Daniel Fast, The END.

Whew.  I made it.  Three weeks of fasting will be over tomorrow.  And I did it!  Yay me!  I know I just broke the number one spiritual rule of fasting by boasting about it and giving myself a virtual high-five, but this was REALLY HARD, and I really did it without slipping or cheating the entire three weeks.

I feel SO MUCH healthier now than I did before I started.  I honestly haven't felt this good since before I got pregnant with Jack (back when I ate like this as a way of life).  I feel stronger, sleep better, and have had ZERO heartburn since the day I started.  That's been a huge relief to me since I was plagued with pregnancy heartburn up until this point.  My blood pressure is down to 100/60, and my so called "pregnancy acne" cleared up, too.

And those are just the physical benefits I noted.  The spiritual benefits are double that.  And that's what I was really after.  Nothing makes you feel closer to Jesus than being pregnant and not being able to eat any sugar.  (Kidding, sort of...)

Now, let's talk about The Coach for a second.  I'm sure you've noticed I did this without him.  That may surprise you since he seems to be the epitomy of health and fitness.  He has the worst diet in the history of diets.  Well, probably not the worst considering we live in the unhealthy South... but I think it's horrible.  He hates whole wheat, any type of whole grain, hates vegetables with a passion, and loves fried chicken (no stereotyping please, ha), greasy hamburgers and Milano's New York style pizza.  He also eats candy like a kid.  Every day.  Why?  Because he can.  He exercises like a fool because he likes to eat like a fool.  His bloodwork is always great and I can promise you that if my bloodwork was half as good as his then I'd be eating like a fool, too.  

HOWEVER, The Coach is no spring chicken.  His age is eventually going to sneak up on him and all that candy and fried chicken is going to catch up with him.  He realizes this, and has woefully agreed to make some dietary changes.  I've been sneaking oatmeal and spinach leaves into his protein smoothies already, and I've completely switched to 100% whole grain pasta and brown rice.  He is begrudgingly eating more vegetables, even though he hates them.  I have no intention of asking him to give up his Wednesday fried chicken lunch at the club on base, he will be retiring soon enough and that chair will be kicked out from underneath him then.

And then there's this... We have little kids, and we are not young.  Most people our age are empty nesters, and we have a baby on the way.  We OWE it to our boys to keep our bodies healthy and strong to increase our chances of living a LONG time.  While there are things that we have no control over in the aging process, there are plenty of things we DO have control over.

Justice loves to eat healthy.  I made chicken fried rice for everyone except for me last night (I had tofu in my rice) and he requested tofu instead.  He loves whole wheat, and will eat any vegetable you put in front of him, with no salt and no butter.  Jack eats very healthy, too.  He is a grazer, and rarely eats a big meal.  He snacks all day on unsalted peanuts, whole wheat crackers, raw broccoli and carrots,  and eats more bananas than a monkey.  His favorite cereal is one without any added sugar, and he loves to drink water.  

So you see, the only missing letter in our families healthy eating equation is The Coach.  And all that's about to change.  

Right after I bake this tomorrow.  

Pineapple Upside-Down Cheesecake. 

I actually have no intention of not baking anymore.  I already have gotten my baking down to two items per week (cut me some slack, I used to bake everyday), and that's as much as I'm willing to give on that. 

I'm hoping to kick start every New Year with this fast.  It was a very good experience for me and for the first time in years I'm diligently working on my goals for the New Year.  Some of them are actually already complete!  The discipline required to fast this way has given me the discipline I need to work hard on my goals and complete them.  Because if I can give up all meat, sugar and artificial sweeteners, dairy, baked goods, soda, and bread for three weeks while pregnant, I'm pretty sure I can do just about anything I set my mind to do.