Today’s post isn’t a recap of what I did at the Boom Box or of what I ate or how I’m winning/losing in my battle to get back to fit. It’s more of a refresher as to why I’m here, who I am and to say HI to the new folks following. So HI everyone. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for sticking around and dealing with my ups and downs over the past year and a half.

I had made “GET HEALTHY” a priority for myself in February 2011 and that’s just what I did. I knew I was at a pivotal point of becoming another OBESE person of society that made excuses to justify my non existent happiness. Because if I said I was happy then everyone including myself should believe it, right? WRONG. I needed to shift my poor thought process and change! And CHANGE I did. I was the poster child of doing work, eating healthy and sticking to the plan. Even though I had met goals and was a leaner version of me I was burning out and losing interest.

Then I found CrossFit. For years it was a mysterious thing to me. I’d hear about it, go online and look it up but it was all gibberish. A foreign language with weird numbers and abbreviations in the workouts. I stayed away, never calling or inquiring more because it surely wasn’t something that I would understand. And if I can’t understand it then I will FAIL at it. But low and behold a BOX by the name of CrossFit Boom opened 2 miles away from me. My boyfriend Ernie found out about it and signed up. For someone who despised working out but kept going back had me intrigued. He was miserable and committed all at the same time. A few weeks later I was “trying” it out and was hooked.

I started changing Mentally and Physically. I learned that I just wasn’t persistent at working out. I learned I was strong. I learned I was tough. I was getting better and I could measure progress. I was lifting weights and not turning into a SHE MAN. I was doing things I had never thought possible. It was empowering.

A couple of months in, I was trying to keep logs of what I did via online sites that allowed you to input the workouts but it was too much of a hassle so I started blogging. And guess what? Having a conversation with myself online was perfect for me. And here I am.

You’ve seen the highest highs of me and the lowest lows. I’m in one of the lows right now climbing my way back up but it’s all part of my everyday journey. I want to speak to the one or to the thousands of folks out there struggling. I also want to be a part of the community of Crossfitters out there because we can all relate. And I want to speak fitness and health in general to anyone willing to read about my journey. Even if you think CrossFit or Paleo is insane! I’m not here to be your mamma, I’m here as an example.

Over the years, people ask me what I eat, why I eat the way I do, etc. And like a broken record I tell my story. And even though it feels as if I’m speaking to a brick wall day in and day out, I will still be that broken record. There’s been several occasions where people have physically seen me change, they know EXACTLY what I have done to get here but still don’t believe. A few months down the road they buy into it all and are preaching to me as if I had never shared my story with them. But you know what if I was the ‘bug’ that was in their ear that had them intrigued at one point, I’ll take it. Then there are the other folks, that gather all the info, seemed interested but still don’t want to change. They say they do but nothing happens. I can’t make you change, that has to come from within. You have to light that fire from within you.

At the end of the day I just want people to find a healthy path in life. To be able to enjoy their families and enjoy being active. We weren’t made to sit around in front of tv. Hell we weren’t made to sit at our desks either but we’re a conformed people and that’s part of it. So when you have 30 minutes or an hour, I don’t care if you have 10 minutes – Take a walk. Get some fresh air. We get so wound up with gizmos and gadgets and instant gratification we forget there’s a world out there that’s to be enjoyed.

If you’re sitting there, reading, saying “ya right” whether it be sarcastically or hopeful, then I’m talking to you! I wish everyone could know what “feeling” great on the inside and out feels like instantly but I can’t. It takes work. It takes time. And as with anything, once you start doing it, it’s not such a chore. It becomes part of you. It’s your lifestyle. Ya, Ya, I can almost here the sighing and see the eye rolling. LIFESTYLE is such a buzz word I know. But it’s so true. It’s not a temporary thing. It’s an everyday thing.

Even in my the midst of my chaos I haven’t completely abandoned the “newer” me. I still have the foundation that I built for eating clean and putting in physical work for my body. I did let the busy drag me down. I have eaten like crap. But I still make efforts. I’m six months off the EATING CLEAN TRAIN but I still show up at the box even thought the saying goes “you can’t out train a bad diet”. I could say SCREW IT. But I don’t. And if have 5 Mondays where I start over or 20 Mondays where I start over – I’m still getting back to it. And let me tell you that’s a mental battle. I know it is. I’m not saying it’s easy breezy. Once you fall down the rabbit hole it’s tough. I’m there right now. I can barely walk right now. Not because I was trying to kill myself but because I was MIA for two weeks. I pushed hard because I needed to mentally do it for me. I’m not broken, just sore. But it’s that sore that makes most people quit. The sore that says “why the hell would I do that everyday”. Well I won’t be THIS sore everyday. And in a couple of months when I’m back on track and my body has changed from being fluffy to being lean again then I will KNOW it was worth it. And I’m not going to quit.

So don’t quit folks. And if you haven’t started…. START. If you fall down, GET UP. If you fall down again, GET UP AGAIN. Commit to 30 days of eating clean and moving. Shoot commit to 10 days. Do one push up and one sit up a day. Add one rep to each day. So on day two you are doing 2 push ups and 2 sit ups and on day 3, it’s 3 push ups and sit ups. Just keep adding. Walk up and down your stairs 5 times. Do 50 jumping jacks. It really doesn’t matter. Just start moving. And move everyday.

And since you’re committed to moving now, put down the burger or the pizza. Don’t go for the cookie or the ice cream. All of the foods we eat that are part of the Standard American Diet aka SAD are killing us from the inside out. It’s inflamming our insides. Killing our joints. Suffocating our organs. But it’s so tasty you say! Life is short, I shall enjoy it and I shall consume all the fatty fried, sweet and toxic foods! There are food scientists out there that use chemicals our bodies aren’t meant to ingest to make that food oh so tasty. And we say bottoms up. And we feed it to our families. And then life becomes really short when we get oddball diseases. Even if you don’t get something life threatening, you are plagued with sickness. You write it off. I’m wired this way. It’s genetic. It’s allergies. I’m destined to be a sickly person. WRONG.

But everything in moderation is fine, right? The problem is WE as people LIE to ourselves as to what MODERATION looks like. WE may tell ourselves we ate 3 cookies but in reality we ate 5. But it’s ok cause you don’t eat cookies everyday, right? And it’s true you may not eat cookies everyday, but you probably eat something bad for you EVERYDAY. It adds up. I eat salad everyday. But do you put 5 tablespoons of dressing on it too? Low fat, no fat, it doesn’t matter. The less fat in it the more chemicals to make it taste good.

OR just maybe you aren’t eating enough. Once you are eating less than what your body needs to function, your body goes into starvation mode. Your BODY HOLDS ON TO YOUR FAT when it’s not sure of what to do. Your body needs to store fat, aka energy. Just in case! Then you splurge on a bunch of fatty foods and your brain and insides don’t know what the heck is going on. There are mixed signals going on everywhere. Your body is in chaos. And it’s a vicious cycle that goes on hour to hour, day to day. You are destined to hold on to your extra layers if you continue to starve and splurge, then starve again.

So I ask you to cut the junk. Start moving. If you already do those things and you are on your path to good health then share your story with just one person if you’d like or a hundred people. I’ll share your story if you don’t want to yourself. And don’t get defeated if the one person doesn’t “hear” you. Just stay positive and keep walking your walk. That’s all I can do. If I have zero readers or 1000 readers – I keep walking my walk. There have been many detours, distractions and other things that have made my journey unique but I still stay on path the best I can.

Whew. Like I always say when I have a post like this …. I AM NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. I have never had MAJOR ILLNESS or LIFE THREATENING situations. I can only share what I have learned and what I do for me. I really don’t think “eating clean” can hurt you. I’m not suggesting some weird supplement or fru fru thinking. But I am just another person. I have not had weird growths, mutations or sickness come upon me from cutting out processed foods. Please consult with your doctor if you are experiencing negative side effects.

Other than that. YOU KNOW THE DRILL….. BE AWESOME!