Cleanse Day 6!!

I'm on day 6 of the cleanse!! YAY!! I have to say, it was a lot easier when I had the flu & didn't want to eat any real food LOL I definitely noticed that it was harder to not eat food that you chew a few days ago. Now I am fantasizing about donuts, oranges, cereal, ANYTHING!! It makes it hard that my kids are eating all of the time. Even if it's fruit, I want it! The cleanse is going fine though, I tried beets for the first time and quinoa. Hard to believe, but I've never had quinoa before. It was delicious. I will probably add it in small amounts to my diet after this.

So the cleanse is a lot of drinks, I'm not sure what I expected when I signed up for the cleanse. It surprised me how little we get to eat & how much we drink! My favorite is a green tea drink that you can add cold or hot water to. The tea with hot water is my favorite evening snack! There are these delicious little chocolate treats, but you only get 1 a day :/ On the deep cleanse days, you get a few more, but that's the only food you chew on those days. I can't believe I made it through this week! Nick took the kids out for pizza & ice cream Friday night. Guess what I had? I brought a shake with me & sipped on that while everyone ate their food. Thankfully their meal kind of grossed me out b/c I knew there was no nutritional value to it. I wasn't too tempted thinking of how I would feel afterwards, if I ate the meal with them.

SO- tomorrow is our last cleanse day & it's a deep cleanse, meaning no food :( I will be hiding out in the house all day. I can imagine that I will be a little cranky LOL BUT on Wednesday I get to go back to eating. YAY!! I start the maintenance schedule of 6 small meals a day. I can't wait, I'm really looking forward to it. This has been an interesting experience. I am glad I tried the cleanse, I know it has helped me get closer to my goal of burning fat & adding muscle. I have lost 2 pounds doing the cleanse & before I even started I lost 2 pounds from the flu, so I am down a total of 13 pounds since January!! So I am where I want to be in fat loss & now I need to focus on building muscle. I read an article today that outlines different body types & what kind of exercises & nutrition you need to build muscle for those body types. Turns out I am an ectomorph, which has a hard time gaining muscle, which means I am supposed to eat a lot of small meals. Perfect!! That's already been my plan :) So I hope to see a difference in my muscles when I am done with the plan, in May.

Temptation

Today was a normal day at work. Until we celebrated my boss' birthday. One of my coworkers had brought some cupcakes in from Dinkles Bakery. I knew she brought them in, even before the celebration, and that's when the struggle began. I knew I could eat one, I mean, I'm not doing the Whole30 challenge again until March. I can eat whatever I want, BUT will it benefit me? The struggle was already in my head, but then they cracked open the boxes with the cupcake in them & everyone took one. They asked me if I wanted one. I tried to say no, but then I thought that I *might* eat it, or even just half. So now the cupcake was on my desk! It was chocolate with chocolate frosting & everyone else was raving about their cupcakes. They all commented how good the frosting was & how the cake was so delicious. It sat on my desk for the whole party. I wasn't sure if I should eat it or not. Then everyone left & I was alone with the cupcake. BUT then I felt like an idiot eating this cupcake all by myself....so it sat on my desk a little longer as I struggled with what to do. I knew if I ate it, I would have the momentary sugar rush, I knew it WOULD be delicious, but I had already had some nuts & chocolate with my lunch. I didn't really NEED any more sugar or chocolate. I knew that it wouldn't help me reach my health or fitness goals. I ended up moving the cupcake from my desk & gave it to my coworker to take home to her daughter.

As soon as the cupcake was off my desk, I felt relief. The struggle was over, I had chosen not to eat it & I was happy. I knew that's what I wanted to do, but I knew it would be hard to give up that momentary pleasure. I had been reminding myself of what I really want, more than I wanted that cupcake. I was to be healthy & strong, I want to gain muscle, not fat. I want to get vitamins & minerals from my food, not sugar & empty calories. I want to eat with a purpose, to nourish myself & give my body the fuel it needs to get through my day. I don't want to eat mindlessly b/c that is what everyone else is doing. I don't need to have "fun" by eating junk, I get my fun in other ways. I have goals for myself, my health & my fitness that do not include being like everyone else. I want to see results from the work I'm doing and I won't get that by eating whatever is in front of me. Obviously I know that ONE cupcake won't ruin everything for me. It is FINE to eat a cupcake, there are no laws against it. However, one small slip can lead to another & then another and before you know it, you are right back to where you started. 

This applies to our spiritual life as well. Sure, we can do whatever we want, even things that are fun or pleasurable, but are they good for us? Will they nourish our souls? Will it please God & draw us closer to Him? I don't think so! Take a look at what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:12&13

^"12 Just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean that it’s spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I’d be a slave to my whims.

¹³ You know the old saying, “First you eat to live, and then you live to eat”? Well, it may be true that the body is only a temporary thing, but that’s no excuse for stuffing your body with food, or indulging it with sex. Since the Master honors you with a body, honor him with your body!"

WHOA, I added verse 13 in there too b/c I love that the Bible DOES talk about our bodies. That we are to take care of them & to use them to Honor our Creator. So, what do we do when temptation hits? Whether it be from food, alcohol, sex, or even just being pure lazy. I think we need to look at our greater goals & whether it would honor God or not. What I do with my body, what I think about, the use of my time; all of those things matter to God. He could use those things to further His kingdom or those things can be used to honor yourself & draw you further away from Him. As a Christian, I want to use my time, my talents & yes, even my body/health/fitness to honor Him & to be used by God to further His kingdom. 

Things are Changing

I have Bible study on Friday mornings & I am so thankful for the ladies in my Bible Study group :) Today I was talking to one of the girls in my group about change. Often times I am overwhelmed when I think of all the things I would like to change in my life. I want to be more patient with the kids, clean the house more regularly, continue to eat healthy & exercise, learn more about exercise and nutrition but most of all, I want to be more Christ-like. Overwhelming, huh?! 

I almost feel like I don't even know where to start & some times I just feel stuck, when facing the possibility of change in my life. When I realize that I failed at something on a particular day, I feel down & disappointed in myself. I feel like I will never get past the habits & situations that bring out the worst in me. How thankful I am that those feelings are not true!! We are always able to change. We can always choose to do something or not do something, we can choose to react differently in a situation. It is called self-control and it is a fruit of the Spirit. I am amazed that God would equip us with just what we need to be able to make changes in our lives. He truly doesn't leave us where He found us. We are able to break free from our struggles, especially when we lean on Him for our strength. 

I also feel like it is best to take one thing that you want to change about yourself or about your life & work on it for 30 days. I am loving 30 day challenges this year!! I truly do think that you can really make a difference in your life when you break your goals into smaller more obtainable action plans. I feel like 30 days is a good amount of time, it's enough time to form a habit or break a habit & yet you don't feel like it is an endless task. The days are easily counted down & ticked off on  your calendar & you will feel a sense of accomplishment when it's all said and done.

I don't think all challenges or changes that we attempt to make in life need to be that of deprivation. I think a lot of goals or changes made in our lives, can be things that we add to our lives. Perhaps you can choose to read your Bible every day for 30 days, have quiet time every day, pray every day, or exercise 30 minutes every day for 30 days. These are just some thoughts as I contemplate ways I can become a better wife, mom, daughter, friend, ME. Obviously the best change is the one that God can do in us, but we have to participate. We need to take the first steps to make those changes in our lives. God will give us the strength, but we need to make the moves, take the time & use our God-given self control to make changes in our lives for the better.