Cast your memory back to, oh, about a month ago, maybe a bit more.  I decided I needed to make some changes and clean up my diet.  I wrote a whole post about it, and set out some really specific goals and “rules” for myself.  And then I pretty much never talked about it again.

So, here we are in July, and I decided that I should check back in with my #Chewsday Challenge.  Unfortunately, things didn’t go as well as I’d hoped.  Thankfully, I have some amazing accountabilibuddies (Kim, Kellie, and Lisa) who have encouraged and inspired me to do the best I can, but it’s definitely time to step up my game and re-commit to the challenge.  I want to do another half marathon in the fall, and I’d REALLY like to do a sub 2:30 time.  I think it’s possible, and it will be more manageable if I fuel myself better, and possibly lose some of the extra pounds I’m hauling around on every run.

So, let’s revisit the original #Chewsday Challenge goals I set for myself:

• Only one serving of “treat” per day
• Fruit or veggies with EVERY meal
• Plan meals–including lunch
• Lean protein at every meal
• Snack better
• No booze on work nights

Taken one at a time, these all seem like really reasonable things.  But all at the same time, it’s kind of a lot.  I think that’s part of the reason I wasn’t as successful as I wanted to be–I tried to do too much, too soon.  So I think this time, I’m going to start with one goal, and add a new one in each week, so that I’ll be cumulatively building my will-power and creating healthier habits one at a time.

So, the goal for this week is no booze on work nights.  I already sort of failed at this by going out for beers and playing horseshoes with my friend Sharon last night.  I may have to take a pass for Mondays, because that’s our usual day for fun activities.  Or limit myself to only one drink.  I’ll have to see how that plays out.  At any rate, I will be focusing on cutting back on the sauce during the week.  I drink a lot of beer, and beer contains a lot of empty calories, so I’ll be very interested to see what impact this has.

If you’d like to play along on the #Chewsday Challenge, use the #Chewsday hashtag on Twitter.  We’re a pretty good time, if I do say so myself 🙂

Kimberly on Twitter

Princess Lisa on Twitter

Kellie on Twitter

Me on Twitter