Over the past week, I've noticed a number of changes. Some were expected - I'm often tired and hungry, for example, and I've lost some weight already. Some are entirely unexpected - and the strangest one is my tendency to take deep breaths.
Now, I've taken deep breaths before, so this ought to be a normal thing - but I can't say I've tended to do it when I'm just walking, or sitting, or standing around. Deep breaths are for when I'm preparing for exercise, or drinking in a pleasant summer breeze, or just sighing over something. I've also had to breathe deeply to blow up those balloons that are supposed to make my tummy flatter.
However, over the past couple of days I've frequently felt the urge to take a deep breath, and have been surprised - I can't work out why I want one at that moment. No matter - breathing deeply feels good, so I'm entirely happy to cave in to these urges. I'm just puzzled as to why I'm getting them.
For example, I wondered whether I was short of oxygen? I don't have any breathing problems like asthma or allergies, and I've never smoked; I live and work in a rural area and I get plenty of fresh air. So I can't see why either my lungs or the air itself should be a problem.
One possibility is that I just need more oxygen on this programme, and my body hasn't yet got used to that so my breathing is bringing in a little less air than I now need. On average, that might add up to one extra big breath every hour or so.
I've been web surfing to try to find an explanation, and my best guess so far is this: burning fat apparently uses more oxygen (per unit of energy produced) than burning carbohydrate. In other words, this low carb diet needs more oxygen than my normal diet would have required, just to keep me warm and moving. In fact, given that I'm moving around a bit more than usual, I probably need still more. And if my body's expectations of the amount of oxygen I'll need for a given level of exercise were set by my old carb-rich diet, then it may take a while for it to adjust to this diet that has almost no carbs at all.
Thus ends Week 1! Tomorrow I start the day with a colder bath - 19C instead of 20C. Can't wait.
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