Challenge Day 1: The first cut is the deepest....

I get excited every time I decide to do a new challenge because I remember the end result where I have TONS of energy and feel toned and awesome...

And I forget the first day.

You All...I'm not going to lie.  The first day?  Always stinks!  I'm in better shape than first time I did it as I rarely drink coffee anymore (maybe 1 cup a week?) and I'm in the habit of drinking the water I need, but there are things that don't fit well with the challenge factors.

I love cheese and carbs.  I don't even eat as much of it as I used to, but I think 90% of the difficulty of a challenge is mental.

I WANT the things because I'm not supposed to have those things.  And today was also the day that my toddler, in all of her sweetness, decided she REALLY wanted to share with mama and was almost offended that I didn't want her cheddar rockets or string cheese or fruit leather.

I honestly did pretty well resisting today but I did struggle with feeling HUNGRY and didn't feel like the "as many green vegetables as you want" was going to cut it. And I kept drinking water to try and help.

How hungry was I?  I had 20 glasses of water (160 oz) so far today, and I ate sweet peppers, celery and nuts as snacks between well portioned meals...and then I had 1 cup of avocado, black beans, tomatoes and green chilies as a dip (1 avocado, mashed + one can black beans + one can diced tomatoes with chilies.  Mix and keep as a dip for up to 3 days in the refrigerator) with celery as my before bed snack...and finally, for the first time today, felt full/satisfied.  That little bit of extra healthy fats and complex carbohydrates finally did the trick! I don't think I've EVER felt this hungry at the start of a challenge before but I made it!

And let me tell you a secret--day two or three is SO much easier.  Why?  As part of the cleanse, you take extra fiber every morning.  It really does help you feel fuller once things get going, but the first few days it takes awhile for your body to adjust.  The best part of being on my third challenge is knowing that's coming.  I remember being worried my first challenge that I'd feel hungry and sooo tired the whole time (benefits of majorly decreasing my coffee habit is that my energy levels are more stable and, dare I say it? I think I have more energy now that I don't drink much coffee!)

I didn't quit the first time through the 24 days, and I won't this time either--Christa has already called twice to see how I'm doing so far, Jess is sending me messages on facebook, and I know from experience that it only gets better from here :D