Change is Hard

I know you're all just dying to hear how the clean eating has been going. Haha! Some of you hope to hear about my success, while others of you secretly hope I've failed. Come on, you know it. Human nature, right?

I can happily report that both groups will be satisfied. Between the hours of whenever-I-get-up and 5:00 P.M., all is well.  I eat at least two meals and two snacks with perfect portions of a protein, carb, and fat.

My cravings for sugar do not exist between these hours. And then 5:00-6:00 hits and my blood sugar drops drastically. I become suddenly weak and dizzy; it's the strangest thing. Most days when this happens I am able to curb the uneasy side effects by eating immediately, whether it's time to eat or not.

Twice this week I ate terribly after 5:00:  Dr. Pepper, cheese, and starchy carbs. And to be honest, most days I've cheated a little. Spark is back on the menu. It's crazy to think I could quit everything all at once, cold-turkey. Reality sucks.

The good news? I've lost a total of 4 lbs in 6 days. And I've done it the healthy way, which is what I'm most proud of; and it should also be noted that in my almost 40 years, I've never eaten this way. The first 3 lbs came off within the first two days, probably water weight.  I then maintained that weight until yesterday, which astonishes me.  My weight is never the same from day to day. Never. As of yesterday another pound bit the dust.

A word on the "evil" scale. I know all of the theories about not using a scale, and that I should use my clothes to determine weight loss, etc, etc. But I'm a numbers person. Even a pound here and a pound there are victories. I love the scale, and I love to use it as a motivating tool. It works for me.

What have I learned in the last six days?

First of all, I can taste again. I didn't realize I couldn't until I eliminated all of the processed foods full of artificial ingredients, sabotaging my taste buds. It's no wonder I struggled to ingest the healthy stuff; I couldn't taste them! Now, however, I absolutely love green apples and apricots. Who knew?!

Secondly, my digestion is on point. Anyone who knows me knows the struggles I've had with digestion all of my life. I attribute this new found freedom to the 67 plus fluid ounces of water I'm drinking daily. I say "freedom" because the bloated-ness and constipation are totally gone. Major relief!

Let's leave this conversation with this: all systems are running smoothly. TMI?

Finally, I've learned that I can do this. No, I'm not perfect, but I can do this, one day at a time. It's easier now because I'm at home a large part of the day, but even going to softball practice and such, I carry a cooler with healthy snacks and water. I'm not naive, however; I know the food prep will be ten times harder once school starts, but hopefully I'm creating habits to last through the busyness on the horizon.

The workout portion of this program still lingers. Learning to eat correctly far outweighs that component in my book, but I hope to implement the full program soon.

Your motivation and encouragement has been the most important aspect of this! Thank you, thank you, thank you! How can I return the favor?