Follow up to yesterday's post

I am keto adapted.  That means I am adapted to a ketogenic diet.  So, the fat burning machinery in my body is elevated compared to what it would be if I was eating the standard high carb American diet laced with high glycemic load pseudo food made by Satan's helpers. 

As a result, I can eat the following meal from 5AM to 6AM yesterday:
1 quart of hard boiled eggs
1 tin of sardines in olive oil
a small package (about the size of a deck of cards) of duck liver mousse (high fat yum!)
for dessert natural style peanut butter (that has had the oil poured off) mixed with salted cows milk butter (about 1:1 ratio) and unsweetened coco powder to taste
all was washed down with a large mug of salted black coffee and as much water as was needed
supplements were C500, B50, and a slow mag

I did not get hungry until 4:30 ish PM.  That is a solid 10 hours of no hunger after one meal.  The sensation was more like an awareness that my stomach was emptying out rather than a raging need to eat NOW!  I did have another large mug of salted black coffee at lunch time (appetite suppressant?) to wash down more water soluble vitamin supplements (C500 and B50).  The rest of the day, I drank plain water only. 

That was my only meal of the day.  hunger pangs during the rest of the evening were mild and temporary.  I did not feel hungry when I went to bed and I did not feel hungry this morning when I got up. 

I feel mildly hungry now as I write this, so I will eat another high fat low carb meal soon, as my pre workout meal.  I'm looking forward to doing eccentric work with heavy squats and pull ups. 

Peace

Better Ramadan through suhoor only sawm

I am not Muslim, but I can appreciate the desire to become more in tune with one's creator.  The daily fasting or sawm of the holy month of Ramadan is a major way that Muslims use to become more in tune.  Sawm is one of the five pillars of Islam. 

The way sawm of Ramadan is usually done can be detrimental to the practitioner because it decreases night time sleep quality.  As a result, day time alertness is compromised. This can interfere with effective daily prayers (salat another of the five pillars).

If sawm is done by eating only a predawn meal then night time sleep quality will be improved.  Better sleep will result i n better day time alertness and better prayer.  Also, the food that is not eaten in the evening during iftar can be donated to the needy thus improving one's alms giving or zakat, yet another of the five pillars.  Iftar should be a water only fast breaking to avoid dehydration.  

To make one meal per day through the month of Ramadan more feasible, a low carbohydrate high fat ketogenic diet would do the trick.  So meat, nuts, greens, olives (olive oil), and high fat dairy would be the main menu items.  Go savory and salt to taste.  Avoid sweets.  Plain black coffee could be used to wash it all down. 

When hunger comes (usually by the afternoon) it will come and go.  When the hunger is present, contemplate the plight of the less fortunate.  If you are hungry at bed time, know that suhoor awaits at the end of sleep and be thankful.  You may not even be hungry when you wake up, but eat the predawn meal anyway so that you can be better able to sustain good works and good prayer throughout the holy month. 

Peace,
Paul

Peril of pride

It seems to me that Lucifer became Satan as a result of pride.  He wanted to be the biggest noise at the party.  He wanted to be bigger than God.  Because his desire was and is doomed to failure, he is envious of all that is of God. 

As a result, it seems to me that Satan hates God's creation and would do anything he could to vitiate or pervert creation. 

Also, it seems to me that Satan's power is derived through tempting beings that have free will (humans) with increased power of their own.  So, he relies on us to destroy creation by tempting us with the knowledge of good and evil or the power to control our own destinies independently from God's designs. 

One such temptation is manifested in the form of monoculture agriculture.  Monoculturing gives us more food to fuel increased population growth.  This has given us bigger armies throughout civilized history and thus more power to defeat our enemies.  Monoculturing requires the destruction of entire ecosystems (parts of God's creation) in order to grow one  species of plant.  This is a perversion of creation caused by Satan successfully tempting us. 

How can we avoid this temptation of power?

Perennial polyculture is a better way to do agriculture that more closely mimics God's creation.  Eating foods derived from perennial plants that grow with other species of perennial plants is a good way to go.  My favorite example of this is pastured meat (grass fed beef).  Remember, Abel, the shepherd, was favored over Cain, the tiller of the land. 

I must worship creation now by going outside to exercise with the help of God's gravity.  After that, I will move the goats that are helping me to manage a pasture. 

Thanks be to God

Genesis 1:31

New International Version (NIV)

³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

John 3:16

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

 

 

My interpretation of these verses is that God loves all of creation, not just select parts of it.  We humans are a part of this wonderful creation.  Also, treating any part of creation badly is a show of disrespect, an act of desecration, and an act of hatred toward the creator.  

 

I assert that an individual can begin to honor creation and the creator by being sure to take good care of oneself.  Like pebbles cast into water, the effects of taking good care of ourselves will emanate outward like the ripples.  We will provide better examples to our loved ones.  We can teach by better example, and as a result,produce better fruits.  I believe our children are our most important fruits that we pass on to the world.  

Matthew 12:33

New International Version (NIV)

³³ “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.

 

Also, I believe if we take good care of ourselves as part of creation then we are more likely to treat the rest of creation honorably as well.  This is another form that the ripples can take.  

 

So, my mission is to be the best example that I can be for my three teenaged children and to be the best example that I can be for my someday grandchildren and great grands.  Also, I hope that this blog will inspire others to strive to be good trees as well.  All of my posts in this blog will relate to how I believe we can provide better examples of creation/temple care and thereby honor God all the better.  

Thanks be to God.