Day 21 --- Feeling tired but feeling fine
I'm not sure if the biggest for my feeling tired was because of the fast or if it was just because I've been pushing myself pretty hard. I slept in until about 9:00, definitely not like me. Then in the afternoon, I took a good long nap, again, not like me. But I was just wiped out.
By the time 5PM rolled around, I was feeling a whole lot better. Suzy was to be coming down to our motorhome and its beach side parking spot at about 6PM so I was getting excited. I was looking forward to seeing her. I've missed her while she and I are apart a lot lately.
It was nice to have her sweet face show up just in time for a sunset walk on the beach. We went on a really long walk and by the time that we returned it was officially dark. Suzy brought down some fresh soup broth that was cooking at the house. It was still hot and delicious.
We had a relaxing evening watching a movie and then to sleep.
Hope you are all doing souper
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Day 20 – 20/20 or 20 pounds in 20 days
Day 20 --- Beginning to see things clearly 20/20
Day 20 started with some exciting news for me. I got up and first thing in the morning, I stepped on the scale. I was thrilled that on day 20 I saw good results. I have been waiting to spread the news that I have officially lost 20 pounds. It's exciting that it was on the 20th day. That was pretty cool. Simple things amaze simple minds, I guess.
But after that the day just cruised along as any other day. No celebrations but I did have a smile on my face. I did find, as I have for the last few days, I was lethargic. I started wondering if I was doing something wrong or if perhaps there was something wrong with my body. I was able to meet with Dr. Scott Saunders, a truly great doctor. He said that I'm doing fine and that I am doing the right things. He also said that lethargy is a sign that I've burnt through all of my residual, oh shoot he had a better name for it than this but, carbohydrates. Carbohydrates certainly isn't the correct term, but when you eat a bunch of carbohydrates apparently it turns into this perhaps it's called glycogen. I am not a doctor and I do not play one on TV.
He said that means that now my metabolism is changing and learning how to burn other foods. Through my little mind it sounded like that was a good thing and so I asked him, is that as good a thing it sounds like it? He replied yes it's a very good thing especially for you Mike. So, I took that to mean that once again my body is doing not only what it should but what is to be expected of it given this broth diet cleanse.
So I plodded along putting things together to take our motorhome about 15 miles down the road to sit along the seaside and work from here. Suzy will drive into work, a new thing for her as she usually just walks. But at the end of the day we find ourselves sitting at the beach, listening to the waves buffet the shoreline. As I might have written, she was gone in Mexico for three days working with a deaf school down there. Boy did I miss her! We finally got to see each other yesterday and it was so so nice to be back together. She, and our son David, are the highlight of my life.
So I sit here, drinking broth and working on the computer as I would at home. You have to love modern technology. I thought I would enclose a picture from my "office" away from home
But first, more regarding the fast, people ask me if I get hungry. That's a common question. People also ask me if I miss chewing on food. The answer is yes to both. The hunger I can usually curb by drinking enough of the broth. I think one thing that is incredibly helpful is the fact that this is homemade broth cooked with lots of nutrients. A bunch of vegetables, real meat, and perhaps a little citrus or coconut oil (not coconut milk). But it's a decision. My decision is to do this and not give up just because I "feel like" having a salad. Decisions are easy to make but harder to keep. That's what the willpower is all about. Ignoring the physical condition and pressing onward when we feel like giving up.
Speaking of giving up, I'm a little bit concerned about the last two days of this diet. Certainly I could make it to 30 days. That is not a problem at all. Actually I believe I could make it to 40 days without any problem as long as the doctor would say it was okay. The real concern is that I'm leaving To fly across the country on day 29. As I'm sure you are aware bringing soup broth through airport security, at least in the United States, is just not possible. So I'm considering breaking my fast after four weeks rather than 30 days. Is a really difficult decision and I've been struggling with this since day 2. I would love to hear your comments on this. This is a major decision for me. Truly, your comments would be greatly appreciated. I'm doing fine so I am not considering this because I'm thinking, "oh great I could eat two days earlier". After this many days of fasting, the two days really doesn't mean anything to me. My concern is, will I feel like a quitter for only going the 28 days? I would greatly appreciate it if you would weigh in on this one.
Here's the pic that I promised. Have a fantastic day.
And here's the link to day 21....
http://30daybrothfast.blogspot.com/2013_09_25_archive.html
And here's the link to day 21....
http://30daybrothfast.blogspot.com/2013_09_25_archive.html
Monday, September 23, 2013
Day 19 -- Feeling more normal
Day 19 --- Things are kind of normal (and some exciting news tomorrow)
Yesterday was a pretty decent day. I think that the biggest reason why is that I tried to stay well prepared. I started the day by visiting a local car show. It was not completely for fun and games. I had stopped by because our son, David, has an organization that was doing work at the event. So with broth in hand, I left the house first thing to confirm that all was going well. And it was.
The cars looked amazing. The weather was perfect, crisp and clear. The day warmed nicely and it was obvious, even before 9:00 AM, that it was going to be a beautiful day.
At 9:30, I was off to church which started at 10:00, a rather civilized time for church. In the car, I had brought another travel mug full of soup broth. I thought that I would be fine and not need it until after church got out, but after only a few minutes, I found myself hungry. So, I ran out, grabbed the soup, and dashed back inside. I only missed a couple of announcements that I could read about later if I wanted. I really was looking forward to going and was not disappointed. I don't think that I have ever gone to church and thought, "darn, I shouldn't have gone to church today". I'm not sure that anyone ever real feels that way, or at least only rarely. Either way, I really enjoyed it. The music was outstanding and the message was relevant and applicable. South Coast Church in Goleta, California is filled with a wide variety of people that all seem to get along very well. Life is celebrated there.
After this, off to the store to look for parts and then back home to research more about what is wrong with this motorhome (caravan in the UK). I first sat down and read some forums responses regarding my questions. They were helpful but were also a bit all over the map. So armed with a fair amount of confusion, I attacked the problem to very quickly realize that I can't really find the problem. I know what is wrong but it is nearly impossible for me to access. It was frustrating to be sure.
It wouldn't be a big deal except that my sweet wife Suzy was really hoping that we could bring the motor home down to the beach for the next week. I really don't like to let her down. I have tried so hard to get this coach ready but I feel as though I have failed. Suzy is not demanding at all. She won't say any unkind words about how I should have done this or that. I just like to treat her nicely. I know that she is looking forward to a week at the beach in the motor home, and still be close enough to drive her car to work each day. That is a gift that I would like to give to her. She would have a beach side home for a week and still not miss any work. As it stands, we can go but we can't have water. Furthermore there are other issues as well. ARRGGHH
Oh well, back to soup talk....I made 3 soups yesterday. Actually I am fixing one that turned out to be way too sour. I added one squeezed lemon and through it in to add flavor and the same with two very small Key Limes. I tasted the broth and it was so bitter that it caused me to cough. So, I added a bunch of red bell pepper and one small chopped white beet. I hope that adding the beet is ok, I'll have to check with Dr. Saunders about that one. I am also making a ham hock soup with carrots and leeks. The last soup that I'm making is really a pot roast soup hold the potatoes.
Some people ask, "Do you get hungry?" Yes, of course. "Do you?". We all get hungry but with a normal eating day, we are freaking out if around 11:30 we find our stomach growling. We know that we will eat at noon and we don't freak out. It's the same only the intervals are different. I am consuming liquids with lots of nutrients and they don't give the same amount of time between "meals" as traditional food. But again, I don't have to get all excited, I just have to eat more regularly. But if all is prepared, as it has to be, it's not too difficult to ladle some warm soup broth out of a crock pot into a mug. Pretty easy I'd say.
That's it for now. I would love to hear from you. Have a Souper day.
Day 20 has a lot of 20's involved with it. Click below to follow the story.
http://30daybrothfast.blogspot.com/2013_09_24_archive.html
Yesterday was a pretty decent day. I think that the biggest reason why is that I tried to stay well prepared. I started the day by visiting a local car show. It was not completely for fun and games. I had stopped by because our son, David, has an organization that was doing work at the event. So with broth in hand, I left the house first thing to confirm that all was going well. And it was.
The cars looked amazing. The weather was perfect, crisp and clear. The day warmed nicely and it was obvious, even before 9:00 AM, that it was going to be a beautiful day.
At 9:30, I was off to church which started at 10:00, a rather civilized time for church. In the car, I had brought another travel mug full of soup broth. I thought that I would be fine and not need it until after church got out, but after only a few minutes, I found myself hungry. So, I ran out, grabbed the soup, and dashed back inside. I only missed a couple of announcements that I could read about later if I wanted. I really was looking forward to going and was not disappointed. I don't think that I have ever gone to church and thought, "darn, I shouldn't have gone to church today". I'm not sure that anyone ever real feels that way, or at least only rarely. Either way, I really enjoyed it. The music was outstanding and the message was relevant and applicable. South Coast Church in Goleta, California is filled with a wide variety of people that all seem to get along very well. Life is celebrated there.
After this, off to the store to look for parts and then back home to research more about what is wrong with this motorhome (caravan in the UK). I first sat down and read some forums responses regarding my questions. They were helpful but were also a bit all over the map. So armed with a fair amount of confusion, I attacked the problem to very quickly realize that I can't really find the problem. I know what is wrong but it is nearly impossible for me to access. It was frustrating to be sure.
It wouldn't be a big deal except that my sweet wife Suzy was really hoping that we could bring the motor home down to the beach for the next week. I really don't like to let her down. I have tried so hard to get this coach ready but I feel as though I have failed. Suzy is not demanding at all. She won't say any unkind words about how I should have done this or that. I just like to treat her nicely. I know that she is looking forward to a week at the beach in the motor home, and still be close enough to drive her car to work each day. That is a gift that I would like to give to her. She would have a beach side home for a week and still not miss any work. As it stands, we can go but we can't have water. Furthermore there are other issues as well. ARRGGHH
Oh well, back to soup talk....I made 3 soups yesterday. Actually I am fixing one that turned out to be way too sour. I added one squeezed lemon and through it in to add flavor and the same with two very small Key Limes. I tasted the broth and it was so bitter that it caused me to cough. So, I added a bunch of red bell pepper and one small chopped white beet. I hope that adding the beet is ok, I'll have to check with Dr. Saunders about that one. I am also making a ham hock soup with carrots and leeks. The last soup that I'm making is really a pot roast soup hold the potatoes.
Some people ask, "Do you get hungry?" Yes, of course. "Do you?". We all get hungry but with a normal eating day, we are freaking out if around 11:30 we find our stomach growling. We know that we will eat at noon and we don't freak out. It's the same only the intervals are different. I am consuming liquids with lots of nutrients and they don't give the same amount of time between "meals" as traditional food. But again, I don't have to get all excited, I just have to eat more regularly. But if all is prepared, as it has to be, it's not too difficult to ladle some warm soup broth out of a crock pot into a mug. Pretty easy I'd say.
That's it for now. I would love to hear from you. Have a Souper day.
Day 20 has a lot of 20's involved with it. Click below to follow the story.
http://30daybrothfast.blogspot.com/2013_09_24_archive.html
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Day 18 --- A bit sluggish
Day 18 ---- Feeling tired and sluggish
Today I awoke feeling great. I had some water and soup broth for breakfast and forced myself to drink more than usual. My thought was that if I drank more, I wouldn't feel as hungry, which was true, and that I'd have more energy, which was not true.
I spent the day running errands, slowly. I walked slowly, I thought slowly, I drove slowly. I just felt tired.
Finally, in the afternoon I took a nap and probably slept for an hour and a half.
I'm writing this about 30 minutes after the nap and I still feel sluggish. I'm going to have some more broth and see how I feel. Hopefully, I'll pick up a bit. We'll see.
Day 19 is next...Follow this link below
http://30daybrothfast.blogspot.com/2013_09_23_archive.html
Today I awoke feeling great. I had some water and soup broth for breakfast and forced myself to drink more than usual. My thought was that if I drank more, I wouldn't feel as hungry, which was true, and that I'd have more energy, which was not true.
I spent the day running errands, slowly. I walked slowly, I thought slowly, I drove slowly. I just felt tired.
Finally, in the afternoon I took a nap and probably slept for an hour and a half.
I'm writing this about 30 minutes after the nap and I still feel sluggish. I'm going to have some more broth and see how I feel. Hopefully, I'll pick up a bit. We'll see.
Day 19 is next...Follow this link below
http://30daybrothfast.blogspot.com/2013_09_23_archive.html
Friday, September 20, 2013
Day 17 -- Not a bad day after all
Day 17 ---- Not so bad
My day started as a bit of a mess, as you might have read. A foggy and cold day in September didn't help any either. The odd thing about fog this time of year is that this is really our peak summer weather. Really quite unusual to see a day like this. But one thing that we here in Santa Barbara have learned is, don't expect what is to be expected with regard to weather.
So my mood and energy level were a perfect match for the weather. I was a bit slow and lethargic and a bit blue. Furthermore, I had a headache and my stomach was a bit uneasy. But I think that the majority of the reason is because of my poor night's sleep. I was productive, but a bit at a slower pace. I'm not sure that even if I felt perfect that I could have been more productive.
I have to admit that I broke the doctor's orders a bit today. With my head hurting from about 3AM, I decided to take an over the counter pain reliever, which is completely within the restrictions. But to give the meds a boost, and a boost to me as well, I walked over to the local coffee shop, Pierre LaFond's, and ordered a single shot of caffeinated espresso. I drank about half of it and tossed the rest. I justified it believing that it was medicinal and such a small amount that it was probably acceptable. All I know is that my headache disappeared and I did have an ever so slight increase in energy.
Tonight we have a dear guest spending the night. She is a fellow worker with Suzy at the preschool. Her name is Jackie and she is an amazing teacher, a master teacher. She and Suzy will be departing for Mexico at 6:00AM tomorrow to work with a deaf school in Ensenada. It should be a great trip for them. I'm happy for the two of them.
Well, it's time for some more soup broth and then I think it will be early to bed for all of us. Overall, not a bad day after all.
Day 18 awaits below...short and sweet.
http://30daybrothfast.blogspot.com/2013_09_21_archive.html
My day started as a bit of a mess, as you might have read. A foggy and cold day in September didn't help any either. The odd thing about fog this time of year is that this is really our peak summer weather. Really quite unusual to see a day like this. But one thing that we here in Santa Barbara have learned is, don't expect what is to be expected with regard to weather.
So my mood and energy level were a perfect match for the weather. I was a bit slow and lethargic and a bit blue. Furthermore, I had a headache and my stomach was a bit uneasy. But I think that the majority of the reason is because of my poor night's sleep. I was productive, but a bit at a slower pace. I'm not sure that even if I felt perfect that I could have been more productive.
I have to admit that I broke the doctor's orders a bit today. With my head hurting from about 3AM, I decided to take an over the counter pain reliever, which is completely within the restrictions. But to give the meds a boost, and a boost to me as well, I walked over to the local coffee shop, Pierre LaFond's, and ordered a single shot of caffeinated espresso. I drank about half of it and tossed the rest. I justified it believing that it was medicinal and such a small amount that it was probably acceptable. All I know is that my headache disappeared and I did have an ever so slight increase in energy.
Tonight we have a dear guest spending the night. She is a fellow worker with Suzy at the preschool. Her name is Jackie and she is an amazing teacher, a master teacher. She and Suzy will be departing for Mexico at 6:00AM tomorrow to work with a deaf school in Ensenada. It should be a great trip for them. I'm happy for the two of them.
Well, it's time for some more soup broth and then I think it will be early to bed for all of us. Overall, not a bad day after all.
Day 18 awaits below...short and sweet.
http://30daybrothfast.blogspot.com/2013_09_21_archive.html
Beginning of day 17. A morning post
Good morning friends,
What a miserable night sleep. I would love to blame the fast but in truth that has nothing to do with it. Because of some tragic situations from about three years ago, I have been taking antidepressants. I wasn't very happy about it and was very reluctant. But I have to say, they really did help and they really were necessary. But things have improved, considerably. So I've been cutting back. Now I am down to about 50% of what I was taking. I'm pretty happy about that. Actually there's a bit of a joke there.
Although these medications are extremely helpful, this one in particular has an odd side effect. For some bizarre reason, whenever I miss a dose, which I did yesterday, I have very disturbing dreams. They aren't nightmares, but they are disturbing. In my sleep and set being horrid. Why did I skipped this dosage? Believe me, it wasn't intentional. When did I realize that I missed this dosage? When I was having a horrible time sleeping last night. I started reflecting on my day and realized that I had never taken medication. Perhaps I should've tried taking it right then and there, but I didn't.
So I gave up fighting it and started my day early. And the weather has seem to complement my mood as well. As you may know, Santa Barbara California is right on the coast. It is a beautiful town. But like all seaside towns they can be prone to fall. It is not typical to find fog in Santa Barbara in the middle of September but apparently it is here today. I'll be sure to check in at the end of the day and let you know how the rest of the day turned out.
Here's part 2 of day 17......
http://30daybrothfast.blogspot.com/2013/09/day-17-not-bad-day-after-all.html
Here's part 2 of day 17......
http://30daybrothfast.blogspot.com/2013/09/day-17-not-bad-day-after-all.html
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Day 16 --- Officially half way there
Day 16 --- More than half way there
I weighed myself this morning. If you have been following this blog, you might remember that on day zero, I weighed 180 pounds, give or take a few ounces. Today I stepped on the scale to find that my weight has dropped to 162. Well, 162.4 to be exact. I was pretty stoked. That was a loss of about 18 pounds in 15 full days. Not bad I thought.
So, I dressed in my "skinny jeans" or jeans cut to be a bit form fitting around the legs (the latest style that my wife likes). I put on my black button up shirt with thin pin striped white lines and tucked it in. I went over to the school where my wife works and walked into the short morning meeting and devotional that the staff has every morning before school starts. After the day was ready and started, Suzy gave me a big hug, told me that I looked great and said that she liked how I feel in her arms. Wow, not a bad way to start the day.
So, I dressed in my "skinny jeans" or jeans cut to be a bit form fitting around the legs (the latest style that my wife likes). I put on my black button up shirt with thin pin striped white lines and tucked it in. I went over to the school where my wife works and walked into the short morning meeting and devotional that the staff has every morning before school starts. After the day was ready and started, Suzy gave me a big hug, told me that I looked great and said that she liked how I feel in her arms. Wow, not a bad way to start the day.
I ran off to a meeting at a local coffee shop and spent the day taking care of things related to the motorhome. All day it seemed, I ran back and forth to the store to buy little bits and pieces that I needed.
The great reward was at the end of the day. We were to visit our dear friends Alex and Oz and their sweet new baby daughter. It was a lovely time, as always with them. They served us tea with mine being fennel tea. I had never heard of such a thing but knew that it was a safe choice. They assured me that it was delicious and of course they were right. These two friends are so especially dear to us. I always feel completely comfortable around them. We all realized that it had been far too long since we hung out and made plans for meals together when I have finished this fast. It was motivational for me.
The tea was great, but not substantially satisfying. I should have had more broth before I arrived. That is two days in a row that I made the same mistake. You'd think I'd learn. Hopefully I'll do better tomorrow.
Well, for you foodies, I made two more soups, both new to the list. One was a tri-tip AKA bottom sirloin. It is delicious and a hugely popular meat here in Santa Barbara. Perhaps one of our most famous dishes served here typically at barbecues. It's very reasonably priced in the rest of the country, and world, but here they tend to jack the price up to meet the demand. I added onion, carrots, spices, salt, tomatoes, and celery. Should be yummy. The second cock pot that we started is cooked chicken, leeks, basil, cilantro, and celery.
I'm looking forward to both of these. I might add some coconut oil to the chicken soup broth in each mug. It doesn't stay mixed to I stir the heck out of it and drink quickly. Pause and then repeat until finished. A bit of effort but tasty.
That's all for now. I would love to hear from some of you.
Here is the latest count. In total over 1000
It's funny to read this post again. I had 1000 views at this time...as of today June 1, 2016 it's over 44,000!!!
Here's part 1 of 2 posts for tomorrow...I guess there's a bonus post coming up.
Here's part 1 of 2 posts for tomorrow...I guess there's a bonus post coming up.
Go here to read it >>>>>>
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