Recently whilst surfing the Internet, I came across a website that had set a challenge not to snack after dinner for a total of seven days. This included desserts, sweets/candy, and midnight snacks. They did allow the consumption of tea.
The challenge is from a fitness and nutrition website by the looks of it, and is there to aid in weight loss, a healthier diet and an all-round better shape.
In the not so near past, I wrote a post about 'how to stop snacking', so to come across this challenge that people were taking part in intrigued me all the more.
Apart from the health benefits for doing this, it's also a test of my own will power. It's also spurred on from the fact that I seem to be recently snacking in large quantities.
The Challenge
Now like the challenge that I found on this other website. I will be stopping snacking, however their are a few changes that I'm making for myself.
I've decided to not allow the consumption of tea or any other drink apart from water; I'm also not going to allow myself midnight snacks, sweets; I can still eat fruit or veg in between, but not in excessive amounts; I will also allow myself to have a small amount of dessert as I will be altering portion sizes of other meals; and I'm going to be doing this for a set period of 30 days.
Why 30 days you may say? Well, the way I look at this is, if I'm planning on taking this seriously, then to me 7 days doesn't seem that long a time. 30 Days on the other hand, will help me to notice any differences that may come, and if you've read my post about 'how to enforce a new habit', then you may remember that one of the tips was to do a new habit daily for a period of about a month to break it in. So if it does turn out to be something I want to continue doing, then it should be fairly easy.
Expected difficulties
With any challenge there is going to be difficulties, otherwise why call it a challenge at all? With this particular challenge, I'm expecting a few obstacles that could potentially trip me up.
Firstly, for me after lunch is a problem. It's fine when I'm out somewhere, but at home, I find it incredibly difficult to not snack afterwards.
Secondly, snacking after dinner. I think most people have a hard time with this, but for me it's not as hard as not snacking after lunch. It's the consistency of this potential trip-up that's going to be the problem
Thirdly, if I'm at someones house or out somewhere, and they offer me lots to eat or their is the chance to have too much to eat, then I could see this temptation as being particularly difficult.
If anyone is interested in doing this challenge as-well, then I encourage you to give it a try, and hopefully I'll see you on the other end of 30 days snack-free. :)