Day 12: Slow and steady

     Here we are at day 12, almost half way through the Whole30. According to the timeline, this is the day I am supposed to experience boundless energy. So far today, I feel pretty good. My workout was a little drawn out and I was the last to finish (which is getting a little old), BUT... I went, and I did it. Still no struggle or cravings, so I know our menu has been good which definitely helps. So excited to take some time to read the new Whole30 book and check out some of their new recipes this weekend.
   So about this slow and steady thing.... My decision to begin changing my lifestyle and work towards a better me was right around the end of 2012. It feels like I've been doing this forever, and some days I don't feel like I've made any changes at all; I still see that same person in the mirror, and still feel so much bigger than people around me. So, it's been about 2 years and 3 months and I've gone from 276 to 227, 46" waist to 36", and struggling to make it through a basic circuit workout to crossfit 4 times a week. I'm a week and a day out from my first Spartan, and I've truly never felt better in my whole life. While I read things about people losing a 100lbs in a year or see those unrealistic tv shows where they lose 27lbs in a week and sometimes feel like I'm not working hard enough, I also know that the way I'm doing this is a journey, a life lesson, and will be maintainable. I know deep down that THIS is how I will be successful for the rest of my life.
     We have tried SO many different plans and programs all with their own level of success, each ending in some sort of decision to change to something else or to make bad decisions going back to our old habits. But no matter what the changes or how long we stayed on something, we have stuck it out for the most part since that point back in winter of 2012, and this current streak we are on has lasted the longest, had the most momentum, and also the most results. We are happy, we are getting healthy, and we are no longer scared to set big goals for ourselves. Gifts to each other are now fitness related or paleo cookbooks, we geek out in sporting goods stores, and prefer workout gear to dressing up. What a difference in the life we share together, and within ourselves as individuals. There is nothing about this journey I would change.

       This is a little outside my comfort zone, and I took these pics with no intention of sharing them. So consider that your warning, but this is my accountability to myself. The pics on the left are January 2013 and the right are from today. Still a long way to go, but it gets easier every day.

-Jamie