BLE: Fasting and Love

I love how so many lessons I have learned during my years eating for nutrition and searching for answers to better health all show up in Bright Line Eating, and in Susan's Facebook Live today she answered questions for over two hours and one of the topics was about the healing our bodies do overnight. She suggested that we could break our fast with water in the mornings in order to extend the healing time gained by fasting. There is a Bright Line for meals, meaning we only eat three meals a day, and never a bite after dinner. "Front loading' our meals is suggested - eating earlier rather than later in the day - to optimize the fasting period at night and I have slipped into the rhythm of having my meals about 7, 11, and 4 each day or thereabouts. This gives me on average about 15 hours each night where my immune system can work on healing me.

So in essence, Intermittent Fasting.

Years ago I would make a point of drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning. It's such a wonderful sensation to feel your body hydrate and come alive inside. So another habit to reform, water first thing in the morning. Maybe that extra hour or two of fasting will help with the inflammation that is still causing pain in my knees and hips. At least I hope that's what it is. So many years of pounding away with an extra hundred pounds or so leaves me afraid there is damage in there.

But I am hoping for inflammation and that the pain will be receding soon.

It was a challenging day keeping up with C, the house, everything in general. But I did not taste a bit of the various chocolate items I had purchased at the store in hopes of tempting C into eating something. (He has barely eaten anything this week and had asked for chocolate sticks. I did not buy KitKats.) I did not steal a bite of A's grilled cheese she left half uneaten on the dining room table. And it wasn't hard. Not really. The thought came, "Just pick it up and take a bite, it will be so crunchy and delicious." And my answer was a kind, "No thanks, we will just feel badly about it later. Let's stay Bright instead."  And there was no argument. Just love and compassion towards the part of me that wanted the bite was enough to calm the urge and silence the voice. Just Awesome. Bright Line Freedom at work.

I did some cooking this morning; Andouille sausage in the instant pot with lots of kale & onions, and some potato. Creole seasoning, Mrs. Dash Onion blend, red pepper flakes & Cardamom went in with a couple cups of chicken broth. Cooked on high for 40 minutes, then a quick release. I measured out three meals consisting of:

3oz Adzuki beans (canned), 2oz Sausage, 2oz potato, 4oz kale & onions, 3\4 cup broth.

It feels better splitting my protein, and eventually I imagine I will be mostly vegetarian. But in the meantime I was very happy with my lunch and glad there are two more meals ready to go. The rest of the sausage and the veggies are stored separately in the fridge to combine as desired into more meals.

Better get back to work. Big Sigh.