Clean Life, Week 3

June 29, 2009 | Filed in: Uncategorized

If you recall – there’s definitely been some “cheating“:

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So what are my thoughts? Ahh, so glad you asked!

Both Rose and Heather posted their thoughts on the challenge recently, and it was nice to hear that they were finding the challenge difficult as well. Not that I was happy that others were struggling, just that I wasn’t alone in thinking “Damn, this is hard!” (TWSS)

My thoughts:

I’ve never done well with “limiting” myself. For example – when I was little – if I was told SPECIFICALLY NOT to do something – I wanted to do it 25 times more. My mom could have said “Whatever you do young lady, do not even THINK about cleaning your room!” – and I would have snuck upstairs, snickering, and cleaned it. Change “Clean your room” to anything else, and the Allison law still applies. Childish? Perhaps. But it’s just how I’m wired.
I lost all of the weight several years ago, through a balanced diet. Nothing was off limits – I just needed to remember moderation. Late night, drunken, Taco Bell run? I’M IN! But the next morning – I always say to myself – alright now you have to balance that out this week. (Kind of like Bethanny Frankel’s whole “bank account” thing)
The two aforementioned bullets have really made this challenge hard. And honestly – made me a little crabby. Mike’s noticed it a lot. I subconsciously realized it, but didn’t actually process it until he said something. I don’t like to have rules, where things deemed “forbidden”. Rules (like laws) – great. Rules (with food) – not so great. It makes things seem like a chore. I know you’ve heard me say it before, but it is so true – Life’s too short. You never know what tomorrow has in store, and you might as well be happy. (again – within the boundaries of reason) Go sit in your fancy living room, on your fancy furniture “only for guests”. Wear your “special occasion” jewelry every day. All that stuff – you know what I mean. And if not - Angela had a wonderful post on it – check it out!
I’ve been feeling run down lately – and I think it’s because I haven’t properly adjusted my carbs/protein/veggies mix due to the challenge. As you all have noticed, I eat a lot of the same things. But the “rut” that I’m in is a balanced one. My diet has been seriously lacking in protein (and actually carbs most days) – and I’ve definitely felt the physical effects.

I know what you are thinking - GOSH ALLISON – don’t you have anything positive to say?! – I DO!!!

For a long time, I would just look at calorie content. That’s how I lost so much weight, so I figured I was good. This challenge has made me look at the things I eat with a much more critical eye, and actually “study” the ingredient list - AND THAT’S A GOOD THING! I realized the spaghetti sauce I’ve been buying at Aldi – has HFCS! It’s no cheaper than other stores – it’s just what we are used to! Same thing goes for some of my salad dressings! Because of the challenge – bottled dressings taste like they’ve got the “funk” – and balsamic vinegar and hummus dressing is my new love! Do I plan on being a slave to ingredient lists? No. But I certainly feel like I can now make more educated, (while still budget friendly) decisions!
Artificial sweetener consumption. Splenda was the boss of me. I loved it, and put it in everything. Now that I’ve found agave – it seems silly that I used Splenda for so long. Will I use it again? Perhaps, in a serious pinch – but as of right now – I’d rather take my coffee black, or my tea unsweetened before I would do that.
Diet Coke. Here’s the big one kids. So I did have one (or 3) over the course of the weekend. But honestly – it was “out of necessity”. Okay, now maybe “necessity” is a stretch. But in the Catawba fridge – there was booze, and Diet Coke. (and the water tastes funky there). So when we got there and I was parched – and saw the drink selection, I frowned. I honestly didn’t want the Diet Coke. I didn’t skip around thinking “WOOOHOOOO a reason to cheat”. I begrudgingly took it out, and thought – alright, I’ll drink it. I didn’t finish a single can. There were about 50 cans in the fridge too – so “Allison-3-weeks-ago” would have probably had about 30 of those. Not too shabby.

So why such a detailed recap now, when the challenge ends next week? Well – I’ve learned a lot. And I know there will be “cheating” this weekend,so maybe I need to just say I’m done with the OFFICIAL Clean Life Challenge. Does that make me a quitter? Perhaps. Do I feel bad about it? Not at all. I’ve learned way more than I expected these last few weeks thanks to the challenge. I know what makes me happy, I know what I like, I know what I don’t like, and I’m always aware of the areas in my life that have “room for improvement”. I’ve got HUGE takeaways from these past 3 weeks that have already become part of my every day life.

You still with me? Hope so! Thanks for reading, and thanks to Heather and Rose for the great challenge!

At the end of the day – I’d call that a win in my book!

22 Comments so far
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Gurl, you are def a winner for making it this far!! I woulda failed big time, b/c I don’t have the willpower to rule out foods. And I agree, it’s no way to live. Everything in moderation…even moderation.
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