First, I must tell you all how overwhelmed I was with the comments left on my latest post about my “freedom week” food choices. I felt so vulnerable writing about it. I was disgusted with myself and was feeling quite down. It's amazing that being so honest about the struggle not only is a way to ‘fess up to the issues, but to also face them head on. It never does anyone good to lie to themselves.
Yesterday, I sat down and created a spreadsheet (yes, I am a flag-waving-geek). Trainer Rob had asked if I could commit to 8 weeks of clean eating. Sticking to a regimen and not eating out. I hesitated because 8 weeks is a long time! He swiftly reminded me that I just trained for and completed the half marathon, so it should be easy to put the clamp down on my food. Other than Fitbloggin in May, I'm hoping I can stick to the no-eating-out thing. That should make for a happy scale and a happy wallet! So, off I typed out all the morsels of food I'd eat for the week.
Throughout the Twitter community I've seen all kinds of mentions about #7daychip. I looked at it late last week when I felt myself falling into a deep-binge-coma and decided that it could really help me. #7daychip (details) is a support tool started by @bradgansberg to encourage controlled eating. It doesn't matter what eating plan you're on, you define your own measure of success for the day. The goal is to make it through 7 days straight of controlled eating. Then, Brad will give you a little #7daychip certificate and you can pat yourself on the back. From there, you can work again on another 7 consecutive days. Or you can go for the #30daychip and even the #100daychip, which my blend Kenz at AllTheWeigh just hit!
I'm happy to say I have made it through day 1. I consulted my spreadsheet, prepared the food in advance, and ate when I was supposed to. I also drank at least a gallon and a half of water- I was soooo thirsty after a week of sodium overload. As a result, I kid you not, I think I've been to the restroom 25 times today. My hands are super dry from washing them so much.
I also made it to the gym this morning, which felt like home. Funny, right? I am still having some pretty major pain in my left foot that has lingered since the half, so I'm off to the podiatrist again in the morning to make sure nothing is seriously wrong.
