A New Season and New Adventures

I love the Fall. I love the winter, spring and summer, too. But right now I'm really in love with Fall because it's just about to start in my area. Lots of beautiful colors, cooler weather, delicious food, family, lots of holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, friends, rain, and all sorts of things. And then on top of it, I'm moving in a few weeks. And yes, I'm excited. I love moving, too! It means a new adventure.

These next couple months are going to be ripe with exploration and awesomeness. And I know I've been neglecting the blog lately so I thought I'd give you guys a heads-up on what I've been doing, and a sneak peak on what I will be doing (and blogging about!).

What I've Been Doing:

• Started my junior year in high school
• Fell in love with a super amazing man
• Minimized a whole bunch, got my house to a much better place
• Filled more of my life with God (He's not everywhere yet, but someday He will be)
• Listened to lots of great music
• Hung out with friends, had fun
• Walked... a lot (for exercise, fun or transportation respectively)
• Fixed things with my mom. Our relationship is sooooo much better for it.
• Started planning for college (I'm aiming for MIT, wish me luck!)
• Started drawing again (I'd quit for a while)
• Got addicted to Pinterest
• Journaling like crazy!
• Spending (almost) every single day in my Bible
• Taking care of my health because I've been very, very sick lately (eating more whole foods, drinking more water, exercising, and eating more vegan and vegetarian foods)
• Building stronger relationships with friends, adult leaders and family
• Started writing long-hand letters to a new friend

What I Will Be Doing:

• Painting (mostly acrylic and maybe some watercolor)
• Taking more beautiful pictures
• Pumpkin spice coffee recipe, perfected
• Peppermint hot chocolate, perfected
• Moving to a new house (thankfully, not a new town. I love my tiny hick town <3)
• Carving jack-o-lanterns
• Growing even closer to God
• Writing sappy romance stories
• Bake lots of cookies with my younger siblings
• Teach my little sister and brother how to cook, and make it a priority for them to be helping in the kitchen
• Sewing my own clothes, among other things and projects
• Canning peaches, tomatoes, and possibly jam
• Cooking lots of goodies (apple butter, apple pie, pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice bread, spiced cider, pecan tart, vegan pumpkin scones, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, etc.)
• Reading (I did almost none of this all summer and I miss it)
• Jogging/Running/Body weight/Yoga or some other exercising... I need to be doing more. Lots more.

What will you be doing this fall? What do you want to do? What adventures have you been doing?

Intermittent Fasting Update

Weight Lost, in last 2 weeks: 4 pounds.

What worked:

• Taking occasional notes on mistakes, problems, and possible solutions. It allowed me to reflect on my choices, and make better choices the next day.
• Choosing healthier, lower calorie options to foods I already eat - I switched to fat free milk, low-fat or fat-free yogurt, egg white omelets, etc.
• Serving smaller portion sizes. I overate less.
• Fasting through dinner - from about 1pm, until breakfast the next day.
• Fasting twice a week.
• Tracking my weight every few days.
• Quitting drinking my calories - cutting out juice and soda and limiting the amount of creamer I used in my coffees worked super well.
• Drinking more water. This worked super well, because I just always carried a full refillable on me. 
• Setting an alarm on my phone to remind me when I'm supposed to be fasting.

What didn't work:

• Counting calories and sticking to a strict caloric number. I quickly got annoyed and quit counting.
• Quitting coffee. I love it too much, and I'd rather be fat and happy than miserable and caffeine deprived.
• Eating more protein. I don't know why, but it just didn't happen.
• Weighing myself every day. I usually forgot.
• Fasting through breakfast - it made me miserable and I ate more because I was miserable.
• I'm still not getting enough protein or iron. 
• I'm still eating too many carbs, and not enough vegetables.
• Fasting every day - ugh, don't try it. I got grouchy and mean.
• Exercising every day. I forgot and lost interest.

What I'm going to do different:

• Fasting twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
• Fasting starting at 1pm and going until the next morning.
• Focusing on high-protein foods.
• Eating at least 1 vegetable a day.
• No more counting calories, or sticking to a restrictive number.
• Continueing to drink my coffee.
• Weighing myself once a week.
• Focusing on lower-calorie, healthier alternatives.
• Trying to exercise for at least five minutes everyday.
• Schedule all my fasts into my phone calendar, with an accompanying alarm.

Overall, I like it. Intermittent fasting seems incredibly natural. It was easy and comfortable. And it takes pressure off the focus on eating super-low calorie foods because I'm going a while without calories, which naturally lowers my daily consumption. It takes away a lot of the pressure on my food choices, and makes eating more enjoyable and fun. :)