Water Only Challenge November

[gingersmommy]

I love HWC and artificial sweetener in my coffee (two morning, two evening - truth be told, the additives are probably the main reason why I drink it, other than a caffeine dependence)

For @Fangs January challenge, I thought I’d at least start by giving up the cream in my coffee - for four cups a day, that’s got to be over 400 calorie right there.

[PaulL]

It’s not the calories that got me, it’s simply the taste. I really prefer my coffee black.

I find that, however many calories I take in, my weight cycles within the same five-kilo range. If I eat past satiety, I just perspire a lot more. Since it’s not fun to wake up with a soggy, wet pillow, there’s some incentive to listen to my body and stop eating when it says to.

[robintemplin]

Yes, 400 calories… that I love. I have decided I am allowed this one addiction.

[Shinita]

It’s below 50 kcal for me per 4 coffee or 6 or whatever (if I use 30% cream and not 8-10% that comes in smaller boxes).
Sometimes I use more and my coffee gets too white… So I need to add coffee and water…

As I almost only used cream in coffee and it typically comes in 200-500ml packages, it’s very good I dropped cream. It was always the bother and triggered lots of creamy coffees or else it would have go bad.
My SO can use it for his puddings… Well me too and ice cream (that I never desire even though I want to make some as its fun and a good way to use up many yolks. carnivore broke me I lost my desire towards chocolate too, it’s still nice sometimes if I use enough coffee in it - my chocolate jar has extra coffee - but very unneeded. and I hardly could eat more than 5-10g chocolate)… But it’s basically just for coffees so I tried to stop the two together.
So I almost never have cream anymore but when I have coffee that is tasty black, I still drink it here and there. Way less than before so I am not horribly displeased but I want more.
First I used eggs and butter instead of cream… It’s good as it means I only have coffee in my normally tiny eating window. But I stopped that when the good coffee arrived. I can’t stop drinking that now (I mean, I drink it every day, not all day.)
Life is complicated especially when we get too good gifts… I always had the personality that made me eat and drink up everything I had when it came to certain items.
I think I got a tad better but mostly with items I have around a lot. If something exciting exotic stuff appears, that’s different.
And I am good at eating tiny amounts of many things. These 2 easily coexists in me. They aren’t for the same items or at least not at the same time in the same state of mind.

Erm sorry, why I feel the need to analyze myself here and now? No idea. I should do something more useful.

For @Fangs January challenge, I thought I’d at least start by giving up the cream in my coffee

Good idea. As time passed, I felt the urge to try no-dairy times when I do carnivore. I don’t want to give them up completely, I am fine with dairy and probably need my remaining items sometimes but there are disadvantages. Calories in my case as well and cream brings too many coffees as I wrote.

I find that, however many calories I take in, my weight cycles within the same five-kilo range.

I have that too just with 1 kilo range (I try to eat little but it has not much impact so my calories vary a lot, I don’t even need much carbs for that), my stress gain last year not counted. But I am adamant at losing fat somehow so stalling just isn’t good enough for me. And anyway, overeating is unpleasant and even rude, wasteful. I need so little food, I want those calories to count and be nutrious and satiating, satisfying! Cream just don’t cut it. Sometimes as a tiny luxury but that’s it.

I don’t have extra heat or anything (just like I never felt cold on a fast, not even when I starved for 11 days in a cold house in winter. my body loves stability. I probably would lose a lot of fat without food before it would realize there is famine and should lower my needs… but it’s just a guess), I wonder what my body does with the extra energy… But it found a way in my massively overeating times in the past. I still have shorter such periods and nothing, my weight stays about the same. My SO would gain fat quickly with the same intake and he has a way higher energy need. But he loses fat easily too (because he can stand hunger but eating little still doesn’t work so well for everyone. his little is 2500 kcal by the way, very effective together with exercise).

[KetoType2]

Day 30, last day. T’was not that difficult. I can say that I desire to drink less frequently throughout the day. When I do drink water, I prefer it room temperature, and I drink to satiety (much like eating). I no longer need the caffeine from coffee, or the sweet of diet soda. I think that I’ll try some decaf tea tomorrow morning. Definitely no more diet soda or anything with artificial sweeteners, including foods with artificial sweeteners.
I feel good, now to figure out what to do the extra space in the pantry where liters of diet sodas, and bags of Splenda used to live.

[Digital_Dave]

I concur, it wasn’t that difficult and it probably helped that this was done during a month I usually hunt most as well. Since I definitely only drink water whilst hunting, not wanting to take any scents of drinks into the woods with me. - But it was nice to say that I did it, if only this one time.

My biggest thing, which I mentioned earlier, was simply having the option of variety of liquids. Though I pretty much stopped drinking coffee when I started this WOE years ago, Iced Tea is probably my go to these days, especially with the hotter weather. I don’t really crave sweetened drinks, but do find that I may actually drink more often when they are consumed. (At least it seems that way, based off all this) Though I do enjoy un-sweetened Almond Milk from time to time as well, I think just having variety when it comes to drinks is similar to foods, and helps keep things mixed up and is nice to change up.

I still plan to keep a check on daily intake, at least for a short time, just to see if my intake does change or is more with the reintroduction of other options to drink. So only time will tell, but I’m thinking that the drinking of only water did help reduce the daily amount, at least for me. (And yep, I also don’t need to have water that has been chilled in a fridge, and a lot of times, just grab those that are room temp.) So I drink it either way, but can say I’ve never heated up water for the sake of having something hot to drink.

So even after todays daily count is added later tonight, it looks like my daily intake overall will be under 100 oz. per day average, which I think is lower then what I would normally do with all the others added.

[Fangs]

That is my takeaway, no more artificial sweeteners in either food or drink. I think my body will thank I feel good, now to figure out what to do the extra space in the pantry where liters of diet sodas, and bags of Splenda used to live.

That is great!!

Just give those sodas away to anyone you know who still drinks them.

and soda is going up and up in price in the store, you are definitely gonna save some bucks

[robintemplin]

My extra cabinet space went to my husbands ever expanding junk food snacks. I call it the Cabinet of No Return.

[Fangs]

yea, luckily my hubby is feeling ‘more icky’ on carby so he is backing off and I guess that is age but my gosh when he goes all in he is all in on junk and pays dearly!!! I wonder in full truth if the ‘what I call him a jerk on his eating’ will ever hit home?
eh to each their own. I will not control him ever. Hey do you and see where we go from there but I also told him, if you are icky and can’t go kayaking the next day etc? then I AM going without you LOL

to me in the end is do you, what falls…falls

[KetoType2]

I am signing off this challenge. Thanks Digital Dave. What’s next, anybody?

[PaulL]

I’m thinking a coffee-only challenge next, because (alas!) the days when I could manage a vodka-only challenge are long in the past . . .

[Digital_Dave]

Not a problem, it was a nice challenge, if only done once.

I’ll be drinking this last bottle for the night, so my tally for the month is done as well. Though as I said, I think I will still monitor my liquid consumption just for a little while to see where it may lead. More out of curiosity then anything else, but might be insightful?

[Shinita]

I didn’t come and tell but on last Saturday I finally made a water only day!
It was easy as I was away for hours and when I came back, my all day headache was so serious I just took some pills, didn’t play with coffee… And couldn’t eat either so I had a skipped again again, after so many months!

I continue my “only water in my fasting window” in December. Maybe I won’t be that strict with tea (I don’t drink much tea anyway) but I definitely avoid coffee most of the time. I still have 1-2 with my meal (OMAD is the plan for all December), maybe I will lose that but it’s so easy this way and it’s a huge step for me!
If I run out of this great coffee and get used to carnivore again, I may ditch coffee. I will try until then too but today I wasn’t in a mood to resist anything. I do carnivore because I don’t desire anything else.

I really like the changes, it was good to try it out even just in my realistic partial way!

[Fangs]

I will start trying to have a vodka and rum challenge every day with you if you want

and…to the thread, key being for all, what is the take? All going back to all the other stuff they drank or ?? changes achieved and locked in or ??

[KetoType2]

No more diet sodas or artificially sweetened beverages of any kind for me…ever. I can live without them.

[robintemplin]

You and me both, tho my weakness was scotch. Those were the days. And nights. Not that I can remember them per se.

[Shinita]

After this November… I think I couldn’t do a coffee-only day while feeling perfectly okay with it… Maybe I could enjoy it (maybe not, MY PRECIOUS WATER! it’s still in the coffees but that’s not the same! I love my hot water and cold water now. still dislike the lukewarm one) but I would be paranoid that coffee would grab me again… It’s almost 4pm and no coffee for today yet! I see the times when I won’t even think about it ALL DAY! I wanted to quit or minimize coffee since years! (I don’t think there is I’ve been …ing for want but tell me if I am wrong, I want to learn. Oh and feel free to fix my English mistakes any time. Except the style, I can’t fix that easily but I can memorize grammar things.)

So I don’t want to undo my great results now. It probably won’t be undone, I had very coffee-y days when I got my tasty new coffee but I am a bit paranoid and considering it’s me and coffee, I am right to be fearful!

But maybe a single goodbye day from my tasty coffee wouldn’t hurt. One day. Water only is loads better than multiple coffee only days even with all the cream, egg and using only super weak coffee.

I don’t talk about booze, I am the 100ml beer or 12ml vodka and then nothing for weeks person Keto started this when I stubbornly wanted to keep drinking my fav wine (20% sugar)… It turned out I am amazing at drinking ridiculously tiny amounts of booze (even though I quickly lost the ability to drink and enjoy the sugary wine. I tried 12%, it still lasts for months opened but it’s still like drinking honey… So, my wine drinking times are over before they really started. I need months to finish a single bottle or some more people, my SO drinks about as much as me. Except beer, he always finish what I leave so he drinks 2-4dl beer at a time. A few times a year.)

I wouldn’t want even a spicy wine day (I don’t know how you call that warm spicy stuff before/around Christmas) and that can be made super weak I imagine (once I was on a party where the huge whisky lovers decided on a different direction… that was some serious concoction).

Of course I ended up writing about booze… It’s important for me, I never would become a teetotaler without very good reasons I don’t have. I just don’t drink often or much.

My fav is Glenlivet. We loved it and finished the bottle in 2 years… Or 4? I don’t remember. That kind of drinkers we are.

[Fangs]

You hit your challenge goal and felt it is time to dump it and not bring it back…SO WELL worth 30 days wasn’t it? Happy for you and key being, all that drink money spent on the best darn food ya love to eat, win/win!! Cool! Wonderful report KT!

[KetoType2]

Yea, I was a bourbon connoisseur, no more.

[robintemplin]

Oh, I do like the sound of being a Connoisseur. An Over-Served Connoisseur.