Day 135 & The Low Carb Flu

Day 135 Record Keeping SRHI = 78
Day 103 Fixed Meditation SRHI = 79
Day 49 Burpee SRHI= 68 (1x7)
Day 149 Eating SRHI = 43  
Great sleep, tired wakeup. 

The Low Carb Flu

I haven’t really described what I do for “eating right” - and a part of that is lack of thoroughness, and another part of that is that it’s a tangent to this project. Whatever consists of you “eating right” it’s the habit that’s the point. 

For me I do primal, the diet advocated by Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple - basically a high fat, high vegetable, moderate protein diet that omits processed carbs like sugars, pastas, and breads. 

Why? It has worked dramatically for one of my closest friends and, probably more important, I feel fantastic when I’m on the wagon with it. I’m clear headed, I don’t have a afternoon slump, I have control over my eating, and I lose weight without really trying. It’s also quite forgiving - I cheat once or twice a week. In the few months I’ve been on it, I’ve lost 6 belt holes on a belt that barely fit me. All without really exercising.

This is a far cry from the more standard bodybuilder’s diet that consisted of high amounts of complex cards, low fat, and protein - a diet I have found to be a real pain to stick to.

The gist of all this today is that since I cheated quite a bit during my travels, I’m on the process of getting back to it. I didn’t really gain weight on  my trip, but yesterday and today I’ve felt a slump of exhaustion and lack of clarity of thought - what people call the “low carb flu.” 

Even though I feel miserable this is great - it means something is happening. I experienced this when I first started the diet, so it’s not a surprise, and it only lasts about a week. Only this time I’d like to try to combat it - several websites I’ve suggested drinking more water, eating more fat, and drinking things like broths. 

I just made a batch of broth last night, so let the broth-drinking begin!

Day 85, Eating Habit

Day 85 Record Keeping SRHI = 69
Day 53 Fixed Meditation SRHI = 72
Day 14 Walking SRHI = 13 (Did not walk yesterday)
Day 100 Eating SRHI = 58
Bad night sleep, good wakeup

Eating Habit

I believe I have mentioned before that I’ve formed, almost by accident, an eating habit. A friend of mine tried cutting out grains and sugar, and had amazing results. He generally does this, occasionally eating things like pizza if he craves it, but to a minimum degree. 

I’ve read about the diet - I believe it would generally follow “Primal” rather than Paleo according to Mark Sisson and his fantastic blog, Mark’s Daily Apple.

When I first started I had a belt that I could barely get to the first hole. Now I’m comfortably wearing the same belt at the 5th hole (there are no more holes, I’m going to have to drill another one in if I’m using that as my progress).

I’ve lost quite a chunk of weight.

The efficacy of the diet itself is irrelevant to this project. My concern is about making it a habit, and this provides an interesting challenge. Part of the reason it’s been so effortless is because I allow myself “cheats” once a week or so. In fact my weight loss increases the day after the cheat.

And this brings up an interesting point - is a daily cheat and loosening of restrictions in any habit make it easier to form? I’ve definitely noticed a certain ease in this habit - up until now it’s almost been effortless, when, in previous diets I’ve gone on, it’s been quite hard. This might be explained away because I’m only now getting into the “danger zone” in my quarter mark theory.

The other problem is that it formed of its own accord, so I do not have data for the first 99 days. I decided that I would start tracking it now simply because I’m hitting that wall - the habit, which was so ingrained, is getting unstable, and I think recording it will help. I wish I had thought to record it from the beginning, but what’re you gonna do?