's one variable minimized. And I keep reading in different places how it's often a best practice of people who keep off weight to eat a small rotation of the same foods. Helps curb decision fatigue and helps keep us from going overboard on new tastes. Or maybe that's just me.
ps--breakfast for me was a very good thing today. I'm just going to take it day by day and see how it goes.
DMM: it was a fortunate accident born of basic food prep, and not eating as much which leads to leftovers. I never have leftover chicken wings, especially from this place. I disagree with the notion of eating the same things over and again. I am sure it works but is not realistic. You will eventually rebel against the notion and swing too far the other way. I prefer balance and attention to habits. I read years ago about a professional baseball player who was extremely disciplined. He ate the same meal over and over. It was oatmeal mixed with canned tuna fish. Every meal. Every. Damned. Meal. But in reality, my rotation of foods when it comes to keto and phase 3 is fairly small. I really wish I would try more things, especially in the vegetable world. All about finding the right balance and which direction you travel relies on where you currently stand.
Good call on breakfast. It really helps, at least for now. I plan on sticking with it at the very least until early to middle part of next week. I might take a morning off one day next week and see how the day goes.
morning update:
Scale weight this morning: 216.6lbs. Down 2.6lbs. I have been within my +/- 2lbs of my LDW of 218 but haven't been closer than .6lbs at any point. I am not going to celebrate today's loss same as I wasn't freaking out about yesterday's gain. The truth is somewhere in the middle of these swings. And that truth is that my phase 3 round is going as it should. Maybe the swings will tighten around 218? Maybe with eating less, I will stabilize towards the lower end? Or I start to eat a bit more and stabilize on the higher end? Not sure but at this point, I am proceeding deliberately. I am erring on the side of eating a little less than I need to. Certainly far less than I did in past round 3's. But I am not depriving myself. I eat eggs scrambled or fried in butter/avocado oil with sausage links for breakfast. Beef for lunch with grilled onions and melted cheese. Avocados. Had a healthy portion of crawfish last night. A couple fat bombs for dessert and even a couple glasses of wine. I know when you type it out it sounds like a lot but the individual meals are appropriate portions. I was still a little hungry last night when I went to bed. Not craving. A little real hunger. Not so much I wanted to snack. I could just feel it. That plus today's scale lets me know that I am doing fine and probably have a little room to add some more. But I will be careful and keep my eyes open.
Tennis tonight so would not be surprised to see the weight come up a bit tomorrow morning. Travelling this weekend and into next Monday. That can be a challenge but I am up for it.
Today's aside:
Let's talk about Keto. What I specifically want to talk about is "fat guy" keto. Let me preface this by saying I am part of some online BBQ communities (which will remain nameless). Naturally these communities are strongly geared towards the celebration of gluttony. A bunch of fat guys heading down the wrong road. But there are some really good things to be gleaned and smoking and grilling is a passion of mine. But there are some sub-forums on BBQ diets and keto comes up quite a bit. A lot of guys talk about cutting out sugars and starches (while still eating too much protein and fats) and lose large amounts of weight. In fact the amounts they claim are far beyond anything most of us grind out with HCG (20lbs lost in a month. some claims of 100lbs lost in a year while eating giant piles of bacon). They post meals that have way too much food (Giant steak + a pile of veggies covered in fat and bacon + a huge pile of pork skins. Or a bunch of fathead pizza. Way too much focus on snacking). And here I am gaining weight on the same diets they post. Still cutting out carbs and sugars but eating too much. If they are not lying, how is it people are losing weight while still enjoying a gluttonous form of keto? My guess is that they are extremely overweight to begin with and they are younger than me. I am really not going anywhere with it, just pointing that out.
I think we can't help but take individual constitutions, temperaments, and personalities into account when we discus "best practices" and how other folks are doing with other ways of eating and dieting and losing weight, etc. I'm with you 100 percent on eating the same rotation of meals simply doesn't work for me. Because it's not how I want to live. If anyone out there reading has any background in the enneagram, I'm a 7. That means my personality traits lean toward the enthusiastic, even the gluttonous. I love life, I love exploring, trying, starting new things. I have a hard time with finishing things and grieving. I have a tendency toward the overmuch in all things. I'm perfectly aware, and I've learned to work with these tendencies rather than directly against them. Find the moderation within my preference for intensity and highs and lows. It's quite a ride.
But I digress. The point is I know plenty of people who are perfectly happy to eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch every single day for months on end, only rotating about five meals for dinner except when they go out. It works for them. Me? I would be miserable. And yet I can also see the wisdom in the research in comparison to my own experience. Eating different things, trying new recipes and flavor combinations keeps food interesting and exciting. This is a blessing and a curse for someone who is passionate about food and struggles with excess food and excess weight.
As for the keto fat guys? I've known a few in my day, and I agree with your assessment. I also think it's a clear case of the difference between health and weight loss. Personally, I did not feel well when I did real keto focusing on eating mostly fat, very little carbs even in the form of leafy veggies, and moderate protein. For my body I don't think it was healthy, and frankly, I didn't lose weight nor did my body composition change. Maybe I was doing something wrong, but maybe not. I've since read that overdoing fat on keto can be the undoing of folks, especially those with less to lose.
Anyway, the point at the end of this long rambling is I think you've got it right. I think you know which foods work best for your body, and you're testing out and learning in what portions are most healthy by listening to your hunger and satiety signals--and not dampening that digestive fire by eating past fullness, even if you could still lose weight that way, and even if that's what your habit has been in the past. I'm keeping all this in mind as I aspire to stabilization and health and happiness including passion for food--for life. Right now it's a little wobbly for me, but I trust I'll get there!
Just a brief comment on the guy/people who eat the same thing every. single. day. My oldest grandson, 22, has for years eaten the same thing everyday. He is OCD. Not the kind that counts every door knob as he passes, but the kind that is very compulsive about his diet. And it has been a struggle for his mother to get him to eat different foods ALL his life. As a child he didn't want to graduate to solid foods. So she ended up letting him drink Carnation Instant Breakfast drinks, because they had vitamins and milk. She honestly had to almost starve him to try a peanut butter sandwich.
He is very fit, played football thru middle school, and high school. Even worked with the strength training program for football players at UVA while in college--but he eats the same things, every single day. Every day. Oatmeal, eggs, chicken , an apple a day, peanut butter. I attribute it to his ocd personality When he goes out with buddies he will have a cheeseburger or two, but fixes nothing but chicken in his apartment. So people that eat the same everyday--I think there is a level of OCD in their personality. It's not the norm for sure. And is actually kind of annoying to live with, or try and prepare food for someone like that.
I 'm totally with you and Divine Miss M--give me variety. Unfortunately learning the proper portion sizes is the challenge. Because I, too, tend towards "overmuch". I'm a big eater.
Hope You have a great day, both of you! Today is my first day of P3, I guess I need to start a Dubbles P3 thread, don't want to intrude on everyone else's.
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