Day 30 of 30

So, March 30th was the last day of my Eat Cleanish, Train Mean challenge. How did it go?

Eating: 
I had a few slip-ups (especially with STEALTH POTATOES!), but over all I managed to maintain a diet for 30 days, which is impressive because I tend to rebel against the idea of food restrictions.

Things I learned...
-It's a good thing that I don't have food allergies, because I suck at paying attention to what is in stuff. I got thwarted by stealth potatoes at least 3 times, and on my very last day I forgot that Yakisoba is not made with soba (buckwheat) noodles even though soba is in the name.

-I have good willpower about not ordering things I shouldn't eat, and I even managed to give up some cookies that came with my meals, but by golly if my dinner comes with garlic bread I am going to eat that stuff.

-I get bored with diets really quickly. I didn't even really crave most of what I wasn't allowing myself to eat, but I craved more variety in my food.

-People on diets have depressingly limited choices when they go out to eat. Why is it so hard to get a delicious meal that comes with veggies on the side? Why do so few things come on yummy multi-grain breads?

-I can live without potatoes, white bread, white pasta, and cheese-based dinners, but wow did I miss my cookies.

-Smoothies are awesome for lunch.

Training:
It got really warm here really quick but our cooler still isn't on, so that made it hard to want to train. Add to that Chris has been way too busy to go running. I thought training was going to be my main deal on this but I really dropped the ball. Guess I will just have to do better in April!

Other stuff:
This month really flew by and I didn't really find much time for fun or journaling or friends. Another thing to work on in April.

Results:
I lost a little weight. Most of it came off of my waist, so I look like I lost a lot! Sadly, I also lost enough that my fabulous Melos that fit like a glove when I bought them in January now shimmy right off my booty (as I learned when I wore them for a private lesson. *sigh*). I have to decide whether I want to lose more weight (because I still have a lot of fat on my belly), or if I want to stay about where I am. Whatever I decide, I have to stay pretty much whatever size I am in May because I am going to buy so many costumes at Tribal Fest and I don't want to shrink out of them like I did with my Melos.

This confirmed my opinion that restrictive diets are not for me. But it has inspired me to want to continue to eat a little healthier than my already pretty healthy lifestyle. I want to continue having smoothies for lunch. I know smoothies have a lot of sugar, but they help me make healthier choices in general. Before I would just snack for lunch and then also snack all afternoon, which meant I was eating a lot of junk throughout the day.

I made a couple of good changes during my diet. I stopped sweetening my oatmeal and I broke my reliance on granola bars. I've been getting lots of fruit and vegetables thanks to my smoothies, and I got a lot better at hydrating. So I feel like I can maintain a good, healthy lifestyle while still allowing myself cookies and garlic bread. I'd call that a win.