As we close out another challenge we wanted to share with you a success story that truly encapsulates all that we are trying to do with this whole thing. The blog, the training, the challenges, they are all worth it when you get to share experiences like this with friends. Enjoy.
As this most recent 30
day challenge comes to an end I told Dawn I would jot down a few
words to speak about my experiences. I hope everyone who participated
is feeling really rewarded by this process. I can't say that I made it
without cheating nor can I say that I ever really started because this
eating style has become my chosen way of life. Everyone trying to eat
clean can for 30 days probably relate , life always tries to find ways
to get in the way. I know mine did...like my eldest child's birthday,
husband's birthday, and a vacation to the beach all in the first two
weeks. Oh and did I mention the 6 layer rainbow cake with swiss
meringue icing that I baked myself to bring great joy to my little girl.
Baking! Talk about testing (and finding) my limits for self discipline!
My story goes as follows....I
met the Kirks over two years ago when they moved into our neighborhood.
For those of you that know Dawn & Paul personally, I'm sure you
can understand why I was excited to meet yet another nice, fun loving
family in the neighborhood. Nothing beats good neighbors. Anyway, at
that time, I was 5 months pregnant with my second child. Imagine being 5
months pregnant (getting bigger by the minute), making friends with two
personal trainers and seeing them at the pool all summer long.
Ordinarily I wouldn't want to inflict that kind of mental punishment
upon myself, but to their credit I never once felt an ounce of
judgement about the very obvious choices I had been making in my life.
Who wouldn't love to meet great new friends like that?
One
bouncing baby boy along with lots of excess weight, fast forward to the
summer of 2011. After spending plenty of time and many potluck dinners
with the Kirks I knew that I wanted to make some changes in my life. I
was thrilled when Dawn mentioned she was going to start group training
in our community. In my life before kids I was no stranger to a regular
fitness routine and truthfully have always enjoyed the balance it gave
me. I had no doubt that I would quickly regain my strength and level of
fitness but I knew I had let my weight get out of control in the
previous years. What I was more worried about was the weight I had
gained over the past 10 years that no diet or fitness regimen had been
able to help me take off completely.
So
I did it...I enlisted my night owl, sleep deprived, newborn mom self to
drag (and I mean drag) myself out of bed at 5:00 a.m. to workout.
The rebuilding had begun, and just as I thought, the strength and
fitness started to come back. Slowly I noticed the jiggling object
following me up the stairs (known as my big old butt) started to feel
more like a big object without the jiggle. I was happy, but the size
wasn't decreasing or at least not at the rate that I wanted. That was
when I realized that I was going to have to start looking at the whole
picture. That meant committing to doing one of the Clean Eating Challenges that I would hear the Kirks talk about. Even
though I was so bothered by the idea of not having cream in my coffee,
cheese with everything I knew that I loved fruits and veggies. I
decided I had to give it a shot.
That
was when it all really fell into place for me. I'm not saying that it
wasn't difficult, because it was, but within a few weeks I realized that
my answers were in my food choices. Not just how I looked, but how I
felt and my ability to make good choices were all being affected by what
I put in my mouth. I was sucked in. I was starting to get interested in (and understand) concepts
that I had never considered before like blood sugar and inflammation.
During that challenge is when I made a mental shift. It was no longer
about just losing weight, it was about nutrition and whole body health.
So
fast forward again...it's a year after my fist challenge. I'm still
going strong. I didn't do the "challenge" because I now view it as a
way of life. People always ask me if I'm doing the Paleo Diet. I
always want to answer NO because I don't view it as a diet...I view it
as a lifestyle. It made me realized how the people that have the
"Paleolifestylediet" website got the name.
Now
I'm down 50 lbs and stronger than I have been in a long time. I'm
feeding myself in a way that I believe gives me strength, energy,
nutrition and good health. It's a process but I'm a believer. I mean I
drink my coffee black now. If you would have told me a year ago that I
would be drinking black coffee and having grass fed cheese
only occasionally I would have told you that you have the wrong girl.
But here I am. That is me!
Who
knew that two people and an introduction to a new way of living would
have such a profound change in my life! Somewhere in their literature I
remember reading their salutation "yours in health". They mean it.
Thank you Kirks!!
I am luckily enough to see Jen's smiling face 3 days a week at 5:30 a.m. She has a way of brightening up a room and her determination is contagious. She encourages and inspires her classmates and is a true driving force. Thank You Jen for the reminder of what it's all about!
We will have more success stories as well as updates on past challenge participants in coming posts. If this is your first time wrapping up a challenge please click here for important information about coming off of a challenge.
