The funny thing about not working out 20 hours a week is...

...you don't need to eat as much food!  #duh   I mean, really what self respecting endurance athlete doesn't know how to calculate your nutritional needs to some extent?  I could tell you exactly how many salt tabs, gels, bonk breaker bars, and bottles of water I need to get through a race but for some reason fail to be able to apply that same consistency to my daily life.  What is up with that?

Since I broke up with triathlon, I have steadily been gaining a pound here and a pound there until the stretch in my stretch jeans has reached its limits.  When I grab a pair of jeans to put in my gym bag in the morning, I just pray they still fit when I go to put them on. I don't eat junk 24/7 but lately there had been a pretty consistent intake of junky snacks on a daily basis. I am really bad about rewarding myself for this or that with food.  Run 6 miles today? Let's have some Doritos AND a cupcake!  I am not sure why but I have had some kind of mental block about getting it together and dropping all the extra junk food.

I joined a 90 day challenge at Lifetime Fitness in an effort to give myself a little push.  The challenge started at the beginning of February.  I did good for TWO days and then did a flying leap off of the wagon.  In my mind, I had not given up on the challenge but had more of an attitude of that I had NINETY DAYS to get it together.  No harm, no foul if the first 30 days were a mess, right?  It was sort of like cramming for an exam at the last minute.  I kept thinking I would get it together in the last 60 days.  Right.

A week or so ago, I stepped on the scale in the changing room and saw a number I had not seen in a while.  Scared straight.  I know, a number is just a number and shouldn't make or break you, it is how your clothes fit and how you feel, blah blah blah but let's be real.  Whether it is right or wrong, most ladies (and maybe men too) have a number in their head - more likely, two numbers.  One number is your happy weight and the other is the upper limit you are willing to reach before things start getting serious.  If you see the happy weight, you will immediately break out into a snoopy dance.  The other one, not so much... To be clear, the number I saw was not the happy weight number.  

I am not sure how I bumped into it but later that day I found the Advocare 24 Day Challenge.  Yes, I just felt some of the whole food purists cringe.  My habit of diet cokes from sun up to sun down wasn't exactly healthful living so this feels like a good compromise for me. (Stick with me, I promise it won't be an infomercial).  I liked the structure and that there was an emphasis on clean eating during the program so it wasn't just "drink our shakes and then you are on your own".  They were quick about shipment which I also liked...  once you get used to Amazon Prime everything else seems slow in comparison. It is like they know you are going to order before you do.  Weird.

I started the program 8 days ago.  I cannot tell a lie, it has been exactly what I needed.  The perfect amount of structure combined with flexibility to choose your own foods.  I have gotten back to my Sunday afternoon meal prepping which is the biggest help in sticking with the plan.  I feel 100% better than I did two weeks ago AND I have not had a diet coke in 8 days.  Let me tell you, as someone who was quite literally raised on Diet Coke (or back then Tab), to not even crave one at this point really is a miracle.  I used to easily drink 4+ cans a day.  No joke.  If nothing else, that was worth the price of admission.  I know it is early in the game but after several months of feeling kind of lost with fitness and nutrition, it feels good to be back on the path again.  Rick is sold on it too and is going to give it a go next week!  I know it will help him a lot so I am excited to see his results.

Could I have done this on my own?  Yes.  Did I?  No.  Sometimes you just need someone to lay out a plan for you...  onward and upward!