For Whole 30 Days

- See more at: http://whole9life.com/2012/08/the-whole30-program/#sthash.O4IDPzMy.dpuf





A couple of years ago, I made a change to help my body and mind. I gave up sugar and grains, began exercising and, within just a couple of weeks, felt great. I continued this for over a year. Carefully adding back whole grains, selecting healthy foods over processed and, you know what? I felt wonderful and full of energy. I also lost weight and dress sizes and could jog three miles without feeling like my lungs were going to jump out of my chest.

Fast forward: A job transfer, marriage stress, trials of work travel, a bully supervisor, weekend back and forth, Ohio valley allergies and raising my boys long distance has had it's toll. The worst thing, however, is that I went back to my old, bad eating habits. You can guess I quickly gained the weight back, the dress size is up again and I feel tired, congested, hopeless and depleted most days. I also sleep horribly.

The math is really not hard: Stress+Bad Foods+No Exercise+Allergies+Travel=Exhaustion & Depression.

Last week I traveled to southeast Kentucky for work. After work, while checking into the hotel, I noticed a pamphlet about the McCoy-Hatfield feud. Apparently, the majority of of it happened in the area I was staying in. I ended up walking to the cemetery where the majority of the McCoys are buried (I took the first photo on this post there). It was about a mile from the hotel. It also required a hike up three flights of stairs (it was located on a steep mountain side). By the time I reached the top, I literally thought I, or at least my heart, was going to die. I was happy no one but the dead were around to hear me huffing and puffing. I could have cried. All that hard work and habit changes...gone!

I constantly announce challenges I'm attempting here. I'm a challenge junkie. I also fail over and over (and I have a bag of excuses as to why I can't seem to stay focused). My main excuse is time. I am constantly busy and a month flies by before I realize it began. This time, however, I am challenging myself because I need to get my health straight. I cannot let myself down this time.

I've decided to take the Whole30 challenge. I am not affiliated with this program and have never tried it, but it's similar to the one I made up to get my health better two years ago. Only, this one is more tough: No dairy, grains, sugar, or LEGUMES! The latter is the hardest because I love beans and, as an almost vegetarian, I depend on beans for many of my meals. This means no black beans, lentals, dals, green beans, peanuts, peanut butter...oh, no! But, it's only 30 days. 30 days seem to march by in a flash.

I am starting this Monday. March, the official start of spring, seems like a good month to regain my health. I'll probably need a wish of luck, especially since I am traveling at least two weeks this month. I really don't want to flake out again. I want to be able to walk up three flights of mountain stairs and not sound like my Boston terrier when I reach the top. Enough said.