Yesterday was not one of my winter fast days, but maybe I punished myself for the day before, or maybe I just wasn't hungry. All I had yesterday was about 3 oz of that beef jerky I keep talking about. Note: this batch was made from 2 pounds of London broil and the 3 ounces was all I got. This is the house's new potato chip is my jerky! Everyone gobbles it up all day long. Haha. Anyhoo, other than the little jerky I chewed on in the afternoon, I had home made creme fraiche/greek style yogurt with macadamias and berries for dinner. That's it yesterday. Little beef, bunch of yogurty stuff, little nuts and berries. My belly is down again this morning and today is one of my scheduled fast days. I probably do not have enough fuel though.

I loved your confession Sassy. Especially taking the wrappers to daddy. lol Such a good girl.
We really are similar personalities with that stuff. I showed my kid the MetRx wrapper in the morning. She was mad because she wanted to eat them (there's a couple more), but was trying to be good. I told her they were all her's. Pssst. I think I lost a little pound or so too! If this diet fails, I will consider the Hershey's Minis diet.

On a serious note, I do intend on using some carb cycling next month to entertain myself, keep the glycogen stores higher, and fast even more. My primal winter idea is a three monther. By carb cycling, I mean one day a week, I am going to push carbs up to 150-250 grams. I'm not sure what foods to use to do that though. Rice and potatoes maybe. Some sourdough? More fruit? Sugary sweets are not in the plan.

Drive safe, CJ. Have a good trip! I like being primal in restaurants so far, but my extended summer vacation is coming up and it will be a test. I'll be in LA where I am very familiar with all the farmer's markets, so I should eat healthy and stock up!

Tymaboy? Are you in ketosis?

Susan -- Roast beef, trail mix and merlot?
I could eat like that for life. I'm guessing there was no chocolate in your trail mix though.

Have a good day all.

No chocolate, nope. Pecans, sunflower seeds, cashews and raisins.

My experiment did not work today. I was starving when I got home! My snack was pretty much the same as last night's supper

No way I could fast today. I was moving more furniture (including a friggin' piano by myself, ugh) on this empty stomach and got weak. This is the first time I've felt physically weak since I started all this. I promised the doc if I did, I would eat. I was even a little too weak to prepare anything so two organic hot dogs went into the microwave and got smothered with kraut and mustard. I'm still not strong enough to go back to work, but I am feeling clearer.

Oh well, I'm having guests over for game 7 of the NBA finals and that means pizza will be on the table and beer in the fridge. I may as well just own it in advance. I'll pass on the beer, toast a little bubbly to LA should they win, and more than likely have some pizza tonight. For us life long SoCals and hoops fans, this is like a national holiday today. I do have a pound of fish that HAS to be cooked today, so I will do something with it to discourage me from too much pizza.

Go LAKERS!

I hear you on the pizza Bob, I did make the coconut crust pizza tonight and I won't be making it again. If I want pizza, I'll either do meatza for the more daily menu or just eat the real deal once a blue moon.

Off to the park we go to help me burn some of this coconut flour off, it is heavy on the stomach and I'm not enjoying it right now.

I found an interesting comment on a study about medium chain triglycerides, the type found in coconut oil. Here is the link. Below is the relevant info which I copied. It is on dogs, but it basically says "old Beagles got smarter" eating the stuff.

The original research is presented in the February 2010 edition of the British Journal of Nutrition. A group of “aged Beagle dogs” took part in a battery of cognitive tests at the beginning and end of an 8 month trial. During the test period they were fed a standard diet or the same diet supplemented with 5.5% MCTs - a unique form of fatty acids most commonly contained in coconut oil. The Beagles that consumed the MCT-rich diet demonstrated improved mental performance across the board. In addition, the researchers observed more profound cognitive enhancement in the more difficult mental tasks. There was also a significant elevation in the levels of ketones, which are believed to serve as an alternate source of energy for the brain.

Cj- I think my dogs could use some coconut oil then! That makes sense, I read an article regarding Alzheimers and how fats in a persons diet may be a key to preventing it. I think the importance of an MCT rich diet are finally starting to be realized. Thanks for the info!

Well, I have got the hang of two suits in spider solitaire and I have aced a few sudoku's lately

I've struggled with sleep these last couple of days. I got up before the alarm every morning. I was awake for over 22 hours yesterday. Yuck! Today, I should eat enough and keep busy enough to fall exhausted into bed by about 8.

I gained yet another lb. I wonder if I am not eating enough now? I need to go to the store I am running low on low carb food (lots of high carb) I think I will also stop at GNC & pick up some coconut oil. Hopefully they have it, I have not been able to find it at Walgreens or Target.

CJZ --I love this kind of information

I had some champagne after the Lakers won yet another championship. I even had some tequila and a good cigar. BUT! I did not touch that pizza. And the fish I did eat was cooked in coconut oil.

Susan -- I've had bouts of insomnia most of my life, but I am getting better sleep than usual on this eating lifestyle. I know you know how important sleep is. Get a bunch of it!

Tyma - I am just finishing my GNC coconut oil. I found it at Rite Aid. I hate counting calories and macros, but what do yours look like? I personally have never lost weight by eating more, but I may have seen some interesting results from my pig out last week. Are you in ketosis?

Today is 'winter fast idea" #6. No food for me.

That's why I'm kinda surprised. I have been sleeping much better. Just not this week.

I do not keep track of calories. With the low carb diet its more about the carbs & not the calories. I am hardly eating any carbs, I should be in ketosis but I'm guessing not since I gained 2 days in a row now. I dont think I am eating enough cuz I remember the last time I did low carb I was eating almost all the time & I am not doing that now.

Bob, why do you call it "winter" fast?

Oh I was reading about the upper paleolithic ice age while chasing down some of this ancestral diet information that I find faddish and got caught up in the idea of how paleo people were subject to harsh winters. It even stands to reason in some climates that they fattened up for the winter. Pine nuts were the key ingredient to the fattening process for the tribes in southern Chile. The idea was that they could burn fat through the long harsh winter and survive on very little food. They emerged in spring lean and healthy. There is even evidence in both the pre-historic record and modern fasting studies that periods of fasting are beneficial to health.

I can feel when I am burning dietary or body fat for fuel. 12+ hours into a fast body fat is melting off of me. I sure have stored plenty for winter. So I am treating June - August as my primal winter, extending the intermittent fasts over night every couple of days.

I am conditioned to fast. I like being a little hungry, and I like when the appetite vanishes for no reason. That's when I know I am burning fat, which I have unfortunately stored to the tune of needing to lose 170 pounds.

I posted this over at MDA, and I don't expect others to be like me, but if I sense a plateau or see one on my monthly weigh day, I will break through it with fasting. If you do not eat you do lose weight. Period. A ketogenic human can quite safely go 48-72 hours without food. When I was depressed about what I had done to myself, I told my sis I would rather die than be so fat. I am serious. I will starve before I will not lose this weight. I am sick to death of being fat. Sorry for the rant.

Very interesting Bob and not a rant at all... I finally figured out who you are over on MDA ...