If you aren't familiar, you can find all the info at the link above, but I've chosen two things in my life to utterly blow out of the water before New Year's Eve so that I start 2014 the strongest I've ever been! On The 50 Day Challenge blog you will also find two articles I think are worth reading, one on how habits shape your life and the other on setting goals that challenge you, not defeat you.
Honestly, I'm excited at the chance to write my own life precisely how I want it to be. One of my two things is of course health (nutrition and weight). Above, you can see my approved food list for the duration. I thought it was going to be really hard to walk away from processed and dine-out food, but I want this breakthrough so badly, that I've just hyper focused on it and I refuse to let this opportunity pass by. It was hard the first few days, and there are still bumps, but I see enough progress already to encourage me to keep going.
The way I see it, I've been slowly working on this weight loss for two years now. This summer I did the unthinkable, I gained weight and with all the changes in the rest of my life, this is the time.
I will not take my challenges with weight into 2014.
I had a bumpy start, the depression was pretty bad at first. I think it was enhanced by the change in my diet. I went overnight from pizza and burgers, to only fresh produce and select protein sources I could cook at home. I started taking St John's Wort again yesterday and it's already shifted my mood. Although because of what I'm eating now, even after just four days, I can tell the difference when I eat something my body does not appreciate. Gluten for instance, something a psychic told me over a year ago I should avoid. Well I haven't been eating any this week, but today at lunch I had flour tortillas and I crashed so hard afterwords. So I think I'm going to keep gluten out of my diet for a while.
I know a lot of people find specialized diets difficult and expensive, but the way I see it, it's not a "special" diet, it's a natural diet. It's what we were created to eat in the first place. A diet saturated with fat, chemicals and pesticides, is a special diet.
I've broken my diet all down to a very simple premise really. I am eating
real food as close to how it grows as possible, and purchase organic whenever budget and availability allows. I make the bulk of each meal from produce (at least 3 different sources are mandatory), then I choose two proteins and a healthy fat. I am drinking primarily water, with 3 glasses of green tea as well. Dairy isn't an issue for me and I do love a glass of milk with meals, so I have that once a day as well. It's a simple thing, but I'd forgotten how much I really enjoy milk!
This a food plan I've played with off and on for the past few months, but I haven't had the focus to follow through. The 50 day challenge gives me the push I needed to see it through, in fact, it has become my priority.
I've lost nearly nine pounds so far this week, a lot of that water, I know, but still it feels amazing to see the scale move like that and I'm enjoying every second of it while it lasts! The more important thing though of course is that I am going to breakthrough my lifelong issues with food and weight and make these dietary changes my new natural.
I think too many of us have an unnatural alliance with food. We eat for celebrations, depression, stress... we grab whatever's quick and cheap... we seem to have lost completely the connection between food and how it interacts with our bodies. Some of us are literally killing ourselves because the basic principal of food being fuel and nourishment has been lost along the way.
It seems natural to hit the drive-thru at lunch, to throw a frozen pizza or lasagna in the oven for dinner, maybe a box of mac and cheese because it's cheep, but hey, you serve some broccoli with it so it's all good... wrong!
That's what I want to challenge you with today.
- Look at your diet, look at it honestly.
- Look at your emotions and how you deal with them.
- Look at your lifestyle and how you've compromised your health under the guise of lack of time.
Today, lets make a new natural. Lets make real food our new norm. What are you sensing that you need to change? Giving up dairy, adding more leafy greens, going organic? Our body knows what it needs and if you pay attention, I truly believe it directs you to where you should be. Don't let stress, time constraints and emotions dictate your health any longer. Take charge, make the changes, stick with them, and let your success push you to even greater change and success!
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