National Ice Cream Day and the No Sweets Ab Challenge: Day 21

Hi Everyone!

This is an update on my no sweets/food log challenge. 

The good news is that the no sweets challenge has been going wonderfully! I have been sweets free for 21 days. Today was harder, as I went to a baby shower with an Ice Cream Sundae bar. Very fitting for National Ice Cream day. End result? I passed on the ice cream, and various other sugary cookies and candies. 

Ice cream is one of my favorite sweets, which is unfortunate because it gives me a terrible stomach ache every time I eat more than a half cup (which is technically one serving). Pain should be an incentive to avoid certain foods, but it's funny how we sometimes crave things that are not good for us. 

I read a peer reviewed article which stated that will power is like a muscle. The more often you have to use it over the course of one day, the more likely you are to wear out the muscle and eventually give in. However, like your other muscles, through slow building it gets stronger. 

I have had a lot of opportunities to break my challenge. Check out the picture of my sister holding brownies in my face while I pout (and Jesse chows down on a brownie in the background!) 

Don't get me wrong, it's okay to indulge in sweets. It's also okay to turn them down sometimes. You might want to challenge yourself to go sweets free for a day, a week, or even a whole month. Pay attention to how often you actually want sweets, vs. how often you just want to eat them because someone offers them to you, or it's convenient. 

You may be surprised to realize you don't "crave" sweets as often as you think. Instead of getting harder, saying no to sweets is getting easier. Physically I feel better. :) Maybe my will power muscles have gotten stronger. 

If you're still with me on this challenge I want to know how you're doing!
Melissa