Abstaining & Doing

For this 21-day cleanse thing I've eliminated a few things that take a toll on me and added a few things that will make me stronger. I didn't put a whole lot of thought into any of the five as they were all habits I have known will be good for me and that I've been trying to wrangle myself into.

Here on day eight I'm surprised to find abstaining has been relatively easy while doing the new things are hard.  Perhaps having had to give up permanently (no cheating, not by choice) some foods I really loved make three weeks without something no biggie.  The new things to do each day though require I go out and do them, that I add another thing to my busy days.

Christopher's bday cake

Half chocolate mint

Half chocolate peanut butter

This is definitely off the table for now!

Running a mile or more each day, for example, takes actual physical effort.  For me that is about 80 calories and 10 minutes.  That is the equivalent of half a rice crispy treat and maybe half a minute of chewing.

Saying no to the homemade rice crispy treats is absolutely an act of willpower, but so is getting outta bed to jog in the dark at 5:30am and after exerting that willpower I then have to go for a run.  Every day.

Unfortunately, as I've thought on this matter I realize the doing has a stronger and more direct affect on how I feel.  Saying no to the crispy treaty does improve my overall health, blood sugar and even seasonal depression, but it is subtle and takes a while for the impact to build up.  It is mostly felt by the absence of the sugar headache, the absence of the energy crash.  But immediately after banging out even the littlest run I feel I've accomplished something.  My blood is also pumping and almost always my mood is up.

How about you?  Is it easier for you to pick up and add healthy new habits or break out of ingrained bad ones?