First Fasting Day Reflections

I learned a lot on my first day of fasting:

• Don't go grocery shopping on your fast day.
• Eating a protein-rich breakfast carries me through til about 1 pm. 
• A lot of my eating is situational, not in response to hunger.  On a normal grocery shopping day, for example, I would not have eaten breakfast with the children and would have stopped at the sweet little cafe in the store, had a coffee and a pastry or a breakfast sandwich and looked at magazines and made my shopping list.  If I had later stopped at IKEA, as I did today, I probably would have gotten a coffee and cinnamon roll as a little "treat" to reward myself for traipsing through two long floors of IKEA to see one wardrobe and pick up a duvet cover. 
• 12:45 pm -- Right now I've stopped moving around and am doing work at the computer.  I'm distracted because I am hungry (so am writing to make sure that I stay on track).  I've had seltzer and broth.  I haven't had anything to eat since 7:30.  My stomach is empty (not rumbling, just nauseated, which is my response to hunger) and I am working on a headache.  But I believe that this feeling will pass.  I am not going to open the fridge, but I am going to say the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and continue to do my work. 
• It's 1:14 -- I've been feeling nauseated and headachy for about 30 minutes -- wonder how long til it passes?
• It's 1:52 -- The acute nausea passed at about 1:30.  I've just gotten out of the shower, where I repaired to see whether a quick dousing would perk me up a bit (it did).  Now back to work.  I still have a headache between my eyes, but it's not too bad.
• 2:30 pm. -- Now I'm starting to get nauseated again and my headache is getting worse.  Time for a cup of tea.
• 2:45 p.m.  I'm almost done with my report.  It's been a slog.  Now I have to leave to pick the chickadees up from school. 
• 4:07 pm.  Headache.  Hungry.  3.5 hours to go.  More tea.
• 4:38 pm.  If you can believe it, I just got back from driving Chickadee #1 to dance class.  The place she takes it is about 1.5 miles away from home.  I left at 4:09, got there at about 4:20, and got back here at 4:39.  I really hate the DC area sometimes (well, honestly, every time I drive).  Traffic jams are much harder to take when you are hungry, by the way.  Did I mention that I could eat?  LOL.
• 6:30 pm.  I had a difficult time making dinner. The chickadees got Tyson Dinosaur Chicken nuggets and sea salt french fries with broccoli and applesauce. The fries burned a little and I actually ate one or two of them, I was that hungry. Next time, I'm going to try sucking on a peppermint or an ice cube while preparing dinner or chewing gum.
• 7:42 pm.  Ahhh.  Dinner is over.  We started eating at 7 rather than 7:30, but all-in-all, I think I was pretty successful today.  I still have a headache though.  I made the chicken and asparagus stir fry that I mentioned yesterday.  It was a bit salty -- I didn't have either low-sodium soy sauce or chicken broth.  I'd definitely suggest using low-sodium versions of those.  I had a clementine for dessert.

I'm pretty pleased with myself today.  I'll leave you with a quote from the Psalms:

If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is mine and all its fullness.  Will I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?  Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.  Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you shall glorify me.  (Psalm 50, 12-15)