New Year, New Choices, No Cheetos

It's a new year, and time to shake the dust off of my blog.
My absence can be explained by a few things. In December the fam and I were able to get away and enjoy a wonderful Christmas with our families in God's country, Texas. Thus far, January has held two notable events which I will now go into.

Starting with the order of most painful...I have just recently recovered from a two week long cold/raging sinus infection. I have had sinus troubles in the past, but this year I was absolutely determined to let my body do it's thing, and work everything out without prescription meds. With great thanks to a friend's online recommendation, a magic little pill called Super Quercetin came in and round-house kicked the snot out of my sinus infection. I do mean this in the most literal sense. I'm 100% certain that without this herbal concoction, I would have ended up in the dr's office.

Previous to taking "Super Q", I was boosting my immune system with vitamins, minerals, and yes, even vegetables. However, these things were not enough. I was slipping past the point of no healthy return. I grew so desperate at one point that I put grapefruit seed extract into the netipot and snizzled that sucker through my sinuses.
Worst. idea. ever.
In my defense, GSE is a powerful antimicrobial and antioxidant. I just neglected to read under the recommended usage that putting even diluted amounts of it up your nose will bring about great suffering and agony. For the sake of summary, next time you get the sinus-junkies all up in your bid'ness, take Super Q, and leave the grapefruit seed extract safely in it's container. If you fail to heed my advice, I will be gracious and take your phone call to comfort you...as you lay on your floor...writing in misery...sinuses aflame.

The second notable event of this month was my starting the Whole30/Paleo diet on January 1st. This decision came as the result of:
1) Years of growing into a health nerd.
2) Finding my gluten free diet to be lacking; still feeling tired, bloated (eww gross, right?!), brain-foggy, and brain foggy. Or did I say that already?
3) Watching numerous documentaries about food, where it comes from, what it does to our bodies, the corruption of food suppliers, contamination of that food, etc.
And finally,
4) My growing desire to pursue better health, have more energy, and maybe even lose some weight.

All of this lined up with starting a new year, so I decided to go for it. As I've studied, I realize I'm following more of a Paleo diet plan, but to give you an idea of what I'm talking about, here's a list of what I can and cannot eat.

What I can eat:
Meat (from health sources: organic, grass-fed)
Fish
Vegetables
Fruit
Roots, nuts and seeds

Not allowed:
Sugar
Grains
Dairy
Legumes (beans, soy, peanuts)

That's right, y'all...no Cheetos, no peanut butter, no gluten free cupcakes! And I thought going off of gluten was a stretch!!! For my specific diet, I decided to modify the "no dairy" and allow raw, unpasteurized cheese, in moderation. Other qualifications were that my family would not go hungry while I was eating foods different from them. One night was a "fail" as Andrew wanted a snack after dinner and sweetly approached me, asking if there was any "real" food left in the house. I love him. The other qualification was that I wouldn't feel like a failure if at some point I felt like it was absolutely necessary to put a bit of honey in my tea, or have a square of dark chocolate. No legalism. I would rather allow a small cheat, enjoy it, and keep going than completely fall off the turnip truck. I must stick with great changes, but still be gracious.

A few days before the 1st, I made a huge list of food and meals I could prepare, then set off for the grocery store. I filled my cart with mostly vegetables; things I could easily wash and slice. Pre-calculating what would be involved in eating this way was an enormous help in getting started, and sticking to it when the first few days were rough. Up through around Day 4 or 5, I had a nagging headache, brain fog like nobody's business, and was making frequent trips to the bathroom. I was miserable. My body was detoxing pretty quickly, and my increased fiber intake was carrying away the remnants of...well, probably Cheetos. As a carb-lover, I didn't know if I would be able to stick to my new diet plan. The great thing is that once a few days had passed, my headache went away and along with it, my deep craving for the junk.

I have now reached Day 23, and especially with my sinus troubles out of the picture, I can testify to greater clarity of mind and ability to focus, more energy, a lighter spirit, and if that isn't enough...my clothes fit better! I don't plan to step on the scale or take measurements until the end of the month, but I can definitely tell there is already less of me to love! The other day I had to change out of a pair of jeans because I was constantly pulling them up. This is an awesome feeling!

Whenever I've read health or fitness testimonials my train of thought is usually: "Whatever...that kind of experience can only happen when you're at a resort, are fed rabbit food, and are being whipped into shape 6 hours a day by a trainer." We'll, I'm not going to say I'm any kind of incredible shrinking woman just yet, but as a Mom who's had a harder-time-than-some reclaiming her pre-baby body, this is exciting stuff. I'm being good to my body, am feeding it what it needs to be healthy, doing light-moderate exercise, and feel more comfortable in my own skin than anytime I can remember.

As of right now, going onto this "diet" has been one of the best things I've done for myself in a long time. I'm excited to be over half-way done and look forward to having 30 days of "clean eating" under my belt. Furthermore, going beyond 30 days has never seemed more doable. I'll let you know how things go as I approach the end goal of Day 30, and how things look after that. Day 31's menu just might include a completely guilt-free square of 72% dark chocolate, but dare I say it??? I do believe I can live a full and happy life without Cheetos.