When You Know You've Really Changed...

Recently, I had a week where I kind of fell off the wagon, so to speak. Although I still cooked unrefined, real food at home, our family had way more "cheats" than normal, I didn't surge train all week, and I stayed up too late and got up too early several days in a row. Do you see where this is going?

Crash and burn.

I'm not even going to tell you I had a great time. After each processed, refined meal or snack, my body felt sluggish and gross. I couldn't think as clearly. My energy plummetted and I found myself increasingly cranky.

At the end of the week, my husband and I took our kids to the park to play. While we were there, my 8 year old spied a walking trail and asked where it went. Normally, I would've jumped at the chance to explore it with her. Instead, I lazily sat on the bench and had to tell her I was too tired to walk the trail with her.

I looked at my husband. "This week proves to me how much we've changed," I told him. "In the past, I would've made excuses, like, 'I'll go back to eating healthy on Monday,' so I could enjoy more time eating junk food. But now...I don't want to eat any more of it." We were all so relieved to know that supper that night would be our own homemade pizza.

A few hours later, I needed to get a few things at the grocery store. As my cart filled up with coconut milk, Ezekiel bread, and organic produce, it felt familiar and comforting to me, and I realized once again how much we have changed. I remembered the first few times I filled my cart up with that "weird, healthy stuff" and how odd it felt, how I longed to buy the junk, and how scary it actually was. This time, I walked right past the Oreos, ice cream, and chips. They didn't "call out" to me at all, Truthfully, I didn't even notice them.

I wanted to write this post to encourage you if you are still struggling with embracing a healthier lifestyle. Perhaps the junk food still calls out way too loudly when you're at the grocery store, or those doughnuts in the break room at work seem to just jump into your hand.

I want to write to tell you that this is possible, and that this is worth it. No dessert tastes as good as having the energy to explore those trails at the park with my kids feels. No fast food value meal tastes as good as waking up in the morning energized and ready to tackle my day feels. No packaged, processed meal is as convenient as knowing I have excess energy to accomplish all the tasks a busy mom has to accomplish in a day.

If you're struggling to make healthier choices, don't give up. Feeling good is only one of the perks, but in this mom's mind, it's a huge one. Today, make the choice to put down the sugar so you have more energy for those important people you love.