Fasting is not for everyone: My 30 day fasting self challenge
1. Freedom. I felt great freedom from food as I knew my meal was not going to be until dinner time. I was able to make breakfast for Loewy, Myra and Cheryl without temptation and I enjoyed doing it. Except for Loewy, I was able to tell the adults they were on their own for lunch. At dinner time, I always put leftovers in the refrigerator- so they had those choices for lunch. What didn’t get eaten, we had leftover with meals during the week.
2. Food satisfaction. If I didn’t feel like eating leftovers, I didn’t. I decided that if I was eating only one meal a day, it was going to be a great, satisfying meal. I didn’t want to let the option of having a meal that I ate, just to eat because it was in the refrigerator, leave me wanting something else. I found excellent food satisfaction in this decision.
3. Increased energy and productivity. I woke up with energy, like everyday I have been on a protective diet, however the energy I woke up with never decreased throughout the day. The only time my energy decreased was right after my feast. I loved the full feeling that I had and just sat with it (I did over eat twice this month and that did not feel good). I usually don’t like to sit with nothing to do because I would always feel like I could be doing something more productive. But this month was different. I was super high energy all day long therefore I was able to get a bunch done before my feast. This suck of energy feeling lasted me for a few hours and then I would get my energy back. I have 2 side businesses that I am not able to attend to during the day – so when I got my energy back in the evenings, I was able to address those businesses then. It felt very productive.
4. Self control. Self control is something I’ve always dealt with when it comes to food. I have been dabbling with fasting for well over a year now, but I would never make it more than a handful of days before I let something get in my way. Once I would have a nibble of food, it was all over. It was like the flood gates were opened and I wanted to eat everything because I could “just fast tomorrow”. Same thing I did when I would yo-yo diet. Then I would beat myself up for failing. Sound familiar? I’m sure the majority of us have dealt with that if you’ve ever dealt with weight issues. Making that 30 day commitment to myself and then publicly sharing that, has helped me over the hurdle. Another freedom!
5. Weight loss. I am one of the people that has been within 20 lbs of their goal weight for years on PD. I had lost 85 lbs on PD but in the past year I have let 5 of those pounds back in. I am always PD but I was overeating. I am happy to say that by committing to this 30 fast, this has officially put me at 88 lbs lost and I’m at my lowest weight since starting PD and my lowest weight in over 25 years.
6. Fasting may not be for everyone. But fasting is for me. I’m thrilled I made the commitment and followed through. If you are so inclined – give it a shot, and please share picture and stories on PDL. Thank you for allowing me to share publicly and freely.