(03-05-2022, 02:36 PM)Caldrac Wrote: This might come off as bat [BLEEP] crazy but roughly two yeas ago when my son was born I decided to go on a diet. All I started doing was fasting 16 hours per day and counting calories. Then I started pushing myself to 20 - 23 hours in between my first and last meal. Then I finally started incorporating a 36 hour fast per week. So far I have dropped 54 pounds in total. This is with me being inconsistent at times due to family gatherings, vacations, being a new dad, not really working out consistently with cardio and weight lifting, etc.

Sometimes it's easy to say "[BLEEP] it. I am ordering pizza or take out tonight". However, that's gone up INSANELY. Ordering out now just seems like highway robbery for the food industry. Granted, everything sucks economically. But, DAMN. It's like damn near $30 anytime we went through a drive thru place or if we sat down you're looking at $50 or more. Also, with staff shortages. The quality of the food and service has gone down. So, prices are up, quality is down.

Have not seen anything like this before. Granted. I am only 33 years old. I circle back to what I mentioned earlier. It's just cheaper and easier to buy the ingredients yourself to combine to make an actual product you're craving. Pizza is very, very, very easy to make at home. The $30+ I see families spend weekly on pizza night, in some cases, twice a night? It's a head scratcher to me. For that same $60 I can buy flour, eggs, yeast, blocks of cheese, blocks of dry meat and stretch that into 10 or more pizza's.

Takes a little bit of time, patience and practice. However, it's a win-win. You're off your [BLEEP], you're in a kitchen burning calories to make a meal for yourself and your family. It balances out very nicely. The only product I won't skimp on is alcohol. I still get my good stuff that I like from Total Wine. I love Ale's and I love Mead's. It's just tough though right now. Seeing people struggle. Having diet restrictions due to genetics is a bummer as well.

Because, that is true. It's a whole hell of a lot cheaper to buy beans, rice and potatoes in bulk Vs. buying good quality meats and vegetables. This whole covid thing though had me developing a green thumb in my backyard. Starting off with just mild to hot peppers. Then maybe I'll try my hand at something a little bit more advanced. But, I started thinking about my long term health. The uncertainty of the world's future with these pandemics and politicians getting more and more concerning.

In a way. I would rather train my body and mind now to go extensive hours of time without eating anything in the event it means that my Son is able to have 3 - 10 more meals in his belly.

My husband does intermittent fasting and eats one meal a day plus one small snack. If he'd lay off the alcohol he would probably lose the last 15lbs he's aiming for. He was 220 a year ago and went keto/low carb and lost some weight then went to OMAD and IF and lost a bit more. He hovers around 195-200lbs. He does it to maintain the weight but also to prevent the diabetes gene his mom shared with him from kicking in. I honestly didn't think he would stick with it but he turned 50 last year and realized nothing will get easier the older he gets so he's stuck with it. 

I tried intermittent fasting and just ended up being hangry. I have digestive/gas issues since part of my sigmoid colon had to be removed in 2018 and can only eat certain foods which likely doesn't help with IF. I can eat any meat and most cooked veggies but I can't eat too much of the gas producing kind or else things get bad. Pain in my shoulders the gas build-up is so bad. Too many carbs causes silent reflux (which is not the same as acid reflux.) I went from being able to eat and drink whatever I wanted for 40+ years to having to watch everything I eat and drink. 

Thankfully the same way of eating (low carb) keeps us both from being miserable so I'm not having to cook two different meal plans. I miss some of my old recipes; specifically the winter one that has quinoa, black beans, a boatload of cheddar cheese, corn, onion, garlic and spices. Man. Cheesy Quinoa and Black Beans. So. Stinking. Good. 

It's amazing how much better you feel when you fuel your body properly. Solid nutrition and vitamins can change your life and it's different for everyone.

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