For the first time, my physician gave me a concerning report from blood work. I am pre-diabetic.
My obesity likely exasperated my issues with influenza type A in December 2022. After spending several hours in the ER as desperate for relief as a procrastinator for flowers on Valentine’s Day, I knew I needed to make a change. I didn’t realize how drastic that change needed to be until the blood work came back.
So, I find myself once again on a low-carbohydrate diet. But this time it’s not so voluntary. It’s as essential as water to fish. It’s easier for me to combine it with intermittent fasting (IF) since low-carbohydrate eating is not possible on-the-go in my small town with few to zero healthy choices. And with my headlong dive into low-carb fasting, I went back to Dr. Jason Fung’s The Obesity Code in earnest.
His book, of all things, inspired me to seek the spiritual side of fasting as opposed to simple IF as a lifestyle choice or way of eating (WoE). God has blessed my prayer life immensely through this season, and I am so humbled and grateful for it. I asked for the Holy Spirit to bear the fruit of self-control in me, and God has graciously granted a cornucopia.
My average daily steps have gone from 3,500 to 10,000+. Walking while praying go together for me like coffee and a cigar. Being able to wake up to the early quiet, read, and prayer-walk is a wondrous, beautiful, simple gift from the Lord.
After my morning prayer, I take a cold shower. Yes. You read that correctly. Look up the health benefits. And the craziest thing? I feel so much better and cleaner than after a hot shower. The icy flow that cuts at first soothes like minty cream after 2-3 minutes.
My next new incorporation to a healthier lifestyle is homemade probiotic yogurt. I’ve read from Dr. William Davis of the newfound importance of gut health (the microbiome) and plan to learn more while I try restoring populations of healthy bacteria I starved while gluttonously eating like a child let lose in a bakery for years.
Prayer and meditation on the Lord are more so on my mind since I start my day with them and fast intermittently. I now call prayer needs to mind throughout the day as easily as hens to corn. God has answered my prayer and changed me, sanctifying me for the better recently. Praise Him.
Ryan Cornett 