Winning.

Today is Day 24. This time next week, I will be on Day 31. You thought Whole 30 was only for 30 days? Yes it is. But I have seen so much improvement in so many areas on my life, Whole 30 isn't stopping for me.

Last week, a switch was flipped. I've been waiting for that switch flipping for YEARS. I've prayed and prayed for God to help me with my food issues, to guide me to what I needed to do, to show me the right choices I needed to make. Now, I realize that it probably took years because He knew I wasn't ready. He knew that to do this, I needed to be FULLY COMMITTED to the change. And apparently I wasn't ready for the change prior to 24 days ago.

The magic started to happen last week. The magic that Whole 30 promises you will feel if you stick to the program. I noticed that I wasn't sleepy in the afternoons. I noticed that I had been in a good mood, for like, several days. Happy actually. I haven't had a single headache since that horrible one on Day 2. I noticed that I wasn't craving something sweet after every meal. I noticed that I wasn't having to eat as much to feel full and I wasn't so focused on food.

I've also noticed my body changing. I've been dying to jump on the scale but I haven't allowed myself to cheat. I have noticed (and so have other people) that my face looks slimmer. I have also noticed that my boobs (sorry for any guys that might be reading this, not that there are any) are deflating. This is not a bad thing for me. I could stand to deflate a little. My stomach is also flatter (haven't done a single crunch or sit up) and my clothes are fitting better.

This is called WINNING, people.

And these changes really are all about the food. Yes, I have gone on a couple of hikes with the Golfer and taken some long (and short) walks. But I haven't done any major working out. This only proves what I've been reading over and over: weight loss is 75% diet and 25% exercise.

Why didn't someone tell me this sooner??? I yelled to no one in particular.

I've worked out, religiously, with trainers before. They would ask, "Are you changing your diet?" And I would say, "Sure!" because that was the correct thing to say. But the truth was, I was still eating the same way that I always had. Maybe I had cut out some of the fast food, but I was the exerciser that still enjoyed her ice cream at night and then complained about the scale not moving.

Yes the blame is on me, not on the trainers. However, I wish they had grabbed me by my puffy face and told me that all of the working out in the world wouldn't matter if I didn't drastically change my eating habits.

Maybe I wasn't ready to hear that.

Programs like Whole 30 often talk about lifestyle change. I've heard that a lot. "It's a lifestyle change, not a diet." I would shake my head and say, "Yes, I get it." I understood, but honestly wasn't ready for that change. Change is hard. I didn't need anything else hard in my life.

With this change, each day has gotten a little easier. So easy in fact, that I have no intention of ever going back to my old ways of eating. Will I enjoy an alcoholic beverage? Uh, yeah. Will I eat a cupcake ever again? Yes, on a special occasion. I will eat cheese every once in a while and yogurt only a couple times a week instead of every morning. I will eat bread again, but carefully and cautiously. Sugar? Nope. Can't do it. It's my drug. And now that I'm clean of my drug I don't want ever to return.

You want proof? I made homemade chocolate chip cookies for the boys last week. The beautiful smell filled my entire house. But I didn't have one lick. Not one bite. Do you know how hard it is not to eat a homemade chocolate chip cookie straight out of the oven?!?

Damn hard.

But I did it. And no I'm not lying.

Winning, people. Winning.