Have you ever tried to lose a few pounds during the summer? It’s tough!
For 4 weeks between July and August, I participated in an Empty Calorie Challenge as recommended by my dietitian. Because I gained a few pounds between my visits in May and July , I and wanted to take action and reign in some of my poor dietary habits. I’ve shared my experience on the blog in my weekly wrap’s, and now that I’ve completed the challenge, I’m sharing 5 things that I learned during the process!
I’m linking up with Susie, Debbie, Lora, and Rachel for the Running Coaches Corner, Annmarie, Nicole, and Jen for Wild Workout Wednesday, and Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday 5 2.0!
[bctt tweet=”Want to stay away from empty calories? Here’s what I learned after 4 weeks of the empty calorie challenge! #nutrition #healthyliving” username=”Janelle_RWNR”]
Empty Calorie Challenge – 5 Lessons Learned
First off, what is an Empty Calorie Challenge? For 4 weeks, I had to consciously avoid eating foods that are high in calories but lack actual nutrients. Empty calorie foods tend to be high in fat and/or sugar; they include the things that you would expect: cake, candy, cookies, chips, fried food, soda, alcohol.
I was granted one “cheat day” where I could eat whatever I wanted, and trust me…I used it! I think that helped me stay the course. So now that the challenge is over, let me share what I’ve learned!
Meal Prep is Key to Success
Weekly meal prep has been something that has alluded for me at least the past 3 years. I have tried so hard to be consistent when it comes to meal planning, but it’s tough when you’re busy and even tougher when you’re unmotivated.
Doing the Empty Calorie Challenge forced me to get back in the mindset of planning my meals for the week. Since there were so many things I had to avoid eating (like white bread, for example), I couldn’t lean on picking up take-out for lunch. I needed to have fruits and homemade snacks readily available to ensure that I resisted temptation. My best week was the first week; I had lots of good, healthy food to choose from and I was whipping up smoothies and breakfasts like a pro. But by the third week, I was slacking off and cutting corners. This challenge really showed me how important meal prep can be if you’re working on improving your nutrition!
Writing Things Down Keep You Honest
It’s very easy to say that you’re changing your diet, but writing down what you’re actually eating is very eye-opening. During the empty calorie challenge, I used some food tracking inserts in my Passion Planner and wrote down my meals and the times that I ate to keep myself honest.
Since I’ve worked with Danielle for over 4 years now, writing things down wasn’t new for me, but for the challenge, it was very helpful to see my eating patterns in one place, such as what time would I usually eat dinner, or when would I eat a second snack for the day. While I have already stopped writing down my meals, I would definitely recommend doing it on occasion to monitor the good, bad, and ugly!
I Use Empty Calories to Relieve Stress
Have you heard of being an “emotional eater”? Guilty! And if I wasn’t sure of it, doing the Empty Calorie Challenge proved it! Unfortunately, I had more than a few days during the challenge where I had a lot of stress and personal issues. Do you know how hard it was to NOT grab a beer out the fridge or drown my sorrows in the closest junk food I could find? But I was able to weather those storms and I’m proud of myself.
You don’t have to overweight to have this sort of relationship with food…I know that some people balked when I explained this about myself, but hey…we all have our weaknesses! It’s best to be self-aware, so doing this challenge was very enlightening in that regard.
Restrictive “Diets” Can Be Maddening
I have so much admiration for people who are vegetarian or vegan. They have entire food groups that they do not eat and I respect their reasons for doing so; it’s a lifestyle change. But when it comes to temporarily restricting certain foods from your diet to “detox” or lose a few pounds…it can really drive you nuts.
I went through all kinds of highs and lows during the Empty Calorie Challenge. There were points when I asked myself “Is this really worth it?” I was miserable at times because I had to face the fact that I willingly gave up my freedom to enjoy certain treats. I couldn’t drink at the social events I attended. And it was tough to get any sympathy because I “look skinny”. When I tried to explain my reasons for doing the challenge, I got a lot of eye rolls because of my appearance.
Despite all of that, I’m glad I went through the process. One month is a long time to dedicate to changing your habits, but if I had only done the challenge for 1 or 2 weeks, it would not have made as much of an impact on my life.
Changing My Habits Doesn’t Just Affect Me…
If you live with other people, it’s shouldn’t be a surprise that what you do doesn’t just affect you, it affects everyone, whether you want it to or not. Now I would love to say that doing the Empty Calorie Challenge inspired my family to make better choices, but honestly, I think they were more annoyed that I kept talking about what I couldn’t eat. Sorry about that!
I would have loved to make the challenge a team effort. But I had my own personal reasons for doing the challenge and I don’t think it’s right to try to force your views or habits on anyone else. It wouldn’t have been fair if I got upset that Bret continued to drink his beers or my sister enjoyed an Auntie Anne’s pretzel from the mall (though at least she tried to make sure I didn’t see it!). What they ate made me think about my habits, and hopefully, it caused them to do the same reflecting as they watched me go through this “journey”.
Would I Do the Empty Calorie Challenge Again?
I thought about this question, and I have to be honest…I don’t think I could go through this challenge again! I think it was a good way to reset and to get away from my stress eating of unhealthy food, but the lack of freedom for such a long time was really tough on me. I haven’t weighed myself yet, so I don’t even know if I lost those 4 pounds that precipitated this whole process! But in any event, I’m proud that I was able to make it through the Empty Calorie Challenge. I recommend trying it out for maybe a week to learn a little bit more about yourself and get away from all of the junk food if it’s starting to get out of hand!
Would you ever do an empty calorie challenge?
I eat pretty well and so last weekend when I visited Holly, I was really conscious of how much unhealthy food I ate! Still, I didn’t go crazy. It was fine. Now that I’m home, I’m back on track. I do meal plan and we don’t have a lot of junk in our house. We eat home cooked meals most nights. I think that’s really the key. You have so much more control over the prep and the ingredients that way.
You’re so right about that…it was also good to have more home cooked meals, good for my belly and my wallet! It’s nice to loosen a bit while on vacay…to a point! Your time with Holly looked so fun!
I also grab empty calories when stressed or bored (like pretzels). I’ve definitely been a little lax in my eating this summer too so maybe I would try it. Sounds like you learned a lot.
It was definitely an eye-opener doing this challenge. Even practicing it for a week has its benefits, so I recommend!
I’ve never heard of the empty calorie challenge, but it sounds like a good challenge. Empty calories offer no benefits! I try to eat a healthy diet most of the time but snacks sneak in too. Planning is so important to stay on track
It was a really good challenge that really opened my eyes. I think we all need our snacks once in a while! I just have to keep the bad stuff out of sight!
I’ve never heard of the Empty Calorie Challenge before but it sounds interesting. Generally I’m not a fan of nutrition challenges because I don’t think they’re helpful in creating long-term habits but this sounds like it could be eye-opening and a really good learning tool. Now that you’ve done the month, do you think it will help you make healthier choices in the future?
Yeah, the challenges often seem too extreme and trust me, this one did have those moments where it all felt completely ridiculous! But now that I’m on the other side, I do realize that I’m making better choices, drinking more water, and not having the cravings as strongly as I did before.
THIS!!!! This is great. I need to do an empty calorie check. I’m, by and large, a very healthy eater. But I also have an insatiable sweet tooth and sometimes it gets the better of me. Unfortunately as I get older my metabolism is also slowing down, so this is becoming a constant battle. I’m going to take this challenge! Thanks!
Let me know how it goes for you! The sweet tooth has been a struggle for me and this really helped me rein it in!
Thanks for your recap of the Empty Calorie Challenge! I think I’m going to try this after Labor Day (my one last hoorah!)
I really need to start to get better about writing down what I eat throughout the day because I know it would be an eye opening experience.
Logging down your meals and the times that you eat is SO helpful! You really start to see the patterns. Definitely let me know if you start up after the holiday!
I know, when you’re at a relatively healthy weight a lot of people don’t get it. I’m right there with you & actually doing my own reset this month — so far i’m actually loving it! I’ll share more about it when I’m done.
I wouldn’t have done it the way you did — that’s just too restrictive for me & I know it would backfire on me. Sounds like it worked for you, and that’s all that’s important!
I’m glad that your reset has been going well! Look forward to learning more about it 🙂
Yeah, 4 weeks was a really long time to avoid empty calories…I would have to go 2 weeks tops, next time!
Meal prepping really makes it so much easier to stay on track. And yes, to no more empty calories!!
Empty calories sometimes have a way of sneaking up on us too…I really learned a lot in this challenge!
I would totally do this! I completely agree that meal prep is essential to success at eating healthy. When I don’t meal prep, I snack on so much junk because it’s just easier to do and right there.
Meal prep!! I’m still not smooth with it, but I’m trying to keep it up as best as I can. It really does help keep you honest!
You are such a trooper for sticking it out and finishing! I don’t know if I could do one of these challenges, even knowing it was a short-term thing. I’m a huge believer in “everything in moderation” because if I’m told I cannot have something, I just want it that much more.
Thanks, Kim..this was definitely tough! Usually my willpower is strong, but not having that crutch during stressful times was a real test!
Kudos to you for sticking with the challenge! I also don’t do well with restriction. I’m much better when I let myself eat what I want when I want. If I start to beat myself up about my eating, I just get worse!
Thanks, Nicole! It can be hard to restrict…this was definitely tougher than Lent, even though it wasn’t as long!
Hmm, I’m not sure if I could do this (as I sit here thinking about saying goodbye to my evening glass of wine, my morning toast, and numerous other things that are probably full of empty calories.
Interesting though, and I can see that it can really make you aware of what you’re putting in your mouth.
4 weeks was DEFINITELY a long time to do this challenge, but I was able to ride the highs and lows in the process! Now, I do see myself thinking twice about certain empty calories!
Once my sister roped me into doing a no sugar challenge with her – no end date even, just seeing who could go the longest. I think we made it 2 or 3 weeks. Probably wouldn’t do it again; being that strict started to really annoy me when, you know, that tiny amount of sugar in salad dressing really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
I definitely think giving up ALL sugar would be impossible for me! It’s nice to cut it out for a bit, but I can’t say I ended up with clear skin or anything like that.
An empty calorie challenge in the middle of the summer would be really hard. That’s when my motivation is lowest. I think if I was training for something or it was the beginning of the year, I would be more likely to do it and stick with it.
I know a lot of people do similar challenges at the start of the year. Summer made it extra tough, but thankfully I made it through without too many slip-ups!
I eat pretty well (most of the time), but of course, we all love the occasional treat. What usually happens to me when I have a craving for the ‘bad stuff’ is that I will feel bad afterwards (physically) and that usually makes it a lot easier to eat treats in small amounts or forgo them completely.
It’s true what they say “you are what you eat” and I always feel better physically if I eat well.
So true – like last weekend I had some amazing pizza, but my body told me that night that I indulged a little too much! That’s when I really realize how important it is to eat well!
This is such a great idea! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Sorry, I didn’t finish my previous comment and it was submitted by accident!
Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with your process. I really do need to try this for a week and see how I feel. It’s so easy to get into a slump and I’m kind of there now!
Let me know how it goes! Now that I’m done with it, I do think twice about grabbing a drink or a dessert that I don’t really need.
This is a truly amazing challenge, Janelle! I’m definitely going to give ti a try!
I’m glad you like it – let me know how it goes! 🙂