Week 5

Wow, here we are at week # Johnnie 5.



Earlier in the year our church decided to corporately fast for an extended period of time. 3 weeks to be exact. Not everyone in the church participated but many did, I was one of them.



The purpose of the fast was for spiritual reasons and was based out of the book of Daniel in the Old Testament. This "Daniel fast" was not meant to be a total fast, but rather to give up some of our comfort food. The goal in mind was for us to receive wisdom for the church to fulfill our potential in 2009. During this time I felt that God was leading me to be willing to share my weight loss adventure with other people. I had no idea at that time that it would eventually end up being the blog you are now reading.



This Daniel fast took place right about 2/3 of the way through my militant phase. It also propelled me much further into weight loss than I had expected to be able to go. The results from a physical standpoint were just phenom.



I have said all of this to prepare the way for you to have an intense 3 week adventure like I did on my Daniel fast. I would like you to start doing what I did this week.



If you haven't noticed, I have been kind of hesitating here a little bit because what I'm going to ask you will take a pretty big commitment on your part. But remember it is only going to be for 3 weeks then you can decide if you want to make a lifestyle change or just chalk this up as a temporary adventure.



OK are you ready???? On my Daniel fast I made the commitment. to not eat any refined sugar, I had no caffeine and I did not eat any meat. To some of you that might not sound like such a big deal (you are wrong) To other's it may sound totally not doable, but you really can do it.



So how many of you are willing to take this big step with me??? The rewards will be well worth the adventure.

WEEK 5 ASSIGNMENT:

OK are you ready? -I need you to understand the following
1. No Caffeine-You will not stop caffeine cold turkey. You are going to be weened off of it. I want you to have half your normal amount for 2 days then go down to 1/4 of your normal amount for 2 more days. then after 4 days total no more caffeine for the rest of the 3 weeks. This is all caffeine including tea, and energy drinks as well as coffee. Decaffeinated Herbal tea's are OK to drink.

2. No refined sugar. My experience was that my morning oatmeal without any sugar tasted bad for 3 days. Then suddenly I could actually taste the sweetness of the milk. And from that point on I did not miss the sugar. I would like for all of you to give it 3 days try also. Please no splenda either for these 3 days to really give your palate a chance to get sweet free.

3. No meat. But you need to still get adequate amounts of protein. This can be accomplished by eating more eggs for other meals besides breakfast, or use tofu for dinner, or eat more nuts. Also eat more dairy products like cheese.

If you are willing to step up and do this, I want you to reply by making a comment to me at the bottom of this post. I will also do the fast again with you if you respond. If no one is willing to comment on their commitment, then I will just change gears on the future content of this blog.