The Seven Day Challenge Wrap Up

Today is Day Seven of my Seven Day Challenge. What was the purpose of it all? I think overall my purpose in doing something for seven days is to jump start myself into a new way of thinking and acting. So often we think we are incapable of making changes. Change is hard and I find that change involves a slow morphing journey of some sort. I know there have been many things in my life that have slowly changed the way I think about food and nutrition. They didn't happen overnight. In fact, it's probably been almost 42 years (my birthday is coming up) in the making. 


So the challenge of seven days is really a blip in the big scheme. I find that if I can show myself that I am able to refrain from something or consistently do something or change something for only seven days then I am more likely to believe I can continue in the change if I've felt it was worthwhile. Seven days isn't impossibly long but long enough to ponder an issue.


So, what have I learned in my seven days about food? 

• I need variety
• It is important to take the time to plan out my meals
• I can go to a coffee shop and not indulge
• Cooking at home is vital but also something we enjoy
• I need to add in more fruit allowances to my daily diet
• Keeping things simple is the key, especially at first
• Reading and learning keeps me motivated
• When making a change, make sure I have time to spend on the issue (ie: researching new recipes, going to market, cooking, etc.)
• Having support is vital. If I had to fight my husband on the issue it would be almost impossible to make this kind of change. 

So, what now? I plan to continue eating this way as much as possible. Since it is Lent, I can look at staying the course until Easter Sunday when I will probably indulge in some goodies. Mike and I were discussing how to add indulgence to our lives without the indulgence becoming a slippery slop back to unhealthy eating practices. We've not come up with a good solution yet. 

We have a busy weekend coming up so I won't be posting for the next few days. I do have some plans for next week that I want to share with you but I'm not sure when that will be. I hope everyone who challenged themselves this week has made some progress or learned something about themselves. I'd love to hear from you once your seven days are over. Words of Wisdom are always welcome!