Big Changes in Less Than 2 Weeks

I'm heading into the 5th day of my second week of eating clean and training hard. I've noticed some remarkable changes thus far.

Feeling Slimmer - Don't get me wrong. I'm still far from a healthy weight, but there is no doubt in my mind that my body fat is melting away. Regardless of what the scale says at next weigh in, I am taking up less room and feeling slightly better in my clothes, enough to where I feel some relief.

Unbelievable Improvement in Core Strength - I've been working especially hard on this since the baby has left me with very loose abdominal muscles. Just 2 weeks ago, I would contract them and barely even feel that I was doing anything. I've added an abdominal routine that includes this amazing Tae Bo Abs video 3 times a week. Check It Out It's under 30 mins and works the abs several different ways. I always have trouble getting abs done at the gym because I'm self conscious. Another major contributor to the fast results here is the fact that I am concentrating on abs during my cardio sessions. When I'm running on the treadmill, I visualize my abs assisting with the pulling of my legs. When I focus this way, I also seem to be able to run faster with little additional effort.

Sense of Control and Inner Peace - I believe this comes from true commitment. I'm not battling with myself in a constant balance between small victories and devastating failures. I've been teetering on making big changes for a long time now. I can't place my finger on what has changed that finally pushed me over into that place, but now that I'm here, I have an enormous since of peace and focus. I have a lot more thought process to devote toward anything and everything other than self-loathing, guilt and what I'm going to do about my health and weight problem. It feels incredible.

Less Desire to Drink - This is huge for me. I carry around an unhealthy amount of anxiety and would self medicate by having beer or wine in the evenings. Going into this clean eating lifestyle, I had decided to make an allowance for some drinking. The first week I had decided to allow myself 4oz of red wine in the evenings if I wanted it. The truth is, between self medicating my anxiety problem and being in a family that drinks for any reason, I really felt like it was too important to my lifestyle to give it up. What I found initially is that I didn't need that 4 oz of red wine during the week. My gym trips replaced the need to self medicate in the evenings. I decided I would allow myself to drink on the weekends. At first this was welcomed, but then the next day I wouldn't feel as good or have as much energy, and for the first time in my life, my health and energy seemed to be more important than that glass of wine or beer. I still enjoy having a little "buzz", but I feel very uncomfortable with much more than that. This is unexpected and nothing short of a miracle.

On another note, I found this cool article on the homepage of MSN.com this morning. Change Your Life in 31 Days It's bascially about small changes adding up big. I thought it was inspiring.

Enjoy the weekend!