Here we go!

I've been thinking a lot about where to start.  For me, actually starting is the hardest part.  After that, as long as I stay mindful, I usually can sustain a positive change.  By that I mean that as long as I stay away from excuses and refuse to let life get in the way of my goals then I can be successful.  I just need to not set myself up to fail.

This blog is my commitment to myself and part of my accountability plan. I am putting my trust in my friends and family to call me out on my bullshit if you see me making excuses  for why I am not following through.  I mean this. I may get irritated but if I do, just direct me back to my own words.  I need you all to help me succeed.

My first step is to clean up my eating.  I know when I'm eating stuff that is bad for me and I always feel guilty about it.  Eating junk makes me feel like junk...emotionally and physically.  That has to stop.

It's a daunting challenge to me and definitely uncomfortable. I love my sweets!  So to kick start this change in behavior I am starting a 7 day challenge to eliminate the things I know are bad for me.

 That's a lot of things I CAN'T eat.  Which, I'll be honest, pisses me off.  I can't stand being told I can't do something.  So I went searching for CAN lists.  This is what I found:

 Huh.  That doesn't seem so bad!  Some of that stuff is actually...TASTY!  This first self-challenge is only a week.  I can do anything for a week right?

I'm not saying it will be easy...because I know it won't.  The real world will challenge me and put junk in front of my face.  I have a work carry in this weekend and 4th of July next week.  I have a skinny husband who works at Starbucks and brings home tasty snacks...I mean junk food...almost daily.  But for today, I will succeed.

And here is something I found that I can do for work...or any small meal or snack:

I need to get to the grocery store :)

What have we here?

I spend a lot of time feeling like I'm running behind...you know that feeling, right? My house is a mess, my kid has a project due tomorrow, dinner is late, papers need to be graded, laundry needs to be done...on and on...and I desperately need to run.  A real run.

So, here's the thing.  I have a pretty predictable M.O.  I'll be going along, minding my own business, and I decide that I need to change things that are decidedly out of control.  The house is too messy, an outfit didn't fit right, or I simply feel badly about how I'm handling my life.

At that point, I race willy-nilly into whatever changes I think need to be made to "fix" things.  And when I say changes...I mean ALL the changes.  At once.  After an average of 4 days, I implode...I eat the cake, I sit on my butt all day, and I get take out for dinner.  At which point I feel more defeated than ever.

I want to break this cycle.  I've come to the conclusion that I need to take baby steps. I need to pick one thing and perfect it before moving on to the next improvement.  I need to stop setting myself up for failure.

Here is where I explain the title of this blog, "Living in my comfort zone".  Seems counter-intuitive but bear with me, it's really not.  

All my adult life I've heard that in order to grow, one must get out of one's comfort zone and get uncomfortable.  Now, at the age of 51, I've decided that that is bullshit.  Who really wants to live life uncomfortably?  Who thinks that is a good way to spend our limited time on this earth?  Not me!  So I decided that I need to be comfortable with change.  Improvements I make to how I live my life need to make me comfortable, not uncomfortable. I want to move into a place in my life where I am the most content...happy...COMFORTABLE.  Honestly, right now, I am so uncomfortable with how I look, how I feel, what I'm accomplishing (or not), and the direction in which I am moving.  

Becoming comfortable does not mean growing stops or that I am giving up.  To me, getting comfortable means that I am becoming the person I want to be.

  Why this blog, you may ask?  In order to accomplish what I want to accomplish I need to make sure I have a few things in place.

1. Personal committment
2. A plan
3. Support from my friends 
4. Consistency
5. Accountability    

I doubt many people will be reading this but if it's out there then I can't take it back.  The interwebz are forever.

If you got this far...Thank you!  Stay tuned, I don't know how entertaining I will be but there is always the possibility of a few laughs :)

Peace,

Jenn