Progress

Well I definitely cleaned up my diet last week. I cut out bread, pasta and dairy. I tried to eat as clean as possible. I also went hard at the gym. I can honestly say I worked harder in the gym this last week than I have all year. I’m feeling really lean and strong. That is exactly how I want to feel on our wedding day.
 
I should really start taking measurements again. I’ll do that today.

I know I’ve come a long way but some days I feel like I should have accomplished more by now. That’s when I pull out the old photos and remind myself of my progress. Photo on the left was taken in 2011 – before I started regularly lifting weights. I do not remember what my weight was then but it really doesn’t matter. What matters is how I feel and the fact that I look a whole lot leaner now. I'm pretty sure I have weight lifting to thank.  On a similar but not so similar note, things are already blooming like crazy here in Southern California. We usually get like three days of Winter and then it moves onto Spring. The good news is that my allergies have not flared up at all. In December, when I was consuming dairy, my allergies went crazy. I was sick for like three weeks. I was so frustrated but I knew it was because of dairy. My allergies, asthma and acne always go back to dairy. I’m done thinking things will change. I’ve proven to myself over and over again that I’m much better off without dairy so from here on out I will continue to keep it out of my diet.

Starbucks has announced that they will begin offering coconut milk in all of their stores. I was so excited to see this because I know I need to avoid soy as well. But then I heard from the official Whole 30 Instagram that the coconut milk Starbucks will carry has added sugar, tricalcium phosphate, natural flavors (which I recently found out comes from beaver anal glands – I’m not joking. Google it.), carrageenan, gellan gum, corn dextrin, xanthan gum, guar gum and a few other ingredients.

I think I will stick to my almond milk and canned coconut milk from home.
 
Yesterday afternoon my parents and I ate lunch in the backyard and talked a lot about the wedding. I like making plans. I can’t wait to see them all come to life. I have so many projects for my dad to work on.
 
There was a Beautiful Women Challenge going around Instagram yesterday. In case you don’t follow me I wanted to share what I posted there. “liftwritelove Tagged by @kellylosesherbelly and @krisnichgill for the #20beautifulwomenchallenge. Thanks so much ladies! I wish I could post a photo of myself in my wedding dress but my groom can’t see me in it until our wedding day. SO I will post the next best thing. I definitely felt like a million bucks when the love of my life asked me to spend forever with him, even though I was in my gym clothes. I pray every woman out there gets to experience a moment like that.”