Reflections

 I forgot to mention a few things but my health concerns were consuming for a while there and I’m just now finding the time to reflect on some things.

First off, it’s been a year since I’ve moved to the new house. There were some challenges. The windows and baseboards are not all properly sealed so we got ants and ladybugs over the first winter. For the meantime, we’ve been treating the yard and spraying preventatively and haven’t seen them around. We’ll still need to seal and I may do that in the next month or so but it’s not a huge issue. The cracks don’t leak hot or cold air so they’re superficial gaps.

Another challenge is that the new house is on a main road so the traffic is much noisier. However, I invested in some really comfy earplugs (Happy Ears; definitely recommend!) and I sleep like a baby, no matter how much traffic is outside.

I was also upset that the nearby Hog Rock Cafe burned down around Thanksgiving and the owners bought the space next door, supposedly to rebuild. It was a noisy venue that attracted a lot of traffic and I do NOT want to live next door to that. Fortunately, there are stricter noise ordinances so close to these residences and there are churches close by that are not quick to approve liquor licenses. As much as I hope they can rebuild, I don’t want it next door and hope they simply lease the space to quieter shops and look for a business area more suited to a bar/restaurant venue. It would be awesome even if they decided to go the food truck route. I’m sure they could even lease picnic areas to draw a crowd to better spots for events. They aren’t allowed to rebuild where they were (I think being a historical building, they got to break a lot of rules but the same doesn’t apply to new structures), but I think this is a good opportunity to be enterprising and rethink the format. They do still cook at the VFW up the street so the passion really seems to be with the food and I’m positive they can make it work another way.

I don’t think the fasting alone is responsible for my increased energy and better moods. I started taking L-Tyrosine and Dopa Mucuna after seeing claims to benefitting ADHD and neuro health. Although I’ve also read that one actually reduces the potency of the other (oops) after one day of trying them together, I had no bad side effects and really felt better. Could be a fluke, a placebo effect, but I’ve continued to take them together and they seem to give me energy and better moods without damaging sleep.

I also decided to do some ketone urine testing while fasting and learned that by the end of a 36 hour fast, my ketones are higher than they need to be for weight loss (by quite a bit). Even if the strips are inaccurate and always read high, this reading would still be over the .5-3 reading that is beneficial for weight loss. While I may still do rare three day fasts for autophagy, (like every 3-4 months rare) I’m actually going to do two 24 hour fasts this week and see if the ketone zone stays where it’s most effective. The fasting app I use did do some rough calculations early on and indicate I  might reach ketosis sooner than most.

So I do have some genetic benefits after all, I just happened to have bad instincts for a long time. It took genetic testing and blood tests to be able to pinpoint things (like digestive sensitivities, high fat tolerance but low carb tolerance, sodium resistance and high caffeine tolerance). However, it’s very encouraging to be able to better pinpoint what habits actually work so I don’t stay in a frustrated loop, unable to figure out what to try next.

I think I mentioned finishing one of my dolls. I don’t have the prettiest picture of her but I’ll throw some pics at the end. It’s still a giant pain in the ass posting pictures on the mobile version of this blog site. I’d love to eventually post some staged shoots but I still need to finish her bodyguard and would love to be able to photo them together.

I’ve only been picking at projects this week but my dad has been sick so I’ve stepped up to keep house and keep my nephews consistent with school. Very busy and tiring but rewarding, but my own good health has made a huge difference.

Oh, going back to the fasting for a second, I wanted to point out that I am reducing my fasting days rather than extending. It’s usually our knee jerk reaction that when a plan isn’t working, we need to do more, but I find it very important to note that sometimes you need to do less. Eating disorders and other serious health problems can come from the instinct that our efforts aren’t ‘enough’. I don’t always know the right questions to ask when I hit a roadblock but, by chance, I stumbled on ketone testing while fasting and got some valuable insight. While the longer fasts can lead to better autophagy, the better health pursuit is still weight loss right now. Aiming for 165 is an overall health priority. I don’t need to lose more weight than that for purely health reasons so I can return to extended fasts more often when I get there. I’d like to see a consistent 1-2 pound loss a week, no more and no less, so shorter fasts may be in order. However, having tried daily 16:8 or 20:4 fasts that were awful experiences for me, I would still like the sort of eat-stop-eat experience rather than constant time or calorie restrictions.

I know I should probably do separate blogs since I’ve strayed from the writer/author theme on this for at least two years but I’ve tried separate blogs and I neither stuck with them nor was able to keep them more organized. I’ve given a huge wealth of writing information I’ve learned and tried, advice always framed to help you find what works for you and not assume my way works for everyone. Instead, I decided the creative chaos can live in one spot. Because my interests come in these big block phases, separate blogs would often get neglected for the months or years I pursued something else and more often than not, my very few readers just want to easily follow my cohesive journey. I may rebrand this from Unconventional Author to Unconventional Creations, something more cohesive to the many journeys I’ve taken, but I’m not sorely in need of new projects for now. I would like to finish my smaller projects before taking on more ambitious ones.

Graphic design… I haven’t lost any of that knowledge. I haven’t been clogged up with clients and mostly do small free projects but I am always quick picking up the reins and churning out sleek and sharp projects. I still use all of the programs focused on in college and haven’t gotten rusty. On occasion, I have very specific unique needs and learn new things quickly and retain them very well. Sometimes I program Actions so a task I might want to use again is a click away. 

Really, I love how my brain works when I can harness it. It’s not conventionally organized but there’s a method to the madness that gets me where I need to be and never feels like failure. Or at least failure isn’t the end and I press on to success.

Now any and all pictures I’ve promised…

Flexible Fasting

 One thing that I’ve learned in incorporating fasting into my lifestyle changes is that the weekly goal of two 36 hour fasts is not a hard rule nor does it need to be. Sometimes my body is just over it at 24 hours and that’s okay. Trying to push it can cause it to become too obsessive in my thoughts, cause pain or discomfort, and intensify cravings or probability of bingeing. After fasting, there is a high probability I’ll eat two days worth of calories in one day, but I’ve also learned that that doesn’t negate the benefits of fasting. I’m experiencing better health, better moods, and more satisfaction than sticking to a calorie restrictive diet. My sleep is improving. My muscles feel stronger and I just feel lighter on my feet, more apt to break into dance or have bursts of energy or inspiration.

Today, I even worked on one of my dolls a bit more. I’ve chiseled out some clearer plans for assembling her outfit. I detailed her shoes a bit and started work on one of her arm bands. Pretty much glue tests that I hope hold but if they do, I can start to decorate the metals with gems. Jewelry can be fiddly and frustrating though so I really have to be in the right mood for that too.

As for fasting, it does have some downsides. The worst, for me, are the liquid bowel movements. On the upside, they do look like they’re keeping me cleaned out, but it also means I can neither trust a fart nor ignore the need to go for just a few minutes. There is no safely holding it in until I’m done with something. I can either gracefully go when the urge hits or risk shutting myself. There’s really no way to sugar coat this. I simply have to accept that my digestive system gets either lazy or over-efficient. Once I break the fast, there is usually at least one more liquid or semi-solid BM but after that, it’s back to being regular. It’s very likely that the sodium I drink to keep electrolytes up in the culprit, but it’s very necessary and I’ll take the down side. I’m not working in a job where this is an issue, so now is the opportunity to deal with it. Also, this is an exchange for the migraines, stomach upset, lethargy and crankiness that comes from not keeping electrolytes up. When a whole handful of side effects is eliminated in exchange for one, there’s just no contest. I am able to do more on fasting days with electrolytes maintained so I’m not completely useless those two days either. It could become an issue for my social life if I have to hide from people those two days all the time.

The only other downside I’ve found is that I have zero alcohol tolerance. It makes me feel like garbage, I don’t recover fast and it’s not worth it. I’ll be avoiding drinking alcohol as long as I’m fasting regularly like this. If I reach a point where I’m only fasting once every week or two, maybe I’ll take a drink here and there but there will be no more than that. I can’t say I’ll miss it though. I’m just not a fan of being drunk anymore; it inhibits any hope to work on anything and makes me lazy. Maybe other people can enhance their creativity or drive with it but it does nothing for me there. Mostly just makes me moody and frustrated with myself.

So I’ll be chilling through this day until I can break fast in the morning. Almost at the 24 hour mark and it’s been a decent one. I usually like to start around 7:00 but this one started last night around 8:30. Not a big deal since I’ve been sleeping in until noon most days this week since my nephews are on fall break. Still, don’t want to fall asleep before 1 AM tonight or I risk waking up early and counting down until I can eat. Much better feeling if I can wake up having cleared the full time.

I will be weighing myself in the morning too. I usually only step on the scale every two weeks. This seems to make the weight that much more satisfying or gives me an allowance if I needed to be less strict. This has to be a flexible process so I don’t like to get too laser-focused on any of the details. If I want this to be successful as a lifestyle change, maintenance will mean it can’t become something I dread. Any point of dread means it needs serious evaluation before it becomes burnout and neglect. I’ve been there and when I reach square one after long term neglect, it’s a very bitter pill to swallow. And as I’ve learned each time, what worked before may not work again. As we age and change, our bodies will demand different processes sometimes. Much easier to make small adjustments while healthy than have to slog through all the pain and frustration of starting over.

More on Fasting

 I’m closing on a fifth week since I’ve started attempting two 36-hour fasts a week and I feel it’s time to be a bit more thorough. For one, this was not my first choice and if you have any sort of metabolic or chronic conditions, history with or risk of eating disorders or are not fully grown (for young adults, this can mean into your early 20s), methods of fasting may be difficult or completely dangerous for you. I began my curiosity with fasting because the standard methods absolutely did not work after six months of experimentation and strict diets were causing disordered eating and bad habits. Always ease into dieting and exercise plans or you risk frustrating fails or injury. Remember that fad diets can be very risky; keto can drastically elevate blood pressure and cholesterol and it is only doctor approved for the treatment of epilepsy in children. Any success for weight loss in adults is not guaranteed and is never recommended beyond six months. If you want a restrictive diet, the Mediterranean diet is the most recommended by doctors. If you’re searching for some starter points, that’ll save you hours of searching right there.

So, disclaimers and research aside, fasting is genuinely helping me. I am not tempted to fast beyond two 36-hour fasts; I am not miserable doing them but the guilt that comes from cheating on a diet doesn’t exist because the only rule I have is not to intake more than maintenance calories (which at my current weight is about 2400-2600 calories). That is usually only an issue the day I break a fast when my body can really crave carbs, which are almost always calorie busters whether they are healthy carbs or not. I experience less chronic pain, get better sleep, have less anxiety and depression and my digestion really improved. These effects were almost immediate from the first week I began to try fasting. While ADHD is neither positively nor negatively affected, I am less stressed out by either the lack of focus or hyperfocus. I am more laidback overall.

Not gonna lie; I am super sensitive to smells when fasting and I think about food constantly, but it isn’t frantic. I start to create mindful menus, contemplate how I want to break the fast, make grocery lists or just let my focus wander or obsess on the mundane. I don’t try to force myself to prioritize. I become more aware that healing my body means offering more trust to my mind and honoring its needs. I can lose my grip and be more emotional than rational and trust myself to calm down again. It’s surreal since I’ve always resisted feeling for fear I would go too far. I’m discovering that I’m more capable of relief from their release and have more control of their duration and don’t let them wander down darker pathways.

I do trust in medicine and science and research so I never found a reason to pursue ‘clean’ methods of dieting or fasting. In considering fasting as an option, I looked in to pros and cons and specifically how it had been studied in women, of different ages and genetic backgrounds. Most diets are only studied in targeted groups (mice or men, in most cases) and not in women who menstruate or are in stages of menopause. This is why I advise you to stick to simpler plans of balanced dieting, slow elimination and gradual exercise. You have to learn which disciplines work and fail to attempt alternatives. If you’ve never fasted before or have done more than missed a meal or two, it can be stressful. Stress can intensify side effects. It is recommended to start with small intermittent fasts; 12, 16, 20 and 24 hours then possibly 36 or 48. Anything longer than 72 and regardless of how healthy you are, you will need to involve a doctor, if only so they can schedule regular tests for blood, urine and stress, give you a baseline for what you need to supplement for extended fasts.

Keep in mind that some ‘fasting diets’ actually allow up to 500 calories consumption on fast days. So not fully fasting but still being able to experience some benefits of fasting for weight loss at the least. I actually avoid calories to get bursts of ketosis and autophagy benefits. You really have to research what you want out of fasting and what’s at risk to achieve those goals, weigh them accordingly.

I’ll add more of my journey later. For now, it’s promising. I am very careful to adjust to any possible negative issues. I don’t want to sugar coat anything with the potential for risks. All diet and exercise changes can be high risk for some, so while anyone can recommend what works for them a little too eagerly, always be skeptical and careful.