Why did we not try this sooner.....

Hello everyone! I hope all of you are trying each day to be a better "you" than you were yesterday or even last week 😘. This could be that you are attempting to cook more, eat healthier, move more, or maybe just learn to take some deep breaths and be thankful for all that you have and for being alive! I hope our journey together encourages you to at least think about how to become better versions of ourselves and at live a more fulfilling life. As I mentioned before, I enjoy listening to podcasts while on the treadmill. It sounds a little weird but on the first ten minutes during my run, I think about my breathing, life in general…I call it moving meditation. Then it is the time to focus and decide what information I want to listen to at that particular moment.

About two years ago, I was listening to a life-coach, who was explaining her personal food protocol and asked her listeners to write down theirs (another topic for a blog). I had never heard of this term. I was not sure what mine was😜! Then, she went on to say that she had struggled with her weight for over 25 years (she was around 45 at the time) and finally, she said, it all clicked. I was intrigued, since she was a successful weight coach and had written a book. After the podcast, I read up on food protocols and intermittent fasting since she (the podcast author) did not eat flour and sugar and fasted daily for at least sixteen hours. The idea of fasting was new to me and I wanted to investigate. I have not ever have been extremely overweight but carried at least ten pounds more than I should. My mother was overweight most of her adult life and constantly reminded me that it is easier to take of ten pounds the eighty. I could understand her wanting me to know this, but I still carried the ten pounds and always felt short and stubby. I also was aware of the fact that the older I got, the harder it would become to lose these ten pounds. While investigated fasting, many say that it teaches our bodies to pull from the reserve fat. Years ago, the hunters and gathers, moved more than us and ate less often. They did not have weight issues. We have all been taught through our years that skipping meals is bad and can make you fatter. We have also been taught that breakfast is most important meal of the day. According to most experts on intermittent fasting, that is not the case. So how does it work? In the opinion's of Mark Mattson, Ph.D., at John Hopkins University, who has studied intermittent fasting for twenty-five years, says that after hours without food, the body exhausts its sugar stores and starts burning fat. He refers to this as metabolic switching and “intermittent fasting" and it contrasts with the normal eating pattern for most Americans, who eat throughout their waking hours. Mattson says, “If someone is eating three meals a day, plus snacks, and they’re not exercising, then every time they eat, they’re running on those calories and not burning their fat stores". He also explains that intermittent fasting works by prolonging the period when your body has burned through the calories consumed during your last meal and begins burning fat. There are many programs you can pick from. A daily approach, which restricts daily eating to one six- to eight-hour period each day. For instance, you may choose the popular 16/8 fasting: eating for eight hours and fasting for 16 (this is the one I chose). Another, known program is the 5:2 approach, which involves eating regularly five days a week and for the other two days, you limit yourself to one 500–600 calorie meal. An example would be if you chose to eat normally on every day of the week except Mondays and Thursdays, and these days would be your one-meal days. Mattson also explains that going longer periods without food, such as the long 24, 36, 48 and 72-hour fasting periods, are not necessarily better for you and may be dangerous. Going too long without eating might actually encourage your body to start storing more fat in response to starvation. Mattson’s research shows that it can take two to four weeks before the body becomes accustomed to intermittent fasting. You might feel hungry or cranky while you’re getting used to the new routine. But, he observes, research subjects who make it through the adjustment period tend to stick with the plan, because they notice they feel better. He of course, suggest we visit with our doctor before any program. I had gone back and forth for years on should I eat breakfast or not. I noticed when I ate breakfast, I seemed more hungrier for lunch. I began to eat dinner before 8pm and not eat until the following day after 12pm. and have lost approximately six pounds without going on a “DIET” and have pretty much eaten the same. I have cut back on bread. I love bread AND butter but try to only have bread when it is on a burger that we have grilled out or if it is homemade. Now, the exciting news, and the reason I wanted to share, is that my husband decided to give this a try. He weighed approximately 150 pounds when we married and ate anything he wanted. I remembered him eating almost half a package of oreo cookies while drinking a liter of coke. He is not a vegetable eater unless it is potatoes, and he would prefer lots of gravy! His weight has been creeping up and he began complaining. I remember him telling me, that he was upset to learn, that according to a form on line, that he was considered obese. He asked me questions concerning intermittent fasting and knowing him, he began investigated the program. Today, if I were to guess, in approximately four months, he has lost close to twenty pounds. He

skips breakfast but still eats his nightly ice cream. Most of the time, it is a small portion, but he also indulges in bites of chocolate daily as well. So, as you can see, I believe in this way of eating. It takes a while to train yourself and get use to the fasting period. There are many different programs of intermittent fasting. Remember, it is also important to put things in our bodies that we know is good for us and limit the stuff that is not! I hate to use the word diet. I think it gives us depressing and negative thoughts. That is where the food protocol comes in handy🤣🤣! It makes me feel like it is a way of life and not some restricted eating plan which I have failed many times. If you are interesting in more information, I have included below a couple of links. Please talk to your doctor first before try any fasting program. I feel better today than I did 10 years ago. I know that changing my "food protocol" was one of the reasons why. Of course, I know that changing my "attitude" was the most important reason. I have learned to love myself enough to want to be better today, than I was yesterday💕😉🌸🌻.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/6-ways-to-do-intermittent-fasting

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/6-ways-to-do-intermittent-fasting

On my 60th birthday, a friend made us spicy margaritas that I enjoyed so much that I went out and purchased a bottle of tequila and agave nectar. I am not a margarita drinker but I loved these. I have had on the last two weekends since!

2 oz. tequila

1/2 oz. Cointreau (orange liqueur)

1/2 oz. agave Syrup

1 oz. lime juice

Garnish with a jalapeño coins, I put a couple in the shaker for extra spicy!

Place ingredients in shaker and shake then strain and pour into glass!

I made the large ice cubes as well. I purchased ice trays that are large squares and place jalapeño coins in each square, fill with water, then freeze. The ice cubes look fabulous and keeps it cold while sipping on. I found these cool trays at walmart! Perfectly fits in freezer and easy to make. You could use these trays for lemonade and freeze lemons in as well.

Leaving you with one of my favorite sayings:

Eat like you love yourself

Move like you love yourself

Speak like you love yourself

Act like you love yourself