A One Time Decision

Ahh...sweet January.

While I love the feasting and festivities of the holidays, I breathe a big sigh of relief when it's all over.  There's something really nice about getting back into normal rhythms.

After some serious dietary off-roading that involved midnight encounters with eggnog in the glow of the refrigerator light, I decided to do a hard reset and do a Whole30.

My first Whole30 was in February 2012 and as much as I hate the overuse of the phrase "life changing" it's the only description that really does the experience justice.
 As the name implies it's a 30 day program of eating according to a prescribed plan that eliminates processed foods, sugar in all forms and other foods that have been proven to be detrimental to a lot of people.  I call it "eating clean." Which means what?  I'll let the folks from Whole30 explain:

Eat meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re totally natural and unprocessed. 

I've done several Whole30s.  Last summer I enjoyed the experience so much I turned it into a Whole60.  No, its not easy but, for me, the benefits (clear skin, great sleep, lots of energy, I can exhale in my skinny jeans) far outstrip the pitfalls (which are basically I don't get to make out with chocolate for a month, but he always takes me back).

Am I trying to sell you on doing a Whole30?  Hey, you wouldn't be the first person I've introduced to the program.  Just don't call me around Day 4 when you want to murder me for suggesting it.  Call me about 2 weeks in when you have more energy than a deranged squirrel.  I'll turn you loose on a couple of projects in my garage.

The point of this post isn't to sell you on the Whole30, it's to share with you a secret I've found for freeing up lots of mental and emotional energy when making any positive change in your life.

Are you ready?

Make a one-time decision to do something different and then reinforce as necessary.

When I go on a Whole30, I become very aware of how many times in a day, I have to make conscious decisions about what I put in my mouth.

Example:  It's somebody's birthday at work.  There's cake in the conference room at 4.

A mental ping-pong match ensues.

What kind of cake?  
Is it store-bought or homemade?  
Is it worth it?  
How much pressure will I get to eat it?  
Should I just avoid the party?  
How rude will that look?  
What if I come in right at the end of the party?  
Maybe I could make a quick appearance?  
What excuse can I make for not eating it?  
What if I have just a half a piece?  

Okay.  To be fair, that's just an illustration.  I'm not always that neurotic.  Sometimes I'm worse.

But, when I make the decision to do a Whole30, cake isn't even a question.  The minute I choose to do this 30 day program, I've just eliminated a whole bunch of decisions from my day.  I've stripped down the menu of options.  I made one decision that replaced a million tiny decisions and silenced the debate team that lives in my head.

What positive changes do you want to make that would benefit from a "one-time decision"?

Here are several I've heard about recently:

• A friend is drinking nothing but water for the month of January.
• My husband schedules his workouts a week in advance and puts it in his calendar.
• A friend uses a tool that blocks her access to social media sites during certain hours of her day.

Will there be temptations to stray from that decision?  Of course, but if you remind yourself of that one big decision and the reason you made it in the first place, the rest of the decisions become a little more obvious.

ps.  If you decide to do a Whole30, let me know how it goes!