30 Day Primal Challenge, Day 2: The Effect of Black and White Rules

It’s only Day 2.  Things will get worse before they get better.

But Day 1 of my Primal Challenge was easier than expected.

I won’t have a problem eating healthier foods. I eat lots of vegetables and fruits, and I’m willing to eat anything.  Broccoli?  Awesome!  Cauliflower?  Bring it on!  I like carrots so much I tried grilling them (not a good idea).  And whatever I can’t eat straight up (mushrooms), I bury in a salad or omelette.

My biggest concern is avoiding the junk.

For months now I’ve struggled to eat less junk food.  I’ve had a sweet tooth forever, and I think nothing of slipping into the pantry for a quick handful of Quisp or M&Ms or a couple of Vienna Fingers.  Then one handful turns into two, then three...I’m sure you know where this is going.

Sure, I could get rid of all the junk.  But where’s the challenge in that?  And it would be back in the house the next day anyway...I haven’t subjected my wife and kids to the 30 Day Primal Challenge (yet).

It’s More Than Physical

Lately, my junk food battle is more than just physical...it affects my mental and emotional states.  Every morning I promise to try avoiding the junk.  By the end of the day, I’m doing mental gymnastics to rationalize eating it.  Here are my best rationalizations:

• I feel great; I’ll reward myself for feeling so good
• I’m feeling down; it won’t kill me to have XYZ
• I coined the term “pre-ward,” which is a junk food reward for accomplishing something that I haven’t started yet

I use an incredible amount of mental and emotional energy to control my junk food habit.  It’s no surprise that I’m exhausted by the end of the day.

Enter Black and White Rules

The biggest difference on Day 1 of my Primal Challenge was the absence of mental gymnastics to justify eating junk food.

Because the rules were black and white—no junk food, period—I didn’t even think about it.  I just moved on.  After dinner, I felt this incredible light feeling just knowing that I wasn’t eating junk.  There were no shades of grey for my mind to feast on.

Parents can relate to this.  Every time we leave the slightest wiggle room for the kids, we end up in a protracted negotiation that’s as frustrating as the US Government’s budget debates.  The subject doesn’t matter...bedtime, cleaning up, or my all time favorite—taking a bath/shower.  The minute grey enters the picture, the amount of energy and frustration goes up.  That’s why most parents have black and white rules about dangerous things like going into the street.  You can’t afford the grey space.

This Primal Challenge forced me into a set of black and white rules regarding eating junk.  It might only last a couple days, but I enjoyed the mental and emotional relief on Day 1.

Want More on Black and White Rules and Fitness?

I expect this 30 day challenge to reveal great insight into my eating behaviors.  Call it willpower, call it habit, call it self-discipline, call it motivation—there are lots of lenses you can put on eating behaviors.

What really matters is to find a lens that works for you.

I listen to a podcast called Fitness Behavior, from Bevan James Eyles.  It’s where I first heard the concept of Black and White rules applied to fitness.  If you want more on black and white rules or other aspects of behavior and fitness, I encourage you to check it out.  This probably won’t be the last time I mention it.

If you’re reading this and wondering “what is the 30 Day Primal Challenge,” check out the .