The following is about our media fast/my semi-food fast
(meaning, eating the same thing breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a week).
Day 1
If I was going to be on facebook, I would’ve posted that I
told Zane to go clean up the trains in his room. When he told me he was all
done, I went to check it, thinking he would’ve done either nothing or picked up
one or two of the tracks. But he had really cleaned all of it up all by
himself! I was proud. J
The kids seemed to handle no TV well today. It helps that
it’s Sunday so a lot of the day is taken up with church. That’s probably a good
way to ease into it.
I think I’m liking taking the choice out of my meals. My
mind wanders to things I might think I want to eat, but I know I can’t do that
so those thoughts disappear quickly. And it totally helped me get ready and
leave the house for church on time this morning. I already knew what I was
giving the kids for breakfast, so it was sitting out waiting for them when they
got up, rather than me asking them what they wanted and then having to make it.
I think Day 1 is a success!
Day 2
Today’s facebook post would’ve gone something like this: “If
you think that you aren’t looking too bad, take an aerobics class in a room
full of mirrors with an instructor who is probably a size 0. Then you will be
slapped back in to reality!”
I joined a gym last week. And I’m trying out fitness classes
(because that’s my favorite way to work out). Today was the first one. J
I’m finding the food aspect of this week to be the most difficult.
When I planned it, I thought that I had picked healthy things that I enjoyed
eating. But I’m getting bored already. I added in dry Cheerios as a snack
yesterday because I was so hungry after going for a 50 minute walk and then
doing a 45 minute step-aerobics class. It seemed justified. Ryan said I was
cheating.
Day 3
The kids are doing very well with no TV. They really aren’t
asking about it too much. And if they do ask about it and I say we’re not
watching it, they go to something else.
The biggest thing I’m seeing so far is that Zane is actually
eating stuff that I make for him! I made the kids a peanut butter sandwich the
other day on these sandwich thins that I bought. Usually Zane won’t eat a
peanut butter sandwich (or at least not much of it) and when it was on one of
those thins, he ate the entire thing! Then today Karys finished all of her
lunch and got to have some chocolate chips for dessert. Zane decided he wanted
some too, but he still had two apple slices and a cracker left to eat. I told
him he had to eat the rest of his food if he wanted some and he got back up in
his chair and ate all that was left! No fussing, no fit-throwing, nothing!
Tonight after the kids took a bath I was drying Zane off and
he started squirming and saying something about “potty, potty.” I told him we
weren’t going to play on the potty, but he was still squirming so I asked him
if he needed to go potty and he said yes. So he sat down, said something about
“yucky” and stood up a few seconds later and he had peed in the potty!!
A storm blew in tonight and knocked out the electricity on
our street. So I couldn’t make my usual grilled chicken for dinner. But I had
made turkey burgers for everyone else, so I had one of those.
Day 4
The hardest part of this for me is the food. It’s not that
hard not to watch TV. But eating the same thing every day is getting old. But I
have to remind myself that when things get uncomfortable or not as fun, that’s
when I’m breaking to the point that God can work in me.
Translation: Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!
(Full disclosure: the kids did watch one episode of “Go,
Diego, Go!” tonight. We were babysitting at a friend’s house tonight and I
needed something quiet for them to do when the other kids went to bed.)
Day 5
Not a good day. I was feeling very depressed today.
Yesterday during the BSF lecture, the teaching leader said that our clinging
sin is what we turn to instead of to God when things get tough (this was in
context to Abraham having Sarah say she was his sister for the second time). I
know what my clinging sin is. I could’ve told you before this week what it was
too. My clinging sin is food. When life is hard, food makes it better (or at
least it feels like it does). So when I was feeling so bad all I could think of
was what I could eat that would make it better. So while Ryan was here during
the kids’ naptime, I left (with his permission!). I went to a hamburger
restaurant with a book and ate a hamburger, french fries, a Coke, and slice of
chocolate cake. I read, I ate, I had some alone time to regroup. I felt a
little guilty for using food to make myself feel better, but the time alone
gave me some clarity. And here’s what happened:
Last night I wasn’t hungry. I didn’t feel sick from my
lunch, but I was definitely full. And there was a difference in how I reacted
for the rest of the day. I didn’t think about how I’d already blown it so I
might as well just forget it. I decided that since I wasn’t hungry, I just
wouldn’t eat much for dinner. I had a salad, an apple, and a glass of milk.
It’s definitely progress.
Day 6
Blah. Rice is so BORING!!! I had no idea how tired I would
get of it!
Day 7
I opted to stop doing the food today. Mainly I was tired of
it and I ran out of rice! J And at the end of the night, after the kids went to
bed, Ryan and I watched about an hour of TV. I guess the fast is officially
over!
