Shake it Off!

One of my favorite things to say over these last few months is, "life happens." I have to hold tightly to that attitude so I don't LOSE it completely. I can hardly BELIEVE it has been nearly 5 months since I have written anything on this blog! I must say that just because I haven't shared anything lately doesn't mean I've been totally OFF clean eating, though I've been rather relaxed. TOO relaxed. Honestly, I've seen zero weight gain, possibly even loss, but this is not a report worth celebrating! No, unfortunately my lack of good, purposeful exercise has led to a serious and quite noticeable loss in muscle tone:( So much so that I feel sore and winded from a brisk walk or a few minutes of play with my kids. How could this be? How could I go so quickly from active woman to couch potato? Well, let me just say it...life happens.

But God is good my friends, and He has seen me through this HUGE mess over the last several months. Lots of heartbreak and sleepless nights. Lots of confusion and stress. If you know my family, you understand our hearts and our circumstance. You know that the very breath was knocked out of us recently and that we're OK, on the mend, but there are still lots of unresolved little bundles of years and years of built up garbage left to sort out. But I'll say it again, God is good. He is faithful and sovereign and true. Everything works out for His glory in the end.

Alright, alright. Back to food. Real food. Real, nutritious, delicious food. Wait, just so you know...I gave a brief explanation of my life as of late ONLY to show that there is a definite correlation between EATING and EMOTIONS. At least there is for me. A big one. My purpose for sharing this info is to just explain that you CAN still have success even after being derailed a long while. It's not the end of the world and it's definitely not the end of your success story if you happen to find yourself 3 months since your last completely clean week of eating, with your spoon in the jar of Jif!!! However, the end of your "success" story may be right around the corner if you don't choose NOW to put down that spoon and not only walk away from the PB jar, but THROW IT AWAY!! WHO BOUGHT THIS DARNED SUGARY PEANUT BUTTER, ANYWAY??

We're gonna mess up. I'm not talking about your occassional cheats. I'm talking about serious road rash from falling off the wagon. Like me, right now...totally STARTING OVER with my lifestyle. I need to re-gain my focus and tenacity for nutritious foods. I have a passion for this stuff that had to take a back seat for several reasons, such as not having my own home, serious depression that included feelings of needing to "punish" myself for some crazy reason. (CRAZY) Emotional eating is scary and can take over if you let it! The most important thing to remember is that YOU ARE WORTH INVESTING YOUR BEST. You get ONE body while on this planet. Treat it with respect and it will return the favor with better quality of life and longevity! Believe me, I don't know a whole lot about anything, but I DO know that I never felt better than while eating CLEAN. And now that I've had a few weeks to re-establish my lifestyle I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER! Just a little focus and dedication is all it takes to arm yourself with the knowledge you need to clean up your diet.

STOP what you're doing.

THINK about what you're doing.

GO on about your business or choose a different direction.

Who was it that said something like "doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is crazy...?"  I used to hear my father-in-law say this all the time. I don't know where he got it, but when you think about it, it makes sense. Right?

So, it's up to you and me to use our own brains and figure this out. We all know when we've had enough of doing the same thing. Will you stop and think today?

Keep checking back here for new posts and I promise, for real, I'll keep up and even share some recipes once in a while. Feel free to comment or send me questions. While I don't have any letters behind my name, I do try to keep up with knowing what it means to eat clean, nutritious food. I'm passionate about real food and I love to help others spark their interest in it as well.