Fast Away

Fasting was...uneventful. Which is a good thing on the one hand, but didn't lead to a feeling of accomplishment on the other hand. I was hoping the fast would be a stand to change the way I was doing things. I'm a goal person - gotta have a goal. Lost weight initially by setting a three month stick to it diet, road a 100 mile bike ride by setting that goal. So, now what? I think I must do something to understand that changing to a healthier lifestyle means every day - no goal other than do it EVERY DAY. Boring, eh?

I'd like a partner in healthy lifestyle change, but all those around me trying to make that change want to make it on their own. I think because I bike ridiculously long miles people think that they can't "keep up" with me when I exercise. Bah! I had back surgery that's left me...shall we say less than capable of decent workouts. I get tired very easily because the workout hurts. (Unless I'm biking.)

Reading about other's journeys is motivating though!

Juice fasting

O.k. step number one to juice fasting is not to chant in your head "I'm going to be hungry, I'm going to be hungry..." I woke up this morning and that was the first thing in my head. I wasn't hungry, but the fact that I was GOING to feel hungry LATER was a bit too overwhelming. So, I decided to have a different morning than I normally do. First, I'm dressed comfortably instead of already dressed for work, which is what I normally do on the night I work. Then I took the dog for a walk on a different route than we normally take. He wasn't so sure about that, but enjoyed the new sniffs along the way, so he adjusted quickly. Myself, I enjoyed looking at different flower beds along the way and also enjoyed the different sniffs!

I was a good librarian and read up on the dos and don'ts of fasting. Apparently if you're going to juice fast and just for a day, there aren't too many rules other than don't eat an entire pizza the night before. I'm trying this one day deal first to help me prepare for a longer one. Thankfully, I don't have any of the health issues that would lead you NOT to fast, i.e. diabetes, tendency towards bulimia (duh), blood pressure issues etc.

Why am I doing it? Not to lose weight. It's the feeling that if I could start fresh in one aspect of my life, maybe I could start fresh in others. And, I'm hoping that I can be a bit more zen in my life and a little less tighter than a fully stretched rubber band. I'm thinking that might reduce the back issues as well. At least I hope it does!

Gotta go drink some water now!

Where to go?

People get their motivation for change in various places. Some get it from family, friends, a job that's stale or crappy - some even get it from tv shows. Me - I guess I'm getting mine from pain. See, people say to me when they catch me stretching "Oh, is your back bothering you today?" Fact is, my back is bothering me every day. It's making me tired all the time, and it's just generally making me grumpy. So, what can I do?

First, I'm preparing to fast. I feel like I need a fresh start, and I think that fasting might help me mentally get there. I'm starting with a juice fast on Wednesday. After reading up on fasting, I've learned not to jump into a long fast without preparing for it, so I think I'll start with a one day juice fast and go from there. I'm hoping it gives me some motivation for focussing on the positive in my food choices which inevitably helps with my mental state.

I'm going to try to post every day to the blog so I can track my own journey. Read it or not. Comment or not. Help me or not - but I sure could use the help.