This is a personal log entry for my 30-day non-extreme undiet challenge. You can also keep me honest by tracking my current activity.
I'm halfway there, and what a long, strange trip it's already been. To recap - I'm working on moving from my pathetic 2 fruits/veggies per day to 5/day over the course of the 30 days and to spend 30 minutes/day planning meals, shopping better, etc.
I'm (mostly) on course.
In this second set of 10 days, I'm supposed to be at 4 fruits/veggies per day (+2), but I slipped up once, due to a bad day all around. The approach is working, though - I'm getting used to the routine (one fruit/veggie with each meal, and one afternoon snack), and the good stuff is pushing out some of my worst habits. I'm no nutrition expert, but I'm pretty confident that carrots + hummus is an improvement over Zingers + Dr. Pepper.
You can't plan everything.
There was a major hiccup this week on the planning side. My daughter had a severe allergic reaction to baby formula, and we soon found out that she's allergic to milk. Luckily, we got her an alternate formula quickly, but it's going to mean a lot of changes over the next few months.
I'm trying to use this as an excuse to change my own habits. Milk and I don't get along that well, either, and it'll be a lot easier to keep the baby dairy-free if I improve my own bad habits. So, I've factored her into the meal planning and am making it a family affair.
So, how you doin'?
If you're trying a 30-day diet of your own, or any 30-day challenge at all, let me know how it's going. As much as I love talking about myself, I don't want this blog to become all about me (73%, maybe).
I keep telling myself I'm going to start a 30 day challenge and stick with it, but something always comes in the way of it happening. I'll get around to it Eventually.™
When we were doing P90X I gave an honest effort toward eating better. One thing that helped with my fruit & veggie intake were juices. Every morning I downed a cup of V8 followed by a cup of pineapple juice. As painful as this sometimes was, it really helps kick you off to a good day - better even than a cup of coffee. Needless to say, I fell out of that habit and put it on the Eventually™ shelf. :)
I struggle with fresh fruits and veggies going bad, and there's nothing I hate more than wasting food. Better meal planning and less laziness would probably help prevent this.
@Matthias - Thanks for the update (and the honesty). I have to admit, I sometimes use juice as a crutch, so I'm trying to not over-rely on it, but I still start my day with some.
I swear that half the people I know are either on P90X, The 4-hour Body, or CrossFit. I feel like I have to check this stuff out, just to see what all the buzz is. I'd love to hear more updates from people using any of these programs - they all probably have something we can learn from.
I honestly never thought I'd use a program like P90X. After looking into it, I decided it made sense to me because fit with what I already do and like to do (a lot of pushups, sits, pullups, and cardio), and most importantly it kept things interesting. (Maybe I bought into the hype a little bit.)
My biggest problem is just how long it takes. A solid hour or hour and a half a day is hard to set aside. I know I should be able to make that time, but it doesn't always work that way. The best thing for me is 15 minutes here and there. Probably doesn't get the heart rate up like a workout should, but it's better than nothing.
(There also is a corresponding diet with P90X, which like nearly every diet, is nigh impossible to keep. I don't like fish, and I don't have time to put together things like asparagus soup, island pork tenderloin salad, or Italian meatloaf on a daily basis. Oh? That's what this entire undiet thing is about... Gotcha!)
@Matthias - Yeah, 90 minutes (and suddenly I get where the 90 comes from :) ) is a lot, especially every day. The plus side is that most of the current diet/fitness fads at least seem to have a few good points. If you use them as a base, find what works for you, and end up with something you can stick to, great.
I don't see any point declaring holy war for against any of these programs - get what you can out of them and fit them to your own life.