Hello, dear reader. I am starting my button challenge over. On Thursday, I threw my rules out the proverbial window. I considered Friday and Saturday how I wanted to move forward with this challenge, and in the spirit of honesty, I felt it best to start over. In my mind, repeat days should be the exception, and not the rule. Tomorrow will be Day 1.
I have had a few personal inquiries about what I am doing. Questions like what is the point and what are your goals? Why buttons? Buttons are just my method of counting days. I have two jars, one with 90 buttons, at the start. Each day, I move a button over, into the “done” jar.
The point of my button challenge is to be “on plan” for 90 days. I created my own food plan with four categories. The goal is to eat in a more reasonable way, on a consistent basis. In the past, I have approached food plans with the wrong mindset. I tried to game the system, figure out how I could eat as much as possible, while still losing weight. This gives food too much importance in my life. I have noticed that my friends that maintain a healthy weight do not think about food that much. Yes, they enjoy their food choices and moderate their intake. They do not have times where they over-eat, to being uncomfortably full.
My goal, by creating my four categories, and with these, my own personal food plan, is to retrain myself to eat appropriately for my body type.
My Four Categories:
Never: These are foods I am not good at limiting and behaviors I never want to engage in. These foods do not offer nutritional benefits and eating these foods has sabotaged my healthy eating plans in the past. If I eat one bite of these foods, or engage in “never” behaviors, I will re-start my button challenge.
Always: These are foods and activities I will always do. For example, I will always drink a large glass of water with each meal. Obviously, eating vegetables is part of the “always” list.
Conditional: These are foods/activities that are based on conditions, such as birthday parties or other conditions I may find myself. I have pre-determined how I will respond to these variations in my days ahead of time. Note that conditions do not affect my “never” list.
Restricted: These are foods I may consume in certain quantities. For example, I enjoy baking. It is completely within my plan to enjoy what I bake in restricted quantities.
The beauty of my food plan is that I created it. It is mine, based on what I know definitively about my eating habits and what I want to change. I am sharing this with you, my Facebook friends, for my accountability. I predict after 90 days I will feel better and be lighter. Maybe you want to join me!
Anne Ivans Home and Family 