The initial six-week kickstart has come to an end. In review:

• Cleaned out pantry to the walls
• Emptied fridge of all contraband
• Restocked pantry with nuts, rice, quinoa, and not much else
• Restocked fridge with a farmer’s market worth of veggies plus a good bit of chicken and turkey, with a package of tofu for good measure
• Ate that way for 6 weeks
• Started going to Zumba, became instantly addicted
• Lost 22 pounds
• Made up several recipes
• Cut out my previous takeout habit
• Saved a LOT of food money
• Reclaimed a little of my stored, formerly too-tight clothes
• Gained a happier body that feels as if fitness is a true possibility

We didn’t start this intending to end after six weeks, but this weekend I did ask J how he felt about continuing.  Since I initiated the changes, I needed to know if the thrill was gone.  He is losing weight as well and, like myself, feels better in his own skin, so he is all in favor.  I can’t express how much that helps.  Conviction is strong, but partnership is essential.

I wrapped up the final weekend with more birthday celebration, which featured all kinds of healthy food plus amazing gourmet cupcakes.  And yep, I ate one (and split another later that night with J).  And it was good, but not good enough to stop eating the way I have been lately.  I’ve often heard the phrase “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”.  Well I’m not close to skinny yet, but I have generally believed that phrase is a bunch of baloney (so to speak).  When you’re eating out of unhappiness, distress, sorrow, tension, celebration, or loneliness, skinny is the last thing you care about.  I will say, though, that I do believe that nothing tastes as good as healthy feels.  And I am only agreeing with that now because eating a “pure food” diet has genuinely re-tuned my taste buds and my cravings.

One of the most motivating parts of the last few weeks, right up there with getting into clothes I haven’t worn for a couple of years, is the encouragement I’ve received from my friends.  It’s nice to feel like you look nice, but what really keeps me going are the conversations where someone expresses they’ve wanted to get healthier too, and we’ve traded tips and support.  Zumba ROCKS, but it’s even better shared with a friend or three.  You probably won’t talk much during the class because you’ll be frantically trying to learn the steps and catch your breath, but there’s still a sense of camaraderie and support..

This whole process has made me more aware of the need for lifting one another up, and then a woman passing me on the sidewalk complimented my shoes today.  I love pretty shoes, and I was flattered that she took the time to compliment my style.  I’ve been working on that myself – how often do we have the impulse to share a kind thought and we’ve stifled it because we were too shy to say it, or we let the moment pass, or worse yet, at the root of it we’d rather not boost her up right now?  Say it.  It’s freeing to celebrate one another!  Say it to yourself, too.  I have been a painfully harsh critic of myself most of my life.  No one’s more aware than I am of how far I still have to go, but I am working on it.  And in the midst of the work, and the discipline, I am growing in grace as I shrink in body.  He makes all things beautiful, in His time.  Including you and me!!