How Sweet It Isn't

It's been 15 days since I've had sweets. I have passed up candy, chocolate, cookies, cupcakes and yes, my beloved orange rolls. I'm exactly halfway through my 30 day challenge.

I will admit, as I suspected, this is harder than giving up alcohol. Sweets are EVERYWHERE. For example, your co-workers don't keep a flask on their desk and invite you to take a swig. Just like the last challenge, the first week or so was spent noticing how often I had access to the offending items.

And much like the last challenge, I've noticed a little substituting. This time, it's more crackers and bread products to replace some of the desire for dessert. I am working to re-implement my fruit as desserts plan to help with this part.

But for the most part, this isn't that bad of a challenge. I know it's short term, and I think we can take on any challenge for a short period of time ... much like my current experience at work, where I am temporarily running both the development and marketing teams in the college due to a vacancy. Sure, it's been extra work when I already have a bit on my plate to catch up this month before summer hits. It's a little stressful. But it won't last.

I am a big believer in challenges making us stronger people. As long as you learn something from the process, it's not a total loss. It's like my injuries ... I end up becoming a stronger athlete through them. Or my allergies ... sure, I've lost some ground on the workout front due to illness and then treatment, but it's work it for the long-term gain. I will say the alcohol challenge has kept me focused to stay at a very healthy 1/day average in the two weeks since completion.

And speaking of exercise, April was my worst month to date this year. I took 10 days off and logged about half as many minutes as January (my best weight loss month of the year). I've decided I need to work on consecutive days again and upping my minutes as my responsibilities lessen over the course of the coming weeks. It's a matter of always observing and fine tuning oneself.

I'm liking these mini-challenges. I think they help build a greater awareness of balance in life. I think when I finish this one, I may take a short sabbatical from social media...maybe just for a week. Would be fun to see what life would be like disconnected, but that's probably as long as I can manage since my work and volunteer lives require some level of usage.