grrlAthlete

Hi Everyone!!

I'm journaling my experience with Eat Stop Eat in hopes that we can all learn something by my experience with this plan (even if its just everyone learning that I'm crazy ) . Any suggestions or advice will be greatly appreciated!!

Here's a little about me:

My name is Rosanne Clemente. I've been competing as a figure competitor for the past 4 years. After winning my height class at the state championships in July 2006, I (stupidly) continued my harsh contest prep diet for another 8 weeks, in hopes of obtaining an "Overall" title before I was going to begin a long journey to my first National competition. At my last competition that season, I weighed in at about 115 pounds, was extremely over-dieted (way too lean) and the judges placed me second to a softer, more feminine looking physique. I was kind of "bummed" b/c I would have held state titles in 2 states simultaneously if I had won; however, my placing was WELL deserved and by that point I was burnt out on dieting and knew I needed to come off of it and find a healthy maintenance state. That night I started eating "normal" food again. Then I ate some more!!! By October, I had rebounded up to 167 pounds. It too until early spring for the bloat and constant hunger to subside and without much effort, I dropped back down to 145, which is where I'm currently sitting.

At the end of April, I tore my hamstring then re-tore it again in June. Between my injuries and some soul searching, I decided to retire my career in figure competition early on. Now my main concern has become achieving an optimal level of health.

I was going in for minor surgery last week and was looking for some reading material to keep me occupied during my post op recovery. Thats when I stumbled upon Eat Stop Eat. I've been a fan of grrlathlete for a few years and just started incorporating 6 min circuits into my training regimen 3 weeks ago.

Current Stats:
Age: 29
Height: 5'3
Weight: 145
BodyFat%: I lent my calipers to a friend but most likely somewhere in the low 20's.

Nutrition:
I got burnt out weighing/measuring and counting every single thing I put in my mouth. I focus more on listening to my body and eating when I'm hungry. I follow my own "guidelines" instead of a specific plan. I take fish oil, a multivitamin (right now I'm using Animal Pak) and a greens (Green Vibrance right now) and reds supplement (can't remember which brand off the top of my head, its the only one I could find w/ Acai) and eat at least one serving of blueberries and tons of raw fruits and veggies at least 5 days/week (I keep them all at my office). I try to save "treats" for the weekends. I have a HUGE sweet tooth and ice cream (frozen yogurt, actually) is my largest vice!!

Training:
Currently I'm only doing 6 min circuits, advanced 3days/week program. I usually run stairs (30-45 min) at least once/week.

Like I said, nothing is set in stone, I do not follow a set "plan," I listen to my body and make the healthiest decisions while still enjoying life.

Fasting Days:
I am going to play around and see what works for me. My first fast day was a Thurs 6pm -Fri 6pm which worked very well for me. Right now, I'm planning my next fast for Monday 6pm to Tuesday 6pm.

Hum.... I think that covers it for now. Feel free to ask any questions or let me know if I forgot anything.

Great Intro Clem!

Brad

Hey Clem,

I can't wait to see how your ESE journey goes for you.

I'm just entering the competition world and I'm already sick of the weighing and measuring and sore and injured body and I'm still almost four weeks away from the first one.

I was worried about the rebounding thing as well and looks as if you know all about it.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Brad Pilon wrote:Great Intro Clem!

Brad

Thanks, Brad!

I ran out of time yesterday, but I wanted to give an overview of my first fast day.

8/23 - 8/24
6 am - 6pm [/b]
Fast day #1
THURS EVENING
I was going to start at 4 but forgot I had my last dose of Antibiotics to take with dinner, which I didn't want to do without food, so I decided to start at 6 instead. I got home from work around 5:30 and started doing what I refer to as "A Last Supper." I was "trying to get it all in" eating things like chocolate and cookies, which I very rarely do or even crave during the week. Thankfully I've learned my body/mind (games) through years of past dieting that I quickly recognized what I was doing and left the kitchen. I honestly don't think it will be like that every time, its easier mentally to go into it knowing that its only 24 hours - - I was going into this first one as the girl who binged for a day before beginning 20+ weeks restricted diets. HUGE difference.

Thursday night wasn't bad as far as hunger. Around 8pm I felt a little hungry, but it was boredom more than hunger. I easily distracted myself and the hunger quickly subsided. I did notice around 11 pm I had a surge in energy and got almost "giddy." My sister is fasting with me and she felt the same way. We were wide awake and laughing with each other till around 1 am.

FRIDAY
I usually suffer from "hunger headaches." So I made sure I drank an extra large cup of coffee when I got to work which luckily kept the headache at bay (my sister wasn't as lucky). Around 2:00, was when I started to feel hungry. It wasn't painful or severe, it was more of just that empty stomach feeling. I was energetic, focused and in a good mood (I tend to get cranky w/ hunger) through out the day. At 4:00 (22 hours in), I started to feel slightly "achy" and lower energy but it passed quickly.

I'm lucky to have my sister going through it with me. We were text messaging each other throughout the day. When one needed motivation, the other would text something like: "22 hrs down, don't kill it now," "Remember that dress you wanted" and "just wait until 'your ex' sees you - - hey, whatever works in times of desperation!). It really helps when you have someone in your corner b/c it seems when the world finds out that you're "on a diet" everyone tries to sabotage your efforts.

By 6 pm/24 hrs, I didn't feel as hungry physically as I did mentally (psyching myself up w/ thoughts like "mmm, what am i gonna eat?" etc), if that makes any sense at all. I anticipated a post-fast-binge, figuring, like my "Last Supper" it would happen in the beginning and taper with time. When it came time to eat, I just couldn't find anything that I wanted. Marissa (my sister) came running into the kitchen with a candy bar, I had one bite and didn't really even want it. I wound up eating some baby carrots w/ fat free ranch dressing more b/c I knew I had to b/c I was going to be out that night. Then around 10 pm, I had a few crackers on my way out. Thats all I wanted. Marissa said she felt the same way, all she ate was scrambled egg whites on wheat toast.

As far as training during the fast: I couldn't train last week due to my surgery (which, by the way, was oral surgery and totally unrelated to my hamstring injuries in case I made that confusing in my intro post.)

Yesterday I had family over and ate a huge Italian dinner followed by 2 servings of crumb cake w/ lots of vanilla frozen yogurt (told you I'm an addict! ) so I went to bed with a tummy ache and woke up feeling sick and bloated and the thought of food turned me off. I ate a 100 calorie pack of soy crisps someone left for me at work for breakfast around 10:30 am. I had planned on starting my fast at 6 tonight but Marissa called me feeling the same way, so we decided to push it up to 10:30 am, considering we didn't feel like eating anyway.

darlacz wrote:Hey Clem,

I can't wait to see how your ESE journey goes for you.

I'm just entering the competition world and I'm already sick of the weighing and measuring and sore and injured body and I'm still almost four weeks away from the first one.

I was worried about the rebounding thing as well and looks as if you know all about it.

Good luck and keep us posted!

HEY there! Thanks for your comment! Good for you for pursuing your goals!! 4 weeks out - - WOW, so close, its tough at "crunch time" but it always seems to fly for me. Are you competing in Figure, Fitness or bodybuilding? How exciting!

Rebounding stinks...some of us do, some don't. Unfortunately, I have to be super drastic to get down for a show b/c my body tends to hold onto fat - - I'm also very "all or none" so I can turn it off as quickly as I turn it on. Which made for disasters in my case and I've never escaped a rebound. I have friends who rebound as drastically as me every time, others who only bloat for a few weeks and others who do not at all, ever. Don't beat yourself up or stress. The best advice i was EVER given was to take time off, be careful but give your body what it needs to go back to a healthy state. You put your body through the ringer when you train for a show, so give yourself some time to recover.

If you ever need to vent to someone whose been there, you're welcome to call on me. Sometimes its nice just to talk to someone who has walked in those shoes.

I hope that was at least some sort of consolation.

Good luck at your show!! I'd love to see pictures and hear how it goes. I miss being up there at times and have to live vicariously through all of my friends and girls who I help get ready for the stage!

Mon 10:30 am - Tues 10:30 am

Yesterday was def more difficult than the first day! I wasn't hungry till around 5. At 6 I was very close to throwing in the towel on the day and starting again later in the week and later in the evening on the day I chose to fast. But I just kept reminding myself of all the hours behind me. I knew I would have felt too guilty if I had given up at that point. Around 6:30, I made myself a cup of tea which for some reason made me feel nausceous light headed for about an hour. (Maybe caffeine on an empty stomach?) Thankfully I chugged through the rest of the evening. By the time this morning rolled around I felt much better and I actually wasn't really even hungry. (mind over matter, i suppose).

Yesterday I learned that starting my fast too early in the day is more difficult for me. Personally, 6-6 was easier. I know its gonna take me a few weeks of trail and error to figure out what works best for my body/schedule, but thats kinda the fun part!!

Hey girl...you still holding up?

At least you are figuring out what will work better for you.

I've experienced the "last supper" effect as well.

I'm doing an FAP show competing in Bikini. I didn't think I had enough muscle for figure. Right now I still have too much fat for either LOL.

Do you plan to watch the scale or just go by how you look?

darlacz wrote:Hey girl...you still holding up?

At least you are figuring out what will work better for you.

I've experienced the "last supper" effect as well.

I'm doing an FAP show competing in Bikini. I didn't think I had enough muscle for figure. Right now I still have too much fat for either LOL.

Do you plan to watch the scale or just go by how you look?

Hey there!!!

Positive thoughts, sweetie, it all comes together in the end and the mirror along w. our minds can be our worst enemy in the mean time!

I plan on a combo, I guess. I know that in the past I looked/felt the best at around 130-135. Any lower I look sickly, any higher, I look thicker. But honestly, I'm not obsessed with numbers, I barely get on the scale anymore, its more how I feel I look and how my clothes fit.

Did I totally just contradict myself?

Hi Clem,

Congrats on finishing a 10:30 to 10:30. I've found it way easier to really try and cut the fasts in half, half one day, half the next.

So for me, anywhere between a 2 pm to 2 pm and an 8 pm to 8 pm works, but anyting outside of that is harder than it needs to be (too much on one day).

Loving the journal!

Brad

Brad Pilon wrote:Hi Clem,

Congrats on finishing a 10:30 to 10:30. I've found it way easier to really try and cut the fasts in half, half one day, half the next.

So for me, anywhere between a 2 pm to 2 pm and an 8 pm to 8 pm works, but anyting outside of that is harder than it needs to be (too much on one day).

Loving the journal!

Brad

Thanks!!! Yup, absolutely agree. I'm loving the 6-6pm b/c by the time I get home from work, I eat and start fasting. I'm not usually hungry at work and "office treats" have never been a temptation to me, so by the time I get home, I only have to "waste" less than an hour before its time to eat again.

Next fast planned for tonight 6-6. I'll be back w/ updates!

Hope everyone had a happy and safe labor day weekend. I can't believe its already time to hang up my shore hat and ring in the fall!

Crazy weekend, just getting a chance to log Friday's fast from last week. This was by far the easiest thus far. I ate as I was leaving work then took Marissa for a hair cut on Thurs night. By the time I got home, it was after 9, so I went to bed shortyly after. the let us out of work at 1 on friday. i took my car for an oil change and took marissa shopping for last minute college stuff. around 245 i was getting hungry/low energy. we split a diet coke and it did the trick. i had my followup appointment at the surgeon's at 4 and was home at 5:15 in time to eat. So I was distracted enough through the day to not even realize that i hadn't eaten.

Again, I couldn't really find anything I wanted to eat and got full very quickly by the time the 24th hour rolled around.

I ate and drank like a PIGGIE all weekend. Didn't sleep enough and helped my best friend move all day on Saturday so I'm a little more tired than usual.

Fasting again tonight at 6.

my youngest sister (did I mention i'm one of FIVE girls - and I have a brother) and I went to help our older sister finish setting up the baby's nursery last night...on the way home the craziest thing happened...aliens invaded. they hijacked my car. and they FORCED us to get ice cream at McDonalds...

ok fine, there were no aliens.

and there was no hi-jacking either.

but there was a lot of PMS and an ice cream cone involved!:twisted:

i started my fast today at 5:30. just got home from running stairs at the h.s. w/ a work buddy. i'm just in a silly mood.

i'll update tomorrow.

Hey Clem
I'm having fun reading your journal. I myself have been doing this program for the last 2 weeks & am noticing your experience is alot like mine. I have noticed, however, that the fast days are slowly getting easier. I'm not getting as anxious about going without food. Also, I don't know if this is just me, but it seems like I need less food than before.
Keep up the good work.

Oh, did you notice how much more time you have in a day when your not worrying about food? Pretty cool

dmarie710 wrote:Hey Clem
I'm having fun reading your journal. I myself have been doing this program for the last 2 weeks & am noticing your experience is alot like mine. I have noticed, however, that the fast days are slowly getting easier. I'm not getting as anxious about going without food. Also, I don't know if this is just me, but it seems like I need less food than before.
Keep up the good work.

Oh, did you notice how much more time you have in a day when your not worrying about food? Pretty cool

Hi there dmarie!! Thanks for following along...its always great to have "partners in crime!" I agree, I found I have less of an appetite and get full much more quickly after a 24 hr fast. And they are getting easier. BUT, with that said...

my update:
_______________________________________________________
I have 2.5 hrs left. and let me tell everyone...

Hormones + Very stressful deadline + Fasting = NASTY ROSANNE!!!

I'm not hungry in the least. I'm just in an atrocious mood! I have my headphones on and am staring at my computer so no one will bother me.

I'll be fine as long as no one looks at me.

or drives next to me.

or breathes the wrong way.



Just kidding. Don't mean to be "Debbie Downer" its just one of "those days" BTW, i'm sure it would be like this even if I wasn't fasting. Honestly its the unrealistic work deadline I have been faced with more than anything contributing to the stressed out bad mood.

Just keep saying to yourself "the day is almost over". I'm fasting today also, but not having the hormonal issues. Maybe have a nice glass of wine when your fast is over & relax. Hopefully you have time to relax. Just picture the fat melting off of you during your fasting days. This really helps me.

Take care
dmarie