Clean Eating Challenge

Starting tomorrow I will be starting my 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge.

I suffered a running injury and had to stop running in October. The cold winter weather soon arrived and I was hardly working out. Between the lack of physical activity and the influx of heavy winter meals, the pounds have slowly added up. 

My clothes were a little baggy to begin with and the weight gain was happened so slowly, I didn’t realize I was gaining really until I tried on my summer clothes a week or so ago.

The clothes are tight. I can get them done up, but it isn’t pretty.  I realized that as much as I didn’t want to, I had to weigh myself and see the damage.

I suppose I was in denial for awhile, but I have gained weight. While trying to enjoy everything in moderation, I have enjoyed a little too much. I lost almost 40 pounds and I did slowly while enjoying treats every once in awhile. Now I’ve gained some of that back and need to nip it in the bud before it gets to be anymore.

I’ve also been plagued by stomach problems since I was a child. I’ve always thought that sugar, fried foods and perhaps dairy are the culprits for my stomach problems. I really hate the idea of completely cutting anything out of my diet, but if it clears up my stomach problems, then I am now willing to cut out whatever it takes.

This has made me decide to try clean eating. When it comes down to it, clean eating is what most of us try to do on a daily basis. A clean eating diet consists mostly of fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains and lots of water.

I’ve never been very good at completely cutting out any type of food from my diet. I always end up feeling deprived and going overboard. To help, for the first week, I am going to be following as closely as possible the 7 Day Meal Plan from Clean Eating Magazine. I think this is a completely doable diet and I even get 1 glass of wine!

I think it will take the first week of clean eating to see exactly what will work for me. I need to remind myself that the challenge is only for a month. Gina had a great tip on her blog about not wasting calories on treats that you have had many times before or could have on a regular basis. I am going to keep this in mind for the next month as I hardly ever eat treats that are new or unusual. I usually end up indulging in food that I’ve had lots before.

I also think it may be hard to not have any alcohol, as I enjoy having wine with meals and going out for a beer with friends. I’m not going to abstain completely, but will be limiting myself to one drink a week.

I’ll be posting my meals as always and will also do a weekly post on Sunday on my thoughts and musings from the previous week. Anyone else that wants to take part can just leave a message on that post and let me know how your week went too!

I will also be posting about the exercise I complete. I no longer belong to a gym and running is stil out of the question, so workouts will consit of walking and riding my bike. I will be aiming to do at least 30 minutes a day, as well as my knee exercises every day and the 30 Day Shred. I will be doing the video without any squats at all due to my knees. I will be like Caitlin and will do jumping jacks or something instead.

I’m so excited to start this challenge!! Wish me luck

Much love,

Meg.

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