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28 Day Challenge

My gym is rolling out these awesome 28 day challenges every month this year.  It's a great deal and part of it includes a one day meal plan to follow.  Keep it simple.  However, I can barely do anything for one day let along 28, so I'm taking a different approach this time.

I've been allowed 1800 calories/day and that includes a 12 oz beer and pasta!  Perfect plan for me.  I cannot "eliminate" my favorite comforts that I've relied on for years and cope with life.  I've learned through my first three years of CrossFit so much about my relationship to food.  And I'm definitely a stress eater, a happy eater, a sad eater, a celebratory eater, a mad eater, etc.  And I've learned that that's okay.  Sure, if I want to speed up my results I can cut out this, and not eat that; but I know me.  That's not gonna work for the long term and that's where my focus is this time.  I'm regularly reminded that this is a process.  Allowing myself to live life and be conscious of what I'm putting into my body is more sustainable for me for the long term.

So no, not all days of my 28 day challenge have been perfect.  Yes, I've "cheated."  But screw that.  I'm living my life.  I celebrated a fellow crossfitters 50th birthday, I enjoyed the quality time with my Mom while she was in town, and I didn't feel bad.  I just didn't let those celebrations and parts of life dictate my eating habits for multiple days.  We're encouraged to track on myfitnesspal and making sure I'm within 1800 calories, and getting to the gym regularly, has already made a difference in other peoples eyes.  What if I stick with this "love myself to 1800 calories a day" for an extended amount of time?  I'm sure I'll start to see the changes people are already seeing after only one week.

I try to be as encouraging as possible to anyone trying to change their eating habits and I just feel so bad for people that say they "can't have that" or they are being "bad today"  or they are having a "cheat meal."  Listen, if you're trying to change your eating habits for an extended period of time you can't let the voice inside your head be negative.  At least I sure can't.  It leads to me binging for multiple meals.  For me, it's all about being aware.  Conscious of what I'm putting into my mouth and not fooling myself into being disappointed when I make "bad" choices, rather being aware that I did it and moving on to the next on plan meal.

We'll all get there.  It's a process.

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