2/3 Done...The Rest Should Be A Breeze

Contrary to my original, overly ambitious declaration, I have NOT kept this blog updated.  Why?  Partly because it hasn't been such an easy journey.  Yes, I'm eating delicious food.  Yes, I know that it's better for my body.  Yes, it's less expensive than when I go out all of the time.  Yet, this way of eating is TOUGH.  It's difficult NOT to think about all of the things I can't eat.  And yes, I know you should think of it as "I'm choosing not to eat this delicious thing that could kill me," but it still feels like deprivation.

It's been a pretty funny journey.  I've had several people comment on how this "diet" doesn't seem healthy.  These are the same people who remained silent while I ate Popeye's, went to happy hours, drank copious amounts of alcohol.  They warned me that "you'll gain it all back when you go back to your regular diet."  This was bothersome for a few reasons:

1. In what universe is it supportive to tell someone that they're pretty much destined to gain all of the weight back?
2. When did you get your personal training/nutritionist certifications?
3. Why do they presume that I'm going to go back to my regular way of eating?  

I'm hoping to use Whole30 as a life-changer.  No, I don't plan to continue this way forever.  It IS too restrictive for me to continue eating this way, but I do plan/hope to eat clean the majority of the time.

I'm down a total of 17.2 pounds.  Without further ado, here are my progress pics:

My belly is still pretty big, and I have a long way to go, but I can definitely see some progress, especially in my face.