(not necessarily in that order)
And it’s kicking my behind!
It definitely was not a good idea to drop the ball on my weekly fasting routine, because getting back in the flow of it is so hard.
Sure I had good reasons for taking a week off (or two…or three), but in retrospect I can see those reasons really weren’t good enough.
So, here I am, after four (or is it five?) weeks of no fasting, celebrating that the day is almost over and I didn’t break down and eat. 😄
The day has been too long and too full, especially considering it’s my fast day!
Having completely run out of steam, the thought that comes to mind is “discretion is the better part of valor.”
Which means, I’m going to simply shut down my computer and go home before I fall asleep at my desk!
One day of fasting and one morning back to walking, and I feel completely transformed!
And that’s after a good three weeks of whooping it up (food-wise), while walking less and less until I had stopped altogether for about a week.
It’s amazing what my mind can put me through in times like that. It wants me to believe I’ve been “bad” forever; that I’ve probably undone all the good of the previous months; that it’s going to be really hard to start walking or fasting or eating well again.
Well, absolutely none of that was true (take that, lizard mind!).
Fasting was easier than ever; it felt ever so good to walk this morning; and I’ve slipped back into my eating program without a single hitch — no cravings, no resistance, no nothing.
What gives?
Well, I think part of it is that just the intention of getting back on track was wholeheartedly embraced by my entire being as a return to self-love. It’s like everything in me relaxed with a big “Aahhh, we’re being cared for the way we like.”
And the speed with which my body responded to my return to fasting, walking, and eating better, tells me just how happy doing these things makes me on a physical level.
My body didn’t have to re-adapt. It was simply ready and waiting for me to turn back around and head in the right direction.
Today was not about getting big things done.
It was hot and I was fasting. Not a great productivity combo for starters.
Then I encountered setbacks with a couple of government websites and decided I’d better wait until tomorrow to try again (normal blood sugar levels should help).
So I’m ending the day thinking about the tortoise, and how “slow and steady won the race!”
Tomorrow is the end of this challenge (my third!), so today was the last of four weekly fast days.
It’s an interesting paradox. On the one hand, by week four of the challenge I’m in a flow and things don’t feel as physically hard (even the fasting!).
On the other hand, by the end of each challenge I find myself starting to get a little squirrely and somewhat restless.
Nothing too serious, but this is why I love a program that’s broken up into chunks. Even if I start to crave something different, I can easily tell myself, “No way! There’s only ___ more days in the challenge; don’t give in now!”
Plus I’m getting wiser about how I “indulge” in-between challenges, so that I allow variety and a little splurging without completely derailing the process.
Before you know it, I’ll be ready for #4!
As my day of fasting draws to a close — quite a bit later than I’d hoped — I’m reminded of the phrase, “empty space between the ears.”
That’s how my head feels right now. I can’t even say that’s how my brain feels, because at the moment it’s like there isn’t a brain in there at all (cue the scarecrow: “If I only had a brain…”).
Okay, that’s it. Next thing I know I’ll be hallucinating. Good night!
Well, o-kay! I am well and truly back into high gear with my healthy new regime.
I’ve almost finished the first week of another Challenge, which means I’m wrapping up my once-a-week day of fasting.
Our power was out (PG&E was replacing a pole) so I worked from the office all day instead of at home, which I think made it a little easier. It also helped that I had time sensitive projects to complete; there’s nothing like a deadline to make time fly by!
I’m also enjoying getting back into my walking routine. I have to confess that I hardly walked at all during the two weeks between Challenges. The “daily tracker” simply works for me, big time!
Come the end of this current Challenge, I’m going to have make my own “in-between” tracker so that I can stay…well, on track. 🏃♀️
In the past 28 days, I accomplished the following:
And, yes, I did drop some weight — which is a big part of what the program I’m doing is about — but that seems almost incidental to all these other benefits (aka NSV’s or Non Scale Victories).
So, yes, I’m feeling pretty darn proud of myself! We’re on a break now but I’ll start another 28 day challenge in April. It’s working for me!
For the past month I’ve been fasting once a week. It’s been a little challenging getting into a new regime, but it also feels good.
I usually take it pretty easy, but today — the last of this month’s weekly fast days — I ended up with a bunch of time sensitive projects that had to be addressed subito.
While it’s definitely true that the brain isn’t as sharp when operating without sustenance, I did what I had to do and got it done, regardless.
Now I’m ready to pack it in and (hopefully) go to bed at least a little bit early.