Terminated: Challenge 1 of 7: Food

Good riddance food challenge. We didn't quite make it to 30 days but, It. Was. Time. Ugh.

Before I complain too much about eating the Same. Damn. Thing. Day. After. Day, I will say I've learned a lot this past month.

After just the first day of the challenge, I realized how much mindless eating I do. Being around the house, busy with the girls and keeping the house picked up, I just eat little bits of things here and there. Eloise wants some Goldfish, I'll pop a few in my mouth. She didn't finish all of her quesadilla for lunch? I'll just finish it so I don't have to throw it out. Don't even get me started on the candy dishes at work. And the never-ending baked goods brought in to share. I hope to be able to continue to have some self control when it comes to these extra calories and only choose to eat food that I have time to really enjoy.

Another thing I learned is how little food a person really needs each day. Though our menu options were slim and we tired of them quickly, we were able to survive on relatively few calories each day.

I had so much extra time it seemed! This was very surprising to me. Because I wasn't digging in the kitchen throughout the morning, looking for something to snack on, I wasn't cleaning up after those snacks, I could devote more quality time with the girls. And one of the biggest realizations I had was the time I spend in the evening, scrolling Facebook or watching shows, I mainly was staying up to do this so I could eat something along with it! Seriously, during this past month, whenever we were done with dinner and we couldn't just pop some popcorn or serve a bowl of ice cream, I would just brush my teeth. Once that was done, I would think, "well, I might as well just go to bed." Brilliant! Not only am I saving calories, I'm getting more sleep! That was a biggie for me.

I lost about 12 pounds during this challenge. Stoked about that (but also realistically know that won't all stay off after stopping the challenge). But I really do feel great. Food is just too much a part of my life, a part I really do enjoy that I can't stick to something like that forever. Healthier decisions will definitely be made, but I'm not willing to forfeit a bowl of ice cream and a whole milk latte every once in a while.

My husband has been such a trooper through all of this. He's had one of the busiest and most stressful months at work that he's ever had. Not being able to relax with beer, or even a Coke for that matter, has been really hard for him. Sorry for torturing you, babe.

I love food. I'm determined to make healthy decisions more often and to choose quality over quantity of food. Taking time to re-think if I really want or need something, or if I'm just choosing to eat it because it's available to me. Oh, and coffee. I reeeeeaaaallllyyy love coffee. I don't know that I will EVER give it up again. I did learn that I'm not addicted to it, I just really, really enjoy it. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I cannot WAIT to have a cup (or two or seven) tomorrow.

Stay tuned. Challenge 2 of 7 will be starting in a couple weeks. Next up, clothing. I expect it to be cake compared to the first challenge. Mmmmmmm, cake...