16 Days and Counting

Yep, 16 days. 

So, what am I going to do with those 16 days?  Stay focused on my nutrition.  Notice I never say diet.  I loathe that word as it implies there is a beginning and an end to what you are doing.  So, no dieting in my house or in my gym or with my clients.  With my food I'm steering slowly and surely away from a more 'Paleo' style or type of nutrition plan to a leaner, clean food way of eating.  As I think is true of most people who are seriously invested in the way they eat, we are always trying to tweak things.  To clarify, people who are invested in how they eat because they care about what their bodies look like and how they perform.  I have learned there is no fool-proof, all encompassing nutrition plan that works across the board for everyone.  Everyone is a little different, whether that is simply their lifestyle (stay-at-home mom vs. 40 hr. week mom, no one get panties or briefs into a bunch here...) or how their body processes food, or food allergies, or pre-existing conditions like diabetes.   

Jason and I started years ago knowing we needed to change something and started with what at the time seemed like the obvious choice of being Vegetarian/Vegan.  We quickly learned that didn't work as optimally for us as we thought, and here we are today 5 years later still tweaking what we eat and how we eat.  Reading ad-naseum about all different styles of eating and when to eat and how to eat.  Much like bringing home a new baby you take in all the advice and reading you have done, mull it around, and do what you think will be best and most suited to your lifestyle and tweak it as you go along.  I  think it is of great importance to constantly read and do research regarding how you eat though and not getting stuck in one way or believe there is ONLY one way. 

So, with that said we are moving as family to a balance of Paleo/Primal ideas mixed with clean eating.  What we don't eat is simple, sugar (brown, white, processed or fake sugars of any kind UNLESS it is a special occasion or we go out for a 'cheat meal' loosely termed), processed foods (for the most part, maybe I should say these are HIGHLY AVOIDED).  If it comes in a box you won't see me buying it.  I try to purchase foods that are as close to how they were originally made as possible, think WHOLE fruits and veggies, dairy as minimally processed, eggs as un-bastardized as possible.  Etc...etc....if there is something we are jonesing for, we got out and eat it (for the most part) and don't bring it into the home. 

So, for the next 16 days there will be a HUGE emphasis on vegetables, fruits, lean meat (fish, chicken, turkey, and some seafood), occasional old-fashioned oats, and some nuts/seeds with a little dairy, and maybe the occasional pasta or rice.  Lean and balanced, much like my fighter food plan from when I was doing MMA. 

Anyway, I'm off to the store to get some eggs and a few other things to make it through the next 2 weeks.  Can't wait to see the results. 
Oh, and I have to write another paper today.  Blah.