clean and strong

Well friends. We're doing it. We started Monday and it was not as hard as I had expected. Sure there were some moments of weakness, but I didn't give in. Because the result will be worth it: Clean and Strong. That is the motto for May. To let you know how serious we are, Abby and I are using the bathtub and bicep emoticons to encourage each other this month - get it? Clean and Strong :) We're proud.

So what is this journey we are taking? In a very small way, it is a journey back to the basics - away from processed foods and toward healthier living. No dairy. No meat. No white flour. No alcohol. No sugar (well except fruit). Similar to The Daniel Fast but with a few changes of my own. For about 2 milliseconds, I thought about enforcing the "No coffee" rule and then I laughed and decided I would just drink it black and see how it goes (it's going well, thank you). We are using few spices and seasonings and working to enjoy food the way it is naturally. I'm not gonna lie - I did grocery shop at Walmart this week for my fruits and vegetables, but it was 10:30 on Sunday night and let me just tell you that the shopping options were limited...
Enter Lesson #1: Planning ahead. Eeeesh. I know I'm not a great meal planner, but the last few days have shown some serious needs for improvement in this area. For the last (little ish) while, I gave up planning ahead and decided that running through Taco Bueno or Chick-fil-A was going to have to do. Doing this every once in awhile is great - I am definitely not anti-fast food, but I want it to be the exception, not the rule. So I will be training myself to plan. (Yes, Ali, I will be taking any advice you have to offer, oh wise and thrifty meal planner extraordinaire...)

Growing up, my mom always said that it takes 21 days to form a habit. So that's what we're doing: Changing our habits. For 21 days, we are simplifying and refocusing and fasting. We are learning and hopefully these lessons will stick (ish - I'm not hoping to become crazy - just smart. And clean and strong :)
I guess really this all started because of reading Jen Hatmaker's book, 7. I love the way this book is written: She is not saying that everyone should do her "experiment", but she is encouraging people to look at their lives and see where they've missed the point or gotten off track. Basically her 7 experiment was to focus on a different area for each month of 7 months and fast and dig deep to the root of all of the excess. For example, during food month, she only ate 7 different foods; then in stress month, she paused 7 times each day to pray; during clothing month, she only wore 7 items of clothing and so on. The book is convicting and hilarious and absolutely not judgmental or pointing fingers. She admits we're all apart of the never ending cycle of more until we stop it. I so appreciate her take on all of this. So, when Abby asked if I wanted to simplify for a little bit, I easily said yes...
Today it's fine. Tomorrow maybe, maybe not :)
But there will be grace and encouragement along the way...