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Year Four, Day 175: The Reluctant Dragon and The Warrior Diet

I stepped on the scale this morning and almost screamed! But then I remembered my granddaughter was still sleeping.  One must never wake a sleeping baby! So, I covered my mouth and did a little happy dance there in the bathroom.

My Weight Commander weight loss graph. You can download this for free at weightcommander.com by the way. 

 Look at my weight commander graph, above.  Since I started intermittent fasting end of June, (and then beginning of July for real!) notice how the curve is consistently going down. I stop and plateau for a few days, and then continue my descent! So much better then the erratic ups and downs of bygone days! As of today, I have lost 10 pounds this  month by fasting!  Not dieting. I eat what I want during my "eating window". I am pretty much doing the "warrior diet". I've found varying descriptions of this fast online.  Basically I fast for 20-21 hours everyday (I stop eating at 2:30 p.m.) and then I eat in a window of approximately 4 hours.



I discovered a bit of  history about the warrior diet in my googling:


"The Warrior Diet was created in 2001 by Ori Hofmekler, a former member of the Israeli Special Forces, who transitioned into the field of fitness and nutrition.This diet is considered a type of intermittent fasting, an umbrella term for eating patterns that include periods of reduced calorie intake over a defined period. The Warrior Diet is based on the eating patterns of ancient warriors, who consumed little during the day and then feasted at night.

According to its founder, it’s designed to “improve the way we eat, feel, perform and look” by stressing the body through reduced food intake, thus triggering “survival instincts. 

I am feeling like a warrior today!  But my clothes are hanging on me. Soon I will have to go shopping!

I will have to take my daughter and granddaughter. They love to shop! This morning my daughter informed me that she needed to lose weight and would like to try intermittent fasting.  She said she needed to run to the grocery store to buy some food to break her fast. She stopped eating last night at 6:00 p.m.

It is so much fun to share this journey with someone! So I ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Soon I heard a faint tapping on the door. I opened the door and looked down at my granddaughter, who was fulling dressed, sippy cup in hand.  "Ready, Zma?" she asked in her soft, sweet voice.

"Where are we going, Gracie?" I asked, toothbrush in hand.

"SHOPPING!"  she squealed.

I felt so alive this morning. We stopped at a Dutch Bros drive through for coffee. I had mine black. My daughter was very grumpy. "I want mine with caramel drizzle", she mumbled.

I told her that would break her fast and she had planned on waiting until 10:00 a.m. She told me she didn't care and would end it early.

I relented. This is her journey. And the beauty of it, is you can design your fast in a way that suits your lifestyle.

I hid a smirk when she told me her goal weight. For the first time in many, many years, we were not that far apart in weight! I told her my new goal weight. She looked at my in alarm. "No, Mom", that's way to skinny for you!"

Then she raised an eyebrow. "I get it", she said knowingly. "You want to be lighter than me!"

I smiled back. "Yes, I think I do!"

O.K. This is not a competition. But dang, I feel good! It feels good to make a goal and start to see success. It feels good to look in the mirror and not feel disgusted. It feels good to walk down the street and feel light of foot, and actually feel my waist swiveling. It feels like it is whittling down with every step.

Waist whittling! My new hobby.

I am a bit manic this morning. I haven't eaten yet. It is nearly 11:30 a.m. I had planned on breaking my fast at 10:30, but I felt so good, I thought I'd wait.

The only problem is, I will probably crash after I eat.  I'm going to go to my favorite little Mexican joint for a chicken taco. While I wait for my order, I'll partake of the condiment bar - which is essentially a salad bar: Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, pickled carrots, jalapenos, ranch dressing and salsa.  And a big glass of water.

I think it is important to break my fast with healthy, whole foods.

I'd better end here. I might be in trouble if I wait too long to eat.

On a side, note I was happy to find two of the books I had on hold at the library this morning (which is where I am as usual!)

The first book in The Walk series by Richard Paul Evans (I've read them out of sequence). And The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame. I plan on reading The Reluctant Dragon to Grace this afternoon while her parents go play softball. It is a fairy tale, written in 1898. But it has a beautiful moral about not judging by exteriors.  Everyone should read this story!

On that note, I must depart and scour the village for sustenance lest I turn into a firebreathing dragon!

Happy Sunday!

Talk to you tomorrow!


Love,

Zita


My newest hooping video:  Day 117!


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