So the month is come and gone and I'm left here trying to figure out if this challenge was beneficial in any way. Just to recap, during the month of October, I only ate on odd days in an attempt to even it out and reduce my calorie intake. Here is what went right - I did only eat on odd days. So in that sense, I successfully completed this challenge. I also ended up losing a total of 11 pounds over the 31 days. That's a good thing. I'm not going to overlook that or downplay that in any way because for a person of my size, losing weight is an absolute must. I have to be a healthier person and make changes in my diet and exercise routine in order to elongate my life. I set a goal and stuck to it. I proved to myself that I could do something as long as I put my mind to it. I learned a lot about myself and my body and how much food you really need in order to survive. When I did get a chance to eat, I wanted to eat real food and things like snacks, candy and fast food were not appetizing to me. That stuff really has no place in your food consumption (but I'll be the first to tell you that it is incredibly delicious). So I can hang my hat on a couple of things.
But here's what went wrong. For the first week, I did a good job of only eating when I was hungry (once again, on odd days only). During the second week, something bad happened. On those odd days (when I could eat), I started binge eating and eating snacks, candy and other non-essential food items. I was stuffing my face with anything within arms reach. It was a horrible sight to behold. That's one of the reasons why I lost 9 pounds in the first week and then only two pounds over the remaining 3 weeks. Also during that second week, I started treating days like calendar days and not as the time between when you wake up and when you go to bed. The difference is this - take for example October 18th. Since it was an even day, I didn't eat. But then that night at midnight, I ate because the calendar said it was now the 19th. I was in clear violation of one of the big rules that I put in place when I first started this challenge - The Gremlin Rule (no food after midnight). That was supposed to safeguard me during this challenge and ignoring it ended up replicating the demon inside of me.
I previously talked about how I was busy this month moving out of my place. This worked for and against me. While it gave me something to do instead of eating, it caused me to gorge on some food items with the whole "can't take it with you" mentality. I had some food items that I didn't want to move because of lack of space at my new place (The Mothership). So I either ate poorly or ate too much of some items because I didn't want to pack or transport them. If I hadn't been moving, I might not have acted that way. That could have resulted in the minimal weight loss. But I can't really put that all into the wrong category because moving helped me to stay active by walking things out to the car, going up and down stairs and lifting heavy objects. Without the move, I doubt that I would have done as much exercise.
And while diet/calorie reduction is the most important step of weight loss, regular exercise to burn calories certainly plays a very big roll as well. I probably did a lot of other things wrong, but there is only one more that I will point out. My alcohol consumption was through the roof during this challenge. My goal was to not eat on even days. I told you that I achieved that goal. But I didn't say that I wouldn't consumer calories. Sometimes you forget how many calories, sugar, sodium, carbs, etc. are in booze, beer and the multitude of mixers that go with them. Even on days that I wasn't eating, I still took in my fair share (but probably more than my fair share) of calories. That didn't help in trying to lose weight because I didn't stay true to the plan of every other day. Apparently I found a loophole. I know I drink too much. It's kind of my thing. It's not to deal with problems and I don't consider myself a true addict, but it's definitely a problem that cannot be ignored. It became more apparent during this month because without the food to help soak it up, it took very little to get me drunk. The "normal" pour that I usually do is enough to knock out a baby elephant. So there is still a lot of work to do.
At the end of the day I'll take away two things. This kind of diet does indeed work for me because of my addictive personality. I do better without having something than doing it in moderation. I'm all or none and until I can figure out how to properly balance everything out, I need to keep doing this in order to be healthier. In fact, I've decided to keep this going in November but with a couple of changes (look for that in an upcoming blog post). The other thing that I learned is how little food a body needs to survive and how much I eat because it is available or if I am bored. I need to figure out a way to resist boredom and temptation and I'll be alright. I've never had self-control because I've always had enough money and any food you want, any time, is available (this is America after all). Once I learn to say no to those things, I will be a better (and healthier) person.
I didn't write as much as I would have preferred, but that's OK because I was too busy living or die tryin'. Yeah. Right. But once my internet got cut off in the first week of the month, it became more difficult to sit down and blog about this challenge. Talk about your first world problems, right? But all of that will change in November because I'll be continuing the challenge with a lot more stability in my life. I don't know now if that will make it easier or more difficult. You'll just have to stay tuned to see what happens as I attempt to Even it Out.
And while diet/calorie reduction is the most important step of weight loss, regular exercise to burn calories certainly plays a very big roll as well. I probably did a lot of other things wrong, but there is only one more that I will point out. My alcohol consumption was through the roof during this challenge. My goal was to not eat on even days. I told you that I achieved that goal. But I didn't say that I wouldn't consumer calories. Sometimes you forget how many calories, sugar, sodium, carbs, etc. are in booze, beer and the multitude of mixers that go with them. Even on days that I wasn't eating, I still took in my fair share (but probably more than my fair share) of calories. That didn't help in trying to lose weight because I didn't stay true to the plan of every other day. Apparently I found a loophole. I know I drink too much. It's kind of my thing. It's not to deal with problems and I don't consider myself a true addict, but it's definitely a problem that cannot be ignored. It became more apparent during this month because without the food to help soak it up, it took very little to get me drunk. The "normal" pour that I usually do is enough to knock out a baby elephant. So there is still a lot of work to do.
I didn't write as much as I would have preferred, but that's OK because I was too busy living or die tryin'. Yeah. Right. But once my internet got cut off in the first week of the month, it became more difficult to sit down and blog about this challenge. Talk about your first world problems, right? But all of that will change in November because I'll be continuing the challenge with a lot more stability in my life. I don't know now if that will make it easier or more difficult. You'll just have to stay tuned to see what happens as I attempt to Even it Out.
- pookon -
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