7 Experience :: Food Week 2

Wow.  That was definitely some of the hardest two weeks I've ever had!  We all know the power that food has over us -- probably has something to do with that whole we-need-it-to-live thing.  But, man, that was rough.  I have a hard time with "real fasts" [no/limited food] because I get hunger headaches, I'm cranky, it's just rough.  Let me tell you, this 7 foods fast was no walk in the park.  In fact, this may have been harder because we could have some food but not anything we wanted.  Oh, you better believe I saw every fast food and restaurant ad and building every day and, yes, I noticed the food we had just sitting on those pretty pantry shelves.  But I couldn't touch it.  It really wasn't a good idea to stare at it for long amounts of time because I did not trust myself.  My motto was, "Look down and keep walking and pray to Jesus."  However, as hard as this was, this was the most I had "died to myself" in a very long time.  Maybe even ever.  It was true reliance on God.  It was remembering why I was doing this . . . wait, why was I doing this?  I thought I was searching after answers, jewels on my crown, and maybe going down a few pounds. [<-- it's amazing how you finally see your true motives when you're broken down]  Luckily, the Lord showed me why I was really doing this -- compassion, a renewed mind, and actual self-control.  I'm definitely no pro in these areas, but the Lord is starting a work and I'm excited for the new me.

Now, don't think it was perfect self-control all those two weeks!  If I'm going to be honest, here it is:
- We pre-planned a cheat day that turned into a cheat weekend [In our defense, it was my husband's hometown days and our anniversary weekend.]
- We may or may not have eaten a couple pieces of candy as we were handing them out to the youth group kids one Wednesday night.
- And the fast did end a day early :( . . . We were at a family reunion, with our chicken breasts in tow . . . We just couldn't resist the delectable spread of food -- salads, dips, desserts galore . . . Man had I missed creams. They just tie the foods together!!!

I asked my husband to share his thoughts from the first two weeks of our journey.  I love his way with words and he sees things from a different perspective than me -- I guess that's why we're a perfect pair :)  Here's what he wanted to share with y'all:

Looking back on the last two weeks, there have been many emotions and feelings that I have gone through.  When it began I was thinking, "This is going to be easy!" and "I have salt and plenty of variety, shouldn't be too bad."  But then as time went on, I began feeling differently with things like, "I'm always starving!" or "I can't wait to get home to grill some chicken."  There were times when I had to rely on God to get through it.  Not in a I'm-going-to-die-if-I-don't-eat way, but just the fact that, with me having high cholesterol, I couldn't eat many of the nuts to sustain me inbetween the meal times.  By the time we reached the middle of the two weeks, I was craving some kind of spice or texture difference from what we had been eating.

At the end of the two weeks, I realized that I was not eating as much.  I didn't feel like I was hungry all the time or that I was holding back, I simply was not craving food.  Now, when meals came along, I knew that I was hungry enough to eat, but I was not overeating.  I'm assuming this is because, as Americans, we have access to so many flavors, textures, and varieties of foods that we have all these cravings.  So then we stop at the grocery store, McDonald's, or go to a restaurant to satisfy that craving.  But when you only eat so many food varieties, you begin to not crave and instead you just eat because you're hungry.  It made me think of those kids in Africa that we have packed food for with FMSC and that they don't crave rice/imitation chicken/dried veggies and everything else, they just want the food.  These bags of food satisfy what they want.  We here in the US eat because we crave, while others in the world eat what is ready for them.  I've realized God wants us to do things not because they're good or that they are exciting, but because it is what He has provided for us, so that we are able to focus on other things in our lives.  It was a good experience to do -- not easy, but rewarding. 

So, food is done and we're moving on to clothes next.  I don't see this one as being hard, but we'll see how I feel at the end of this week :)  Doing this food fast taught me to be grateful for what I have.  It taught me to live on less and to think about what I'm filling my body with and even to make wiser choices in all meals, not just the main ones.  I'm so thankful that I did this for two weeks and I can't wait to see what these other fasts have in store!  Have you done the food fast yet and how did it go?  Or do you think you will give it a try?  I'd love to hear from you :)