Keep Calm and Carry On

I’ve been asked a few times lately about “The Next Step.”  That’s a fairly vague concept because it could refer to anything from the Afterlife to where Marshall’s is adding their next store nearby.  However, I think in my case this month it refers to after the challenge.  Whether you’re doing the Paleo Zone Challenge or your own Welcome to 2013 challenge, no doubt you are at a pivotal decision-making point as well as we head into February. I've got 3 Next Steps on my mind today. 

The first Next Step to consider is Nutrition Character: What you eat when no one else is looking.  If there were no benefits other than inches lost by eating this way, next Monday’s menu for me would be filled with pizza, wings, wine and chocolate.  But, I’m taking some time to evaluate my own personal benefits of eating a Paleo diet.  Yes, my jeans are slipping off of me and that’s a really good thing.  It took me a while to realize this because I don’t wear them often.  My lower half wardrobe typically consists either of sweatpants, compression shorts, or scrub pants.  But I’m also sleeping soundly, something I haven’t done in a really long time, without a kick into bed from melatonin or wine, just a normal 7-8 hour sleep schedule.  My energy throughout the day is consistent, except of course after yesterday’s 7 measly minutes of burpees.  How could a 7-minute workout deplete so much energy (cough-cough sarcastic voice)? I do not have the energy crashes mid-afternoon that I thought were just a normal part of the Circadian Rhythm we all have to endure.  And finally, physically, I feel pretty good.  My skin is better, I’m not puffy, and I don’t have any annoying ailments at the moment.   I attribute all of these things to removing the harmful ingredients from my diet for the past 3+ weeks and I’ve gained a much-needed perspective on how a balanced Paleo diet impacts me in a positive physical way. 
 
The second Next Step is this blog – where do I go from here? I do not yet have the answer to that, and I would love your input if you have a quick or lengthy answer to that question.  If there's a format you would benefit from, please share it with me.  It’s a goal for me to continue writing and providing a virtual meeting house for those of us on the same journey.  I just need to figure out a unique After-the-Challenge angle without duplicating 9,000 other sites that are out there. 

The Final Next Step is how you present your healthy eating lifestyle to others.  I tend to take the “This Works for Me” approach, unless people really start asking questions.  Please don’t be that annoying person at the party that drones on and on about carbs and proteins and inflammatory effects and personality changes – blah blah blah, all I hear is the Charlie Brown’s Teacher voice. People are either truly interested, and those people will ask specific, guided questions, or they are amused at your freakiness and are looking for either a weakness in your argument or further evidence that you are, indeed, a freakish member of some cult so that they can share it with other partygoers in the next room. 

Some people are human saboteurs by nature, people who want to see it not work for you so that it endorses their own poor choices as normal and acceptable.  It’s much more interesting gossip for them to say, “They did that crazy way of eating and it didn’t do anything but lose them a month or two,” than to admit that someone actually looks, feels and acts better as a result of showing constraint by eating a modified, healthy diet.  Being a militant about it will only scare others away from you, and give them another box to check in the He’s/She’s a Whack Job column.  Being an informed advocate, and not a sign-carrying nutrition protestor, is much healthier for you, and will afford you many more opportunities to share your lifestyle with others who may be interested.  Or, you can carry the protest sign and watch them run for the nearest hills.