Dessert-Fast, Day 6 (Or: How does a dessert-fast die?)

ADDENDA:
After the farmer's market, set out to Coney Island on road bike, but by the time I got to Prospect Park, I was just chilled to the core so set back home for a total of 15 miles.

B has a family birthday brunch thing, we're bringing....the good donuts. Oh, how does a dessert-fast die?! Like this, my friends, like this.....

BREAKFAST: 7am, whole wheat bagel with good butter, hunger 3/5

LUNCH #1: 11am, reheated plate of fresh pasta with a little sauce, hunger 4/5
Could really go for a dessert. Will hold off.

PM SNACK: 1pm, slice of pizza, hunger 4/5
From the local.

PM SNACK: 1:45pm, banana, hunger 4/5
Headache. Could it be sugar-related?

PM SNACK: 2:30pm, 3 saltless whole wheat pretzels, hunger 4/5
Still headachey. Must just be a little just plain sick.

DINNER: 6:30pm, bread, veg bruschetta, interesting sampling of funky & nonfunky cheeses, a little salami, polenta-like dumplings with mushrooms and melted cheese, 1 glass prosecco, water, hunger 4/5
Dinner at a shmancy Italian place. Felt tired and fuzzy headed throughout with B and her friends, not my finest hour. Really enjoyed the different flavors of the cheeses, some stinky and soft, some mild and hard, but cut nicely with the sweetness of the prosecco. Some dessert was passed around and shared by most, but I was so not interested. (and it wasn't chocolate anyway!)

Dessert-Fast, Day 5 (Or: It may be all in my head)

ADDENDA:
So here is day 5, and I'm fine. As I pedalled to work this morning, feeling my body wake up to a brisk (but mellow) effort, I realized my physical state was fine all week. Cutting out my daily dessert was more of a challenge to my sense of entitlement than any sort of physical addiction, though I sense a bit of that too. That said, I think I will go for the Ilsa-recommended 7 days....if my sense of entitlement is anything, it's strongest on the weekends when I'm off and trying to relax.

BREAKFAST: 7:45am, good pancakes and good non-nitrate bacon from the farmers market, a banana, hunger 3.5/5
Didn't feel like waiting for the weekend. Gonna try to take it easy this weekend, as Thanksgiving will be upon us soon.

AM WATERING: 9:45am, 24 oz still
I like how carbonated water has become a treat that makes it special at home.

BP 10am: 122/85

LUNCH: 1:15pm, shrimp curry with daal and jasmine white rice, small piece of naan, a few lentil crackers, water, hunger 4/5
OK food, good company.

PM DRUGGING: 4pm, 2 extra strength tylenol, hunger 1/5
Have a headache that has been brewing slowly all day, nose is stuffy, not hungry for the apple n' cheese I brought to work at all...

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, apple & one small piece of cheese, hunger 3/5
Didn't want to feel desperate for dinner later.

DINNER: 7:30pm, steak au poive w/ fries and salad, shrimp cocktail, water, hunger 4/5
B & I went to a nice French bistro in the 'hood. Indulged in the previously forbidden fries because I felt the need to reward myself for being dessert-free for 5 days. Fries were just OK, nothing special. About 3/4 of the way through the meal, I started looking forward to dessert before I remembered, oh, I'm not having dessert. The dessert menu looked good, too!

Dessert-Fast, Day 4 (Or: Whoever Invented Chocolate is a Friggin' Genius)

ADDENDA:
Last night I swung by the market to restock on apples and bananas. I also picked up a very expensive bag of organic, raw, de-shelled cocoa beans. This morning me and B tried them. Neither of us were able to keep it in our mouths for more than 10-15 seconds before spitting them out. It definitely had a lot of layers of taste to it. A prominent note in the background was definitely the dark chocolate flavor I know and love. But the foreground was this massive, loud bitter explosion which is like two calloused hands gripping your jaw and upper lip and pulling them as far apart as possible, in hopes of making you spit it out.

Some South American dude thousands of years ago was sitting around chewing on these things, probably spitting them out but thinking, hmmm, that flavor in the back of my mouth, that's kind of nice. Maybe if I grind it up, add some sweetener to mellow the bitter, and add some milk to smooth out the mouth feel, I just might have something.....and his name....Irving P. Chocolateberg.

Ilsa asked for a full 7 day sweet fast, I've been telling myself 5 days. It's not over yet, but I remember when I kicked a caffeine addiction in my 20s, the first 3 days were the worst. Maybe I will go for 7 days. I do know I'm not going to break it with a donut from Donut Plant - I want to break it with something I made. I think I need to make chocolate gelato...

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, organic cornflakes with good milk, banana, hunger 3/5
Noticed the cornflakes are sweetened with 'concentrated grape juice'. I guess that's a step up from high-fructose corn syrup, and the total amount per serving is 3g (as opposed to 24g of straight carbs) but still - juicing a fruit then concentrating it sounds like refined sugar to me. I feel like I may of cheated? I guess I'll let Ilsa be the referee in this call.

AM WATERING: 10am, 24 oz still
Got to work late due to rain, then rushed into meetings. Will take BP later today.

LUNCH: 12:30pm, super hippy peanut butter sammich, large green salad with organic ranch dressing, hunger 4/5
The new WF-brand organic ranch dressing is a bit too vinegary for my taste. I really need to find/make a dressing I like.

BP 2:30pm: 139/85
Have a slight headache, and had to remove a lot of clothing to get a reading without an error.

PM SNACK: 3pm, funky-ass raw milk cheese and a tart, crisp apple, hunger 4/5
This snack made my headache go away. I picked up 2 random apples at WF yesterday, both conventional but locally grown. My first thought in biting into it was, "Mamajama!!" which gave me pause, as that is something I would never actually say. It was crisp and tart and thoroughly wonderful. The cheese I picked up last night, a weird Swiss I never heard of, was a bit like moldy old sneakers, but an incredible flavor when cut with the apple.

Ew, I just smelled my fingers, they smell like there were somewhere REALLY unspeakable...

PM SNACK: 5pm, 1 sesame pretzel stick, 2 potato samosa & a little cucumber dill salad, hunger 4/5
Making fresh pasta tonight, which takes time, don't want to be starving when I get home. Got an extra samosa for the Hungry Vegan Society, who recently has been commanded off her sympathy sugar fast by Ilsa. In protest, I ate one of the HVS's salty pretzel sticks. Between the writer's strike and the stagehand strike picketing outside my offices, maybe we should start a dessert strike? I keed, I keed...

DINNER: 8:30pm, large bowl of fresh homemade whole wheat pasta with homemade sauce with grated parm and cubed buffala moz, 2 pickles, water, hunger 4/5
Experimented with a 'hard white' whole wheat flour, the pasta came out good - not too wholewheaty tasting. Noticed the organic eggs I'm using are 'rich in Omega 3' - in the class I took, the lecturer took some time to explain anti-oxidants and the significance of Omega 3 vs Omega 6 fatty acids in cancer research. I still don't quite get it, but I do know Omega 3 is (supposedly) good. I'm sure at some point research will contradict it.

PM SNACK: 10:30pm, 2 slices Patsy's pizza with pepperoni, glass of wine, hunger 4/5
My house guest cousin rolled in late, then shortly after Betsy showed up bearing much pizza. I was kinda hungry/craving sugar while Iddo ate his pasta and I sipped a glass of red wine (which did seem to curb my sugar lust), then B showed up with a box o' 'za, and it was all over.

Dessert-Fast, Day 3 (Or: An Apple a Day Keeps the Sugar Lust at Bay)

ADDENDA:
Brought an apple and the remainder of raw edamer for a snack, though it's not officially a bring-your-lunch-to-work day, it's just too yummy. The refined sugar fast is going fine, though I think of the white bread bun I ate with my burger last night - isn't refined flour very close to refined sugar? I guess I really shouldn't over think these conundrums until after this fast and see what I'm feeling.

Tonight I'm having dinner with Yana, and we traditionally very much appreciate desserts when we're together. I guess the social part of this fast will be the least comfortable...

BREAKFAST: 7:15am, good yogurt with raw cashews, vanilla and dash of local honey, hunger 3/5
Felt good this morning. Sometimes I feel icky after eating a burger the night before. I think my GI tract is just stronger and healthier.

AM SNACK: 9:15am, banana, hunger 3/5
Almost forgot. Not desiring fruit or sugar, but like with a long bike ride, preventative measures go a hell of a long way.

AM WATERING: 9:45am, 24 oz still

BP 10:30am: 125/83
Boo ya!!

LUNCH: 1:15pm, Ethiopian vegetarian combo + one small beef sambosa, hunger 4/5
Rode bike over to Meskerem on 47h, really good. Never had their version of a samosa, was really good n' small. Third day in a row I've desired chopped beef. Huh. I wonder if that means something.

PM WATERING: 2:30pm, 24 oz still

PM SNACK: 5pm, apple & edamer, hunger 3.5/5
Was I hungry? Was I craving sugar? Not sure, but this resolved it. Apple was a bit mushier than I like, but the cheese helped me through it.

DINNER: 7:30pm, plate o' sushi, shrimp tempura appetizer, water, herbal tea, hunger 4/5
Hung out at Yana's house, no desert on offer, thankfully.

EVENING SNACK: 11pm, half a bag of veggie booty, hunger 4/5
Just hungry. A small amount of chocolate or a cookie would quiet me, but thinking about it, not really craving sugar, just something to munch on and take the edge off. The veggie booty is mostly empty-ish carb calories, but no sugar. First time it really tasted salty to me, and indeed I ate around 500mg of salt. Eesh.

Dessert-Fast, Day 2 (Or: Cheesy Apple!!)

ADDENDA:
So had the first of two "cooking" classes at the Natural Gourmet Institute last night. Unfortunately, it was a 3.5 hour lecture on the basics of how to eat healthy - pretty much everything I've been reading about in various books for the past few years. Still, there were a few things that were good to hear again - like how easy it is to over-buy at the farmers market then let it sit all week at home till it becomes inedible or much less nutritious. So when I got home last night after 10, I set up a bunch of fingerlings with mushroom, onion and dried tofu to bake on a timer while I slept.

She did mention controlling the effects of food on bloodsugar (from where all sugar-lust comes) and how she has a weakness for dark chocolate (snooort!). She mentioned how cocoa-nibs are an excellent snack - hmmmm.....I can have a refined sugar-fast AND eat chocolate?! I think I need to go and investigate ASAP.

So far so good. No sugar-lust yesterday, undoubtedly satiated by the fruit. Kinda looking at this like it's a 100-mile bike ride. Once you've started, no point in worrying if your up to it or not. The first half should be easy. And be aware of what your feeling at all times, as a little pain now will be a huge friggin' deal-breaker a few miles down the line.

BREAKFAST: 8am, toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese and gravelox, seltzer, banana, hunger 3/5

AM WATERING: 9:45, 24 oz still

BP 10am: 126/88

PM SNACK: 12:30pm, apple and a few small pieces of raw edamer cheese, hunger 4/5
Oh my. Oh oh my. -arm flap-. I think this is a breakthrough. Oh oh oh my. I refrigerated the apple, and it was much more crisp (why does B like them at room temp?) and delicious. After that, I immediately ate some small slices of raw-milk edamer cheese I picked up at the farmers market. Wow, I never quite appreciated cheese like I'm feelin' on this. And the combo with the apple....next time I will eat them together, bite for bite.

LUNCH: 1:30pm, roasted potatoes with mushroom, onion and tofu, green salad with carrot dressing, hunger 4/5
Potatoes were just eh today, too much oil and too much lemon juice. However, as an experiment I put in whole cloves of garlic and they came out all creamy and nicely garlicky.

PM SNACK: 4:45pm, 2 samosas and a little brown rice with veg curry, hunger 4/5
Felt hungry ever since lunch, but not in a sugar-lust way.

DINNER: 6:30pm, bacon cheese burger and onion rings, water, hunger 4/5
Quick dinner at an indie fast food spot before a show at BAM with sympathetic refined-sugar faster the Hungry Vegan Society. Not a huge fan of burgers or suspicious chopped meat, but if I am to live in this world, once in a blue moon is not gonna kill me.

Dessert-Fast, Day 1 (Or: Ain't Got No Chocolove for Ya, Son)

ADDENDA:
Found half a "Chocolove" bar in my bag this morning, nestled with the apple I packed this morning for a sugar-fix this afternoon. Due to a sympathy sugar-fast from the Hungry Vegan Society, the chocolate as been donated to the tens of Hungry Designers in the office.

Tonight is the first of two basic cooking classes I'm taking. I hope irony doesn't bite me in the ass and have us cook up chocolate bars or something...

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, good yogurt with raw nits, honey and vanilla, 3/4 of a banana, hunger 3/5

AM WATERING: 9:15am, 24 oz still

BP 9:45am: 137/84
Took it after working for 30 minutes, it's an intense Monday morning. Maybe a little dehydrated?

PM SNACK: 12:30pm, apple, hunger 4/5
Meetings preventing me from going to get food, this is all I had with me. Not as crisp I hoped.

PM SNACK: 1pm, 8 sesame pretzels, hunger 4/5
Meeting food, too salty. My Chocolove bar was sitting on the meeting table, waiting for someone to adopt it.

LUNCH: 2:30pm, steamed pork dumplings, singapore mei fun (with the eggs picked out), water, hunger 4/5
Skipped the tea, as it's caffeine. Almost instinctively ingested the fortune cookie, but caught myself.

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, bag of crappy 'cheddar' potato chips, hunger 4/5
If I'm about to take a 3 hour cooking class, I gotta eat something. Very limited options close by.

PM SNACK: 6:30pm, carrot sticks, olives, hummus, wassa crackers, hunger 4/5
Think they'd have fancier snack at a cooking school...

DINNER: 10pm, falafel platter, beef empanada, hunger 4/5
After 3.5 hours of talking about food and cooking and health, the last thing I felt like doing was cooking. Falafel platter wasn't enough, so I went across the street and got an empanada. NYC is great!

Bagels and Donuts and Pickles and Fish, oh my!

ADDENDA:
Spent the morning at various L.E.S. emporiums, picking up the various fresh supplies to make a good brunch. Wish my parents were around, they loved this stuff. Except maybe the donuts, they'd think that was too decadent - they were of the generation where decadence was a bad thing, he he.

BREAKFAST: 7am, organic whole-grain cheerio-like cereal with good milk, hunger 3/5

BRUNCH: 11:30am, 2 pickles, bagel with sable and sturgeon and onion and tomato, slice of gravlox and Scottish salmon, 1.5 donut planet donuts, 2 farmers market cider donuts, 1 glass champagne, bottle of seltzer

DINNER: 5:30pm, bread & butter, mushroom spatzel, scallops over a chirizo ragu, 1/2 a beer, water, hunger 3/5

PM SNACK: 8pm, 2 bacon-wrapped dates, hunger 3/5
Disappointing snacks at the Corduroy Club annual meeting. Was expecting more corduroy-like foods. Only after eating them realized that the dates may of had refined sugar in them. Fine way to start a sugar-fast...