Change always starts w/ Lent… for me.

(bear with me… this one is a little long due to needing to catch up…)

Every year when Lent roles around, I like to partake in the act of giving up something I REALLY like. I remember back when I was a kiddo, I’d given up things like candy, salt/salty foods and even cussing. Never said I was a saint.

A couple years ago, I gave up sugar and creamer in my coffee. The only time I will add those ingredients back into my coffee is if it’s too strong. During that same time, I decided to go all out and give up all (most) refined sugar and processed food products (a.k.a. Clean Eating Diet). I continued to drink beer during that time and didn’t workout, yet I lost 8 lbs in those 40 days. Also while using the app My Fitness Pal to help me stay within my 1800 calorie daily diet. This app REALLY helped me be successful due to being able to scan the product labels so that it accurately entered each item’s nutrition label contents.

Now, most people tend to have a “sugar tooth” and constantly battle with sweets. Me on the other hand, I have a major “salt tooth.” Give me something salty-sweet any day of the week, but moreover CHIPS & POPCORN! 😍 I should also admit that I have quite the “craft beer tooth,” and when that’s combined with my “salt tooth,” overindulgence is an immense understatement.

So, when Lent started to approach this year, I knew I needed a REAL challenge. Christine and I are having our wedding ceremony on 7/21/18, and I envisioned myself getting in shape. However, I’m also REALLY lazy when it comes to working out. In fact, I’d come home and crack a beer and tell myself, “can’t workout while drinking…” So I’d just continue drinking my beer while watching Netflix as the treadmill continued to serve as a dust collector, rather than a calorie burner.

So, this year it all started with me giving up beer for Lent. When I told my wife and friends, you would have thought I’d told them I was giving up the love of my life, my cat.

“WHOA! Are you serious?! YOU’RE giving up beer?!” gasped friends.

Ever since the craft beer craze started to gain momentum, I jumped on board and never looked back. I thoroughly enjoy being on a constant search for the right porter, blonde, stout, pilsner or just about any beer that’s not a sour. Beer was revolutionized a few years back and is no longer (for the most part) associated with tasting like piss. Needless to say, this was going to be a challenge! I’d only meant to give up beer. I said I’d still allow myself to have cocktails or white wine if I wanted. Yet, they never were what I REALLY wanted.

Within the first couple days, I was okay with not having one of my craft beers. It actually didn’t get challenging until I stood at my grill and was BBQing some chicken. It was then that I had a huge craving to be drinking a beer while standing at the helm. I walked into my house where my friend was standing in the kitchen and told him that the craving just hit me, hard! He then asked if a “GRILLING beer” counted? Or was it ALL beer?  It was a valiant effort to help a “bro” rationalize the parameters of Lent, but in my mind it’s a solid, “No beers.”

A couple days later, I was swiping around Instagram and an ad came up from a REALLY good lookin’ fella, and he was talking about his fitness program. We all know I don’t swing that way, but I’m also not blind. I know hot when I see it. So, I decided to give the video of what he had to say a watch. The next thing I knew, I’d paid $67 for said fitness program that had a 30 day money back guarantee.

The way I saw it, I’d already gotten a better deal because a few of my friends pay $20 a month for their fitness apps, and that’s all it is… fitness. With this program (V Shred), there’s endless possibilities, coaching, hundreds of youtube videos for help on exercises, a 90 day workout plan, exclusive Facebook page, ab workout plan, meal programs for carb cycling, flexible meal plans (that’s the one I’m loosely following) and even vegan and vegetarian options. Please NOTE, I’m not getting paid in any way for “promoting” them. I’m just passing on what I decided on a whim might help me get in better shape, and it’s already showing results.

(And no, I don’t care if this guy is a “hoax and or copying” some other buff guy’s program, blah blah blah… Cause quite frankly, no one is able to copyright this shit and all of it is regurgitated at this point. I’ve done HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) with a trainer years back. This guy was just hot enough to get this lesbian to click on his ad, and I’m okay with that.)

HOWEVER, let me also be clear; I’m using their 90 day program as a guide to stay on track with my HIIT workouts. I’ve learned throughout the years, I do best with structure. I’m NOT doing a strict 90 day carb cycling plan, nor do they force that on you. The carb cycling is definitely beneficial for someone uber motivated to shed the pounds. I’m already on the thin side and only want to use it to get toned and in shape.

So, needless to say, I went from giving up craft beer for Lent, and it quickly turned it into going back on a clean eating diet (with one cheat meal or huge cheat snack (i.e. popcorn and red vines) allowed each week). I’m NOT counting my calories this time, and I’m doing some light carb cycling here and there. I’m NOT on a Keto diet, because they allow more process foods than I care to eat. Not knocking that diet either. I have lots of friends on it, and they’re showing amazing results! (Looking good, y’all!)

So, WHY have I just rambled on about this for so long? I honestly wanted to start blogging again, and this got me motivated. Yet, I don’t want to ONLY blog about my fitness. I also want to share with everyone the YUMMY meals I’m making, fun video games I’m playing, amazing people that are in my life, fun places I go to in PDX and wherever else, music and bands that I love, etc.

And maybe even the day I finally take a sip from the craft beer gods… which I also included in to the 90 day fitness program… That’s right… 40 days of Lent turned into 90 this year…

Stay tuned for some AWESOME meals that are (primarily) clean and yummy! Thanks for getting this far, if you did. ❤

Best,
Starbutt