My August 2020 Food Challenge

Back in August (I know super late blog post), my husband and I challenged ourselves to eat really healthy. See my last post. We made a commitment to ourselves to not eat fast food, potatoes, fried food, white bread, cookies, candy, pizza, alcohol, cheese, and pasta (all the yummy processed foods). I basically made a list of foods that make me feel bloated and make my stomach hurt. Foods can be so yummy when you eat them, but sometimes can hurt after.

Well, I'm happy to report that we completed the challenge successfully except for one piece of white bread from a restaurant. I weighted myself at the beginning of the month and at the end. I ended up losing 5lbs!!! I didn't do any crazy or strenuous exercise either, just walking, lifting weights and dancing. I was never intending to lose weight though. I just wanted to feel and look my best. So there you have it, cutting out processed foods work.

There are other benefits I felt from eating healthy all month:

- I slept better.

- I had more energy.

- I didn't feel bloated.

- My stomach didn't hurt all month.

- My skin looks more youthful.

- I feel younger.

This challenge also motivated to find healthy replacement foods.

To satisfy my craving for crunchy foods, I made kale chips and crispy chickpeas.

To satisfy my sweet tooth, I ate fruit and made chia pudding.

To feel full in the morning, I made overnight oats.

Instead of alcohol, I drank water, green juice, or a kombucha.

Some foods I ate:

- Kale Chips

- Chickpeas

- Salad

- Teriyaki Bowl with Tofu

- Poke

- Spinach Omelet

I found quite a few healthy salads and meals to add to my personal recipe book too. Stay tuned for those recipes in future blog posts :)

I recommend doing a similar challenge in which you eliminate processed foods especially ones that make you bloated, cause you to break out, or don't give you energy throughout the day. Losing weight is a bonus. Plan out healthy foods that you will eat instead of restricting food. This isn't about dieting or eating less. It's about introducing more vitamins, minerals, and healthy protein into your diet.

Let me know if you do a challenge like this :) You'll never know if something works unless you try it, right?