ODE TO LOUIS

(This post is sponsored in part by Kerri Russel, who is currently occupying my dream body)

As many of you know from previous posts, I was pretty diligent to my Insanity class from about November to February. But the last two months I fell off the bandwagon. It was part laziness, part getting a new dog and wanting to come home from work and play with her, and part stress from figuring out where to move and then moving. But yesterday I finally went back and man was it hard! Clearly my 2 month hiatus really took a tole on my body. But there is one thing in particular that I wanted to talk about regarding my Insanity class. There are quite a few regulars that I see religiously ever week, and one person in particular that made an impression on me. His name is Louis. Louis is an overweight Hispanic teenager that is there at class every single Tuesday and Thursday in the very back. When I first noticed him I was so inspired. I can only imagine how hard it is for a 16 year old boy to be super motivated when it come to losing a ton of weight. I don't know if kids make fun of him, or if he is self conscious around girls, but no matter the reason, it bring him to the gym diligently. On top of all that, Insanity is NOT an easy class folks. It's hard. And to be as overweight has he is and to come to such a high level class and rock it makes me want to give him a high five every time. Seriously I always think to myself if Louis can motivate himself enough to go to class, I can to! 

Yesterday as I said was the first time I have been back to class in 2 months and about 10 minutes into class Louis walked in late and claimed his spot in the back left corner. My eyes did not deceive me! Louis looked awesome! Yes he still has a ways to go but I could not believe how much weight he had lost since I had seen him last... and there I was... still the same weight and shape. Touche Louis, touche. Today is day 5 of Whole30, and it honestly hasn't been bad. I think I'm going to struggle more than most since I don't like beef or turkey or eggs, and I don't like Cauliflower (which is used in a ton of recipes including a faux rice and making Whole30 type rolls, bagels, and pizza crust). But on the bright side, because I'm so picky, my body has grown accustom to eating the same things everyday so it really will be nothing new to me! 

I'm actually really pumped about finishing Whole30, as I have never stuck with any cleanse or "diet" I have done in the past. One thing I enjoy is the feeling of not feeling super full. I always hated the feeling of wanting to explode or unbutton my pants. Now I walk away from dinner satisfied and my body knows now it's ok to not be stuffed full. I'm doing Whole30 for a couple reasons. One is that since I fell off the gym train for a while and swimsuit season is around the corner, I needed something to kick-start me back into my health routine. Second, it gives me the opportunity to stretch my brain and find new meal options besides my usual potatoes, salad, or pasta. And three, it really helps me reflect about what I'm putting in my body and how it makes me look and feel. When I get off Whole30 will I have a Dr. Pepper the next day? Hell ya... because I don't believe in depriving yourself of what you wants. BUT I know that when I'm done, my body wont always want horrible things. I know that I will try to incorporate Whole30 in a lot of my meals but also add more nutritional options in conjunction with the things I couldn't have; like choosing gluten free or whole wheat pastas... mmmmmm pasta (drool). 

Anyway I'm excited to be on this journey (which was actually Spencer's idea believe it or not) and I am always happy to hear words of encouragement. If any of you want to join I'd love to hear from you and you can look at my Whole30 Pinterest board for inspiration. There are also a ton of blogs and Instagram accounts dedicated to Whole30 as well. Thank you for listening to my rambling and please everyone... have a Dr. Pepper in my honor today.