FMD – Day 3

Middle of the hump. Today will bring me to the halfway point of this Fasting Mimicking Diet. Woke with a glucose reading of 111mg/dl, and following a 2-mile walk, it was down to 108mg/dl. Time to start the rest of my routine.

I skipped breakfast which was another L-Bar of nuts, and instead had half of it as dessert after lunch. The soup became a bit bland as it was already familiar from day 1. The kale crackers that accompanied lunch were only half-eaten, so I could have some with dinner, which was also when I finished the L-Bar. Lethargy followed me around today, and it took everything in me to get to 10,000 steps. Ketosis is barely here, with a reading between 0.5 and 1.0, but that might be wishful thinking and me squinting to see what I want to see. Before dinner, my glucose has averaged 104mg/dl for the day. My weight loss as of this morning is a meager 1.9 pounds.

I’m starting to get the idea that my diabetes and this Fasting Mimicking Diet that is heavy on carbs are producing enough glucose that my body is getting enough energy from its sugars instead of going into heavy fat-burning mode. Well, I have two more days of this, and then on Saturday, I’ll kick over hard with a push into ketosis by only eating avocado, bone broth, and maybe some green drink. I cannot almost sense a kind of obsession coming to drop weight, but little motivation to write, think, or do anything else besides being mindlessly entertained or asleep.

FMD – Day 4

This FMD day was a drift into the oblivion of low-energy boredom. Other than monitoring my vitals, I had little to no motivation at times. Mindless entertainment via YouTube with an emphasis on food videos added sparkly bits to my imagination while I drifted into dreams of eating anything except what I’m limited to. Torturing myself physically seems to require a complimentary amount of mental anguish to accompany and balance things.

My blood glucose continued its trend down, letting me end the day with an average of a mere 96mg/dl, which is down 7mg/dl from the previous three days, which all happened to average 103mg/dl. I’ve walked 24 miles during these four days and eaten only 3,370 calories. Regarding my caloric intake, it’s strange to think that I’ve certainly eaten meals where I’ve consumed more than that in a single sitting.

Offering other details of the day just wasn’t going to happen here on my blog, but then, towards the end of the day, I found a burst of inspiration that let me spend a moment exploring a few things on the synthesizer.

FMD – Day 5

Never in my wildest hopes did I ever think I could lose more than 20 pounds in less than a month, but that’s exactly what I did. It wasn’t through illness, though it was to combat diabetes that has been treated with Metformin and not a drop of insulin. I didn’t lose the weight by amputation or poverty that stopped me from being able to eat. There are no dramatic photos of the before super fat John and a now ripped version; I am far from ripped with my one-pack.

I lost these 22 pounds through sheer determination, effort, sacrifice, and a change of lifestyle. I’ve been so effective that I can see a continuation of my grueling endeavor, removing another 20 pounds before the end of the year as being within my grasp.

What’s been the motivation? On Friday the 13th, back in September, after weighing in with my doctor at 242 pounds, I was reminded of the need to take my diabetes seriously. While I thought things were “more-or-less” managed, I found out that the previous 90 days saw me falling off the boat of compliance. There was also another consideration flirting with my imagination.

I’ve often imagined that someday Caroline would be put in the situation of having to summon emergency services for her fat and bloated husband, who may or may not be dead. Her having to plead with the strapping-fit firemen to save her husband, who has to be taken downstairs with all of his blubber oozing off the sides of the stretcher. I groan and beg them not to drop me as I start spilling out of their grasp while heading down to the street.

Life is precarious enough with all of the potential pitfalls that can creep into our lives at any moment. My complicity in carrying the extra load that could contribute to heart disease, stroke, or multiple amputations due to untreated diabetes has reached the breaking point. I started fearing that if I didn’t make a better effort while I could, I might reach the point where something would happen, and trying to repair things from that debilitation would prove too difficult to surmount.

So, off with the weight seemed to be the most practical thing I could commit to. What started with simply trying to reduce and monitor my caloric intake quickly spun into results that were shocking, and I have to admit that I thought were unsustainable. Here I am, though, a month later and over 20 pounds lighter. In another couple of months, I hope that another 20 pounds of loss will bring me to 199 pounds, which, in my mind becomes manageable for a healthier future.

Stats for the week:

• Blood Glucose average was 100.2mg/dl
• Blood Glucose change over the week: down 7mg/dl on average
• Weight loss per day average was 1 lb 4 oz (.57kg)
• Total weight loss: 6.4 lbs (2.9kg)
• Step count average: 11,121
• Miles walked: 25 (40.2km)