Time to get it together

[Saramorphosis]

Hello everyone!  I've lurked around for awhile so I figured it was time for me to introduce myself and get involved.

 

My story is the ubiquitous and boring "I was a chunky kid with a thyroid problem whose weight was kept somewhat in check by active extra-curriculars, got extra-fat in college, did Weight Watchers and successfully lost a bunch of weight but put most of it back on during/after having kids".  Last year I tried out the GAPS diet to see if I had any food sensitivities and dropped a bunch of weight over the 30 day intro (plus I felt great!) but as soon as I added grains back in I lost control and I've been in a free fall (free gain?) ever since.  I now weigh an impressive 46 pounds more than I weighed in October of last year at my lowest and I've had a lot of trouble sticking to any sort of eating plan for longer than half a day.  

 

The thing is, my kitchen is probably healthier than 95% of American kitchens...my family pretty much only eats whole foods, with the exception of the occasional box of organic juice-sweetened 100% whole grain cereal for the kids or package of Sunspire grain-sweetened chocolate chips.  I'm a Chemist who likes to keep her chemicals in the lab, not in her food!  We don't have a single grain product in the house that isn't 100% whole grain and in most cases also sprouted and NO processed sugar, but when my cravings hit I can abuse almost any kind of food.  I know fat's not the enemy, but when I combine grains and the cravings they cause me with the whole milk and full-fat cheeses that I keep around because I know they are better for you than their nasty fat-free counterparts I have a recipe for disaster. I know what I should be eating, but I eat way too much of it.  It's all very demoralizing :-(

 

Thanks to my experience with the GAPS diet I know that my body positively thrives when I take away grains but I have never actually followed the Paleo way of eating because I didn't think it was infinitely sustainable for me.  I KNOW that sometime in the future I will eat a piece of bread or a slice of cake and the cravings will come roaring back, at which point it's very difficult for me not to feel like "everything is ruined" and lose control.  My plan for now is to stay strictly Paleo for 30 days, and when I inevitably end up eating something non-paleo in the future I will do my best to see it as a one-time thing that I can detox from in a day or two and continue on my way, not the end of everything.  I need to learn to live in the gray area and not see the only options as being 100% perfect or not even trying.

 

Exercise-wise I optimally do Bodypump once a week (mostly because my mom does it and likes me to do it with her), Karate a couple times a week, and Zumba plus a functional kettlebell type-workout or two the rest of the days.  Realistically though, on a normal week I do the Bodypump and a Karate class or two for the first few days and then run out of motivation and make excuses for the rest of the week :-(  Karate would be a heckuva lot easier if I didn't have a big belly and hips getting in the way of my stretches and kicks though!

 

So that's me.  I look forward to meeting everyone here and hopefully getting my health under control for good!

[Laureleye]

I try to do what I think of as "today's best".  I am responsible (to myself) to do the best I can for today.  Yesterday's best might have been better, but that was yesterday.  Tomorrow's best might be better, but that's tomorrow.  If I get home late from work and only have time for 1/2 my workout - that's today's best.  If I come home with a headache, and have to swap a walk for my normally scheduled run, that's okay because it was the best I could do today.  It helps me to have a workout schedule to hold to, plus scheduled rest days. 

 

Joining the next challenge might really help you build some "grey" habits.  Good luck with your goals.