Fasting & Feasting Follow-Up - 3 Weeks Later and Goals for September

My deepest apologies that I didn't do a final "fast-breaking" post; with school back on in session, blogging while on-duty with ten kids in the house and homeschooling Emily is nearly impossible.  I feel like I ended it well, and had great results from the doctor with my lab work.  My glucose fasting level is back to normal, and my A1C came down from a 6.1 to a 5.9.  Yay!  My next set of lab work will be done in February and my goal is to try to get my A1C below a 5.7, which would put it back beneath a pre-diabetic level.

So after 3 weeks of liquid feasting, my final results were thus:

Starting Weight: 224
Week 1 Weight:  219.4
Week 2 Weight:  216.2
Ending Weight:  215.4
Total Difference:  - 8.6 pounds

Since then, I've lost a bit more and am now down to 213 pounds.  I'm looking forward to September!  We are having a short vacation back to the Savannah area at the end of the month, and while we are there, I'm running a 5K.  I hope to have an new PR for this one for under 40 minutes.  I'd also like to lose 5 more pounds before the end of the month, which I think is very doable.

This is going to be short, but hopefully I will post more again on my next off-duty shift!

Lab Work is Done - The Joys of Feasting & Fasting - Day 16

Hard to believe I'm already past two weeks into this thing - it's a bit crazy to me!  Some days it seems super long, some days it feels like it is a normal part of my regular routine.  Hard to believe it is nearing an end, though I have been considering extending it one more week to make it a 30 day fast, but I don't know yet if I will.

Lab work was done easy-peasy this morning, and I will get results next Thursday.  Praying for good news - and good blood sugar numbers!  A big answer to pray was that it only took two sticks to draw blood today (I'm a horrible stick) and no veins blew or collapsed.  Yay!

I realized that I hadn't done a weigh-in post when I hit week two, so here is where things stood after two weeks: 

Starting Weight: 224
Week 1 Weight:  219.4
Week 2 Weight:  216.2
Total Difference:  -7.8 pounds

Physically, I'm feeling good - a bit tired mid-day at times, but my energy level is actually pretty good.  I've also started exercising more strenuously again (besides just walking) and am working out about an hour every other day and have had no problems with being light-headed or dizzy.  In fact, my energy level has been pretty high.

Emotionally and spiritually, these past few days have been trying.  My female hormones are singing in high octave, so I'm dealing with that, and God is working mightily in my heart.  Also, Jonathan and I are praying over several areas specifically (some which are a bit terrifying for my security-loving heart), and I hope to see change there soon - either in our hearts or our situation that our prayers pertain to.  However, I am loving the extra time with my kids and the homeschooling lifestyle - I love it!

Speaking of homeschooling, it's time to get started!  I think we may school down in the pavilion today; got to enjoy these low-80's days while we can!  :)

Days 13 - 15: The Joys of Feasting & Fasting

Tomorrow is a big day for me!  It's my six month check-up since I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic, and so it is up early in the morning to get lab work done (I will get the results next week).  Pray they are good numbers!

The fasting and feasting continues to go well; I honestly struggled a lot these last couple of days, but I think it was more from boredom (we were off duty) and hormones.  Now back at work, I hardly think about it - we are pretty much on the go all the time, so I don't have time to think about.  My biggest thing is that I have to remember to drink, drink, drink!

This is short tonight because it's been a long day and I have to get off to bed; I will try to post more tomorrow!

Days 11 & 12 - The Joys of Feasting & Fasting

It's hard to be believe I am at the end of Day 12.  Days and meals are pretty much falling into a standard routine - I start and end each day with two cups of warm lemon and cinnamon tea, then green juice for breakfast, a veggie broth soup or smoothie for lunch, a fruit-based drink mid-afternoon, and another veggie broth soup or smoothie for supper.  I can tell my stomach has shrunk - about two cups of liquids is about all it takes to get me to full point.  Since I am off-duty this week, I did weigh myself this weekend (I keep the scale at the off-duty house, so I don't obsess over weighing myself at the main house - something I've struggled with in the past.).  I've lost a tad over three pounds over the last five days, so I'm continuing to stay on the same weight loss track of a little over half a pound a day.

At this point of the game, I'm starting to think and pray about the best way to break the fast without going off the deep-end!  This is the area I've always struggled with and truly, what I've found is that breaking the fast is the hardest part of the journey.  It will be five-to-six day journey to break the fast and hopefully, I'll be able to keep up my new and healthy eating habits.

This week, I've also adding back in more exercise besides walking.  Tonight, I walked a mile, interval jogged/walked two miles, and then walked a fourth with very little problems.  No weight-training at all (not advisable during fasting), but I want to get back in the habit of regular exercise, so walking, jogging, and yoga is what it is going to be for the next two weeks.  Truth be told?  Tonight's hour of exercise was wonderful.  Upbeat praise and worship music blasting and a great time of communion with Him while enjoying the twilight and sounds of crickets and frogs while disciplining my body.  For the first time in a long time, fellowship with God and prayer is coming and flowing all day long.  In and out, just like breathing or a heartbeat.

In that, I am content.

Days 9 & 10 - Gearing Up to Halfway!

It is hard to believe that I'm pressing up on the halfway point on this season of fasting.  Truth be told, I let pride get to my head a bit after I finished the first week; yesterday and the first part of today were very hard.  Pride and a.s I look back, I know I was drinking enough, either - neither of which made a hard, long, stressful day any better. 

Due to the fast, I am cold all the time, and have been avoiding juices (cold) and favoring hot soups, broths, and teas (hot).  However, the juices have more nutrients and so today, I've tried to me proactive in getting the juices in my system.  For supper tonight, I even got creative with fruit - sauteed peaches and raspberries in cinnamon and coconut oil, then threw them in the blender with some vanilla and a bit of almond butter.  My word, it was delicious!  I ate every single bite with a spoon and savored it.  After supper I got the best rest (I'm not calling it a nap, because I didn't sleep); just stretch out on the bed on top of the overs, pulled my throw over me, and just "was" with God for a bit - a time of mental praise and prayer.  Warm covers on a soft bed with a full and warm belly - I was very content.  But it made me sad - how many people tonight went to bed with empty stomachs?  No roof over their heads, let along warm blankets and beds?  Children?  Mothers?  Families?  Today was a huge reminder of how blessed I really am.

A nice touch this weekend is that Jonathan is juicing with me this weekend - yay!  Makes this four-day off shift more pleasurable.  Pray for the both of us tomorrow, as Jonathan leads our church's Awana training, and I am prepping lunch for everyone.  I will have juices with me, but I still anticipate it to be a bit difficult.  In light of that, I'm off to bed; busy day tomorrow!

Day 8 of Feasting & Fasting

It's hard to believe I've been on this journey for a week now and 1/3 of the way through this season.  In so many ways, life feels so normal - the back-to-school run-a-round, cleaning and organizing of the house, lesson planning for our first year of homeschooling.  Yet in so many ways, it's been very different - I feel like a huge part of my heart is waking up again.  A yearning for God, a yearning to read and study and learn... in reality a learning to find ME again, if that makes any sense.  As a wife, a mom, a minister's wife, a house-mom, it is very easy to lose your identity, to bury your own loves and dreams for the sake of everyone else.  I feel like this hibernation stage is coming to an end and I love it.  I'm excited to share it, too - I don't know who is more exciting about learning and learning to learn this year, me or Emily!  Jonathan and I are studying a book together for the first time in a very long time and I've missed that with him.

In the meantime, I continue to deal with some of the unpleasant side effects of a body in healing mode.  I've popped up a cold sore, have digestional upset from time-to-time, am forgetful, get tired a bit more easily, and sometimes get annoyed more quickly that I usually would.  But other things are great - my sense of smell is sharpened (I can smell every flower and crape myrtle in bloom), my ingrown toenail is healing, and a nagging pain in my lower abdomen at an incision site that I've had since my appendix and gallbladder were removed is completely gone.

Truthfully, it's been a bit harder day today than the last couple, though I'm not sure why.  More irritable, rougher food cravings (though I did a lot of cooking for the house today), I've been cold all day, and when I got home from church, I was really craving salt, so I drank two mugs of warmed broth, and that seemed to help.  It's also 10:30 and I'm WIDE awake - sleep isn't coming any time soon.  I guess that is my payback for an 8 hour night last night!  So I'm off to work on lesson plans for next week... and maybe watch a new episode of Continuum on Netflix.  ;)

First Week Accomplished!

Sorry for Day 7's post happening this morning, not last night.  I'd been fighting a headache with my residual toothache all day and was FREEZING cold, so I curled up into bed in a light sweatshirt, socks, and an extra blanket over the comforter and went to sleep.  Slept great, too - first 8 hours in a VERY long time.

Even though this juice feasting and fasting is NOT centered around weight loss, I did do a weight and measurement check-in after seven days of just liquids.  The results?

Starting Weight: 224
Week 1 Weight:  219.4
Difference:  -4.6 pounds

Losing at an average of .65 lbs a day is pretty good on a liquid fast, and I'm fine that it's not more.  Means I'm drinking enough and I'm very happy with that.  I've also lost anywhere from .5 inch to 1 inch all over, which I already knew from the way my clothes have been fitting.  Thank you, sweet Lord, for every pound  and every inch struggled for and lost this week.

However, I was really please to see I was under 220.  220 is pretty much my weight plateau that I bounce around at regularly.  Last time I was in the teens was a year and-a-half ago and I'd really hoping (and yes, I'll admit, praying) I can stay under it for good now.  It is time to get back to ONE-derland (under 200 pounds) again - I haven't been there since 2007.  It's time to get there again!

The Joys of Feasting & Fasting - Day 6

The morning did NOT start well.  Nothing to do with my sleep or stomach, but with my teeth.

Three hours in the dental chair.

Three hours!  For three cavities.

Needless to say, I didn't juice before my appointment to get three cavities filled today, as sometimes Novocaine makes me queasy.  But by noon, my stomach desperately wanted something in it besides salvia and water.  I've never had to have leg-stretch breaks during dental procedures before.  However, my stomach helped distract me from the nerves that would not numb and the last tooth was a labor-style breathing, clenched hands in my lap with nails making my palms bleed, and tears leaking from under my eyelids.  It isn't my dentist - I simply don't numb well, be it my teeth or childbirth.  They kept me as numb as they could!

I survived though, and came home to take pain meds, a nap, and then, make something for lunch.  Guess what I had?  :-)  That's right - I enjoyed another Mexican avocado soup/smoothie.  Had one for supper tonight, too.  I'm wondering if it is the avocado I'm craving or the complex seasoning?

As I'm typing this, I just realized I haven't had any fruit-based juices today, since I normally do those for breakfast, unless pumpkin is counted as a fruit.  I make a dairy-free pumpkin soup today that I really enjoyed, but it would have been better if I could have added a bit of cumin.  Maybe with tomorrow's leftovers for lunch.  And tomorrow - seven days!  I will weigh myself in the morning - though I'm not doing this for weight-loss, I'd still like to keep an eye on.

Arrivederci and happy drinking!

The Joys of Feasting & Fasting - Day 5

Today I learned an important lesson:  listen to your body!

This morning I woke up after a full 5 1/2 hours of sleep (much better than the three or four I've had all week, so I will take 5 1/2 any day!) and where I was not hungry at all, my stomach just felt raw and empty.  I drank my normal morning lemon water and my stomach just felt queasy, and continued to the next couple of hours.  However, I felt like I had to drink something besides water to get through church, so on the drive over, I drank 16 ounces of my standard green veggie and fruit mix. 

Big, big mistake!

Instead of waiting for my stomach to settle before I put juice in it this morning, I missed most of Sunday School and the first part of church.  Yuck.  It was almost three in the afternoon before my stomach gave me permission to drink more than water, and the carrot/orange blend settled very well with no yucky aftereffects.  That's a win in my book!  But lesson learned - I will listen better to my body and what it is telling me.

Thankfully, my hunger pains are starting to go away, which is a big blessing, though I am still battling the occasional food cravings.  Remember last night's Mexican spread?  Well that was today's supper and it smelled so very good as I got this ready for tonight's supper taco bar; my V-8/Vegetable broth blend seemed so bland compared to what I was serving.  But God answered my very humanly (and honestly, selfish) cry of "I want it, dear Lord, but need you to help me be faithful" by giving me a smoothie inspiration.  I don't know why I haven't thought of it before!  I poured my broth blend into the blender, added a generous scoop of guacamole, some pico de gallo, and some additional spices.  Can we say A-M-A-Z-I-N-G????  I think it is the most delicious Mexican soup I have ever made.  I know what I'm having for lunch tomorrow!

Keep posted for more tomorrow - I'm coming up on a week very soon!

The Joys of Feasting & Fasting - Day 4

It was truly a harder day today.  I woke up hungry and stayed hungry all... day... long.  Even with nutritious juices and broths, I just couldn't seem to fill the hole in my belly.  The hunger pains should pass in another day or two, but it was truly a rely-on-God type of day.  And get through we did - through a group grilling for lunch, a birthday party this evening, and a full-blown catered Mexican dinner that arrived on our doorstep late this evening (I LOVE Mexican food).  At that point, I had to cry out to Jonathan to deal with the food coming into the house - I just couldn't handle another cookie, cupcake, or burrito on the counter anymore!

As for detox symptoms?  Pretty good today, and I upped my water intake as I felt like I didn't get enough yesterday.  The headache is gone, but a new side effect to me was my calf muscles just aching by seven pm, enough so that I took two Motrin to help get through the evening.  I think I'm going to take a bit of extra magnesium at bedtime tonight to see if that will help (I can't do bananas in my juices - they give me horrid sores in my month).  I also have found my gums being extra sensitive today and am not sure why, so I've been rinsing with salt water a couple of times today.

Right now, my biggest struggle is sleep.  I seriously can't sleep... and I'm freezing!  I was in the bathtub at 1 AM this morning to warm up and try to relax enough to fall asleep.  I'm exhausted, but shifting my body from tiredness to sleep isn't happening very well the past two nights.  Usually taking magnesium at night puts me out, but it hasn't helped at all.

So overall, day four was a struggle - praying that day five will be a wonderful day of worship and focus!

The Joys of Feasting & Fasting - Day 3

Today started off with sweet time in my Bible study in Isaiah 43 and 61, which my soul really needed this today.  I was a bit nervous starting this first all liquids day, but praise Jesus!, it went really well.  I really wasn't hungry at all, which was a blessing.  Supper was the hardest time for me, but I quickly put the food up after the meal (I usually leave it out for the guys to browse on later) and scraped the kids' plates as soon as they were done to avoid the urge to nibble.  But a morning green smoothie, lots of water, juice (Kroger had some of Boathouse Farm's juices, including their kale/spinach/celery/lemon juice, on sale for BOGO), and some broth got me through the day.  I even survived the ice cream social this evening - most of the campus knows I'm watching my sugar, so there was no question as to why I just had water.

As for detox symptoms, they've been very minimal today.  Slight headache, but I'm guessing it's more from lack of caffeine, a bit of light-headedness when I got up too quick, and I was a bit tired by early afternoon, but other than that, it was a good day and I'm actually struggling to wind down tonight.  I forgot how I will eventually move to a bit of less sleep as these three weeks move on. 

Speaking of sleep, I need to ensure our guys are going to get some tonight, so adios!

Joys of Feasting & Fasting - Days 1 & 2

Don't freak out at the word fasting, though the first time I ever fasted, I certainly did!  My heart wasn't in the right place and I was miserable all day.  I hated it.

Fast forward to just after college:  I started an online 60 day Bible study called The Lords Table at www.settingcaptivesfree.com.  This study is focused on looking at God to fill the needs that we run to for food and to help break the strongholds of laziness and gluttony.  After the initial sixty days, there is a 2nd study that is an intensive 21-day liquid fast.  It was in those two studies that I found the biblical joy in fasting, and since then, have done three long-term liquid fasts, ranging from 5 to 21 days.

I'm continuing to follow their model, though I've not doing the fast through their study, as I have not since the first time.  They recommend the first two days as prep days, eating fruit for breakfast and raw veggies for lunch and supper.  Then 16 days of liquids (no dairy, protein shakes, etc) such as juices, non-meat broths, smoothies, etc, then the last two days with raw fruits and veggies to wake the digestive system back up again.  Personally, I drink more of a fruit based juice in the morning, and then veggie juices, vegetable stocks, and herbal teas for the rest of the day (my favorite lunch and dinner is vegetable stock mixed 1/2 & 1/2 with V-8 and spiced with garlic, cumin, pepper, and chili powder).

Now Day 2 is drawing to a close and I'm feeling pretty good.  Fruit for breakfast (strawberries yesterday, a pear today) and veggie salads for lunch and dinner.  Today's cucumber/tomato salad was delicious!  Jonathan slept poorly last night, and i woke up around 1 AM with bad hunger pains.  Yet God is good as I prayed over them and was able to fall back asleep.  I was a bit tired this afternoon and have a bit of a headache, but we'd been traveling, too.  I didn't get any exercise in today, but enjoyed a walk yesterday and hope to walk again in the morning.  In the meantime, the fridge is stocked for juices (fruit and veggie) and I made a gallon of my vegetable broth soup while washing dishes this evening.  For now, I'm sipping tea, blogging, and getting ready to put kids to bed and do my evening Bible study.  I'm been enjoying working through Cynthia Herald's "Becoming a Woman of Simplicity" and Beth Moore's "Breaking Free", and for the first time in a very long time, am hungering for the Word in a way that I have not in quite some time.  I'm sure I will blog more on this later in the days to come.  For now, though, I need to put munchkins to bed, so good night!

Bye Bye Sugar!

A month ago today, I broke up with sugar.

Yep, sugar and I called it off.

You see, 5 months ago I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic.  Scary day for me! But a dear friend volunteered to be my health coach and after four months of exploring my diet, reasons for floundering, battling gluttony, laziness, self-sabotage and a horrid munchy sweet tooth, my husband reminded me of the only time I was truly successful with my weight was when I cut out sugar pre-pregnancy with Emily (lost 30 pounds in 4 months and kept it off until I started eating for two), and when I followed a strict doctor-ordered diabetic diet while pregnant with Ethan (I only gained 15 pounds, 10 of which were a certain little boy).  So a month ago, called it quits.

A month in and 11 pounds down, I'm starting a new phase for the next 21 days. I have been wrestling with some deep emotional and spiritual issues and have felt led to go on an extended juice/liquid feast and fast.  Don't worry - I won't die!  This is the 4th time I have done this in the last 10 years and each time have led to some pretty significant break-throughs. The 1st 2 times were through a Bible study at www.settingcaptivesfree.com and the last time was a year and a half ago, which was cut short 1/3 of the way through when my appendix decided to nearly explode (not related).  So this time, I want to try and write and blog most days, which I've not done before, which may include a few excerpts from my journal.  I'm looking forward to you joining me and Day 1 will be blogged soon!  :)