Where am I going?

I AM LOVING THIS CLEAN EATING THING! I have so much energy. I'm constantly trying to find things to do so that I'm not sitting tapping my foot. It's amazing. I'm also sleeping better (or at least not waking up tired, because I always was a good sleeper) and am in better moods - most of the time, lol. These are all things that I think I didn't really have a problem with - I thought I had enough energy, I guessed I just wasn't getting enough sleep, or it was just something to put up with, and I thought I was in a good mood most of the time. Well, I was I guess - I got things done, I slept OK and I managed not to bite most people's heads off, but in comparison to how I feel now, it shows.

What's better is that most of the time I don't feel hungry, and when I do I'm filling up faster than I previously was. All from not eating too much refined food. It's been great.

Another major change I've made is the way I move. Upon my request, my husband bought me a Fitbit for Christmas. After wearing it for a couple of days in my normal routine and clocking up between 5 and 7 thousand steps I knew it was time for a change. I haven't done less that 10000 steps for 2 weeks now and the fitbit has made me conscious of that fact. It also has sweet challenges that make you want to do more and more (one day I did 30000), if you're competitive like me that is.

So now, after doing this for 2 weeks I can pop an additional 4.6kgs to my weight loss. My goal in December was to maintain what I had lost so far, or gain only a weeny bit. It was Christmas and the goodies was calling my name. Not to mention the 3 Christmas get togethers and 1 New Years get together. Weight loss just wasn't happening. I was happy to only gain a little during this time. My weight loss to date is 8.3kg, which is a super steady weight loss if I back date that to around October when I began.

I wanted to write something that might motivate others as I myself had read all of this kind of stuff before - improved energy, better sleeping patterns, super easy blah blah blah - and it just never stuck. Although I'm only a little way through this I can feel that this is it. I know this is a lifestyle change for me. How do I know - I'm not drinking coke zero anymore. If this was just about weight for me I'd be chugging that 0 calorie shiz back like nobodies business. And because of that I know this is about more.

So, here is 5 quick things that you could change today, that will begin to help. I hope they're easy. They've definitely seemed that way.

- Cut out added and unnecessary sugar. Yes, this includes substitutes like what is in coke zero. Why? It desensitizes your taste buds to natural flavours. Nothing is naturally that sweet. I love the flavours of a lot of foods now that I'd thought for a very long time I never liked. Which brings me to my next point...

- Eat tonnes of fruit and veges. Like, pack those veges in there super tight. Just be careful of those potatoes and starchy numbers, they're tricky. And go for fruit instead  of something else, as they can be a bit tricky too with possible high sugar contents. They're good, but perhaps not in the tonne loads like I said. People who know me well will laugh at this. I'm terrible with veges. Well laugh at me with this spinach in my mouth mofos!

- Portion size. Another one of those things I'd heard and tried before, but never really stuck. When you eat the right kinds of foods (whole grains, veges, lean meat), the right sized portion will fill you up. Our meat eating in particular has dramatically decreased. I calculated that a supermarket shop of meat this weekend that would usually have made us 6-8 meals was now making us 20-25 meals. I just rip open the packages I've bought, weigh it and portion it out into little baggies. Works a treat. Just google what amounts of things is considered a healthy serving.

- Make sure it's a lifestyle change and NOT A DIET. My birthday is next Monday, and I will have cake. It will have super refined white flour and sugar and will be against everything I've just written about. I will eat it with a giant smile on my face and know that it's not the end of my new lifestyle, it's part of it. Some days I will want *insert disgustingly deilcious unhealthy food here* and that's OK, as long as it's not a habit, as long as it's not an always and as long as my mind and body know this. Everything in moderation... unless it's water, drink the hell outta that shiz.

- Move. It doesn't have to be insane, just get up off your butt. Gym membership definitely not required. I'm determined to lose my whole 30kg without a gym membership, because I know they don't work for everyone. I want to show you can do it without one.  To start? Take a walk, clean the house, do some gardening. Just get up and move, more specific exercises can happen when you feel more fit.

And then let me know how you're finding it xox