Obstacles

I caught my boyfriend cheating this month. He just couldn't help himself. I don't hold grudges because I cheated too. The scale called and we just couldn't resist its charm. #sorryimnotsorry

We started Whole30 one week ago. We weighed ourselves before we began and weren't going to weigh ourselves until the 30 days were over. But we gave in and curiosity got the best of us. I was pleasantly surprised! After just a few days I had already lost weight.  This Whole 30 thing is hard, real hard.

Whole 30 is extreme paleo (if you don't know what the paleo diet is, google it. It's far too much to explain and I'm sure the interwebs will explain it better than I do). On Whole 30 you refrain from eating the following: corn, legumes (including beans, peanuts and peanut butter), processed foods, sugar (also no honey, agave, stevia, or other artificial sweeteners), no white potatoes, NO DAIRY (boo), and no grains (rice, quinoa, etc).

What this means is you can eat plenty of: lean meats, veggies, fruits (in moderation only), eggs a plenty and good fats (avocado, ghee, nuts, coconut butter). Remember, fat does not make you fat.

What's that? You don't believe me? Research it.

Fats like a McDonald's hamburger and fries make you fat. All the processed crap in it, tons of added sugars and fillers, they make you fat. Eating an entire avocado with your dinner will not make you fat. In fact on Whole 30 it's ENCOURAGED. Talk about heaven.

The first week was rough. There was one day where I spent my entire lunch sitting next to a cake in the lounge at work. A cake. Delicious cake. All that sugar. Mmm. But what's funny is it didn't bother me as much as it would have in the past. When I used to "diet" all the time I'd be desperately trying to stick to 1200 calories a day (while working out) and constantly fight that hungry gnawing in my belly. I failed time and time again. I would have caved and easily eaten some cake and would have felt horrible afterward.

On Whole 30 I'm completely FREE from counting calories. In fact I don't need to pay attention to my macros at all. I eat for fuel. I eat and feel satisfied. Do I miss stuff? You bet. Do I get really dog tired after working all day and knowing I not only need to cook a real dinner, but that I need to cook lunch for the next day as well? Oh god yes. There have been plenty of days where I wanted to throw in the towel this week but I kept pushing on.

Why? Why for gods sake to I do this to myself?!? (I've asked myself that too. Its okay if you think I'm crazy. Really, I won't blame you)

I push on because I am the only obstacle standing in my way. I am the only roadblock on my journey to fitness and health and success. This is a FACT. And this goes for you too. Yes YOU. Maybe there's something in your life that you want. It could be a better job. A bigger house. To lose weight. You're the only one stopping yourself.

Instead of cursing me out, just listen will ya?

In a world of ease, a world of quick results and fast times, we all expect things to be easy. I mean, when we are hungry there's fast food on every corner. When we want results with fitness I'm sure there's some gimmick out there that swears they can give you what you want in 6 weeks. Just drink these shakes a few meals a day! Do this program! Buy this preboost and weight loss tea! Try this cleanse! But let me tell you, you need to be ready to put in the effort to reap the rewards and in most cases it needs to be a life change!

I used to try all the new programs. I used to try all the new diets. I'd weigh myself obsessively and wonder what I was doing wrong because I was "trying so hard". But the truth is I wasn't. I wasn't giving myself my all because I was afraid. Because I was lazy. Because I wanted to blame my failures or lack of progress on someone else. But things just don't work that way. I just learned this and it was enlightening! When I go to the gym it's me vs me. I am competing with myself. I push myself to get stronger. I push myself to do better. I push myself to run further and faster. Because really, if I'm not seeing results it's purely my fault and no one else's.  For fitness, part of it is working out but an even bigger part is nutrition. I'm challenging myself to stick to Whole 30, changing my mindset about food, continuing to create new recipes and ideas. It feels good to challenge myself! It's incredible to find out what I'm capable of!

That being said, if you want something you need to be willing to change and be willing to go for it. Stop getting in your own way. Even if progress is slow (money put away in savings starting at $5 a month, or weight loss at 2# a month) it's STILL PROGRESS. Life is a journey. What's beautiful about it is its YOUR JOURNEY. You get to decide if you want to succeed, or if you want to stay where you're at. Either way enjoy the process and the journey.

On a side note here's another update: my hair has begun to fall out again. Big time. I relapsed into a bad habit and counted hairs. I got past 100 and had to stop. I lost about as much while brushing my hair post shower. I cried a lot. It was the first time I had cried like that over my hair in quite some time. Despite this setback I'm still focusing on the positive changes I'm making in my life over the things I DO have control of. Reminds me of the serenity prayer my dad used to say a lot. While I don't believe in god I still find it helpful.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.

That's all for now.
Namaste. Or some other hippy fair thee well.

Xo