Thursday marked day 10 of the “reboot”, day 5 of juice-only. Up until that day I had lost 10 lbs (despite gaining 2 earlier in the week) yet had no apparent change in blood sugar, no apparent change in blood pressure, no real change in energy level and mood had definitely changed from normal me to grouchy me. On Thursday morning I woke up and weighed only to find that I had gained yet another pound, bringing my total weight loss back to 9 lbs.
After the morning’s findings I started my day with an attitude even more poor than it had been the previous 9 days. Trudging along, I spent most of the day wishing for a deep sleep that wouldn’t allow me to wake until the end of day 15 when this could all be over. I got to work, keeping my bad attitude reasonably hidden, trying to keep my griping at a minimum. When 10:30 rolled around I had my coconut water (morning snack) but after that is when it got unacceptable.
As lunchtime neared I got to thinking about what I had in my lunchbox – a green “lemonade” that tastes nothing like lemonade at all. Sloshing around in the jar, the “lemonade” had formed three apparent layers: a swamp-like, mossy layer across the bottom quarter and top quarter with murky, foggy green water making up the middle half. This is common in juices and a nice shake before drinking will at least give your drink a consistant color. That day, though, I just wasn’t ready for it. My stomach turned thinking about it – my throat closed off every time I considered having it. Normally I have lunch at around 12:15 or so but it was 2:00 before I broke down and had the juice because I simply just didn’t want to drink it.
The same thing happened again when I had my afternoon snack – a “red” juice with the main ingredient as beets. I stared at the jar until it was nearly time to go home (5:30 – I usually have my afternoon snack around 4:00) again, because I just didn’t want it. After drinking the beet drink I just wanted to throw up or at least gag at the thought of what I had just done. It was gross to me and I had had enough.
I can lose weight the “normal” way – I knew that because I’ve done it before – and it just no longer made sense for me to spend my days not only hating my “diet” but nearly getting sick at the very thought of the next meal time. So I decided to go home and tell (ask) Erin politely if I could just not do it anymore. In my mind my request was going to be met with slight anger at my forfeiture, disappointment in my ability to be a good husband, a failure at both health and life.
But Erin was cool with it. In fact, she was a little too cool with it. She told me she was relieved I wasn’t going to be doing it anymore because I had been such a grouch for the last 10 days and was somewhat unpleasant to be around. I’m sure my coworkers thought the same.
So that was it. I agreed to drink the dinner juice but afterward, I was no longer a part of the juice fast “reboot”. I celebrated by having a burrito-sized flour tortilla for dessert.
Friday morning, I had dropped 3 pounds, bringing my total weight loss to 12 pounds. I celebrated my newfound dietary freedom by having a fajita quesadilla and some choriqueso for lunch. Today, I’m down another pound and I still feel awesome.
On a positive note about the “reboot” I have to say that it did do a couple of good things for me that will further assist me in my weight loss endeavors: firstly it has broken my caffeine addiction. As of this morning I haven’t had coffee or soft drinks in 13 days and I don’t find myself wanting either. This is a good thing. Secondly, spending several days having a simple juice for a meal has made me seem fuller faster. This morning for breakfast I had a piece of plain whole wheat toast, a fresh apricot and three pieces of chicken-chorizo “sausage” from the great Jimmy Dean – less than 300 calories total, and I feel satisfied. I’m sure this won’t last really long but for now I’m enjoying my ability to not only go for smaller portions but also be satisfied by them.
Just to tie things off here I guess I’ll include my day 10 numbers:
Thursday (Day Ten)
Feeling: Physically fine. Mentally psycho. The thought of drinking another juice was literally turning my stomach so sometimes nauseous.
Mood: Same ol’ grouch I’ve been plus a little bit of fear of letting my wife down.
Weight: 251 lbs
Weight Two Days After Quitting: 248 lbs
Blood Pressure: 120/79
Feelings Toward Joe: Let’s just hope I never get to meet the guy.
I keep a sketchbook at my desk and in celebration of it being both Friday and the day I was free from my diet, I decided to “let my freak flag fly” and doodled this two-headed baby duck. I thought it was appropriate. To slightly change a quote from the great Mitch Hedberg on ducks: My opinion of life is very much influenced over whether or not I can eat bread.
Beard Hair In My Coffee 5.0 