Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Catching Up on the Books
I promise this post will not be as long as the last! Just wanted to mention my latest reading material! In April, May, June I read 3 books and started my current one about 2 weeks ago. I have done Facebook live book talks on most of them and plan to do another later this week. Here are the books!
Fasting, Smoothie Bowls and Summer
So clearly I have a ways to go before becoming a serious blogger! I had no idea I haf not posted in 4 months. But life does sometimes get in the way of the best intentions. As I continue on this journey of intentional living, healing and self-realization I am learning to keep my commitments to myself so I hope to do better with my posting here.
Fasting...Intermittent Fasting, that is, has been a game changer for me. After my back issues started to ease I knew I had to get rid of some weight (or a lot of weight if I am being honest) to take pressure off my joints. I tried my go-to clean eating, but it just wasn't cutting it this time. I LOVE bread and I LOVE sweets (refined sugar and all) so the thought that I would give them up for good...not gonna happen. Somewhere along the way, my hubby mentioned that someone from work was doing intermittent fasting and only ate between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. While I applauded the dedication of anyone who could go that long without food, I dismissed it as a possibility because I was not about to skip my beloved Arbonne smoothie for breakfast. Fastforward to mid-March when we returned from Spring break and I saw myself in the pictures. Oh Mama! Bad, bad, bad. I decided right then and there that as soon as I had dinner that night, I was starting IF. I started with gusto and only ate from 11 or 12 until dinner for a week and then emailed a friend to tell her of my endeavor (she is super great at encouragement so I knew she wouldn't tell me I had lost my mind). The next day I got a response and, low and behold, she was doing IF too! She told me about an awesome book called "Delay Don't Deny" that had helped her on her journey. I immediately added to my reading list and haven't looked back. Most days I do a 20:4 fast (Fasting 20 hours and eating what I want I a 4 hour window). Today my friend and I are doing a full day fast together. It is tough here in hour 23, but I am not breaking my commitment to my friend or myself. I feel great doing IF, I am losing some weight (marathon style, not a sprint) and my body is trimmer and leaner than in a long time!
Fasting...Intermittent Fasting, that is, has been a game changer for me. After my back issues started to ease I knew I had to get rid of some weight (or a lot of weight if I am being honest) to take pressure off my joints. I tried my go-to clean eating, but it just wasn't cutting it this time. I LOVE bread and I LOVE sweets (refined sugar and all) so the thought that I would give them up for good...not gonna happen. Somewhere along the way, my hubby mentioned that someone from work was doing intermittent fasting and only ate between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. While I applauded the dedication of anyone who could go that long without food, I dismissed it as a possibility because I was not about to skip my beloved Arbonne smoothie for breakfast. Fastforward to mid-March when we returned from Spring break and I saw myself in the pictures. Oh Mama! Bad, bad, bad. I decided right then and there that as soon as I had dinner that night, I was starting IF. I started with gusto and only ate from 11 or 12 until dinner for a week and then emailed a friend to tell her of my endeavor (she is super great at encouragement so I knew she wouldn't tell me I had lost my mind). The next day I got a response and, low and behold, she was doing IF too! She told me about an awesome book called "Delay Don't Deny" that had helped her on her journey. I immediately added to my reading list and haven't looked back. Most days I do a 20:4 fast (Fasting 20 hours and eating what I want I a 4 hour window). Today my friend and I are doing a full day fast together. It is tough here in hour 23, but I am not breaking my commitment to my friend or myself. I feel great doing IF, I am losing some weight (marathon style, not a sprint) and my body is trimmer and leaner than in a long time!
Because I have chosen the IF way of life, I now make sure I eat the things I enjoy. This doesn't mean Diary Queen burgers and blizzards for every meal (but I won't deny that I enjoy them on occasion). It means that I choose foods that taste great and are made with the best ingredients. Enter smoothie bowls. I am way late on joining the group of folks that swear by these amazing concoctions, but I am in love! As I said earlier, I was hesitant to try IF because I did not want to give up my smoothies. Smoothie Bowls provide me a healthy way to open my eating window with plenty of protein and vitamins from fresh fruits and veggies. I am enjoying playing around with the recipes and have a little work to do before becoming a smoothie bowl "artist" but here are a couple of pics. The top is a mixed berry with chocolate, coconut, berries and granola on top and the bottom is peanut butter and banana!
Oh, how I love summer! As an educator, summer is a time for me to rest, relax and reset. Time to explore new interests or re-visit hobbies I've put to the side (painting!). Time to really focus on becoming my best self. This summer I have made and am making (I officially have 2 weeks of summer break remaining) changes that I plan to keeping for the rest of my days.
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