PorterFast (episode 3)

Day 2: 250.4lbs (-4.5)

The first workday of the PorterFast came abruptly, after only one practice day at home.  I was somewhat anxious/nervous, principally due to the simple unknown of the situation and how “work Josh” might be affected (would someone intuit what I was doing and fire me instantly?).  I was a bit astounded by the amount of weight loss over just a 24hr period, but chalked this up to the stockpiling of Asian food on Saturday night more than anything else.  After weighing in, I headed to the shower and then kitchen for my routine morning coffee.  I am the kind of person who does not do breakfast typically (although I’m obsessed with weekend brunch – go figure), and tries to minimize the time between waking up and actually sitting at my desk at work to begin the day.  But I am a creature of habit, and hot coffee on the drive in is a deal-breaker.  On this most unusual day, I switched it up a bit by going with the caffeine version of the morning cup, with a little sugar added.  Sacrilege.  Ordinarily, I am a decaf black kind of guy, having gone almost two years without caffeine in the recent past (are you seeing a self-denial pattern here?) but since having kids, mixing in some caffeine on an “emergency kid-related sleepiness” basis, and enjoying the deep roasty goodness of straight joe without being sullied by sweetener.  My rationale here was that my brain was essential to my job function and from what I remember from high school and college biology classes, glucose is somewhat critical for think..y…er, -ness.

As it turned out, this proved to be thoroughly interesting, whether due to intense self-examination or real phenomenon, at this stage in the journey away from food, the sensations from caffeine were really intensified.  Was this the same (real or percieved) phenomenom as drinking on an empty stomach?  I felt as if I had been hit with a wall of energy and awareness after just a couple of sips.  My driving on that morning was sharp and efficient, at least in my head.  Decisiveness and Minnesota drivers do not usually comingle (what’s the longest you’ve waited at a four-way stop?), which gave me a distinct advantage.  I switched lanes with the acute precision of a surgeon…er, driving to work.  However, I would later learn that my capacity for physical exertion was pretty much gone entirely.  It was as if all the glucose in my bloodstream was being totally hogged by my brain, while the rest of my tissues were running on back-up power.  All day at work, I was able to really function with intense focus and productivity, much more than expected, and with the extra hour of work during the lunch hour, felt like I had accomplished more and with more clarity than I could compare to any day in recent memory.  A trip up three or flights of stairs on the other hand…Jeebus.

Overall, I breezed through the day with little issue, and don’t even recall experiencing any actual sensations of traditional hunger.  I was able to stay focused and busy enough during the day not to even think about food, and when I got home, headed directly to the “fridge” for sustenance, porter-style.  I recall really enjoying Sam Smith’s Taddy Porter on this night, probably about as traditional a porter as one can get, and incredibly different than any of the other porters I had tried thus far.  It was creamy and deep, with a beautiful tart stoniness that is just this English thing that is hard to describe until you’ve experienced it first hand.  It is the nutty, fruity, earthiness that is common in so many English-style beers, but very prominent here and thoroughly enjoyable.  I had tried primarily American-style porters up to this point, and here was presented to me an entirely different sub-style.  Plus, I liked the word “taddy”.

The smells of dinner were difficult to deal with, but could be ignored without too much mental juggling.  I maintained a beautiful slightly buzzy plateau throughout the evening, with proper spacing of each “course”.  Only one (sort of) mis-step on this evening…I accidentally was flipping through the regular TV channels later that evening and happened upon a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episode filmed at Lola in South Minneapolis which has been on my food Bucket List for quite awhile.  It looked as good as advertised, and my foods-I-must-absolutely-have-as-soon-after-May-1st-as-possible list was offiically begun.  Kimchi Pizza.

There is a new version of TV pornography people…Food Network TV while fasting.  F you Guy Fieri.