...it's gonna cost ya!...

Ok...I'm just gonna be straight up honest.  I always thought eating healthy was for boring people that like gross food!  I know...an immature view, but nonetheless, it was MY viewpoint for most of my life.  It was easy to rationalize bad choices because I could say that I believed in "moderation in all things".  I could say that "God, put all these things on the Earth for us to enjoy and use."  Who wants to argue with that?  You know what they say about talking about politics and religion...  Sure, a smart person could argue and say "But what about drugs?" and I would come up with some snappy comment and walk away still thinking I was right and they were wrong.

This line of thinking makes rationalizations very easy.  It also leads to confusion as to why we may not be meeting our fitness goals which leads to excuses like "I feel tired and sluggish because I'm getting older." or "Women can't have great abs after they've had babies." or "I'm just not as genetically gifted as those other people at the gym.  That's why I perform poorly."  While not everyone can be energetic and #1 with a six pack, we can all certainly be better than we usually expect we can.

I was always just average size to on the verge of chubby growing up.  Then after I had children, I woke up one day at 200 lbs.  I decided to make a change and I worked very hard in the gym and I was careful with my diet.  The problem was that I still ate too little of the right stuff and too much of the wrong stuff.  I just watched my portions and then killed myself in the gym...6 days a week...almost 2 hours a day.  For YEARS, I out ran my poor diet with this plan.  About a year ago, I started to notice changes.  I still looked great by most people's standards but I felt different and I didn't feel like I looked as lean.  I noticed that instead of being in the top 3 finishers at the gym, I was slowly moving towards the bottom.  I hated it, but I was too arrogant to change.

Being a Crossfit trainer for almost 4 years, I was aware of the Paleo diet but it went against my "I don't believe in diets and especially not diets that cut out whole food groups" policy.  Besides, I was sure that it would never work for a girl like me that had eaten OUT for lunch...EVERYDAY for the past 8 years and ate out 4-5 nights a week as a general rule.  It wasn't until I started really loosening up my diet over time as I faced some personal problems and pain over the past year that I started to really become unhappy with both the appearance of my body as well as the function of it.  I had heartburn 3-4 times a week.  I regularly ran on 4 hours of sleep and I was not working out near as much as I had in the past.  Doing workouts was a drudgery.  I felt like I was dragging a weight behind me...every day.  I felt justified with the poor choices that had lead me to this place because I was in such internal despair.

As I've gone through the stages of loss, mourning, and evolution that I am still very much NOT done with...I have changed.  I've learned that arrogance and stubborn will don't help me be better.  I've learned that sometimes, we THINK we are sacrificing but maybe we aren't really sacrificing as much as we should or could. I feel like I am finally starting to get back to where I want to be...or even better.  I decided to do the "WHOLE 30 CHALLENGE" with some of the people from my gym I train at.  I invited anyone that wanted to join me to join me on Facebook and to my surprise there are over 800 people in this group now! Secretly, I feared failing...but I also knew that if I wanted it badly enough...I could do it and I did.  I made it through 30 days with not a single cheat!  30 days of no sugar, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, grains, dairy, or legumes!!!

After a total of 40 days since my start, I've lost 10lbs and lost a total of 6 inches on my body, but what I lost is NOTHING compared to what I have gained!  I gained confidence in my ability to change again.  I lost that somewhere in the shuffle of feeling like my life was secretly imploding.  I learned to open my mind to new ideas and became willing to do things that I never really liked and wasn't very good at...like COOKING!  I became more comfortable with being different and asking for help.  The WHOLE 9 website says "Let us change your life!"  I thought..."Whatever.  Nice catch phrase." but it has indeed changed my life and although they hear it every day I'm sure...I can't thank Melissa and Dallas Hartwig enough for the knowledge they have armed me with!

It wasn't easy.  In fact, the detox was almost 2 weeks of HELL!  I was tired and lethargic and emotional.  I felt achy and broke out in a rash but I committed myself to 30 days NO MATTER WHAT and I never gave up hope.  Many people will start and then quit with the excuse that this must not be healthy.  NO...what you've done to your body for years is unhealthy and your body is pissed.  Give yourself time to adjust and change.  It doesn't happen over night!  I'm not very good at planning or cooking ahead, but I always made sure I had plenty of food here at the house to cook and wasn't afraid to try new things.  I've changed my view on healthy eating.  I try to buy high quality food...grass fed beef, range free chicken, cage free/grain fed eggs, and organic veggies when I can because I now know that it DOES make a difference both in taste and in the way I feel!

Now that I am through the 30 days, I have had very few"cheats" here and there but I try to "cheat" as smart as possible and keep it to a minimum.  I realize that everything I eat is a CHOICE.  I'm either eating food that makes me healthier or less healthy.  It's that simple.  Eating healthy is not for boring people that like gross food.  Eating healthy is for people that want better and want to treat their body right.  Eating healthy is for people that are adventurous and enjoy trying new things and experiencing new flavors.

If you want something different out of your fitness, but more importantly, YOUR LIFE...you have to pay the price!  You may need to look at your diet rather than just what you do in the gym.  It will not be easy or always fun, but it's worth it.  The bottom line is that if you want to be strong and healthy...it's gonna cost ya!  Are you willing to pay the price???