7-Food Wrap Up

New Braunfels, Texas. Note: Shopping for 7 foods is really quite simple. Grocery trips last no longer than 15 minutes, unless you're getting real creative.

We have celebrated the end of a dedicated month without the wide varieties of food we love so much, there might have been major stomach pains in the breaking of the food fast, but we got through it. One month without all the delicious options of food at our fingertips, this by far has to be the hardest month. Jen might have designed it this way when creating the 7-Study. I really do feel invincible heading into the Clothes portion of the fast.

But before I move forward, because boy am I ready to, let me tell you some things I learned. While this study helped us place ourselves in someone else's boots, and see what it might be like to live with less, and figure out how to make the pinch of the fast count for significant change, the greatest lessons I learned came from learning things about myself.

Like my relationship with food. Food is joy, it is entertainment, it is an activity. Once it is removed there is a whole lot of extra space in life. So what do I do in those moments when all I want is to have a special moment eating a delicious treat and finding supernatural energy in a cup of coffee? I fill it elsewhere. I would write, I would ride my bicycle more, I found myself dabbling in more hobbies that normal, arts and crafts, drumming, making special things for special people. Makes me wonder now if the amount of energy and attention focused into the pleasure and activity found in food somewhat strips our creativity from other expressions of life. When your boundaries are tight, and there is a very limited amount of indulgence you can have with food, creativity becomes channeled elsewhere.

What is the significance to this other than potentially making me a more interesting person? Well, I keep thinking, why does the word "Fast" specifically mean "to abstain from food?" Food is probably the strongest physical need we feel, our desire and need for food can somewhat control us. I once heard a friend tell his wife that if she ever wants to know why he is angry, it is pretty much always going to be a need for one of three things: food, sleep or sex. Our lack of food (and other things) can literally drive us to anger. And when you add things like sugar, caffeine and salt into the mix, those cravings become like little devils sitting on your shoulder. Detoxing from those three alone is enough to make a person relapse. And even though we were very completed in nourishment throughout this month fast, the physical and emotional relationship we have with food is a pretty fierce force of nature.

The breaking of this relationship, and the transition to a new mind was a real struggle. But the biggest battle was suddenly realizing an emotional attachment you have been blind to your whole life. And as the blindfolds come off, raw, unseen emotions unveiled. I want to take a moment and thank my boyfriend here, for putting up with all of my personalities throughout the food fast. One day I would go on and on about how great I felt with all the foods I was eating and how I was certain I could do 7 for life! And then there were the days when I would cry about not wanting anything to do with 7 ever again, and if he told me I couldn't eat something one more time I swear I was going to.....

I am sorry Matthew, your patience was truly designed for a fiery woman like me.

We all had some character shaping throughout the Food Fast, as well as group shaping. Ten women uniting for one mission was not as smooth and by-the-book as one might have hoped. We all needed each other, so when one was weak, it was all the more battle to stay strong and true. When one was strong, personal dedication felt more like a delight than just pushing through the day.  The feeling of a team was crucial. At the end of the day, knowing your sister was right there with you, in the struggle and the triumph was a superseding strength. 

Now that the food fast is over, you might be very surprised to find out what I am eating..... pretty much all the same 7 foods! That's right friends, I am not completely sick of and sworn off avocados, sweet potatoes and eggs. They are all still daily a part of my food choices. Main reason being, I still love them! Another big reason is, they really, really did make me feel awesome and healthy. But of course, I am thoroughly enjoying and appreciating all the varieties of vegetables I can eat ( weird, but that was something I missed tremendously) and I can not tell you how much I delight in the moments when I can eat a spoon full of honey or go to my favorite bakery for a treat.

Buying local, being conscientious of food sources and having a simplistic view on buying and consuming foods are significant transformations in my mind that I don't see, having learned and experienced what I did over the month of September, ever leaving my consciousness.

In all of these ways, I hope that transformation, the ones I have noticed and ones yet to be revealed, stay true in my heart and continue to evolve as the transition to a new fast begins. I hope this for every woman a part of this study and their beautiful hearts that seek to live better.