If my little sister has started a blog (and a good one at that), then the time has come for me to start one as well. Scratch that, maintain one. I've started at least 50, but now with the New Year it's the perfect time to maintain one. Coming to a close for me is a year full of inner reflection, finding out what makes me tick, what motivates me, and (let's be cliche for a minute) who I really am. I uncovered reasons for some of my most prominent habits and laid the groundwork for changing the reactions I have to the triggers for those habits. It's been hard. Really hard. But I am a completely different person today than I was a year ago. My hope for the coming year is that it explodes with purposeful action. That I take all I have learned over the last 12 months and with it produce visible results. That means changing deep rooted habits. That means reacting to triggering situations and emotions in new ways. That means setting and tackling new goals and challenges and taking more and more baby steps to a happy, mindfully present life.
With the new year I will begin a specific challenge: The Whole30. My mom, dad, and sister are all in on the Whole30 with me. For the first 30 days of 2013 we will restart our bodies and cleanse our systems by eating an ass ton of veggies, meats and eggs, healthy plant fats like avocados and nuts/seeds, and some fruit. If you want to take a negative spin, that means no grains of any kind, even gluten free, no dairy, no beans or legumes, no sugar, and none of the processed crap that masquerades as food. I already eat like this for the most part, but a sugary food bomb exploded over me during the holidays, and I ate all the chocolatey, minty, gooey, creamy, sickly sweet debris left in it's wake. And I feel like CRAP! So the Whole30 it is. Mind you this is not for looks or for vanity's sake. You will not hear me talk about the pounds or inches I've lost (for several reasons), but mainly because focusing on looks will only get us so far when it comes to goals of diet and weightloss. It's only a temporary motivation because I guarantee that at some point in your life you've been on a diet to look better in your summer bikini, and at some point during that diet you said "Screw the bikini. I'll be a whale. GIVE ME CHOCOLATE!" That's one reason why, for me, this is not about weightloss, and I do not consider this a diet. This is a way of eating for life.
As I said, I already follow these principles for the most part, but at least a couple of times on the weekend I'll break from it and have something sweet. That's all well and good. There is nothing wrong or evil about enjoying something sweet. However, I am a sugar addict, and the one hit of sugar makes me crave more, and cravings are nearly impossible to resist. So I eat more, but not just a couple of extra Hershey's kisses; I eat the whole bag. I'm not exaggerating (and if you'd like to know more about my nitty, gritty past with food struggles, you are more than welcome to ask, but for the sake of not identifying myself as those struggles they won't necessarily be delved into publicly in this forum). After that influx of sugar I feel physically and mentally terrible for days. So this Whole30 challenge is about feeding my body whole, natural foods that promote a feeling of health, energy, and happiness. It is not about good foods and bad foods. It is not about losing weight. It is not about deprivation.
For most of us, food is not the only factor when it comes to eating healthfully. It's easy to say "I'm not going to eat sugar (or whatever else) for 30 days", but to do it can be quite a bear for two reasons. One, certain foods, especially sugar and other processed foods are addicitive, like, cocaine addictive. Read It Starts With Food and Google "sugar addiction". There is tons of research and and countless studies, books, and documentaries discussing the startling affects of sugar/processed foods on our brains and bodies. Second, we have an emotional connection to these foods. "Comforts foods" are labeled so for a reason. Who hasn't chomped a whole bag of chips while angry or sucked down silky, soothing ice cream when sad? The trouble with emotional connections to food is that they affect everyone differently. The foods and situations that trigger emotional eating vary from person to person, and the degree to which they affect people varies as well. That's where the inner reflection and personal work comes into play. It's tough, but infinitely benificial.
And, if you need a third reason why it's so hard to quit crap food: we have disconnected, disfunctional relationships with our bodies. Do you ever truly and consistently listen to your body to see what it really wants? Sometimes I do, and most of the time I don't. It's a hard thing to do consistently, but if you work towards listening to and healing your relationship with your body, you will find that it doesn't need and probably doesn't want all the sugary, fatty, salty, addicting foods you think you just have to have. Our relationship problems with our bodies don't stop there, but more on that later.
Whew! I will bring this first post to a close now, but trust me, my rough draft was about twice as long. I've always thought it weird that in face to face conversation and groups I'm pretty quiet, but give me a pen or a keyboard and you can't shut me up. Anyway, I'm excited for the next 30 days, and I hope that you will join us on this Whole30 challenge. Regardless, I hope that your New Year is filled with blessings, happiness, health, and growth, and that you cultivate these things where ever you go.
Christan
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