Watch out—you might be feeling “the magic”! Your cravings, lethargy, and mood swings should be almost gone. Your exercise and recovery should be improving. You’re reaching the peak.

If you’re not there yet, don’t despair. For some people, especially those with medical conditions, serious metabolic derangement, or other difficult lifestyle factors, it might take a little longer to reap the rewards of good food. Just keep going and the benefits will come.

You may be asking yourself, why is all this happening to me? Here are some of the main reasons:

• Easy choices. When you follow very simple and clear rules, your brain doesn’t have to make too many decisions, which removes uncertainty and makes you happy. Habits become easier to form.
• Back to nature. Processed, sweetened, nutrient-poor, carb-rich foods you used to eat were playing games with your brain, stimulating and manipulating it in ways that natural food doesn’t. Nutrient rich foods allow your taste, brain and hormones to go back to appreciating the natural flavors found in fresh food. They help you eliminate cravings for foods that promise both supercharged flavor sensations and, unfortunately, complete body malfunction.
• Burning fat. Your body was running primarily on sugar because you gave it so much from cereals and breads to potatoes and corn. Since the beginning of the challenge, you’ve shifted your body from depending on sugar to burning fat from food and your own body storage. Your body is now producing more fat-digesting enzymes, and telling your cells to start burning fat for fuel. In between meals, your body can keep your energy levels stable by utilizing fat for fuel. Additionally, by not consuming quick-absorbing sugar, your blood glucose won’t spike, which also means it won’t crash. So you get to ride through your day on a wave of consistent energy!
• Healthy insides. Foods you are eating now are causing much less inflammation in your gut. This avoids creating damage to your intestinal lining, which is essential to retaining nutrients until it’s time for your body to absorb them. Another benefit of a healthy gut is that it keeps bad things like bacteria, viruses, and incompletely digested food out.
• Reduced inflammation. When your intestinal lining is compromised, your immune system goes into high gear. This creates “chronic inflammation” and has an impact on almost every condition in your body including acne, diabetes, depression, asthma and high blood pressure. With inflammation out of the way, your immune system can focus its attention on healing.

However, don’t be surprised if you don’t feel much quite yet. You were told you’d have more energy, better sleep, and all these other benefits, but some of you are probably thinking, “It’s not working!” Especially if you know people that already claim to be feeling “amazing”.

So it’s time for a reality check. It does eventually work. Everyone has a different biochemical makeup so each person responds at a different pace. You’ve worked so hard and have made a big positive life-change. Whatever you do, don’t give up now or you won’t ever know how close you were to reaching greatness!

And just to be extra sure you’re right on track, run through this mental checklist:

• Take food inventory. Make sure 100% of the food in your kitchen is CleanStart approved. The tiny slip-ups add up. Make sure you are eating a sufficient variety and quantity of food. Your body needs fat, protein, a little bit of carbohydrates, and all the vitamins and minerals to perform optimally.
• Sleep. Don’t underestimate the power of sleep. Even when eating beautifully, if you don’t sleep enough, or have restless sleep, you’ll disrupt the balance of all your body’s functions. Read more on sleep.
• Exercise. Exercise works wonders—physically and mentally. Do it regularly, though not too much or too little. Start with 10-60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise and listen to your body to ensure you’re not overworking yourself.
• Minimize stress. Like lack of sleep, too much stress completely disturbs your hormone levels, leading to all sorts of unforeseen ailments. Read more on stress.

References

• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12077732
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21978979
• http://www.marksdailyapple.com/a-metabolic-paradigm-shift-fat-carbs-human-body-metabolism/#axzz2v7MtmE3B

Join CleanStart!

This article is part of a 6-week, modified-paleo nutrition and fitness challenge that introduces you to the smarter way to eat and stay fit for life. Learn more.