Intermittent Fasting Lately

August 22nd, 2015 | Posted by Alison Spath in Healthy Habits - (4 Comments)

gets_easier

The post I wrote on Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss back in March of 2011 is the post that drives the most amount of traffic from search engines to this site everyday.  Given it’s been more than 4 years since that post was originally published (I’ve updated and edited it for clarity a number of times over the years) a recent email from a reader with some questions inspired me to write an update and answer some of the questions about IF that I’m frequently asked.

I do still practice IF, but I don’t really think about it anymore.  Now it’s just the normal thing I do.

(Just a heads up, this post is 2842 words long.)

Healthy living is a journey.  (Shocking, I know.)

Your Plan
photo credit: The Internet

This image is such a great reminder that progress toward any goal or habit change you’re working on is not going to be linear.  You’re not a failure when you hit some bumps along the way and are not getting it exactly right.  Ups and downs are totally normal and to be expected, we just have to keep on keepin’ on.

You’ve probably heard about “The Fat Burning Zone” when it comes to exercise and cardio – I think it was the elliptical machine equipped with a heart rate monitor on the handle bars at my university fitness center that clued me in to this concept a dozen or so years ago.

Keep your heart rate between here and here and you’ll burn more fat!

Really? Sounds good to me!  I’m ready to start burning fat! I’m ready to start burning so much fat that we set this place on fire!

40 Day Juice Fast? Done!

June 1st, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Weight Loss - (14 Comments)

Well, he made it! Zak has completed his personal juice fast challenge of consuming nothing but fresh fruit and vegetable juice for 40 days straight.  The produce drawer in the fridge is less packed, his pants are looser and I made coffee for both of us this morning.

Here he is at the start of his fast, 40 long days ago.  April 22, weighing in at 195 lbs.

Juice Fast Day 1

And today, June 1 – 41 days later and 32 pounds lighter.

Weight Loss End of Juice Fast

You can find more photos of his progression in the 4 weeks update, and some frequently asked questions in the 2 week update as well.

Alternate Title: The Incredible Shrinking Man

So here he is in all his glory (with his underwear strategically hidden behind red squares, for your viewing pleasure) –  Zak the Juice Fasting Maniac:

April 22, 2013

Juice Fast Day 1

May 13, 2013

Day 22 Juice Fast

And today, one month exactly from the juice fast start date,

May 22, 2013

Juice Fast Day 31

(Don’t mind the toys on the floor that we failed to kick out of the way for this picture.)

A little excel spreadsheet chart to see his weight loss trend:

Juice Fast Weight Loss Chart

As I mentioned in my last post, Zak is on a 40 day juice fast.  To quickly recap, Zak watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, a documentary film by Joe Cross about his 60 day juice fast that lead to an 82 lb weight loss, freeing himself of his autoimmune disease and getting off all his prescription medications.

I watched this documentary a few weeks ago, but Zak watched it when it was first released in 2011.  He was very inspired by the film and has talked about doing a juice fast “some day” ever since.  Thanks to a Biggest Loser style weight loss competition at work, he decided the time is finally here.

Avocado Perks

February 24th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Healthy Habits - (37 Comments)

I’ve got too many ripe avocados right now.

Over Easy Eggs with Avocado

Although I think this is comparable to complaining that your pants are too loose or that you have too much money.

I like avocado and egg salad sandwiches, so I decided to throw some of my abundant avocado onto my over easy eggs this morning.  This was an awesome breakfast combo, which is why I’m here telling you about it now:

Avocado on eggs is good.  Eat this.

(If over easy eggs aren’t your favorite, I don’t think you’ll go wrong with avocado in an omelet or on top of scrambled eggs either.)

Project Weight Loss: Week 9

November 23rd, 2012 | Posted by Alison Spath in Weight Loss - (5 Comments)

I can’t believe I’m writing about weight loss the day after Thanksgiving.  I am still full.

If you’re just tuning in, I’m working on postpartum weight loss and share Project Weight Loss updates on Fridays.

Last week, after hanging out in the upper 130’s for 4 days straight, I woke up on Saturday morning feeling very ready to be done with all of this.  I was plain old tired of trying to lose weight and felt ready for a break.

Project Weight Loss: Week 6

November 2nd, 2012 | Posted by Alison Spath in Weight Loss - (5 Comments)

Week 6 of Project Weight Loss will go down in the Mama’s Weeds history books as

The Week That Life Got in the Way.

Birthdays, birthday celebrations, friends visiting from out of town, hurricanes, Halloween, plus the all usual the family and baby stuff. Let’s just say it’s been a full week.

Last week I got a glimpse of the 130’s when I weighed 139.6, (WOOT!) but that’s all it was. A glimpse.

Project Weight Loss: Week 5

October 26th, 2012 | Posted by Alison Spath in Weight Loss - (6 Comments)

I’m back with another update from Project Weight Loss, it’s now the end of Week 5.

For a quick recap, I got started on September 21, 2012 at 149 pounds.

Week 1: 146.0
Week 2: 144.8
Week 3: 143.8
Week 4: 143.6

Today, at the end of Week 5, I weighed in at 139.6

Oh how I welcomed that “3” in the tens place this morning! From 143.6 last week, that looks like a 4 pound weight loss in one week, but a couple of things are going on here.