Fast Thoughts: Halfway There

We are halfway through our 21 days of Prayer and Fasting, and so I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on my experience thus far. If you want to read about the idea behind fasting, you can check out my previous post here. After some thought, I knew for sure I was going to give up Facebook, social media, and just use my phone for texting and calls (what a concept!), but I wanted to challenge myself a little more, so I added to it. Just for the sake of discipline, and really needing to lean on God (as well as to prepare myself for my connect group this year… more on that later) I decided to give up sugar and processed foods. Natural sugar, such as that in fruits, is okay, but anything with added sugar not so much. I also realized awhile back that our family goes through the drive-thru WAY too much (which becomes apparent when your son asks if we're going to "Chick-Fi-Way" everyday when you pick him up from school), so in an effort to save money and eat better, the kids and I are fasting fast food, whether they like it / know it or not. Here are a few of my observations this far:

• 21 days doesn't seem like much, but man, it's a long time
• I am a much happier person without Facebook. I can't explain it, but there is a newfound freedom  around here! Not feeling like your phone is calling to you at stoplights and first thing when you wake up (pathetic I know… but can you relate?)
• Speaking of freedom, I also feel free of comparing my life to others, having to have my photos "liked," and that sort of thing. My happiness is more based on what the people closest to me think, as it should be!
• I did miss birthday messages this year, but it doesn't even out the above. Those who know me best made sure to call, email, or text.
• I do miss Facebook a little for life's big events. For example, one of my best friends had a baby on my birthday (this is the second time this has happened with one of my best friends… pretty awesome friends I have!) and I would love to see all of the pictures. Thankfully she has texted me a few, and I've already gotten to snuggle that sweet girl. 
• I feel like I have so much time now! My house is cleaner, my kids and I play more, and I even took a nap during the first week! I also feel like a better disciplinarian to my kids since I'm more aware of what they're doing.
• I wish I could say that I've spent less time on my computer, but unfortunately that's not the case. I think I've spent less time on my phone but more time on my laptop. Granted, we've had a couple of really big weekends at TurningPoint and have a ton of events coming up, so it's understandable. But I can't imagine how I would've gotten it done if I was doing this and Facebook. Plus, the kids were home every day this week for snow days. Crazy!
• Although I cheated on my birthday and ate the sundae they brought me for dessert, I have had a craving for birthday cake ever since. It just doesn't feel right without it. Thankfully we will be celebrating my nephew's birthday right after the fast ends!
• I miss chocolate. A lot.
• I've found that a tall glass of ice-cold milk curbs my cravings for chocolate and sweets. I think my belly associates milk with cookies.
• When giving up the drive-thru, I did not take Starbucks into account. In essence, I am fasting Starbucks. Mama wants a latte.
• Larabars are the greatest non-granola granola-type bars ever. They sound gross since they're made primarily from dates, but man are they good! Except the cappuccino flavor… I am warning you in advance. But if you're looking for an all-natural sweet snack, check them out! My favorite is the coconut cream pie flavor!
• The toughest part of my day is when I make the kids a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich. I usually lick the knife (when I'm done of course!), but I just can't right now. Those two ingredients smell heavenly together!
• I don't miss bread at all. I'm not sure that I'll really add that back into my diet actually… my belly feels a ton better without it! 
• Although I still haven't fallen in love with cooking, I find that the end-result makes it worth it. I really like knowing what my kids are putting in, and I LOVE sitting around the table together regularly. We've probably had dinner together 5-nights a week here lately. That's a HUGE win!
• My kids will try (and like) just about anything. I'm super proud of them, and it makes me realize that I relied far too heavily on pre-packaged foods before this.
• Checking the weather or logging a run on my phone is a slippery slope… any app just about can suck me in. But it's nice to know that I can leave my phone where it charges when I'm home and not have to carry it around everywhere I go (and lose it).

I know there's more, but this is already a lengthy list, so this will do for now. So far I don't feel like I have read or prayed as much as I would like to get in the habit of doing, although it has increased, so that's a good start. So far I really just feel like I've reclaimed my time with my family, and that in itself is enough to make this whole thing worthwhile. One more cake-free week to go!

For those of you doing this, too…. how's YOUR fast going??

Fasting Tips

Yes, I know we're only halfway through the 21 days of prayer and fasting, so this does not make me some sort of expert. However, there have been a few things that we've done well and a few things that we have not done well so far, so I thought I would share what we've learned so far. As a disclosure, this post is only about the food-discipline part of the fast and not about the spiritual part, so if you are fasting from particular foods or doing a Daniel fast, some of this may be helpful. If not, it might just be interesting... who knows. Here is what our household is doing to help make the "What can I eat?" part of this process easier:

• Ease into it. If you choose to make a major dietary change during your fast, make sure you start slow. I had read this and thought that I didn't need to do it. I figured, I don't drink that much coffee or caffiene and my diet isn't that bad. Boy was I wrong! By the end of only the second day I was shaky, nauseous, and ended up with a migraine. I felt the headache coming on all day and should've listened to my body and just had a cup of coffee but I thought I was being "tough" instead. As a mom with two young kids, I just ended up in a place where I could hardly care for myself much less them, and had to call Josh to come home and take over so I could go lay down. Yeah, I guess my diet wasn't quite as clean as I thought it was to start with! It's been pretty eye-opening actually as to what I put into my body each day.

• Making exceptions is a slippery-slope. Every year, my birthday falls right smack dab in the middle of the fast. On top of that, this year a trip to New York was also thrown in... think long hours on the road, New York food (pizza and bagels- yum!), and a retirement party and wedding thrown in. I have to be honest and say that I started off very strong. I ate a salad and drank water on the way there, and even made it through the retirement party. By the time my birthday dinner and the wedding reception rolled around, I used the logic that these were "special occassions" and that it would be okay to venture away from the fast. Granted, I do think this is okay from time to time, and the point of fasting is not to be legalistic. But, it did open a door for me to continue to make excuses... I mean, I had already broken my fast, what difference did it make now? Getting back into the swing of things ended up being harder than starting it in the first place, so just keep that in mind.

• Involve the whole family! My kids are still eating sandwiches and chicken nuggets, but their snacks are now made up of fruits and vegetables... and they are loving it! I don't think I realized how much they love produce until I started making it an option for them. To hear Jake practically beg for a carrot and to see Lil get excited when I pull celery out of the fridge has made me realize that it's just as easy as the "convenience" of Goldfish and mini muffins. Again, it's been eye-opening. I know that we'll add chicken, eggs, and a few other essentials back into our diet after this is over, but snacks are staying as is- for me, too! I want them to grow up making healthy choices, so I'm glad this is happening while they're young. For me, it's definitely been good on the waist-line, too!

• Learn to substitute. I can't tell you how many times I have read to use apple sauce in place of oil or bananas instead of butter, etc. Until now, however, I never tried any of these things and it turns out that they work! I also have been sweetening with Stevia instead of sugar, and find that I actually prefer it. For a gal who loves to bake, I think I'll be making some changes when all is said and done.

• Focus on the benefits. Any time you are craving something sweet or fatty, think about the positive changes this has had on your body. I usually have lots of belly aches, but this clean eating has really helped. Every time I want a French fry I think about how they make me feel.

• Don't forget the spiritual aspect. Fasting without praying is just going hungry. I realized when I went astray that not only did I "cheat" a lot during that time, I also barely prayed nor did I crack open my Bible. Yesterday I wanted a bite of Lilly's cookie so badly, and probably would have shared it if I did not just stop and ask God to give me some restraint. To some poeple, this may seem silly, but I honestly could not have resisted if I did not have someone to physically talk to and ask for help. Sure, I can't see God physically, but I know He's there.

• Make it fun! I am not someone who likes to cook. Bake, yes. Cook, no. But, I am finding the challenge of cooking within these parameters oddly exciting, printing off recipes from the Internet, and trying things I never thought I would (cous-cous... really?). Plus, it's really helped clear out our pantry and has made me a disciplined grocery shopper, only getting exactly what I need for recipes rather than whatever looked good at the time.

I hope that you find this encouraging as you go into the second-half of this fast. Twenty-one days does not seem like a long time, nor does it seem like it would be difficult, until you're actually in it. And believe me, it's a long time when you want some chocolate! So if you're like me and need something sweet, I'll share a sweet-treat recipe. Tonight I'm also making flat-bread and soup, so if either of those turn out good, I'll share them, too!

Taken with an iPhone. Excuse the quality!

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups whole grain oats

• 2 ripe bananas (I actually used ones that were almost green because they're sweeter)
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• Cinnamon to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut (optional)

Mix everything together, spoon out into cookie-sized portions on a baking sheet, and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Biggest Loser - Weeks 2 and 3

So did I mention that I ran a half marathon last weekend?

Um, yeah... that pretty much made me rationalize all of the junk I ate all week.  I love to run long distances, but I forgot that it turns me into a bottomless pit, something I need to work on if I sign up for more races this summer and fall.  Plus, my friend Cory had me make Amish friendship bread (basically she made me do it) and the two loaves were gone in about three days.  Yeah, it was THAT good... the Amish really know what they're doing.  But my main discovery this week is that weight loss is all about defeating the excuses.  As I strive to eat healthier, I realize that I can talk myself into having just about anything that's not good for me.  I ran a half marathon, so logically that allows me to have a free pass all week, right?  Or since it's Mother's Day this weekend I should be able to eat not just one, but three molten lava cakes that my husband made for me (oh yes he did... and they were super delicious!).  Or since I skipped dinner, I can have a second bowl of ice cream.  It's ridiculous, and something that I need to work on... do you have this problem, too?

On the upside, there are a few things that I have improved on as well.  For one, I don't stop every time I pass Starbucks.  To you this may not sound like much, but it's a huge accomplishment for me.  I can talk myself into a latte at all hours of the day and realized that I would get one even when I really didn't want it.  Sure, it still tasted good, but was the four dollars really worth it?  Since I work from home I don't drive by one all that often, which is probably why it used to be so appealing when I did, but just because it's a novelty doesn't mean I need to have it every time it's available.  It's all about choices and truly listening to your body.

So where did the scale end up?  Unfortunately I have been going the wrong direction, but it was only an 0.2 gain this week, probably due to the race.  A day after the weekly weigh-in I caught a little bug that Jake had been sick with and, well, I'm now down two... go figure.  So my goal for this week is to make better overall choices and fight that irrational part of my brain that makes all of those excuses.  Oh, and I may want to show my face again at the gym... I'm pretty sure my muscles have forgotten what they are supposed to do!

How was your week??

Losing It!

This week marks the start of TurningPoint Church's Biggest Loser Contest.  We have tons of people signed up to compete over the next 8 weeks... just in time to get in shape for the summertime.  Just like on the show, the Biggest Loser is the person who loses the largest percentage of their starting weight, so it is anyone's game to win.  I've decided not only to jump on the band wagon, but to blog about it over these next few weeks, too, for a little more accountability.  We did this same contest as a family from January through March, and I must admit that I started out pretty strong, but pretty much gave up halfway through.  While I did up my exercise over the course of the contest, my eating habits stayed about the same and that is what I want to focus on during round two.  My sister, on the other hand, publicly blogged about her journey through the contest and dropped lots of weight... she already looked great before and now she looks fantastic!  I'm so proud of her and really think there is something helpful about logging the progress somewhere, probably even more so when you are logging it where people can read it.  How embarrassing (or pathetic maybe?) would it be to go through eight weeks of this and continually tell you all that nothing has changed.  That would probably just mean that I wasn't trying, and I'm not the type of person who doesn't try.  Plus, I know a few of my readers are participating, too, so hopefully I can help motivate them to keep up their hard work, too.  So here it goes...

Let me just state for the record that this is going to be really hard for me.  I am very fortunate to have a "happy weight" (you know, the place your scale just kind of stays without much effort) that I am pretty satisfied with.  Satisfied- yes, but not really thrilled about.  I actually weigh the same now as I did before kids, but it is all distributed differently and I know it consist of a lot less muscle tone than it used to.  My family's competition was a great way to lose the baby weight, but now I want to tone up and really get in shape. This mama is going to the beach in July and she wants to look better than ever!

Friday I did my official first weigh-in.  I'm not going to report my numbers every week, but I will post my overall loss or gain, in pounds and percentage.  I feel like I'm in fairly decent shape since I started running again a few months ago, but I definitely need to kick it up a notch, particularly if I choose to run a marathon in the fall, which is something I've been considering.  I haven't run one since having kids, and it's a huge time commitment, so I would really have to get disciplined.  Losing weight (well, really just changing your diet and exercise habits) is all about discipline, and it's completely mind over matter.  When my mind faces Girl Scout Cookies, I have to admit that my mind usually loses.  And these love handles (or Lilly handles as I like to call them) are not going to go anywhere with just exercise alone.  Like I said, it will be hard for me... I seriously LOVE food.  I LOVE dining out.  And, more than anything, I LOVE dessert.  To an unhealthy level... as in, I will eat leftover birthday cake for breakfast.  And then possibly for lunch, too.  I had once given up sodas for a whole year, and for some reason, picked up that habit again and crave them constantly.  I know it won't happen overnight, but my goal over these next eight weeks is to ditch the soda habit, cut down (but not cut out... I'm all about moderation) on sweets, put myself on a more regular exercise schedule, and eat smaller portions.

Wish me luck, because I'm going to need it.  The battle against the bulge is officially underway!