"Accidentally" Started Intermittent Fasting...

 It's good to be back on Blogger, updating the sparsely updated and probably therefore even more sparsely read blogs.

Saturday I realized I hadn't eaten until about 1:30PM both that day and Friday. Having known about intermittent fasting, and knowing my late lunch had been a huge meal (Broken Yolk burger with two fried eggs and bacon on it, sweet potato fries. Yummy but probably 1800 calories!) and I had a light dinner planned, I thought, "Why not?"

So I've begun a week or so test of intermittent fasting. Likely going to compress my eating to noon to 8PM or earlier. I'd like to drop about 7 pounds without losing any more muscle mass. One thing I did yesterday was make a "bullet" coffee with two tablespoons of cream and a small pat of butter. Between the Saturday meals and the coffee, wasn't hungry until at least 1 PM.

I've also been reminded I'm a boredom eater, as I've already dealt with that twice in less than three days.

More to follow as I push into this.

All the best,

John "Bur"

Cooking Much More Due to Coronavirus Stay at Home Orders

Just a quick note and update since it's been forever since I've blogged, and re-starting my affiliate account with Amazon.

I have never been a big fan of fast food take-out, only eating in the car when I have to make time driving/traveling. So with the stay at home order here in California for a month now, I have found myself cooking a lot more, and also eating leftovers/modifying leftovers my wife has made.

One thing I broke out for the first time was the digital scale and measuring cup we've had but never used. While it's not exactly this one, it is similar and quite easy to use. I was chopping up some leftover Easter ham for an upcoming recipe and was able to easily weigh out close to the right amount. (I'm not a really precise cook...)

Testing out some new gadgets and recipes and will update them here. And thank you for reading, and if interested in a digital scale or other gadget now that you are likely cooking at home, I'd appreciate the click-through and purchase. Yes, I'll make a small percentage in the sake of full disclosure.

Colonoscopy Prep and Procedure-a bit anti-climatic

Good evening loyal readers!

Today I had one of the rites of passage for turning 50 a little while ago (ok two years almost)!  And I don't mean joining AARP-I had my first colonoscopy today.  I had put it off upon turning 50, but between a friend recently being diagnosed with colon cancer and my doc getting on to me during my recent physical, I signed up for the test.  Like everyone, I have heard the horror stories about colonoscopy preparation.  The solution tastes awful.  You are stuck in your bathroom all night.  You cramp/feel nauseous/throw-up while blowing out your colon etc. etc. etc.

So last week when I picked up my Suprep Colon Cleanse kit and read the instructions, I was a bit concerned to say the least.  To top it off, a friend and business partner had a colonoscopy last week and "helpfully" shared her distaste for how the stuff tasted.  Now I can eat just about anything once, and some weird stuff that others don't like (Kimchi for one) so I thought at a minimum I can chug it down without too much issue.

Two nights ago because of my schedule I ate dinner really early and didn't snack much afterwards.  Tuesday AM I ate a very light amount of breakfast and stuck to light fluids, black coffee and hot tea the rest of the day until 6 PM.  PREP TIME!  The Suprep colonoscopy prep kit is a two-bottle, split prep system, so one bottle gets mixed with cold water (I used ice water) the night before your colonoscopy and the second about 3 hours before your procedure.  It's clear, but has a cough syrup grape-ish flavoring.  True to my friend's warning, it has an oily feel more than syrupy, which is a little off-putting.  IMHO it's not truly gag-worthy, but again, I've eaten and drunk some weird stuff from my Navy and travel days.  Down it went in two long drafts and I waited for....

At about 30 minutes in, and one more cup of water of the two I had to drink down, my gut was telling me I should head to the head in Navy-speak.  No massive cramp or pain, just a signal that the Suprep was working.  Work it did, as for the next two hours I pretty much expelled everything in me at 20 minute intervals.  But I never really had any cramping, bloating or pain-I've had much worse experiences from mild food poisoning or a recent batch of low quality nachos and jalapenos!  I had thought things would continue until fatigue set in, but actually everything tapered off at about the 3 hour mark and I pretty much had a routine night of sleep.

This morning it was a bit harder getting the Suprep down mainly due to the consistency more than the taste.  Still got all 16 ounces don't without gagging, and within two hours I was cleansed.  Again, no cramping or bloating.  Also, thankfully, all urges had passed long before the drive to the clinic-I actually felt completely normal if somewhat dehydrated.  And, for what it's worth, never was really hungry.  Maybe that's cause I've got my "winter diving fat" on year-round now!

Oh, and the colonoscopy?  30 seconds after getting the "twilight sedation" I was completely out.  Solid hour or so nap while they checked me out and I'm good to go.  No polyps or issues.

So the bottom line is if you need a colonoscopy and have the option or just get the Suprep Kit, it's not too bad, and you'll likely never remember the actual procedure.