AHA!

In March/April of this year, I decided it was time to stop complaining about my body and actually do something about it. Perhaps it was the looming "big 3-0" coming up this year, perhaps it was the fact that I was still happily fitting into maternity pants despite the fact that may daughter was on the verge of turning 2. More likely, it was the realization that I have never been happy with my body. Whatever it was that finally brought on my "AHA" moment, I am grateful.

I began doing the Couch to 5K program, which I HIGHLY recommend to anyone interested in running. It starts out at a pace that even a dedicated couch potato can handle. I'm proud to say that last weekend, I ran my first 5k, and completed it in just over 36 minutes. 6 months ago I was winded after running for one measly minute!

While the desire to exercise was a great starting point, I knew more had to change. I am ashamed to say that prior to this "aha" moment, there were some days where breakfast, lunch and dinner all came from fast food restaurants. Starting as a teenager, I have tried numerous diet programs, from WW, to Atkins. They worked, up until I decided I no longer wanted to count everything I ate, or my craving for carbs literally brought me to tears. (It was over an ice cream sandwich!)

This spring, I decided I needed to change the way I thought of food. I've always known I was not eating a healthy, balanced diet. To be honest, I had no idea how to! I picked up a book by Tosca Reno called The Eat Clean Diet. "Interesting", I though, "but what the heck is eating clean??" After reading this book, I feel like something clicked. I thought to myself, "so THIS is how I should be eating?!" It was a revelation.

Since then, I have whole-heartedly thrown myself into cleaning up my diet. I'm not perfect. I do on occasion have white flour, or even white sugar. Getting my husband on board has been the largest hurdle. It's a work in progress, though he does frequently complain about "all this healthy food", and the lack of Oreos in the cupboard.

So far, I've lost 28 lbs through eating clean, and working out. I'd like to get to a point where the numbers on the scale no longer matter to me.

I'd like to use this blog to share my journey, and hopefully inspire others who are tired of hating their bodies!

Have you ever had an "aha" moment? What was it, and what changes did it inspire?