I know my blog posts make it sound like I'm an expert and it's been an easy hop, skip, and a pony ride for me to live Paleo, but here's a little secret: I'm not an expert. I'm a woman who researches to find answers and I used to live off fast-food, caffeine, alcohol, and cigarettes before deciding to turn my health around! It has been a slow process at that, but I did it! I started out a few pounds shy of 200!
The Breakdown:
August 2011- I stopped drinking dark sodas due to a severe kidney infection. I found out about new studies from my NP (nurse practitioner) who told me about the dark caramel coloring in them leading to chronic kidney disease as you age. Yikes! I was up to almost four liters of Pepsi a day, uh-oh. I was a Pepsiholic and not just the drink. I still own Pepsi PJ pants, Pepsi flip-flops, Pepsi lip gloss, and Pepsi shirts. It was hard for me to give up, but I did it! From there on out it was Sierra Mist (still a Pepsi product) or Sprite if it wasn't available and I started eating healthy (or what I thought was healthy).March 2012- I started to hit the gym at least 3 times a week. Gradually I increased my trips to the gym up to 6-7 times a week.
July 2012- I had officially dropped 40lbs! I still had 10 to go and my belly flab.
August 2012- Minor set back, I was bitten by a brown recluse spider on my right calf and had to have outpatient surgery to cut out the dying muscle tissue before the poison ate my leg off. That ordeal kept me out of the gym for a few months, but I'll spare you the gory details. I gained back 10lbs that I lost, ugh. Then I got lazy and didn't get back into the gym until February 2013.
November 2012- I gave up the alcohol. I'm not saying from time to time I won't have a glass of red wine, but believe me I stick to one maybe two if I'm eating a big meal.
February 2013- Back in the gym again, 4-5 times a week. I lost that 10lbs within three weeks.
April 2013- Walked/Jogged my first 5K, official time at 46 minutes.
August 2013- During a weight training class at the gym I was doing leg extensions and my hip kept making this awful popping sound, so I made an appointment with a Chiropractor. (Is anyone else noticing a pattern? August doesn't seem to be a good month for me, ha!) A couple x-rays later and the report was my tailbone was awkwardly angled too high, my left hip was slightly higher than my right hip, and my tailbone was actually curved into my left hip. Fifteen appointments, a tailbone adjustment (not pleasant), and a bunch of money later my hip was still making that popping sound. Now it was just an issue with the tendon in my right hip felxor.
September 2013- I started eating Paleo and gave up caffeine for nine days to detox my body from it. I was a pot of coffee a day drinker, and now I only have my 1 big cup in the morning with my coconut milk creamer.
Cigarettes- I started smoking occasionally (2-6 a week) in November/December 2004, then slowly became a regular smoker (about half a pack a day) by August 2005. I had a small triumph in 2007 where I quit from March-November, but then I started up again that December. I know I was already quit, what was I thinking?! At one point I was so stressed I was up to a pack and a half a day, tsk-tsk. Now, I wish I could say I'm 100% nicotine free, but alas that would be untrue. However, I haven't picked up a cigarette since July 19, 2013. I do vape an E-Cig now, but I'm down to 8mg of nicotine and will be officially quit by my birthday December 16. At least it's a step in the right direction.
Why do you even care about any of this? I wanted to share this with y'all to explain that I know where you're coming from. There are a lot of bad and unhealthy habits we've gotten ourselves into over the years that are hard to give up and will take some time to kick. Take it one day at a time and if you feel the need to give in to a soda craving, go for it. Just remember keeping toxins in your body is not good for it, but every now and then won't do much damage.
Something to look forward to:
I'm currently working on tweaking a recipe for Paleo Pistachio Fudge and creating a recipe for Dark Chocolate-Pumpkin Bars as a treat when guests or holidays arrive. Once I work out the kinks I'll upload the recipes for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment