My "Eat Clean" Birthday!

I am a mother, wife, daughter and friend who was ashamed of who I was and potentially where I was going with my health. My house is clean, my girls are dressed and happy, my husband is happy and taken care of... Things are in order and look pretty good. Oh WAIT! Me. I forgot about me. Uh, I need to shower and do my hair and even worse find something to wear!!!! Panic. Nothing fits. I have no clothes. I wore these when I was pregnant. THIS was the hard part. Taking care of me.Why was this so hard . Over the years I had successfully kept myself so busy that I didn't have to pay attention to myself. I didn't have to address my addiction and chose to be blind to my viscous cycle. My emotions surged and I ate them back down to the depths of my soul.
I needed to heal. I deserved to take better care of myself. This is my life and it means something to me. It's time I appreciate it and grow.
March 22, 2010, my Eat Clean Birthday.  Weeks prior to this I read Oxygen, my Recharge book, took notes and read even more, I consumed everything "Eat Clean".  I talked about it with friends and my husband...it was all I could think about. I was anticipating a brand new chapter in my life, a journey that would require every bit of me!  Gulp! This was it, I picked up my tool bag and started my Eat Clean journey.
I started by cleaning out my kitchen. I threw out syrup, peanut butter, butter, soda, juice, anything processed, packaged, white breads(starches) and "instant".  Anything and everything that was loaded with sugar, had a list of ingredients that I could barely read and anything that would get in my way during this journey.  My grocery list was very intentional and true to every rule in Tosca Reno's book, Recharged.  I won't lie, my first time shopping was intimidating and overwhelming. I will never forget when one of my dearest friends shopped with me.We read label after label and discovered many fabulous foods! Her support was priceless. (Thank You!)
March 22 I logged my weight; 212.6lbs. I forged ahead, kept clean(that means NO alcohol too), and Spin class was my once a week workout. By July 1, I was 171.2lbs! I had officially lost 41.4lbs in 3 months. This felt good and, imagine, it was just the beginning of my journey!