Ok, so first off, when I decided to do these 12 challenges times 30 days instead of 1 challenge for 365 days, I made the promise that I would document it. Obviously, since it’s now March, and I’m documenting January this is a far more difficult process than expected… But better late than never!
For my first 30 days of 2011, I decided to try to eat only “natural and non-processed” foods. Now, I’m not really an unhealthy person or eater, but I will partake of some pre-packaged dinners from lean cuisine or a yummy, cheesy bagel sandwich from Moe’s Bagels in Denver… So, I thought that this would be a worthwhile first challenge.
I started off strong too! Inspired by the normal Jan 1 healthy binges, I went to Whole Foods, I checked labels, I filled my basket with even more veggies and fruits than usual… Generally, it was amazing the difference between what I was making myself eat and my basic food choices. My default bread products had too many “natural and artificial flavorings” to make the cut, and macaroni and cheese obviously wasn’t unprocessed. Because I wasn’t going “raw” or anything that extreme, I allowed somewhere between 3 and 4 ingredients on a label before it was nixed, but those ingredients were not allowed to have sub-ingredients. I was being more conscientious, but I also had to spend a lot more time and money to get products or meals that made the cut. This ended up making my dinner sometimes a bunch of pieces of fruit, or weird combos of uncooked items. Luckily I live alone and no one really witnessed these feats of “cooking”
The thing I didn’t take into account is the anti-resolution philosophy of “fat January”… Coined by a colleague of mine, fat January is the opposite of what most people attempt when they start a new year. Instead of dieting and turning over a new leaf, you have one month (plus the excess days of February including the super bowl) to eat those last few unhealthy meals, those desserts, and those sinful dishes that are so often expelled during diets. Now, I didn’t fully embrace this concept (especially not those first two weeks) but when we had a vendor dinner at ChoLon Bistro i very much enjoyed the dishes (and the real butter, the real cream, the innovative dishes that i couldn’t necessarily start to explain and the joy) that I wouldn’t have allowed myself otherwise.
That, and beer… I heart beer, and though I don’t go out a lot, I like to have an après drink sometimes, and beer probably doesn’t fit the original plan for Jan. So, I tried to restrict my drinking, and my eating out. I would hang with friends and look for an organic beer option, or just have one drink.
Just the thoughtfulness of the January challenge made it worthwhile, even if I didn’t succeed every day. I have fallen back to a little more of my routine, but trying to carry through some of those lessons and that awareness.
Next up, February challenge – read a book a week!
