3 Years, 3 Months, & 3 Days

 

On Sunday, May 26th, Dave dropped down to one knee, told me how much he loved me, and asked me to be his wife!  I was completely in shock and couldn't stop yelling "oh my God!"  The ring is amazing, the champagne has been flowing, the support and congrats have been nonstop.

We are so blessed <3

Vball & CrossFit & Coaching... Oh My!

Monday, 5/13/13

2 hours of volleyball - We play vball at Dave's church and it's pretty competitive!  I never played organized volleyball growing up, but I was friends with some vball players and played a ton of backyard volleyball over the years.  Playing at church I've learned a lot more technique and strategy.  My objective is no longer just to get it over the net, but instead set up an awesome spike for someone or read where someone is going to hit it and position myself defensively.  I've been working on my overhand serve for a while, but things have seemed to click recently!

Tuesday, 5/14/13

CrossFit (before work!)
Skill: Double Unders
WOD: Annie (Benchmark)
50-40-30-20-10
- Double Unders
- Sit-ups

I completed the workout in 15:11!  If you couldn't get doubles then three singles counted for one double.  I typically do three singles between each double, so I counted each double attempt as two.  Double unders are not my friend, I did a few consecutively but they got worse and worse as I got tired.  I was the second to last person to finish the workout, but I was glad I kept attempting the dubs.  Last time we did double unders Dave just couldn't get the timing right, but he got his first one and many more!

Wednesday, 5/15/13

CrossFit
WOD: Lurong (Benchmark)
Complete 5 Rounds of:
- 20 Burpees
- 20 KB Swings (36, 53) - I did 26 lbs
For Time!

I finished in 15:18 and OMG, this was absurd.  When I looked it up on the website I thought, oh that's not too bad, burpees kind of suck but it's just my body weight and I kind of like kettlebell swings.  WRONG.  This workout was so hard.  I realized how hard it was going to be when I was winded after the first round.  Dave said he thought he was going to throw up afterwards.  Burpees suck!  There were quite a few times when I got down to my belly during the burpees, and I just laid there trying to catch my breath, contemplating never getting back up.  My partner really pushed me through this one, he kept repeating "just keep moving" and somehow I did.

Thursday, 5/16/13

Coached cheerleading - Practice has been pretty low impact for me these days because we're gearing up for some performances, so I'm doing a lot more shouting (counts, cues, and corrections) than anything else.  I still manage to work up quite a sweat, but I'm not sure how much of a workout I'm really getting.

Unfortunately, this weekend was majorly lacking in fitness.  My time was spent socializing with friends and family, attending church, and sitting around at the airport.  I really want to get to CrossFit three times a week (at least!) but I'm finding it difficult.  I'm definitely busy, but more often than not it's not my schedule that's holding me back, it's my super sore muscles!  I am so sore after every CrossFit workout.  I know that using my muscles would help to loosen things up, but at the same time I know that rest is important and I don't want to do too much too soon and end up injured.  Combine super sore muscles with the temptations of sleeping in, going to happy hour, walking on the trail with my dog, taking my sweet time getting dinner on the table, etc... and well, a lot of the time CrossFit just doesn't win that battle.  I probably should be more diligent about stretching and foam rolling but I'm also hoping as I get stronger and more used to the different exercises, I will be less sore and going three or four times a week will turn into a habit.

Do you workout when you're sore?  How do you combat sore muscles?

Even More Whole30 Results

Thank you for all the thoughtful comments on my last post <3

In other news, I received this message over a week ago, but it kind of got lost in the shuffle.  Mary did the The Whole30 with us in April and let me tell you, she has 8 kids, ages ranging from teenagers to toddlers.  If she can do the Whole30, anybody can!  Here's what she had to say about her experience:

What a great experience the Whole30 was!  I must not consume a ton of sugar and carbs, because I had no issue cutting them out.  I lost 18 lbs, and inches as well, but the best thing is the increase in energy!  I had always gone to the gym 3-4 times a week prior to starting.  Now I do an hour of cardio every other day and on non-cardio days, I do an hour of strength training and weights.  I feel healthy and strong!  My skin is glowing, I sleep like a rock at night... it's just been amazing!

Congrats Mary!

Interested in more results?

My January Whole21 Results

My April Whole30 Results

Sarah's Whole30 Results

Heather's Whole30 Results

It's so weird to think that this time last year I was in the thick of my half marathon training!  When I signed up for my half, it was the beginning of January.  I had New Years resolutions swirling around my head, I wanted to take my fitness to the next level, and I thought "man, I will look amazing this summer!"  Well, running the half was an amazing experience and I was in top cardiovascular shape, but as for slimming down for summer... well, that just didn't happen.

In July, I even wrote this post about my body.

I know that we've been conditioned to think that if we can just hit the treadmill hard enough, we can melt away our stored fat, but unfortunately it just doesn't work like that.  When you flood your body with sugar and carbs (that later get converted to sugar), you're providing it with an abundance of sugar to use as fuel.  When your body is adapted to burning sugar and it keeps receiving a steady supply, it will not use your fat!

When I was cleaning my room the other day, I found a receipt from a year ago for a bridesmaid dress that had my body measurements on it and I immediately thought, ooh I want to take some new measurement to compare!  Shall we?!

5 inches from my hips people... FIVE!  Long story short, training for a half marathon did nothing to eliminate any fat from my body but cutting carbs, added sugar, and processed foods from my diet made all the difference!  Regarding weight loss, you can't out exercise a bad diet!

We were supposed to go skydiving today but it was too cloudy.  I am so bummed!  I hope you're having better luck this weekend than me.  Happy Saturday.

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How Many More Times?

Although I'm hearing an awesome Led Zeppelin song in my head, the title of this post is not referring to my love doing me wrong.  No, it's about... you guessed it... food.  (Well, the more I think about it, maybe this post is about my love doing me wrong lol.)

Sunday was a day that revolved around family and eating.  I made brunch for my mama and it was Paleo and delicious.  Dinner with Dave's family was a different story.  Throughout the evening I managed to drink an entire bottle of white wine to the face.  Finishing dinner with a giant piece of cherry cheesecake certainly didn't help anything.  My evening ended with a huge swollen tummy and a belly ache.  Shocking, I know.

But wait... didn't I just do this last weekend?  Cinco de Mayo, which involved a total of 2 pina coladas and 2 beers (aka not really all that much), left me feeling like complete crap on Monday despite getting 9.5 hours of sleep Sunday night.  I literally had a headache the entire day and thought, ugh I cannot do this to myself.

So how many more times can I put myself through the same thing before I learn?  I don't want to wake up feeling craptastic after getting 9.5 hours of sleep... that's just silly!  I don't want to lay in my bed unable to fall asleep because my stomach feels like it's going to explode.  So, why is this so hard?

Well, because booze is fun and Dave's mom's desserts are (almost) worth the tummy ache.  But there's a difference between having a glass of wine and drinking the whole bottle.  And there's a difference between having a taste of dessert and purposely picking out the biggest piece that was cut.  I desperately need to find a balance!

Ugh.  I really want to stop talking about food fails!  Honestly, most of the time I am making awesome food choices and I feel great.  But when I fail, it's epic and my body lets me know just how it feels about it.

Do you ever eat or drink things that you know will make you feel bad afterwards?  How do you handle treats?

CrossFit Catch Up

Now that we've been doing CrossFit for a few weeks, I'm starting to feel more comfortable with a lot of the exercises!  However, I'm still crazy sore after every single workout.  CrossFit is no joke, but I'm loving it!

Thursday, 5/2/13

Skill: Double Unders

Workout of the Day:  7 Minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible)

- 7 Kettlebell Swings (35,53)
- 7 Situps
- 14 Double Unders

I completed 3 rounds and I used a 26 lbs kettlebell.

Double unders are hard!  Class started with my coach asking me what kind of temper I have because apparently double unders piss people off!  It took me a few minutes of trying but I finally got my first one... and then ended up with the jump rope around my neck.  I don't even understand how that happened!  Let me tell you, jumping rope is a great workout.  Every time I do a WOD I just keep thinking, you really only need a few minutes to get in a good workout.  No one is too busy to jump rope for a few minutes!  My calves were killing me for days after this one.

Tuesday, 5/7/13

Workout of the Day: You will take at least two attempts to set maxes of the following:

- 400 M

- Pull-ups (scaling option use a band that you will at least get 10 options)

- Push ups

- Toes to Bar (if you can't do toes to bar, please do sit-ups)

- Double Unders

- Box Jump in 60 Seconds (18,24)

Here are my numbers:

The run kind of sucked.  If I'm running long distances, I will take my time, if I'm running a quick sprint I will go all out... 400 M is a long way to sprint.  I really didn't want to do the second one.

I did my pull ups with a big green resistance band.  They felt super easy in the beginning, but my arms were burning quickly.  I got 22 on my first try, but I got to 24 on my second try!  This was the only thing that I did better on the second time.  I realized I wasn't doing the kipping motion (pumping your legs for momentum) that everyone else was doing and that helped a lot.  I still need a lot of work on pull ups.  One day, I will do a pull up with no resistance band.

I was already dreading the push ups since I've been struggling with them since I corrected my form (arms close to body, chest to ground) and my arms felt like jello after the pull ups.  Only doing 12 seemed pretty sad, I know I have a lot of room for improvement here.

I hadn't worked on toes to bar before, but I thought I'd try it to see what I could do.  I got my toes up easily the first time, but my lack of technique left me swinging awkwardly at the bottom.  I got my toes up a second time but decided to do sit ups instead since I don't really know how to do toes to bar correctly yet.  I killed it with 75 sit ups!

Next was double unders.  I did 10 in a row my first try!  I was super pumped.

And finally box jumps... jumping 18" doesn't seem that hard, but doing it repeatedly for 60 seconds is another thing!  Nothing like almost missing to put a little pep in your step jump!

Thursday, 5/9/13

Workout of the Day: Father of the Bride Workout (since one of the member's daughter is getting married this week)

Partner Workout (Cause what Marriage isn't a Partnership)

1. Getting to the Wedding - Row 800, 100 Double Unders (or 200 Singles)
2. Walking Down the Aisle - 2 100 Meter Farmers Carry (25 pound plates each hand)
3. Exchanging of The Rings -100 Ring Rows
4. Listen to the Bells Ring - 100 Kettlebell Swings - I did 12 lbs
5. Cleaning out after the Wedding - 100 Hang Cleans 65,95 - I did 35 lbs
6. Getting the Heck out of There - 800 M Run

The coaches gave us our partners, so Dave and I were split up and paired with some more experienced people.  Each portion of the workout could be split however you wanted.  My partner and I ended up splitting everything in half (we both did 50 of each exercise) except I did a few more cleans since I was feeling strong and my partner had a lot more weight on his bar (he did the prescribed weight of 95 lbs).  I probably could've cleaned more weigh (definitely not the 65 lbs prescribed for women, but more than 35), but I wasn't really sure and 50 reps is quite a bit!  The ring rows (grab rings, lean back with feet on the floor, pull yourself up) were surprisingly hard!  We finished in 24:21!  And my arms hurt so bad!  I thought about going to the WOD after work today, but I decided it was probably a good idea to let my arms rest instead.

After the workout we all went to a ice cream place called Zwahlen's that specializes in rich homemade ice cream, specialty chocolates, and gourmet candy apples.  I felt like I had definitely earned the brownie sundae (with Twix ice cream!) that I crushed.  I wish I took some food porn pictures because it was glorious!  It was a cheat, but I'm glad I cheated with something delicious and special.

Mine was similar to the one on the left!  (Source)

After ice cream we headed over to Chickie's & Pete's, a sports bar that has a few locations around the Philly area.  I ordered a burger with bacon, fried onions, bbq sauce, lettuce, and tomato (no bun).  Despite our trip to Zwahlen's, a lot of the people from our gym also follow some version of Paleo.  The guy who sat next to me just started a strict self imposed diet.  He went home during the ice cream portion of the evening to eat a healthy home cooked dinner and then expressed his jealousy during dinner as he sipped water, the only thing he consumed at the bar.  I felt bad for him but could totally understand where he's coming from!  It's nice to gain some new friends with similar views on food and fitness!
Do your friends share your views on fitness and healthy eating?

Guest Post: Heather's Whole30 Results!

More results people!  My friend Heather surprised me when she told me she was joining me for my April Whole30.  It's always fun when I learn that people read my blog (so feel free to leave some comments, you silent lurkers from Facebook)!  Please congratulate Heather and her husband because they rocked the Whole30 and earned some awesome results!  I'm so proud <3

I was never in terrible shape until I turned 21.  Being 21 led to Happy Hour every day after work, partying every weekend, eating greasy bar food plus whatever else I felt like eating.  This was my fiancé John and my lifestyle for a few years.  Awful, I know. I packed on the pounds and John never gained any weight at all.  He had a very physical job and played a lot of sports. We got married in October 2011 and shortly after, I learned I was pregnant.  I gained 33 pounds while pregnant and lost it soon after our little girl was born (July 2012).  I figured I would lose the rest eventually.  As our baby became more and more mobile, it hit me:  I do not want to be that Mom at the playground who is out of breath chasing her kid.  I don’t want to be so preoccupied with how I feel in my swim suit on family vacations that I’m hiding behind my towel instead of building elaborate sandcastles and splashing in the ocean with my child. Above all of that, I want to be around to see my baby grow up.  I knew I needed to make a change. 

I asked my husband if I could buy an elliptical with some of our tax return money.  I figured after our daughter goes to bed, I can use the elliptical while my hubby and I caught up on our favorite shows.  I bought my elliptical and lost 12 pounds the first month.  Meanwhile, I was continuing to read Amber’s blog and Sarah’s guest post.  I knew this was something I wanted to do.  I figured my husband would tell me “good luck” or “have fun with that” when I presented it to him.  To my surprise, he said he wanted to try the Whole30 with me.  (He got hurt at work back in July 2012 and has gained 50 pounds since then).  We began researching recipes and went grocery shopping. We gave all of our non-compliant foods to our neighbor (out of sight, out of mind).  We were ready!!

Let’s get right to the results.  In the month of April, I lost 17.8 pounds and 17.75 inches off of my body. John lost a total of 16.5 pounds and 10.5 inches! We are believers!! I experienced so many other benefits other than just losing weight…here are a few:

1. I slept like a rock!! This was the part of the Whole30 that I was excited about the most! My daughter has slept through the night since she was 3 months old; however, I almost always woke up several times every.single.night. UGH! If it wasn’t work I was thinking about, it was my sweet baby, family, and so on. During the month of April, I woke up every morning feeling refreshed and ready for anything!  
2. I was never hungry!! After reading Sarah’s post, I thought that this part could never work for me! I always thought I was eating such a healthy breakfast--Kashi Go-Lean Crunch or Total Raisin Bran. I was always starving by 9:30-10 and ate a snack at work. The same thing happened after lunch, around 2pm I had another snack. During the Whole30, I literally was never hungry between meals. I ate my 3 meals a day and sometimes a snack after dinner. That’s it. This was HUGE for John as well. He was the biggest snacker, especially at nighttime. He would eat leftovers from dinner, make sandwiches, etc. and that all has stopped!
3. I’ve never drank so much water!! The biggest thing I was worried about doing the Whole30 was giving up my diet green tea and diet coke (sooooo bad!) The more water I drank, the more I wanted it! We are finished the Whole30 and I haven’t had anything to drink other than water and coffee (well, maybe a few beers this past weekend!) :-)
4. My energy is through the roof!! I feel great and my energy levels remained even throughout the day. No more after lunch crash!!!
5. We have tried so many fantastic recipes!! As I have read in Amber AND Sarah’s posts, we also ate the traditional protein, starch and veggie combo every night for dinner. The Whole30 challenged our views on dinners and we tried recipes we would have never made before. Some of them we enjoyed so much, we are still making them. We tried new vegetables (I may have developed an obsession with fresh spinach which I never ate before), new spices, and John made his own compliant “ranch dressing” that he likes even more than regular ranch dressing now!
6. This has not been another “diet” but a true lifestyle change!! I went into this with the intention of making eating better a lasting part of my life. I also vowed to exercise every day of the Whole30 trying to make this a part of my routine. For the entire 30 days I did some sort of exercise. Whether it was walking on my lunch break, doing the elliptical or some days both, I did something every day. I find myself looking forward to my workouts now and feeling guilty if I don’t do it. YEAH!

There seriously have been so many benefits I could continue this list on and on. The website is right, the Whole30 changed my life. We went to a wedding this past Saturday and I was fully intending on eating whatever I wanted. I ended up filling my plate up with veggies, protein and had a salad. I did enjoy a delicious roll, but pre-Whole30 I would have eaten mostly carbs! I love the way my body feels and I want to keep fueling it with good, nutritious foods. I was able to go shopping for a new dress for this wedding and it was a few sizes smaller. Numerous people at the wedding commented on my weight loss. Co-workers, family, and friends have all commented on how much energy I have, my weight loss, and how my clothes are falling off of me. Since February, I am down 29.8 pounds. I have a lot more to go, but I am so proud of myself and think this is a terrific start! Thanks Amber for all of the inspiration and information on this incredible program. Also, thanks to Sarah for sharing your story. Both of you really made me want to give this my all.

Some Fun Eats & the Broad Street Run Expo

Our weekend started off with a double date in West Chester at quite the hidden gem.

 

 

The High Street Caffe didn't look like much from the outside, but when we stepped in the door we were greeted fun decor and an overwhelming crowd.  The tables couldn't have been any closer together, but there wasn't an empty seat to be found.  We feasted on alligator sausage, scallops, ahi tuna, blackened catfish, and a crab cake and it was all extremely delicious.

After dinner we went to a bar in town and did some serious people watching.  Nothing like watching a bunch of 21 year olds get their drink on to make me feel old!  I drank a few Woodchuck ciders and we headed out a little after midnight.

Dave and I woke up nice and early this morning to head down to the Broad Street Run Expo.  Apparently 2 glasses of wine and 2 ciders are enough to make me feel less than stellar the next day.  I wasn't super hungover, but a few drinks combined with less than 6 hours of sleep gave me a feeling that I really haven't been missing.

We headed down to Philly nice and early not sure if there would be a long line like I waited in last year.  But the expo wasn't overcrowded and we zoomed through.

 

Despite my lack of running, I found plenty of stuff to purchase at the expo.  I picked up a nice New Balance sports bra, 6 pairs of socks, and a sparkly sweaty band.  Dave got an awesome pair of red compression socks and the proceeds from his purchase will go to The One Fund for Boston!

After the expo we headed to South Street to grab some brunch with a friend.  We ended up waiting 45 minutes for a table at Honey's, but big crowds don't lie because the menu was diverse and the food was tasty.  I feasted on a a 3 egg omelet with chorizo, salsa, cheddar cheese, onions, and peppers that came with a onion and cheese potato latke.  Dave ordered some biscuits and sausage with gravy and a side of home fries with onions and peppers.  We also split a side order of bacon (which was pretty disappointing since it was only 2 slices for $4).  The bill was pretty high so we probably won't be headed back any time soon, but it was a nice treat.

The rest of our Saturday involved hitting the grocery store, finally canceling our Y membership, and then grilling and chilling.

Dave just headed to bed.  I'm going to veg, prep some things for tomorrow, and then crash myself.  Tomorrow is a big day!  Hope you're enjoying your weekend.

Do you like trying new restaurants or do you prefer to hit your old favorites?

Can we pleeeease talk about something other than food?!

The Whole30 has consumed my blog for the past month, but there's a bunch of other things going on in my life.  So let's catch up:

We canceled our cable!  Our cable bill kept going up and up, so we decided to take the plunge and cancel.  Here's a few of our reasons:

• There is more and more daylight to be enjoyed.
• We're so busy already between working out, volleyball, coaching, church, hanging with friends, etc.
• We'd rather spend our money on other things like CrossFit, trying out new restaurants, maybe putting some work into our house.
• We'll read and listen to music more often.
• We can utilize Netflix (and we may sign up for Hulu, still cheaper than cable).
• Philly sports teams aren't doing too hot right now anyway (and we can always hit the bar to watch the Phillies if we want).

I stopped washing my face with cleansers!  Have you ever heard of the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM)?  I've been giving it a go since the middle of March.  Some people swear by it and others have had disastrous results.  I haven't seen great improvements in my face, but it definitely hasn't taken a turn for the worse, so I'm still giving it a chance.  I oil cleanse a few nights a week but otherwise I just remove my eye make up and then rinse my face with water.  I'll keep you posted on this experiment.

We are joining a CSA!  If you're not familiar, CSA stands for community supported agriculture and joining one means we'll be picking up our share of fresh, organic, local produce directly from the farm every other week from mid May until November!  I'm so excited.  

Dave's running Broad Street on Sunday!  Although I've basically stopped running (in lieu of lifting, sprinting, volleyball, and hiking), Dave caught the running bug and will be running a personal distance record of 10 miles.  Last year he was an amazing spectator, dropping us off, enduring the traffic, and chasing us along the route to cheer us on and take pictures.  This year I'll be his cheerleader!

What's new with you?

Trying to Follow the Reintroduction Protocol

So now that my Whole30 is over, I am desperately trying to control myself and follow the reintroduction protocol as described in It Starts with Food.

Day 31 - Reintroduce dairy
Day 34 - Reintroduce gluten containing grains
Day 37 - Reintroduce non gluten containing grains
Day 40 - Reintroduce legumes

You're supposed to eat compliant other than the item that you're testing, so if you have any reactions you'll know that it was that item.  Between each item you eat compliant to reset your system.

Day 31 - I consumed some half and half in my morning coffee.  I had a bit of cheese on my lunch as well as a Greek yogurt.  Did I notice a difference?  I don't think I had any adverse reactions, praise the cheese gods!  I actually ended up skipping breakfast completely and then didn't even have the urge to snack all afternoon.  Interesting.

And then came Day 32, I was supposed to eat compliant but my coworkers planned a trip to an awesome Mexican restaurant followed by some froyo for dessert.  I kept my noncompliant items in the dairy category with some sour cream, cheese, and frozen yogurt but also couldn't resist a pina colada margarita (hello it was 70 degrees and we were sitting out on the patio in the sun!) that obviously added some booze and more sugar to the equation.  Sugar and booze aren't included in the reintroduction items, but it would be nice to know exactly how each affects me, so maybe I'll try and test those as well.  Could I have passed on the lunch?  Could I have gone and just eaten more compliant?  Yes and yes.  But damnit the Whole30 is over and I wanted to enjoy!  I left lunch feeling a little tummy bloat and I definitely experienced a food coma.  I really wanted to take a nap under my desk.  An hour later I had a little bit of tummy discomfort.

And then it continues.  Tomorrow, Day 33, we have a double date planned at a Creole fusion restaurant.  Now, I'm not saying I'm going to stuff my face with pasta, but I'm not going to pick apart a delicious Cajun dish to make it compliant.  Day 34 is more of the same, we're going into the city to grab lunch with a friend after we pick up Dave's race packet and I'm not sure how compliant my meal will be.

And now this sounds like another I'm failing the Whole30 stuff because I just don't care enough to control myself post.  Are you getting sick of these?  I don't know, I'm just trying to be honest.  I guess the only thing I can do is just do my best to be compliant when I can and otherwise listen to my body to try and determine how things are affecting me.  Or maybe I'll just continue to enjoy some dairy and I'll push back reintroducing other things until after this weekend.  We shall see, the journey continues...

Do you know how each food group affects you?  Have you ever noticed certain things having negative effects on your body?

My April Whole30 Results!

Well, April is over and thus my Whole30 journey has come to an end.  Hallelujah!

Day 1 - Weight 145.0 lbs

Day 30 - Weight 138.8 lbs

Weight Loss = 6.2 lbs!

And what you've all been waiting for...

 

So the before and after pictures are not nearly as dramatic as last time!  I'm not really even sure I see much of a difference except in the side view (was I just super slouching in the before picture?).  The angles are also off, so that's not really helping.

I believe there's a few reasons that I did not experience much of a transformation this time:

• I wasn't as strict.  I definitely wasn't as much of a stickler for the rules this time including some major cheats half way through and way too many helpings of dried fruit and Larabars.  There was lots of SWYPO and even some forbidden ingredients like honey and maple syrup.
• I didn't focus enough on vegetables.  I let large servings of meat command the spotlight in my meals instead of filling my plate with tons of veggies.  This is something I'll be working on.
• I didn't always listen to my stomach.  I found myself taking a second helping when I would've been fine walking away (but it all tasted so good!) and snacking when I was bored at work and just wanted a sugary treat.  Still working on this one as well.
• I didn't have as much to lose!  Quite honestly I don't know if I'll be losing much more period.  I think my body looks amazing and I am extremely satisfied :)

So how do I feel?  Well, I feel great!  My energy levels feel even throughout the day.  I feel like a master of meal planning and definitely want to continue and keep trying new recipes and utilizing my crockpot.

Otherwise I don't know, I don't have too much to say.  I think this Whole30 was less of a revelation because I had already been eating Paleo beforehand, I had already done the program before (not too long ago), and I wasn't as strict as I could've been.  When I started I really wanted to nail this one, avoid all cheats big or small, and see just how far I could take it, but then... well, life happened.  I don't have an autoimmune disease to cure, I'm not going to be running to the bathroom if I eat something noncompliant, I don't have daily chronic pain, and I am a healthy weight, so at this point in my life I will continue to strive to make better food choices, fill my plate with fresh produce, eat locally, and honor my body, but I won't stress the small stuff.  And if things start to spiral out of control or my new pants get a little snug, I know just how to get back on track.

Thank you for following my journey and supporting me with your thoughtful comments <3


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