I Finally Did It

My heart is still racing, my hands are a sweaty puddle, and my anxiety might be at an all time high. I cannot believe I just posted a picture of myself in my sports bra and workout pants on my instagram and Facebook. There is literally no turning back now, I mean it's on social media, that ish stays on there forever! But to be honest, there has been something so liberating about finally sharing my journey with my friends, family, and strangers, it's as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulder or my stomach in this case...see what I did there? haha I like to think I'm funny. But seriously, I feel like I can breath easier now that I don't have to be "ashamed" of this weight loss journey I have embarked on. When I think about it, I'm not ashamed of the changes I am making, I am more ashamed of the person who I let myself become, engulfed in gluttony. I have been carrying about this feeling of disappointment towards my family, friends, and mostly myself. How could I let myself get this unhealthy? But you know what, I am not going to dwell on the past because that's where it is and that's where it shall stay. I will only focus on the goals I have waiting for me to accomplish because I know that I can do anything with hard work and dedication. My whole life I have had teachers, coaches, parents, mentors push me to certain degrees but they can only push for so long. There is nothing I want more than to be healthy & lose this weight I have been carrying with me for far too long and I think that is why I am seeing results. I finally want this, for myself. I am finally pushing myself to something that is long overdue.

I also just want to take this moment to thank everyone so much for all the outrageous amount of encouragement I have received today from posting my pictures. You will never understand how motivating each and every comment and text is to me. I have been truly blessed with an amazing community of friends and family. I very excited to finally share this journey with you and cannot wait to see where this takes me. Thank you again for being my cheerleaders, my fans, my encouragement. You are all so very loved. I can't do this without you. 

-Allison Rose

To Detox or Not To Detox

That is the question.

This past weekend I went up to Williams, AZ with a family I've been nanny for for the past year and half. While in Williams I had this epiphany. It's a very simple really. And I when I think about, I'm kind of mad I didn't come to realization earlier. Do you want to know what it is? If I tell you that means you're going to have to be responsible for future actions. Okay, you ready? Here it is.

Eat Clean. Feel Good. 

So you're probably in some state of shock with this truth I just shared with you. It's okay, it hit me like a ton of bricks too. Like hello, why didn't anyone tell me before?! Okay, maybe I have heard this before but this time, I was actually really listening. I was listening to what my body has been trying to tell me for years. And I think it's time that I start doing what my body is telling. 

So let me give you a little background on how I came to this epiphany. For the past year in a half I have been nannying for a family that I am totally obsessed with. I have been so blessed by the Bathel's. They are two of the craziest, funniest, most caring, encouraging individuals I have had the privilege of knowing. Through them I have been recommended to other families to work with, and let me just say they have one amazing community. I hope when I am married, and have kids I can have a community like they do because it has been such an example to me. Well one thing I noticed about this community is that they really know how to take care of themselves physically and are teaching their kids those habits. Let me just say, I never had organic fruit snacks growing up or LARA Bars for that matter. I usually shared a Big Gulp and some sort of candy with my two older brothers.

So anyway, this past weekend I went up to Williams, AZ with the Bathel's to nanny as they & other families I work for prepared to host the Wild Canyon Games at Lost Canyon. As we left on Thursday morning I was on day 2 of a 15 day detox that I was all pumped up about and thought for sure I was going to finish with flying colors. By Friday night my detox was over as I indulged in some deliciously seasoned ground turkey. The rest of the weekend I enjoyed cucumbers with hummus, all natural peanut butter with bananas on whole grain toast, quesadillas on whole wheat tortilla's, vegetable soup, and I even had a couple handfuls of baked BBQ chips. Side note, we stayed in a cabin across camp with another family, and they're just as health conscious with their food, so I had a lot of yummy options to choose from this weekend. 

When I got home last night, I thought for sure I would have gained at least 5lbs because my detox was out the window after three days. Much to my surprise, very very surprised might I add, I had actually lost 5lbs. WOAH! How in the world did that happen?! I've been eating regular food all weekend and totally off track from my detox. This, my friends, is where my epiphany hit me. It finally was clicking. 

If you eat clean, healthy foods that are good for your body that aren't over processed, covered in sugar and fat, your body will be happy. It's that simple. It's all starting to make sense to me. The past few days I have been a little hard on myself with this weight loss journey but when I have these epiphanies, it makes for the journey a lot more exciting. This journey isn't just about working out, and seeing results. It's also very much about all the little habits I need to break, like the binge eating fast food, the countless Diet Cokes I get from McDonalds each week (that damn triple filter), the over eating when I am clearly full and implying the lifestyle change that needs to be made. 

Our bodies need to fuel to function properly, and if you feed it junk, its going to function like a piece junk. We need not only to live in our skin, but be kind to our skin. So come on and join me by making the choices, day by day, to eat clean and feel good. 

-Allison Rose

Be Gentle With Yourself.

I am a firm believer that we are our own worst critics. We know exactly what to say to make ourselves feel bad and throw the best pity party. We know our own weakness, our sensitive areas, and we know exactly what to say to push ourselves over the edge. I am just as guilty as the next person and I hate it because to be honest, I can get down right nasty with myself when I am feeling down about myself. I hate that we do this. And I hope we can break the cycle in teaching this type of self hatred to our daughters, nieces, friends, sisters, and mothers.

I am addicted to pinterest. Whoever created this magnificent website needs to win a the prize for being the best person ever. There are so many craft days that I will never accomplish but like to pin & act like I'm going to do one day. If you saw my pinterest you would see how crafty I am. And then you would meet me in real life & laugh in my face because I have been artistically challenged from a young age. Pinterest has given me false hope! HAHA! But one thing I do absolutely love about pinterest is all the amazing quotes you can find. Literally you can find a quote about anything. And you have super cool graphic designers to make them look all modern and hip. The other day, I came across a quote that I cannot get out of my mind. It was simple. It was short. It got straight to the point.

"Be gentle with yourself, you're doing the best you can."

One thing I've learned about this weight loss journey is that it is hard. Seriously. Not only physically but just as much, if not more, mentally. There are days when all I can think about it how did I let myself get this overweight. Why did I never stop and make the changes that needed to happen years ago? And I just continue to beat myself up. It is so exhausting fighting this battle with yourself.

Although I am no where near I want to be with my weight, I am not where I was a month and half ago when I started this journey. We need to start being gentle with ourselves because like it says, we are the doing the best we can, and I truly believe that. This life is our to make it what we want. We have to learn to live in our skin, to be gentle with our skin because it's the only one we got.


-Allison Rose

My Bad.

I should have told you from the get go that I am so bad at keeping up my blogs. Like, I am horrible. A lot of my friends, who are married, and super cute & crafty, and super talented have these amazing blogs and deep down I always wish I could be a fabulous blogger but lets face it, I'm not. Oh well haha. Since my last post my life has seem to have gotten more and more busier. And to be quite honest, blogging is not anywhere on my todo list but I really want to make the effort in making it apart of that list. So here is my attempt, again. Bare with me haha thanks, you're the best!

-Allison Rose