August 28- Day 14

I finally numbered the 84 days on the calendar so I can just look up at it and figure out what day of the challenge I am on. I don't have to count down anymore. In doing so I realized that day 84, the final day of the challenge, is on my mother-in-law's birthday. It's also a Cardinals/Rams game. What a day to end my challenge.


So, I've officially finished 2 full weeks on the challenge. Only 10 more to go and the change has been night and day. Not just in physical things. Last post, I noticed a few chain effects in what I am doing. I need to add another few links to one. It goes like this: I work out-I have more energy-I am not so tired anymore- I have more patience- I am able to handle the kids with a better attitude- Sophia doesn't get yelled at anymore- Sophia stops doing things she knows to be wrong- I am happier with Sophia- Sophia tries to do things that make me happier (like helping out more)- I have a better relationship with my daughter.

See how that works? All because I have dedicated myself to becoming healthy. That's not the only benefit for the kids, but that is a big one that I noticed yesterday. Sophia sees me happier and she's happier. I heard one time someone say, "If Momma' ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." I guess that holds more water than I thought. But she saw the need and started cleaning up the family room all by herself. No one asked her to. Not only did she pick it up, but she was meticulous about picking EVERYTHING up and putting it all where it belongs. She was proud of herself- I was proud of her. Then she helped me make dinner. Normally, halfway through making a meal, she stops listening to what I tell her and does something silly, like sitting on the counter or playing with the eggs. Even after repeatedly telling her not to do things like that. Not yesterday. She was so eager to hear me tell her positive things, that she did her darnedest to follow my instructions implicitly.

That's when I realized that in making these changes to myself, I was affecting much more than just me. Dominic is still nursing, so he's getting a better diet than I was giving him previously. That's a given. But I noticed that he is happier than he was before. Children can feel the emotion in the room and they react to it. Such is true for babies- if not more so. Whenever I was in a bad mood, he wouldn't stop crying or he would act out. Now, we get that kind of behavior less and less. Yes, it's true, some of that can be attributed to him just getting older. But I don't think I can chalk it all up to that. He has turned into this giggly, happy little boy. He's pretty cool too!

There is one thing I'm struggling with, though. I ate a lot of sugary treats before going on this journey. I mean A LOT! I am finding it harder and harder not to sneak those in each day, especially if they're in the kitchen. The other day, I ate another Costco cookie. It wasn't as good as I remembered it being, but I ate it anyway. On my first free day I had a root beer. It also wasn't very good to me anymore, but remembering how much I used to like it forced me to want it anyway. I think my brain has to catch up with my changing tastes. That will certainly help.

The other thing I'm having a hard time with is Saturdays. I don't want to work out and I don't really want to make 5-6 meals. I start the day out correctly with a good breakfast. Pasquale usually appreciates that. But somewhere along the way, especially if I'm watching TV or catching up on my shows on the computer, I am snack-crazy. I want to eat EVERYTHING. Even if I'm not hungry. Especially if I'm not hungry. Now, granted, yesterday I ate some beef jerky, hard boiled eggs, an apple and almonds during this time. But I also had fruit snacks too. Nothing nutritious there. And last night after a great turkey meatloaf dinner, I ate an enormous bowl of butter pecan ice cream. I can't tell you the last time I actually had ice cream. I don't remember it's been so long. But it was really good. If I wanted to try and justify it, I could tell you that the pecans served as my protein at least, but I don't think anyone would buy it. My legs started jumping as soon as I finished eating it and I slept pretty fitfully and woke with my skin all itchy. These are reasons I stopped eating ice cream in the first place. It just sounded so good though.
So I guess Saturdays and Sundays are going to be my half free-days. I will eventually add working out on Saturdays too, but I won't go crazy in what I eat both of these days, but I don't want to continue to fail on Saturdays. I'm not failing if I change the criteria for this day.


Here's to week #3!