Days 17-21 End of transformation

First I have to apologize for leaving you hanging for a week! Some times it feels like the days disappear before they appear. You know what I mean?
Anyway, I finished up the 21 day transformation.  I won't be featured on Mark's Daily Apple's Friday success story anytime soon as my results were nothing to speak about. I didn't really follow the plan as it pertains to the exercise as it just did not work for me.  My biggest accomplishment was totally eliminating pop.  That nasty yet yummy liquid that gobbles up your daily calorie allotment in one sitting.  It was hard. I won't kid you.  There were days when I really craved it.  In fact, one day, after visiting vital records for a birth certificate (as if that won't push someone to drink), I craved it so bad I had to stop by Starbucks for an overpriced latte.  A girl has to do what a girl has to do.

Another accomplishment was a fairly decent change in my eating habits.  For example, tonight we had spaghetti because my mom spoils me every Christmas with jars and jars of her homemade sauce.  It is wonderful, but pasta is not.  Not paleo. Not good. Not needed.  So, I used spaghetti squash instead of noodles and I was in taste bud heaven!  You have to give that one a try.  Another favorite substitute I discovered was using cauliflower as if it was rice.  You stick a whole head of it in your food processor and it suddenly looks rice like.  I stir fried it with soy sauce, peas (although not paleo), onions, red peppers, garlic and an egg.  My husband agreed this was so much better than rice.  We served it with chicken and a salad.

My final accomplishment was making it to the gym.  A dear friend of mine has been sending me motivational quotes for exercise and they have really helped.  I have found that my only struggle is actually getting to the gym. Once I'm there, the atmosphere transforms my mind into exercise mode.  I've decided to head to the gym every Saturday, Sunday and one weekday to start.  Even if I only do 10 minutes (which I always do more), it is better than not going at all.

The 21 day transformation ends with a few more fasts. I'm not a huge fan of starving but I have found that I can wait much later in the morning to eat if all I'm doing is hanging around the house.  Although there were no earth shattering before and after pictures, I'm confident if I continue to eat 80% paleo and work toward strengthening my muscles, that photo will be in my future!