COMMIT!
Peace.
More than ever before, I have been really, Really, REALLY looking at my lifestyle after my last fast. I’m a faster and I claim a natural lifestyle for over a decade. But I keep finding myself correcting the same things after every fast. I think it’s time to make honest decisions on how I plan to maintain; taking into consideration my flaws as well as my strengths.
I have come to grips with my weight. I am not a small woman. I never have been and probably won’t ever be. My brother is about 500+lbs and awaiting weight loss surgery. My mother, aunts and cousins all suffer from obesity. My grandparents not so much. Yes I suppose a lot of what affects my family is generational habits. But I like to think that I have cut those ties. I’m a pescatarian and no longer eat the swine my mother raised me on. I have converted many of the recipes of my family to healthier versions, but still I have my mother’s thighs. I have come to the final stage… acceptance… with regard to how my body looks. And I am very healthy. I do not have any of the health problems my mother had at my age with the exception of some very aggressive fibroids.
One thing I have noticed is my mother’s, brother’s and nephew’s obsession with food. They literally have this compulsion to eat. I watched my brother eat 2 pizzeria pizzas in the time it took me to eat 3 slices. He was eating whole slices 2 at a time. SMH. My mother used to wake in the night and eat a ½ gallon of ice cream. If we didn’t have it, she’d go to the store get it and eat it. She has every health condition you can think of and still does this. My nephew (500lb brother’s son) is 11 and weigh the same as I do. He’s my height too. He has so aggressively raided the refrigerator in the night that his mother had to lock it. Up to that point I had always refrigerator locks were urban legend threats. I have noticed I have the ability to consume large portions of food (more than other people), and I have both sweet and salty teeth, but I have a little more control over my appetite. And my appetite is often hormonal. I think giving up smoking has given me a way to access my self control. I was the only smoker in the above listed group.
So with that acceptance on board, these are the tenets of my lifestyle. And as always (and this is probably where I get in trouble) it is open for adjustments if needed.
1- be as natural as possible
Using natural product that are available. I have recently come up on a natural, inexpensive, vegan laundry soap. Why would I not use that?
2- 50:50 raw vs. cooked food daily.
This doesn’t mean that every plate of every meal looks like this. But at the end of the day, I want to have consumed at least ½ of my food in its most sattvic state
3- Employ the principals of Ayurveda
I have been studying Ayurveda for more than 15 years. Its study is one of the constants in my life. I have tons of books. It’s time to get out of the books and put it into practice. 18:40.
4- Fast 1 day a week
According to my Ayurvedic dosha, I have slow agni. I need to fast 1 day a week so my digestion can catch up. Plus fasting increases longevity and it is a great test for the will power. I must admit that when I do 1 day fasts, they are for 24 hours and 24 hours only. If I stop eating at 7 pm on one day, I eat the next day at 7 pm.
5- Eat seasonally. And if a food is not local (pineapples, bananas, coffee, etc.) find the appropriate season to eat it.
Americans are spoiled. We have what we want when we want it and are unwilling to wait. Have you ever stopped to think there is a reason why food grows in the season it does? It is because that is what we need to eat to survive that season. Eating out of season can be detrimental to one’s health.
6- Study my lessons continuously
I admit that I have gotten out of practice of reciting my lessons regularly. I have had to renew my Qur’an. It’s all good. A lesson learned. If you don’t recite them regularly you lose them. And I worked too hard to commit them to memory. Besides, I keep learning new things from these old lessons.
7- Decrease, not cease, my dairy and gluten consumption
Dairy makes me bloated and gluten gives me the itis. I thought I might have a bit of celiac because I have a grass allergy and wheat is a grass. It seems my grass allergy is specific to a particular type of grass and not wheat. But it does make me sleepy when I consume meals with bread. So I won’t be giving up bread, I will decrease my intake or time it when I’m punished with insomnia or can take a nap.
Dairy makes my stomach bloated and gives me gas. Consequently, I have stopped drinking animal milk, and I substitute my ice cream for dairy free versions. Cheese and butter are my kryptonite. I can’t eat butter in large enough quantities to affect me. And when I can get away with it, I use other alternatives. But cheese…. Damn! I know if I said I would never eat cheese again I’d be lying. But I have reduced how much I eat of it. My favorite… grill cheese sandwiches… are off limits.
8- 14:14, 4:SM
This degree has a lot in it. Folks don’t realize how important it is to have a captain in charge of the domestic cipher. And there is nothing shameful about keeping the God and my home well. Daily I check myself against said degree. If there is something that needs improvement, I’m on it! And I continue daily to keep living out my culture—no swine, 3/4th etc, sewing my own clothes, and keeping us healthy.
9- Water
Striving to keep up with my 64 oz/day or more. It’s not as hard as I thought. I have come to actually prefer the taste. Who knew?
10- Exercise: 150 minutes a week
This is by far the hardest one for me. I HATE/DESPISE exercise. I recognize I have yet to find an activity I’m passionate about doing. And that lack of passion is the killer. 150 minutes a week is doable. It’s 5 30 minute sessions or almost 1 2 ½ hour session or any combination that gets me to 150 minutes. I have been super creative too. I will admit I haven’t quite gotten to 150 min/wk yet, but I have come close.
And that’s it… for now. This is me re0commiting myself to my chosen lifestyle.
Peace!
More than ever before, I have been really, Really, REALLY looking at my lifestyle after my last fast. I’m a faster and I claim a natural lifestyle for over a decade. But I keep finding myself correcting the same things after every fast. I think it’s time to make honest decisions on how I plan to maintain; taking into consideration my flaws as well as my strengths.
I have come to grips with my weight. I am not a small woman. I never have been and probably won’t ever be. My brother is about 500+lbs and awaiting weight loss surgery. My mother, aunts and cousins all suffer from obesity. My grandparents not so much. Yes I suppose a lot of what affects my family is generational habits. But I like to think that I have cut those ties. I’m a pescatarian and no longer eat the swine my mother raised me on. I have converted many of the recipes of my family to healthier versions, but still I have my mother’s thighs. I have come to the final stage… acceptance… with regard to how my body looks. And I am very healthy. I do not have any of the health problems my mother had at my age with the exception of some very aggressive fibroids.
One thing I have noticed is my mother’s, brother’s and nephew’s obsession with food. They literally have this compulsion to eat. I watched my brother eat 2 pizzeria pizzas in the time it took me to eat 3 slices. He was eating whole slices 2 at a time. SMH. My mother used to wake in the night and eat a ½ gallon of ice cream. If we didn’t have it, she’d go to the store get it and eat it. She has every health condition you can think of and still does this. My nephew (500lb brother’s son) is 11 and weigh the same as I do. He’s my height too. He has so aggressively raided the refrigerator in the night that his mother had to lock it. Up to that point I had always refrigerator locks were urban legend threats. I have noticed I have the ability to consume large portions of food (more than other people), and I have both sweet and salty teeth, but I have a little more control over my appetite. And my appetite is often hormonal. I think giving up smoking has given me a way to access my self control. I was the only smoker in the above listed group.
So with that acceptance on board, these are the tenets of my lifestyle. And as always (and this is probably where I get in trouble) it is open for adjustments if needed.
1- be as natural as possible
Using natural product that are available. I have recently come up on a natural, inexpensive, vegan laundry soap. Why would I not use that?
2- 50:50 raw vs. cooked food daily.
This doesn’t mean that every plate of every meal looks like this. But at the end of the day, I want to have consumed at least ½ of my food in its most sattvic state
3- Employ the principals of Ayurveda
I have been studying Ayurveda for more than 15 years. Its study is one of the constants in my life. I have tons of books. It’s time to get out of the books and put it into practice. 18:40.
4- Fast 1 day a week
According to my Ayurvedic dosha, I have slow agni. I need to fast 1 day a week so my digestion can catch up. Plus fasting increases longevity and it is a great test for the will power. I must admit that when I do 1 day fasts, they are for 24 hours and 24 hours only. If I stop eating at 7 pm on one day, I eat the next day at 7 pm.
5- Eat seasonally. And if a food is not local (pineapples, bananas, coffee, etc.) find the appropriate season to eat it.
Americans are spoiled. We have what we want when we want it and are unwilling to wait. Have you ever stopped to think there is a reason why food grows in the season it does? It is because that is what we need to eat to survive that season. Eating out of season can be detrimental to one’s health.
6- Study my lessons continuously
I admit that I have gotten out of practice of reciting my lessons regularly. I have had to renew my Qur’an. It’s all good. A lesson learned. If you don’t recite them regularly you lose them. And I worked too hard to commit them to memory. Besides, I keep learning new things from these old lessons.
7- Decrease, not cease, my dairy and gluten consumption
Dairy makes me bloated and gluten gives me the itis. I thought I might have a bit of celiac because I have a grass allergy and wheat is a grass. It seems my grass allergy is specific to a particular type of grass and not wheat. But it does make me sleepy when I consume meals with bread. So I won’t be giving up bread, I will decrease my intake or time it when I’m punished with insomnia or can take a nap.
Dairy makes my stomach bloated and gives me gas. Consequently, I have stopped drinking animal milk, and I substitute my ice cream for dairy free versions. Cheese and butter are my kryptonite. I can’t eat butter in large enough quantities to affect me. And when I can get away with it, I use other alternatives. But cheese…. Damn! I know if I said I would never eat cheese again I’d be lying. But I have reduced how much I eat of it. My favorite… grill cheese sandwiches… are off limits.
8- 14:14, 4:SM
This degree has a lot in it. Folks don’t realize how important it is to have a captain in charge of the domestic cipher. And there is nothing shameful about keeping the God and my home well. Daily I check myself against said degree. If there is something that needs improvement, I’m on it! And I continue daily to keep living out my culture—no swine, 3/4th etc, sewing my own clothes, and keeping us healthy.
9- Water
Striving to keep up with my 64 oz/day or more. It’s not as hard as I thought. I have come to actually prefer the taste. Who knew?
10- Exercise: 150 minutes a week
This is by far the hardest one for me. I HATE/DESPISE exercise. I recognize I have yet to find an activity I’m passionate about doing. And that lack of passion is the killer. 150 minutes a week is doable. It’s 5 30 minute sessions or almost 1 2 ½ hour session or any combination that gets me to 150 minutes. I have been super creative too. I will admit I haven’t quite gotten to 150 min/wk yet, but I have come close.
And that’s it… for now. This is me re0commiting myself to my chosen lifestyle.
Peace!
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