Happy New Year! Can you believe it's 2018 already? I have some really hefty New Years resolutions this year. Each month this year I'm going to set myself a challenge so I can focus in on a particular area I want to improve with the goal of encouraging myself to form healthy habits. This January is 'Diet Month'.

January Diet Month

• Limit coffee intake to one coffee a day. Drink my coffee black with a dash of almond or trim milk. (I'm relaxing the one coffee rule on weekends).
• Overnight oats for breakfast five times a week. Smoothie bowls and protein pancakes on weekends - changing it up a little helps keep me on track. Plus I love pancakes!
• No snacking. Focus on eating three balanced, satisfying meals a day, even on weekends.
• Change my biggest meal of the day to lunch.
• 'Healthify' my meals - by filling half my plate with veggies, 1/4 of the plate with protein and 1/4 of the plate with a carb (low GI, wholegrain, complex carbs)
• Limit 'junk food' - A strict cold turkey approach is personally best for me until I can get my addiction under control and then limiting candy, fast food, desserts, baking ('healthy' or not), and anything else high in sugar and fat to special occasions. Aim to practice moderation.
• Avoid refined, starchy carbs - white bread, white pasta, white rice
• Limit alcohol to special occasions and drink in moderation
• Choose the healthiest menu option when we go out to eat (which is often)

Why?

In my experience weight loss and health truly is 80% diet and 20% fitness - so I need to sort out what and how I'm eating and quick! My overall goals are to teach myself moderation and mindful eating. I'd also like to tweak my diet so I can lose some fat.

Picture taken around May 2016 (I think)

When I was at my leanest in early 2016 I had tonnes of energy and body confidence, and it really made an impact on my overall health. I still fit my clothes from then and the number on the scale has not changed all that much. But cutting out the strength training I was doing, running less and re-introducing refined carbs (especially sugar) has definitely changed the shape of my body in a way I do not like.

To burn up some of this body fat I need to get myself into a calorie deficit. For the past two weeks or so I've been calorie counting to get a feel for what my daily calorie intake is. I get that calorie counting is not for everyone and it's definitely not a sustainable method of weight loss, but it really helps me get in a mindful eating mindset and helps me understand serving sizes. Ideally I want to get to a place where I can eat intuitively.

That's where January Diet Month comes in!

I'm two days in and I'm already summing this month up as all about discipline. When I first lost weight back in 2015 I was a discipline machine. I wanted to lose weight so badly I threw myself into it - no snacks, no refined sugar, low calorie meals packed with veggies, no alcohol. My son would literally be shoving an ice cream in my face and I wouldn't even eat a drop. Over time my hunger adjusted and my cravings disappeared and it all just became so easy. I want to get back to that place, but it's going to take some serious discipline.

So how am I doing so far? 

Well.....we had Burgerfuel for dinner last night and I snacked my way through some popcorn and M&Ms at the movies with my son today.

Whoops!

On the bright side? I chose a lower calorie vegan burger for dinner (next time I'll go without the buns and without the fries too) and while my son snacked on M&Ms I only ate four - baby steps to moderation. Still, my goal is to avoid refined sugar completely - so I need to keep myself in check and tap into my inner Health Queen to hit this goal. Especially because at the end of the month we're going on a family holiday. I'll be relaxing some of the 'rules' of the challenge on holiday (because balance is also important!) - but I'll still be aiming to practice moderation and avoid snacking.

Wish me luck! I'm super motivated and determined to hit my goals, but I also really like cake, sooo....

Keep up with how I do this month on my Instagram.