Arlene,

Congratulations on putting your arms around the lifestyle and
exploring the texture that it brings. We all know that any lifestyle
has its advantages and challenges, but this particular one, with its
cultural non-conformity, would be tempting to "kick to the curb" for
the weak of spirit. Your strength shows through in your resolve.

I have to ask – please answer in a separate private email if this it
too personal – are you taking a cholesterol lowering medication? The
medications like Lipitor and others in the drug family whose names
end in "statin" are worthy of discussion. Some of these are HMG-CoA
reductase inhibitors and, as such, may block an enzyme that is
essential for the production of cholesterol and more importantly for
Fast-5ers may be involved in the breakdown of fats to the usable
fuel source of ketones. If one is on Lipitor or another medication
in the family, then it may be that the fat is not being easily
accessed. This could slow weight loss and make hunger more
pronounced. That would be tough and defeating. If you are not on one
of these meds, it's a moot point. If you are, you may want to ask
your doctor about the possibility of stopping the medication for a
couple of months and see if your weight loss can correct any
cholesterol problem.

I've been fast-5ing (without the fast-5 label for most of that time)
for over 6 years. On a rare occasion now, once every couple of
weeks, I notice the time several times during the day. I usually
accept that as a day when I either ate fewer calories than my body
preferred during my last window or I am less active or more bored or
some other thing I can't explain. Today was one of those days.
Saturday and Sunday during my windows I had more sweet treats that
usual. Was that a factor? I don't know, but maybe. We are such
dynamic creatures that it is likely that any number of variables may
change our hunger for the next day. I largely find it easy enough to
ignore and sometimes find real satisfaction in the affirmation that
I'm holding to a prudent philosophy that if you are never, ever
hungry, you are eating too much. I can't remember how it was in the
first few months, but if I had to guess, my guess would be that I
watched the clock more. As I'm writing this and thinking back, I'm
nearly certain it was so.

As to diet soda, I will email articles to you as they come to my
attention. Today, yet another article was publicized that reported
no evidence of ill effects from the consumption of diet sweeteners.
Is there a problem with them? The jury will likely remain out for
years to come. No 100% certainty is ever achieved in science. That
is the reality and the fun of it. It also keeps a lot of research
careers thriving. I, like you, tend to consider "chemicals" to be
worthy of avoidance. But when it comes down to it, everything is a
chemical from the body's perspective. Some at low levels, like
Tylenol, are harmless and helpful, but are fatal a high levels. That
said, I know, without question, that overweight is a clear hazard to
our health. The complications include diabetes, hypertension, heart
disease, cancer and others. To take control of body weight is worthy
of a modest risk on the side of artificial sweeteners in my
stratification of risks. The downside of excess weight is well
documented. The risk of artificial sweeteners (especially aspartame
which is derived from amino acids) is modest at most except in the
case of phenylketonurics who are rare. In the spirit of avoidance of
chemicals, it is worth exploring bottled water with flavors that do
not also include aspartame or other sweeteners. There are some store
brand varieties that we have found to be affordable. Some flavored
waters are just the flavor, no sweetener. I'm guessing the flavors
are often artificial ie "chemicals," but minimal. My daughter has
made some unsweetened peppermint iced tea – because it is one of the
few non-caffeinated options available to her. I found it to be
surprisingly refreshing as an unsweetened iced tea. It's worth
consideration.

I've rambled on. In summary – good work. I'm glad you are losing
weight. The direction is great. In a private message, I'd be eager
for details if you are comfortable having us include them
anonymously in our database on the website. Try some teas – they
have surprised me. Let us know how it goes from here. We are pulling
for you.

My best,
Judi