Perhaps we had better start from the beginning. Maybe not the beginning, that’s a little extreme. Perhaps we had better start from 28 days ago.

You’re probably wondering, “why 28 days”? 28 days ago I hit a “milestone” and we have to start somewhere so why not start there? On June 15th 20011… dare I say? No, it’s too painful.  But I have to get it off my chest.  I…I turned…29+1! “That’s not so bad”, you say “29+1, at least you’re not yet 30”. That’s what I thought too! At first, but take a closer look. Did you know that 29+1 in fact does equal 30? Heart wrenching I know.  But, it is what it is. So there, I’ve said it! I’m 30! Thirty and Thrilling! Thirty, flirty, and thriving! You can put it however you want but none of it softens the blow.

Okay, back to the story. 28 days ago I was turning 30, and if that wasn’t enough to depress me I was also hopelessly addicted to caffeine, refined sugar and all other highly caloric, terribly unhealthy sweet treats and just counting the hours on my Garmin 110 until I could kick back on the weekend with my hands wrapped around a tall, dark and handsome seasonal brew.

Ah, Brutopia. The place dreams are made of. Okay, so maybe I’m being a smidge overly dramatic but it’s only because it’s been 28 days since the thick, frothy foam of a dark local brew has touched these lips. Oops, now I’m getting ahead of myself. I digress.

Let’s just clarify, by all measures I am a completely healthy and in shape individual.  I’m not over here sitting on the couch all day stuffing cheetoes down my throat. I eat an extremely healthy diet. Outside of the coffee, diet coke, beer, and bread pudding, I am meticulous about what I allow to pass through these lips. I don’t eat fast food (yuck!), I bake with whole wheat flour an flax, I eat fruit and veggies all day long, carry whole almonds and carrot sticks as a snack, and drink 78 gallons of water a day (a bit of an exaggeration yes, but you get the point).  I’ve even been dubbed “the healthy one” at work and offered compensation to pack healthy lunches for my coworkers. I’m not kidding about that either.  On top of my “good” eating habits I am a fitness fanatic.  I workout anywhere between 3-5 times per week and finished my 1st half marathon just over 3 months ago.

Me and my boy af the Gulf Coast Half finish line

Despite all of my effort I was, tired, grumpy  and 10 lbs above my “ideal” weight.  I was sick of battling with sugar cravings and caffeine headaches and the extra calories in that dark beer weren’t helping matters any either. They say life begins at 30, that your 30’s are the best years of your life. Well,  I was stressed, depressed and done trying to fix it all with my own sheer will cause obviously that wasn’t working out for me too well. It was then I decided enough was enough. I had to look further than myself for the help I needed, I had to look up! It was that day I drew a line in the sand (literally, I was celebrating my b-day at the beach with a few of my besties) and called a fast.

Me and Teresa soaking up the sun

This was not the “no solid food” kind of fast you most often hear about. I have a 2 and half-year old to chase after all day for goodness sakes.  I need some sort of sustenance to keep my body moving.  No food = one grumpy momma and that wouldn’t benefit any of the involved parties. I used one of my favorite bible verses for the basis of this fast.  1 Corinthians 10:23 “All things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial.” This verse calls for some serious meditation.   Basically what they’re saying here is “yeah, you can do that if you want to, but should you? How is it helping you in any way?”

In my situation, the bottom line wasn’t that I found it wrong or sinful to eat a slice of double chocolate gooey butter cake and wash it down with a Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan occasionally, but was it benefiting me in any way?  Not once did I have a brownie and a latte and lose weight, have more energy, or become a better wife or mother. Surely I never threw back a beer or two and set a PR.  So I decided to set it all down and walk away for a while. 30 days to be exact.  No sweets, no alcohol and no caffeine half the caffeine.  I wanted to shock my system, break out of my comfort zone and force myself to find other, healthier ways to release steam, ease tension, stay energized and beat my cravings.

That’s the long and short of it. But for now, here I am. Day 28, hence the whole “28 days later” title up top. Brilliant I know!  A lot has happened during these past 28 days, my body has begun to change, my mind…well, sometimes I think I’m going nuts but that’s a whole nother story. Let’s stop here for now. I’ll chronicle the changes that I’ve experienced over the next few weeks (kinda a self-help blog I guess) and if you’d like to read about, be my guest.  Maybe this journey of mine will help more than just me.

Now that I’ve just spilled my guts on the world-wide web, I’d like to hear about you! Here’s a question to ponder.

1. Have you ever found yourself having the whole “it’s permissible, but not beneficial” debate over something or someone in your life?

2. Did you lay it down and walk away or keep dragging it around a while?