Thanksgiving is this week. I am a big fan of Thanksgiving. It is a holiday full of traditions and time spent with friends. As Americans, we gather at the family table to give thanks for all that we have. Next, we eat turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, pumpkin pie, and anything else that is offered. I am getting hungry just typing up this list. Then, we watch football, try to hold off the food coma, and finally fall asleep on the couch. After we wake up it is time for turkey sandwiches and more pie. It truly is a gluttonous day – full of family, fun, and lots of food. Lots and lots of food. I am not saying this is a bad thing. In fact, I actively participate in this annual ritual. Rather, this blog post is about the rest of the year. Every day, except for Thanksgiving.
My goal to stay under 200 pounds
This year I decided that I needed to lose some weight, about 15 pounds. I was over 200 pounds and did not feel healthy. In the morning when I woke up my joints ached, and I would get strange pains throughout the day. I am sure that old age has something to do with it, but I was convinced my weight was also an issue. During my adult lifetime, my weight typically hovers around 200 pounds. It will spike as high as 210, and go as low as the high 180s. My doctors (one is my primary physician, and the other gives me an annual executive physical) recommended that I get my weight below 200 pounds for a few reasons.
- He said I would feel better – he was right. I do.
- She said my running would improve – she was right. It has.
- They both said I would have more energy – they were both right.
The Keating genes – short and stocky
Losing weight is usually not too difficult for me because I weigh so much, but it has gotten harder the older I get. It seems like every year I lose the same 10 pounds as last year and end up weighing 200 pounds. Also, my family genes do not work in my favor. My mom is skinny and has been her whole life. She can pretty much eat whatever she wants. My father, on the other hand, is heavyset, as are almost all the Keatings. We are a clan known to be short, stocky, and stubborn. My genes seem to come more from my Dad than my Mom.
I am not a big fan of complicated plans, especially when it comes to eating. I read several health magazines and they tend to recommend eating a lot of small meals, measuring your food, recording your calories, and exercising a lot. This approach works for many but is a challenge for me to follow. I spend the majority of the day at work and don’t have time for a high maintenance approach. Food plans are another option, but all that costs money and requires constant attention. I decided to keep it simple and implement one major change to see if it would work. It did. The change I put in place is intermittent fasting.
Intermittent fasting is a simple solution
Intermittent fasting is not complicated. It is becoming more popular these days and I can see why. It does not take a lot of effort. I read several articles about it, and there are two basic approaches. Either you limit the number of hours you eat during the day, or you choose a few days a week to skip food altogether. The former approach is the one I prefer. No food all day would make me grumpy. An eight-hour window is what I aim for. I eat food from Noon to 8 pm during the day. Basically, I do not eat a real breakfast anymore. Instead, I drink two cups of coffee in the morning. One is bulletproof coffee (recipe below) which includes butter and an oil-based compound. The second one is black – no cream or sugar. I get the calories I need to start the day without eating any food. Drinking coffee black was a big change for me. I have drunk coffee for decades always with cream and sugar, or a sugar substitute in it. Luckily my taste buds adjusted to drinking black coffee after only a few weeks. Added benefit – black coffee is the fastest way to get through the line in Starbucks. It also prevents the barrister from messing up your order or misspelling your name.
Hungry by lunch? Yes!!!
Starting at lunch I eat a regular meal. Am I hungry by the time lunch rolls around? You bet your ass I am. I usually enjoy a small snack when drinking another cup of coffee in the afternoon (I have done this for years also), and eat a normal sized dinner. If all goes well, I stop eating anything by 8, or 9 o’clock at the latest. That way I do not go to bed feeling bloated. It goes without saying that not every day follows this plan. Some nights I have business dinners, and the weekends tend to be somewhat different. But, in general, I have stuck to this plan, and it seems to be working. I lost the weight I was hoping to lose and have kept it off without too much pain and agony.
Is intermittent fasting suitable for everyone?
I doubt it. I am not a doctor, a nurse, a nutritionist, or a personal trainer. I am not offering professional advice. Rather I am sharing my own personal experience. I like intermittent fasting because it is pretty simple to implement and produces the results I want.
Boys – just so it is clear neither one of you need to lose weight. In fact, both of you are tall and skinny. I guess you got Oma’s genes. Perhaps they skip a generation. For your sake, I hope the baldness genes also skip a generation. But I wanted to share this information with you at a young age in case you need it for later in life.