Seek God

I've done two 3 days juice cleanses before. This is my first 5 day. It's definitely been easier this time around for a few reasons, I believe. I still got a late afternoon headache on day 3, and felt a little weaker than usual on day 4, but overall, my spirt and body feel tremendous. The key to a cleanse is to drink a lot of water during the day. I tend to get headaches easily when I don't eat or drink enough, and this has been no exception. I've reminded myself to carry around a water bottle while I'm out and stopped for an iced tea a few times (definitely not on the plan b/c of the caffeine, but I needed it at the time). Yesterday during dinner, I ate 4 olives and a date we picked up from the farmers market that morning. I know... not a big deal, but just recording every detail for you. :)

My stomach is much flatter than it was a week ago and it's definitely "shrunk". By that I mean I can't push out my stomach to make myself look 4 months pregnant if I tried. Which also means that when I reintroduce solid foods, I will naturally eat smaller portions because my stomach will be full faster. In Reshaping It All, I talk about eating until your satisfied, not full. After you've eaten half your meal, pause and ask yourself if you're satisfied. If you are, wrap up the other half for later, or bring it home for one of your family members to munch on as a snack. Most of the time, we'll see the portion of food on our plate and eat it without considering if we really need that much. You'll be surprised at how much less you'll eat by asking yourself when you're satisfied, not full and listening to your body. Let me know how that works for you! 

Aside from having done a cleanse before and knowing what to expect, I believe a biggest reason this cleanse has been so good this time around is because I've been in the right frame of mind and because I feel connected to and am seeking God on my journey. I've invited God each and every morning to join me and help me make good decisions minute by minute. I've been prayerful and diligent to get together with Him each morning and talk with Him. He's encouraged me, comforted me, held me, given me hope, given me strength, given me patience, given me endurance, given me passion, and sustained me. Obviously, I'm not just talking about this through the cleanse, but in life. I can't do one aspect of life without Him because when I try, I either fail, or am left so empty I don't understand where I went wrong. "Oh, I forgot to bring God on this journey". Or, "oh, I forgot to ask God about whether or not its something He wants for my life". And with every prayer, I must follow up by reading the word of God. If I don't, I'm simply going on my own gut feelings as to what I think God wants me to do. Do you ever just take things as a sign? Oh, I prayed about that... and isn't it a coincidence that this just happened? It must be God answering! Um.... it certainly could be, but the bible gives us instruction, and if our whimsy feelings don't coincide with the written word of God, it safe to say, it's not an answer from God. 

So prayerfully offer up EVERYTHING to God. Seek His face in your journey. But don't neglect to read your bible every day. His words will give you strength and endurance for the road ahead of you. The holy spirit will nudge you on those little decisions you're making that could be better. Be eager to do what is good. 

If you feel silly about asking God to help you lose weight or these last 10 pounds,  here's a prayer that might be helpful. Talk to God about something like this:

Heavenly Father,

It feels a little silly or even vain to be asking you to help me lose weight. I know that you love me no matter what size I am or what the number is on the scale, but Lord, I don't feel as good and as healthy as I'd like to be. My body is a holy temple, built for you to dwell in. I want to honor that. I want my body to feel good and I want to display a self-controlled life on the outside as well as the inside. With the power of the holy spirit who lives in me, help me to exercise self-control today. Nudge me to say no to the foods that aren't beneficial to me. Encourage me to do the work it takes to get this weight off. I want to feel like the beautiful women you created me to be on the inside and outside. Allow me to hear your spirit today and talk to me when I'm faced with a difficult decision. Even if that  decision is between eating a few cookies or eating a peach instead. Let me see your glory and find the miracles in the self control you give me today. Amen.