Fran and I started eating 100% clean again yesterday with our Team Achieve members.

I have started and failed to do a full month for the past 6 months.  With everything that is going on with the adoption process, I just haven't been in the right frame of mind to have being perfect with food as a pressure.

I'm definitely an emotional eater as I've discussed on many occasions.  When I feel threatened or challenged as a person my default is something chewy like toffee.

Digging in to our feelings around adoption with our social worker often saw me grabbing a star bar, when we walk the dogs straight after the session.

Today, I didn't :)

I've set my goal and know I will reach it.  We have a wedding to go to at the end of the month and I want to make it to there with out any cheats.

There is a slight spanner in the works, we are going to Simpsons cookery school on Saturday.  Normally that would make me think, I better start next week rather than doing 5 days just to mess it up.  

Not this time though, we've planned it in.  We know we'l have a few glasses of wine and food that is off our plan but will get straight back on plan when we wake up on Sunday.

This is the method we use with our clients and it works really well.

The going off plan a little can be a trigger to a downward spiral, rather than a little blip that is accounted for.

What's your trigger, do you have an emotion or experience that sends your diet off the rails?

I used to associate going swimming with getting a bag of chips or a scallop batch on the way home.  Swimming early in the morning changed that by default that the chip shop wasn't open.

Small changes to the way you do things can make big differences and that's before you tackle the big emotional eating based topics.

Darren 'No star bars for me' Checkley

P.S.  Today's Daily Lent Challenge - yesterday was tough so a little break today just 1 minute plank.