Bright Eyes

My journey to eating well has been a long and sometimes frustrating challenge. After about four years of trial and error, I think I am finally starting to actually get it.

The journey started back in 2011 when I returned from Spain with a few too many memories holding onto my body... If you have been in Europe for more than three days, you know exactly what I am talking about. So multiply that three days by 30 and what you get is the opposite of lean Amy Shenk.

Let me get this straight, I wasn’t extremely overweight, AND I also wasn’t the best version of myself, which is how I got the fire lit under me to make a change. So I committed to my first Whole30… Not knowing that committing to that 30 days would forever change the way I looked at food (to be honest, I just wanted to lose weight).

After the 30 days I felt bright and awake. My body felt like I was burning food properly and my intestines were, in a word, cheerful.

During that season I lost weight and I realized the way that I had been eating in the past was not working for my body. It was very clear that avoiding gluten and dairy did wonders for my physical body and mental health.  

A healthier body and mind after 30 days= habits are changed forever and 22 years of making somewhat terrible eating choices are gone, right?

Wrong. The girl who ate cereal for all of her meals one week in college was (is) still very present.

I have found that even though the symptomatic connection was there, it has taken me years to integrate this way of eating into my life. Throughout the past four years I have repeatedly found myself in frustrating and self-defeating positions. Sometimes I would “forget” about my dietary restrictions and convince myself that my body didn’t react that strongly to food, that I actually wasn’t as intolerant as I thought. I would ignore my symptoms and then I would reap the ramifications.

This got me thinking about how we as humans are able to initiate change in our lives. I am fascinated by human potential and what gets us to do the things we do. #mondaymotivation

I have come to this conclusion, in order for me to completely accept the way I choose to eat and actually understand the consequences if I sway (I still do sometimes) it had to become a part of my identity.

         To make a change in your life there must be a shift in your identity.

          I was X now I am Y.

         Put off the old and take on the new.

So where might you be resisting a new identity?

I am not saying change who you are.. Actually that is exactly what I am saying. If you want to grow and develop and become the best version of yourself you have to cultivate a completely new part of yourself.

Please give yourself the necessary amount of grace. Negative self-talk and self-defeating behaviors are not going to help you. Sometimes it takes four years for you to actually realize the benefits of a choice, and that’s okay.

Simply start and see what happens. 

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Thank you for reading.