Days 7-10: The Weekend Plus One

Day 7

I organized a Shake Shack lunch at work and you know what I ate? Edamame and carrots! Who wants Shake Shack anyway? Um, me and I'm definitely getting some after this, especially because the manager gave me some free gift cards. I'm convinced their burgers are laced with addictive substances because I'm hooked!

Funny enough though, I wasn't tempted to have any actually and I was full when I was done eating my lunch. The protein in edamame makes it quite filling. I just steamed it with a sprinkling of salt and ate the carrots raw because I didn't have a lot of time in the morning to be more creative. I also had Green Superfood supplement for a snack to add additional nutrition along with very delicious mango cheeks and coconut.

People have started to notice that I'm losing weight. I haven't been weighing myself so I don't know how much weight I've lost but I can see it and feel it.  On another note, two friends were encouraged by my journey and decided they'd start something similar as well. If you get inspired to do this or some variation of it, I'd love to hear what you do and how you feel.

Dinner was gazpacho. It was my first time, my very first time and with every sip I was singing and dancing. Thank you Mary for bringing me a cup of this deliciousness. It was so good I almost forgot to get a photo. “What's are you looking at?” you might ask. Well, it's cold tomato soup with other veggies. Yes yes I know you're thinking why would I want cold soup and tomato soup at that? I'm with you. I don't like cold food either but this stuff was truly amazing. It was light and refreshing and a tad spicy which was a welcome change from my mostly bland lunch.

Day 8

I woke up at 4am because my body thought we'd had enough sleep. Luckily it is Saturday so I can take naps throughout the day. Lunch was sautéed carrots and kale and I had a pear for dinner. I'm getting less and less hungry by the day. It's 11pm and I'm crashing already!

Day 9

Sunday Funday! I'm surprised at how much energy I have seeing as I didn't eat much yesterday. I danced and sang and hung out at church feeling brand new.

It’s a lovely summer day so I'm going to walk around and enjoy this sun which means I need to stay hydrated and there's nothing like a bottle of coconut water to refresh you! There's also nothing like the constant need to pee to embarrass you but a bladder's gotta do what a bladder's gotta do.  In the evening I had a whole lot of cherries. Am I the only one that likes to suck on the seeds?

Day 10

My church begins the Be The Church Fast today so I decided to kick my fast up a notch as I join the corporate fast. Corporate fasts are a great way to collectively share a spiritual experience. I have a great appreciation for them across all religions as they have the power to unite and energize people in a very powerful way.

My plan for the next five days is to stay hydrated during the day and eat fruits and veggies for dinner only. Now this I know is going to be hard. I started my day with a simple prayer, "God I know I'll need your strength to get through this week. If I lean on you at every turn, will you give me the strength I need?"

Let me tell you that today has been one of my most efficient days in a while. Before every meeting I said a prayer. I even said a prayer as I went to get a new driver's license. THAT was a miracle in and of itself. I was in and out of there in less than 30 minutes. Miracle I tell you, miracle!

I came home and joined my a daily prayer call for the Be The Church Fast and was greatly encouraged by other people's stories and the shared prayers. I know I've mentioned this before but the more my body gets hungry, the more my soul does too. The less I feed my body, the more I can feed my spirit. During that time of prayer I felt a deep yearning for God and I continued praying on my own even after the call ended. I felt an added fervor in my spirit throughout the evening.

I finally had 3 plums and a pear. I didn’t mean to have so many but they were quite juicy and I went to bed at about 10pm. 

Now it's 2am and I'm wiiiiiiide awake! They say the insomnia goes after a few days but it's day 10 and no such luck. I'm getting less and less sleep but the weird thing is that I'm not tired during the day. I'll probably fall asleep in a few hours and feel bright as day when I wake up. Let's see.

I guess while I'm up I should spend time praying. The silence of the night is perfect for prayer and meditation. Even the birds aren’t yet awake.