Fasting and Dresses

Daily. Fasting.

The problem with daily fasting is that it's so, DAILY.

I begin again.

Also, I saw this picture, which will remain anonymous and if anyone knows this person, I will remove it. It's just a picture I saw online and snipped it. It made me more determined to wear dresses. Is it a man or a woman? It's a woman, but, you would have had to convince me if I hadn't seen the whole page. I admit, if it were a picture of me, you might wonder the same thing. I'm more determined than before to wear dresses!

What's more, I have noticed with myself and observing others that with the habit of wearing pants, it's easy to forget how to sit and stand like a lady - feet together, knees together. It's a bad habit and I don't want it anymore. Today, I begin my month of sewing for the Spring and Summer, and get back to Fast Five. Or Fast Eight.

It's SO Hard!

This is only "day one" (again), and I'm having such a hard time!

I've stretched out the fast-five to fast-eight, and still it's hard. I began around 9 and was going to end around 5. However, Daughter hadn't eaten and well, I ate with her after 5. It wasn't a healthy meal either - about four pieces of a large pizza and a Dr. Pepper.

Aaaargh! and I'm beginning to feel the bleh feeling of eating unhealthy food. Regrets.

I am eating more fruit, though, and I do have a veggie juice at the juice bar in town. I'm "heading" in the right direction, but that can be said of any vehicle that gets one wheel off the bridge and ends the travelling in the right direction in disaster.

Tomorrow is a new day. Use it!

It's Not Just A Fascination Anymore

The doctor told me today some bad news. If I don't get serious about my weight, I am doomed to prescription pills for the rest of my life. He told me he's seen about 300 or so in my situation and only one has taken a change of lifestyle seriously.

I like my doctor. He is really great. For an a doctor.

I mean, he let me give changing my diet and exercising another chance without lecturing or fussing at me. He said he wants me back in six months. (soooo long from now) Blood tests will show then how well I've done.

Yet, he did say to come back every month to weigh so it can be recorded in his office. I'm already being weighed in TOPS, but this will be good to go to his office to weigh in. I'm looking forward to it.

In TOPS, I'm finally losing weight. Believe it or not, for nearly two years of being a member, I've not lost any real significant weight. The vacation with all that walking and fresh-food eating seemed to be my catalyst to finally see that I can walk and that I can be patient with meal preparation. (Read: I've gone to too many drive-throughs with their fried foods).

So, eating less each day and eating healthier is no longer something that I find fascinating and might like to try. I'm considering this a matter of life now.

I'm leaving the verse up, even though it's a few weeks now that it's been there. I need to continually remind myself how much I don't want to be a bad example to others. That's one of my motivations.

Vacation Surprise

I have been on vacation for a week. Before that, I slipped AGAIN into my regular bad eating habit of anything and everything and anytime I want to eat.

So, I had gained some weight.

On vacation, however, my husband, daughter and I went to a Caribbean Island - St. Martin. I was determined to eat light. I did! Now, I had meat, yes. I ate one-half of a French pastry, yes. Husband said "no" to any more - kind of expensive for what they were, he thought.

But, the pastry and the meat were what I'd consider "whole foods" because it wasn't as processed as what I'd been eating. The pastry did have white flour I admit, but there were fresh, raw raspberries on top. The fruit was the main part of the pastry. Yum!

I lost weight on that vacation!!! Surprise!!!

We did walk. You had to walk a lot if you went shopping or sight-seeing. We did a good amount of driving, but I did more walking there than I've done in years. Yes, years. I really think that's the reason of my weight loss.

Also, I didn't have many sodas. I had mostly unsweetened tea and water. We bought a watermelon, and I had that for one or two meals - just watermelon. I made beans, greens and cornbread in the hotel room. Restaurants were getting too expensive, and we were missing our staple Southern food!

A salad that I had, had shredded beets! I'm going to start including shredded beets in salads I make at home. It makes the salad pretty and shoots the nutrition value 'way up the scale! Two things I've had in the states, but not since my grandmother was alive were oxtail and goat meat. Both very delicious and so tender. The menu for the oxtail said, "Oxtail and lima beans". When it came, there were no lima beans that I could see. I asked the waitress if I misunderstood. She took my fork to lift the meat, and sure enough, there were three lima beans! Crunchy and "blackened", too. :-) I had to chuckle to myself. The menu was right!

I'm so happy to say that losing five pounds, eating very little fat, walking... I feel wonderful!!! My skin is smoother, and not at all oily feeling. I can breathe better. I'm not at the best health still, but so much better and that's good.

Now, since I've been home these past three days, I've eaten fairly well. Not the best, but better than the way I said I was eating earlier - anything, everything, anytime. Last night, watermelon supper. It was soooo good - sweet and juicy, that if anyone had watched me eat, they'd think I was praying as I closed my eyes and hugged my shoulders as the sweet taste and water felt like a miracle food inside me.

Okay, I'm starting to sound weird maybe.

Today, I'm beginning to limit the time I eat again. I'm doing the 8-hour window this time. I hope to get to the 5-hour window again soon. No more anything everything anytime eating for me.

Here is the new "Verse of the Week": 1 Corinthians 9:27 "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified."  nkjv