One-Month Progress Report: 203 Pounds

October 5, 2009: 203 Pounds

This is my first progress report for the Fast to Last diet. My current weight upon waking up this morning is 203 pounds. I have therefore lost 7 pounds since I began this blog about a month ago. I should say, however, that my weight has typically varied between 200 and 210 for the past several years, and anything above 200 is probably not statistically significant. If I get below 200 on a sustained basis, then I will know I am making progress.

Although I had originally planned on following the diet very strictly this month, I must say I slipped a bit. I have, however, followed the general precepts pretty well. I have typically "broken my fast" anywhere from 2 p.m to 5 p.m. each day, so I have been pretty good about that part of the regimen. (Remember, this extension of the overnight fast is where, I believe, the main long-term health benefits accrue). I still have two areas where I need a little work, however.

First of all, I have, for the past several years, had an energy drink in the morning to wake myself up. There can be no doubt that energy drinks are filled with lots of sugar and bad stuff. I have NOT broken that habit. I still drink a 16 oz. energy drink every morning, which probably negates a lot of the heath benefits of the fast. I will try to slowly wean myself off of these unhealthy drinks over the next month -- although the habit is pretty ingrained.

Secondly, I have been a little lax about ending my eating period within the prescribed four hours. This fits in with the general thesis that, once the body wakes up to the fact that food is around, it has trouble turning off the desire to eat. I will also work on this over the next month and try to come up with some tricks to satiate my hunger when the eating window is about to close for the day.

All in all, though, I feel good. This is definitely a long-term eating pattern that I can live with. I have recently received questions about incorporating exercise into the lifestyle and how to deal with social events that interfere with the fast. I will try to address these issues in future posts.