Soul Runnings

A Good Hair day! A nice side effect from my keto diet is my hair! It has been falling out at alarming rates over the years. I stopped dying it this year. I decided to embrace grandmahood! I also feared the chemicals in the hair dye was causing the fallout. Maybe I just lacked good fat and protein? Because it is definitely feeling thicker lately! Speaking of thick, I made a big goof up yesterday. I posted the above picture in my secret keto group on Facebook, and gushed, "The best keto drink at Starbucks ever"! The first picture was kind of fuzzy, so I got some hilarious comments and memes, squinting at the picture and even saying it was a trick since they couldn't read it! lol Then the bad news comment came in.  This is not keto compliant!  The new fruit tea/lemonades have fruit juice in them. I can ask for no cane sugar, but with the sugar content in the fruit juice, it is still non compliant. Sugar is definitely not part of the ketogenic diet.

Remember when I talked about keto flu? Keto psychosis? I would now like to talk to you about keto euphoria. I am having what I usually call my "one good day a month". I woke up in a good mood, with motivation, clear thinking, energy and creative ideas for my  life and the people around me! I am not aching. And I lost 1/2 pound over night. I started worrying as the day progressed. I am just so darn happy! I am pulsating with joy! What gives? And...what goes up, must come down. Right? Yikes!  I am floating so high in the stratosphere right now, my landing might be painful when I finally crash! But maybe I won't crash too hard.  I ate really healthy today. My first meal being at 12 noon.  I'm drinking oodles of water. I spent an enjoyable morning with  my granddaughter and then cooked with my daughter.  Wished my mother a happy birthday. Had a nice talk with my son. God spoke to me this morning. Clearly. He told me it is not just enough for me to recogni

DAY COUNTING Day 11 Intermittent Fasting. Day 7 Keto Diet. Day 93 Daily Qi Gong/Hooping Day 1,252 This Blog. Day 20,979 Of My Life! Not sure when I became so obsessed with counting days. But there you have it! And now I am fully immersed in the book, Tuesdays With Morrie  By Mitch Albom. If  you have not read it, you should definitely read this book. It does tend to put one's life in perspective. I am having a relatively good day today.  Back in the keto swing of things.  I notice that I am not very hungry on this diet. Which is an amazing thing. I have been hungry most of my life. Or what I perceive as hungry. I think it was mostly craving. Craving food as a substitute for love.  Morrie is all about love.  Read the book! Speaking of love, I took one of the most important people in my life out for her birthday breakfast. My mother. Her actual birthday is tomorrow. I don't think she really wants me to put her age out there for the world wide web to see.

I ate a cupcake last  night. I am not proud of it. But I got right back on my intermittent fasting/keto diet. And I only gained one pound. Speaking of which, I purchased keto strips to test to see if I am in ketosis. I was yesterday! Too bad I had to ruin my progress with a cupcake! It was almost worth it. That was one fine cupcake! And I was under much stress and anxiety!  O.K. I also had a bowl of Doritos and half a cup of beer. I was stressed!  I know, no excuse. Sigh. I was forced to attend a wedding. Mind you, it was a beautiful wedding. And the sweetest, most loving couple! But I have severe social anxiety. I have been burdened with it my whole life. When I was little, I was labeled "shy".  Later it was "insecure".  Now it is social anxiety. Whatever you call it, I have fear of being trapped in a room filled with people. Especially strangers. Making small talk. Just typing it makes me shudder. Somehow a room filled with people, with me

I started this morning bright and early, jumping for joy after I stepped on the scale. I have lost yet another pound! 5 days on the keto diet = 5 pounds lost! But I spent most of the morning in tears. I am aching for a family member who received some difficult news. We all hugged and cried. But then we searched for a bright side. And we found it. But the next few years are going to be difficult. I can't go into detail. But please pray if you are a praying sort. After my challenging morning with my family member in crisis, one would have expected me to dissolved into a pile of fries, cheeseburger, Diet Coke and chocolate. I did none of the above! I went to lunch with my family member in crisis and his girlfriend. They had pizza slices. I had a Greek Salad.  No noticeable carbs. I added pepperoni slices and a few pistachios.  Greek Salad.  I had an iced tea with a splash of heavy cream and a pump of sugar free vanilla at Starbucks earlier. I will survive. We all wil

Day 4 keto diet.  I woke up feeling lighter, not as stiff and sore as usual.  My belly continues to shrink. And I did a happy dance after I stepped on the scale. Another pound bites the dust! I have lost 4 pounds so far. About a pound a day!  I am not expecting these results every day, but I'll take them! I am still doing the intermittent fasting.  That is working well for me. I do feel a little more spacey today than usual. I keep thinking I need more sleep. I've read that it is common to feel fatigue in the first week. I am keeping up with my daily hooping, but have not been to the gym in a few days.  I keep planning on it, even bring my gym bag with me when I head out on errands, but then end up getting too tired and go back home. Tonight I am babysitting my granddaughter.  I spent my usual 4 hours with her this morning, so I need to be alert for this evening.  I have enough time for a short workout. Let's see if these short legs will get me there! This week is

Day 3 Keto. I survived the keto flu.  I am down one more pound. My belly looks less bloated. I am still practicing intermittent fasting. I stop eating between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. every night and don't eat again until noon the next day, unless it is breakfast with mom day. From the time I wake up in the morning, until I eat, I consume much water. And tea. I feel like I can stick to this plan.  And if I perchance should have an off day, it's easy to get back on board. The keto lifestyle is a little bit more difficult. It is quite challenging avoiding carbs. And I personally do not care to consume too much meat. I'm doing well so far. I think eventually I will transition to a whole food diet, allowing rice and beans. What is interesting to me is that I am still cooking for other members of the household, while sticking to my regimen. But I cannot tell you how many times I almost put a morsel of food into my mouth as I was cooking. Almost without thinking! Luckily I c

I had the dreaded keto flu today. No, I'm not contagious. And I am already sitting up and blogging about it! I've been doing a lot of research about the keto diet. I am on day 6 of intermittent fasting. I average 12 hours of fasting a day, up to 18 hours. I eat usually within a 6 to 8 hour window. I've been successful with the fasting. But want to take it up a notch. I mean, good LORD, I have been working on losing weight and getting healthy for FOUR YEARS NOW! Sheesh!  I will be dead and buried before I finally attain my weight loss goal at this rate! So far, the research I've read is very positive. And I have seen dramatic positive change in oodles of people in the ketogenic Facebook group I have joined. Most inspiring! I even joined a keto private chat group - and you know me, I am not a chatter! I've kind of eased into the keto way of eating.  But today, at breakfast with my mother, I went for broke! I had a "Meat Lover's Scramble"

 I've been doing intermittent fasting for 5 days now. My window of eating is 6 hours with 18 hours of fasting. During the fasting hours, I drink copious amounts of water, tea, black coffee and iced tea. I am noticing many levels of awareness during this adventure. First of all, I am learning self control around food, finally. This morning, I went shopping with my daughter and granddaughter.  We were looking for a dress for me to wear to a wedding next week. I can't wait until I reach  my "ideal" weight.  What fun shopping will be then! No more seeking roomy clothes to hide the ample waistline.  But there we were, looking at dresses, when my granddaughter decides to throw her bag of Cheez Its on the floor. My daughter picked up the crackers and handed them to me, along to what remained in the bag and asked if I would dispose of them. Halfway to the garbage can I realized, I was not even slightly tempted to shove a handful of Cheez Its in my mouth!! Who am I?!

Oh My Goodness!  I found a drink at Starbucks that is zero carbs, zero sugar that I actually love! It's Peach Citrus White tea, iced with a splash of heavy cream and one pump of sugar free vanilla syrup. I'm in love! This is day 4 of my intermittent fasting adventure. I am down one whole pound!  I fasted for 18 hours last night. I did break my fast this morning with breakfast with my mother. I told her about my new eating regimen. She picked up her mug of black coffee, looked me straight in the eyes and said, "I've been doing that for years". She has. I've often wondered how she can eat like she does and not put on weight. She pretty much just eats one meal a day. Not to lose weight, but just because of her lifestyle, caring for my father, rising super early and going to bed before the sun goes down. I am learning a lot about myself.  I am becoming even more aware of what a compulsive eater I have been. Pretty much my whole life. I see food, I e

Today is glorious!  Even though I had very little sleep.  I found myself staring at the ceiling, wide eyed from about 12:15 to 3:00 a.m., listening to my stomach growl. I am into this intermittent fasting deep. It makes sense to me more than any other diet or way of eating I have ever tried. I first discovered fasting in my late teens. I had started running. I read that fasting was healthy for the body. Gave the digestive process time to rest. I would fast all day on Sundays, drinking water, feeling weak. That didn't last long. I was at my ideal weight back then. I have just always been a big health nut. My daughter might just say to that, "You've always just been a big nut, Mom!" Anyway... Today is day three. I fasted for 18 hours last night. I woke up at in time to make breakfast for my daughter, clean and do my bible study. It occured to me how clear my mind was. And how I felt in touch with the ancient Christians. Fasting and prayer was a part of the

Today is my 2nd day of intermittent fasting.  I am noticing quite a bit about my eating habits.  First of all, I tend to eat not only emotionally, but mindlessly. I have decided to fast between the hours of 8 p.m. and and 12 p.m. the next day.  So, essentially I am missing breakfast.  I have been doing a lot of reading on this subject. And much of what we are told about eating is a myth.  Much of which is propagated by the food industry, which would stand to lose mega bucks if we stopped eating one or two days a week! I am rarely hungry first thing in the morning.  I usually just eat with my granddaughter and mindlessly put bits of food here and there into my mouth. Mostly because it is there. My eating disorder is embarrassing for me to admit. But it is part of why I began this blog over four years ago. To make changes. To be accountable. So I am being accountable to you, my readers! I find it stressful to go on "diets". I have tried them all. But planned fasting m

The weather forecast for today is "Sunny. High 97; Low 69" It is already scalding outside.  The sky is a deep azure.  The air is hot and heavy.   But the library is cool and quiet.  Apparently, half of Vancouver had the same idea as me.  I grabbed the last free computer terminal. And there at least 50 of them on this floor! Even though I have never particularly cared for hot weather, I feel very good today. Tonight is the culmination of recital season.  Our choir concert. Of course, our concert will be held on the hottest day of the year so far!  60 singers on stage, plus one director and one pianist!  Years ago, we were rehearsing for a concert and the power went out. With a big bang!  And the moment it went black, the automatic doors slammed shut with a boom!  It was like a horror movie. Without the scary bad guy and lots of blood. I'm hoping for less drama tonight. Just a pleasant concert. In fact, overall less drama in my life would be quite fine!

I survived! Yesterday I woke up at 4:00 a.m., did my Qi Gong and hooping workout.  Then I dressed in red an black, and ordered a Lyft ride to Delta Park Transit Center.  Yesterday was Pentecost. Traditionally in the Lutheran church and many Protestant churches, members of the congregation wear red.  Pentecost is the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles. They were all speaking in different languages, but could understand each other. It is considered the birthday of the Christian Church.  My Lyft driver arrived at 5:05 a.m. A lovely man from Florida in a big, bright red Ford 250 king cab truck. I wasn't aware of the irony until I got on the Max.  He was driving a RED truck on Pentecost!  We had a wonderful conversation, starting with the weather and ending up talking about the mighty power of God and the wonders of creation and the universe! It was a wonderful start to my day. And it was a glorious day indeed. Sunny, but not too hot. A gentle breeze. Wh