Category: life

Today I received a hard copy of a magazine I have been working on as its editor.

Seeing all my work put together in front of me, in a 40 page magazine gave me so much joy.

Although there were a few negative reviews and some hitches here and there, nothing gave me more joy than to find the following message in my WhatsApp messenger from the number one person concerned;

Saw the CMF Magazine. What can I say, but great, beautiful, outstanding, unique, you are a gem. Very, very well done. Will buy 20 copies, please 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿💃🏾💃🏾💃🏾💋💋💋💋💋❤️❤️❤️👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽. Thanks for a job excellently done. Love it, love it, love it.

I’m elated.

In July 2023, my older sister came home to visit and I couldn’t stop starring at her. She looked amazing. The last time I had seen her before July was in February, when we all came together to celebrate my parents on their 76^th and 77^th birthdays.

I wondered what the magic was, just 5 months and the change was remarkable. She had lost a lot of weight and her waist line was very visible. Her skin was another thing entirely, she looked really healthy. When I asked her what the secret was, she told me she was logging in her 10,000 daily steps along with intermittent fasting.

We had this conversation on the 2^nd of July, I started my intermittent fasting journey the next day. It has been 6 months of slow but obvious results. I have been having a problem with meeting up with the daily steps, but I hope to work on that in this New Year.

Barely 3 weeks into my journey, I started to see results and I got really curious and I began to read about intermittent fasting. I was able to explain to myself why I had tried it before but with zero results. I found out intermittent fasting will not produce positive results without consistent autophagy.

Autophagy is that phase in your fasting window where your body begins to breakdown and reuse old cell parts. It gets rid of non-functioning cell parts and makes new ones. This happens when the cells are deprived of nutrients. I have tried a ketogenic diet in the past and so I recognized that the process was similar.

Apparently in my previous attempt at intermittent fasting failed because I wasn’t starving the cells of nutrients. I thought I could eat this or that. I thought the whole idea was to avoid the big meals or the high calorie meals. I am beginning to think that may be the problem for several others who complain about zero results.

• I went to Google play store and found an application I would use to track my activities; I found one called Fastic…it has been very helpful.
• I picked a fasting window. Initially, I was doing a 16:8 (sixteen hours of fasting and eight hours of eating) but when I got a hang of it by October, I moved up to 18:6.
• I researched and made a list of fluids I could take during my fasting period without disrupting the process; water, mineral water, apple cider vinegar, tea (green or black is fine),coffee.
• I learned to plan and pack my lunch before work.
• I planned distractions and tasks for the day to prevent me from thinking about eating.
• I worked on my sleep hours. Sleeping early prevents me from reaching for a night snack.

I have been feeling lighter and healthier, my right knee and ankle still hurt a bit but overall I would say it has been worth it.

Statistics

How I started: 102kg

Where I am: 94kg

Wish me luck!

I mentioned in a previous post how I intended to have rest in the year 2023. I had drawn out a list of every area of my life that seemed difficult and stressful and I planned to achieve rest in those areas.

If I was to give a score on how much achievement I made, I would say a 7 out of 10.

All this achievement couldn’t have been possible without God.

…but there was a human, always a step beside of me, sometimes ahead and sometimes just behind me.

She made life so easy.

I had decided to focus on my office job and cut back my hours at my bake shop to allow me grow my career in Accounting. I couldn’t have done it without this human.

She stepped up, showed up at the bake shop like it was hers. Kept my books and paid the bills so diligently.

It was hectic for her, I could see… Yet, in the midst of this, she would call to find out if I had had lunch or if I had any outstanding chores I hadn’t gotten to because my office hours were crazy.

She went out of her way to do the hardest things…for me.

I don’t know what I would do if she wasn’t there, maybe I would have been just okay…but I wouldn’t have been great.

I owe her so much.

…but now I need to shout out for the world to hear;

I am thankful to Chiamaka. She was and is a blessing to me.

Chiamaka, you are appreciated.

It’s been four nights and three days.

I had planned a telling on here…

Like the wise one Derrick J Knight.

A daily update on my time away.

…but it’s all just passed so quickly.

I’m beginning to worry someone is turning the clock

A little faster than they should.

Clock…another alien in these few days.

I’ve been no slave to time…my entire time isn’t clock guided…and I think I like it.

My son? I’ve made sure he isn’t bored and lonely.

I will tell his tales…

4am this morning I got a call

“Baby I’m coming to join you” my husband says.

Someone’s lonely I see.

At the end of 2022, I picked my word word for the year 2023.

The word was REST.

I used the scripture Exodus 33:¹⁴ as a guide and even when things at work began to get really hectic and stressful later in the year, I still focused on getting rest in my mind, my home and several other areas in my life.

To round up the year of rest, I decided to do Christmas a little differently.

I am taking a 7 day break to be by myself and rest.

Away from work, chores and everything else.

Away… to think, meditate, read and write.

So today, bags packed and mind ready, I left for a town, five hours away. It’s a highland and it’s a lot cooler than my own town.

My son is with me and he’s very excited too.

I’ve never done anything like this before and I hope this is just the first of several more.

Wish me luck.

After church today, I did a few chores and meal prepping for later and then I had a light Lunch.

I tried to watch the latest production of Abraham’s story, a 2023 movie titled ‘His Only Son’… 25 minutes into the movie and I’m nodding off, it was a hot and sunny afternoon.

I decided to take a nap for a bit before my scheduled Alumni Year end party… Wrong move.

Yup… I woke up weak and tired because of the heat… I’m not a siesta person.

I dragged myself to the party. It was a good one. Lots of hellos and catching up.

Next thing, I hear someone say “it’s game time”. It’s one game only… “It’s a sit and stand game” she says.

I’ve never heard of it…

Nope, I’ll pass.

Why?

It took the help of my son to get my shoes on before I left home… Today isn’t my day for activities.

Yup, I’m that weak today.

In a class work, SonTer was asked to draw a man… He drew this;

His teacher didn’t know or care who it was.

He thought it was a good sketch. He gave him a 5 out of 5.

I smiled when I saw the sketch

It came from his subconscious mind… A face he had become familiar with…A face I had made a part of his life.

Because it was a part of mine.

Our every day life and activities play a big role in our children’s lives.

Let’s be conscious of the unconscious influence we make.

Children don’t always learn from what we tell them to do, they pick up on what they see and hear from us…

The image is meant to be Steven Furtick of Elevation Church