Day One

Today I started a Protein Sparing Modified Fast diet. It's under doctors recommendation, and it was set up through a dietitian. For those that don't know, basically it's an extreme version of a low carb diet. I eat 16oz of meat, fish, poultry or other proteins a day, two servings of vegetables a day, and take a bunch of supplements. I also get a sugar free treat (popsicle or jello), a single flavoring (tablespoon of ketchup or steak sauce), and up to six packets of artificial sweetener a day. The big upside to this diet is that in theory, you should stop being hungry after a few days. We'll see about that...

I don't want to speak too much about the logistics of the diet too much, but rather begin posting what I'm eating, how I'm feeling, etc.

This morning I woke up and ate six pre-cooked cocktail shrimp. I weighed them out as 2oz, and that's my target for breakfast. I was pretty hungry through the morning and early afternoon, so I cooked a chicken breast on the foreman, with Detroit Mexicantown fajita seasoning on one side, and garlic powder on the other. It weighed 4.5 oz cooked (all weights are cooked), and I matched that with 2 cups of iceberg lettuce and a tablespoon of sugar and fat free dressing.

The chicken was very good, moist and flavorful. I could have eaten about three more of them, but it was a very positive food experience. The salad dressing is going to take some getting used to. It's basically just water, two kinds of vinegar, and seasonings, so it's sour and a little wonky tasting, but I'm glad to have it. Both iceberg and the dressing are "free" items that don't count against my veggies or flavoring limit. I'm not sure how free is free, and that's something I'll probably call and ask about. If I can eat a big bowl of lettuce with even weird dressing whenever I want, that takes some of the pressure off.

The meal was satisfying, but even eating slowly and enjoying it with 16oz of water didn't fill me up. I wasn't hungry, but I wasn't exactly satisfied. I ran some errands this afternoon, and I felt hungry for most of it. Being a big eater, I rarely experienced hunger before. It's in some ways an interesting experience. In other ways, I really want to eat something.

I came home, and had one of my veggies for the day: five baby carrots. These seemed very small, but I stuck with five for the time being. I also made a cup of tea and knocked back a few more pills.

Not even being a day in, it's a combination of exciting and scary. I'm already starting to realize that my eating habits are drastically changing. I'm also very eager for the appetite suppressive aspect to kick in.