August 9th, 2011 - Day 31 of 60

Let me make one thing absolutely clear:  You are NOT going to be able to eat as much as you want or as you think you can/should for a while once you get started back on solid food. :-)

So this was the first day of the second-half of the Reboot.  Let me start by saying my trepidation was justified as I couldn't get to sleep last night thinking about eating.  I was laughing about the silliness of it all, yet concerned at the same time.  "It is all in your head," I told myself over and over.  Still, it became a bit annoying.  Then I had a dream which included a rather large hamburger.  I didn't eat it in the dream, so all is well.   I will also add that it is faster and easier to make a smoothie than a salad.  It took me over 30 minutes to finish up the salad.  I ended up packing at least 2X too much. I hope the rest is edible for tomorrow.  It was a rather optimistic amount and had a large variety of ingredients.  It needed to be washed, cut, etc.  Quite time consuming.  So, the day's food will breakdown like this: 

Meal 1: 07:00 AM - Fresh strawberries (maybe ten), cherries (maybe 20) and a very few raw nuts (less than a hand-full of mixed Walnuts and Brazil Nuts)
Meal 2: 09:30 AM - A banana with some raw almond butter (no more than 2 tablespoons).
Meal 3: 12:30 PM - Tossed salad (Romain, Red Leaf Lettuce, carrot, lemon cucumber, cucumber, orange/red cherry tomatoes & celery).  Used 1 Tbsp. of Annie's Balsamic salad dressing (I should have used more) today, but bought some raw, organic Tahini with some spices to see what I can come up with. Had a peach as well.
Meal 4: 03:30 PM - Planned cherries and strawberries,  I skipped it.  Still too full.
Meal 5: 6:30 PM - Broccoli Slaw salad with vegan mayo, fresh Pico de Gallo and pepper relish.

I am so full right now I can't move.  I am feeling like Mr. Creosote in "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life". I canceled the afternoon snack of cherries and strawberries so I could do yoga.  I still had to skip yoga.  Take it from me:  Enter very slowly into the realm of solid food.  Perhaps, on the first day, consider a small amount of fruit in the morning, a smoothie in the afternoon and then some more fruit in the evening.  Give yourself time to acclimate.  Digestion is hard and you've given your body a vacation for a while.

So, here is another psychological issue many may face:  After you've worked so hard for weeks and weeks, your weight is now at its lowest point.  You may have gone ten days, thirty days, sixty days or more.  At this point you see the scale reporting a number you may not have seen for a long time and can scarcely believe.  Now you must prepare yourself to watch the dial spin the other way.  "WAIT!," you scream, "I am eating well and not cheating!  Why is the scale going up?"  Alas, your now empty-ish colon has to fill itself up again.  It won't take long to get thing moving if you stick with raw vegan foods (I imagine a couple days).  If you have a good digestive system and things progress smoothly, you may not notice much of a spike at all.  If it takes a few days, you might notice a few pounds.  Don't worry about it!   It will even out after time.

I ran the numbers on my meal today and I figure I'll be around 1200 to 1300 calories... mainly from fat.  I wasn't worried about a lot of calories, just worried about too much fat.  A few nuts, a little almond butter, a little salad dressing and a dressing for my broccoli slaw and you get hammered.  HAMMERED.  I'm telling you, my friends, get an account on "cronometer.com" or similar site, take the time to set it up with your goals and various numbers.  I'm adding my favorite foods and recipes to make this easier.  It is a tad discouraging that my protein and carbs are so low, but I've eaten a lot of fruit and vegetables today.  I will likely go back to a smoothie or so a day this weekend or next week.  Even with that it will be a challenge.  To get my protein up I'll need to add the hemp seed (which adds fat).  Once the Reboot is over I'll add some beans to my diet.  In the short-term I'll be fine.  I think my calories per day were likely around 800 when one the smoothies.  So, my numbers look like they'll be up about 33% while on solid food.  I still hope to lose a few more pounds in the next few weeks.

So, what I am expecting is a gradual, yet small increase in body-weight over the next few days, followed by a plateau and then, hopefully, a small, incremental decrease thereafter.  If all goes well I'll be down a few more pounds by the end of the whole Reboot and feeling good.

So, that is Day 31.  I honestly never thought eating solid food would be such a chore.  No wonder people eat refined food: It is so damned easy.  But nothing worthwhile is easy.


Progress:

I am 50% through the 60 days.

Weight: 145.5 lbs.

Food: Fruit, Tossed Salad, Nuts, Broccoli Slaw Salad

Broccoli Slaw Salad with Pico de Gallo and Vegan Mayo