After the Fast...

So, my husband and I successfully completed 21 days of the Daniel Fast along with our church family.  What a feeling of accomplishment!  This was our third time participating in the fast and each year gets easier and easier.  Who am I kidding?  Doing the Daniel Fast has to be one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life!  I know.  That's very sad, isn't it?  It's really sad how much food controls our lives.  

If you're not familiar with the Daniel Fast, the gist of it is this:  eat only fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains and drink only water, all while purposefully praying and meditating daily.  

Truthfully, if I hadn't had the support and encouragement of my husband, I probably would have fallen off the wagon by Day 3 or 4.  But, his pep talks and motivational messages kept me focused. I'm truly thankful that we shared this experience together.  It really taught us a lot about ourselves. 

Here are some things that I discovered about myself:

1) I can read the Bible daily.  During the fast, I read the Bible first thing every morning.  I use the YouVersion app on my phone.  I have a reminder set to alert me each morning that I need to read my Bible.  I don't step foot out of bed until I have read a scripture and meditated on it for a moment.  

2) I can cook at home more often. One of the excuses that I use for eating out so frequently is that I don't have time to cook.  Well, during the fast, I did a lot of meal planning to reduce the chances of "messing up" and eating something that was not a part of the fast.  If I did it then, I can do it now.  

3) I do have self-control.  If you had told me 3 years ago that I could go twenty-one days without eating a piece of candy, cheesecake, or having a Diet Coke, I would have laughed in your face.  This fast has taught me that I have way more self-control than I ever thought.  

4)  I like vegetables more than I thought.  I knew that I liked green beans.  But who knew how much I liked asparagus, cabbage, spinach, sweet potatoes, zucchini?  These things will continue to be a part of my diet to make less room for the french fries, onion rings, macaroni and cheese, and other unhealthy foods.  I don't plan to give these things up, but I do plan to practice moderation.  

In addition to these four things, I also learned a lot about being consistent, being dedicated, and staying the course.  There were several times when I wanted to give up and times near the end when I simply wanted to quit.  I remember the day when I had ketchup (probably around day 19) and I wanted to use that slip up as an excuse to throw in the towel.  However, I chose to put that intentional slip up behind me and finish what I committed to starting 20 days earlier.  

Looking back, I am thankful for the experience and look forward to challenging myself to move into the deep in 2015!

Diva on a Diet...AGAIN!

I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of diets I've tried. However,  I'm going to take a stab at listing them:  Trim Spa, Advanced Weight Loss Clinic, Grapefruit diet, South Beach Diet, Weight Watchers, Fat Smash Diet, Extreme Fat Smash Diet, and The 4 Day Diet.  I'm going to stop listing now.  I don't want to reveal exactly how big of a sucker I am.  (As if I haven't done so already.)

Basically, if I see it on television or in a store and it promises great results, I'll give it a try.  All of the aforementioned diets have produced the results that they promised.  I have seen results from all of them.  The problem for me is not losing weight, it's keeping the weight off.  I've been playing this game for several years.

I'm smart enough to know and understand that weight loss will not occur until the number of calories consumed is less that the number burned.  But, something in me insists on falling prey to commercial diet plans that deliver "quick and easy" results.  One day, I will learn.

BUT, that day is not today!!!  As I was sitting around looking at t.v. yesterday, I saw Dr. Ian Smith on the Dr. Oz show.  He was doing a segment on his new book, The Shred.  My first thought was to flip the channel, but somehow, I got sucked in to what he was saying.  There were three or four women who had stories similar to mine about their weight loss struggles.  So, this has to work for me, right? Right.

NO!  I won't do it.  I will NOT bring into my house yet another book that tells me what I already know.  I will not spend money for someone to tell me things that I've heard over and over again.  Surely, this book cannot be any different from any of the others that I've seen on the shelves of Barnes and Noble.  I'm not buying it.  I'm not buying it.  I'm not....



Wait a minute.  How did this end up on my coffee table?  (tehehehe)  Well, since it's here, I've got to read it!  I'll let you know if I find out anything new and exciting.  What do I have to lose, other than weight?