Celebrating the Fourth

Well, sure it's the July 4th weekend, but I'm celebrating something even bigger! I've completed four full weeks of FXB, not having missed a single day AND (this is big!) staying completely disciplined with my nutrition. Clearly, that's been the hardest part of this, even still. It's a bit jarring to me how easily and thoughtlessly I used to grab a handful of chips or a snack on a bowl of M&Ms. Now, I'm constantly putting careful thought into meal preparations and making sure I'm actually eating enough.

The nutritional plan FXB has taught me isn't about counting points, cutting out out all fat, eating a week's worth of cabbage soup (whoever came up with that recipe is a sadist) or mixing cayenne pepper and cinnamon in some tea concoction to cleanse my system. It's about learning that carbs can be good for you and that protein is what my body has been craving. I'm not starving myself on celery. I'm learning how to create healthy meals that don't taste like cardboard. It's liberating to find that I'm starting to enjoy eating healthily and that I find the challenge to learn new ways of cooking kind of fun.

Let's not get out of hand here - it is, afterall, July 4th weekend. Annual barbeques, coolers stocked with cold beer, blenders of margaritas, buffets lined with potato salad, brownies, chips, baked beans, burgers and hotdogs. Did I fill up my plate and enjoy a few cocktails? Absolutely. But, without guilt or regret, because I knew how easily I would be able to get back into my newer, healthy habits.

It's amazing what I've learned in such a short amount of time. Aside from learning new ways of eating and cooking, I've also learned that in making those choices, I'm not feeling deprived or starved. Rather, I've discovered that I've been depriving my body of feeling like this for too long. The easy grabs out of the cookie jar held me hostage to a sluggish body. I know I won't always go for the lean turkey burger over a loaded chili dog, but I know that I will give it careful thought and make a choice based on how it will make me feel. I'm confident that I will more often overwhelmingly go for the healthier options, so that chili dog will be an occasional treat and not the status quo of my dietary habits.

What a feeling - a little bit like Independence Day. Celebrating my own personal freedom.

Happy Fourth to ME!