Upgrading My Fasting Routine

7 Comments

A great book for those of you interested in learning about the benefits of and ins and outs of fasting.

I never really stopped intermittent fasting. I’ve done IF for the last 7 years. I settled into an 8-hour eating window and 16 hours of fasting. The problem is that over the last few years the hubby and I just did a lot of damage in that 8-hour window. Although I’m still trying to figure out which direction to take my diet – low carb, keto, carnivore or P:E – I’ve decided I want to push myself on the fasting front.

After a morning binge of Dr. Jason Fung videos, I dusted off the good doctor’s The Complete Guide to Fasting.  I have to say: I love the grids of his fasting protocols. Visually, it’s a great way to show what a 24-, 36- or 42-hour fasting routine looks like.

This week I’m starting the 24-hour fasting protocol. I’m still doing the 16 fasting and 8 hour eating window, but every other day I’m only eating dinner. Today is a fasting day. That means my last meal was last night’s dinner, which I finished eating at 7:00 p.m. My first meal today will start at 7:00 p.m. – 24 hours later.

The only thing I’m allowing myself is water, herbal tea, and one coffee with 1 tbsp. of cream during my fasting hours. Now, I know that some of you are asking: How can you have cream on a fast? Good question! And I have two answers for you.

First, I’m following Jason Fung’s liquid guidelines. That cream is adding so little to my total caloric intake – 50g – it’s too little to matter. Second, my ultimate goal is to eliminate coffee from my diet. I’m drinking one cup a day. That’s down from five cups! I expect to be coffee free within a week or two.

Fasting Isn’t Starvation
There are real benefits if fasting is done right. Clearly, fasting can help with weight loss by helping me get into ketosis. But if I don’t eat right, I’ll stop burning fat.

Fasting is so much more powerful than fat loss. I’m combining fasting with my diet to help boost my energy levels, banish brain fog, reduce inflammation, and improve both leptin and insulin resistance. Once I’ve removed coffee from the diet, fasting will help stimulate autophagy – the body’s process for cleaning out damaged cells and regenerating healthier cells.

I’m finding the 24-hour fast easy to slide into after doing IF for years.  In fact, Jason Fung uses the 36- or 42-hour fasting protocol with his patients for better results. My plan is to move to 36-hour fasting 3 times a week in February before moving to the 42-hour protocol in March.

Of course, life happens. Family get-togethers, dinner with friends, special occasions… Heck, my birthday is this week – on a fasting day no less! Fasting doesn’t mean I become a hermit. I can still enjoy my life. In fact, it makes sense to fast after a feast.

Disclaimer: Fasting isn’t for everyone. There are people who shouldn’t even try fasting, including children, pregnant women and people with eating disorders.  If you are thinking about trying a fast, check in with your doctor first, especially if you are taking any medications. I’m not a doctor and this article is just to let you know what I am trying in regard to my health. It is not medical advice.

Dot’s 2021 Healthy Living Goals

18 Comments
Getting back into shape

My new resistance bands arrived late yesterday. Hello soreness my old friend!

It’s a new year and that means it’s time for resolutions. I’ve come to hate resolutions because I always fail at them. I’d rather set measurable goals so I can actually track my progress. After putting pen to paper, I came up with four measurable goals for a healthier 2021 for myself. Sadly, they are very similar to my goals when I started my little health journey back in 2012.

Over the last 2-½ years I’ve gained about 50 pounds. I lost my focus and fell into a funk. That means I have to drop 100 pounds to get back to my low point. Well … can’t say I don’t love a challenge.

What are my four health goals for 2021?

1. Get Healthy…Again
That doesn’t just mean fat loss. I’m including mental clarity. That means reading more, improving sleep, creating routines, practicing gratefulness, de-stressing, and de-cluttering (mess creates stress!). When I talk about “getting healthy” I mean the full package – mind, body and soul.

2. Build Strength & Stamina
I’m in my 50s. I know the road before me is shorter than the road behind me. I don’t want to spend my golden years in and out of doctor’s offices or hospitals. Building strength and cardio will keep me mobile as well as boosting my overall health and mood. That means a much better quality of life.

I’m still building my routine, but I plan to use a mix of bodyweight and resistance band exercises 2-3 days a week. As for cardio, I’m thinking more tortoise than hare. I’m starting the Mayo Clinic’s 12-week walking routine. I’m easing my hip back into a routine and the last thing I need is an injury.

3. Walk Pain Free
My body has a weight threshold. If I cross it, it lets me know with lower back pain when I walk too much. I need to loose roughly 5% of my body weight – about 15 pounds – for that pain to go away. Fingers crossed that by the end of January, I’ll fall under that threshold.

4. Stay Active
When I started my journey almost 9 years ago, staying active was really difficult for me. I’d left my job. Despite that, I still found myself sitting at a desk working on my computer.  I really needed a mental shift from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one.

That shift came after finding the keto diet and wearing a Fitbit. I went from an average of 2,300 steps in a day to 15,000-20,000 steps. But it wasn’t all power walks, 5k training, and spin classes. Nearly half those steps were from working around the house and running errands. I hated sitting for more than 30 minutes. I was bursting with energy. Sitting down wasn’t going to release that energy.

This last Thanksgiving, I found an old pedometer and gave it a whirl. In December, I averaged 4,000 steps a day. That’s much better than I thought, but it’s still a quarter of what I used to do. Frankly, I know I can do better. By year’s end I want to average 20,000/day.

Those are my four goals. To keep me honest, the plan is for regular postings here on my progress.

And yes, I’m working on new recipes.

What are your goals for a healthier you in 2021?

John’s books

3 Comments

Hey all, John here…

Dot said folks were asking about the books I write and asked me to post something. For years, I’ve tried not to shoehorn my side career into her “dot2trot” universe. Mainly because it isn’t about me — it’s about Dot, her passion for good food and great health, and you folks. But she asked nicely, so what can I say?

Here’s what I write: https://www.amazon.com/John-L-Monk/e/B00DSUEOAG

In the most general sense, my books usually fall into the spectrum of “speculative fiction.” Fantasy, sci-fi, etc. Of the titles in the link above, I’d say the books “Kick,” “Hell’s Children” and “Thief’s Odyssey” are the most accessible to a broad audience. The “Chronicles of Ethan” and my upcoming book “Underpowered Howard” were written in a genre called “LitRPG” — stories told from the perspective of someone living in a game universe governed by game rules (i.e., these stories are not for everyone).

Of them all, my first novel “Kick” has been optioned for a TV show — though with Covid going on, any movement on that has been put on hold.

Note of caution: if you read my books, understand they’re really just fiction — stories distilled from a lifetime of media and experience, then twisted, amplified through the lens of my personality. So no need to pity Dot for having a psychopath husband, kay? 🙂

Merry Christmas!

 

The Long, Horrible Goodbye

61 Comments

I’m receiving a lot of emails from readers and viewers sending me well wishes and asking if I’m okay. I sincerely appreciate all your positive thoughts. I want to assure you, I am fine although I’ve definitely gained back weight (more on that in a different post).

I’ve mentioned this before, but yes, we will be making videos again. We’re thinking as soon as spring of 2021. We’ve had few detours the last couple of years – some awesome, some challenging and one that is truly horrible.

On a positive note, my husband took on a huge project – he wrote 4 books – over the last 16 months. When he wasn’t working his real job he devoted all his spare time to writing – so he couldn’t man the camera in our kitchen. I am incredibly proud of him.

As for the horrible, for more than 2 years my attention started shifting from making cooking videos to my mom. Something was very wrong and earlier this year we got an official diagnosis — Lewy Body dementia.

I noticed early signs back in 2015 — anxiety, depression, and lack of sleep. But I attributed it to dad passing away. She also tended to shuffle her feet when she walked, which she blamed on her arthritis. Then there were unexplained bouts of vertigo.

About a year later, I noticed she became more agitated and restless towards the evening but it completely escaped me that she was sundowning.

Then everything changed in 2018 after mom broke her hip and leg from two falls. I remember a warning the orthopedic surgeon gave me after mom’s hip replacement. She said that about 30% die within a year of surgery because an underlying health issue accelerates.

Well, my mom’s dementia hit the gas pedal. For weeks after her first surgery, everyone – doctors, nurses, physical therapists – were telling me that her hallucinations were due to the anesthesia and the elderly take longer to recover. Then there was the extreme emotional swings, paranoia, memory loss, confusion, depression, and the lack of sleep. My sense is those symptoms were present before the surgery. It’s just that she was living with me after her release from the skilled nursing facility. Mom couldn’t hide anything from me.

It was her primary doctor who told us she had dementia and sent us to a neurologist to see if they could determine the type of dementia. Some you can treat with medication. Unfortunately, Lewy Body isn’t one of them.

The last few years have been hard as mom disappears. This is the woman who loved reading, going to school, and studying all things science. She started college when I was 5 years old, graduated medical school when I was 12 and practiced medicine for 30 years. Now she can’t care for herself. All I can do is watch as her mind unravels.

They call dementia the long goodbye. It is, and it’s horrible.

Why We Need To Focus On Health

5 Comments

I cannot stress enough why we need to make our own health a priority. Watch the video below and understand that 1/3 of all US adults are in the at-risk category. That’s 100+ MILLION US ADULTS. It’s everyone with type 2 diabetes (and pre-diabetes), hypertension, metabolic syndrome, obese, etc.

Being too heavy comes with lots of underlying health risks. That makes it easy for COVID-19 to push your body to the point of no recovery.

I’m A Stepping Fool

4 Comments
pedometer

My new toy to track my steps. Over 4 days I averaged 12,000+ steps a day. And on Sunday I rested.

Concerned that I was falling back into my old couch potato ways, I decided to buy a pedometer to track my steps. The last few weeks the weather’s been wet and windy. Who wants to walk in that? Not me. So poof, the idea of getting the pedometer popped into my head. I was curious.

How much I sit on my butt at home.

I usually track my walks with the RunKeeper app. But it can’t track you inside buildings. I do have a Fitbit. But while I want to track my steps, I don’t want Google watching my every step.

So pedometer it is.

It arrived late Wednesday. I quickly set it up and put it on my bedside table, ready for Thursday morning. Sure enough, I woke up, clipped it to my PJs, and started my day. I made a promise to myself not to look at it until the end of the day. I just wanted an idea of how much I move in a day. I guesstimated that I’d hit around  2,500 steps.

Ha! Read More

Keeping Workouts Practical

6 Comments
final beds

A big workout this wet, rainy weekend as we built our 3 raised beds.

Despite the elements, we finished building our garden beds this weekend. Not an easy feat considering the ground was still soaking wet from an overnight storm. There was a lot of sliding and sinking in the mud as we completed the second layer of each frame. Forget all the heavy lifting we were doing. Trying to maintain your balance on a muddy, slippery lawn for an afternoon is tiring.

Oh, and there were the squats…lots of squats. I can’t tell you how many squats we performed. Some with body weight only, others with body weight and pressure-treated boards.

I got a full body workout and muscle soreness without the cost of monthly gym fees.

What’s interesting is I found this “workout” more practical than a 45-minute ordeal with a trainer. I mean, how often do I need to do a one-legged squat on a bosu ball outside of a gym?

Every movement I did — pulling, pushing, lifting and squatting — are things I do every day. It’s just this weekend I had “weights” (a saw, hammer, boards, shovel and dirt). Read More

Building My (Sort of) Keto Garden

4 Comments
seeds

The start of my seed collection with more on the way. Yes, I’m out of control.

Since the Winter Solstice, there’s an excitement building in me. The days are growing longer. Which means gardening season is right around the corner. Last year I really didn’t plan my garden. It was very willy-nilly.

Well this year the garden will have more structure and focus on growing (mostly) keto friendly vegetables and fruits. And I’ve even set a few goals for myself.

1. Have fun
The fun part is easy. From perusing the seed catalogs to building raised beds to starting seeds early, I love it all.  But will I feel the same when things don’t go right? I killed a few plants last year and I know I’ll kill more this year. But I’m learning from my mistakes. I just have to keep in mind that gardening is more about the process than the results. Read More

Setting My House In Order

15 Comments

PetersonRight now I’d describe my life as disorganized chaos punctuated with bouts of intense hip pain and many periods of extreme laziness. All of this has lead to some very poor dietary choices and a growing waistline.

In short, I do not like myself very much right now.

The last time I felt that way, I’d read a book that turned my life around (after a lot of hard work). Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes set me on a path to putting my health first. It worked…for a while…until life kicked me in the tail.

After cancer, then an unstable hip, plus the efforts required to help my aging mom, life right now feels out of my control.

Now, once again, I’ve discovered a book that might just be the ticket to helping me gain back control over my life.

Recently, I started reading Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos.

I know Peterson is a bit of a controversial figure. People either love him or hate him. Do I agree with everything he says? No. But I don’t even agree with myself half the time. Having said that, his book does make me think. And that is awesome. I don’t talk politics on this blog, except when it comes to our boneheaded nutrition guidelines. I will say that just because I agree with someone on a particular point, that doesn’t mean I think they are the next coming of Christ. Nor do I believe that if I disagree with someone, he’s Hitler. We’d be better off if more people go into a conversation with the idea that may be we’re wrong.  It’s how we learn and grow.

Cleaning Up My Life
Titled Set Your House In Perfect Order Before You Criticize The World, chapter six really hammers home the idea that when things fall apart in our lives, we have two options:

  1. Complain about the world and let bitterness and resentment drag us down, or;
  2. Be invested in our own self-improvement.

Just the other day I was going on and on (for the 100th time) about how expensive it is to eat on the carnivore diet. My husband pointed out that it’s not a big deal if we stopped going out to eat three nights a week at a steakhouse.

D’oh!

I’d wasted so much time complaining that I didn’t stop and ask, “What can I do about this?”

The answer: stop eating out. This makes beef very affordable.

It’s easy to point a finger at our family, our job, our environment, the government, or other entities as to blame for our lot in life. What’s hard is to stop bitching, take a good look at the behaviors that got us here, and then act on those realizations.

In chapter 6, Peterson asks a simple question: “Have you cleaned up your life?”

Clearly, from my carnivore chat with my husband, the answer is a definite “NO.”

Time To Stop Neglecting Myself
I’m not really doing the chapter justice. There’s just so much in it, and I plan to reread it later today. I initially picked up the book to see if I could glean ideas to help me get back on track with eating keto. This chapter was surprisingly revealing and hit me harder than I could have hoped for. I’ve written before that weight loss is 95% food, 5% exercise and 100% mental. Well, it’s the mental side that I need to focus attention on, and Peterson’s observations have really helped me focus on the negative behaviors I need to change.

One behavior is actually a sort of non-behavior: I  haven’t been as engaged. I used to do lots of challenges with the diet and exercise. I used to love reading up on the latest dietary research. The more videos I watched or articles I read, the more mindful I was of what I ate. I stayed active and closely tracked my progress. I was engaged and, most importantly, I was having fun.

Then, at some point, I began neglecting the mental component of fitness and health.

Starting Small: February Challenges
So where to start? Here, Peterson offers some guidance: the key is starting small.

How small? It can be as simple as making the bed every morning, or working harder at our jobs. We have to stop doing what we know is wrong, and start doing things we know are right.

I’m sticking with carnivore in February, and will be eating beef and eggs until my garden starts producing. To ease the financial challenge of carnivore, the hubby and I are eating-in all month, and prohibiting alcohol. No wine for me, no scotch in the evenings for him.

Next up: my mobility. Just a couple of years ago I’d go on a 6-mile walks or train for 5 and 10K races. Now I’m lucky if I can walk 15 minutes straight with no pain. From now on, each morning, I’ll spend 30 minutes stretching my hip. Every other day, I’ll add in 15-30 minutes of light yoga, and follow that with a nice walk outside. My goal is to hit 30 minutes of walking a day by month’s end.

Thank you Jordan Peterson, you’ve been a big help. The rest is up to me.

Happy World Carnivore Month!

6 Comments
steak

My typical carnivore dinner: 2 eggs over easy and a rib-eye steak. Yummy.

I’ve designated 2020 as an awesome year for my health. The husband and I went carnivore a week before we rang in the New Year. Although we hit a few snags – namely wine – we found our groove in time for World Carnivore Month (WCM).

Does this mean I’m no longer eating veggies and berries? Nope. I should be back to filming delicious keto (and carnivore) dishes soon. It’s just that my husband needs to get serious about his gut health and the Carnivore Diet is the ultimate elimination diet. I’m joining him for support and as a reset, and God knows I need one.

Hardcore Carnivore
There are many ways you can do the carnivore diet – with limited diary, no dairy, lean meat with added fats, fatty meats only, grass-fed & free-range meats only, all beef, keto carnivore, 90% meats and 10% vegetables, etc.

I know there will be comments to proclaim what the one true carnivore diet is. Well I call “Shenanigans” on you. Like all healthy eating lifestyles, make it your own as far as what works for you.

Per my husband’s suggestion, we are going all-beef, with eggs. No spices, herbs or seasonings with the exception of salt (obviously!).

The only plants we’re consuming come in the form of coffee and tea. That means the only dairy is heavy cream for coffee, and that is limited.

brisket

Last night’s dinner – a lovely beef brisket.

How Much Meat Do I Eat In A Day?
I don’t usually measure my food on carnivore. I’m really focused on eating when hungry only. However, I have noticed a gradual increase in how much beef I’m eating. So I did some measuring.

Before carnivore, I typically ate about 14 ounces of meat in a day. The first week of carnivore I was eating roughly 20 ounces of beef/day. I’d say right now I eat between 24-36 ounces (1-1/2 to 2 pounds)/day.  If I’m super busy doing physical work I can easily eat 2 pounds/day. But If it’s a lazy day, it’s a struggle to eat 24 ounces.

I’d guess that my husband is between 3-4 pounds of beef a day. But he too had to build up to that amount.

So Far I Feel Awesome…When We Don’t Mess Up
My energy level is up and I’m experiencing fewer aches and pains in my problem hip and knees when I stick to carnivore. But we’ve had some slips due to very poor planning and bad habits. Things like wine and very anti-keto snacks (popcorn is the devil!).

I don’t beat myself up for those slips…I don’t have to. My body punishes me with:

  • Poor sleep
  • Low energy the following day
  • Hip pain
  • Swollen legs

For me, slip-ups happen with boredom. If I’m not busy I’m my own worst enemy. Thanks to physical therapy and gardening my mobility improved. But once that first frost hit, I didn’t have a plan to stay as active.

Bad habits came back with abandon. And I’m feeling it in my hip. Not good.

shed

We had to tear down our old shed last summer. Now we have a ton of work to do to get our backyard ready for the new shed.

Rather than waiting for spring (47 days away in case you were wondering), I’m focusing my efforts on some DYI projects around the house:

  • Painting the basement
  • Cleaning up the backyard
  • Finishing the raised beds
  • Redecorating the spare bedroom/office
  • Organizing closets
  • Replacing plants in our landscape

Some of these projects, I kept putting off. Others are more urgent with spring fast approaching (like clearing out the space for our new shed).

What I love is all of these projects are needed, take time to get right, and keep me active physically and mentally. There is no reason to get bored and eat something I don’t want to eat.