Well, it is now Day 10 of this fast that I've begun...it has actually been a lot easier than I thought it would be! I had a headache on days two and three but it wasn't as bad as some headaches I get and I was a little tired the first few days, but I feel like I have bounced back. The digestive issues that I was worried about didn't bother me, in fact, the opposite has happened! I had stopped eating raw vegetables several years ago except for an occasional salad when I knew I was going to be home for a few days. The cramping and bloating I anticipated never happened! My GERD is nowhere to be found and the other issues have disappeared as well. This makes me wonder if I may have an allergy or sensitivity to any of the many additives and preservatives found in our food today. I have had a few cravings, but nothing that a banana with a drizzle of organic and sugarless peanut butter can't cure. Liz even made brownies and I was not tempted in the least! Speaking of Liz, she has stepped up and started making dinner for the family....bless her heart! She wants to learn how to cook "real" food so John and I have been showing her the ropes. She even made homemade chicken tenders for dinner the other night!
Mentally, I feel different...I don't really know how to explain it other than to say that I feel "lighter" somehow. I am slower to anger, less agitated than normal, and I feel more in control of myself. Maybe it is psychological or maybe it is that I'm taking time during the day to say the rosary and read positive affirmations. Whatever it is, it is good so I am going to keep on doing it.
I don't feel that I've lost a significant amount of weight, but I didn't weigh myself at the start and I don't have a scale to weigh myself now. I am more concerned that my cholesterol is going down since it was over 300 and I can't take the medications for it. I don't ache as much....I still ache, but it is not as crippling as it was before this first week. So, all in all, I think that this fast has been a positive step for me. I am even considering staying on this modified vegan/vegetarian diet during the week for the near future. I do miss my dairy--cheese, yogurt, etc.--so I am going to allow myself a little bit on the weekends as well as some meat...chicken mostly and eggs. Two more weeks to go!
I must be eating less than other people because I still have food left over from the first week. Here it is Wednesday and I am just now working on food for this week and it's half over! I am making a double batch of vegetable soup since the kids thought it looked and smelled delicious last week, paella because I really loved it, Garden Bean Salad, Tofu and Veggie Scramble, and the Daniel Fast Shepherd's Pie. Liz and I went to Trader Joe's last Saturday and I bought some things to supplement what I cook...veggie patties, bean and vegetable burritos, and hummus. How have I missed hummus all these years? Trader Joe's is a great place to find things without additives and preservatives and the prices are reasonable. Everything is labelled so that you can tell pretty much at a glance what is in something. I love that place!
Week Two will be a continuation of the new habits I have picked up and a little more playing with different foods. I hated tofu when I tried it in the late '70's and the kids have assured me that it is better now, so that is my newest adventure...pretty boring that trying tofu is an adventure for me, but I try to make all of life an adventure!
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