I’m a bit frustrated today. While yesterday was not a non-fasting day, I still expected to lose at least a little bit of weight, but I actually gained 1.5 pounds. Like Tuesday (when I did lose a bit of weight on a non-fasting day), I had my usual breakfast of yogurt and blueberries and didn’t eat until late that evening. I did pick up some cheese and a very small bag of bagel chips at the grocery store, and I did indulge in several bagel chips with cheese at breakfast, but I didn’t think that was excessive. After work, I again stopped at P. Terry’s and grabbed a burger (I successfully resisted the fries again), but I also finished off the bagels chips and cheese. Oh, I did also consume some cashews.

After reflecting on all the food I’ve listed above, I guess it shouldn’t have been a surprise when I stepped on the scale today. I just didn’t think I’d exceeded the calories burned by normal metabolism and the workout at the gym I had before I went to work, but apparently I did. The bagel chips, cheese, and cashews contributed a lot of sodium to my intake yesterday, so maybe I’m retaining some water, but it’s still disappointing to feel like I didn’t stray too far calorically yet still gained weight.

I said this yesterday, but I’m going to have to pay closer attention to daily calorie intake. I hate the idea of counting calories, but I’ve got to figure out how to stop gaining weight on non-fasting days. If I can just maintain my weight on those days, I’ll be satisfied given that I’m now fasting three days a week so I’ll be losing two or three pounds on those days (that’s a lot of usage of the word “days,” I know).

Intermittently sleeping only two or three hours per night is really taking a toll on me. As I mentioned yesterday, this seems to happen on fasting days, but that could just be coincidence. The primary driver is likely anxiety (I always wake up early when I’m stressed out). The problem, though, is that anxiety coupled with lack of sleep leads to unhealthy carbohydrate cravings. I’ve avoided sugar this week, which is kind of amazing, but indulging in the bagel chips was a misstep. I’ll have to do better.