Thirty days. No processed Food.

chock full o’fruit & veggie goodness

The day after Halloween I was obsessing about my MOVE & pacing in front of the ON! SALE candy standing in a long grocery line when I spied a tweet.

(I deliberately pick the long lines so as to snag me some mid-day social media time)

@greatist doing no processed food all month. wish me luck! #imagreatist

— Derek Flanzraich (@thederek) November 1, 2012

I really like Derek & Greatist.

He melds the super-smart and the irreverently funny in the way I only aspire to—so I immediately tweeted back words of encouragement.

I used voice dictation however & instead of tweeting YOUVE GOT THIS—my iPhone conspired against me & informed him IVE GOT THIS.

Derek’s response?

@mizfitonline @greatist joining me?

— Derek Flanzraich (@thederek) November 2, 2012

In that moment I glanced down at my red plastic shopping basket & decided: YES. I. AM.

Methinks this is NOT found in nature…

Ive rambled before all about how Im an intuitive eater.  A mindful eater.

A woman who grazes all day and snacks all night.

Im SALT not SUGAR and Im finally 100% content the way I am.

Except for right now. 

Im stressed.  Im leaving my home of 12 years about seven months BEFORE Id thought I was moving.

Ive little time for goodbyes and know it will be a muddle of work-pack-mothering-work-pack-mothering-work-pack-mothering for the next 6 weeks (at which point Ill happily shift to work-UNPACK-mothering-work-UNPACK-mothering).

The last time I had this schedule I was packing up to move to Guatemala and let’s just say I ate intuitively—but I intuitively reached for far more sugar and junk.

The result was I arrived to the Land of Eternal Spring EXHAUSTED and already running on fumes.  (not so much a good plan when you’re a new mom, a first time mom, solo and dont speak the language.)

As soon as I spied Derek’s response to me I knew there were no accidents.

I was in. 

I knew this was what I needed. 

I swapped out my processed crap (Im human, People.  I may not be hitting McD’s drive thru but it isnt all KALE and BROCCOLI up in herre).  I was ready to go.

AFTER I CLARIFIED ONE THING: could I still consume my beloved ostrich jerky?

I say yep.

I was in.  Committed.  Yet as a woman whos renown for being SOFT CORE and not doing challenges I invariably had to tweak the proposition.

Im committing to no-processed junk until Im happily residing in the Bay Area (<—-see? I got it. Im a local already!) and unpacked.

Im setting myself up for success (Im so good to me) with the inclusion of my jerky—but otherwise Im striving to be 99% wrapper-free until Im a Northern California resident.

All in the name of voice-dictation error and knowing  (deep in my forty three & a half year old needs more planking core) this will provide me the energy I need to make a smooth transition for the Tornado & me.

Whatcha think?

Wanna JOIN ME?

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Thirty days till 43.

Please commence gazing into this:

For some reason Im really excited about my birthday this year.

Typically Im more about other people’s day of birth mainly because I make time to celebrate and indulge myself daily.

This year, however, Ive been pondering and planning and *deciding* how Ill spend my celebratory 24 hours already.

Im not sure if it’s because it falls on a weekday & making that WORKfree feels decadent or if it’s because Ive been reminded repeatedly this year how fleeting life is.

Which brings me to the point of my post (no, we arent going to merely gaze into navel the entire time):

People frequently remark to me how young I look & that I dont look 42.

The thing is—I do.

I know I do.  I life-guarded too many summers during the time of “lets slather with babyoil!” to not look at *least* my age.

Of course I merely say thank you (as I do not want to denigrate their kind words), yet I know what they’re complementing is my young spirit & my ability to love and accept my rapidly wrinkling countenance aging bod.

What they perceive as ‘youthful’ is my pointy packpack.  The fact Im the comfy in my own skin-suit.  The way I’ll play and laugh with the Tornado without fretting about being “proper” or grownup.

Whether my outer appearance reflects my inner youfulnessment may be debatable, but the fact this will change is not. 

Im going to A-G-E.  A lot lot.  If Im lucky.

Whats important to me isn’t I never lose my muscle tone it’s I never misplace my love and appreciation for my aging vessel.

The below is a snippet from a recent interview.  It contains all my ‘loving my aging bod tips’ straight from my keeping-young-through-the-cardio-I-DONT-love misfit heart.

I’ve coined an acronym (because to know me is to KNOW I love me some acronyms) for my  peeps who remain skeptical about embracing our aging bodies as they are today (not ten pounds or more muscle or *anything* from now).

Appraise yourself internally not externally. Is your energy boundless? Can you literally or figuratively run circles around other moms at the playground?  Can you hoist your suitcase into the overhead bin without needing help? Make time to acknowledge and *celebrate* these facts.

Give yourself a break. My self-love skyrocketed when I embraced the fact I no longer looked twenty. No matter how “young” I may or may not look for 40+—I’d never be 20 again.  There are certain, uh, garments I may never again wear outside the privacy of my home.   There are activities I may not excel in (like Roller Derby) because I no longer have a 20 year old back.  Having that awareness allows me to take more risks because my expectations are realistic (<—- PONDER THIS. It was life changing for me.)

Express gratitude for today… tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. Do I really want to waste my time obsessing over gaining three pounds when the alternative is not being here?  And, just when I think Ive got this one covered, something happens to remind me of the frailty of life.  I EASILY choose to be thankful for my careening toward old age bod when faced with the alternative.  And, most days, Im able to also choose LAUGHING at the coming/already here indignities of the aging process.

And thats where I am on this THIRTY MORE DAYS! Monday.

Appraising myself from the INSIDE out.
Planning a fun, festive & work-FREE birthday.Giggling at the Groupon I just received for BOTOX.

and you?

How do you *pause* & celebrate YOU as each birthday passes?

Got any additional tips for aging with joy not a grimace?

Wanna come play with me on 7.18?

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