Fasting-Days 11&12

I was not able to post last night before bed. We tried a new juice concoction that was supposed to aid in sleep.....well, it WORKED! A good friend of mine shared the recipe...it is called "Apple Lullaby." (I will share below). I have been having some restless nights....just tossing and turning...no problem really FALLING asleep, just staying asleep. This juice worked better for me than Tylenol PM! The only time I woke up was once to use the restroom (probably because I drank a big glass of juice right before bed, lol)...but I slept so soundly...it was truly a blessing. I would say the only negative side effect was I was a bit foggy when I awoke during the night, almost like I was drugged, and then I had a bit of a time getting up this morning....but that could have just been me. Cj did fine with it :)


My energy levels have remained up and I am really enjoying my days! I tried a new recipe for "dinner" last night which I didn't write down...I just kind of threw it together. I will try it again tomorrow night and see if I can get the specifics on amounts. Tonight we made another batch of the tomato juice, but left out the lime, and it was quite tasty. It's amazing how much a little bit of lime can change the flavor. It was like a spicy V8. Cj really liked it....I think I'm still more of a beet mixture fan :)

I am very happy to report that things are moving and changing in our lives! I feel much closer to the Lord, and my prayer time has a new depth. My Bible reading also is much more fun and interesting. Cj was able to lead a person he works with in the sinner's prayer the night before last and help them to accept Christ! PRAISE GOD! We can both feel and see God working in our lives a lot more, and we feel so blessed.

Cj said that he is still having wonderful workouts regardless of no solid foods...he doesn't feel any weaker and he hasn't lost any muscle size at all. He is VERY happy about this. His energy levels are much higher as well :) I will be starting Yoga on Monday (Cj got me a mat, block, and strap.....and I have a few DVDs that I have been neglecting). I will also be starting at the gym, with Cj, hopefully before the end of the fast...depending on my nanny schedule.



So for the recipes and new breakdown of stats.....

Apple Lullaby (drink RIGHT before bed...it works fast)
2 apples (any variety...we used Fuji)
1/4 of a head of lettuce (also any variety...we used iceberg because it was cheap)
1/2 of a lemon

"New" Dinner" (approx. on amounts.....I just made a large batch for 3 people with a bunch of "leftovers")

1 beet
7-9carrots
1 apple (we used golden delicious)
a large handful of spinach
**I pretty much did everything EXCEPT the carrots first, then just added carrots until it was enough juice.


Stats for Jan. 11th

Weight: 119.2 lbs (I expected a bit of a weight gain coming off of water only)
22.0% body fat
38.8% lean muscle
Waist=29.5"

Fasting-Day 10

So today was a bit of a struggle. It seems that I am fine in the morning and afternoon, but by the time evening hits and it is dinner time, cravings start to get to me. I know it isn't true hunger....just mental cravings. There is something about juice that just doesn't satisfy completely....I know it SHOULD...but I think my mind is just still hooked on the feel-goods of greasy, crunchy, salty, etc. foods. Dinner time right now is my biggest battle. I am thinking of switching to a different dinner juice to help with this. I absolutely LOVE my morning and mean green juices....but dinner is kinda so-so. It is very yummy, but I think it is just easy to get sick of :) lol. Maybe I need an alternate and then I can switch back and forth. The taste of beets is really growing on me, to the point where I am actually looking forward to my "breakfast" from the moment I wake up. It is very satisfying....so maybe I will make a beet drink for dinner?? Beets are super good for you as a blood purifier and a blood builder. They help you to eliminate a lot of toxins by stimulating a chemical in your blood that toxins attach too, and then letting you release them when you use the bathroom :) I have had a few stomach cramps today too.....not sure what it is from....maybe more detox?? Maybe just my digestive tract adjusting??

I went grocery shopping today for 2 days worth of juice supplies for both me and Cj. I was surprised to find out that it was only about $24....so, roughly $6/day for each of us!! Juicing is a lot more affordable than the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" portrayed. I did my shopping at Walmart though, so maybe that is why.

I am very happy to report that a couple of good friends of mine (not affiliated with my church) are jumping on the juice-wagon :) I pray that they achieve their goals and feel healthier than ever!!

Fasting-Day 9

Today was a good day... spend a lot of time with a good friend making lots of juice :) I think the hardest part of this fast is still having to cook for my girls. My sense of smell is super heightened and going from the water to the juice has made hunger come back. Last night about did me in....we rewarded Lela for getting student of the month by getting her a pizza. Driving home from Domino's with a hot, 1/2 pepperoni 1/2 extra cheese, garlicky pizza on my lap was crazy.....then when we got home and opened the box and SAW it.....whoa. Handling the pizza and getting my fingers are garlic buttery....it took all of me to not lick them, lol! I think if I were a single person with my own place, then this would be a lot easier....I could remove all temptation. But that isn't how a fast for God is supposed to go, right? Jesus was tempted when He fasted.

Juicing does have its great points though...having a fridge full of just produce is pretty awesome, not to mention beautiful! And all the prep work and the actual juicing makes me feel like a chef :) Using the juicer is so fun...the girls even like to stand and watch me put the items in and grind them down. Also, I can feel that my energy level is up a lot already!! I feel really, really good...it truly is better than any energy drink or coffee!! The girls wanted to try some juice, so for snack I made them apple-pear-carrot juice. WARNING: THIS WILL CAUSE VERY HYPER KIDS!! :) They absolutely loved the juice and then proceeded to bounce off the walls until dinner time. And the best part?? They EACH got all the nutrients of 1 whole pear, 1 whole apple, and 1 whole BIG carrot! Can't beat that....

I had a thought today, about what was said about how much juice you can make to store with your juicer.....they recommend making no more than 24hrs worth, because at that point most of the nutrients have completely diminished. We all know that heating fruits and veggies also destroys nutrients......so what about store bought juice??? It has been heated so that it can keep for longer, and then it sits at the store, not to mention your fridge, for how long?! How many nutrients do you think can survive all of that?? Don't get me wrong, it TASTES delicious, but I don't think it has anything to offer for your health more than a glass of kool-aid. (Any) Juice is full of sugar...but if all the nutrients are gone??? Hmmm......

It amazed me today how much produce actually passed through my juicer.....there is no way I could possibly eat all of that, even if I ate nothing else at all, in a day. I know you all have seen my recipes, but here is a list of everything that Cj and I are EACH consuming every single day......

2 pears

2 golden delicious apples

1/4 (lg) bag of purple grapes

4 carrots

1/2 of a beet

1 bunch of kale

1 (lg) cucumber

5 celery stalks

2 green (granny smith) apples

1/2 lemon

1" of ginger

3 large tomatoes

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 green bell pepper

2 garlic cloves

1/2 jalapeno

1/4 of a white onion

1/4 of a lime

 

p.s. We altered the "dinner recipe" to be pretty darn good. Just a little spice now and lots of healthy yum-ness!!

Dinner
3 large tomatoes
1/4 red bell pepper
1/4 green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves
1/4 jalapeno
1/8 white onion
1 celery stalk
1/4 of a lime

Fasting-Day 8

I thought that I would post a bit about my goals for this fast.

I am fasting for:

-a closer relationship with God and the ability to hear and follow Him more in this life He has given me...and putting prayer first, instead of last.
-my issues with control and patience. I would like to let go of the control of my life and give it all to God. I want to become the Godly woman He has called me to be, and I know that I am my own stumbling block. I need to give up the pride, and tendency to want to lead and manage everything...especially in my home. I would like more patience when things are going against MY plans, lol....and I would like to be able walk and live in the Spirit.
-the salvation of my close family and friends...mostly my parents, who at this point will hear nothing of the Gospel and kind of think I'm in a weird cult. Also my brothers and their families...and some friends who I will let remain nameless on this blog :)

I am believing these things from God. I need to be faithful...and I am going to experience breakthrough in these areas!



Today was an interesting day...very busy!! Having the juice seemed to bring my hunger back, and it was not satiated by just sweet and tangy drinks. I thought for the evening we would try something more savory with a little spice, but didn't really like the way it turned out so we will be tweaking the recipe tomorrow. :)

Now, for the recipes we used today :)
(We are trying to incorporate a "rainbow of colors" in our daily intake so we get as many antioxidants as possible....red, orange, yellow, white, green, blue/purple...we missed blue/purple this first day, but are going to add purple grapes tomorrow....white is ginger, garlic & onion)

Breakfast
1 pear
1 golden delicious apple
3 large carrots
1/2 of a beet

This was actually very good (even though I despise beets).

We did "Mean Green" for the middle two meals, which you can find on yesterday's post.

Dinner
3 large tomatoes
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves
1/2 jalapeno
1/4 white onion
1 celery stalk
1/4 of a lime
**we also added some salt & coriander(because the stores were out of cilantro)

Ok, this one came out WAY too spicey!!! Fire breather, lol! Tomorrow, we are going to try less onion and jalapeno and no spices. We shall see :)

"Dessert"

1 large grapefruit (peeled)
1 large orange (peeled)
1 carrot

This one was YUM-OLA!! :)

And FINALLY.....

Weight:116.8lbs
21.9% body fat
38.6% lean muscle
Waist=29.5"

Fasting-Days 6&7 ((Week One DONE!!))

Sorry for not posting yesterday, I just felt so good and was sooo busy :) I didn't have the greatest night's sleep on Thursday night...I kept waking up what seemed to be every 10 min...but I still woke up feeling quite rested. My mind feels amazingly clear. I feel like I have come out of a fog or some sort, and my brain is now functioning without muck, lol.

Today was a wonderful day. Tibi and I went shopping for a juicer and then went and bought a LOT of produce.  We bought our juicer from Costco for $89.99 (It is a Jack LaLanne Power Juicer...and it works grrreat!). We then proceeded to Winco to buy our produce. On our list was kale, cucumbers, beets, lemons, carrots, golden delicious apples, granny smith apples, red cabbage, celery, ginger root, and spinach. We made our first juice concoction tonight about 8pm.....whoa!....i cannot tell you how great it made us feel. Almost like a high. At first, our brains were tingly...then I just felt like totally rejuvenated with energy!! I feel better right now than I can remember feeling in months or even years!! I am so excited for this juice fast :)

The recipe we used, "Mean Green" (which yielded about 32 oz.):

6 Kale Leaves
1 Cucumber
4 Celery Stalks
2 Green Apples
1/2 Lemon
1" piece of ginger root

It was sooooo delicious!! Kind of tangy...smelled worse than it tasted so don't let the smell fool you :)

I cannot wait to juice tomorrow!! :) We will be trying an apple, carrot, beet juice for breakfast. Probably Mean Green for the middle two "meals" and then not sure yet for dinner. I will keep you posted with recipes and update of how we feel. Also, tomorrow will be another breakdown of weight, etc. stats!

Fasting-Day 5

Today did not start out very good. I was expecting to get to sleep in a little and start my day easy. Instead, I was woken up very early by the SWAT team in my neighbors yard, throwing flash bangs and concussion grenades into their house!! At first, I thought it was gunshots, and so I jumped up and went in to wake up Cj. We both were going window to window to see what was going on...and then we saw the SWAT. At least it wasn't gunshots....but the adrenaline rush that I had combined with jumping up so abruptly made me feel quite ill...head rush, sweats, headache...the works. (This isn't abnormal to me....anytime I get the super scared adrenaline rush, it makes me nauseous. I assumed that it was just intensified because of the fast.) Drinking some water and reclining on the couch made it all better :) I have been feeling colder than usual, and Cj has been jokingly complaining about me turning the heat up, lol. I also have had itchy skin, regardless of lotioning. No biggie though. Overall today I felt very good, just a little more tired than usual. And not body-exhausted-tired...just sleepy. I managed to get quite a few chores done around the house, so I cannot complain :)

A big update (kinda) is that Cj and I have decided to break our water fast Saturday evening around 8pm instead of Sunday morning. This Sunday will be an eventful day at church with us being there from about 830a-330p. I would hate to drink juice that morning and have it have some adverse effects on us that would disrupt our church experience....so we have decided to have a nice glass of juice with some water too, of course, while relaxing and watching a movie Saturday evening :) I will post what recipes or combinations of veggies and fruits we use as we go for anyone interested!

Fasting-Day 4

Whooohoo!! Over halfway done with week done and water only!!! :)

I slept really well last night and had a nice nap today...which helped me feel good. I am feeling a tad bit weak, but nothing compared to the previous days...and the light headedness has gone away completely. My hunger has also gone away completely. It was quite easy during lunch and dinner tonight while cooking for the girls...even with all the smells...so thankful for that!! :) I took a nice, warm, epsom salt bath this afternoon and afterwards, I felt like a new person. I massaged my muscles while in the bath to help stimulate the release of toxins. I also did a cool water rinse after the bath and that gave me a lot of energy for the rest of the day and totally refreshed me! My rings and my pants are a bit less snug, which is awesome. I was a little bit tired at church tonight, and my kidneys and lower back are still a little achy, but nothing that is a concern to me. It is also less than the previous days.

Alrighty....SO, for new stats:

Weight: 122lbs
21.2% body fat
37.8% lean muscle
Waist=30"

I know that the remainder of this fast will not have as dramatic of results as the first few days have. And I am thinking that I will even gain a bit when I start juice this Sunday. I am completely ok with that. This is not about weight loss to me , but about letting my body clean out, and focusing on getting closer to my Lord :) I will, however, be posting new stats every Sunday and Wednesday just to check.

Fasting-Day 3

Today was interesting...to say the least. I wasn't able to sleep well at all last night...got about 3 hours and finally was frustrated enough with tossing and turning to get out of bed about 4am. Took a shower and folded some laundry. Then out of nowhere...hot and cold sweats and super nausea! Yuck! So I laid down on the couch until the boy I nanny got here at 530a, then he went to sleep on the couch, so I did too until he woke up about 9a. It was very hard for me to fall asleep though. I kept having weird sensations like tingling and electricity through my body and kept on with the sweating. Not fun. After we woke up again, I felt much better! I do however have slightly achy joints, especially in my knees, and an achy lower back...which I am thinking is my kidneys doing their overdrive filtering thing. Hunger and headaches come and go in waves... usually when I am smelling something delicious. I had pretty much no energy for the first half of the day, but it gradually increased as the day went on. Listening to worship music helped me a lot with re-focusing on my goals. The girls and I went to a dear friends house today and everyone (except me) had pizza for dinner. I was surprised that it didn't really affect me at all....I was able to stand at the table and chat with everyone with not so much as a watery mouth! I left their home and went to clean the church and was surprised how much energy I had to do so. The only real difference I noticed in my routine was it was a little harder to carry the mop bucket up and down the stairs, but I may have filled it a little higher than usual. My skin is going crazy regardless of me wearing no makeup and washing twice a day. :/

Overall, I started the day feeling like poo, and now I feel pretty "normal" and decent. I am really hoping for a decent night's sleep tonight. I am (weirdly) excited to see how tomorrow will go :) Tomorrow I will be doing another weight, body fat %, lean muscle %, and waist breakdown.

Fasting-Day 2

Alrighty.....day 2 down!

Today was much harder than yesterday. The first half of the day I felt great! Lots of energy and my mood was very good. I didn't feel that I needed a nap at all today :) BUT...towards the afternoon and early evening I had a mild, but nagging, headache. (It is gone now.) I also felt pretty weak...but Cj and I managed to rearrange our living and dining rooms and take down our Christmas tree and all decorations! I did have to take several 5min breaks to "rest" though. If I get up from sitting too fast, I get a bit of a head-rush, but as long as I take it slow it causes nothing. I have had a pretty decent attitude today, which is surprising to me because I haven't felt super awesome and that usually effects my mood. Making lunch and dinner for the girls was very difficult. Smelling the food was pretty trying, and the 2 kids that I nanny brought corn-dogs for lunch, so the smell from the microwave while they were cooking REALLY got to me. I have been salivating quite a bit :) lol, and I am excited for juice on Sunday! I found some great websites with recipes for good juice and I am stoked about that!
http://myjuicecleanse.com/
http://www.justcleansing.com/juice.htm
http://juicerrecipesnow.com/
My palms have been very sweaty all day...not sure if that is a symptom of detox or what...makes it hard to crochet though! I also have had a yucky taste in my mouth, but I've read that is normal. Brush, brush, brush my teeth :) Today I did about 75oz of water and still going... My face has broken out a bit more :/ But it is much less oily, so I am wondering if the breakouts are another sign of toxins trying to leave my body. I did not get around to my epsom salt bath....so I will do that tomorrow. We just got a hair to clean and organize a bit and that took up quite a bit of time this evening. Now we are going to relax and watch a movie and then go to bed. I am hoping I have a good night's sleep tonight. Tomorrow is supposed to be one of the hardest days of the water fast....still feeling confident about it all though :)

Fasting-Day 1

Some of you may be wondering why Cj and I are fasting and why for so long, so I will explain that now before I go into detail of how I am feeling and the physical changes I go through.

(A year ago, all of this would have sounded pretty crazy and extreme to me, lol.) We are participating in a corporate fast along with many of the members of our church (and other churches). The reason we do this is to start out our New Year by honoring God, and regaining our spiritual edge. Kind of like sharpening your weapon before battle. We as Christians are God's weapons...and we must make sure that we are sharp to do battle against the enemy in the coming year. What would happen if we were spiritually dull?? The fact is, life dulls you...and you must take time to regain your edge! 

Today's sermon by (our) Pastor Ken highlighted many of the reasons for our choice and strengthened our decision to do it :) I will list a few key points below:

Jesus fasted by choice for 40 days (Matthew 4:1-11). He did so as a spiritual test before beginning his ministry. We all go through some sort of test before beginning a new (improved) season in our life and we must make sure that we are ready and strong enough for what is to come. Satan tried to tempt Jesus while he was fasting because he saw what he thought to be a weakness (hunger)...but that weakness was only physical and Jesus proved that he was still very spiritually strong in spite of it.

There were three areas that Satan tried to tempt Jesus...and these are the same three areas that he is after in our lives.

#1.) Satan is after your Word edge! 

(Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” --Matt. 4:3-4)

When you are fresh on fire for Christ...the Word (Bible) comes alive to you. You are hungry for more and it is captivating. Revelation comes to you through the Word and you cannot get enough. After being dulled a while, it is not so much so. The enemy wants the Bible to be boring to you...he wants it to seem dry and wants you to lose interest. We have to remember that "You are clean because of the Word." It keeps our minds fresh and our hearts in the right place. It is what we need to hold onto.

#2.) Satan is after your holiness edge! 

(Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and,‘ In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’” --Matt. 4:5-7)

Fasting and praying will make you more sensitive to the Holy Spirit and the sin in your life and heart, so that you are able to conquer it and be free of it.

#3.) Satan is after your worship & serving edge! 

(Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' --Matt. 4:8-10)

When your spiritual edge is sharp, worship is alive for you...it energizes you. Ministry and the areas where you are serving are a joy, and not a duty. We must examine our hearts to make sure we are serving for the right reasons. Are you serving for rewards in Heaven or rewards on Earth?

(Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. --Matt. 4:11)

This is what we want for our lives. For the devil to flee from us and for us to be open to hearing God and what He wants for our lives :)

Now for more on how I feel and other misc. things...

For the past 4 months or so, we have been on a very tight budget....this led us to eat a lot of CRUD!! (Think Top Ramen and other cheapola junk.) We are told that we are to treat our bodies as a temple and God wants us to take care of ourselves well physically. This means eat healthy and exercise. I haven't been good about either one these pat few months and I can feel the negative repercussions...I feel and look completely different than I did this past summer!!

-My skin is very bad compared to usual. I have a lot of breakouts that I do not normally have.

-My energy levels have fallen to the point where I feel like I NEED coffee and/or a nap to get through each and every day.

-I get random headaches...more like migraines...for no reason or trigger.

-My mood has gone south and my temper is shorter than usual.

-I have trouble sleeping soundly throughout the night.

-I have gained a good 23lbs and 6in on my waist.

Cj and I chose (with the guidance of God through prayer) to do a 7 day water only fast followed by a juice only fast (fresh fruit and veggies & a juicer) for the remainder of the month.Yeah, sounds crazy....but the health benefits are amazing! It will give our bodies a chance to reboot, get rid of the toxins and CRUD, and start off fresh and clean so that we may go on with a healthy diet and exercise plan.

Here are a couple of sites explaining the benefits of water and juice fasting:

http://www.gaianstudies.org/articles4.htm

http://drbenkim.com/fasting.html

www.fatsickandnearlydead.com (We watched the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" on Netflix and it was incredibly interesting)

The girls have decided to fast from "treats:" cookies, cake, candy, etc. They wanted to be a part of what we are doing for God :)

SOOOO......Day 1!

Cj: 
Weight:203.2lbs
18.6% body fat
40.1% lean muscle
Waist=38"

Me:

Weight:132.0lbs

24.3% body fat                                                                          

36.9% lean muscle 
Waist=32"

I feel pretty good today. I have drank about 70oz of water. Feeling a bit tired and hungry. Had a short headache and some stomach growls. Overall though, not bad. I have been craving salty foods, like Top Ramen broth, lol. It's funny that I kind of keep forgetting that I am doing this and instinctively in my head go, "What should I make to eat?" and then I remember...It was weird making the girls lunch and dinner today and smelling their food. That made my stomach rumble a bit :) Took a long nap after church (about 4 hrs) and dreamt about food...but I think that is just because I have been thinking about this whole process so much more than my actual hunger. I have heard and read that days 2-4 of a water fast are the hardest with the most symptoms of detox.....so we shall see what I feel like for the next few days. I will be posting (hopefully) every evening :) Cj feels a lot better than I do. He is happy and full of energy!