Mamavation Monday: The Slow and Steady Edition

I’ve put this off for about two weeks now.  Two weeks ago I decided I was going to go on a Cleanse Diet for 21 days; no alcohol, no caffeine, no sugar, no gluten and no animal products.  Not only to rid my body of toxins, but to also lose weight, and I figured if I could go without the “Bad 5″ for 21 days then I could certainly live a healthier lifestyle and let go of my Big 2 of the Bad 5- caffeine and sugar.  The first day was wonderful, but oddly enough on that first day, Bookieboo also posted a video about making slow and gradual changes.  She said she did not recommend huge lifestyle overhauls.  I pondered on that for a minute but decided I would just go ahead and plow through the 21 day cleanse and see what happens.  Couldn’t hurt right?  WRONG!  The next day I was so sick!  I couldn’t believe how sick I was!  I immediately decided that Bookieboo was right and that the way to go about this was to gradually work my way up to the Cleanse Diet.

I’ve pondered about pledging to the Mamavation Sistahood for a while now.  I like the idea of the support, the gradual changes, being real and not be perfect because let’s face it- none of us are!  We might as well accept it now, so when it happens we can get over it and jump back on the horse again.  I’m looking forward to fitness tips, motivation and motivating other women to make these healthier, gradual changes in their lives.  I think that Bookieboo is absolutely right when she says that we women have to do this for our families and not for ourselves.  There is a part of me that is very selfish in this and wants to lose weight so that I feel better about myself.  However, I also know that since having two kids the only things I stick to are the things that benefit my family- not me.  My career is an example of that.  I’m a proud stay at home mom with two beautiful children and everyday the Hubs and I do what we can to offer a better future for our children by paying off debt, learning new skills, getting an education, etc all so that someday we can buy a house with a yard, put our girls through college, pay for their weddings, etc.  I’ve always had motivation and drive, but they were the missing focus I needed in my life.

So far I am 14 days without caffeine, 7 days without sugar and 1 day without alcohol.  I’ve had a couple of slip ups since I started this.  Mostly out of habit.  Last night when I went out to dinner with my family I ordered a coke with my dinner, which has both caffeine and sugar, my two big addictions.  When I realized what I had done I went ahead and drank the coke anyway but when the waitress came back around to re-fill my cup I asked for a glass of ice water instead.  I am beginning to notice that I have so many habits that I need to break- going to Starbucks in the morning, ordering soda or tea with my lunch, etc, etc.  I really need to start thinking about my choices and force myself out of “auto-bot” mode.  I’m learning to pre-pack my backpack with nuts and dried fruit, along with a Larabar and some bottled water at night so that in the morning when I am groggy and need to get going I have things to munch on that are healthy.  If I have something already I am less likely to want to stop at Starbucks for a tea or a morning latte.

Taking the slow and steady changes in my diet is a lot easier and a lot less frustrating than going on the Cleanse Diet cold turkey, and it is giving my body some time to adjust to the withdrawals of caffeine, sugar, etc. before moving on to the next item on the list.

Other than losing the weight and getting my family into healthier habits I’m not sure what the long-term goal is here.  I’ll do the Cleanse and see what I liked and what I didn’t.  Do some research on gluten-free and vegan diets.  There is a big part of me that is against a vegan diet.  Simply put I don’t think our bodies are supposed to survive on a plant-based diet.  I think a healthy diet consists of fruits, vegetables, lean meats and whole grains, but we will see how I feel after the cleanse.  Either way this is a journey where I am sure I will learn a lot about me, food, exercise, and more.  Here it goes!

~KR

 

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by EatSmart Products and I’m writing this to be entered into a EatSmart Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale giveaway hosted by Mamavation .

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