Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.
I believe it was the final sunday in November when I emailed some of you crazies with a question.
What do you struggle with?
Here are a few of the topics that kept repeating themselves:
- Energy
- Money/finances
- Love
- Health (exercise, nutrition, sleep)
- Happiness
- Mindfulness
- Spirituality
- Career/Work you love
- Finding purpose, meaning, passion
- Conscious living
I got tons of amazing emails back but Linda’s below really got my attention.
YOU got me to try Paleo! On September 11th I joined your site and you sent me a free download about Paleo. After reading it I thought, hmmmm. My blood type is O Negative, and O is said to be the blood type of the cavemen, so maybe I should try eating like a caveman. I did my usual “what’s the worst thing that can happen?” thought process I do when trying to make a decision, and went grocery shopping that night after work and started the very next day. (If I put stuff off, it won’t ever get started)
By day 5 I felt like hell. I would have sworn I had the flu. It was awful. No seriously, AWFUL. And it didn’t really go away until about day 15. The ONLY, and I mean ONLY thing that kept me going and sticking to it through that period was that I could actually see and feel my body shrinking! Really! It was. Right before my eyes. Well, if that won’t motivate someone, I sure as hell don’t know what will! So after the flu-like, no energy feeling went away (did I mention how awful it was?) I started my morning yoga routine back up. I did yoga everyday for 6 years, but stopped all of a sudden about 5 years ago. I don’t even know why. I think my husband’s constant chaos just shut me down in so many ways. So anyway, I started my yoga back up and I am feeling great again.
The hardest thing for me to let go was Milk. I love Milk. White milk, Chocolate milk, Strawberry milk, alcoholic beverages with milk (namely Colorado Bulldogs). So yeah, the milk was hard. But…. since I am not doing this as a quick fix diet, I’m trying to make it a lifestyle I can maintain forever, I have “cheated” every once in a while. I’ve had a couple of glasses of milk, and a piece of cheese here and there. But every time I do it gives me indigestion now so I’m sure it won’t be long before I can just say no when I want that glass of milk.
And yes, it is amazing how feeling good and healthy on the inside makes you glow with strength on the outside and just makes you feel so…… limitless. 🙂
I had to follow-up with her to see how she was doing with her new Paleo lifestyle and what sort of results she was getting. With out further ado, I give you that Q & A we had.
Justin: Describe the old you and a typical day for yourself before trying Paleo?
Linda: I would draaaag myself out of bed, wake up my son, rush for some sugared up coffee. throw myself together, drop my Son off at school and start dreading my hour and a half commute into work.
Justin: What was the Aha moment that made you say sh*t, things need to change?
Linda: I swoll up so bad one time that I went to the ER for some high dose diuretics and they admitted me thinking I was having heart failure! Other than that, seeing a picture of myself. I was like whoever that person is, she is NOT me. I knew the emotional turmoil of my marriage had been taking its toll. I knew I was losing me on the inside, but it hadn’t really hit me until that moment that the old Linda wasn’t even visible on the outside anymore either. She was just gone.
Justin: What is a typical day like for yourself now?
Linda: I hop out of bed at 4:30 ish am. Take my cool-ish, energy revving shower, do my yoga, wake up my Son, have a cup of green or peppermint tea and sit on the patio for about 15 minutes. Get dressed in my carefully selected clothes that were chosen the night before. 😉 Happily chat with my Son on the way to school, and can’t wait to get on the road to work because I have to get back to my “book” I’m listening to on my commute.
Justin: What was the toughest change for you to make and were you able to make it?
Linda: Bread and milk. Bread because I had gotten so lazy that sandwiches had become my staple lunch. Milk because I just love milk. But, unfortunately, it was NOT doing “a body good” in my case. I’ve always drank milk, so I had no idea it could be a problem. But I guess after 40 your body needs change. Hmmmmm.
Justin: How did you track your progress and keep yourself accountable?
Linda: I only weigh once a month. What I do instead is find a pair of jeans (or dress or whatever) that I used to love, and used to look amazing on me, and try them on to see where I’m at. I already know they aren’t going to fit so there is no stress or disappointment when they don’t. I make a mental note of where I am in them and then try them on once a week until they fit.
Justin: Have you tried to get healthier in the past? If so, why do you think you failed those times. What is different now, why do you think you can succeed long-term?
Linda: As I mentioned in my separate email, I used to be healthy and fit. After my transformation into fat began after I got re-married I did, in a panic, try a million different diets and such. But nothing worked. Even things that USED to work for me to lose holiday weight and such. But now I understand that they weren’t working because I wasn’t “emotionally” healthy. Stress is a powerful thing. And when someone is constantly making you feel worthless and unnecessary, you start to believe that you are. I know I’m going to succeed long-term because I’ve found my inner self again. The woman who was a stellar single Mother of 2 for 10 years. The woman who would NEVER let a man make her feel less than she knows she is because he’s so insecure with himself that he has to make someone else feel small to make himself feel more like a man. The woman who had so much energy her kids would beg her to sit still and “just watch the movie Mom”.
Justin: What would you tell someone in a similar situation to yourself that is looking to get healthier?
Linda: Well I tell everyone about Paleo! Several people at work have asked me “how did you lose all this weight?” I send them straight to limetless365.com. And if they are in the same emotional situation I would tell them to “find” themselves, get a parachute fund going (as I am currently doing), and get the hell out of there.
Justin: You’ve changed so much physically. Have you noticed any mental, emotional, spiritual or other changes?
Linda: All of the above.
Justin: Are you doing any new things now that you could not do before or were too afraid to do before?
Linda: Just back to doing the things I used to do. Long walks with the dog, biking with my Son. Jogging occasionally with my 22 yr old Daughter.
Justin: What’s next for you?
Linda: Continuing to build up my “parachute” fund. Continuing to get back to me. And divorcing this fool and starting fresh again!
In 2013 I’m setting fire to the rain! 🙂
So how’d she do it?
Linda got some amazing results. What we can learn from and the success story here.
1. She had an aha moment. Her scare with possible heart failure and seeing old pictures of herself wondering what happened to the old Linda. Linda had two options here. To crawl into a cave, never to some out again or to face this challenge head on.
2. She established a morning ritual Linda has the same routine every morning which helps her to build the healthy habits that led to her success.
3. She found a way to track her progress outside of the scale Although she hops on the scale once per month she prefers to use the fit of her jeans as a way to measure her progress. She keeps trying them on once per week until they fit. I love this! She understood what would work for her and ran with it.
4. She made fitness fun. Linda uses physical activity as a way to spend more time with her family.
5. She created a mantra Linda has a mantra that she says to her self.”In 2013 I’m setting fire to the rain.” It’s a creative way to remind herself what she needs to do to be successful.
Any questions for Linda?
Any questions for me?
What are you doing to improve your nutritional habits? Leave in the comments below or shoot me an email privately.
Live Limitless,
Justin
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