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Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Why I decided to do a 30 day fast

My fast has gotten a lot of attention. Because I posted it on Facebook and because if you saw me in person you noticed that I lost a lot of weight. I have been asked a lot of questions about the fast.  What lead me to do it?  What did I do exactly.  Things along those lines.  I have decided to share what lead me to this point and what it was like.  I also have a 4 or 5 part blog on the actual fast.  Its basically weight loss and any symptoms I felt that day.


I have basically been overweight since having children.  And I was really okay with it.  I had accepted my role as "the fat sister"  I'm so busy that I really didn't care.  And my weight fluctuated quite a bit.  It was very normal for me to be 150-170 in  a year.  Typical y closer to 150 in the spring and summer and 170 around the holidays.

After deciding how much back ground I needed to give, I decided to start when Micah was 8 months old. in October of 2012.  My husband, Wes had finally made the decision to leave a job he had been very unhappy with.  He found a new job and had been there 3 months when he was let go, due to work shortage.  It was basically last one in first one out.  It sucked.  He was unemployed for the next three months.  We used our savings, I sold pies at Christmas, I cleaned houses.  Anything I could think of so we could stay afloat.

He got a new job and life went on.  Around April or so I was feeling like God had something different for us.  We had always applied the idea of "the purpous of a car is to get you from point A to B" to our car.  All of our cars are used and we typically pay cash.  I said "Why are we not applying this to our home?"  Our payment was going up and up every year and we had a big beautiful home.  But no money.

Wes and I have been on a "Dave Ramsey" plan for a while, but we had back slid.  In May of  2013 we decided to sell our 2700 sq foot home and move in to a 1300sq ft Mobil home on 2 acres.  We were just shy of paying it off in full, and have a very small note on it.

We had purchased this home, and still owned our big home.  It sold in August 2013.


The same week we sold our house & expected to start saving a lot of money each month, Wes's mom was taken to the hospital where she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and we began driving back and fourth to help take care of her.  We saw God in this, if we had not sold our house we would not have been able to do this.

Wes's mother died in November of 2013.  There were a lot of un-delt with issues there that over flowed into our marriage.

From December of 2013 to August of 2014 we began to have very bad marriage problems.  We went to counseling, but things were not looking very good.

In August of 2014 We were in a very bad car wreck.  In the spirit of being honest.  A lot of times when I drop something or if I think I am going to get in a wreck I yell out "Sh*t"  Wes and I were on a two land country road when a car began swerving all over the road.  At the last minute Wes went to the left hand side of the road to try to avoid a head on collusion.  Just as I thought we were going to pass this person with out being in a wreck I saw his head lights swerve right in to us.  I yelled out "God save us"  Everyone who saw the car could not believe that we both basically walked away from the accident.  It was definitely a miracle.

I think that the wreck kind of put things in perspective for both of us and we were able to move past the marriage issues.  I think somethings were dealt with that should have been handled years ago and we can move forward from here.

I attended a bible study in November with a friend.  It was on rest and God bringing you to a place of rest.  I broke down and cried and summarized my life.  Everything above, and I home-school.  I was so tired.  So at this time I made a conscious decision to simplify my life.  I prayed more, I just rested in God.

In January, I felt like God wanted to take me deeper.  I talked to my husband about me doing a 30 day juice fast.  I told him I needed a reset, for the year, for myself.  To help jump start my weight loss.  He was on board and very supportive.  What my juice fast consisted of was drinking 3 16oz glasses of orange juice a day.  If i needed more, then I drank more some days.  I also drank coffee.  I did not buy a juicer, it was not organic juice.

The nature of a fast brings you to a place of rest.  You HAVE to be slower.  You HAVE to be choosy about what you do.  I prayed a lot, I read my Bible a lot.  I only did necessary things.  The kids said I seemed happier, I was calmer.  I felt like I would ask things of God and feel them immediately.  For example if I was hungry, I would ask God to fill me with him and the hunger would go away.

I hope this long winded explanation helps answer some questions.  For me it was a true fast.  It did have the weight loss aspect but it was about connecting with God.

Day 1
Day 2-3
Day 4-7
Day 8-14
Day 15-30

Monday, February 9, 2015

30 day fast - days 15-30

I began a 30 day fast on January 2nd of 2015.  The following post are my experiences as I went through the fast.  This is not medical advice.





Summary of Day 15:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 152.2 lbs (lost 17.8 pounds)
Symptoms -No symptoms to report


Summary of Day 16:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 151.6 (lost 18.4 pounds)
Symptoms: No symptoms to report





Summary of Day 17:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 151.2 (lost 18.8 pounds)
Symptoms - today was a difficult day

Summary of Day 18:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 150.8 (lost 19.2 pounds)
Symptoms: No symptoms to report


Summary of Day 19:
Height - 5'1
Weight -149.8 (lost 20.2 pounds)
Symptoms:No symptoms to report


Summary of Day 20:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 150.2 (lost 19.8 pounds)
Symptoms:No symptoms to report


Summary of Day 21:
Height - 5'1
Weight -150.2 (lost 19.8 pounds)
Symptoms:

Summary of Day 22:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 149.0 (lost 21 pounds)
Symptoms:No symptoms to report


Summary of Day 23:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 148.2
Symptoms:No symptoms to report


Summary of Day 24:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 147.2
Symptoms:No symptoms to report


Summary of Day 25:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 147.0
Symptoms: today was difficult


Summary of Day 26:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 145.8
Symptoms:No symptoms to report


Summary of Day 27:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 145.8
Symptoms:No symptoms to report


Summary of Day 28:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 145.6
Symptoms:No symptoms to report


Summary of Day 29:
Height - 5'1
Weight -145.2
Symptoms:No symptoms to report


Summary of Day 30:
Height - 5'1
Weight -145.6 (lost 24.4 pounds)
Symptoms:
No symptoms to report




 I hope that this helps explain what my fast was like.  It was really a beautiful experience where I relied on God and he filled me with his spirit as I did this fast.  I feel that I left the fast, healthier, physically, and spiritually.

This 30 day juice fast was followed with a 15 day raw fast & that will be posted at a later time.


Read More:
Day 1
Day 2-3
Day 4-7
Day 8-14
Day 15-30










30 Day Fast: Days 4-7 of 30 Day Fast

I began a 30 day fast on January 2nd of 2015.  The following post are my experiences as I went through the fast.  This is not medical advice.

Summary of Day 4:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 159.1 lbs (11 pounds down)
Symptoms:
Tired
Not Hungry
God gave me unbelievable patience and strength today in parenting.



Summary of Day 5:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 158 lbs (12 pounds down)
Symptoms - I dealt with a lot of mental stuff today.  Wanting to give up.  My husband helped to encourage me.


Summary of Day 6:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 157.6 lbs (12.4 pounds down)
Symptoms: No symptoms to report





Summary of Day 7:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 157.6 lbs (12.4 pounds down)
Symptoms - No symptoms to report



Read More:
Day 1
Day 2-3
Day 4-7
Day 8-14
Day 15-30


30 Day Fast: Days 8-14 of 30 Day Fast

I began a 30 day fast on January 2nd of 2015.  The following post are my experiences as I went through the fast.  This is not medical advice.

Typically the fast was more difficult in the evening, or at night.  But this subsided with time & again when ever I had will power issues, I would pray and ask God for strength. 

Summary of Day 8:
Height - 5'1
Weight -157.0 (13 lbs lost)
Symptoms: No symptoms to report




Summary of Day 9:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 156.2 (13.8 lbs lost)
Symptoms -Today was difficult


Summary of Day 10:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 155.4 (14.6 lbs lost)
Symptoms: No symptoms to report





Summary of Day 11:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 155.2 (14.8 lbs lost)
Symptoms - No symptoms to report



Summary of Day 12:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 153.6 (16.4 lbs lost)
Symptoms: No symptoms to report





Summary of Day 13:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 153.2 (16.8 lbs lost)
Symptoms - No symptoms to report


Summary of Day 14:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 152.6 (17.4 lbs lost)
Symptoms - No symptoms to report






*Note - My activity level during the fast was sedentary, I took less than 2000 steps a day.  Basically I felt this as God bringing me into a place of rest where I totally depended on him.

Read More:
Day 1
Day 2-3
Day 4-7
Day 8-14
Day 15-30 






30 Day Fast - Day 2 - 3 of 30

I began a 30 day fast on January 2nd of 2015.  The following post are my experiences as I went through the fast.  This is not medical advice.

Summary of Day 2
Height 5'1
Weight - 163 
(7 pounds lost, I was very unsure if this was accurate)

Symptoms: 
sleepless night as body detoxed
no hunger
tired

I do not know if I believe the "detoxing" but in the begging of the fast it helped me to think any pain or discomfort was "detox"

Summary of Day 3:
Height - 5'1
Weight - 161 lbs (9 pounds down)




On the third day of the fast I had several things to do.  I have not been sleeping very well and woke up with a pain in my right side.  After some internet research I decided it was gas.  (It went away)

Today I prayed when I fixed the children's meals.  I feel like God is walking me through this process and I felt like he was saying "This is the deeper place I want to take you."

I did feel more aware of my surroundings.  Today I laid down for a few hours but did not sleep.  I am trying to rest in God and not use much energy.

But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control... Galatians 5:22-23

Read More:
Day 1
Day 2-3
Day 4-7
Day 8-14
Day 15-30

30 Day fast - Day 1 of 30


I began a 30 day fast on January 2nd of 2015.  The following post are my experiences as I went through the fast.  This is not medical advice.

I have been at least 35 to 45 pounds over weight since I had my first child, almost 9 years ago.  To be honest my first reason for doing the juice fast was weight loss.  My second reason was religious.  However as it says in the bible "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  Romans 8:28.  So I would say that although this may have started for weight loss, it changed fairly early on and the focus became on God.  I also wanted to add that I did this with orange juice from the store.  I didn't buy a juicer and it wasn't organic juice.  (Gasp)  It still worked.

I started with a monthly goal sheet, that I found on the Dating Divas.  Whom I love.  I split bubbles on it so it smeared.

Goals - 30 Day juice fast
How can this be accomplished?  Prayer, support, will power & prayer.

Why am I doing this/benefits of doing this? self control, will power, be healthy , break food addictions, not eating because some one want me to, eating because I am hungry.
(Before I started the fast, I talked to my husband and his support got me through it.  With out him and other people supporting me I may have given up)

What specific do I want to accomplish?  weight loss.

Summary of Day 1:
Height - 5'1
Starting Weight - 170lbs (at the beginning I left of the 170.5 or what ever, dont do that.  You will want it later)
Symptoms:  I was emotional, moody, tired and had diarrhea.

Goal: To break food addiction with Gods help.


Things I am hoping will come from it: weight loss, will power, accomplishment

DO NOT LUST AFTER FOOD - Your brain is very powerful.  If you feel you are thinking about foods, pray and ask God to direct your focus back to him.

Goals for after fast - Eat fruits, nuts & veggies, increase % of raw food, eat unprocessed food, eat when hungry, fast for spiritual and physical cleansing, exercise for physical well being.

If God is for us, who can be against us? - Romans 8:31

Read More:
Day 2-3
Day 4-7
Day 8-14
Day 15-30