I’m not perfect…

As a Health Coach and an avid CrossFitter, I’d like to tell you that I *always* eat healthy and *never* have any issues with my diet, my body, my digestive tract, my sugar cravings, etc., etc. But that is so far from the truth, especially when life does what it does best…surprise you with big life changes you weren’t expecting!

If you’re anything like me, you probably think anyone working in the health industry is this “perfect” being who eats healthy, exercises the “perfect” number of hours a week, and lives this amazingly “perfect” life. But guess what? They…WE…are humans too! We have issues and we have setbacks and we eat things we aren’t supposed to, even knowing how we’ll react to them!! I know?! Isn’t that crazy?!

Let me share with you how I know this to be true! These past couple months, my life drastically changed when I wasn’t expecting it to (you can read about that here, if you’re interested). And I started *occasionally* indulging in little sweet treats here and there. Except that didn’t stay so occasional.

Let’s be clear about how NOT occasional it became…this past weekend alone, I made pancakes (mind you, they were gluten-free, but still full of sugar) with blueberries and blackberries along with maple syrup.  Not just once, but TWICE!! I also bought two packages of Justin’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups. I ate one on Sunday, and I’m pretty sure I ate the second on Monday or Tuesday. Let’s just say these had become staples for me at my weekly grocery store trips. Oh, and don’t even get me started on Larabars. I was having at least one a day, if not two! My sugar cravings were insane!!

I’ve also over-indulged on dairy, which I know doesn’t agree with me. I’ve had pizza more times than I care to admit over the past several weeks, I’ve been eating more greek yogurt, and my omelets and burgers (when eating out) have been smothered in cheese. In my mind, these have all been *occasional*.  Mind you, when viewed all together, I was actually overloading my system with copious amounts of sugar and dairy! And let’s just say neither agree with my system.

It wasn’t until this morning that I had a huge wake-up call that something wasn’t right. Yes, I am stubborn because I’ve had *several* wake-up calls before today, but I didn’t actually see it until today. Let’s see…where to begin. I haven’t been sleeping very well lately, getting in bed and tossing and turning, plus waking up completely exhausted, no matter how much sleep I actually get. I’ve been completely drained throughout the day and struggle through many of my work-outs. My face has been breaking out and I’ve been fighting some sort of sickness. My knees (and other joints) have been bothering me a lot more than normal. I have a weird rash/bumps on both my elbows/arms.

But here’s the big one…the one that you’d think would have been an “aha” moment for me. On Monday during my Crossfit workout, I had a major asthma attack…as in, my coach told me my lips were blue asthma attack. I haven’t had one in YEARS!! I don’t even carry an inhaler anymore because I have it under control. But let’s be straight with each other…that wasn’t enough for me!! I thought nothing of it, other than it was humid and that’s what caused my attack.

Enter my workout this morning. It was humid, but didn’t think anything of it. I started out pretty strong…and then came the burpees. And out went my breath. I finished the workout, but struggled with catching my breath. Afterwards, I asked my coach (the same amazing one from Monday) if my time was “slow” for an Rx workout, to which he immediately responded, “Yes.” He clarified what he meant and we talked about what could be causing my breathing issues this year since I had no problems last summer.

Let’s just say when I left the gym, I started doing some hard soul-searching. I was really trying to pinpoint why I was having these issues, because I felt like a complete failure at the gym. I needed that harsh truth this morning. Because only then did it finally hit me like a ton of bricks…it was my diet. Duh. Like, serious smack myself in the head duh.

We all have slip-ups…that once in awhile little treat or dessert or dairy (or whatever food triggers you may have). But when those once in awhile treats become an every day or every other day thing, it creeps up on you. I know it crept up on me. My body had been trying to tell me for weeks…I just wasn’t listening. Truthfully, I don’t think I wanted to listen.

So I’m here to ask you all to help hold me accountable. I am going to get back on track and hopefully kick my asthma’s butt (for the second time around)! I’m cutting out dairy and sugar, which may not be very pretty. I have a feeling my withdrawal symptoms aren’t going to be very fun!

Have any of you had these “aha” moments recently? Or been ignoring the things your body is telling you? Let’s go on this journey together! Because, let’s face it, it’s more fun (and easier) to do these things with someone else! Let me know in the comments what you’ve been struggling with…sugar cravings? Pizza addiction (who isn’t addicted to pizza?!)? A love for all things breaded?

I can’t wait to go on this journey with you! And I can’t wait to share my results of cutting out sugar and dairy…even more importantly, I can’t wait to get my breathing back on track so I can get back to kicking butt during my workouts!!!

With love and wellness,

Whitney