The Most Important Meal or So I've Been Told
I am never really hungry in the morning and I am a vegetarian that doesn't like to eat eggs or milk so breakfast is hard and trendy, hipster breakfast joints are mostly a write-off for me. I am also a hypocrite who occasionally delights in eating huge sticky cinnamon buns with gooey whole pecans stuck to to the bottom for breakfast which I am sure contains milk and eggs in all its glory and fullness of its deliciousness. But a fried egg, not so much.
Eggs
I think it stems back to grade school science experiments where we incubated eggs and the teacher cracked one open every few days to see how a red spec of blood on a yoke as saw its development as it became a full blown baby chicken! Since then, I was deeply aware of what eggs were but this post is not about not eating eggs or dairy, it's about not eating anything... for breakfast.
Protein Shakes
I used to make a protein shake for breakfast, the most important meal of the day. I didn't really feel like eating anything and thought I could try to drink something. I would make it in a Nutribullet with frozen kale and bananas and then put half in the fridge where it would sit all day, slowly melting into a dark green sludge.
Intermittent Fasting
Fasting sounds scary, it seems to signal the end of being able to eat ever again but I watched a few videos on youtube about how it changed people's lives and was the best thing they ever did; how it helps people lose weight in 10 days, gain muscle, and oh yeah, it's healthy for you too. I have always known that eating fewer calories is one (if not the best) way to live longer and healthier (see links to articles below) so building upon that knowledge and not really enjoying breakfast, I decided to try intermittent fasting. The method of intermittent fasting that I am referring to is where you eat all your food in a 6 - 8 hour period, then fast for 16 - 18 hours. The easiest way for me to start was to forgo breakfast (yay!) and start eating at around noon or later if possible, then stop eating at 8 pm.
Ice Cream in a Vitamix
As I continued intermittent fasting, I realized that the calories and ingredients from my daily protein shake could be used later in the day as a frozen dessert if I had a Vitamix. This started a youtube Vitamix video binge and decided to get the Vitamix S30 which is the smaller blender that also comes with a personal cup and found it online at Costco $150 less than at other retailers. It was $50 off and another $25 if you used Masterpass at checkout. To fund my new venture, I put my Nutribullet, KitchenAid Mini Chopper, and mini trampoline for sale on craigslist because the Vitamix is both a blender and a food processor, however, it should not be used as a mini trampoline. I already sold the Nutribullet and if I subtract it from the cost of the Vitamix, I have spent less than $300.
Day 1
I had green tea on an empty stomach in the morning and that did not go well. It made me feel a bit nauseous but even after drinking copious amounts of water, I wasn't feeling any better so I had to break my fast around 11:30 am and have an raw oat bar. I ate normally all day and stopped around 8pm-ish.
Important Note before starting
While fasting, you can have tea, water with apple cider vinegar or sea salt.
DO NOT add cream or sugar, etc. to your beverages. The calories will bring you out of the fast and you might as well just have a protein shake or a four egg omelette.
Day 2
I had green tea but added a lot of hot water to it so that it wouldn't be as concentrated. The extra water helped and I didn't feel nauseous. I was able to hold off eating until 12:30 pm but I was more aware of being hungry. As I felt the hunger pangs, I realized how long it had been since I had felt true hunger. It had been a while. It was a good feeling. I noticed feeling more hungry than the first day.
I noticed that I went a bit off my usual diet from faulty logic and thinking the 8 hour period was magic and that the calories I consumed withing those 8 hours would not really 'count' and had a few chocolate mint girl guide cookies too many and Trader Joe Salt and Pepper Chips. I thought to dial it back the next day because a calorie is a calorie even if consumed during the eight-hour window. I also noticed that I became interested in eating healthier, in theory only obviously - Another cookie to help a girl go to summer camp? Why, yes! Nom nom!
I started thinking about how to use the protein shake that I didn't eat for breakfast as an evening snack and transform it into sherbert or an acai bowl - if only I had a Vitamix! Costco has the Vitamix s30 for $50 off and another $25 off if you use Masterpass to purchase it online. Apparently, it comes in all these cool colours but Costco has the black. Still kinda expensive so I proceeded to post my rebounder, Nutribullet and KitchenAid mini chopper food processor on Craigslist to fund the blending venture. And did some research on where to buy frozen acai berry packs but I digress...
Day 3
The third day landed on a Friday, the day that I allow myself to have coffee. I love coffee and have heard about the benefits of having coffee but when I drink it every day, I start to feel jittery and it often makes me feel anxious. When my body gets used to the caffeine every day and then I don't have coffee in the morning, I get major withdrawal symptoms that make me want to curl up in a ball like Ewan McGregor's character detoxing from heroin in Trainspotting. If I have it one or two days a week, I really enjoy the euphoric buzz and am able to avoid the detox symptoms on the days that I don't have it.
I made my coffee in my old faithful pink Barista machine and added lots of hot water rather instead of the usual creamy, frothy, silky soy milk.
It was not totally terrible and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, sipping on it as I type this. No nauseous feelings... yet. Drinking water with organic apple cider vinegar also.
It is 11:48 am and I am aware of feeling a little hungry but not feeling as hungry as yesterday. The coffee really helps curb my appetite!
Day 4
Felt hungry and broke my fast at noon. Yesterday, I was able to make it until 2:30 pm because of the coffee! It also made me feel really excited about the fasting and other things such as the Vitamix blender that I ordered. I didn't go as crazy with the food and was aware of feeling hungry but wasn't freaking out about it, like I was never going to be able to eat again, ever. Today the end of the fast felt good, that it was ok and safe to stop eating. I did do a lot of surfing for home delivery of organic produce and watched youtube videos about Vitamixing because I am thinking about how I can incorporate the Vitamix into my lifestyle. I soaked a bunch of dried beans overnight, apparently, they can be used to make thick soups on the vitamin.
Day 5
I had a tea that I forgot to dilute with additional water to make it weaker and ended up feeling nauseous at 11:30 am. I tried drinking water with a bit of apple cider vinegar but it didn't help. I felt like I was going to throw up even though it had been almost 16 hours since I last had something to eat so I had to break my fast and had a raw oat bar. I can stop eating at 7:30 pm tonight. Have to remember to hydrate a bit more with water and apple cider vinegar. Day 5 has fallen on a Sunday and I am noticing how much more time I have in the mornings, I even started filming a VLOG then ran out of space before I got to say everything I wanted. It was a practice run and need to learn how to edit the videos on my MacBook.
I am boiling up the beans that were soaking overnight to use in recipes when my Vitamix comes... hopefully, soon.
Benefits so far...
More Time - I got ready in 20 mins and had so much time because I didn't have to make breakfast. I think this will be a huge benefit as I add up all the time I save over the weeks.
Awareness - I am more aware of what I am eating and am more conscious when I am eating until 7: 48 pm rolls around and I try to cram in a few more cookies. Then I become aware of it and think that this cannot continue, check back with me at 9:00:01 tonight. I am also aware of feeling hungry. I notice that I don't often feel hungry and am aware how much food I consume, even when I am not hungry.
Benefits to come
Increased brain health
Loss of weight and belly fat
Reduction of Insulin Resistance
Lower risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Reduction of oxidative stress and inflammation
Prevention of Alzheimer's disease
Prevention of cancer
Longevity
Want to rebel against conventional wisdom and skip breakfast tomorrow with me? If so, share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below :)
Things That Help in the Fasting period
Water - I am in Vancouver, Canada so I just use tap water!
Tea - my favourite is Yogi Tea, Antioxidant - try seeping with lots of extra water if it makes you feel nauseous.
Black coffee - you have to have it straight up no cream or sugar or it will break your fast! I tried black Kicking Horse, Kick Ass coffee once from a thermos and it tasted so velvety and smooth that I thought it had cream in it.
Water with organic Apple Cider Vinegar , apparently highly regarded throughout history by people like, Hippocrates.
Water with sea salt. I got French brand at Whole Foods, and it was inexpensive, I mean relative to the price of other things there. Get the fine grind, the coarse took too long to dissolve.
You can also add cream of tartar to replace potassium but I have not tried it - too weird for me right now.
Scientific Stuff
Fasting: Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Applications <a href=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3946160/">
Caloric restriction improves health and survival of rhesus monkeys <a href=https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14063">