Today was pretty good energy-wise. I feel mentally tired right now, but that’s probably because I put in some intensive work on my book today. No euphoria or heightened mental clarity today. In fact, the work seemed a little harder than it should have been. I had to tweak the wording endlessly to get it right.

I woke up this morning feeling very bloated, like I was still digesting a lot of food. I felt fine after a trip to the bathroom though.

I still feel grossed out by how much food I have to eat each day. I often delay eating until hunger becomes distracting enough that I’m compelled to eat, especially for the dinner meal.

I’m feeling more turned off by the sweetest fruits, such as apples or grapes. The green smoothies made with nothing but bananas, spinach, and water (no berries) are becoming more appealing because they aren’t so sweet.

Dry Skin

I’m still having a lot of itchiness, and the skin on my face is now starting to flake and peel a little.

For years I had very dry, scaly skin on my elbows. Today I just noticed that the skin on my left elbow is much improved, and the skin on my right elbow is soft and smooth with no trace of dryness. I also had the same dry skin problem on my knees for years, and it’s 80% gone now, replaced by skin that’s soft and smooth. This is a pretty big difference.

Why would my skin be improving in some areas while drying out in other areas? Maybe this is a temporary shedding process.

I’m not quite sure, but I think the dry skin on my hands may be improving a little too. I’ll probably need another day or two to be sure.

Eyes

I swear the white parts of my eyes are a little whiter and less bloodshot than usual, but I can’t really be 100% certain of that. At least the blue part is still blue.

Weight Loss

My weight dropped 1.0 pounds to 177.4. Net weight loss is 8.6 pounds in 22 days. It’s cool to continue losing weight when I’m eating more calories than before the trial.

Breakfast

1. 5 bananas (496g)
2. 1 clementine (96g)
3. 1 tangelo (104g)

536 calories, 2g fat, 137g carb, 7g protein

Morning Snack

1. 3 bananas (268g)
2. Fuji apple (216g)

351 calories, 1g fat, 91g carb, 4g protein

Lunch

1. salad: mixed greens (96g), avocado (72g), lime juice (8g)
2. 2 carrots (94g)
3. 2 stalks celery (68g)

193 calories, 11g fat, 23g carb, 5g protein

I made a smaller salad than usual for lunch this time. It was still pretty satisfying but didn’t take as long to eat.

Afternoon Snack

green smoothie: 3 bananas (316g), spinach (60g), 1 cup water

295 calories, 1g fat, 74g carb, 5g protein

This was pretty satisfying. Sometimes keeping it simple is best.

Dinner

1. blueberries (220g)
2. Fuji apple (214g)
3. Asian pear (238g)
4. 2 bananas (248g)

557 calories, 3g fat, 143g carb, 6g protein

About halfway through this meal, I felt really disgusted by the sweetness, and I very slowly finished the second half over the course of 30 minutes. I should have included some celery or cucumber — that would have helped balance the sweet fruits.

Daily Summary

1932 calories, 18g fat, 469g carb, 27g protein

223mg sodium, 75g fiber, 271g sugar

8% of calories from fat, 5% from protein, 87% from carbs

One week to go!