It's a cliche, but...New year, new me

2014 most definitely did not live up to the expectations I had of it. In fact, it will go down in history as one of the suckiest years in memory. Sure, we had some great times as a family, but oh my goodness--the deaths. There was just so much more death than I've personally ever dealt with, and each one just had a cumulative effect on me, piling on top of all the emotions I had surrounding my dad's death in May. From July to December, we said goodbye to two of Adam's wonderful grandmothers, his aunt, and my uncle.

And to top it all off, I've been struggling with the worst acne I've ever had (yes, including my teenage years and pregnancy) for the last 6+ months and it's really taken a toll on me emotionally. I know it might be vain, and I know I don't have it as severe as many, but at 34 years old, it feels pretty ridiculous to be dealing with this. Not to mention painful. When you cry looking in the mirror and slather on the makeup even when you're not leaving the house because you can't stand the sight of your own face, something's got to change.

The hitch is, I've become more aware of all of the chemicals we put on and in our bodies, so I've been trying to avoid running to the dermatologist for an Rx to some chemicals that aren't really good for me. And I'd really rather not stain any more of my clothes with Proactiv. So I joined DoTerra as a wellness advocate in May of last year and have loved using my oils. But I'm pained to admit that they're just not working on my face. I eventually came to the conclusion that I have to take a more holistic approach to healing and start from the inside. It's either hormones or my gut, but something is out of whack.

Enter the Whole30.

I actually gave up dairy for a month at the end of October hoping that might be the culprit, but I only saw marginal improvements. My face got worse again after indulging in too many Thanksgiving treats, so I decided to significantly cut back on my refined sugar intake (and still had very minimal dairy). Then I went off the rails on Christmas day with several desserts. Sure enough, my face was a painful cystic, zitty wreck a couple of days later.

Conclusion: I HAVE to kick my sugar habit. And it certainly won't hurt to eliminate other inflammatory things that could be wrecking my gut and making their way out through my skin. So for 30 days: no sugar, grains, alcohol, soy, legumes, dairy, or other nasty things like MSG or sulfites.

It initially sounded too challenging and restrictive, but my skin issues are enough motivation for me to go as drastic as I need to. I'm a week in, and so far I'm doing great! Probably since I already eliminated some of the things on the list, I haven't had any kind of withdrawal symptoms, anger or unbearable cravings. I've been eating well, and it really feels like I'm accomplishing something. I might even be seeing an improvement in my skin.

Of course I still have a ways to go till day 30, but I'm really motivated to keep going. Which is no small feat with something as restrictive and psychologically challenging as the Whole30 is.

Whole 30 day 8: that big old pot of spaghetti (squash) with mushrooms on the
side means I'm certainly not feeling deprived tonight! YUM

I fully welcome 2015 and as many positive changes in myself as I can. And I'm using all of the positive mental attitude I can muster to believe it'll me MUCH better than last year. But the bar is pretty low...:)

Happy New Year!