My 30-day challenge - Take 2

How strange. After my last post about my 30-day challenge (when I'd got to Day 17), something happened and it all fell to bits. Literally the next day. I managed to keep up with things that day but by the following day, nothing was happening and I felt awful. My challenge went from being something I'd been finding really quite effortless (it was just a case of being organised and a bit of forward-thinking/planning) to something that felt like a very steep thing to climb. For no apparent reason that I could find...

I'd felt so amazing the first two weeks that I was expecting the last two weeks to be even better. Yet that was not the case. I thought that perhaps my wonky hormones had returned but not only were they still wonky, they were now back-to-front. Such confusion.

So I'm starting the challenge again from tomorrow. To see what it involves, click here. When I've finished this post, I'll get my little chart ready, tape it to the kitchen cabinet and off we go again. I have to admit, I do feel a little apprehensive about how I'll get on but I guess I just need to do it and keep going no matter what! The 30-day Challenge is exactly the same as before but I'm going to add in some daily exercise and see how I get on. I was doing this at the start of the year - I have no idea how I was getting up at 6 most mornings in January so I could go for an early-morning swim but it did happen! The main difference now is that I've been running a lot more these past few months (and in January I was lucky if I could run for 1 minute without needing to stop and walk for a bit) so running doesn't feel like such a chore, in fact at times I really enjoy it! And I've always loved swimming (and my Saturday-morning yoga) so the exercise part should be cool.

There seems to be something about getting past the 3-week mark. When I first did this in January, I got up to 3 weeks okay but then it fizzled out in the last week. It seems to have happened again. I wasn't expecting it to so I know to pay close attention once I'm half-way through. Other things I've noticed. My sleep quality has deteriorated in the past week. It takes me a lot longer to get to sleep and I don't feel quite so rested even if I've slept for a long time. I have absolutely no desire for dairy. I keep trying to tempt myself with some lovely ice cream but then I just think "meh no just don't feel like having it". I've even managed to resist the absolutely amazing home-made mint choc chip ice cream at The Palmerston. Normally I try and sneak a scoop or two at least once a week if I know any is in the freezer. A batch was made about a week ago and I've yet to taste it, I just don't feel like having it. And whenever I've had my beloved Galaxy chocolate (yes 3 bars have been consumed in the last month), I've not actually enjoyed it that much. I don't think I'm off chocolate so much as my taste buds becoming sharper, I think you can tell when you're eating something that perhaps doesn't have the best ingredients. Just need to find myself some superior quality chocolate to have from time to time! So even though my 30-day challenge didn't quite make it, there's still a lasting impact being made on my taste buds.

Wish me luck - my challenge starts tomorrow!