Things I am learning

So, this year, I had one big Resolution : Fitness. But the thing is, the idea is to be fit in almost every aspect of my life. I have different things I want to focus on in different times of this coming year, and right now, my focus is on my Physical Fitness.

Lets talk about that.

What does being Physically fit mean to me? A few things. First off, it means being able to walk up stairs and not be out of breath. Second off, it means not always feeling bloated, tired and foggy-minded.  Third off, it means not being ashamed of my body, in or out of clothes. 

I am working on all of these things, and the main way I am doing it is food. You guys, I have a grain intolerance. It is the worst. It means that when I eat gluten, I feel awful for about 24 hours, and then just not great for about a week. Up until today, I had been fully gluten free for 2 weeks! Today I had some cheesecake, with a sponge cake crust (which I made. sooooo goooood. but next time with an almond flour crust!), and immediately went up a pants size (not exaggerated - my pants went from fitting to being really tight). It it just now beginning to fade, and I think it is because I only ate a very small amount. When I eat something like a sandwich or a bowl of pasta - oh my gosh. I just feel the worst. And for me, it isn't just gluten - it is basically all grains. Corn is actually the WORST for me - worse than Gluten. When I have popcorn, sometimes I throw up after b/c my body just refuses to process it. If I don't throw up, I just stay up all night wishing that I was throwing up so I would feel better. Basically, I have to stay away from all grain.

Anyways, I decided that this year was going to be the year of me stopping my excuses and not feeling awful anymore. I know exactly what I need to do to feel good - and that is eat right and excercise. For me, eating right means eating Paleo - which is to say eating Meat, Veggies, some fruit, nuts, and a very small amount of full-fat dairy. No grains, no legumes, no processed sugars. This time, instead of fully phasing into this, I am going at it slowly. This month I cut out most grains. Next month will be dairy products (fare thee well, dear icecream, which makes me feel awful anyways) and then the next will be the hardest - sugar! But after cutting out dairy, my most favorite forms of sugar will be gone, so it shouldn't actually be that hard. We'll see. 

To do the Paleo thing it means that I had to decide to suck it up and cook a LOT more. I mean, I would make meals before, but cooking is a whole different ball game. I spent 3 hours of active cooking making dinner on Sunday. Add another hour if you include the cheesecake. I have cooked more in the past 2 weeks than I have the past 2 years of our marriage (slight exaggeration). David is basically in heaven and I am too - I forgot how much I enjoy creating something amazingly delicious out of ingredients. I am especially loving this time around b/c we are using better quality meats and veggies, and I am starting to use way more spices, which makes the end product so much better. I am going to try to start going to the Farmers Market to get even better produce and meat! Yay! I got Well Fed for Christmas, and it has some epic-ly spiced recipes. As of now, I don't really even miss grain! I made almond flour poppy seed muffins and they were awesome! And I made a peach tart that David finished off the pan! And it had NO grain in it! 

Anyways, the second part of the equation is for me to exercise a little bit - since I wasn't doing anything really for the past year. We joined a gym last year and I worked out a total of (and I know this for fact b/c you have to write down when you go and fill out a form) NINE times. So basically, I paid like 40 bucks a workout. And its only a 25 minute workout! I am the worst. So anyways, I have that membership still and have decided to put it to good use by going 2 times a week for the ENTIRE YEAR (3 times if I have nothing going on Saturdays, but they are usually pretttty booked solid). I also signed up for Jazzercise. Yes, this is me, a 25 year old, in a class with a bunch of 50-70 year old women. But the music is actually really good (J. Biebs, Ke$ha, Jason Mraz, etc) and it kicks my trash - and I'm doing it EASY version of all the moves b/c of my awful knees until I build up some more strength. Last week we did this thing where we stood in one place and just lifted one leg in different ways for 2 minutes on each side. Sounds easy? I thought I was going to die. So, naturally, I am trying to go 3 times a week! If I got 150 times this year, I get a free shirt! :-) 

Thusly far it is all paying off - I somehow magically have lost 9 pounds since New Years Day. I have eaten a bunch of sugar, have sat and watched a ton of TV and have not been hungry nor counted a single calorie. In fact, I cook everything in grassfed butter or coconut oil! How is this possible? I don't know, but I do know that I feel awesome (other than the Gluten Gassyness of today) and I am excited to keep it going!

The End.