Those of you who know me personally. know that I lost quite a bit of weight last year.
The importance of a good diet and regular exercise cannot be overstated.
Dropping 65 lbs was the result of hard work, discipline, and finding my inner motivation. Putting back on nearly half of that weight over the last eight months was the result of being lazy, a sense of entitlement, and losing my motivation. While I was busy losing weight, running, teaching Zumba, and enjoying my new body, I lost sight of the bigger picture and
I failed to plan for the future.
When I stopped working out with a personal trainer, I stopped working out. When I stopped teaching Zumba for the summer, I stopped doing Zumba. When my running shoes wore out, I stopped running. When I stopped logging my food and took off my Bodybugg, I stopped counting what I put in my mouth.
One by one my healthy habits began to unravel. It wasn't that I didn't know what I should be doing. I have made it my mission to learn everything I can about healthy eating, exercise, whole foods, and the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I have researched, studied, and mastered quite a bit of knowledge on these subjects. But knowing and doing are two entirely different things.
So here I am, fortunately only one pant size bigger, but I feel like crap. I'm tired, my ankles swell, I feel saggy, my skin isn't as healthy as it could be. I am not drinking enough water, I'm drinking way to much coffee, eating way too many carbs and way too late at night. I'm drinking regular soda for goodness sake! I have dark circles under my eyes, my body just feels heavy, and I know that I am going down a path I just don't want to be on.
And so it stops, today. Which leads me to the point of this post (sorry I took the long way to get here), which is the importance of a plan.
I won't go into the reason I am choosing to detox for 28 days in this post (more about that soon) but I will tell you that when I was choosing a plan to follow, there were tons to choose from! Whatever you decide to do, what works for your life, it is imperative that you plan.
I love to plan events. As we speak, I have over 10 activities ranging from school programs to scout trips to service projects that I am coordinating. Knowing this is one of my strengths, I decided I needed a solid plan for these first 28 days while I reset my body through a healthy detox.
Here are the basics of my 28-day plan:
- Eliminate all allergenic foods from my diet including dairy, gluten, wheat, processed sugar, and soy and eat organic as much as possible.
- Eliminate all processed foods from my diet including artificial sweeteners and processed meats.
- Eliminate yeast promoting foods including vinegar-based products.
- Drink lots and lots of water (1/2 my weight in ounces, ie: if you weigh 150lbs, 75 oz of water)
- No food after 7pm
- Exercise regularly.
- Sleep 7-8 hours a night (this is a big improvement over where I am now)
The most important lesson I think this will teach me is really seeing food as fuel for my body. Learning to reward myself in other ways rather than harming my body by putting bad things into it. Aren't I worth that? Aren't we all? What does it say about me that I would put disgusting chemicals, overly-processed junk into my body? How could I possibly be surprised when it makes me feel crappy? The saying "you are what you eat" is 100% true. I am so excited to see how much my body changes, both inside and out as I go through this process!
Well, it's late (I won't admit how late) and I need to get to sleep and get this thing started. I've got my bodybugg on to track my calorie burn and log my food, my breakfast is planned, and it's time to get this show on the road.
Until next time....
Wow I know your going to have to work hard to do this but you sound very determined to do it and with determination there is no failure! You can do it girl!!!
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