30 days of eating better is dunzo! So, what now?

As I wrote about earlier, I committed to cleaning up my diet for 30 days to start the year out on the right foot, start some better habits, and maybe drop a couple pounds.

How did it go, you ask?

Weeeeellllll….. I think it went ok. By the third week I started to feel like a human again and by the fourth week I felt downright good! Success! Here’s some things I learned along the way:

1.    I’m like Pavlov’s dogs. One day I HEARD a candy wrapper and immediately started salivating. I’m not exaggerating. I’ve read that the brain reacts to sugar in the same way it reacts to cocaine and I can kind of believe it. I smoked cigarettes for over 10 years before I quit. Now, when I smell them, it’s not appealing to me at all. In fact, I can barely remember the person that needed a cigarette in the morning, before bed, when something good happened, when something bad happened, when dinner was cooking, when dinner was done… well you get the idea. It almost seems like it was a completely different person that did that. But man, you unwrap a payday and I am a drool monster that is willing to tackle a person for some delicious sugary snacks.

2.    I’m always surprised that cheese is not a food group that is vital to my survival. I love cheese, don’t get me wrong. But when I’ve cut out dairy, my guts tend to thank me and I’m always surprised that my life can indeed be full and worth living without everything being drowned in some kind of cheesy magic.

3.    Just because I LIKE to have beer on long run night doesn’t mean I HAVE to have a beer on long run night. There’s nothing wrong with a delicious beer, but I think I get into such a habit in what I eat and drink that I don’t even think about what I WANT anymore. This helped me do that.

4.    I can make my own mayonnaise and it turns out when it’s not some junk that been on a grocery store shelf for 6 months, it tastes REALLY good.

5.    Cooking can feel like a chore, no doubt about it. But it can also be kind of fun. I was surprised that a weekend that involved cooking some things for the week, made me really happy during the week. Also, cooking something in the crockpot overnight is a really good solution for those of us that assume that leaving a crockpot on while you go to work will inevitably result in your house burning down while you are at work. Cook it at night! Throw it into containers in the morning and you have a delicious dinner waiting for you when you get home! GENIUS!

What am I going to do now that the 30 days is over? Well, my plan is to try to keep things 90% awesome and 10% treats. But for the time being, I have to stay away from non long run related sugar. Because I know myself well enough to know that the sugar demon is going to need a bit more time in the cooling tank before he can behave. In fact, I went to a super bowl party and stayed away from the sugar! And you know what,  I was still able to have fun! Who knew?