Positive Thoughts - The Key To Success

Good evening all!

Hope you are all keeping well and slowly easing your way back in to post Christmas/New Year life!
Do not let your  growing sense of doom take over (so your boss was an a-hole today and your child decided to start the first working day of the year with a vomiting bug), but rather use 2013's brand newness to knock yourself into action.

Set yourself some goals - be they diet related, work focused or aimed at your personal life, I find the beginning of the year is an ideal time to dwell on your aims for the 12 months ahead.

Taking on a Whole30 is no different. We need to consider the reasons we are embarking on such a challenge - what do we hope to achieve, what do we aim to gain from it?

Even if this is not your first Whole30, exploring the reasons we have decided to retake this challenge is important too. Discovering what makes your body tick, what your triggers are and what your cravings are say a lot about what we need to change in our diets as a whole.

For me I am doing my fourth Whole30 to reset my system after a not always perfect Christmas season. I need to get back to basics and being an all or nothing type of person I need to go 100% sometimes to refocus my goals.

Eating clean for health and optimum wellness is my key aim nowadays. Admittedly this was not my original aim for beginning Paleo eating, but as a result of my journey it is where I am now.

My personal aims for 2013:
Eat as close to optimal Paleo as possible while incorporating other health benefits - eg herbal teas, fermented foods etc
Get back in shape! I need to get moving again - I used to enjoy jogging. I have decided to go for lunchtime walks 2/3 a week and to start a kettlebell class.
Study Study Study - I am currently studying to be a Nutritional Therapist. This year I want to learn as much as possible and read as many food related books as I can.
Be more positive - Look at the positives in myself, situations and others more.
Be happy!

What are your goals for 2013?

2013 - Lets Start As We Mean To Go On

Ah Christmas.

A time to rejoice, but unfortunately also a time many of us overdo it!
I have definitely been guilty of overdoing it. Too much food (good stuff and not so good stuff) and too much alcohol.
My system is well and truly due a RESET of epic proportions, and I am looking forward to it.

Breaking the cycle of bad eating is tough. Just as our bodies learn to love healthy food, it quickly comes to crave the sugars and processed foods we worked so hard to eradicate.

This is why a Whole30 reset is crucial for me. I am an all or nothing girl, requiring clearly defined goals. Perhaps it is deemed as unhealthy for most but for me, eating 100% Paleo is the only way for me to reset after a bit of overindulgence. I need clarity and cleanliness at every turn and find it liberating and exhilarating once my body gets used to it again. 

So 1st January looms and I am preparing for a month of 100% Paleo.

This means;

NO ALCOHOL
NO GRAINS
NO SUGARS
NO PROCESSED FOOD

No easy task, but totally possible.

2013 will also be an important year for me on a personal level as I am getting married in September so the turn of the New Year is even more exciting!

I hope you will follow my journey in 2013 and beyond and that you too enjoy the experience of eating clean and real food.

Is Food The New Crack?

I have been eating a Paleo diet for over 18 months now and looking back at my first posts on here I realise how much this lifestyle has become an important part of my life.

When I first committed to eating this way I viewed it as a short time strategy to loose a few pounds around the tummy and feel better about myself in the mirror.

What I got was something so much more.

I evolved from a refined carbaholic to someone who is passionate about not just looking and feeling my best, but to someone who is passionate and AWARE of everything I eat.

I make decisions based not on the calorific content of food, not on its "Points value" or even it's saturated fat content, but rather how it exists as part of the meal I am eating and as part of my food intake for that day.

Food has to be about quality, substance and nutrient density and not just about gratification. It can be pleasurable but should not be therapy. It should be satisfying but not a crutch.

These are the main things I have learned in my journey so far.

As time as gone on and I have been inspired to make this passion a part of my long term plan, I have returned to part time education to train to be a nutritional therapist. I really believe stubbling upon the Paleo way of eating was a key part of my decision to take this new and exciting path, and it another reason I am thankful for it's discovery!

But following this clean, real food diet has also made me more aware of the bad state of society's diet.
People are all to happy to put such unbelievable crap in their bodies. Eating food based on it's points value rather than it's nutritional value is just wrong.

I am all to aware that not too many years ago I too believed low fat was healthy, that cracker bread was pretty good for me, and pasta was nutritious. But I none the less enjoyed vegetables and salads on a regular basis, and cooked homemade food from scratch the majority of the time.

People are well and truly addicted, and food is their drug.

Healthy eaters can be viewed as the enemy, the drug squad, ruining their buzz and not understanding their situation.

Food is these people's crack and we need a 10 step program, FAST.