YES! to NOvember…

This won’t come as a surprise to anyone apart from me but after a month free of chocolate bars (as well as cutting back on other snacks) I can honestly say I have so much more energy – which is ironic considering I was originally eating them to get energy.

When your baby doesn’t sleep…for 15 months (not even kidding)…you (ok, I) look for quick, easy ways to get little bursts of energy throughout the day – and for me, that was always from chocolate bars, crisps, cakes etc. Anything naughty but nice.

To be fair, this isn’t really a new thing since Freya was born. I come from a family of feeders; whenever you go to any of their homes, the first thing they do if offer you food – my mum even brings me food (see pic) because she thinks a little treat is nice. But what she probably doesn’t realise is that I would quite happily eat half a box or more in one sitting  (and I honestly find admitting that really embarrassing and upsetting especially when there are so many people, in this country and abroad, having to go without any food let alone having the luxury of over-eating).

I decided to do NOvember after coming to the realisation that starting the C25K was not going to get rid of that extra four stone on its own – and, in fact, over-eating was probably making it harder.

Despite feeling guilty, my will power is approximately zero, especially when I’m knackered, so it was all or nothing for me – at least where chocolate is concerned.

Now the month is over it has made me realise just how much of a crutch food is/ was. Even at 8am (having been up much of the night and starting the day at 5am) I would think: “I’ll just have some chocolate to give me a boost.” And not just now and again but almost every day.

When I originally decided to do it I was prepared to be miserable and tired for the entire month but even after a week I saw results, which was, quite frankly, rather startling. It was, as Oprah says, a “lightbulb moment”.

My husband thinks that attempting to run again has made me much happier but I can’t help think that my little detox has been a big part of it – although I should confess I have still had little treats now and again such as ice-cream, hot chocolate and Love Hearts but they are not kept in the house so it’s just occasionally.

My tummy is certainly getting smaller – I think I probably look about 12 weeks pregnant rather than six months – and I think I have probably lost at least one chin, even though I have a long way still to go.

And on that point, the question is where do I go from here in terms of snacks? A big part of me thinks I can’t be trusted to just eat in moderation and I should keep going with having none but then another thinks that I am an adult and I need to learn some willpower. What message does it send to Freya about food if we can’t have certain things in the house?

Hopefully if I can get this sorted now, by the time she understands about food, my relationship with it will be a much healthier one and so to will hers.

Have you been on a similar journey? Do you have any helpful tips? 

Rather than donate the money I have saved from not buying chocolate and snacks to a charity, I plan to buy some food and donate it to my local food bank via the donation point in my local Co-op.