28 to Great! Barre3 Challenge: Update #1

I've never met Will Power and Self Control is NOT my middle name so signing up for a challenge of any kind is so unlike me.  I'm a quitter.  I've tried to stop drinking Diet Dr. Pepper a million times and I've never made it past morning.   I've failed at reading the Bible in a year for the past 30 something years.  My New Year's resolution to clean my house from top to bottom every year is usually abandoned mid January.   My promise to stay organized and volunteer more at school is long forgotten before the new backpacks have even been worn in.  I'm just not good at "sticking to it." 
I'm determined that this time will be different.  Hold me to it, please!   I'll be posting here every so often with hopes that it will hold me accountable.  I want to be able to say "I did it!" in 28 days!!

As I've mentioned a million times before because I'm so excited about it, I signed up for the Barre 3 28 to Great Challenge.  For 28 days, I will be doing Barre classes 6 days a week (either at my gym or by watching online) and I will be eating only whole foods.  The workouts are what drew me to the challenge but when I read about the food part,  I felt like it was just what I needed.  I have been trying to eat healthier for a few years now but I always seem to go back to my candy bar ways.  Nathan and I both have some health concerns in our genes that I really believe can be warded off by our diet.  Nathan and the kids are not doing the challenge but they will be affected because I'm the meal planner. 

Of course, I've made some moderations to their plan and I've added "Diet Dr. Pepper" to the bottom of their list of approved foods.  I'm not crazy!!   I know this is cheating BUT I also know my limitations.  I think the fact that I'm going from a diet of Ego waffles, sour gummy worms and Frosted Flakes to a diet of whole foods is miracle enough!!  I am drinking less diet dp because I've added LOTS of water...but only in a cute mason jar with lemon...and this is HUGE for me because I NEVER drink water.

While their guide does have a grocery list of foods that you can eat during the challenge, it's not very specific so I am going to follow the rule that if it's a packaged food and I can't pronounce what's on the ingredients list or it has more than 5 ingredients, I will not eat it.  I'm going to go with the rules that 100 Days of Real Food lays out because I need specifics. 

I will also be cheating on the weekend of our 16th anniversary but it's not really cheating if I plan it out in advance, right?  I know that we will be eating out at some of our favorite places that weekend and 16 years of marriage is a pretty fabulous reason to cheat on a food challenge!  To make up for the fact that I'll most likely be eating food like alfredo sauce and cupcakes for two days, I'm going to add 2 days onto the end of the challenge. 

So the challenge officially started on Sunday, July 21st and my last day will be Tuesday, August 19th.  I've only made it through 2 days so far and I'm not going to lie...I would kill for a Cheezit right now.  All the fruits and vegetables haven't been as bad as I thought it would be but while I thought I was a sugar addict and that I would be craving candy bars all day, it turns out that I'm really a carb lover and I've spent a lot of time wishing I could eat a bag of potato chips.  I'm LOVING the workouts and Nora has been (sort of kind of) doing them with me so that's been fun.  It's super cute to look over and see her striking the exact same pose as me. 

So that's my first update.  I'll be reporting back next week with a new update.  If I never mention 28 days again, you'll know I gave up.  Don't let me do that!!  If any of you are doing this challenge or if you have done this challenge, I would love to hear from you!!

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