Prophet's Fasting Plan

So yesterday, I shared a super long honest post about my entire weight loss journey. And let me tell y'all something, I was terrified to put all of that out there. I mean, it's one thing to mention you want to lose weight and exercise and blah, blah, blah. But it's something entirely different to list out your actual weight and all the ups and downs you've seen on the scale. But you know what? I got amazing feedback from that post!! I mean for real - the highest number of views on any post in one day, the highest number of page views for my blog in general in a day, and the most comments on any post ever. I also got texts and emails and Facebook messages all supporting, encouraging and congratulating me. I got tips from people, stories of their own or of their family members, invites to run together - a huge outpouring love and support for me in my crazy weight loss journey.

And today I feel more encouraged and motivated than ever.

So first of all, Thank You to all of you friends, family members, old high school friends, strangers, and bloggers who reached out to me yesterday. You guys are all seriously the best! You made me feel so great, and made me so very very glad I decided to share my whole story. And now I can cross off another thing on my 25 Before 25 list, because "blog my weight loss journey, honestly," was one of my goals :) And just in time too, since my birthday is in a little less than two weeks! 

OK, moving on now! Today I want to explain a little bit about the Daniel Fast I'm currently doing. I've mentioned it a couple of times, and some of you have been interested in hearing more about it and what it is exactly. So here is the Prophet's Fasting plan, in a nutshell - I'm only eating fruits, veggies and whole grains; no meat, dairy, chemicals or additives/preservatives. Things like olive oil, sesame oil and natural nut butters are fine. And I'm drinking nothing but water; no coffee, tea, milk or anything else. Basically, super clean eating, and essentially vegan, with even more restrictions. Seriously - fruits, veggies and whole grains. And that's it.

The following is copied directly from their website:

"There are two anchoring scriptures for the Daniel Fast. In Daniel 1 the Prophet ate only vegetables (that would have included fruits) and drank only water. So from these scriptures we get two of the guidelines for the fast:

1. Only fruits and vegetables.

2. Only water for a beverage

Then in Daniel 10 we read that the Prophet ate no meat nor any precious breads or foods and he drank no wine for 21 days. So from this scripture, we get a third guideline:

3. No sweeteners and no breads

Another important guideline is drawn from Jewish fasting principles, where no leaven is used during the fast.  So that's why yeast, baking powder and the like are not allowed on the Daniel Fast. 

Finally, with all the above puzzle pieces, we conclude that no artificial or processed foods nor any chemicals are allowed on the Daniel Fast."

So there you go. It's definitely strict. But you know what? It's actually been easier to do this than I thought it would. Today is day 10 for me, and my goal is 21 days. And I feel great! I'm still sitting at 210 pounds, but that means in 9 days, I've lost 7 pounds on this diet. Um hello? I'd say it's working.

And in case you're wondering more specifically what I eat on this diet, here's what a typical day has been looking like for me lately, and you can also look at my MyFitnessPal diary to see more of what I eat!

Breakfast - banana or strawberries

Mid-morning snack - grapes or a small handful of Sunkist trail mix

Lunch - salad

Afternoon snack - carrots or celery with (organic) hummus

Dinner - some mixture of brown rice, beans & sauteed/cooked veggies

Dessert - grapefruit or strawberries

Top row: L - sauteed spinach & veggies; R - stir fry veggies in olive oil
Bottom row: L - brown rice & veggies at Genghis Grill; M - strawberries; R - grilled veggies from Publix

Other things I've been eating have been baked potato, plain rice cakes, grapefruit, whole wheat pasta with organic sauce, pecans, almonds, and lots of various fruits and veggies. All-in-all, I'm doing great on this plan so far. I really feel great and I still have plenty of energy. And hello?! Most importantly, I'm losing weight and getting healthier! When I first started this, I wasn't sure how long I was going to be able keep it up. I had planned for 21 days, but was really hoping to make it to 7, and then see how I was doing. Well now I'm on day 10, and I am really determined to make it the entire 21 days now! 

I hope that explains everything clearly enough. Feel free to ask questions if you have any, or if you're interested in learning more or hearing more details! I definitely don't mind sharing  more :) You can also check out their website and blog for more information as well.

Happy Thursday my friends! (Hooray it's almost Friday!) Thanks again for all your amazing love and support of my weight loss journey so far. And here's to getting healthy and happy in 2013!