Soul Runnings

Today is the last day of July.  I have hereby fasted intermittently for the entire month! I laid out my plan in my fasting planner for the month of August.  I'm set! I have lost 10 pounds. I have gained more confidence, energy, discipline and time! Less time eating equals more time to do life! I am not going to say it is easy. It's not. But it is not beyond my ability.  I am still sticking to 20:4 most weekdays, and 18:6 on the weekends.   The days I have breakfast with my mother, I just have a larger eating window.  It feels right, somehow to end eating every day at 2:30 p.m. I'm not sure why.  Perhaps because I teach piano afternoons/eves.  I would prefer not to eat after work, right before bed.  Cutting off my eating right before I teach allows me to just focus on my work.  I was worried that I would be so distracted by hunger pangs, that my work would suffer. But if I time it right and eat a substantial meal about 2...

I reached a different level with my fasting yesterday. Not higher. Different. It took on a spiritual aspect. This has not been lost to me during this journey. When I first dabbled with fasting, actually as a teenager, I thought about it's ancient roots. And again, when I began intermittent fasting as a weight loss tool, I told myself I could use the time that I normally eat, to devote myself to prayer, study and meditation. Mostly I devoted myself to trying to ignore my hunger pangs and thinking about my next meal. Not so yesterday. I had this moment in the late afternoon/early evening when I felt surrounded by brilliant light. My mind felt clear. My vision seemed more acute. I pulled out some devotional books and my bible and started reading. I got goosebumps. I said some prayers. I joined some prayer groups online.  It was amazing. I wanted it to last! But alas, this morning I'm feeling a little groggy. It was breakfast with my mother day. I broke my fast much earlie...

I stepped on the scale this morning and almost screamed! But then I remembered my granddaughter was still sleeping.  One must never wake a sleeping baby! So, I covered my mouth and did a little happy dance there in the bathroom. My Weight Commander weight loss graph. You can download this for free at weightcommander.com by the way.   Look at my weight commander graph, above.  Since I started intermittent fasting end of June, (and then beginning of July for real!) notice how the curve is consistently going down. I stop and plateau for a few days, and then continue my descent! So much better then the erratic ups and downs of bygone days! As of today, I have lost 10 pounds this  month by fasting!  Not dieting. I eat what I want during my "eating window". I am pretty much doing the "warrior diet". I've found varying descriptions of this fast online.  Basically I fast for 20-21 hours everyday (I stop eating at 2:30 p.m.) and then I eat in a window of...

Today has been difficult. It started out o.k. Got really painful and weird and then suddenly I broke through the wall and I feel a bit better than o.k. As I got on the bus with my "happy iced tea" (my new concoction for fasting times from Starbucks.  Iced black tea with a splash of heavy cream and two pumps of sugar free vanilla syrup.  Tastes almost like a Thai iced tea. And helps me through the hunger pangs.  With less jitters than my "happy coffee"), an older woman said to her companion, "I'm hot and tired and I have a headache. I have a dollar to my name, but at least I have a new tent!" I smiled at her as I debussed.  I too was hot and tired. I also had a headache. But I have a bit more than a dollar to my name. And I have a roof over my head.  I should not complain! But earlier today, I felt like curling up in a fetal position in the corner and sobbing.  I do not really know why. I just felt really blue. But I didn't give in. And as...

No time to elaborate. But wanted to share another victory. I lost another pound overnight! 9 pounds down! 46 to go! I fasted 21 hours yesterday. I feel fabulous! Gotta run. Have to make time for my happy coffee befire work! Talk tomorrow! Love, Zita

I'm doing something brave today. I'm decreasing my eating window.  I am now on a 21:3 intermittent fasting plan. 21 is how many hours I fast. (21 hours consecutively!) 3  designates my "eating window". I can eat between the hours I designate.  Currently that is 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. I don't worry too much about what I eat within my window.  I know how to eat healthy. My goal is discipline and weight loss.  As I get used to this schedule, I will fine tune my eating. I am loosely focusing on veggies, lean protein, fruit and whole grains, but avoiding wheat. Avoiding sugar and processed, fried foods. But this is something I have been working on for many moons. I found that I was not worried about eating this morning.  I had planned to eat at 10:30 a.m., but was not really hungry. So I pushed it forward to 11 a.m. I had a very healthy first meal, including a hard boiled egg, tabbouli, lentils, rice and fresh cherries. At 12:30 I stopped at a little Mexican...

"Coffee with Cream Conclusion: Drinking Coffee with Heavy Cream while Intermittent Fasting will NOT break your fast or knock you out of ketosis."  https://www.drbeckyfitness.com/coffee-and-intermittent-fasting/?fbclid=IwAR3g5Ubd9b42QeDzzXeRdRg-h2jCqOiltfX8LQNuv7d_gzNycnBr6XnfCBo I fasted again for 20 hours last night. I was pleased to be able to share my new life style with my brother.  I was waiting for him to pick me up at a Starbucks and happily sipping my iced coffee with a splash of heavy cream and a shot of sugar free vanilla sweetener. I was actually ecstatic, because I just read in my "dirty intermittent fasting for women" group on Facebook, that a bit of heavy cream and sugar free sweetener in your coffee will not break your fast! I think I will dub it my "happy coffee"! Hey, I'm no purist. As long as I can continue this lifestyle, continue to lose weight and be relatively healthy for however many days I have left on this planet, I'm...