Last Fitness Friday, I wrote a post titled, Give Something Up. It’s all about how to get in better shape by giving up the things that aren’t good for you. I gave some options of some things to give up and I also shared with you what I gave up.
As a Catholic, for 40 days, once a year during Lent, I give up something I really like. Most years, I gave up ice cream for those 40 days. But this year my son challenged me to give up all sweets. Specifically any junk foods and snacks that I would typically consume on the weekends. Here’s what my junk food eating was like before Lent.
My Junk Food Habits Before Lent
As the 5and2Guy, I avoid as much unhealthy food during the week as I can. I have been doing this for years, and my health has drastically improved because of it. But on the weekends, I would consume whatever I wanted. I never consistently went wild on the weekend with junk food, but once in a while I would. Regardless, I made sure I limited my junk food to the weekends.
But this year, I raised the bar. I promised myself I would limit my junk food to parties and Sundays. I have been doing pretty good keeping this promise too. Where I would typically eat ice cream, cookies, or tasty cakes on the weekends, I substituted fruit, protein shakes, or mixed nuts. Then on Sundays or at parties, I eat what I want. This has been going well so far. But now the bar has been raised even higher. I gave up junk food snacks, specifically sweets, for Lent and here is how it’s been…
How It’s Been And The Results
Giving up the junk food snacks has been a bit tough. It was tough before with only having my sweets on Sundays, but it’s even tougher now. To be clear, I gave up the sweet junk foods. I haven’t had any of these since Lent started. I did NOT give up sugar. So, I have still had foods and some drinks with a little bit of sugar in them, like I usually do. This was about giving up the sweet junk food, and I have been true to my word. Actually, I have pretty much given up all junk foods. I did have a few Slim Jims, as they are not sweets, but besides them, I have not had any real junk food snacks.
Last Friday, in my post, I reported that I was down 3 lbs in weight. I weigh myself every Friday to see how my weight is and to keep my target weight in mind. This helps keep me on track. When I weighed myself this past Friday morning, I was down 6 lbs. Now, I don’t think I lost 3lbs in one week, but I am confident I have lost 5-6 lbs since giving up the sweet junk foods. I’m in pretty good shape and really trimming down. I would say this is working!!!
As a side note, my middle son also gave up the sweet junk foods and has been working out at least 3x a week. He had some weight he wanted to lose. He’s currently lost about 7 lbs and is doing well!!!
The Takeaway
Through my own experience, I can tell you that identifying one thing from my list last week to give up can make a big difference in your health. It doesn’t take much, but it does take focus. Find that one thing you can give up. That one thing that is probably the biggest culprit in holding you back from the fitness and health you want. Identify what that is and put a plan together to give it up. Perhaps you give it up only during the week. If you have it all week usually, and give it up during the week, you will see a big change. If you only have it on weekends, try to limit it to one day only on the weekends. Or better yet, eliminate it all together. Giving up one thing that is not good for you can make all the difference in the world. It could be the one thing that changes your life, or even saves it.
At the time of this writing, I have six more days to go without the sweet junk foods. I have missed it, but don’t plan to go hog wild when I get them back. I still want to temper them down to Sundays and maybe even go a little easier on Sundays. It feels good to have lost this bit of weight and trim down. I am in the best shape of my life and it came from following a few simple disciplines, identifying what I should give up, and living the 5and2Guy way!!!