It’s been four FREAKING years since I was actively participating in 30/10 Weight Loss For Life. Wowza. FOUR YEARS. That is really unreal. 30/10 signifies two things; it was the beginning of my serious effort to lose weight and my discovery of the power of one’s public, personal story. Sometime this summer I will be having a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy or #vsg for short and that decision was not a flippant one. As I get closer to that reality and begin to learn about life after surgery, I am reflecting more and more on my 30/10 year and the lasting impacts of that “education”. 30/10 is such a powerful program for so many reasons. I know most of the people reading this are looking for 30/10 info and I am so happy to continue to provide unbiased, real information based on my personal experiences. In the end, it was not the right tool for me but man, it sure did fill my toolbox with other tools that I have needed, use, and will need in the future.

Here are my takeaways from my 30/10 experience. 

• If your lying, your dying. 
  • You can think you are fixing what you think is problematic but nothing will change unless you ground your world in reality and facts. You have to know your numbers, your measurements, you intake, your _____ to really go to battle with your struggle.

• You DO need to write shit down.
  • Tracking=reality=change. It’s a pretty simple equation. If only Alg 2 was that easy.

• Public honesty goes a long way.
  • Your written or spoken story helps you connect your struggle to reality. Even if you practice talking about your struggle with your dog or you write a blog without publishing it or create a journal entry just for you or letter to yourself and mail it from your work to yourself…the act of writing and speaking your truth is powerful, empowering, and meaningful. You quickly discover you are not alone, which leads to hope and hope is exactly what you need in your battle toolbox. 

• FACTS MATTER.
  • You have to know your numbers. Your real, honest, awful numbers.

• Say what is most difficult to say.
  • I still have not been able to tell people how much I weigh. And I know this is giving power to that number. But I am just not there yet. I have said just about every other difficult thing there is to say in my blog or in conversations with people. So powerful. Saying it out loud makes it not so scary…it deflates it and puts it back in its place. BRAVO to anyone who has said what is most difficult to say. 

• Ask every question you have and don’t stop asking until you get an answer.
  • Being a teacher I battle the “question monster” every freaking day. Instead of my students asking questions when they are confused, they assume I can read minds and rely on my super-human skills to just know that they need help. What the actual hell. ASK YOUR QUESTIONS as soon as you have them. Do NOT be afraid to ask your questions. People who have the answers to your questions are paid to *literally* answer your questions. Make them earn their money! Ask your questions and do not STOP asking until you have an answer that you understand. And for the LOVE OF GOD do not apologize for asking questions or asking the same question again. It is THEIR fault for not delivering an answer that made sense to you. Work your questions people! 

• You really don’t need that much food to sustain your life.
  • It’s shocking and I didn’t believe it at first but you really *don’t* need that mocha, breakfast sandwich, and cheese danish to sustain you until lunch. You eat so little on 30/10 that at first, I was having legit panic attacks over how little I was eating. I really didn’t know what to do with all the extra time I had because I spent so little time eating. It’s weird…and awesome. And something I will again have to understand and accept after surgery.

• You nickel and dime your way to fat or back to fat.
  • Salad dressings, cheese, croutons, the leftover peanut butter on the knife after you make your ______ lunch, the last lick of the bowl after making _____…the list is endless but it really is all that little, stupid shit that adds up to fat. Last night I think I had a half cup of jelly beans and that junk will stay with me for WEEKS. 
  • This is where knowing your numbers becomes so important. You have to know how much you are consuming before you can make any changes. You can’t fix what you don’s track. 

• Resisting your cravings will NOT kill you.
  • SHOCKER…I know. You WILL survive that chocolate attack at 9:43pm. You will NOT die if you don’t eat that bag of chips. I get it…at the time these things attack there is a part of your brain that really does think that passing up your craving will result in your *actual* death. But I am a LIVING example of the power of saying NO to your cravings! SURVIVOR! 

• The power of our senses.
  • My #1 trick for surviving your cravings involves your eyeballs….just LOOK AWAY. Seriously. Look away. Don’t even looks at that spot on the counter or in the pantry. Don’t even go down that aisle or watch that commercial. JUST LOOK AWAY. Try it….really try it. I think you will be amazed. 

• It’s all about how you say things.
  • You really can eat that giant bowl of cereal. You are 1000% capable of doing that. You are choosing to not eat that right now. It’s all about the power play. If you choose something, you are taking control…you are in control. If you can’t do something, you are at the mercy of something else. Are you really less powerful than Captain Crunch? I think not…he is so tiny! And his ship is TINY! Not even seaworthy if you ask me…
  • Affirmations are a crazy cool and weird tool you can use to help you refine your power play game. An affirmation is basically something you say to yourself- literally say out loud to yourself- that affirms something you are trying to do or trying to become. Think Muhammad Ali’s “I am the greatest” statement that he must have said a million times out loud. This tool is apart of Hal Elroads Miracle Morning and it has made a big impact on how I choose to think about the things that I say to myself and how I actually speak to myself. You are listening to yourself all the time. Maybe you need to check yourself.
    • Here is an example of one of my affirmations: “I am a radiant, confident, healthy woman who feels natural in my own skin. I can feel space in and around me. I am comfortable everywhere. I weight a healthy weight and I am so happy to be alive.”
    • Here is a great little write up about what Miracle Morning is all about.

• Green stuff really does start sounding good.
  • Never in my lifetime did I think I would crave a salad or broccoli but it happened during 30/10 and it continues to happen now. My cells really do rejoice when anything green and leafy makes it way into my stomach and I am so happy that my cells are happy.

So there you have it…4 years of life and reflection boiled down into a few sentences. But really…boiling things down is the name of the game. We all want to get there in the fastest way possible. I guess some of us end up taking the long, Sunday drive kind of route that takes a few years to get there. And we all know there can be some pretty interesting things along the side of the road that we just can’t pass up.