My "6 weeks no cheats"

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am not too keen on the concept of "cheat days". I truly believe that there's no reason to treat your body like a garbage disposal all day just because you can. However, a lovely blogger named Christina (check out her site! www.theathletarian.com), who I have grown very fond of following on Instagram, embarked on a personal goal of "6 weeks, no cheats". She has a mostly clean and plant based diet, but obviously some candy and not so clean treats make it in there sometimes, so she wanted to try 6 weeks of pure clean eating before going away on a trip.

I thought about it, and I actually got excited to try it out myself. I always make an effort to put the cleanest things I can in my body, don't get me wrong. But at times I was just having too much of a good thing. I suffer from stomach aches and digestive issues, and truthfully, I knew it was from poor food combining and excess sugars. Somehow I was throwing my intestinal flora out of wack. I would eat my dinner, and I'd constantly crave something sweet, so I would just have a teaspoon of honey here and there throughout the evening. I did this with peanut butter too at times. I have vowed not to be a calorie counter, so my main concern out of this was the tummy aches it gave me. And chewing gum made my aches awful! Once I got going with these things, I couldn't stop.

For my 6 weeks no cheats, I decided I'd give up gum, nuts, nut butters and honey. I also vowed to stay away from vegan desserts and alcohol, which I never drink anyway. This came at a perfect time, because I'm training for my second Tough Mudder! 6 weeks to the date, I began my journey.

I felt so awesome just from kicking that stupid gum. I hate gum, hate how it makes me feel, and hate what crap is in it. It makes me bloated and messes up my digestion. I always knew it was bad stuff, but once I get going, I can't seem to stop. It felt so good to take a break from honey, too. I adore honey, and I think it's an extremely beneficial health food, but it is too much sweetness for my tummy. Nuts and nut butters were a little harder to kick, because I eat them all the time! Nuts are hard to digest, and my tummy was happy to let them go for a while.

This brings me to the Total Health Show, which I volunteered at. I absolutely love health food shows. Great, vibrant people, amazing products, and samples galore! I knew I would be tempted to have some "cheat" stuff at the show, and food combining would be taking place undoubtedly. I am all for not beating yourself up. I did indulge, but I didn't overdo it and I didn't beat myself up. The pic above is me with my Cocovie ladies (the company I was volunteering for) and the pic underneath are some goodies I snagged!

Since I began, I have had a few nuts here and there and I put PB on my toast once. I was able to acknowledge that, and I moved on. I truly think I've found my happy place.

I have FOUR more weeks to date until Tough Mudder, as of today. I've really focused on training my upper body these days, and I'm feeling stronger and better. I've ditched my scale, I eat when I'm hungry, and I eat when and where I'm comfortable and relaxed. Whole foods and plant based is my philosophy, as always. But if life gives you Giddy Yoyo samples, and Daiya grilled cheese with it...you eat it!

My conclusion is that commitment and self discipline can be important, but sometimes we need to pick our battles when we beat ourselves up. I am feeling really good at the moment, and I'm going to continue to maintain my positive thoughts and see where my "no cheats" takes me!

I have been and will continue to chronicle my progress on my Instagram account, and post some recipes (including for the food pictured below) frequently! Check it out, y'all: missveggievibes

Happy (ch)eating! ;) Here's some food porn from the last little while: