Doing another 30 days of strict paleo ala Whole30 guidelines. Figured it would do me some good to reflect on why in the world I would want to get back on that bronco and ride it into the sunset. (This post inspired me to do so: http://whole9life.com/2010/12/ten-things-i-learned-while-doing-the-whole30/).

1. I feel more energetic.


2. I have much better post-workout recovery.


3. I sleep better.


4. I don't need coffee (but I still like a little in the morning).


5. I like saving money. (Between eating out and buying pre-packaged food, I actually spend more than eating clean.)


6. I enjoy cooking.


7. I like the taste of real food. (So much processed food is way too salty!)


8. I feel satisfied when I eat Paleo - no constant hunger, no odd swings, just feel like my body gets what it needs.


9. I don't want to feel crappy just because I indulged in some chocolate/sugar thing. (Even though I so enjoy the taste of chocolate, the post consumption torrent of off balanced emotions and chemistry running through my body is so not worth it.)


10. I still have plenty of body fat to lose. (Though I'm going to do my absolute best in completely ignoring the scale this go around.)

I'm going for the strict 30 just because I know I do better when I don't give myself the wiggle room to cheat. I have a highly developed system for justifying cheats when I let my guard down. So much so that eating clean can easily become the exception rather than the rule. So ... back to strict for me. Also, even though carbs no longer have a huge hold on me, chocolate still does. It's like kryptonite for my will power.

Happy New Year to all of ya'll. Here's to our continued journey to health, wellness and killing WODs.