Fast Day 18

It IS "POP" - Pepsi says so!

  No updates for awhile - I've been busy.  This past weekend was day 14 and 15 of the fast and day 14 was almost a 'throw in the towel' day.  I was studying for 7 hours while the weather was BEAUTIFUL (it isn't often you get to experience 75 degrees in January).  Maybe my ability to focus was based on the lack of sugar in my diet, maybe it was just the perception of the importance of the two tests I'll be taking in February (it could mean a large monthly pay increase), or maybe it was just that tunnel vision I tend to get when working on a project.  Either way, it was just the two littlest boys (2yrs / 2mos) and I. 

  By the time I was done studying, I was ready for PIZZA... which I couldn't have.  It didn't help that our oldest (7yrs) had a friend sleeping over and they were eating gratuitous amounts of pizza, pop (soda for some of you who need a translation), candy, chips, etc. 

  Alas, there still was not any cheating on the diet.



After school treat - 2010

  On day 16 I packed my lunch to include some raisins.  I couldn't eat them, they were too sweet!  I had no idea that raisins had so much sugar added to them.  

  Speaking of snacks, I found a few I really like.  I've never been a big fan of oranges, but the little ones ('cuties') are delicious - even at this time of the year.  Also, at Sam's Club, my wife purchased some type of snack which looks like french fries, but is made from better foods like fruits and vegetables.  I really like the apple fries! 

  I haven't had coffee for 18 days.  I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to handle this when I go back to nights, but I'm looking for any suggestions on where to buy good tea.  I'll probably drink coffee again, but I can't allow myself to become as reliant on having it every day.  But then again, did I just remove coffee and put tea in its place?

  With only 3 days to go, I'm not sure what I'm going to do on the 22nd.  I've debated continuing through the month - especially because I don't want a major change before my test on the 4th and 5th.  Meat products will probably be the first to come back, but I'll have to introduce any item slowly.  Too much grease, fat, sugar, etc at this point will probably result in me catching up on a lot of reading... because there's not much else to do in the bathroom.

Fasting - Day 5

So far everything is going very well with the fast.  Other than a few times where we had a massive 'sugar-jones' (which we avoided) adjusting has been fairly easy.  We have been eating some fairly standard meals - spaghetti, oatmeal, stir fry, bean tacos - over all, no problem.

Without the extra condiments like cheese, sour cream, sugar, ketchup, etc. the caloric intake is greatly lessened.  That doesn't mean I didn't crave sharp cheddar and sour cream all over my taco!  I did find that avocados are a great substitute for dairy additions.  High in fat, but they give it a similar texture and 'coolness' that cream or cheese does.  I'm very happy that I haven't had to give up salsa or hot sauce!  You can make many 'left-overs' into quality meals with the addition of a little kick.

Physically the fast is going better than expected.  I haven't checked the scale yet (on purpose) so I'll check into that later.  I have had some headaches over the first few days which are probably due to my sugar withdrawal.  I haven't necessarily had more energy, but with a focus on less TV my time has been spent doing tasks which I haven't been able to do while working nights - fixing things, repairing things, building things, etc.

If you decide to fast, here are a few things we've noticed which will help you to plan for:
1. a little 'alone time' during the day - the air in your immediate vicinity will have a different smell to it.
2. safe snacks - we've gone through a lot of sugar free gum and salted almonds lately.
3. mood changes - be aware of your mood, you may get the before mentioned headaches which will cause some short tempers.  Know this and react to situations in a calm manner.
4. alternate activities - if you change your schedule, you may find yourself bored.  I'm trying to catch up on and finish some books which I started but didn't finish.

Fast - Day 01 (New Year's Day)

  It all started at midnight.  While others were having snacks and sugary drinks to toast the new year (non-alcoholic because we were at work), I refrained.  What was I thinking starting a 'fast' on a holiday?  The spread for New Year's rivaled Thanksgiving, only with snacks and junk food! 
  I weighed-in at 241lbs (ouch!).  I wonder where I'm keeping it.  I failed to pack anything to eat for after midnight at work.  Big mistake.  After a few bottles of water I was looking for sugar-free gum, found some, and chewed it for a good four hours.  Now I'm realizing that it had sweetener in it.  Not only did I fail to bring food I was 'allowed' to eat, I ended up working 3 hours later than scheduled.  When I got home I had cereal with almond milk and went to bed for a few hours.
  To make things interesting - I'll let you know I'm also switching from an overnight schedule to a days.  This will make it easier to avoid cheating and being very hungry at night!  After a little sleep, I woke up for supper (peppers and Spanish rice) and instead of TV, read to the kids for over an hour and played a game they got for Christmas. 
  Unfortunately after the kids bedtime we settled in for some TV time.  It was nice and relaxing, but not what we had planned to avoid.  I foresee TV being a problem for us, but we won't be watching during the kids awake hours unless we agree to have a family movie.
  Hopefully I'll be able to sleep tonight.  I plan on staying in bed and catching up on some reading if I can't sleep (the further I can stay away from the kitchen...).

Ready To Fast...

  Here are the basics.  My wife and I decided to go without some things which we commonly consume in order to show ourselves that we don't 'need' them.  The items we chose to refrain from fall in line with a popular fast called, 'The Daniel Fast:' meat, dairy, sweeteners and yeast.  Additionally, we have agreed to limit eating wheat and watching TV.  So what does that leave for us to eat?  Good question.  I was starting to think of calling it a 'starve' rather than a 'fast' until Shannon started researching vegan foods (but I'll get into that in later posts).
  For what other reasons are we doing this?  Many.  We need to introduce better foods into our regular diet.  We also need to show our four children a better way of eating and introduce them to more natural foods.  As for TV, we removed cable TV from our home over a hear ago, but it didn't do anything to lessen our TV time.  Through our ROKU player, we are Netflix junkies.  I can only imagine what activities other than TV we could accomplish by avoiding this zone-out time. 
  When possible, I'll post updates about what we're eating, doing, and how successful we have been at sticking to the rules.

Fasting To Start 2013

I've seen this a few times and have thought about it, but now have someone to do it with me.  My wife and I are going to start 2013 with The Daniel Fast, a 21-day diet change.  I'm hoping we make it the full 21 days, but either way we'll try it out.  The fast/diet is based on vegetables and no caffeine, but we're going to alter it a little bit to remove TV and maybe allow a small amount of caffeine because I'm working nights.  Here are some links to give you more information and details to get started:

About the fast - http://lcwestchester.com/?p=1097 
How to do the fast - http://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Daniel-Fast
Bible reading plan for the fast - https://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/35-21-day-fast