What's Up with Simply Fab?

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You might have gleaned from the home page content that I'm not a youngster, at least not chronologically.  Actually, I'll be 62 in September.  This is my first What's Up post and as promised, I'm starting today sharing my life's journey–Transformation.  If you see me out socializing, you probably wouldn't guess that I'm a closet introvert. 🚪 Maybe because 'introverts' are often misunderstood.  For me, I enjoy lots of creative alone time.  I'm basically a home-body.  But, I have my moments.I enjoy time with friends, family, even people-watching when I'm not at home writing, ✍🏽editing, or creating digital designs.  I also love to paint, 🎨though I haven't spent much time with my acrylics lately.  So, I'll tell you about what I'm up to right now.

Today is Day 1 of my planned 14 Day water fast. Trust me, when I tell you that I am excited for this fast.  For me it's a detox fast, and losing some pounds will be a bonus.  It's hard to think about, talk about and write about enjoying life to the fullest, when you've got aches, pains and inflammation.  This past year and a half I've been going through it.  The worst was a few months ago when I could hardly walk without intense pain. Turns out it was the resurgence of sciatica in my right groin area.  I took the time to heal that was required and eventually got back to work.  But, there's nothing like an illness to shake some sense into you.

Lying and hobbling around made me reevaluate everything and everyone in my life; starting with myself. I've been blessed to understand a lot about human nature, what makes us tick and stick.  I even simplified into a three step process how to transform one's life.  "And, here I am," I thought to myself,  "Sick, Fat, and feeling like I'm nearly dead." 🤧When I tell you that at the end of every dark tunnel, there is light, 💡you can believe me, or not. But, with all transparency, I am sharing with you that my sickness led to the writing of my first Workbook for Women. 📑 A dear sister-friend of mine, encouraged me to put my stuff in writing.  She didn’t mean in my composition notebooks at home.  She meant, in writing, for other people to benefit from. See, sometimes when you have a gift, 🎁you take it for granted and forget to use it to your benefit and share it for the benefit of others.

I was journaling, 📔but not documenting my development process.  Deciding to create the workbook forced me to be systematic about how to heal every area of my life. Writing this workbook, creating and using its contents is what helped me get to where I am in my journey today, and I am so grateful. Now, back to My Fast. 🍽️

I've been planning an extended fast since the beginning of the year, then I got sick.  I've started and stopped several times, but still each day of fasting helped.  But, not enough to see a significant change in how l was feeling physically. You'll soon see some social media footage about my fasting journey and I hope you'll cheer me on along the way.  I'm sharing this because I can and because when one person is successful it means others can be as well.

I’m also sharing this new page because SF4L's mission is an outgrowth of my personal mission--To be my best self,  live my best life and facilitate for others who desire the same. This is how I'm starting ‘the next, best chapter’ of my life.  I wish you the best in finding your new beginning.  

✌🏽& 🙏🏽

Simply Fab, out 🙂

So, today is Day 3 of my fast.  It's about 3pm and honestly, by about 1pm, I was tired. But, I’m getting some energy back and I’m at the computer once again. Update: 

Day 3 –

Happy news – Detoxing is on point and I’m losing weight to boot. The last time I weighed myself was April 28th. Unfortunately,I forgot to weigh in on Day 1 (May 1st).  But, from the 28th until this morning, I’ve lost an insane 11.4 pounds. 🎊 

As for how I’m feeling–kind of like my body’s tightening, not in a bad way, just kind of weird. I had a slight headache 🤯in the early morning, and felt a bit light headed in the afternoon. I’m making a point of drinking more water and tea, and taking things slowly overall.  

As for yesterday, (Day 2) – I felt pretty good; got a good night’s rest though I was up and down to the bathroom a few times – I don’t know if it was ketones from detoxing or drinking water too late in the evening or what. But, I went to bed later than usual at around 11:30 p.m., determined to keep working on my website. (Let me know what you think, okay.🙂) 

Physically, I had a few aches in my left ankle where I had injured it a couple years back and felt a few heart palpitations in the afternoon.  Emotionally, by around 3:00 I was really tired, and by 5:00 a bit irritated mostly because I still had stuff to do, but really wanted to sleep, LOL. Fortunately, I went to bed early by 8:30pm. It felt so good to lay down. 😌 

✌🏽& 🙏🏽

Simply Fab, out 🙂

 So, I don't know what it is but this afternoon, I’ve been obsessed with watching vegan cooking videos. It's not that I’m hungry or thinking of ending my fast. I was thinking about what I was going to eat after the fast. I looked at everything from alkaline recipes 🧑🏽‍🍳 to vegan cheeses 🧀, to easy to make healthy tortillas and breads🍞. I’m not even thinking about eating cooked foods for a while, but I was so into it, LOL.😄  It’s amazing how many ways whole foods can be used to create healthy meals. I never even thought of jimacma noodles. Who knew?  I’m a bit of a foodie and looking forward to making a variety of raw cultural recipes 🥗after my extended fast. 

How I’m feeling?

By around 3pm I was ready to rest–too funny. But, I’m not going to nap to make sure I can sleep through the night, which is more important. I think my body is healing and needs more rest. I’ve noticed that taking time to do simple breathing exercises 🚶🏽‍♀️helps with my energy.  As for my ankle🦶🏽, I feel a lot less pain, and I am moving much better, so I’m assuming the inflammation is clearing up. I’m down another two pounds since yesterday. 🪅

I’m so thankful for this part of my journey and excited about my health🍃 progress.  Thanks for sharing and feel free to share your journey.  

✌🏽& 🙏🏽

Simply Fab, out 🙂

Body Better 😆Today was a good day. Normally when I fast, my energy picks up by day three. But, this has been different.  Maybe it’s because I’m detoxing and not getting the toxins out fast enough. I’ll have to figure this out.  But, my mobility is definitely better and I’m barely achy at all.  This is a good thing.  
Out & About
As for the day, it’s Cinco De Mayo! 💃🏽 I planned a fantastic evening out with one of my daughters. We explored an authentic tea 🍵house in Atlanta – Wai’s Gong Fu Tea House. It was such a fabulous experience.  I’m a bit of a foodie, but since I’m fasting (drinking only water, teas and coffee–no additives) and my daughter loves tea, it was a perfect option.