DAY SEVEN

HARD.

I literally had the candy in my basket, bought it, and left it at the store.

Tillman was sick last night and Turner kept waking up.  A loooong night of not sleeping much used to be plenty of reason to drown myself in Diet Coke and my drugs of choice, Reisens and ShockTarts.

But throw an arguing slow-to-move toddler into the mix and a truck battery that won't start and you're completely justified!

(I think the real reason I wanted to cheat was because I am left frustrated knowing that I have been working out consistantly for a month and I've been Paleo off and on throughout that month.  Now I've been sugar-free for a week and I'm feeling toned and feeling good but I'm just not seeing what I want to see on the scale.)

After dropping off Turner at preschool we headed over to Walmart and I completely resolved that I was going to have a "cheat" day.  I convinced myself that I didn't have to be perfect throughout the 30 days in order to achieve something great and still prove to myself that I am strong while detoxifying my body.

And I still stand by that, I don't have to be perfect throughout this process in order to achieve that.  But what I do know is that if I cheat today I will cheat tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.

So I had a light-bulb moment when I arrived back in the automotive department.  I glanced at the trashcan and after paying for the new battery I left two Diet Pepsi bottles and a bag of Reisens by the mechanic's door.  It's fate I am unsure of, but I am glad I'm not left dealing with the disappointment that it would have brought me!

I wish I could say that I'm on top of the world and riding high, but it's still hard.  It's still not fun.  Maybe it's the prospect of going through this 23 more times.  And I think each day will bring its own frustration, stress and challenge.

But on day 7 I'm left with the glimmer of hope that I will be able to say NO in the future.  Just because it's there doesn't mean I have to eat it!  I've proven in 7 days that I can say no to the junk that is presented to me everyday.  I've not just said no once a day, I've said no multiple times each day.  I've realized that we're faced with sugar temptations throughout the day over and over and over again and if I don't learn how to say no, I'm going to have a big problem.  In America we are surrounded by JUNK around every corner and I need to have my guard up.  Not that I'll never eat sugar again, but I can truly save sugar as a special OCCASIONAL treat.  Not just eat it because it's there in front of my face, but make it good!