Death

A friend of mine died last Friday.  Well, I don't really know if I can call her a friend, because I doubt she considered me the same.  She isolated her self completely.  I don't even know if she had anyone to call a friend.  She was my neighbor though, and there were several times where I would try to invite her over or get myself into her place to chat.  Hell, even to take the trash out together is something I really tried to do, but she wouldn't wait the seconds I needed to grab my trash.  Regardless, the opportunities I had to listen to her sing through the thin walls of my apartment were enough to cause a smirk across my face.

This really is the first time I've recognized death.  It's happened to my grandmother and grandfathers, but never has it been this close to home.  It makes me want to be a little more extroverted.  I'm probably an ass for doing this, but if I had to judge her life, it was too lonely.  I can only hope that she had someone to blossom with.  She was withheld in so many ways it seemed.  Her health was never strong, her charisma was neither her strong point.  She was frail in many ways, but she was always pushing on.  For a person that existed with so much pain...

I don't believe in God, or heaven, so in my perspective, this person is gone forever.   Fuck.  What I would have given to just give her a hug...

Well Now I Look Stupid or Lucky

Most of the time Google is right, but when checking out the closest location of a Burger King, it looked like it was right next to my workplace. Unfortunately it is not.

The next closest one is somewhere in Ebisu, about an hours travel from where I am. Now, this whole challenge isn't very practical. I'm not going to spend more money than I have to on shitty food. Now if only McDonald's would have the same idea...

Stupid Dangerous Experiments I Perform On Myself

Obviously, some people will look at me and wonder why the hell I would ever fast for 10 days. I am a pretty utilitarian person with an overconfidence in my body and mind. So doing that kind of experiment was first, economical, and secondly, taught me something more about my body. But now, Japan has done something awful. Something that the economical, health-unconcious person I am can't refuse.

All-You-Can-Eat Whoppers.

Starting today, I will eat my day's worth of calories in just 30 minutes for the next 15 days. This really isn't a question of if I can even manage to eat that much in 30 minutes. My friends should be able to attest to my ability to eat large quantities of food in a short period. The question I am wondering is how unbelievably unhealthy will this be for me.

My cholesterol levels will absolutely skyrocket, I am sure. Now, while the fasting decreased my weight and in some senses may have even cleansed my body, this experiment is pretty much the opposite in every sense. I will not cleanse my body with highly processed meat and cheese. I will not lose weight. I think without the right precautions, this could be considered a serious risk to my heart. With this in mind, I've done a little research.

The Whopper:
670 calories (33.5%) 75mg cholesterol (25%)
11g sat. fat (55%) 11g sugar (27.5%)
51g carbs (17%) 40g fat (61.5%)
1g trans fat(~!%) 28g protein (56%)
980mg sodium (42.6%)


Daily Recommended Nutritional Values:
2000 calories 300mg cholesterol
20g sat. fat 40g sugar
300g carbs 65g fat
-g trans fat 50g protein
2300mg sodium

After looking up the recommended value for trans fat, I was surprised to find that "There is no adequate level, recommended daily amount or tolerable upper limit for trans fats. This is because any incremental increase in trans fat intake increases the risk of coronary heart disease." on Wikipedia. Just to give you a perspective on how much a gram is, 8 grams is about the weight of a plastic lighter you can buy in a convenience store. That's kind of a lot when you think about it, because by tomorrow, I will have consumed at least that much trans fat.

Since I can expect to seriously put my health at risk, I would like to take some benchmarks. If I'm lucky, I will find a self test kit in a pharmacy around here. If I can't and because this opportunity kind of snuck up on me, the best I'm going to be able to do is to have a physical check up which is already scheduled for the 12th of this month. This is going to be a lot like Supersize Me, but with me not being an idiot and not doing what I can to reduce the health risks despite.

If I'm lucky, this may actually help me make a healthy change in my life. A greater understanding of cholesterol and diet, and better workout regimen could have lasting beneficial effects supposing I don't have a heart attack between now and the end of the Burger King campaign.

Damn you Burger King... I'll go to your fatty hell and back. Damn you...

Post-Fast Aftermath Day 1

So I had the bruschetta that I was dreaming about. I ate an entire loaf of garlic bread topped with a tangy bruschetta mix of tomatoes, onion, garlic, chives, olive oil, vinegar, and basil. A lot of the time I think I'm invincible, and despite reading warning against over eating, obviously, I ignored them.

I am not invincible. That food ran through me like a bullet train, and in 10 hours I woke up around 8 and had the feeling like food was being shoved through my stomach which at that point probably resembled a dry sock that had shrunken a few sizes in the last wash. It wasn't much longer until I found myself on the crapper, and well, all is well now. I think I'm going to binge for a bit, maybe quad-Big Macs, maybe some Coldstone if I can find it. I never listen...

Water Fasting Day 10

Day 10 - Can't sleep.

I have an interview on Tuesday and Wednesday so I have decided that the moment this day is over, I am going to munch on as much as I can comfortably. Truth be told, it's not just because of the fact that I have interviews coming up, but I'm missing food too much. Bruschetta on garlic bread is what it'll be when the clock strikes midnight. I'll update this when I wake up.

Update: It's nearly midnight, and to be honest I cut my time a bit short. It's 10:18, which is more realistically closer to the actual time when I stopped eating 10 days ago. I spent an hour or so preparing some amazing garlic bread and bruschetta. I also ate some Haggendaaz Cookies and Cream ice cream. I'm not sick, and my stomach is just as big as ever. I ate an entire loaf of garlic bread and almost the entirety of the bruschetta I made (4 tomatoes, 1 onion, a cup of scallions, tons of garlic, etc). Now I'll just top that off with a few Gin and Tonics and I'll be off to bed and summarize the experience tomorrow.

Water Fasting Day 9

Day 9 - My god I`m tired. I didn`t sleep the best during the last two nights and it`s really hit me. But today is brew day, and I had to go to the hackerspace. My eyelids haven`t felt like this since finals week in college. I`m at the hackerspace now, just brewing a Guinness clone. It`s a no show for my class, which is a let down for me. But at the same time, that just means I get a ton of beer.

Tomorrow I`m going to consider stopping this fast. Not that I`m hungry, but that I am lacking some serious energy.

Water Fasting Day 8

Day 8 - Today I woke up groggy as hell. I had trouble falling asleep even though it was pretty late. So, that's not good... Anyways, I had to pick up my futon from Megumi's place today, as per her family's request. I knew that the trip was probably going to drain quite a bit of energy from me. That's when I remembered this little tip. "For every day of water fasting you do, you should spend a day adjusting to get back into eating regularly." Well, considering this, on my way to Megumi's, I spotted a fresh juice shop. What better way to slowly get myself back into food than by drinking juice? I had some, it was amazing, and then I got the shits.

These were no ordinary shits. These hit me with a surprising speed I can only compare to diarrhea, but a lot easier to handle. When I got to Megumi's place, I let out several rotten clumps of... I'll spare you the details. But considering I haven't eaten in 8 days, that stuff was left in my colon. I hear that that's the stuff that likes to hang around, the kind of stuff you need prescription Exlax and a colonoscapy to get rid of. All I can hope for is that what's gone will leave more room for better absorption of whatever my body needs.

P.S. - Damn that juice was good. I might go back for some more.