Eat (three) week(s)

"Eat Week" is a tradition for me. It's a very simple concept - after completing a major event I eat whatever I want for a week.

I've celebrated "Eat Week" for years now, even though I've only been serious about dietary intake before major events in the last few years. It's really no secret that I love food.

It's now just over three weeks since the Glasshouse 100. My "Eat (three) Week(s)" peaked  on Friday. It's now time to admit my sins and start eating at least a little cleaner.

Here are just the things I remember from the last three weeks of eating really quite terribly.

• fish and chips (and prawn cutlets and scallops) for dinner
• fish and chips for lunch (at least twice)
• meat pie for lunch (times at least two)
• steak sandwich with chips (OK a steak sandwich isn't necessarily bad but I only ordered this because it came with chips, and I've done this at least twice)
• sausage sizzle for lunch (at least twice, and just because it was a fundraiser doesn't make it better)
• Indian curry with naan bread
• chocolate milkshake (full cream milk with ice cream)
• Tim Tams (deliberately plural, there was not just one)
• broccoli and cheddar soup from Danny Boys (which is basically just melted cheese with a few token bits of broccoli floating around in it. Yes, it is incredibly delicious.) (I don't think I had this just once.)
• second breakfasts of croissant with butter and jam. For three days in a row.
• wine (not every night, but I have been averaging at least two glasses on drinking nights)
• blue cheese with crackers
• brie with crackers
• aged cheddar with crackers
• Lick'd ice cream, sometimes with Milo
• peppermint slice
• caramel slice
• citrus tart
• chocolate and macadamia slice
• lots of macadamia nuts
• pizza for dinner (at least twice)

Now, none of these by themselves or every so often is bad. But by most people's standards, this a few too many treats in a 21 day period... and these are just the things I can remember!

So back to my peak on Friday. What happened to tip me over the edge?

On Friday I had my normal breakfast of fruit, muesli and yoghurt but, like it had for the previous 19 days, it went downhill from there. The full list of what I ate is: a soy latte, cake (like the sausage sizzles, it doesn't make it better because it was fundraising cake), cheese with crackers, a large soy latte, piece of caramel slice.

(No, you don't need to read that list again and do the maths. There's no proper lunch in there.)

And then came home and ordered pizza for dinner because I couldn't be bothered cooking.

So what happens now?

I can't promise that all of my bad habits are over but as of today I'm doing these three things:

• Going to bed between 9 and 9.30 each night
• Planning a weekly training program
• Visualising tomorrow's training schedule today.

I know, none of these are specifically about my diet. 

I've become a big believer in keystone habits so I feel like if I get my exercise back on track, my eating is likely to follow. But if it doesn't, my last resort is a detox to kickstart some healthy eating habits.

I promise to check in in a week to let you know how I've gone.