Here I am on day 5 of my 7-day fast. I’m alive and feeling great! However, it did not start that way.
I began this fast to strengthen my mind, lose a little weight, but mostly focus on mindful thinking with meditation & prayer. Fasting allows us to take back our control from that thing, person or habit that has a hold over our lives. What better way to jump start my “intentional” focus this year, other than fasting?! With that in mind, I snatched everything away from myself; then vowed to be intentional with what I will allow back in at the end of this fast.
THE FAST BEGAN
The morning after my first day of fasting, I woke up with an excruciating headache. As soon as I opened my eyes, the room was spinning. It was like I had been drinking heavily the night before. I felt the effects of the pain down my neck and into the thickness of my shoulders. My body was in shock from not having all the bad stuff it was used to. I sat up and closed my eyes and slowly inhaled, then exhaled. I repeated that a few times as I silently prayed. “Lord God. I know this fast is good and necessary. I will get through this. Please help me get through this. Please allow me to have a great day despite this temporary pain. In Jesus Name, Amen.” Saying ‘In Jesus Name’ is like hitting the SEND button in an email. And I need all my prayers delivered. So, ya know. I opened my eyes and was met with temporary relief. I was so grateful.
I got up and did my routine before heading downstairs to cook breakfast for the family. Walking and turning my head slowly with the intent not to disturb the peace that was keeping the pain at bay; I was then greeted with yelling kids and something in the kitchen beeping like crazy. Well, yea. You guessed it. My headache returned. I decided to make breakfast anyway and breathe through it. But after hours of soothing attempts, I gave in and took a couple of ibuprofen. It took a little time, but the headache eventually went away. That was the first obstacle this fast had given me and It was brutal.
With change comes a challenge.
I ended up cooking sausage, toast, grits and eggs with cheese although I couldn’t have any of it! It smelled so good. Thinking of ways to justify it being ok to have grits and eggs, I came up with nothing. I went about my business with a banana, some grapes and a glass of water. I had to be strong. I’m doing this for a reason.
FOOD has been my biggest challenge thus far in this fast. I love to eat all kinds of food and snacks all day long. At work, there are always snacks readily available that I often indulge in. The free food samples handed out at the mall gets me every time. A shareable bag of candy would disappear in one sitting. Eating uncontrollably is not good for me and it shows in my mid section. It acted as a comfort for me in many stressful times. This is the hold I release, right now.
To prepare for the end of my fast, some barriers have been created to help me resist the urge and stay on track. Currently, I’m putting myself in situations where I have to say “no” more often. This has helped me to recognize how it will feel and what to do in similar situations. I’ve only been eating fruits, vegetables and drinking water for 5 days. It has been hard, but it got a little easier and motivating when I weighed myself. I lost 7 pounds in 5 days! Not to mention I feel great and have lots of energy. There is no way I will mess up this amazing progress. So, I’ve decided to make a weekly menu for myself and only eat the food listed on it. To keep me mindfully balanced, I’ve already incorporated yoga; even if it’s just for 5 minutes. Bring on the yoga mat and kids crawling all over me. 🙂
We must remember to challenge ourselves in the places we are weak.
Fasting is a sacrifice of some sort to take the power away from something holding us back. That power should be directed to something that makes us better. Imagine giving that power to the habit of often speaking positivity affirmations to yourself. That would be incredibly life changing in a great way, to not only you, but the people around you. When we gain control of our thoughts, actions and thus our life – we become more fulfilled and it will radiate from the inside out. That’s where happiness lives.
So, what has a hold on you?
Jasmine
Live Happi Girl
Thank you for sharing this Jas! It used to be procrastination! Sometimes it does come… I will say to myself, “I can do this a little later.. or I can just do this tomorrow.” But I seen a quote or a video (I can’t remember what it was lol) a while back… “If you put ALL of your potential into your goals, what you are trying to do with your life, fitness, eating right, doing activities with my daughter, even keeping the house clean lol… and so on… you will get very far in those certain things.” So every time I feel like procrastinating, I think about my potential and where I am trying to go in life!
I really enjoyed this blog!
Oh, that’s a great way to take the power back from procrastination. Recognizing your weakness and coming up with a way or ways to get yourself back on track is key! Keep up the good work!
xo Jasmine