Fasting Is Not Starvation

I started fasting Sunday night at 7 pm.  I only drank water and I tried sparkling mineral water for the first time (I could eventually get used to that taste...maybe) and at 5 pm broke my fast with a tablespoon of peanut butter and then ate a big salad with chicken salad and deviled eggs at 6:30.  At 8 pm I started my next fast.  When I woke up the next morning I had a terrible headache and nothing could take it away. I had it all day and it immobilized me. I know it was a sugar withdrawal headache and possible dehydration because I wasn't drinking as much water as I should have been.

When I got on the scales my second day I had dropped 2.5 lbs.  YAY! No more headache.

The fast, I noticed, was more of a mental thing for me. That is what was so hard.  I have been an emotional eater.  So, as I was busy, I noticed the pattern I had been following before in my daily activities.  Driving around I noticed my thoughts of wanting to stop at Walgreens and get a Reese's. Or leaving a store and thinking about Hardee's breakfast biscuit.  The hunger pains seemed to magnify with the sparkling mineral water but I ignored them.  I just want my body to eat the fat and for the cells of my body to get healthy. 

It has been 6 days now of doing the OMAD (one meal a day) and I am loving this.  It seems to go against everything that we are taught about eating 6 small meals during the day or counting calories or "don't skip breakfast, it is the most important meal of the day." Reading, listing to podcasts and watching YouTube videos of Dr. Jason Fung has changed all the notions that have been embedded into my brain about losing weight. He talks about how fasting is not starving your body, that fasting doesn't mean your body is eating muscle but that it is proven to be eating your stored fat and how by fasting it can change everything for the better.

I am on day 6 and when I woke up this morning to weigh myself, I have lost 6 lbs all together.

You can get his book here to learn more about it or watch these videos.  

My Bonus Life

A lot of times I find that to help me get through this life and the struggles I have, I write. I have many, many experiences that some would ask, "How are you sane?" and it gives me the opportunity to share my testimony of how I got or am getting through those challenging experiences.  With being a blended family, I know there are many out there that want to read others trials to see if it will help them get through theirs. We are on this earth to share and help one another to live a happy life. Not to feel abandoned and that life is hopeless.

One of the most challenging times I have had was when I blended my family with my husbands.  His ex-wife agreed that their children should live with us and I went from raising my three who were 17, 18 and 19, to raising an 8 and 10 year old. This was mind blowing to me because my life had done so many changes within 3 months that I kind of had a melt down. It would be different if I was the bio Mom but it was now out of my control as a bonus mom and that was mentally hard for me to wrap my mind around.

It has been 5 and a half years now and we are still happily together :) and everything is slowly blending easier for all of us but I have to admit I still have moments of mouth dropping to the floor, what do I do?

My Bonus Life is my venue to vent (not bash), encourage, get encouragement from those of you who are in the same boat and to keep choosing the right.

My blog...
My Bonus Life

Blessings~ Thea

Time For The Tree

Thanksgiving, a day of great food and being around family and/or friends, has passed. That was yesterday, though I am thankful every day. Now it is time to get my living room in order so that I can figure out where I am going to put our new tree.

That's right, we got a new tree. We have been married for a little over 5 years now and the tree that we had been using is one that he had bought when he divorced. A cute, small tree that we decorated but the lights went out and it was time to get a new one.  It is really nice to have a tree that is "ours". I know that might sound trivial and maybe it's a "female" thing but we had a new beginning and now we are making new memories as a blended family. So, this tree will be with us for the rest of our Christmases together.

I am feeling the Christmas spirit more this year than I have in a long time. Does it take long for this to happen in a blended family? I use to always get into the spirit of Christmas with my decorating and smells and lights. This year will be festive for us and I am so excited about it.

But now...it's time to go shop those Black Friday sales. Our new tree will be up soon and pics will follow.

Many Blessings ~ Thea