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.

If I can ...

If I can make it through breakfast, then I came it through lunch ...

Watched a flick about rowing the other day. Not sure I'd really recommend the flick, but what stuck out to me was the dedication to the training this one dude had. During several scenes you hear him tell himself, "If I can make it out of bed, then I can make it to the bathroom. If I can make it to the bathroom, then I can brush my teeth. If I can brush my teeth, then I can make it to the car ..." That's breaking down tasks in a way I can get. Sometimes the big picture overwhelms me. But breaking it down ... I can handle that.

I'm almost at the 30 day mark and feeling great. No major slip ups. Ended up having two wee bites of potatoes yesterday, but only because they were hanging on to the meatballs that were served. Today is a banquet I must attend ... that may be the hardest task yet. As silly as it sounds, I plan to bring my salad with me. Just had left-overs and since I'm helping I can't really eat right before ... I'm determined to go prepared. (Think my salad bowl is becoming legendary at school and work ;-).

Despite being at a part of the month that is usually heavier than others, I'm now 2 lbs away from my goal of loosing 20 lbs during this 30 days. Best of all, I am sleeping better, and still feel like I'm progressing in my workouts. My response to the common question posed by Robb Wolf, "How do you look, feel and perform?" is, respectively: a little better, awesome, and improving.

I'm seeing this as more of a life-style change than I really expected. Planning, shopping and cooking are almost second nature to me now. I'm enjoying the process, and the results aren't too bad either (my kitchen has not burned down, and nothing has been completely inedible).

Just wanted to add some cheer from a decreasingly fatty newbie who's deranged metabolism is getting better ;-).