10lbs lost! January challenge complete.

The January challenge came to an end yesterday.  It was a tough 31 days.  Though I would say the first half of the month was far more challenging than the back half. 

So, how did it go?  Surprisingly well. 

 Did the cravings stop? Yes and no. My general sugar cravings did stop and I didn't randomly just grab a piece of chocolate when I was looking for a sweet snack. That said, I never stopped wanting a bowl of ice cream or frozen yogurt. It's my food love. I don't think I can ever live without it. I will just live with less of it than before moving forward. One change that will stick is that I'm fine drinking coffee now without the sugar.  A splash of milk does the trick. 

No alcohol - I haven't had any since December 31.
No dessert - Didn't cheat. I thought this would be the thing to break me but, I lasted. Tonight, a scoop of frozen yogurt is on the menu!
Cut added sugar/no artificial sweetener - It turns out a lot of what we have in our cupboards is free of sugar. Thanks to having Jackie around I've been reading labels for months. I really was able to eliminate artificial sugar fairly easily when I removed sugar from my coffee, alcohol, sweets and ketchup! I was happy to see that my diet wasn't totally full of sugar. It was hard to adjust though coming off the holidays and I really felt it the first week.
Gym 2x per week - Did this, some weeks it ended up being 3 days. I've also had two bad colds this month so, I'm proud of myself for pushing through. I'm training now for an 8k in April in support of Boston Terrier Rescue Canada. 
Log food with MFP daily - done and done! I'm back into the routine of logging anything and everything I eat and drink. 

Additional bonus? I lost 10lbs between January 1 and January 31. This is what is most shocking to me from the month.  My goal is to lose 20lbs by May and I'm halfway there. I'm feeling really motivated to reach my goal since I've had such great progress (though I know it won't keep coming off this easily forever...) Jan 1 vs Jan 31 progress photo below.

As a side note, it's crazy how many people ask if you're pregnant if you're not drinking. Maybe it's just part of our culture now, or maybe it's because I enjoy a glass of wine when we are out for dinner or at an event but wow, people ask a lot.  You'll see me with a glass in hand this month, so no, I'm really not pregnant and hiding it with this challenge. 

February has a new daily fitness and food challenge that I'm excited to tackle.  The fitness challenge is squats, lunges, crunches and planks. The food challenge is to incorporate more vegetables into your day so, having a vegetable with every meal, everyday for 28 days. As a person who has to follow a low FODMAP diet, this is going to be a good challenge for me to get more creative with the vegetables I can eat.

If you're not part of the Facebook group where we have these challenges ongoing, come and join us! We are friendly and supportive, promise. All are welcome. Click on this link below and request to join:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/245677619282854/ 







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