Fasting update

 I apologize that I am now just posting about the last few days of my fast and post fast. It has almost been a week since ending my 10 day fast.  I have to say I am pretty proud of myself for completing this goal.  This was definitely one of the toughest things I have done.  The first 5 days were by far the hardest.  I started on a Monday and by day 5 I did not know if I could get through a weekend that included Mother's Day and a birthday party without caving in.  But much to my surprise, I hit a euphoria and was able to get through the weekend without so much as being tempted by food.  Each day following through day 10 was much easier....Yes I wanted to chew food, but the cravings were gone.

I went through such a mental change about how I looked at food during this time and was about ready to become raw vegan altogether.  I felt really good and I lost 13lbs!  It was my goal during this time to rid myself of coffee and cleanse my system of toxins in my body.  Last Thursday was my first day back to eating and it was my hope to slowly incorporate solid food.    

I did not introduce food in as slowly as intended.  I was in such a euphoria being on the fast that I thought that I was more powerful than my urges.  God woke me up again and reminded me of my humanity upon ending the fast.  So I was disappointed with myself at first, even a bit depressed.  But as I reflected upon the fast and even some of the mistakes I made, I realized how much I have learned about myself. I still have not eaten meat because this is something that I want to limit a great deal.  I am also relieved that I did not go too crazy and put a lot of weight back on...just a few pounds; mostly water weight

The healthy food choices have helped me tremendously.  I am in a bit of a slump due to personal issues that have left me mentally, physically, and emotionally drained, even unmotivated.  I depended on coffee way too much.  After speaking with so many people who cut coffee out of their diets, they say by the end of a week of no coffee, they felt good and were no longer exhausted.  For me, I still felt exhausted even after 2 weeks without coffee.  I have been getting a full nights sleep since, even napping at times, yet I am more exhausted than ever.  My body is in pain and I am still unmotivated.  I can only attest this to the slump I am in.  I gave in and started buying coffee again...I Know!  This may seem like a major disappointment for myself and to others that encouraged me to get rid of this addiction.   I have many personal things happening right now and right now may not be the time to do it.  I do not think this fast was a waste. In fact it was quite an accomplishment to push myself to get even more healthy.  Although I have started drinking coffee again, it is not nearly as much as before and I do not feel like I depend on it.  (I do not need it daily) Normally I had to have it first thing in the morning or I would get a migraine and then most days I would have another large one.  This does not happen anymore.  It is more of a pick me up  and sometimes I have it much later in the day.

I am  proud of myself for my efforts and I do plan on doing a fast again since there are so many health benefits to them when done properly.  I want to do some more research and then create some new goals for myself and family.  I think back to Melissa's post about labeling who I am when it comes to food, and it is just ridiculous to me that I was about to identify myself by the food I eat, instead of a baptized child of God.  With so much going on in my life right now, it was silly to try to change so much.  I guess it was my attempt to try and control something because there is so much going on around me that I can't control.  So now I continue my journey to better health... slowly.