Not Eating to Win

I've consumed 560 calories today and it's been a complete catalyst. I'm not exactly sure what part the food restriction played but today I was finally honest with Baltar about my feelings, I cried like a baby, and I got my period. Finally, on three counts!

I'm hungry but I'm clear. Intuition steered me to look closer at a NY Times article published earlier this year about a lifestyle movement based on paleolithic humans. My body has been fighting me for months and I wanted a solution that simply "made me feel human again." I ended up researching the theory of alternate day fasting and the effect is has on metabolism and liked what I was reading. As human animals, it is unnecessary to consume the exact same number of calories each day, rather we are programmed to deal with periods of hunger followed by satiety. When we eat a drastically reduced number of calories one day, followed by normal eating the next, we are stimulating SIRT1, a gene that extends the life of our cells. Resveratrol, the compound in red wine, also stimulates this gene. By alternating days, the body doesn't go into starvation mode, which destroys the metabolism.

To me, not eating more than a few hundred calories in day has the added benefit of taking my mind off food. I usually cook rather elaborate meals for just simple me, as I love the beauty of putting together dishes that offer the most color, nutrients, antioxidants and taste. But that ritual leaves me constantly thinking about food. I'm starting this food cycling program of one day 500 calories, the next a normal amount, to try and reset my thyroid and my metabolism.

I have an appointment with a nutritionist/acupuncturist tomorrow morning to review my blood work and help me further. Her intake was 12 pages of extremely personal questions so I'm hoping she delivers.

I'll conclude with a photo of a waterfall from my kitchen window:


Aloha.