Fasting

Okay. Fasting.

"Intentional deprivation of something (almost always food) for the purpose of humbling yourself before God, repentance, spending more time with Him, seeking His will, and/or asking Him for something. It is meant to be uncomfortable and to emphasize our ultimate dependance on Him." -Rev. W. Jordan Richmond

Ummm, nope...most certainly didn't read "powerful weight loss and cleansing tool". Physically speaking, fasting is a deliberate abstinence from food. It doesn't magically clean out your system (that's why we poop - technical term), it doesn't rid your body of toxins (that's why God gave us a liver) and it's not a great weight loss tool (although you will lose weight if you don't eat). None of the listed "benefits" of fasting have been proven by medical peer-reviewed research.

Physically/technically speaking (feel free to skip ahead if you don't care much for this explanation):

The body gets its energy primarily from glucose and fat (in the blood) from the carbs and fats you eat. Both your brain and nervous systems use blood glucose for energy and proper functioning. Your body also stores energy in both the muscles and liver in the form of glycogen.

Within hours of starting a fast, when you run out of the glucose you've eaten, your body goes to its glycogen stores (these don't last very long). Your body then goes into an altered metabolic state = starts using protein and some fat (some... very little... okay I've lost most of you... SOME fat and PROTEIN did you miss the PROTEIN part or the SOME part, the protein you're desperately trying to increase with your exercise, the protein that will help BOOST your metabolism and help you look smokin' hot!!!) I digress, where was I... Oh... It uses PROTEIN and SOME fat to make more glucose for the brain and nervous system. Resulting in a considerable breakdown of lean muscle tissue and SOME fat tissue and the production of ketones. Ketosis, that state those of you that tried the Atkins diet strived for (and I do mean tried because none of you stuck with it - bacon-birthday-cake anyone?). This is NOT healthy and in fact over time the brain's consistent use of ketones for energy can be damaging. In the short-term, you may lose weight, but its mostly water loss, dehydration, muscle tissue wasting, hgm hgmmm - muscle tissue waisting, and you will be tired, fatigued and dizzy (downright unpleasant to be around and cranky in every sense of the word).

Your body craves proper nutrition. Ignoring hunger cues, or cutting out any essential food group completely in an effort to lose weight or "cleanse the system" is not a good idea. That aching growl you get when you're starving is not your body eating your love-handles, as much as you'd like to convince yourself of this phenomenon.

Back to the biblical:

There are 3 types of fasting referred to in the bible: ""Normal fast" or total abstinence of food (Luke 4:2), "Absolute fast" or no water and food in which it almost always lasted for only 3 days (Ezra 10:6, Esther 4:16), and the "Partial fast" in which diet was restricted (Daniel 10:3). The purpose of all fasting is to get to know God better--done privately (Matt 6:17-18)." --Rev. Samuel S. Rainer III

Let me repeat that last part - The purpose of all fasting is to get to know God better. An excellent thing. Highly recommended for this purpose. In fact, if you've never done it, DO IT, its powerful. But, not for the purpose of fitting into skinny jeans or "cleansing the system"... please.

Also, beware of the tendency to make biblical fasting a weight loss tool. You'll have to learn to lose weight and be healthy the "hard way" which also may be the slower way - there are no short cuts. Suck it up. Deal with it. Get to work.

Do.

So... futile things annoy me - and somehow they seem to comprise most of our lives. Laundry gets washed, folded, into the drawers (baaahahaha yeah okay, still working on this one) only to be taken out, dirtied and back in the pile - and the pile keeps growing. I don't know about you - but if I got paid hourly for the time I spent doing laundry, folding, putting away (or not, whatev'), collecting from every floor in the house - wow - I'd be a wealthy woman. Making the bed, thats another one, its made all of what? 15 hours a day when NO ONE but ME is here. Please. Futile. How about meetings you sit in FOREVER daydreaming of all the OTHER things you need to be doing. Few things bother me more than meetings that take place with no actions following. We are a nation of talk. Talk talk talk talk. We dream big, but boy we talk a whole lot. When do we do? Even baby steps. What's that saying? Rome was not built in a day. But they HAD to start SOMEWHERE. Somebody in that planning meeting said, HEY, I'll bring a chisel next time and we'll get to work! I digress...

I have no problem firing clients in my nutrition coaching. No money is worth that headache. You will NOT see results if you actually Don't Do anything - shocker. I wish we were somehow healthier simply by reading about nutrition or intending to eat better. I meet with clients to discuss bight-sized things you can do immediately for better nutrition or weight loss and you either choose to do them or not. Its that easy. I'm not here to listen to you moan and groan about how you CAN'T lose weight or eat healthier. What special occasion came up to keep you from eating better for the next 3 months. How your college injury has somehow caused you to gain 500 pounds because you can't work out. News flash, you can be in awesome shape and lose weight simply by adjusting your calories. LIFE happens. I am happy to lend my expertise, in fact, I love it. I want to help anyone who is willing to be helped. But I can't put in the work for you. I can't put your fork down. I can't take the doughnut out of your hand every morning. I can't keep the food journal for you. I can't make all of your nutrition decisions for your family. I'm here to equip you with the knowledge to do so on your own and for your family.

Learn about nutrition. Look at labels. Try new things. Experiment with what works for you and your lifestyle to help you maintain a healthy weight and be in the best shape possible. But DO! Stop talking. Cause I don't want to hear it, and I doubt anyone else does either. Dream big. There is no reason you can't be in the best shape of your life RIGHT NOW. Shut up. Do.

Tomorrow's a new day. Decide to DO.