It’s important to be honest with yourself when you take a look at your life. Taking accountability for your life and realizing you have the power to make positive changes is so empowering. The last few months I haven’t felt my best. I have been prioritizing everything but myself, and for the lack of better words, I’ve felt inflamed and weak. I knew this was food-related so instead of talking about being healthier — I did something about it. Because that’s what I do. I walk the talk. 

I wanted to choose a healthy eating lifestyle that wasn’t so much a “diet” as it was just having more awareness of what I was consuming. So, I chose to do the Whole30 plan. It’s a simple plan to follow. It’s literally 30 days of whole foods eating —  no bread, no sugar, no grains, etc.

My intention was to feel stronger. I felt like it was getting harder to move around and I was just feeling a bit weighed down, mainly bloated. I’ve never been one to care about my weight, the number on the scale, but I could just tell that I felt a bit off. No one around me really noticed, but I definitely did. It was time to focus on me. I was feeling it in my whole body, including my knees. I think most people just continue on even when they aren’t feeling good, become demotivated, and maybe even let it get worse.  But I’m a doer. I don’t want to just talk about it. I’m always going to do something about it.

I will also say that I never had a single “cheat” meal. I did have cheat bites on purpose though. On John’s birthday, he got these cookies and I thought, you know what, I’m going to have a bite of this cookie but I’m going to limit it to that. Normally, I would eat the entire cookie but I trained my thinking last month to say to myself, one bite is enough and it’s still satisfying. We had dinner with my neighbors and she brought home-made brownies and again I decided, I’m going to have a couple bites of this brownie but that’s it. Normally before, I would have eaten the whole brownie square. So, I feel like I did the plan probably 97% of the way to being fully whole food for the month. That is still major progress and I’m really proud that I made that commitment. I lost probably eight pounds and I feel better in my clothes and in my skin. I feel so much stronger already.

It also reminds me that I can do something, even when things are stacked against me. It was really hard to do because everybody around me was NOT doing it. It was definitely a test of control and perseverance because those foods can be addicting. Sugar is addicting and I love sugar. I love dessert. I love bread. I love pasta. And I was still making pasta for my kids to eat for dinner but I wasn’t eating it myself. I also wasn’t eating out or eating sandwiches, all of which was previously normal for me. I was making smarter decisions. I’ve also been tracking my food using Noom and that was super helpful. I think the fact that I made it through the full month showed me that I can do it. I can choose to make smart food choices on a consistent basis.

So, then I thought, what’s next?

I don’t want it to be about just making good choices for a month. I’m going to continue to live more like that, making whole foods a priority. That first month was like a serious kickstart. Going forward, I’ll incorporate a food routine that is sustainable and intentional. I’m definitely not looking to deprive myself entirely or lose 30 pounds or anything. As we get older, our metabolism slows down so much so I just want to make better choices to support it. And my primary goal is to continue to feel stronger.

I can tell after the first month, I’m already on my way to getting stronger.  The strength goal now, while I continue to eat wisely, is to specifically strengthen my legs. I’ve had problems with my knees for a while and if I can strengthen my legs, my knees will hurt less. They have been hurting less as I’ve been getting stronger but I want to keep improving. With my trainer, I really want to start focusing on building the muscle in my hamstrings and my quads. That’s going to strengthen the support of my knee.

How I’m approaching my leg and knee strength is a process though too. I know it’s not going to be easy. I know it’s going to take time. Before I get where I want to be with strength in my knee, I know it’s going to hurt. There are days my legs are going to be sore and my knees might even feel it. In those moments, I know I’ll probably think that I really don’t want to feel that. But I know that in order to get to the other side, I have to go through it. So that’s my next commitment this month. I’m really going to be focusing on getting my legs stronger because I do believe that will help me, on and off the lanes.  

So why all this? Why did I feel provoked to write a blog and newsletter about my September goal? Because here’s the point: It doesn’t need to be Jan 1 to start a resolution. You actually can start right now.

A lot of people might do that, put goals off because it’s already the last stretch of the year. People seem to especially do that with health and fitness goals. But January 1st is not the only time to start serious goals. Intentionally living is when you wake up and are clear and focused about how you are shaping your life every day, any day of the year.

If you focus on the single day ahead of you, the days add up to a month eventually. And then after that, guess what? Day by day, month by month, it leads you to achieving something bigger, without it feeling like a daunting commitment anymore! It becomes so much more manageable. So why not start the day-by-day approach to your goals now?

What goals have you been putting off for later? What if we showed up for them together?

I know it’s so easy to not show up for your goals when they’re not prioritized or there’s nothing or no one to keep you accountable. So, why not show up with me? I want to hear what goals are on your horizon.

I’m also considering opening Goals Lab up again. If you’re interested in getting into that group, let me know. If there’s interest in another session, I’ll open it up to another group soon.