Retiring My Pizza Habit

Now that the holidays are officially over and the new year is no longer so new, reality is setting in. It’s time to admit that I’ve fallen a bit off track and need to regain some balance. I can see exactly where I went wrong. To reward myself for a strong gym attendance over the holiday season, I let my nutrition slip. I convinced myself that since I was logging so much time at the gym, it was okay to been a little bit more lax with what I ate. And now I am beginning to see the results — the negative results.

I’m tempted to make a few dramatic changes to get myself back on track. If I could cut alcohol, red meat, and cheese for a month, I’d be exactly where I need to be. It seems like a foolproof method. But I know myself. This would be the equivalent to a grapefruit diet for me: too extreme and unsustainable. Denying myself things I really enjoy is not the solution to success. I absolutely can try to buy less alcohol, red meat, and cheese when grocery shopping to limit my intake. Cut back, yes. But cut out, no.

I also considered trying the Isagenix program that Chicago Athletic Clubs recently introduced. Several of my fellow boot campers and our instructor are currently doing the Isagenix 30-Day Cleansing and Fat Burning System and are seeing awesome results. I sampled some of the IsaLean shakes and was pretty impressed. Previously I’ve shied away from such programs because I didn’t want to follow such a regimented schedule and “scientific” method of eating. But I think I might be willing to give it a shot because I am learning about more of the benefits from others following the program, such as sleeping better, reduced cravings, and having more energy.

Even without the Isagenix program, there’s a lot of work I can do to get back to the healthy “me” of a few months ago. First, I need to stop convincing myself that since I exercise so much, it’s okay for me to eat so much junk. What I’m really doing is undoing my hard work. My two-a-day workouts (I’m able to squeeze in a couple each week) aren’t an excuse to eat twice as much pizza. Most of the time I am probably eating more calories than I burned in those double workouts.

And then, I simply need to return to the same eating habits that have already proven themselves successful for me: fewer processed foods, more vegetables, less mindless snacking. No more of this just-a-few-chicken-nuggets-never-hurt-anyone rationale. And no more beating myself up because I should I have known better these past few months. Because that won’t accomplish anything. I broke some rules and I lost some of my discipline, but I will just have to try to do better.

Here’s to healthy eating from here on out!

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Betsy Mikel | betsymikel.com