We realized on..oh day 1 or so that we would have to change a few things up if he was going to stick to it and I was going to keep my sanity. The words, "I'm going to die" were used and "I haven't eaten anything all day." Rest assured, he was eating. There are some foods that I don't eat because of the acidity that are still healthy. So, I've worked a few of those into his eating. I'm looking at you salsa 😉. I also can't have any meal over 3 grams of fat. I upped this to five grams of fat for my husband because he was struggling with snacks and meals that qualified under how I eat. I think the first week brought a lot of perspective for him to see just how much of a struggle it was for me when I started out.
Overall, he has done amazing. I'm so proud of the changes that he has made that are sticking. He has been trying to cut out soda for years, and this challenge has done it for him. I'm no longer stocking up on potato chips and cookies. Within just a few days, he noticed his joints weren't hurting like they usually do after work and his body was just feeling better overall. In his words, "I don't feel like death." How many times have I heard, "You get older and things just start hurting." Well, he changed what he was fueling his body with every day and things stopped hurting.
Challenges along the way. We have had a few interesting days. He has probably had about five days where he completely went off track. July 4th was one of them. I may have cried quite a bit that day. Holidays are a reminder to me that other people, like my husband, can eat stuff whenever they want and then go right back to healthy eating and be fine. If I do that, I will be in a lot of pain and on medicine. It just isn't worth it, but it's okay to say that it stinks sometimes (like 20 times in one day). And it stunk watching my husband load up on hot dogs, deviled eggs, and chips while I sat there with chicken breast and a baked potato. I mean, I wasn't dramatic about it or anything 😉, but I may have sung,"You've lost that loving feeling" to him in the car that day after he ate like he wanted to and I couldn't.
So, lets get to the good stuff. How is hubby doing now, a week after the challenge is over? He is sticking to it!!! This challenge gave him an insight into just how good his body feels when he is putting good food in it. Every time he has a "cheat meal" (I hate that term. It's still just a meal. No shame in it) he feels miserable after and declares that he doesn't know why he does it when he knows he won't feel well. He has decided that this is his new permanent way of living and he will just go off of it for one meal when he has days when be dealt wants something.
After one month, he is down 15lbs and feeling great! It feels great to cook one meal for the whole family now, and we are trying new healthy meals each week.
Don't get jealous ladies, this one is all mine.
Great job Ben.
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