The more days I go without desserts and other treats, the easier it gets to resist! At the annual Square dance on Friday, there was a whole table of desserts and I really didn’t have much desire to eat any of it. Though I must confess - after my long run yesterday, there was cold Powerade, and I drank some. I was parched. Other than that, all has gone well. We’re now on day 9 of the challenge - nearly halfway there!

I’m beginning to realize how much I want to reach for a sweet treat after a meal, as well as how prevalent white flour is! Yesterday, I was able to stay away from my once weekly cup of coffee, and the garlic bread and cupcakes at the VP dinner last night.  I normally take a sandwich, granola bar, and other small treat for lunch, since I’m on campus from 8-3 with no lunch break.  Today I took a turkey sandwich, with no mayo, a banana, and a Nature Valley trail mix granola bar.  No challenge rules broken, and I had a yummy lunch! I’ve made the executive decision that goldfish are not chips, so I had that and a fresh fruit and protein powder homemade smoothie after I got home from volunteering.  Successful three day start to this challenge!! 

So I found a link on Pinterest last week that was a no junk food 21 day challenge.  Here’s the list of the things not to eat:

No Junk Food:

No Chocolate

No Candy

No Biscuits or Cookies

No Cakes Donuts or Muffins

No Pastries

No White Bread

No Chips

No Fast Food

No Nutella, Peanut Butter or other naughty spread

No Ice Cream

I’ve also added my own twist - no drinks except for water and milk.  I enlisted two other friends (also redheads) to join in, and we started today so we’ll be done before Halloween.  Today was a challenge - donuts in church, ice cream at the restaurant, garlic bread and cookies at dinner.  But I managed to avoid all of them and make good choices! I know not eating this stuff will help my running and make me feel better and have more energy, so I’m pretty excited about continuing this challenge.  I’ll try to give daily updates and let you know how my self-discipline holds out!