So I completed my Vegan August Challenge and liked it so much I have decided to keep it going through September. For this month I am adding Intermittent Fasting. /Intermittent Fasting (I.F.) is where you voluntarily abstain from eating o/ drinking anything with calories during a specific time frame each day. There are several ways of doing this. My particular route will be approximately an 8hr eating window where I can consume up to 1600 calories and a 16hr period where I no longer can have any calories. (I still drink tea and water).
Day 21 Put your money where your mouth is
I always thought that was a weird saying. money is filthy ( I mean that literally although figuratively it can be quite filthy as well.) I mean that money has been touched by everyone and is full of germs. I definitely wouldn’t want to put that anywhere near my mouth. But I get the saying quit talking and pony up to the bar and invest something you would be afraid to lose. As I get older, the time to money ration grows ever larger. If I invest my time, that’s even more of an indication of my sincerity. I can always get more money. Time is not an expendable commodity at least not anymore.
So with that said, when I invest time in cooking carefully and eating (and not eating) judiciously I am taking a risk. If I knew I only had a year to live and there was nothing at all I could do to change that, would I still try to eat healthily and exercise? Or would I just chill and eat whatever I wanted because it really didn’t matter anymore? I’d like to think that the short-term benefits would still worth the investment, but if I am being honest, I would have to say I don’t really know. Sorry about the mortality talk I have a birthday tomorrow’ So I guess that kind of thing has been on my mind.
Day 22 “It’s my birthday too”
So I said I was going to give myself a pass day for my birthday, but in the end, I decided against it. I had to work a half day and I was kind of down at the first part of the day. (I felt better by the evening) I invited my housemates Jane and Frank to come with me to go to an Irish Pub for my birthday. Frank didn’t feel like it, so it was just Jane and I. I am glad I stuck with the I.F. and Vegan diet for my birthday.
Day 23 and 24 “It’s all wrong but it’s alright”
So today, I drove to St Louis to visit my cousin Julia and her family. I told Julia about the diet changes I had made. She didn’t have a lot of Vegan type options which is fine. I never want to become that Vegan who makes a production out of not having options in every situation. It is a choice I am making to eat this way. I have no interest in proselytizing anyone to chose my ways. So I had some cheese pizza. No biggie and it was about 9pm but I only had breakfast so the I.F. thing was mostly intact.
The next morning we had scrambled eggs and cheese for breakfast. I have to admit they were delicious. I had a vegan lunch. ( Quinoa Pancakes) and a vegetarian dinner of manicotti and cheese. So not entirely bad, still no meat. I also stopped eating around 7pm. I felt stuffed to the brim but it was nice having a day off. Well, day and a half off. It will be interesting to see if I stick with it or if my time off means I am permanently off the rails.
Days 25 and 26 Bouncing back
I woke up the next day super early. I had offered to drive my Cousin and her dad to the train station. They were going to Chicago and on to Milwaukee for a few days. I was up by about 445AM and after I dropped them off, I decided that since I was already up to just stay up. Besides I had a whole day of sightseeing planned. Incidentally, I was able to get some great stories for upcoming posts such as the St Louis Basilica, the art gallery, Forest Park, The Arch, and Botanical Gardens. Stay Tuned.
I still felt bloated from the day before so I skipped breakfast and lunch and just had a Vegan-friendly salad before going to bed. I was asleep by 8PM. A sign of things to come.
The next day I headed back to KC but took a roundabout way doing so stopping in Springfield, Illinois, and Hannibal, Missouri on the way back. I had some oatmeal for breakfast and didn’t a veggie sandwich from subway around 7pm. So score points for I.F. and vegan for the day. Interestingly on the way home, I got a call from my employer. They wanted me to start days as soon as I got back. So I got home around 9pm and was up getting ready for work by 4AM.
Days 27-30 Mr. Hand meet Mr. GlovePM
As far as I.F. is concerned, Dayshift is a perfect fit. My 8hr window is Noon to 8PM. and my hours are 5AM to 330PM. So I have about 7hrs from when I arrive until the time I can eat, but my job usually makes me too stressed to eat anyway. When I get home, I actually have time to go to the gym and by the time I am home I have time to eat and then I have to be in bed by 8PM. I think this schedule may work. I think I am going to roll the I.F. over to October because I had such challenges with it during my nightshift era, I think I can actually be loyal this go round. Since the Vegan thing is working out for me (save a day and a half lapse, which I am actually Okay with, ) I am rolling the Vegan thing into next month too. I am also going to add daily exercise into the mix since I now have gym time. So stay with me readers as we go into the month of October and I try to work out every day.
Time just flew by so quickly, didn’t it? Crazy! I remember clearly you starting this journey and it literally only feels like a few days!
Congratulations on making it through and enjoying it! I find IF very hard, so I respect you a LOT! I did the 5.2 diet and I’ve tasted before, but I couldn’t do it for as long as you have/will.
Hi Diandra. Sorry I didn’t see that you had commented until just now. It does seem to have gone by fast. I respect you doing the 5-2 fasting I was just going crazy doing the 16hr stuff. Thanks for the kind words. I hope all is well with you. I really enjoy reading your adventures in SE Asia. If I can ask, what part of the UK are you from? The UK could very well be my favorite country outside of the US. I lived in London for a while years ago. And i had an uncle who lived in Thetford in Norfolk, but has since moved to the US. Sorry rambling. Anyway, thank you for posting sorry my reply took a while.
Hiya, no worries! And thank you 😊 I actually lived in London – whereabouts were you based??
I lived in Clapham. My townhouse was about a block away from Clapham Common. I worked at Victoria Station and I took the tube from Clapham South every day. I had a great time there.
Oh great! Clapham Common is a good location 👌🏼 would you ever consider coming back?
I have been back to the UK a few times. I would move there if i could but getting work permits are difficult for people from the US. If the blog ever takes off I could see myself being based in the UK or ireland. Since it is a great starting off point for a lot of other places.
Have you ever been to the US?
I have indeed! NY, Florida, Vegas, Washington DC.. I think that’s all. I’m quite lucky in the sense that my family like the US, so a few of our holidays have been there. I’ve never travelled solo there though, yet! Maybe in the future. Which part are you from?